socialservice.sg presents: "Before the Ballot"

Today, we are joined by journalist-turned-political commentator and professor Bertha Henson, to talk about her new book, "GE2020: Fair or Foul?" (purchase the book via Epigram Bookstore). We will first discuss her case for the People's Action Party (PAP) to level the electoral playing field and to increase the nine-day campaign period. She then evaluates the PAP backbenchers and the 4G leadership. We previously interviewed her on this podcast, on election reporting and her assessment of the GE2020 campaign.

BeTheWire (https://www.facebook.com/BeTheWire/) is a ground-up initiative which produces accessible and guided bite-sized videos and posts so as to equip, educate, and empower persons of all abilities to bridge the digital divide. The topics include digital literacy, communication platforms, as well as e-shopping and e-payment. We speak with founder Bryan Neo, who wishes to spread the word to more social workers and friends, focused on equipping individuals with digital lifeskills for the long haul. In addition, he envisions partnerships with agencies to work with community members in the initial phases.

The National University of Singapore Developer Student Club, or the DSC (https://dsc.comp.nus.edu.sg/), is a community of university students focused on developing diverse solutions for non-profit organisations in Singapore. We ask Shawn Ten, a final year NUS undergraduate - who was co-founder and internal lead - about the beginnings of the club, its projects, and expectations for the future.

Today, we speak with two law students from the National University of Singapore, co-founders of the online resource platform, COV-AID (nus-covaid.com). Given the emergence of laws, regulations, and legal issues throughout the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, COV-AID seeks to make the complex, simple, by offering information about government grants, legislation related to COVID-19, as well as frequently asked questions. At COV-AID, co-founders Anders Seah and Mark Tang lead an executive committee and manage a larger team of volunteers. They share their motivations, the process of writing and editing to ensure both accuracy and comprehensibility, and the team's plans for the future.

Throughout GE2020 and in its aftermath, the minimum wage and the Progressive Wage Model - or the PWM - have emerged as key policy proposals, even if the discourse is not new. At least five opposition parties have proposed a minimum wage or a living wage, and in response the ruling party promised to extend the PWM to more industries, beyond the cleaning, security, and landscape sectors. A central concern, nevertheless, is the persistence of poor wages for low-income Singaporeans. Today, we speak to economist Professor Linda Lim of the University of Michigan, understanding and comparing the minimum wage and Singapore's PWM (both described as "second-best policies"), addressing common objections to the minimum wage, as well as concluding on the challenge of low-wage labour. Prof. Lim's research focuses on the political economy of multinational and local business in South East Asia. She is also one of the editors of Academia.SG, a website maintained by a group of Singaporean academics to promote Singapore studies and to encourage critical debate about the state of intellectual life in Singapore.

The Nine Days is a socialservice.sg podcast covering the 2020 general election in Singapore (#GE2020), through daily five-minute news summaries, conversations with young voters, and interviews with academics and experts. A day after Polling Day, this is a special episode of the five takeaways from GE2020, in five minutes and five words: Mandate, leader, consolidation, COVID-19, and weathering.

The Nine Days is a socialservice.sg podcast covering the 2020 general election in Singapore (#GE2020), through daily five-minute news summaries, conversations with young voters, and interviews with academics and experts. It’s Day 9 of GE2020, the eve of Cooling-Off Day, Silver Linings in a Post-GE2020 Singapore.

In “What can we learn?”, we chat with academics and experts to understand the election through more analytical lenses. Three weeks ago, I asked veteran journalist Bertha Henson about her experience of reporting an election and the election issues to which she is paying attention. Today, on the eve of Cooling-Off Day, we ask her how GE2020 compares to past general elections, how she’s been following the election, as well as what she thought of the overall campaign.

The Nine Days is a socialservice.sg podcast covering the 2020 general election in Singapore (#GE2020), through daily five-minute news summaries, conversations with young voters, and interviews with academics and experts. It’s Day 8 of GE2020, The Sengkang Spotlight. In five minutes, hear about how Sengkang GRC is a microcosm of the GE2020 campaign.

The Nine Days is a socialservice.sg podcast covering the 2020 general election in Singapore (#GE2020), through daily five-minute news summaries, conversations with young voters, and interviews with academics and experts. It’s Day 7 of GE2020, The Issues, Please?. In five minutes, hear about how Singaporeans are clamouring for the campaign to focus on more substantive issues, and the ruling PAP's continued campaign for a strong mandate.