CMIO

Uncategorized

I think one of the most important things Singapore will need to do in the coming years and decades is wean itself off the CMIO (Chinese-Malay-Indian-Other) framework. The CMIO framework may perhaps have been necessary in the post-war nation-building years (this is disputable), but it is increasingly irrelevant as we head towards SG100. We live […]

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2050

Uncategorized

I don’t believe that the CMIO framework will remain relevant. Singapore’s long term future has to involve welcoming the best and brightest from the region, and the world. There has to be something more compelling than “Singapore is safe and clean and you can make a lot of money” in order for Singapore to not […]

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conversation

Uncategorized

Saw this ad a while back and was thinking about how there was a Singapore Conversation years ago. What was that about? What did that end up leading to?

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Government


Chenghu

This is a work-in-progress. What is an election? An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Public office can mean many different things. In Singapore we elect Members of Parliament, that’s it. And we elect our President. That’s it. (In the US, for example, they […]

November 6, 2016

Censorship


censorship

– 1 – [–]NO_LAH_WHERE_GOT 6 points 3 hours ago Anti-censorship folks are usually intellectual, educated types who can think critically, sniff out BS, analyze intent and so on. If you spend any time on the Facebook comments sections of any of our news organizations, though, it becomes clear that lots of people are troublingly impressionable. […]

November 3, 2016

Deepavali Beef Promotion


Race

A friend asked me for my thoughts on this – was it insensitive, or is it stirred out of proportion? insensitive is an interesting word haha i think i’d describe it as tone deaf, or a faux pas an apology is fine “stirred out of proportion” is also an interesting question what is the appropriate […]

November 3, 2016

Is National Service Necessary?


National Service

I’d love to live in an ideal world where NS isn’t necessarily. Unfortunately, we don’t, and so 2 years of my time (+ reservist… I have a low-key ICT in two weeks, sian…) went to the State. I wish it weren’t necessary, but I appreciate that it is. Beyond that, I continue to respect and […]

October 21, 2016

90 percent home ownership rate


infrastructure

/u/doc-tom 90 percent of Singaporeans do not own their homes. We have a 90 percent home ownership rate which means that 90 percent of the residential units are owner-occupied, not 90 percent of Singaporeans own homes. The technical definition of home ownership rate is the percentage of homes that are owner-occupied, not the percentage of […]

October 15, 2016

Singapore is Deeply Concerned


media

12-Sep-2011: “Singapore was “deeply concerned” that Australia’s actions would set a precedent ”seen to allow other coastal states … to encroach on the right of free passage as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea”.” 18-Jun-2013: Minister Vivian Balakrishnan was “deeply concerned” that the 113 hot spots detected over Sumatra yesterday had […]

October 14, 2016

#SexInSmallSpaces


Dating, Love, Sex & Babies, politicians

I think every couple should have the opportunity to experience having a home all to themselves, at least for a year or so. If you’re expecting a child before you have a place of your own, then you will never know the joy of being uninterrupted in your own space. That’s a damn shame. In […]

October 13, 2016

Amy Cheong [2012]


Race

Originally posted on Poached Magazine. “It is what you might call The New Intolerance, a new but intense desire to gag uncomfortable voices of dissent. ‘I am not intolerant’, say many people; say many softly spoken, highly-educated, liberal-minded people: ‘I am only intolerant of intolerance’. And people tend to nod sagely and say ‘Oh, Wise […]

July 15, 2016