Dear reader,
What a week it’s been. I hope you’ve surfed the GE wave in your own special way, whether attending rallies, watching memes by yeolo.sg, or simply talking to a loved one, often the most restorative and therapeutic way to process this place we call home.
Many friends have asked for my read of “ground sentiments”. Honestly, I don’t know lah. Election forecasting is a crapshoot. (Unless, say, one has privileged information about the voting patterns of neighbourhoods.)
What I can detect, and what I feel so happy about, are the conversations. People are talking. The fear is gone. All of us (ageing) journalists will recall the not-too-distant past when it was so hard to squeeze even a few words out of Singaporeans ahead of polling day. That’s changed. People are talking, people are discussing ideas and issues.
And I hope that Jom has helped you make an informed decision. To catch up with all our content, visit our GE portal. Everything’s there. But I’ll list some highlights.
Polling night livestream: 8pm, May 3rd. Get your friends round, and join Jom for a watch party on our YouTube channel as the results stream in. Alongside me will be Anngee Neo, illustrator, Elvin Ong, NUS professor, and Walid Abdullah, NTU professor. We will intersperse our conversation with live clips from CNA, and are hoping, technology willing, to have a few guests patch in as well, including Cherian George and Preeti Nair (PreetiPls).
Essays. We published three pieces over the past week.
- “Inequality and your vote” explores the most important big-picture issues at stake.
- “Policies and promises: comparing GE 2025 party manifestos” is our analysis of the thick, policy-rich manifestos.
- “Whose normal?” is a commentary by Paul Tambyah of the SDP.
Videos. We similarly published three.
- “Inequality and your vote” is the video version of the above essay.
- “Are politicians' videos speaking to what Gen Zs care about?” analyses social media outreach by the parties.
- “How should you vote?” is our main pre-GE primer.
Social Media.
- “On the digital campaign trail” by Sarah Tan is an analysis of political parties’ online efforts to woo the electorate.
GE Daily dispatch. We’ve had fun putting these together every morning. We’ll take a break tomorrow and Saturday, and return on Sunday with the last. For our quick takes on candidates and parties, read them on social media, or on our GE portal.
Voter quiz. Unsure which political party aligns most with your own personal beliefs, from BTOs to freedom of expression? Visit our portal, scroll down, and take the quiz now to find out. It was created by the Community for Advocacy and Political Education (CAPE) with Jom’s support.
There’s much else to life besides politics! We know. For those who want a break, Faris Joraimi, our history editor, and Corrie Tan, our arts editor, have obliged.
- Faris delves into the history of party posters and merch
- Corrie looks at figure drawing in the context of “Points of Articulation: Repose”, a new exhibition that pays tribute to figure drawing pioneer Solamalay Namasivayam.
Do forward this e-mail to a friend. Private comms are totally fine on Cooling-off Day.
Vote with hope, not fear, and make an informed decision.
Jom undi,
Sudhir
Editor-in-chief, Jom
p.s. and see you on Saturday evening!
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