What if your favourite packet of Maggi isn’t just comfort food, but a mirror of global capitalism, cultural loss, and nostalgia? The writer unpacks how a Swiss invention became a South-east Asian staple; redefining taste, memory, and the meaning of home in just two minutes.
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Indonesia, interrupted; nothing happened in Bukit Gombak; our contortions to avoid recognition of Palestine worthy of Olympic gold; the quandaries of long-term planning in an ageing society; Lawrence, the mellow; closure of the storied Cathay cineplexes; and more.
In the 1970s, as female flight attendants in the West were fighting gender discrimination, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways were building brands around their sexualised female icons. Are we willing to accept sexism when it subsidises “the nation”?
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In and around public housing estates, there is a trend where a greater mixing of ethnicities is accompanied by less socioeconomic mixing. By focusing on the former, Singapore may be paying insufficient attention to the latter.
Housing prices, history of May Day rallies and unions, cat abuse a serious problem, library@esplanade to move, Dyson powers up battery plant, and more.
Dear reader,
First, in last week’s newsletter, there was a wrong link and a wrong translation: siu ngoh is Cantonese for roast goose, not duck. Apologies—and thanks to all who wrote to me to point them out. Jom is eight months old, and we’re getting there, with...
Fine-tuning election messaging, the sudden cancelling of an LGBTQ party, Pesta Raya: Malay festival of arts, Singlish key word signs, Foodpanda and TADA hitch a ride together, and more.
Dear reader,
Today, an old friend, Donald Low, who moved to Hong Kong in 2019, has published his first piece for Jom, “Why Singapore’s government and economy are outperforming Hong Kong’s”.
Yes, you read that right. Donald, a former Admin Service officer who’s known for his trenchant...
Hong Kong is arguably the only other geography that one can compare Singapore to: both British colonial ports, Chinese-majority, East-meets-West, Asian Tiger city-states. Here's why many Hong Kongers are now moving south.
Not just another tote bag, but a better one. Stylish, durable and versatile, thanks to roomy external pockets and a flat base inside. And you get to tell the world: write, read, think, act.