Deep Dive

Nine in 10 Singapore residents exceeded the recommended salt intake and daily calorie intake is also up, according to the latest National Nutrition survey. The findings also show that more people are at risk of obesity and hypertension. Can a food paradise like Singapore deliver delicious food which is less salty? Or are busy lifestyles making it harder for people to eat better? Steven Chia speaks...

In the last decade, child abuse cases involving neglect and physical or sexual abuse have gone up from around 300 in 2012 to 2,141 in 2021. Several high profile cases before the court involved the death of young children. Steven Chia gets answers on how the system works and why some cases slip through with Soh Ying Si, deputy manager at the Melrose Home, Yogeswari Munisamy, senior principal social...

With premiums on Certificate of Entitlement (COE) soaring to over $140,000 for larger cars, should people simply give up on the idea of owning cars? What about those who need the convenience of having a vehicle to ferry their children and the elderly? What other options do they have? Steven Chia gets answers from Julian Kho, general manager of Sgcarmart, Toh Ting Feng, CEO and founder of GetGo, an...

The scourge of scams continues unabated in Singapore with nearly 23,000 people falling victim in the first six months of this year. With increasing sophistication from the fraudsters, is public education enough? Should banks pay for some of the losses? If so, how can liability be fairly decided? Steven Chia speaks to Jansen Chow, co-head of fraud, asset recovery and investigations practice at Raja...

Videos of Kinderland teachers allegedly mistreating their young charges went viral last year. What are the challenges teachers face in classroom management? How are rules and guidelines applied on the ground? Steven Chia puts these questions to Caroline Seng, director of professional development and standards at the Early Childhood Development Agency, Cara Lee, deputy director at the Anglican Pres...

When Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam ended his presidential race with a landslide victory of 70.4 per cent, political analysts expressed their surprise, calling the win "unthinkable" and "remarkable". What do the results say about how the Singaporean voter thinks? And what lessons can political parties draw from Mr Tharman's win as they look ahead to the next General Election? Steven Chia breaks it down...

Since news broke on the billion-dollar money laundering case in Singapore, there have been questions on how bad actors operate. How do property agents and bank staff separate a legitimate transaction from a shady one? And what makes this type of crime especially tough to crack down on? Steven Chia speaks to Adam Maniam, director of dispute resolution at law firm Drew and Napier, Associate Professo...

New HDB flats will be classified under Standard, Plus or Prime from next year - dropping the decades-long mature and non-mature categorisation. With increased subsidies and tighter restrictions, what will be the impact on the property market? Will home ownership aspirations change with what is affordable? Steven Chia chats with Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at Oran...

The attrition rate for nurses has stabilised post-COVID but with a fast greying population, the hunt for a solid pipeline of nursing talent continues. Aside from better salaries, can concerns over high home rentals and allowing foreign nurses to bring their families here be addressed? Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Mdm Rahayu Mahzam, group chief nurse of the National Healthcare Group Yo...

It has been described as an “intractable” problem: The transportation of migrant workers to and from their worksites. Why is this issue so complex? How can safety and business realities find common ground? Steven Chia breaks it down with Debbie Fordyce president of migrant rights group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) and Associate Professor Walter Theseira from the Singapore University of Socia...

The annual Primary 1 registration season is back and parents are strategising how to get their children into choice schools. Despite tweaks done to the system, brand name schools are still being oversubscribed. Why are parental attitudes so hard to shift? And can the system meet everyone's needs? Steven Chia speaks to Ong Junda, father and founder of SGschooling.com, Associate Professor Jason Tan...

When global music acts arrive in small Singapore, there's a mad scramble for tickets. Should seats be reserved for residents? Can resellers who charge exorbitant prices be taken to task? How does the ticketing system work? Heart of the Matter podcast host Steven Chia gets answers from Joe Ow, CEO of SISTIC Singapore, economist Walter Theseira from the Singapore University of Social Sciences and Ad...

Cancelled contracts, a critical lack of drivers and spiralling costs. Parents, schools and bus companies are now caught in a jam, with questions on how to ferry our primary school children. How will the challenges in the school bus system play out? Steven Chia sits down with Adrian Yeap, CEO of bus company Yeap Transport , Alvina Chin, from MUMs for Life and Darry Lim, spokesman from the Singapore...

It isn’t just the number of road rage incidents that make the news, it is the type of angry encounters that go viral on social media – punching, kicking, climbing on bonnets or ripping out licence plates. What is behind the intensity of feelings when it comes to these road incidents? Otelli Edwards finds out from Pearlene Lim, senior clinical psychologist at Promises Healthcare, and Clarence Lee,...

Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has announced he intends to run for the presidency which will be held within the next three months. What exactly is the role of the President, why is the bar set so high in Singapore, and what do voters want from candidates in an open election? Steven Chia gets answers from Eugene Tan, associate professor of law at the Singapore Management University, Felix T...

Singapore's adoption rate of cashless payments is one of the highest in Asia. But there are pockets of the population who still struggle to adapt. And there's the ever present threat of scams and payment service breakdowns. What can the government, merchants and the public do? Steven Chia has a chat with Faye Sai, a third-generation hawker, Lawrence Chan, group CEO of NETS and Lim May-Ann, directo...

The humiliating 7-0 defeat of the Young Lions to Malaysia at the recent SEA Games has renewed calls for the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to get to the bottom of what ails the sport. Is it the coaching, the lack of talent, or even parents who pick academics over sports? Steven Chia has a no-holds barred conversation with acting president of FAS Bernard Tan, SPRG general manager Edwin Yeo...

Recent statistics released by the Central Narcotics Bureau show a clear trend - over 60 per cent of those caught with cannabis use are under 30. Some perceptions of cannabis among the young are hard to scrub out - that it's not as harmful as other drugs, celebrities use it, other countries legalise it and it is used for medical reasons. Steven Chia plays moderator as 27-year-old copywriter Kimberl...

In a bid to curb the cost of cancer treatment, the Singapore government announced an approved drug list where the most cost-effective drugs can be claimed by the national insurance schemes. Yet, the cost of treatment can spiral - in part thanks to rising insurance premiums. Are people paying too much? How has this new drug list shifted things and should you worry if you don't have insurance? Steve...

In the latest round of property cooling measures announced on Apr 26, what stood out was the 60 per cent additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) for foreigners looking to buy in Singapore. While they form only a small fraction of the entire group of buyers, how big of an impact do they have on the general market? Why are these moves considered pre-emptive  and will it stop foreigners from sinking the...

The options confronting parents of special needs children after they complete formal schooling in Singapore can be dismal - leading some to stay home and the burden on caregivers to increase. What are the gaps in the system and what more needs to be done? Steven Chia sits down with Bernard Chew, St Andrew’s Autism Centre CEO, Clement Phua Neo, father of a 47-year-old son with an intellectual disab...

To kick off Season 4, Heart of the Matter host Steven Chia gets to the heart of what it takes to be a Singapore citizen. Does being proficient in English matter? If not, what other markers should matter? His guests are Yorlin Ng, chief operating officer of Momentum Works who is applying for citizenship and Dr Gwee Li Sui, poet, graphic artist and literary critic. See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Caring for patients in the day, meeting global experts at night, racing against time to get a workable vaccine off the ground – NCID executive director Professor Leo Yee-Sin and Duke-NUS Medical School Professor Ooi Eng Eong recall working round-the-clock on the frontlines in the battle against COVID 19. They share the highs and lows of being in the “fog of the war” with CNA's Otelli Edwards. See...

It started with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and was followed swiftly by the emergency rescue of beleagued Credit Suisse by UBS.  How does a bank go bust? What drives panic and fear that leads to a bank run and can it happen in Singapore? Steven Chia gets answers from Sumit Agarwal, Low Tuck Kwong Professor at the School of Business at the National University of Singapore and  Thi...

More cases of family violence are being reported in Singapore, but few are because bystanders called the authorities. Why do we complain about party noises but hesitate if we suspect someone is being abused? Who should we call and what should we say? Steven Chia speaks to Marcus Lim, head of TOUCH Family Support, psychiatrist Dr Joseph Leong from Promises Healthcare and Mohamed Fareez, deputy dire...