Dear reader, 

Singapore’s next GE is due by November but could be as soon as May. As it approaches, socio-political activity is intensifying, and we’ve analysed the key events in our weekly digest.

“Singapore This Week”. 

  • How will the PAP respond to Tan Cheng Bock at the next GE?
  • What were the main points from the Budget debates?
  • Will Shanmugam and Tan See Leng regret suing Bloomberg for defamation?
  • The rise of mental health charlatans on Carousell
  • Why are Singapore’s road fatalities at a five-year high?
  • Will Kampong Gelam turn into Katong? 
  • The response to the new SG Culture Pass
  • A Singapore-based firm attempting laser communication in space 

And more, in our weekly digest. Read it now.

But in a week when Donald Trump released that video, it’s also important to remember our connections to the broader world, which is what writer-researcher Mariyam Haider helps us do in “Activism is a verb: interviews with pro-Palestinian organisers”.

“As long as Singaporeans continue to look deeper into the long-standing violence in Palestine and past mainstream media headlines, they will find it hard to ignore Israel’s oppression of Palestinians,” said Yulianna Frederika, founder of Lepak Conversations, an online community that facilitates interactions and public dialogue on critical Malay/Muslim issues in Singapore. 

We’re also grateful to our other interviewees for their time: fashion influencer Camira Asrori; poet Jennifer Anne Champion; dancers Francesca Harriman and Hafeez Hassan; entrepreneur and educator Trishnu Kaur; director Shafna; and “Members” 1 and 2 from Echoes of Gaza. In a constrained space where demonstrations are banned, how have these organisers found creative ways to build awareness and raise funds for Palestinians? Read about them now. 

And if you want to touch and feel the stunning accompanying photographs by Jaya Khidir (more below), do buy Jom’s annual print issue No. 2, which is where the piece first appeared last year.

Finally, you may also want to revisit other Jom essays on the issue: 

Yes, it’s easy to get caught up in the flurry of local politics, and it’s important to address the real cost-of-living challenges that many here face. However, this troubling moment in global affairs also demands that all of us keep our eyes on events much further afield.

Jom bergotong-royong
Sudhir Vadaketh 
Editor-in-chief, Jom 

p.s. Supporters and Patrons: Jom will be in conversation with architect Tay Kheng Soon in the evening of March 24th. Save the date. More details soon. For Members keen to access these exclusive in-person events, please upgrade your subscription by clicking “Change plan” here.

Behind Jom’s art with Charmaine Poh

This week’s portraiture series is a visual public record of our time. The photographs were made by Jaya Khidir, who has years of experience in fashion photography under his belt. Jaya’s aesthetic versatility and sensitivity guarantees striking portraits regardless of lighting conditions. “All photographs are memento mori,” said Susan Sontag. “To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.” As the years pass, and society’s memories of the 15-month siege grow hazier, Jaya’s portraits are a testament to lives lived in solidarity with Palestine.

If you’ve enjoyed our newsletters, please scroll to the bottom of this page to sign up to receive them direct in your inbox.

Share this post