Tag: Politics

Escalator at a train station (Photo by Ng Shi Wen)

“Are we OK with the price of not being OK?”: The mental health and well-being of Singaporeans (with former NMP Anthea Ong)

Posted on by guanyinmiao

The links between mental health and well-being and Singapore’s general elections may not be immediately clear. Yet, in GE2020, during a pandemic election which also placed emphasis on how Singaporeans were doing psychologically, many electoral candidates and political parties campaigned on related platforms. With former nominated member of parliament Anthea Ong, we first asked her to assess the current state of mental health and well-being in Singapore. Then, we discuss how these issues may feature in the next general election, after examining recent parliamentary amendments which were made and passed in the Law Enforcement and Other Matters Bill.

A construction site in Singapore

Looking back and looking ahead: Dr. Kenneth Paul Tan on PAP’s governing principles, PM Lawrence Wong, and the next general election

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On May 15, 2024, at the Istana, Singapore’s fourth prime minister Lawrence Wong took his oath of office and was officially sworn in, taking over from prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. This political transition is significant for a host of different reasons, and so, across two episodes, we take a deeper dive with Dr. Kenneth Paul Tan of Hong Kong Baptist University. We look back, and we look ahead. We look back, across Singapore’s first three prime ministers or three generations of leadership. We then look ahead to three potential electoral scenarios for Mr. Wong and his ruling People’s Action Party or PAP.

Patrons at the National Library Board, seated and working around a table

Singapore’s opposition parties: The WP, PSP, SDP, and coalitions of electoral losers (with author Loke Hoe-Yeong)

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About four years ago, in the lead up to GE2020 as well as halfway through the pandemic election, author Loke Hoe-Yeong shared about the electoral strategies of Singapore’s opposition parties. Now, four years later, we’ve invited him back. We start with a brief reflection of GE2020 and its aftermath, before turning most of our attention to three of the main opposition parties in Singapore: the Workers’ Party, the Progress Singapore Party, and the Singapore Democratic Party. And after a quick primer on the NCMP or non-constituency member of parliament scheme, we briefly discuss what Hoe-Yeong describes as the coalitions of electoral losers.

Man smoking while sitting on one side, with a pushcart of hardware equipment on the other side of the photo (Photo by Ng Shi Wen)

“It’s the economy, stupid?”: Inflation, incomes, inequality, and Singapore’s general elections (with Dr. Linda Lim)

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How do the economy and economic conditions influence electoral outcomes, both broadly and in Singapore? What can we understand from Singapore’s ranking as one of the world’s most expensive cities as well as the country’s Consumer Price Index, or the CPI? And if the fundamental root cause of Singapore’s low wages can be attributed to widespread cheap sourcing and the influx of foreign workers from very low-wage neighbouring countries, how do we address that problem?

Before the Ballot cover (Photo by Kelli McClintock)

“Before the Ballot” podcast

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Singapore’s next general election must be held by November 2025, which is still some time away. But whether it is GE2024 or GE2025, with plenty of time and space, we’d like to use the next few months (or the next year) to discuss key election issues with experts and voters. For us, “Before the Ballot” provides that space.