Dear Jomrade,
Today we’ve published:
- “Singapore This Week” by Jom
- “Girl gang: the intimate rebellions of ‘Amoeba’”, by Jean Hew
Seeing the horrific flooding in southern Thailand and parts of Malaysia, it was a week to remember how lucky Singapore is: we’re the only country in the region not affected by natural disasters. All the more reason to help our neighbours whenever we can.
Other news that caught our eye this week: Wan Yang, the reflexology chain, suddenly closed, leaving customers with prepaid packages out of pocket; a former teacher disputed a minister’s claims about teacher workload initiatives; Singapore ordered TikTok and Meta to disable the accounts of an ex-ISA detainee for allegedly harmful posts; Dev Annath Durai, son of TT Durai, former NKF head, is one of two Singaporeans wanted in the US in an insider trading and money laundering probe; and Amos Yee, from SG50 celebrity to ICE detainee.
Below are the issues we chose to explore in more depth.
- Lawrence Wong annoys the Chinese
- More executed under MDP for drugs
- Will embryo genetic testing inevitably lead to designer babies?
- The magic of the rhinos is disappearing in our lifetimes
- How can we make our cities bird-friendly?
- MetaKovan and NFTs
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Video: Jom x Jo Teo. This is the collab I’ve been waiting for. No, not with the minister, but with Joleen Teo, the theoretical physicist, also known to many by her Instagram and TikTok handles, suchabohr. (Profile descriptor: “not the MP (yet).”)
I first saw Jo on video earlier this year, when she dissected the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report ahead of the election. Loved her deadpan, no-frills style (and lately, the quirky, curated microphone holders she uses). We bumped into each other at NIMBUS’s indie media fair in July, and well, here we are. Yesterday we published our first collaborative video: Jo Teo explaining the problems with societal discourse on the death penalty, building on our essay from a few weeks ago.
In the recent reader survey, y’all said you wanted more explainer videos. I’m glad Saki and I now have another video kaki. Stay tuned.
Essay: “Girl gang: the intimate rebellions of ‘Amoeba’”, by Jean Hew
A new Jo in town, and an old Jean too. Our Employee #1 and former head of research (Saki’s predecessor), has taken a break from the yoga teacher’s life to reprise her old literary self. You may remember her essay on Taylor Swift and the teenage experience, or the one on the Goh report and streaming in schools, or another on the concept of the traditional family unit in Singapore.
In an odd way, there are elements of all three in her review today of “Amoeba”, a new Singaporean coming-of-age film that’s been winning plaudits globally. I know many of you don’t read our Arts pieces, evidenced in the survey too, but if I could just implore you again. Our “Arts” pieces are not traditional Singaporean “reviews”. They’re pieces of criticism that I hope offer windows into numerous worlds. Two big ones here are the way teenage girls at elite schools feel their way to rebellion, often clumsily; and the origins and contortions of Confucian order in the Singaporean context.
I’ll leave you with Jean’s opening:
“When your school uniform is completely white, you have no choice but to be careful. Kopi spills, menstrual blood stains, dirt smudges, and ink blotches are immediately obvious and almost impossible to remove. They stay with you. There’s a perpetual sense of vulnerability humming in the background as you go about your day: as you stand in two rows in the courtyard, as you shuffle to class and settle into that same blue desk and same blue chair, as you sprint to the canteen because it’s Fried Food Friday, as you squeeze onto the bus during peak hour…Because there’s simply no hiding in all white.”
Jom fikir,
Sudhir Vadaketh, editor-in-chief
Jom
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