Yah Lah But

Another Presidential special! Aspiring Presidential candidate Mr Tan Kin Lian stops by the YLB studio to tell us why he feels confident about his chances, why he thinks NS should be shortened, and what he thinks about all the recent political scandals. Find us here! YLB Subreddit   YLB TikTok   YLB IG YLB YouTube Folklory If you’re looking for a meaningful gift, we’d love to help you create a pers...

This week, the Singapore Police Force arrested a group of foreigners who had amassed approximately S$1 billion worth of assets in the country, as part of one of the largest anti-money laundering operations ever. The arrests took place across multiple affluent neighbourhoods in Singapore, and the catalogue of the items seized was jaw-dropping. Why did we feel a little worried by this turn of events...

Presidential hopeful Mr Ng Kok Song joins us in the YLB studio to talk about why he’s running for President, why he didn’t join politics earlier, and how he’ll continue to serve Singapore even if he doesn’t become President. Find us here! YLB Subreddit   YLB TikTok   YLB IG YLB YouTube   Folklory If you’re looking for a meaningful gift, we’d love to help you create a personal podcast for a loved o...

This past weekend, the Elections Department said that rallies are “not encouraged” for the Presidential Election as they may be divisive and incongruent with the unifying role of Singapore's head of state. This decision hasn’t been well-received, but is there any merit to these directives? Elsewhere, it was revealed in a survey that the Singaporean Premier League was the 3rd-most popular football...

This week, OCBC introduced a new anti-scam measure which prevents customers from using their mobile banking app if there are unofficial apps installed on their Android phones. Many customers were furious, but is there merit to OCBC’s actions? Elsewhere, some people questioned why Grab had a marching contingent at NDP. Is Grab truly a pillar of Singapore society that requires a presence at the para...

Tropic Monsters’ Jeremiah Chen, fresh off directing and producing his first ever sitcom, “Living With An Expat”, stops by the YLB studio to tell us about the difficulties he faced producing the series, why TikTok is so important to him, and what he’s learnt about himself in his content creation journey. Find us here! YLB Subreddit   YLB TikTok   YLB IG   YLB YouTube Folklory If you’re looking for...

Recently, American publication Washington Post accused Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao of deferring to “Beijing narratives”. This prompted a rebuke from the Chinese newspaper, and now Singapore’s ambassador to the US has also spoken out against it. Is our local newspaper really taking sides in the US-China divide? Elsewhere, HDB’s approval will no longer be required for CCTVs that face corridors of HDB...

Hard to believe, but the latest parliamentary sitting got even more heated than the previous one on the Ridout Road issue. PM Lee delivered a ministerial statement to address the recent political scandals, then Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh came out swinging in his clarification questions, leaving no stone unturned. And as always, YLB was present at Parliament to observe the proceedings fo...

Irfan Kasban, a transdisciplinary artist whose work spans multiple mediums, platforms and genres, steps into the YLB studio to talk about directing Jo Tan in the award-winning theatre production, “King”. We also discuss gender identity in Singapore, and whether everyone will be using pronouns one day! Find us here! YLB Subreddit   YLB TikTok   YLB IG   YLB YouTube Folklory If you’re looking for a...

Ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan have sent lawyers’ letters to Lee Hsien Yang after he doubled down on his comments about the Ridout Road issue, even after getting POFMAed. What happens when someone decides to ignore a POFMA order? Also, Tharman Shanmugaratnam officially launched his platform for the presidential bid on Wednesday. What stood out at this event, and what did we think of...

On 19 Jul, a third individual announced his plan to run for presidency - Ng Kok Song, the ex-CIO of GIC. There has been lots of chatter online about his qualifications, and also his family, but what do Singaporeans think about him? Elsewhere, Elon Musk yielded his might (again) and changed the Twitter logo almost overnight - bye bye blue bird, hello “X”. But why?  Folklory If you’re looking for a...

Over the weekend, a police officer’s death sparked a national conversation about workplace bullying and racial discrimination. What happened, and what happens next? Elsewhere, a same-sex kiss by the lead singer of The 1975 got the entire Good Vibes Music Festival in Malaysia cancelled. Were the organisers being too uptight, or did The 1975 go too far? Folklory If you’re looking for a meaningful gi...

It’s been a bombshell few weeks as scandals have poured out. Here is our take…   Find us here! YLB Subreddit   YLB TikTok   YLB IG YLB YouTube Folklory If you’re looking for a meaningful gift, we’d love to help you create a personal podcast for a loved one. Get started at Folklory.com ! Article Links - Serious Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and MP Cheng Li Hui resign over affair PM Lee Hsien Loong at Press...

We got Jom Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Thomas Vadeketh back onto YLB to talk about the publication’s first year of operations, the challenges facing young journalists in Singapore, and why we might see more political kerfuffles like Ridout Road bubbling to the surface in the near future. Folklory If you’re looking for a meaningful gift, we’d love to help you create a personal podcast for a loved one. G...

This past week’s news headlines have been dominated by the reveal that Transport Minister S. Iswaran has been arrested by the CPIB, alongside billionaire Ong Beng Seng. In this episode, we go through news articles, forums, and boomer conspiracy theorist Whatsapp groups to try and make sense of this shocking situation. Elsewhere, childcare centres will no longer be required to operate on Saturdays...

A Redditor recently discovered that Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan Jin had muttered "f*cking populist" under his breath after a speech by opposition MP Jamus Lim during a parliamentary sitting in April. Tan has since come forward to apologise, and Jamus Lim has accepted his apology, but why do some still feel that his gesture was not enough? Elsewhere, a recent survey found that 35% of Singapore...

The fiery nature of the recent Parliament sitting spilled onto social media, with Leader of the House Indranee Rajah compelling Progress Singapore Party’s Leong Mun Wai to take down a video from PSP’s Facebook page, and to issue a public apology. What was this entire “sia suay” PSP video about, and how did it spark one of the most peculiar exchanges in Singapore Parliamentary history? Elsewhere, a...

We finally did it! Yesterday, we showed up and observed the Parliament debate on Ridout Road! Rather than give our usual take on the issue based solely on what we read or watch in the media, we decided to go down to Parliament in person and see it for ourselves. What did we take away from the experience? What issue left Haresh dispirited? Were we convinced? Who else showed up to observe the sessio...

From 1st July, a flat owner will be presumed guilty of high-rise littering if he cannot prove within 14 days that he is not responsible for the offence. This makes it easier to catch offenders, but brings up the question of overreach as well. Elsewhere, people called out some adults for washing themselves at a public fountain at Kallang, and even took pictures of them washing their armpits and but...

We got Entomologist Foo Maosheng in our studio today to talk about the new cockroach species he discovered in Singapore & named after a Pokemon! We covered this story back in May 2023 (YLB #374), and now we get to hear about his love for creepy crawlies, the passion for Pokemon shared by him & his co-author and his estimate that we’ve only discovered about 30% of the insects in Singapore!...

The entire world has been riveted by the search and rescue effort for the missing Titanic submersible, but some have already started questioning the apparent lack of safety features on the underwater tourist vessel. We take a look at whether their critiques are justified. Closer to home, Singapore plays host to the inaugural Olympic Esports Week, which has riled up some in the gaming community for...

Last week, Ho Ching, PM Lee’s wife, ignited online debate after posting a lengthy Facebook post about the role of the President in Singapore’s political infrastructure. What did she say that caused such a ruckus? Elsewhere, a man knocked on doors along Nassim Road, with the intention to interview “owners from the richest neighbourhood in Singapore” for his TikTok video. Why did his actions rub so...

With Haresh away this week, comedian Rishi Budhrani steps in to be the supersub once again! And the timing couldn’t have been better, as we talk about the ongoing fallout from the Jocelyn Chia controversy, and how the local standup comedy scene is feeling about this incident. Rishi also weighs in on entrepreneur George Goh’s announcement of his intention to run against Tharman for President. Find...

[NOTE: This podcast was recorded 2 weeks ago, on 30 May 2023] Marathoner Soh Rui Yong, fresh from his men’s 10,000m medal win and viral show of sportsmanship at the SEA Games in Cambodia, joined us in the YLB studio to talk candidly about the entire experience back in Singapore colours. Find us here! YLB TikTok   YLB IG YLB YouTube Folklory If you’re looking for a meaningful gift, we’d love to hel...

This week, Singapore-born comedian Jocelyn Chia incurred the wrath of furious Malaysians after posting a video of her stand-up comedy performance, in which she insulted Malaysia and made a joke about the missing airliner MH370. Government officials from both countries have released statements, protests have been planned, and even other comedians, like Dr. Jason Leong, are facing blowback from this...