Op-Ed
We, the media and advocacy organisations of Singapore, support the Singapore government's call for a humanitarian truce in Gaza. We also call on the Singapore government to reverse its blanket ban on peaceful public assembly, and focus on resolutions for a better future for all in the region.
Broken bodies. Torn ligaments. Muscle tears. Broken spirit. Fear-filled eyes. Yet another migrant worker has died in Singapore while working or traveling in a lorry to work. Or died from an acute illness. Or killed himself/herself. And tomorrow there could be another one, anyone.
Hard on the heels of the election of former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam to the Presidency of Singapore came the outrageous sentencing of rapper Subhas Nair to six weeks’ imprisonment for attempting to “promote ill will” between different races in Singapore. His crimes? Making four social-media posts that called attention to the different responses of the authorities and the media to wrongdoing by perpetrators of different races.
One of the effects of the July 2023 scandals that hit the Singapore government is the state’s loss of control over the narrative around the upcoming Presidential Election. The Elected Presidency, an invention of the governing party, has come under strong fire for being a flawed institution that was created out of political maneuvering and expediency.
We are deeply dismayed by the United States Supreme Court’s decision last Thursday (July 29th) to strike down race-conscious admission programs at colleges and universities across the country.
The role of Singapore Unbound’s Editorial Board is to provide readers with a thoughtful and independent perspective on issues that resonate with our organization’s values. The Board also seeks to engage readers in a critical dialogue about important social questions by providing them with the information to make decisions and take actions for the common good.
The Editorial Board develops its positions on a variety of issues, but the views expressed are independent of the rest of the organization. Editorials are unsigned to reflect the fact that they represent the collective views of the Board instead of any individual member.