By Asad Latif When Plato posed at the beginning of the Symposium the question, “Is not the road to Athens just made for conversation?” he made companionship the measure of the destination. Two-and-a-half millennia later, when I turned up at Rasa Sentosa Hotel for the final session of IPS Prism, the argumentative journey to Athens was […]

By Christopher Gee You are in the third row of seats from the front in a stadium. The people in the front row stand to get a better view of the action, and quickly thereafter, those in the second row also stand up in order to see. You also stand to be able to watch the […]

By Devadas Krishnadas Following the Prime Minister’s announcement that we would have a “national conversation”, an “Our Singapore Committee” to “spearhead” this effort has been formed. Two features of this committee immediately sparked comment. First, that a large chunk of the panel was formed by members of the ruling party. Second, not a single member of […]

By Donald Low The National Conversation, announced by the Prime Minister in his National Day Rally in August, has gotten off to an inauspicious start. Criticisms of it have centred on two main themes. The first is that the conversation so far has not been sufficiently representative and that it has not (yet) made a sincere […]

The following is Part 1 of a 2-part feature. You can read Part 2 here. By Christopher Gee Robert Frank in his 2007 book Falling Behind: How Inequality Harms the Middle Class points out that investment in children by parents is a positional good, with such expenditures taking on many of the characteristics of an arms race […]

By Soon Sze Meng Our Singapore Conversation asks ourselves where we should be heading. It is as important to ask ourselves first what makes Singapore home and identify ourselves as being Singaporean. To me, it is about our shared experiences and values. Our shared experiences are the common spaces in this small island where we have […]

By Arun Mahizhnan Here’s an idea to make the National Conversation more national, transparent and effective. The term National Conversation conjures up an expectation that everyone will be involved in this conversation.  All past methods of getting citizens to participate in public consultations had severe limits and outcomes were sub-optimal.  Part of the reason was that […]

By Dr Jeremy Lim These are my reflections after an intense week of discussions with Taiwanese policy makers, doctors, and the quintessential ‘man in the street’ about their healthcare system. Taiwan has been a lightning rod for discussions on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Singapore after academics had expressed concern over its sustainability, with one NUS […]

In his National Day Rally speech, the Prime Minister revealed plans to create an environment conducive for couples to have and raise children.  These measures were targeted at addressing the practical problems that child-rearing couples may face. These are also to “signal where we must change our mindsets and norms…” Among the measures being considered are […]

In his National Day Rally speech, the Prime Minister says he fully understands the concerns of single or unmarried Singaporeans over housing. He says the Ministry for National Development (MND) is looking into addressing these concerns. Currently, singles can only buy resale HDB flats. In the event that there is a policy change, singles may be […]

By Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh China-born Feng Tian Wei’s Olympic table tennis bronze medal has sparked an outcry in this country about what it means to be a true Singaporean. Many Singaporeans say they feel no pride about the country’s first individual Olympic medal in four decades. Yet the problem is not so much that Ms Feng […]

By Lee Yoong Yoong “Finlandisation” is the influence of a dominant country on the policies of its smaller neighbours. It entails a conscious decision by a smaller country to not confront its more powerful neighbour in foreign relations while maintaining national sovereignty. The term originates from Finland’s decision to not challenge the Soviet Union during the […]