Simon Tay

Tay speaking at the ASEAN Think Tank Forum 2007

Simon Tay (Simon Seong Chee Tay or Simon S.C. Tay), is a Singaporean professor, author, and former nominated member of Parliament.

Career

From 2002 to 2008, Tay chaired the National Environment Agency of Singapore, the country's main agency for environmental protection and public health. He served as a non-elected Nominated Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2001. In 1991, Tay started the Singapore Volunteers Overseas (now known as Singapore International Volunteers), which recruits young volunteers to provide technical assistance in developing countries. In 2006, he received the Public Service Medal (Pingat Bakti Masyarakat, PBM) from the Singapore government, a National Day Award.

Tay was named a "global leader of tomorrow" during the 2000 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in addition to being featured in the Far Eastern Economic Review as one of 'Ten People to Watch in Asia'. In 2009, Tay spent a year in New York as a Bernard Schwartz Fellow.

He is currently Associate Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore, Chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (a non-governmental think tank) and Senior Consultant at the WongPartnership, a Singapore law firm.

Tay writes fortnightly commentaries in TODAY, a Singaporean newspaper. His columns are also featured in other Asian newspapers such as Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, Thailand's Nation and Indonesia's Jakarta Post. He appears regularly in American and international media, including BBC, CNN, and Bloomberg.

Tay formerly taught at Harvard Law School, Yale and the Fletcher School of Tufts University as a visiting professor.

Apart from his academic and political interests Tay is a poet and author. His 2009 non-fiction book Asia Alone: The Dangerous Post-Crisis Divide from America was reviewed by The Economist and The Financial Times. His novel City of Small Blessings won the 2010 Singapore Literature Prize. His collection of short stories, Stand Alone, was awarded the Highly Commended prize from the National Book Development Council of Singapore Awards.

Education

Tay received an LL.M. from Harvard University as a Fulbright Scholar, where in 1994 he won the Laylin Prize for best graduate paper in Public International Law. He has an LL.B. (Honours) degree from the National University of Singapore.

Personal life

Tay's father was Tay Seow Huah, a senior civil servant in Singapore.

Tay currently resides in Singapore with his wife and son.

Selected Writings

Non-Fiction

• Simon Tay, Asia Alone: The Dangerous Post-Crisis Divide From America, John Wiley and Sons, 2010, ISBN 978-0-470-82582-2
• Simon Tay, Yeo Lay Hwee (eds.), Elections in Asia: Making Democracy Work?, Singapore, 2006, ISBN 9789812104489
• Simon Tay, Jesus P. Estanislao & Hadi Soesastro (eds.), Reinventing ASEAN, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2001 ISBN 981-230-147X
• Simon Tay, Alien Asian: A Singaporean in America, Singapore, 1997, ISBN 9789813065086

Fiction

• Simon Tay, City of Small Blessings, Landmark Books, Singapore, 2009, ISBN 9789814189194
• Simon Tay, Stand Alone, Singapore, 1991, ISBN 9813002417
• Simon Tay, 5, National University of Singapore Press, Singapore, 1985