Opinion: Disrespectful Treatment of Cultural Medallion Recipient

Acclaimed Singaporean playwright Haresh Sharma was due to teach a play-writing course at the National University of Singapore (NUS), but five days before the start of the new school semester he was informed that NUS did not approve his appointment but he was not given any reason. We call on NUS to provide a clear and satisfactory explanation for this abrupt and late cancellation.

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Jee Koh
Opinion: IMDA Must Uphold Authors’ and Publishers’ Intellectual Property Rights

What will be the impact of the headlong rush to implement AI in business products on Singapore literature and culture? Or on Singapore’s economy, in particular, on jobs and employment? For instance, will the rapid implementation of AI nip the nascent activity of literary translation in the bud, or even devastate the sector of commercial translation? These are not wild surmises but hotly debated questions in the global literary community. More cultural, economic, and sociological research needs to be conducted and examined, in addition to the focus on technological advancement and business efficiency.

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Jee Koh
Opinion: Not Nameless. Not Bygones.

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.

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Jee Koh
Opinion: We Call on the President-Elect to Lead Race Conversations

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.

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Jee Koh