With PhD student Joel Yew (The University of Texas at Austin), we discuss the record number of vacancies in parliament as well as his research on the parliamentary representation of marginalised communities in Singapore. We also briefly explore the political and electoral aftermath of the government’s repeal of Section 377A of the penal code. Joel was previously on this podcast in 2020, sharing about CAPE, or the Community for Advocacy and Political Education.
With Alfian Sa’at and Ng Kah Gay, we have a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening conversation about the arts and publishing vis-à-vis civic engagement and political participation in Singapore. What does it mean to be challenged with the unfamiliar? How do we provoke more conversation and action through artistic modalities? And how do we make sense of censorship, self-censorship, and pushback, while accounting for the interdependence of individuals, society, and the state?
GST hikes, inflation, and high HDB resale prices. Wherever you go in Singapore, you can’t miss the hottest topic nowadays: the rising cost of living. If you tak boleh tahan, that’s understandable. But what can Singaporeans do about it? Today, we’re joined by three organisers, Kokila from Workers Make Possible and the Transformative Justice Collective, Kumarr from Workers Make Possible, and Adi from Workers Make Possible and NTU Financial Aid Friends, to talk about how Singaporeans can make their voices heard on these issues.
The trio are part of Manifestival, a joint effort by various civil society organisations and independent media platforms to encourage democratic, public discussion on important issues that matter to all of us in Singapore. We ask them about how Manifestival came about, the three townhall series that Manifestival has organised in the past months, and their takeaways from having ordinary Singaporeans share their honest thoughts in such public spaces.
With Isaac James Neo, we preview the 2023 episodes for our “Civic Engagement and Action” mini-series, where we have conversations about expanding communities and spaces for sustained civic engagement and political participation.
On this podcast, I’ve traditionally featured the research and social work and projects of others. I make a small exception today, because I want to share about two recent research journal articles I’ve published, which, I think, in an interesting fashion, draws from earlier episodes I produced for past seasons of this socialservice.sg podcast.
socialservice.sg 