IPS Update Issue October 2020

IPS is holding our Forum with the Parties on Vision and Plans Post-GE2020 on 22 October. This is the final forum in the Post-GE2020 series, featuring representatives from the three political parties that have seats in Singapore’s 14th Parliament. The representatives are Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Member of the People’s Action Party, Member of Parliament (Jurong GRC) and Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Health; Mr Louis Chua, Member of The Workers’ Party and Member of Parliament (Sengkang GRC); and Mr Francis Yuen, Assistant Secretary-General of the Progress Singapore Party.

They will discuss their own analysis of the outcome of GE2020, and share their respective party’s policy and organisational agenda for the next few years before the next general election. The session will be moderated by Dr Gillian Koh of IPS, and the Facebook reminder to watch the live stream will be available one week before the event date on IPS Facebook page. No registration is required.

Event Summary — IPS Online Forum on Internet and Media Use in General Election 2020
• 3-min read

In the second forum of our Post-GE2020 Series, IPS’ Dr Carol Soon, Dr Natalie Pang and A/P Zhang Weiyu of NUS, and Mr Chua Chin Hon of Analytix Labs examined different aspects of what made GE2020 an ‘internet election’, such as changes in internet and media use since GE2015 and the generational divide among voters, as well as the implications for future elections.  

Event Summary — IPS Online Forum on the IPS Post-Election Survey on GE2020
• 3-min read

IPS researchers shared the findings of its Post-Election Survey 2020, which tracks changes in political attitudes across past post-election surveys. This was followed a discussion by political experts Dr Derek da Cunha; Dr Lam Peng Er of NUS’ East Asian Institute; and Professor Chu Yun-Han of the Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University forum, moderated by IPS’ Dr Gillian Koh. The full event report can be found here. 

Commentary — “Opposition Parties: Staking their turf beyond 2020"
(IPS Commons)
By Nicholas Chua
• 5-min read

A large part of the Workers' Party's success in GE2020 could be due to its rooted geographical strategy. Prioritising a geographical area should take precedence over current strategies of horse-trading and avoiding three-way fights, argues Nicholas Chua.

Commentary — “Singapore’s road to recovery”
(East Asia Forum)
By Faizal Bin Yahya
• 4-min read

COVID-19 has severely impacted Singapore’s trade and economy. But it is also proving to be a catalyst for exploring alternate development pathways and motivating Singapore’s greater integration into the ASEAN region, writes IPS researcher Faizal Bin Yahya.

Commentary — “Gender equality and what it means for Singapore”
(IPS Commons)
By Ong Soh Chin 
• 4-min read

IPS’ Ong Soh Chin has three wishes for the government’s review of gender-related attitudes and behaviours in Singapore. First, to publicly educate people that feminism is not a dirty word; second, remember that single, childless women are also women; third, to see the invisible. 

Commentary — “Are our neighbourhood chat groups starting to be a pain?”
(Channel NewsAsia)
By Carol Soon
• 5-min read

Neighbourhood chat groups enable residents to get to know one another better and bring back the kampung spirit. However, they also have their pitfalls and pains. IPS Senior Research Fellow Carol Soon suggests three ways to promote civil group communication, taking into account fundamental features of computer-mediated communication.

Commentary — “Conversations that make a difference”
(The Straits Times)
By Carol Soon
• 5-min read

IPS Senior Research Fellow Carol Soon opines that citizens' panels offer a road map for how Singaporeans can confront difficult issues such as race, religion and inequality. She expounds on three principles — inclusiveness, equality, evidence-based — that make them successful, allowing for discussions on potential powder-keg issues to yield tangible outcomes. 

This forum discussed innovation, digital transformation, and emerging technologies within Singapore’s supply chain and logistics ecosystem. It aimed to examine the drive towards innovation and the potential applications of innovative technologies to overcome challenges in the evolving supply chain environment, which forms the backbone of most industries.