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In 1965, when newly independent Singapore was attempting to assert its non-communist and multi-ethnic identity, Singapore faced two problems. First, the threat of revolutionary politics from the Pe…

#singapore #diplomacy #foreign policy #china #indonesia #southeast asia

Blighted by a decade of crises, challenged by other global actors and plagued by Covid-19, the metrosexual European Union now stumbles on the catwalk of global diplomacy. Whither its trendsetting allure from the early 2000s?

#eu #europeanunion #brussels #superpower #international relations #metrosexual #global affairs #diplomacy

This piece was published in the Global Issue Print Edition (Volume 10) Introduction Fire, fury, and fervor engulfed Phnom Penh in January 2003. The Thai embassy and Thai establishments in the …

Emotional behaviour is an essential part of how states communicate what matters to them and their identity, and it has important consequences for the strategies state actors adopt and the manner in which they interact with each other.

#diplomacy #international relations #southeast asia #emotions #emotional labour #thailand #cambodia

How a 2011 biopic politicizes the private persona of former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

#politics #uk #history #culture #film #movie #biopic #theironlady #margaret thatcher #persona #public #private #personal

A look into the ‘most intimidating’ prime ministerial prop of the 20th century

“Of course, I am obstinate in defending our liberties and our law. That is why I carry a big handbag.” – Lady Thatcher, former U.K. Prime Minister (1997)

#politics #history #fashion #style #culture #margaret thatcher #handbag #semiotics

President Trump may reign like King Donald based on the unitary executive theory — but ‘We the People’ can rein him in.

#wethepeople #imperial presidency #trump administration #united states #democracy #politics #government #checks and balances #separation of powers #civil society #election

Passion for equality. Racial divisions. Judicialization of politics. How far do these characterize LGBTQ+ activism in the United States?

To what extent are Alexis de Tocqueville’s observations about Democracy in America, which were made in the nineteenth century, relevant today with respect to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and plus (LGBTQ+) activist movement in the United States?

#justice #queer #equality #united states #supreme court #lgbtq #democracy in america #alexis de tocqueville #politics #liberty #race #intersectionality #activitism

Why is it controversial how we label the people that toilets are supposed to serve? What would be the best way to resolve that controversy?

#equality #gender neutral #transgender

Why is it controversial how we label the people that toilets are supposed to serve? Would the best way to resolve that controversy just to leave it up to individuals to decide which toilet to use?

#bathroombills #gender neutral #gender #trans #socialchange #ethics

Senior Minister of State Dr Janil Puthucheary recently spoke to Tembusu College, NUS, students at the invitation of Tembusu’s public policy interest group Polity. Bryan Kwa recounts the confab, recollects the rhetoric, and reflects on the points raised.

#singapore #politics #governement

Paralympic Medallist and Pink Dot 2017 Ambassador Theresa Goh recently spoke to Tembusu College, NUS, students at the invitation of tFreedom, a community in Tembusu that aims to build a diverse and inclusive college. Bryan Kwa covers Theresa’s story of self-acceptance and her fight for greater societal acceptance of both persons with disability and LGBT persons.

#lgbtq #singapore #queer #disability #sexuality #activism #paralympic #pinkdot

Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leon Perera recently spoke to Tembusu College, NUS, students at the invitation of Tembusu’s public policy interest group Polity. Bryan Kwa reports and reflects on Mr Perera’s take on how to build a resilient Singapore that would stand the test of time.

#singapore #politics #democracy #debate #disagreement #parliament

Should You Worry About Negative Interest Rates?

SIX-SIX News

16 MARCH 2016

By Bryan Kwa

Penalty for saving. Incentive for borrowing. This is at odds with the common wisdom of saving for rainy days and spending within your means. Yet this is the gist of a new financial phenomenon sweeping through many rich countries: negative interest rates.

An increasing number of central banks are embracing negative interest rates, including those of Japan, Switzerland and the euro zone. Why this unorthodox monetary policy?

“The European Central Bank (ECB), Bank Of Japan (BOJ) and Swiss National Bank (SNB) as well as several other European central banks are setting negative interest rates for certain types of bank deposits in order to provide further stimulus to their weak economies and to encourage bank lending," Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific Chief Economist, IHS Global Insight, told SIX-SIX News.

These negative interest rates policies have no impact on the average borrower because negative interest rates only apply to banks that keep money with the central bank, CIMB Private Banking economist Song Seng Wun told SIX-SIX News. "At the bank level, for consumers or businesses, there will still be a small charge except they will be very close to zero," he said.

Meanwhile, Biswas said "very low" interest rates have pushed down bank mortgage rates to "very low" levels, which has encouraged investors to use mortgages to buy residential real estate in these markets. However, he cautioned "over-leveraged investors could face difficulties if interest rates should rise significantly in future."

Will It Spur Growth?

Will negative interest rates be effective in spurring economic growth?“It all boils down to confidence. Banks will only lend if they think the customer is going to pay back," said Song.

Biswas pointed out the BOJ has had a "very loose" monetary policy for "many years", but it has not led to sustained strong growth because economic growth is constrained by Japan’s declining population and the high level of government debt. He also highlighted that in the eurozone, economic growth has also been "weak" since the global financial crisis due to high levels of unemployment and significant government fiscal tightening in many countries to reduce high fiscal deficits and control government debt.

“Ultra-loose monetary policy has its limitations if overall demand is weak and if there is excess capacity in key sectors of the economy," Biswas said.

Song pointed out that it also reflects a lack of confidence in alternative assets, adding that a lack of confidence is bad for Singapore, which thrives on global growth and economic activities across many areas.

"If there is such lack of confidence, it means the underlying global growth will ― and may I say ― disappoint, and Singapore is all about riding on global growth,” Song said.

It Could Result In Slower Job Creation

Song added that slower demand for local goods and services ultimately translates into slower job creation in Singapore. According to the Ministry of Manpower, total employment in 2015 is estimated to have increased by 0.9%, which would be the lowest year-on-year growth since 2003.

However, Biswas said that the efforts of the BOJ and various European central banks to provide further stimulus to their economy may have "some marginal positive impact" on growth in Japan and the eurozone, which may have a "slight positive impact" on Singapore’s exports to these countries.

Still, Biswas noted that global economic headwinds from the Chinese economic slowdown and "widespread weakness in many emerging markets" is a "greater negative factor" which has kept Singapore’s manufacturing sector in recession during 2015 and early 2016.

While interest rates are on the decline in other parts of the world, they have risen here. The three-month Singapore interbank offered rate (Sibor) has doubled to 1.25% in the past 12 months. The Sibor refers to the interest rate at which banks lend to each other.

Song pointed out that unlike Japan, Switzerland or the eurozone, Singapore does not run an interest rate policy. Instead, Singapore runs an exchange rate policy because it is a "fully open small economy" without much resource so "everything essentially is imported".

He explained the central banks either set the interest rate or the exchange rate. While the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) adjusts the local exchange rate, the local interest rate is adjusted by market conditions ― so it is dependent on whether money comes into Singapore or leaves Singapore.

Too Much Money

"We don’t get negative interest rates unless we get so much money coming in, treating Singapore as a safe haven," Song said.

Describing negative interest rates in Singapore as "very, very rare", Song noted the last time Singapore saw interest rates briefly in negative territory was in August 2011 when a lot of money came into Singapore after Standard & Poor's downgraded the United States sovereign paper.

"If we have negative interest rates in Singapore, it’s due to severe stress in economies in other parts of the world. Singapore is in a region where it is still vulnerable to downside risk in global growth. A lot of money is still flowing out of this region so that’s why the interest rate has basically moved up,” Song said.

#SIX-SIX News #business #economy #central bank #negative interest rates

Singapore emerging as a hub for Asian contemporary art

Yahoo Newsroom

26 January 2016

By Bryan Kwa

Singapore is emerging as a hub for Asian contemporary artists as more of them shift their focus to the region, according to a London-based art curator.

Niru Ratnam, director of Prudential Eye Programme, told Yahoo Singapore that the Prudential Eye Awards 2016, held in conjunction with the recently concluded Singapore Art Week, underlined the growing importance of Singapore as a world-class venue for contemporary Asian art.

“The Awards brings together artists from across Asia. For instance, this year we have artists from China, Bangladesh, Japan and Cambodia, among other countries, so you really have to choose somewhere that has a regional significance as Singapore does,” said Ratnam.

More infrastructure and spaces in Singapore have also been put in place to support the growth of the regional arts scene, he added, citing the new National Gallery Singapore and Gillman Barracks.

“It’s super-important to have a combination of commercial galleries, such as the ones in Gillman Barracks, for example, with non-commercial spaces such as the National Gallery or non-commercial ventures such as the Prudential Eye Awards. Artists need both sorts of spaces in order to thrive.”

Complementing the hardware development is the comprehensive approach by Singapore’s authorities to promote arts education, said Thai artist Sakarin Krue-On, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Awards.

Such a strategy will boost the understanding and appreciation of Asian contemporary art, further embellishing Singapore’s reputation as an arts hub, he added.

The shifting trends of arts appreciation in Asia are also bolstering Singapore’s aim to be the foremost venue to showcase regional contemporary works.

Douwe Cramer, show director of the inaugural Singapore Contemporary Art Show, which ended on Sunday (24 January), said higher disposable income, rising popularity of art investment and stronger official support have fuelled the growth of the Asian arts market in recent years.

“In Hong Kong, we have expats who are more interested in buying Chinese art. In South-East Asia, we have expats who are interested in buying South-East Asian art. We see interest from locals too,” Cramer told Yahoo Singapore.

Asian artists have also risen in stature among art lovers and investors due to their globalised outlook, said Ratnam. They no longer need to seek appreciation for their works from the traditional arts capitals like New York, London and Paris as this can be achieved in regional hubs like Singapore, he added.

“Now Asian contemporary artists are confident enough not to necessarily need that validation. They confidently combine an international language of contemporary art with local, specific nuances,” said Ratnam.

Singapore’s growing reputation as a hub for Asian contemporary arts has allowed local artists to exhibit their works to a wider audience. Among them is Robert Zhao, who was nominated for the Best Emerging Artist Using Photography Award at the Prudential Eye Awards.

“It’s a great time to be an artist in Singapore now and I enjoy a lot of arts that is happening in Singapore,” said Zhao.

The Prudential Eye Awards Exhibition 2016 showcases 15 emerging contemporary artists from Asia. It will be held until 27 March 2016 at the Marina Bay Sands’ ArtScience Museum.

Trust in Singapore government rises after 3-year decline: survey

Yahoo Newsroom

25 January 2016 By Bryan Kwa

Trust in the government of Singapore has risen after declining for three consecutive years, a survey by public relations firm Edelman has found.

The 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer, the firm’s 16th annual trust and credibility survey, found that 74 per cent of the general population in Singapore trust the government. This is an increase of four percentage points from the previous year’s result. Globally, trust in government rose by one percentage point from 2015 to 2016.

In the past three years, the survey found a decline in Singaporeans’ trust with their government, from 82 per cent in 2013 to 70 per cent in 2015. The trend reversal comes after the ruling People’s Action Party scored a landslide victory in the 2015 General Election – after losing two by-elections and a Group Representation Constituency in the 2011 General Election. The survey was conducted last October.

Dr Tan Ern Ser, Associate Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore, is “not surprised” that trust in the government of Singapore went up “given the PAP government’s significant response to the various hot button issues of GE2011, be it housing, transport, or healthcare,” he told Yahoo Singapore.

Dr Tan, who was not involved in the survey, said there is “some correlation obviously” between the survey result and that of GE2015. “Many have attributed it in part to SG50, and the passing of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, in addition to the slew of measures, such as the Pioneer Generation Package, MediShield Life, income ceiling for HDB eligibility, etc. In hindsight, the election results were not surprising.”

‘Inequality of trust’

The survey found that the informed public is more optimistic about the future than the mass population. Globally, 55 per cent of the informed public believe they and their families will be better off in five years’ time as compared to 47 per cent of the mass population.

In Singapore, 52 per cent of the informed public believe they and their families will be better off in five years’ time as compared to 46 per cent of the mass population.

Informed public is defined in the survey as those who are aged 25 to 64, college-educated and whose household income is in the top 25 percent for their age in their country. This group also has significant media consumption and engagement in business news and public policy.

Dr Tan reckoned that the informed public is more optimistic “because they have some confidence that Singapore can overcome the challenges, just as it had done so in the past, and given that the Government has a game plan to help Singapore and Singaporeans remain relevant.”

He added, “Also, being highly educated, they believe that they have the capacity and potential to remain employable.”

“As for the mass public, there could be some concern about not being able to upgrade themselves fast enough to stay relevant and cope with the high cost of living,” he said.

In general, the trust gap between the informed public and mass population is 12 percentage points, the largest ever in the survey’s history. While trust levels among informed public are the highest ever, they are below 50 per cent for the mass population in over 60 per cent of the countries surveyed, having barely moved since the Great Recession.

The trust disparity has widened and is now at double-digit levels in more than half of the countries surveyed. In the Asia-Pacific, the largest divides are in India (16 points) and Australia (16 points), followed by China (11 points).

“We are now observing the inequality of trust around the world. This brings a number of potential consequences including the rise of populist politicians, the blocking of innovation and the onset of protectionism and nativism,” said Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman.

According to the firm, the widening gulf is directly linked to income inequality in several APAC countries with India (22 points), Singapore (17 points) and Japan (17 points) exhibiting the largest disparities.

Opportunity for business to lead change

Trust in business increased in eight of the nine Asia-Pacific countries surveyed, with trust in business highest in Indonesia (71 per cent), China (70 per cent) and India (69 per cent).

Businesses therefore have a strong opportunity to lead change in the Asian region, said the firm. 60 per cent of the general population in Singapore trust business – an increase from the previous result of 57 per cent in 2015.

Societal expectations for businesses vary, however, with protecting and improving the environment being the most important in China, South Korea and Japan and access to healthcare being the most important in India and Hong Kong.

Access to education and training is the most important issue for business to address in Singapore.

The 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer surveyed more than 33,000 respondents across 28 countries.

Construction supervisor reminisces life back home through poetry

Yahoo Newsroom

14 December 2015

By Bryan Kwa

While 38-year-old Zakir Hossain Khokon, a Bangladeshi construction supervisor who arrived in Singapore in 2003, battles the social exclusion he faces as a migrant worker, he also channels his thoughts on how he misses his family back home in Dhaka through poetry.

His poem, written in his native language of Bengali, talks of how he draws a portrait of the people he’s missing and hangs it on the wall. “Then I talk to the audience: ‘Hey, I’m sorry because I put this portrait on the wall.’ Then I explained what is in there. At the end of the poem, I say I am sorry. Then, I take down my portrait.”

Zakir’s heart-rending poem-painting won him the first prize in the Migrant Worker Poetry Competition 2015 on Sunday night (13 Dec) at the National Library. He also came out tops in the same competition last year.

Titled ‘I am sorry’, his winning poem conveys migrant angst through a painting with words. He tells Yahoo Singapore he draws the feelings of the ‘migrant worker’ on the portrait and explains it with the poem.

Zakir is also a freelance journalist with Banglar Kantha, a Bengali newspaper in Singapore. He is also a published poet, releasing two collections, including a non-fiction work titled, ‘Singapore riots and a love story’.

The crowd at the competition were treated to poetry in various languages: Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog, Mandarin, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil, and English. Students from United World College read the English translation of the poems.

Some audience members were teary-eyed as the poems touched on themes such as the calculations of migrant life and the suffering of a mother who leaves behind her young children to be a foreign domestic worker.

For example, the poem of Filipina domestic worker Rolinda O.Espanola, titled ‘My Wish’, is a very personal message for her daughter who celebrated her seventh birthday recently and for all the family events she missed while working in Singapore.

Are we prejudiced towards thinking migrant workers are “uneducated”?

The finals were judged by poet Alvin Pang, academic Kirpal Singh and translator Goh Beng Choo.

Singh said the poems need to have a transformative quality for them to be performed, "And I think our lives have been transformed. And as judges, we want to acknowledge that. We are humbled by the experiences that have been captured as beautifully.”

Describing many of the poems as “deeply moving”, Pang said, “We cannot even pretend to begin to know what’s going on. We can only begin to understand the blindness that has afflicted us for so long, so much that we do not know and do not see among us.”

Debbie Fordyce from Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), one of the competition’s partners, said, “Many of the workers here have a level of education that exceeds that even of their employers. This may seem like a shocking sort of thing, but it’s true. Their education certainly qualifies them for jobs far beyond what they are doing here. And that’s why we shouldn’t be surprised to see this sort of talent, especially from the kind of people that we’ve seen here from countries that have a long tradition of literature and the arts.

“But what does it say about us when we find this surprising, when we don’t expect to see this kind of talent and passion and emotion among the people that do the dirty jobs in Singapore? It could be that some of us still hold those usual prejudicial views of migrant workers as being uneducated and unqualified for skilled work.”

Poetry competition aims to integrate migrant workers into Singapore society

Organisers said this year’s edition had triple the number of participants. Out of the 74 contestants, 65 per cent were female and a lot of them were mothers.

Leader of the organising committee, writer and management consultant Shivaji Das, said the competition had attracted a wide variety of participants – from people with “a sophisticated sense of literature” to people who are “actually writing for the first time” and those “trying to use Singlish for their poems”.

He also recounted “anxious moments” including how, when he was calling some of the domestic workers, their employers picked up the phones, pretending to be the contestants. He had some convincing to do before they handed over the phone to the contestants.

“Nonetheless, I’m glad to say that all the employers have been supportive and all of them (the contestants) are present here today to say their poetry.”

He believes the “eventual goal” of this competition is not just to showcase the literary talents of migrant workers but also to have “tangible” impact on their living conditions in Singapore.

“Hopefully in the long term, we wouldn’t even need a migrant worker poetry competition because the title of such an event would seem rather needless at that point in time because the society and the groups are assimilated by then.”

He has plans to expand the competition and reach out to more migrant workers by working with dormitories, bus drivers, restaurants workers, and sex workers.

Could new Singapore tree planting innovation combat global warming?

Yahoo Newsroom

30 November 2015

By: Bryan Kwa A new technology developed by a Singapore engineer could see more trees successfully grow, thus helping to reduce the world’s carbon footprint.

Giok P Chua, 63, told Yahoo Singapore his new invention, “Growow”, will ensure carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by increasing the probability of a tree being successfully grown.

“For most of the trees you plant, for out of 100 seeds, only about 5 grow. My system makes sure that if you plant 100 seeds, 100 seeds will grow,” he explained.

Saying trees are overly fed with fertilisers and excessively “rain-fed”, Chua suggests 'micro atmosphere control’ to ensure only the right amounts of water and nutrients are given “so that there is no environmental pollution”.

Chua believes Growow will be able to grow trees even in drought periods. Chua has reached out to partners such as Asian Development Bank and Temasek Polytechnic and aims to launch the technology in February, with the goal of planting one billion trees by 2020.

Chua said this on the sidelines of a Climate Picnic organised by the Singapore chapter of The Climate Reality Project Sunday (Nov 29), on the eve of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris where more than 140 world leaders are expected to attend.

Participants of Climate Picnic SG wore green, brought posters showing their care for Mother Earth, and formed a green heart to send one message: Stop global warming (Photo: Bryan Kwa)

The non-profit project is founded by former US vice president and environmentalist Al Gore. Chua is a climate reality leader who was trained by Gore himself to set up the Singapore chapter.

Chua believes Singapore has some way to go in fighting climate change and proposes its citizens keep a monthly dashboard to track their progress in reducing activities such as excessive consumption and driving.

“If 5 million (people) reduce their energy and food waste consumption by 10 per cent, we can upsize our carbon dioxide commitment easily,” remarked Chua.

Software engineer Rendell Peh, 35, lent his support to the cause by developing, together with his business partners, a carbon footprint calculator that determines a user’s carbon footprint through a series of questions, and compares it with Singapore’s and the world’s averages.

“Personally, I don’t drive, even though I can afford it. I believe driving is a main cause of carbon pollution. Even though it takes a longer time, I prefer to travel by train to reduce my carbon footprint as it is greener – it normally uses electrical energy or diesel energy,” said Peh.

The Climate Picnic was part of the Global Climate March, where activists are planning more than 2,300 climate rallies around the world as the Paris talks commence.

Initially named 'Climate March SG’, the picnic was to be held at the Speaker’s Corner before being shifted to Ben & Jerry’s Dempsey branch to allow foreigners to participate. However, organisers said Ben & Jerry’s franchisor, Unilever Singapore, "rescinded” their booking on the eve of the event, citing “corporate policy”. Ben & Jerry's told Yahoo Singapore that "no booking was accepted in the first place". Although Ben & Jerry's was "fully supportive of the spirit of the event", it was not able to host the event as the organisers did not provide evidence of a permit obtained from the police, as required by law. The event was eventually held at Highgate Condominium, a private residential estate.

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