Kopi-tiam pundits hedge bets on Singapore polls outcome
By Ivan Lim Former AJA President, Contributor to AsiaN SINGAPORE: The kopi-tiam, Singapore’s well-known name for the coffee shop, is the go-to place in the city-state to get your latest update on engrossing political gossip. Freshly brewed events come alive, with arm-chair critics holding forth, in between sips of kopi-O (black) orteh-tarik (pulled tea), on […]
Only a surge in COVID-19 cases may change Singapore move for elections
By Ivan Lim Former AJA President Contributor to AsiaN Singapore Singapore: Many Singaporeans would agree that the prevalent Corvid-19 pandemic is an inconvenient time, for all intents and purpose, to hold a general election. However, the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) strategists apparently have their own ideas. The government recently unveiled its report on […]
Singapore probes activities of South Korean church chapter
By Ivan Lim Former AJA President Contributor to AsiaN Singapore: An unregistered local chapter of the South Korea church, at the centre of a mass Covid-19 outbreak in Daegu, is being investigated by the Singapore authorities – not just for the virus contamination alone. The Shincheongji Church of Jesus, Temple of the Tabernacle of the […]
Singapore may defer polls to fight wily Wuhan bug’s death dance
By Ivan Lim Former AJA President Contributor to AsiaN Singapore: Nothing does better than a little humour to break the glum atmosphere created by the fearful Coronavirus outbreak. Like this anonymous post on social media: “I have been studying the virus just like every one of you and come to these conclusions. It is […]
Bong joon-ho wins Oscar
By Ivan Lim Former AJA President Contributor to AsiaN Singapore: Bong Joon-ho’s historic feats in winning Oscars for Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture for his Korean-language socio-drama Parasite has given surrealistically a feel of paradise.! A tale of two families – the Kims and the Parks. They are living in worlds apart. A […]
Panic amid Wuhan virus crisis
By Ivan Lim Former AJA President Contributor to AsiaN Singapore: Early today I received a call from a former newspaper colleague in his 60s, rattling off on the phone without the usual ‘good morning’. “Ivan, something strange is happening in Singapore, the likes of which I have not seen for a long time. Long queues […]
Singapore polls may see a wild card at play
By Ivan Lim Former AJA President Contributor to AsiaN Singapore: The unbroken record of Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) of winning every general election since 1959 gives it a proud bounce ahead of fresh polls. The party could be buoyed once again by this factor as the nation is tipped to hold a […]
Singapore’s ruling party on attack mode ahead of expected elections early next year
By Ivan Lim Contributor to AsiaN Singapore: Ahead of general elections tipped to be called early next year, Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) is gearing up to win public support, its tactics at the moment being to assiduously censure opposition parties over hot-button issues. In the past week, the government countered three rival parties […]
Hong Kong clash with destiny
By Ivan Lim Contributor to AsiaN Singapore: Singapore: A divisive Hong Kong has settled into an uneasy calm following last Sunday’s district-level elections. The momentum from close to six months of street protests marked by clashes with riot-police helped the pro-democracy camp outpolled their pro-establishment rivals in a historic shift in six such elections. The […]
Singapore academic freedom vs political control
By Ivan Lim Contributor to AsiaN Singapore: A liberal arts course on Dissent and Resistance for new undergraduates proved to be more than an academic exercise in Singapore’s jealously contested political space. A Yale-National University of Singapore College (YNC) project was pulled from the Learning Across Boundaries programme because it was deemed to be politically […]
Singapore, Former President of Asia Journalist Association 
Trump, Kim, and the Three P’s of Summit Diplomacy: 
