New Naratif's Political Agenda

A recording of a livestream with PJ Thum and Terry Xu, Editor-in-Chief of The Online Citizen Asia (TOCA), about the 8 March 2021 raid on Terry's home, his interrogation by the Singapore police, excessive/unchecked police powers, and the impending law against "foreign interference" that will target both TOCA and New Naratif.

Muslim women in Singapore who work in frontline roles in the public sector are generally banned from wearing a headscarf (tudung, or hijab). This has long been a source of unhappiness for Muslim women, who are forced to choose between their faith and their work. Educator and active citizen Nur Friday talks to PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (Wake Up Singapore) about the issue from the perspective of...

Kokila Annamalai has been ever-present in activism for many years, most recently raising public awareness of the migrant worker dormitory scandal at the heart of Singapore's COVID-19 crisis. She talks to PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (Wake Up Singapore) about her life, her work and the theory and practice of activism. She talks about decentralised movement building, shifts towards non-violent and r...

In this bonus episode, we bring you part 2 of PJ's interview by The Drunken Ramblings Podcast. Part 1 was released on their channel at https://www.facebook.com/TheDrunkenRamblingsPodcast/posts/223515112838708 or on Spotify . In Part 2, PJ talks about how he became a historian, The History of Singapore podcast, his approach to history, how and why he started New Naratif, Project Southeast Asia at O...

Liyana Dhamirah is head of Red Dot United's (RDU) Youth Wing and author of "Homeless", and Elijah Tay is RDU's youngest member at just 19 years old. PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (WakeUp Singapore) speak to them about why they decided to join politics, what they hope to achieve, and about RDU and their values and vision for Singapore. They also talk about the challenges of building a new political...

PJ Thum discusses the ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation by the Singapore Government against New Naratif, and talks about his experience being interrogated by the Singapore police. Hosted by Sean Francis Han (Editor-in-Chief, Wake Up Singapore). This interview was recorded live on 5 March 2021 For more, please visit https://newnaratif.com/new-naratif-under-attack/   This episode...

June Chua is a transgender woman, former sex worker, founder of The T Project , Singapore's first (and to date, only) transgender shelter, and Alicia Community Centre, a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community. She joins PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (Wake Up Singapore) for a fun, high energy podcast, to talk about her life and her activism. They discuss the state of transgender rights and social ser...

On Tuesday, 16 February 2021, Jolovan Wham was jailed for 22 days and fined SGD8,000 for three charges, including organising the 2017 MRT protest commemorating the 30th anniversary of Operation Spectrum. Fellow participant Sean Francis Han sat down with PJ Thum to talk about his role in the protest, how he first learned about Operation Spectrum, why he chose to take part, and how it transformed hi...

Wendy Low and Terence Soon are the newly appointed Heads of the Progress Singapore Party's new Women's and Youth Wings, respectively. In Part 2 of this interview, they discuss how they can make a difference in an environment which is incredibly unfair and restrictive towards opposition politicians. Terence talks about the Youth Wing and its relationship to the party as a whole. Both then discuss t...

In advance of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on the 6th of February, Sya Taha and Saza Faradilla join PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (Wake Up Singapore) to discuss the issue of Female Genital Cutting (FGC) in the Singapore context. They talk about the situation in Singapore, why FGC is practised here, and the physical, emotional, and psychological harm that it...

Wendy Low and Terence Soon are the newly appointed Heads of the Progress Singapore Party's new Women's and Youth Wings, respectively. They sat down with PJ Thum in advance of the launch of the PSP's new Women's Wing on 30 Jan 2021. In part 1 of this interview, they talked to PJ about why they decided to join politics, what they hope to achieve in politics, and about the PSP and their own values an...

Reetaza "Reetz" Chatterjee is the founder of Your Head Lah!, a mental health collective that aims to centre and amplify marginalised voices. YHL believes that being able to tell our own stories on our own terms and building community with one another are central to collective healing and liberation work. Reetz talks to PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (Wake Up Singapore) about her own experiences with...

Fidellithy Tan is writer and host of the "History of Colonisation" podcast. Beginning with the Portuguese colonisation of Ceuta in 1415, at the start of the so-called “Age of Discovery”, she aims to provide an introduction to Western colonisation of Latin America, Africa, and Asia and how colonialism continues to impact our lives today. She discusses with PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (Wake Up Sing...

Charles Yeo skyrocketed to fame in Singapore's recent General Election with his courageous and relatable performance on the party political broadcasts. He subsequently was elected Chairman of the Reform Party at just 30 years of age, and has gained a devoted following online. He sits down with PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (WakeUp Singapore) to talk about that infamous broadcast, his life and how h...

Every 4-5 years, the human rights record of every member state of the United Nations is reviewed. Stakeholders, including the government, civil society, and international organisations, can submit reports to the UPR to be taken into consideration in the review. Singapore's next review is coming in mid 2021. Jolene Tan and Emmy Charissa, who contributed to Singapore's civil society reports for prev...

The Climate Crisis is the greatest existential threat that humanity faces, and yet we are collectively unable to deal with it adequately due to a whole host of systemic forces which incentivise exploitation and destruction of the planet. Annika Mock and Kristian-Marc James of SG Climate Rally join PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (WakeUp Singapore) to talk about the global, Singaporean, and human cont...

With the election of a new President, how will US foreign policy change and how will this affect Singapore? Prof Ian Chong, an expert in the international relations who studies China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and USA-Southeast Asia relations, joins PJ Thum to talk about Trump’s existing foreign policy and Singapore’s role in it; whether Trump has been beneficial to Singapore; the place of small states i...

Why is American politics so divisive? Why does it seem like nothing gets done? Why are Americans so obsessed with their Constitution? If you're befuddled and puzzled about the nature of American politics, this is the podcast for you. Antonio Peronace, a longtime political insider in Washington D.C. who directed media operations for the Democratic Caucus first in the House of Representatives and th...

We live amidst crises: The fast moving and lethal COVID-19 pandemic; the slow moving but ultimately, even more lethal climate crisis; the crisis in neoliberal capitalism, which has created massive inequality between rich and poor; the crisis in liberal democracy, which has created illiberal outcomes; the crisis in nationalism, which has sown massive conflict globally. How do activists cope with th...

Preetipls (Singapore’s TOP everything!) has made waves as a viral internet sensation with videos ranging from her parody of 'Orchard Road’s Fashion Police' to videos poking fun at more serious topics such as 'racial harmony' in Singapore. She discusses her life, comedy, and philosophy with PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (Wake Up Singapore). In particular, she discusses her political awakening and ho...

Philosopher Farhan Idris returns to Political Agenda to discuss how liberation of the mind goes hand in hand with liberation of the body, and how Bras Basah Open tries to create spaces where people can come together and engage in new modes of humanistic inquiry, discussion and critique for collective freedom. He also discusses his life, being a philosopher in Singapore, his experiments with truth,...

Singapore is, by many measures, one of the richest countries in the world with a government famous for efficiency and extensive intervention in society. Yet experts estimate that up to one third of the country lives in poverty, and civil society has organised, independently of the government, to help those in need by matching them to other independent donors. PJ Thum and Sean Francis Han (WakeUpSi...

On 1 October 2020, PJ Thum delivered the keynote lecture at the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) fundraising dinner. In it, he outlines three major ideologies which underpin People's Action Party (PAP) governance in Singapore and explains how the PAP has tied these to Singapore's national identity. Further, reflecting on GE2020, PJ explains how the Worker's Party has positioned itself in relation to...

The trial of Parti Liyani rocked Singapore and brought down Liew Mun Leong, one of Singapore’s most powerful businessmen. She had been accused of stealing from members of the Liew family, and a first trial convicted her. This sentence was then overturned in the High Court. Serious questions were raised in the High Court judgement about the police handling of the investigation and the conduct of th...

Subhas Nair is a musician, activist, philosopher, athlete, and renaissance man. He came from truly humble beginnings and worked hard, going from New Town Secondary to Hwa Chong, and then to university to study urban planning. He’s well known as a rapper but he’s also an activist who campaigns for social justice and most recently campaigned about the injustice of the death penalty. He also voluntee...