PJ Thum sits down with Tan Jee Say of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) to talk about Singapore’s economy and economic policies, and the SDP’s campaign pledges. This was recorded amidst the heat of campaigning on 6 July 2020 and first broadcast on onlinecitizenasia.com.
Author Archives: Thum Ping Tjin
Thum Ping Tjin (“PJ”) is Managing Director of New Naratif and a historian at the University of Oxford. A Rhodes Scholar, Commonwealth Scholar, Olympic athlete, and the only Singaporean to swim the English Channel, his work centres on Southeast Asian governance and politics. His most recent work is Living with Myths in Singapore (Ethos: 2017, co-edited with Loh Kah Seng and Jack Chia). Reach him at pingtjin.thum@newnaratif.com.
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Meritocracy in Singapore
Last year, Professor Stefano Harney made headlines in Singapore when he gave all 169 business students in his course the same grade. The university called these grades bogus, but Stefano felt the students deserved it and gave them all an A grade.
On this week’s Political Agenda, PJ Thum speaks to Professor Stefano Harney about this incident and what it reveals about meritocracy in Singapore.
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An Interview With Dr Paul Tambyah
On this week’s episode, PJ Thum speaks to Dr Paul Tambyah from the Singapore Democratic Party. They discuss his vision for Singapore, healthcare, the role of non-Singaporeans in the country and other pressing issues. This interview was originally recorded live on The Online Citizen Asia’s Facebook page.
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The Citizens’ Agenda: The Parties Respond
Nearly a year ago, we embarked on the Citizens’ Agenda: our quest to find out what our Singaporean community thinks are the most important issues facing Singapore, and then to write and commission articles on those subjects. Now, with Singapore’s General Election looming, we complete our journey by telling you how the political parties responded to the issues.
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How the Use of POFMA Against Episode 8 Proves I Was Right About POFMA
PJ responds to the POFMA order against Episode 8 by analysing how POFMA was used; notes how the POFMA order did not challenge any of the fundamental conclusions of Episode 8; and demonstrates how its use against Episode 8 proves his arguments correct.
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Political Agenda: Understanding Singapore’s Electoral System
Kokila Annamalai, Ngiam Shih Tung, and Gan Theng Wei sit down with PJ Thum to talk about all the issues surrounding Singapore’s elections, and in particular the ways in which it is not free and unfair. This podcast was recorded in April 2019.
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How do we Educate for a Climate-Crisis World? A Discussion
Feroz Khan and Al Lim, authors of “Educating for a Climate-Crisis World”, talk about our need to transform the fundamental values we teach ourselves and our children in order to adapt to the ongoing climate crisis.
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TraceTogether and the Societal Impact of Citizen Science
PJ Thum speaks to Hallam Stevens and Monamie Bhadra Haines, professors at Nanyang Technological University, about the TraceTogether app, and more broadly about Citizen Science, and the broader societal implications of using such technology to address deeply contentious and difficult political issues.
Posted inPodcast
Freedom of the Media and Expression in Singapore, with Dr James Rowlins
PJ Thum speaks about freedom of expression and the media in Singapore with Dr James Rowlins, previously a lecturer in film and media studies at the Singapore University of Technology and Design from 2012 to 2018.
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How Bad Laws Are Created and Abused in Singapore (A POFMA Case Study)
PJ uses POFMA as a case study to demonstrate how Singapore’s People’s Action Party government writes poorly worded laws that give themselves immense amounts of power, while misleading the Singaporean people by saying the laws will be used responsibly and for good purposes but then using the law chiefly to silence critics and suppress opposition.