Dear reader, Letters to the editor. Thank you, anonymous Jom reader who works at a government agency, for your response to “From Punggol with love: tracing the origins of the Hougang Spirit” by Kelvin Yap. They said that “...even when marginalised groups are left behind by unthinking and capitalist models...
Essays
A young Singaporean reviews a famous diplomat’s memoir, and reflects on the many meanings of the word “undiplomatic”, including some that may have changed across generations.
Origins of the Singapore-India love affair, the PM wants more women in the next election, blackface (again!), High Court moves to protect rape victims, a new memorial to Bukit Brown, Carro makes a shocking move into recruitment, and more.
Dear reader, Letters to the editor. Thank you, Vignesh Ramachandran, who’s based in Dubai, for your thoughtful response to “My authoritarian brain”, Linette Lim’s essay last week. Vignesh, in a few short lines, validates the author’s thesis, defends the systemic flexibility he believes Lee Kuan Yew left...
To understand Singapore's north-east, one must dig into its colonial past, its religious and ethno-linguistic moorings as well as post-independence resettlement policies.
Workers' Party enters the hallowed POFMA club, SMEs fret over parental leave, yet another country wants to become Singapore, a collector enriches NAS holdings, Ayad Akhtar's “Disgraced”, MoneyHero makes a laughable offer to acquire a competitor, and more.
Dear reader, New section: Behind Jom’s art, with Charmaine Poh. Jom has always emphasised the importance of our visual language, an effort led by Charmaine, our co-founder and head of visual culture and media. Inspired partly by The Atlantic, we’ve decided this week to start a short new...
By living abroad, a Singaporean journalist becomes more aware of her own social conditioning, and attempts to rewire her “authoritarian brain”, in the process opening herself up to more of life’s possibilities.
An all-purpose National Day rally speech, PAP twinning with the opposition, students required to phone it in, a concerted effort against consumption, the new Islamic Studies college, an uptick in arts patronage, death of a local jazz master, PropertyGuru sees wisdom in going private, and more.
Dear reader, We’re hiring a new head of product and revenue! No, we’re not looking for writers, but business and marketing gurus. You know the brand. You’ve seen the product. Help us improve it, help us sell it. It’s a 5-7 hour a week role, and...
"How could I compete when other people’s brain waves march to the beat of a steady hand–and mine dance to jazz?" asks the young writer who was handed an epilepsy diagnosis in childhood.
Gerrymandering; a nerdy Marvel superhero from Singapore; measures to help you deal with that neighbour from hell; the story of the first Sikh migrant here; Melaka in the imaginations of medieval geographers; NUS’s mysterious dropping of Haresh Sharma as lecturer; Chocolate Finance, and more.
Dear reader, Happy National Day! I’m writing this from Malaysia, the land where my father was born, where the word jom first emerged, and from which our country separated on August 9th 1965. It feels like an appropriate place to ponder notions of belonging, identity, and citizenship. Wherever you...
Thomas Lim's Saturday Night Live sketch comedy equivalent of the National Day Parade cleverly exploits our patriotic socialisation and turns it on its head: same emotional manipulation, different socio-political outcomes.
Hackers wipe out data on student devices, Singapore's GDP per capita loses sheen when adjusted for hours worked, Ministry of Finance's AI-generated ads are nightmare fuel, Google's monopoly draws comparisons with the East India Company, edible theatre stages and more.