SMU Associate Professor of English Literature and Director of the Wee Kim Wee Centre Kirpal Singh were among the guests who graced a book launch held by the Singapore Soka Association (SSA) at the SSA Headquarters Building. The book titled A tribute to the Lion City: The Jewel of Southeast Asia, is a compilation of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) President Daisaku Ikeda’s essays and poems. In his speech, Associate Prof Kirpal Singh spoke on Mr Ikeda’s struggles for peace and described his achievements as a kind of beacon, a shining light from the land of Japan. Associate Prof Singh also announced that SMU and SSA is scheduled to jointly hold an international seminar to discuss the SGI President’s peace philosophy next year, which drew a resounding applause from the audience