Feminists would hope that the White Paper, to be delivered this year to update Singapore’s efforts to fight against gender inequality, would accelerate the radical impetus of change that began with the arrival of the Women’s Charter of 1961. Its rejection of hereditary feudal and colonial forms of sexual order laid the legal foundation of…..

The theme for the IPS Young Singaporeans Conference (YSC) 2020 was “Choices”. Held over three days from 25 November to 27 November, the virtual conference gathered over 100 youths to talk about their choices around life, work, home, and values. Drawing reference from the national pledge, the conference featured a series of webinars that explored […]

At a women’s forum I attended some years ago, Madam Halimah Yacob gave a speech. She recalled that when she first joined politics in 2001, men would come up to her to ask who was looking after her children. “They seem to have forgotten,” she replied wryly, “that I have a husband”. Some years later, […]

The damage to affective ties in a chat group can spill over to the real world and disrupt relationships between neighbours, says Carol Soon from the Institute of Policy Studies. SINGAPORE: An acquaintance of mine recently told me about his experience with his online neighbourhood chat group. He was only two days into joining this […]

The fact that racism is perhaps not overtly visible in Singapore in general has meant that there is considerable discussion of these issues on social media when they surface. In most cases, the racist comments are repudiated quickly by the majority of Singaporeans and netizens. Social media platforms such as Facebook also remove posts deemed […]

SOME years ago, when I was in Washington DC, I visited the Newseum, an institution celebrating journalism and the American First Amendment which protects, among other things, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. I saw the visit as a pilgrimage of sorts. I grew up respecting the ability of words to communicate truth […]

Due to the increased convenience afforded by digital technology, the reading of news has changed, especially for the younger generation. According to the 2019 Reuters Digital News Report, an increasing number of young people apprise themselves of news through platform services. These can come in the form of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, […]

IPS Online, the Institute’s virtual series of seminars on issues related to Singapore’s governance, economy, society and culture, kicked off with the hot topic of the day: the welfare of Singapore’s migrant workers amidst the rising number of Covid-19 infections in the community. The 90-minute forum, moderated by Dr Mathew Mathews, IPS Senior Research Fellow […]

The current circuit breaker measures, while essential from an epidemiological point of view, will have a deep impact on the Singapore economy across the board. Members of the Malay-Muslim community situated at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder are of particular concern. Many from this group were economically vulnerable even before the pandemic began and […]

“Is this your first visit to Pulau Penyengat?” the caretaker of a tomb asked while mopping the floor of the compound. “Yes,” I replied. “Ah! Now you can call yourself a proper Malay!” he chuckled. I left the tomb momentarily confused. About Pulau Penyengat Located off Bintan and a mere 15-minute boat ride (aka pompong) […]

In times of crisis such as the Covid-19 outbreak, trust is essential to bring communities together and ensure that mitigating measures are effective. If people do not trust each other, it would be very tough to deal with the economic, social and emotional challenges created by the pandemic, and even less possible for societies to […]

Careful terminology, community leadership and responsible behaviour online are needed to stem potential anti-PRC sentiments, say the Institute of Policy Studies’ Mathew Mathews and Shane Pereira.   SINGAPORE: Since it was first discovered last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the 2019 novel coronavirus has spread internationally. The rapid proliferation of the virus and […]