Nearly 50 years after its original publication, this extended essay on Raffles reads as fresh and relevant. Presented here for a new audience, Schemer or Reformer sets out the key elements of the debate in understanding Raffles' own political philosophy through the record of his actions, not just in Singapore, but in Southeast Asia in the years just before and after Singapore's foundation. A new introduction by Syed Farid Alatas assesses contemporary Singapore's take on Raffles, and how far we have or have not come in thinking through Singapore's colonial legacy.

1. Raffles, Thomas Stamford, Sir, 1781-1826. 2. Colonial administrators ? Singapore ? Biography. 3. Colonial administrators ? Great Britain ? Biography. 4. Singapore ? History ? 20th century.