“See you in court” are four favourite words of the government. They are also the four dreaded words of the people. Many citizens have been sued – and bankrupted – by the government over the years, including by all three prime ministers. Now, facing criticism that the proposed fake news legislation gives ministers unprecedented sweeping powers to determine what is …

The Singapore government doesn’t do things in small measures. This much we know. The proposed fake news laws, when enacted, will be the most sweeping and far reaching in the world. When government ministers get to play judge and jury over what is fake and what is true, their power is sweeping and the effect chilling. Under the proposed news …

It depends on who you ask. To vlogger Nuseir Yassin, creator of the video series Nas Daily, Singapore is the “almost perfect country.” So resplendent is Singapore to him that he announced last week that he is moving here with his girlfriend. He is seeing Singapore through the eyes of a foreigner who fell in love with the country, and …

With Ho Ching stepping down as chairman of Temasek International from 1 April, there are those who speculate that the time might come for her to finally relinquish her all-powerful position as CEO of parent company Temasek Holdings, a role she has held for 15 years. Such conjecture may be premature. It could yet be another red herring. A decade …

The government narrative for decades was that HDB flats would continue to grow in value, giving Singaporeans peace of mind as a golden retirement nest egg. Without warning nor apology, the narrative has switched to old HDB flats not growing in value but STILL having value. Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat has given the analogy of a 25-year-old Singaporean buying …

The phasing out of streaming has been met with approval and applause from the mainstream media, educators, education experts and PAP politicians. They all say it is long overdue. But parents and the Opposition have long been calling for streaming to be down away with. So the question should be, why has it taken so long for the sacred cow …

The “Ah Gong, Ah Seng” story told by Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah perfectly illustrates how the People’s Action Party treats the citizens of Singapore. After decades of unfettered one-party rule, the PAP sees itself as “Ah Gong” and the rest of the country as “Ah Seng.” The PAP as “Ah Gong” decides its own set of rules while …

In the name of meritocracy, the son of Lee Kuan Yew became Prime Minister. In the name of meritocracy, the wife of the Prime Minister became Temasek CEO. And meritocracy it was that led to the personal lawyer of the Prime Minister becoming Attorney-General, and a PAP Member of Parliament becoming Deputy Attorney-General. Meritocracy has also paved the way for …

Not once but twice in one day Chan Chun Sing took the mickey out of Singaporeans. No conflict of interest, declared the Minister-in-Charge of the Civil Service last Thursday, on the appointment of the spouse of a political office holder as Auditor-General. Goh Soon Poh, wife of Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How, took over as Auditor-General …

Announcing a reduction in the foreign worker quota and S-Pass worker ratio for the services sector, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said: “Relying on more and more foreign workers is not the long-term solution.” The Minister spoke as if it were an epiphany, a brilliant assessment that he has come up with when in truth, this was the exact same …