
socialservice.sg presents: "Before the Ballot"
"Before the Ballot" is a podcast series focused on Singapore's next general election, co-hosted by Isaac Neo and Jin Yao Kwan. socialservice.sg is a website, podcast, and newsletter dedicated to social service research, practice, and policies in Singapore.
Cover art photo by Kelli McClintock on Unsplash.
Latest episodes

Mar 2, 2021 • 44min
“Mind the Chasm”: The pandemic’s devastatingly uneven impact and the insecurities of low-income families across multiple, intersecting dimensions
This month, in the same week that the Department of Statistics revealed that households in the bottom 10 per cent were the group hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, with their monthly total earnings from work falling by 6.1 per cent, Beyond Social Services published its "Mind the Chasm" report (https://beyondresearch.sg/mind-the-chasm-covid-19-deepening-inequalities-in-singapore/). Beyond documented deep decreases to household incomes from work among low-income families. Among the applicants to Beyond's COVID-19 Family Assistance Fund, they found that as a result of the pandemic:
Median household income from work dropped by 69 per cent;
Median per capita income dropped by 74 per cent; and
35 per cent of the applicants had their household incomes drop to nothing.
With the research team, we discuss how the report informs Singapore’s discourse on poverty and inequality, the plight of low-income families experiencing insecurities across multiple intersecting dimensions, as well as their three policy recommendations and proposed policy directions. Dr. Stephanie Chok is lead author and an independent researcher, and community worker Suraendher Kumarr provided research assistance to the report.
Resources referenced in the episode:
The DBS report, "Same storm, different boat: Impact of COVID-19 on financial wellness in Singapore"
Lien Centre for Social Innovation's study on food insecurity
My review of Singapore's first nationwide street count on homelessness
My conversation with Dr. Chok and Kumarr is part of our joint 2021 focus on researchers as well as on civil society groups, efforts, and issues in Singapore (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

Feb 28, 2021 • 28min
Macro inequality and mobility trends, felt inequality, and the case for a healthy degree of equality of outcomes: PhD candidate Nathan Peng Li
The Singaporean discourse on poverty and inequality is advancing, and while he argues that Singapore has done better than most under meritocratic systems, PhD candidate Nathan Peng Li also details both causes for hope and worry. He first explains that macro-level trends of inequality and mobility have been stable in Singapore. Next, we discuss concepts of “pragmatic meritocracy” and “time two meritocracy” and how they relate to “felt inequality”.
Finally, he makes the case for “a healthy degree of equality of outcomes”. That is achieved, in his telling, when “children of lower-income families can reasonably compete against their better-off peers without the same level of private resources at their disposal”. He adds: “Outcomes must be at least equal enough that children from different backgrounds can identify with each other as members of the same society”.
Nathan is a recipient of Singapore Management University’s overseas PhD scholarship and is currently a fourth-year graduate candidate at the University of British Columbia, in the political science department.
Resources referenced in the episode:
Nathan’s paper, “Inequality and the social compact in Singapore: Macro trends versus lived realities”
The Ministry of Finance occasional paper
socialservice.sg’s January 2021 book club on Michael J. Sandel’s “The Tyranny of Merit”
My review of the paper on how debt reduction improves psychological functioning and changes decision making in Singapore
My conversation with Nathan is part of our 2021 focus on researchers in Singapore (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

Feb 27, 2021 • 27min
The Birthday Collective: Going beyond the essay-writing crowd and holding conversational space upon uncommon ground
What started as a published collection of stories to coincide with Singapore's National Day has now evolved into "The Birthday Collective" (https://thebirthdaycollective.org/), a not-for-profit that creates and holds space for conversations that matter to the country. With its editor Cherie Tseng, we discuss the collective’s initiatives beyond the “essay-writing crowd”, the value of giving conversational seats to children and centring their voices, and the importance of meeting communities and individuals where they are. We conclude on what she means by the “uncommon ground” and the collective’s plans for the future.
Cherie is chief operations officer at a local fintech company and a mother of three.
My conversation with Cherie is part of our 2021 focus on civil society groups, efforts, and issues in Singapore (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

Feb 22, 2021 • 38min
The history of the making of youth - and the history of the present - in youth-conscious, youth-centred Singapore: PhD candidate Edgar Liao
Final-year PhD candidate in the University of British Columbia’s Department of History Edgar Liao studies the history of youth in Singapore. His work is informed both by his archival work and his previous experience as a volunteer and youth leader in the youth work scene in the country. After helping us understand the theoretical (Foucauldian) concepts he employs, Edgar explains how Singapore’s youth policies as well as patterns of inclusion and exclusion inform the history of the present. He describes a dualistic discourse: Of the Singapore state empowering youths with resources for development, while scrutinising and policing their activity and activism at the same time.
Edgar specialises in the global history of childhood and youth and the history of the Cold War, imperialism, and decolonisation in twentieth-century South East Asia.
My conversation with Edgar is part of our 2021 focus on researchers in Singapore (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

Feb 20, 2021 • 28min
“Hard at Work: Life in Singapore”: Prof. Gerard Sasges on the book’s conceptualisation and the power of interviewing and stories
“Hard at Work: Life in Singapore” (https://nuspress.nus.edu.sg/products/hard-at-work-life-in-singapore) is a collection of 60 stories, of people in contemporary Singapore talking about their work and life. With author Prof. Gerard Sasges, we discussed how he conceptualised the book and discussed the important elements of interviewing and ethnography. We also explored significant themes which emerged. "Hard at Work" was shortlisted for the 2020 Singapore Literature Prize and was a finalist for "Best Non-Fiction Title" at the 2020 Singapore Book Awards.
Prof. Sasges received a PhD from UC Berkeley in 2006. In 2012 he joined the National University of Singapore (NUS) where he is an associate professor in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies. The book was co-authored with Ng Shi Wen, a photographer, educator, and chronicler of everyday life. She is the founder of Photo Rikiki and has taught at NUS and the School of the Arts, Singapore.
My conversation with Prof. Sasges is part of our 2021 focus on researchers in Singapore (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

Feb 4, 2021 • 33min
AWARE’s “Saga” podcast: Conceptualisation, production, and challenges
I am a huge fan of the “Saga” (https://aware.org.sg/saga/) podcast, which documents the saga surrounding gender-equality group AWARE, the Association of Women for Action and Research. Themes from the 2009 saga, poignantly highlighted across the 12 episodes, are still relevant in 2021 Singapore. Because I am a podcast junkie, speaking with Kelly Leow and Jasmine Ng, writers and producers of “Saga”, was my chance to learn about how they conceptualised and produced the podcast as well as the many challenges they faced.
My conversation with Kelly and Jasmine is part of our 2021 focus on civil society groups, efforts, and issues in Singapore (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

Feb 4, 2021 • 27min
SchemesSG: A searchable, indexable directory of aid and assistance schemes in Singapore
With so many aid and assistance schemes scattered across organisations, ministries, and institutions, how should social workers and volunteers identify the most relevant ones for the individuals and communities with whom they work? In response, Tan Weilie created SchemesSG (https://schemes.sg/), a searchable, indexable directory of schemes in Singapore. We hear more about how he got started with a minimum viable product and his own list, before we appeal to you, our listeners, to contribute to his crowdsourcing request.
Weilie explained in his publicity Facebook post that the long-term vision is to have schemes curated and delivered conversationally, such that any user could type in “My client is a 45-year-old man with a 76-year-old chronically ill parent”, and relevant results would be generated.
My conversation with Weilie is part of our 2021 focus on civil society groups, efforts, and issues in Singapore (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

Feb 4, 2021 • 25min
On the researcher’s privileged position, community partnerships, data and research advocacy: Postdoctoral fellow Rayner Tan
Postdoctoral fellow Rayner Tan, at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health in the National University of Singapore, studies substance use, recovery from addiction, and trauma as risk factors for substance use disorders in Singapore. Because his research projects involve and centre on the community groups with whom he works, we talk about his community partnerships and the structural challenges communities face when trying to do research. We conclude on the importance of data and research advocacy in the country.
My conversation with Rayner is part of our 2021 focus on researchers in Singapore (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

Dec 15, 2020 • 20min
Gift for Good: Galvanising in-kind donations and completing wishes in Singapore
Gift for Good (giftforgood.io) is an online in-kind donations platform connecting non-profits to donors. Run by a team of students from the National University of Singapore Developer Student Club (previously featured on this podcast), it hopes to galvanise in-kind donations towards a more generous Singapore. Today, we speak to business head Yeo Qin-Liang and tech head Marcus Koh about Gift for Good and their plans for the future.

Dec 11, 2020 • 43min
"PAP v PAP": Cherian George and Donald Low on balancing elite governance and democratic deliberation in Singapore
Today, we are joined by professors Cherian George and Donald Low, to talk about their bestselling book, "PAP v PAP: The Party's struggle to adapt to a changing Singapore" (purchase the book via Epigram bookstore or the audiobook via Storytel). We discussed the balance between elite governance and democratic deliberation, the phenomena of elite reproduction and overproduction, and how the book can be a starting point for political and policy conversations in Singapore.
Our episode with Prof. Kenneth Paul Tan, on neoliberal globalisation and political authoritarianism (as well as pragmatism and technocracy), was referenced in this episode.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.