Singapore’s Malay (Muslim) community, constituting about 15 per cent of the total population and constitutionally enshrined as the indigenous people of Singapore, have had its fair share of progress and problems in the history of this country. While different aspects of the vicissitudes of life of the community have been written over the years, there has not been a singularly substantive published compendium specifically about the community – in the form of a Bibliography – available. This academic initiative fills this obvious literature gap. The scope and coverage of this Bibliography is manifestly comprehensive, encompassing the different sources of information (print or non-print) about the many facets of life of the Republic’s Malays/Muslims – such as education, economy, politics, culture, history, health, language, religion, arts, and more. The result is a Bibliography that is arguably the most expansive, if not exhaustive treasury collection about the community, ever available anywhere. Scholars and researchers in particular and the public in general should find this Bibliography a highly valuable, indispensable source of information about the rich and varied life of Singapore’s Malay/Muslim community, stretching a period of two centuries – from the time of Stamford Raffles in 1819 until today. The Editors – Hussin Mutalib, Ph.D. (a senior academic with the National University of Singapore), Rokiah Mentol, and Sundusia Rosdi (former senior librarians with Singapore’s National Library Board) – are assisted by professional and experienced librarians.

Over 5,000 entries arranged in four parts. Part I comprises reference and general works to provide a guide to information on Southeast Asia. Part II provides the setting of space and time. Part III features the people and Part IV the many facets of culture and society — language; ideas, beliefs, values; institutions; creative expression; and social and cultural change. Within each section, the arrangement is geographical, beginning with Southeast Asia as a whole followed by the various countries in alphabetical order.

In these four volumes, published in paperback in 2000, twenty-two scholars of international reputation consider the whole of mainland and island Southeast Asia from Burma to Indonesia. Each volume has a new preface which points to the relationships with the other volumes. The prefaces also comment on some of the research into and thinking about the subject undertaken since the original contributions were completed for the first edition. Volume 2, Part 2 covers the period from World War II to the present and examines the end of European colonial empires, the emergence of political structures of the independent states, economic and social change, religious change in contemporary Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia's role and identity in decolonisation, and the ongoing weakening of links with the West.