Total control: The night I was locked out of history in the making

. Lawrence Wong, a 51-year-old guitar-playing economist who grew up in government housing, was sworn in last night in a stately pageant of suits, speeches and songs befitting the significance and rarity of the occasion. Though this city-state has been independent since 1965, Wong is only its fourth prime minister.

So last night I attempted to join other media on the grounds of the Istana to view history in the making and ask Wong, groomed for the handover by outgoing prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, a question or two should he wander in my direction.But after checking my credentials and conferring with the higher-ups inside, the friendly policemen at the gates informed me the event was for invited journalists and guests only. Unfortunately, I was not one of them.

The polite but bold missive complained that universities’ hiring and firing decisions appeared “politicised through a system of external vetting that penalises scholars who cross some invisible and shifting red line, perhaps by publicly criticising government policy”. The academics’ final request was for the end of “punitive and paternalistic responses to dissenting views”.

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