Yah Lah But

Our latest guest Jack Sim brings a touch of good ol’ toilet humour onto YLB! As the founder of the World Toilet Organization that initiated the United Nations World Toilet Day, Jack is a self-made man who has his sights set on improving world sanitation from right here in Singapore. But rather than the usual tropes about his background, in this wide ranging discussion, we lift the lid on why he be...

PM Wong made a rare visit on Tuesday morning to the Basic Military Training Centre on Pulau Tekong, and even completed a 1.8km run alongside a group of army recruits. Some online have called this move “wayang”, and demanded real political action to help National Service personnel instead. Are they asking for too much? Elsewhere, Toast Box received flak for raising prices for the second time in les...

With Haresh finally back from his well-deserved babymoon in Bali, we resume our regular format! We address the big announcement from last week’s National Day Rally: the extra 10 weeks of Government-paid parental leave that can be shared between new parents. How are business federations and SMEs reacting to the announcement? Counterintuitively, will it lead to more gender discrimination at work? Al...

(00:00) Tell You First (00:48) Intro (01:49) Discussion on Book - Kiasunomics 3 (02:00) Impact of BTO on Marriages and Divorces (07:42) Discussion on Economic Studies (24:01) Experiment on Water Savings (32:05) Introduction to Golf Data (33:59) Past Events & Data Analytics (35:35) Misconceptions About Economics & Real Estate (37:41) Urban Development & Policy (42:56) Noise Barriers &am...

Our Sponsor: Octa! Download the Octa trading app https://bit.ly/Octa_YahLahButAug and use promo code YAHLAHBUT08 to double your deposit! Disclaimer: Trading involves risk. Please trade responsibly and read the full disclaimer here: Octa's Risk disclosure Private bus company Westpoint Transit was recently in the news for its salary offer of up to $5,000 for bus drivers. The response to the recruitm...

Veteran diplomat Kishore Mahbubani stops by the YLB studio to talk about his recently-launched memoir, Living in the Asian Century, which covers his storied career spanning diplomacy, academia, and even a stint as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United Nations. In spite of everything he’s seen and accomplished in the past 75 years, why does Kishore think the next 10 years are going to be even more e...

On this episode, Mark Tan, the founder of Rice Media, stops by the Yah Lah BUT studio to talk about what inspired him to start the alternative publication. Get the inside scoop on the drama behind their first big story on Steven Lim, and that unforgettable exchange between a Rice Media reporter and Pritam Singh at the WP press conference. We also explore what’s next for Rice Media, and where Mark...

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has been at the centre of a gender controversy at the Paris Olympics, with some accusing her of actually being a man competing in a women’s competition. Now that she’s claimed a gold medal, and subsequently filed a harassment complaint, we go through the nuts and bolts of the controversy. Closer to home, the police were called in over an act of vandalism on the Pandan G...

The Ministry of Education disclosed that device management app Mobile Guardian, which is installed on most personal learning devices, was recently hacked, resulting in 13,000 students getting their devices remotely wiped. How did this lapse occur, and what can be done to help the students who lost years of notes? Also, residents of Holland Road were shocked to find out that an international houseb...

With the recent spotlight on the Income-Allianz deal, we wanted to get a better understanding of Income’s original social mission and why people are feeling anxious about the deal. So we got former NTUC Income CEO Tan Kin Lian himself to come by the YLB studio to give us a “NTUC Income 101” lesson based on his 30 years of experience leading the cooperative. We go into the nuts and bolts about why...

A property agent has been POFMAed for a video that made false claims  about the HDB’s Ethnic Integration Policy. We analysed the video and the POFMA order to try and figure out the truth. Elsewhere, a series of social media posts by the Ministry of Finance featuring images of Singaporean families generated by AI, has drawn flak from online commenters. Why the outrage over some AI images? Our New P...

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics has outraged conservatives around the world, with an apparent depiction of da Vinci’s  “Last Supper” painting featuring drag queens. The organisers have clarified that the performance wasn’t actually based on da Vinci’s painting, but religious groups and far right commentators are still calling for a boycott. Is the outrage warranted? Closer to home,...

Get ready for an unfiltered conversation as Ho Kwon Ping, Founder and Executive Chairman of Banyan Group, drops by the YLB studio. He's here to unveil his latest book, Behind The Banyan , and share hard-hitting lessons from his 30-year "badass" entrepreneurial journey. We dig into the dark side of meritocracy, why he thinks young people are “sleepwalking through life”, and whether he blames Lee Ku...

Grab officially ended its pursuit of a buyout of Trans-Cab after Singapore's competition watchdog announced that it believed the deal would result in "a substantial lessening of competition" in the local ride hailing scene. Was this turn of events a win for consumers? Elsewhere, Raffles Institution has drawn flak after a photo of a student dressed as a delivery rider for Racial Harmony Day made it...

Allianz’s plans to buy a majority stake in Singapore’s Income Insurance have sparked concerns among some Singaporeans, with prominent figures like Tommy Koh and the ex-CEO of NTUC Income speaking up against the sale. Will this move really affect Singaporean’s insurance policies, or are we missing the forest for the trees? Elsewhere, the captain of the Japanese women’s gymnastics team, Shoko Miyata...

The tumultuous US presidential election took another strange turn this weekend, as incumbent US president Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race and his endorsement of VP Kamala Harris to take his place. What led to his sudden reversal, and realistically, does Harris stand a chance against Trump? Elsewhere, the familiar blue and white slippers that are often worn in Singaporean homes wer...

Earlier this year, Sean Bai, a born and bred Singaporean, was appointed the Chief of Staff (Football) at Burnley Football Club. How exactly did a born and bred Singaporean find his way into the senior management of a prestigious English football club? Sean talks about his journey from the diplomatic service to the Champions League, why Singapore needs a robust sporting culture, and what young peop...

This past weekend, footage of the shocking assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump sent shockwaves around the world. Some have declared it as a major turning point in the presidential election that tilts the race heavily in Trump’s favour. We dissect the reasons why. Closer to home, Malaysian authorities have officially advised parents against giving exotic names to their childre...

Singapore’s Olympics swim team came under intense scrutiny when veteran Quah Ting Wen was unexpectedly replaced in the women’s 4x100m medley relay team by another swimmer, Gan Ching Hwee. Quah has since gone public with her side of the story, and ignited a debate about the fairness of the selection process. Some have labelled her as “entitled” for her actions, but is there more to this story than...

A Tampines resident urged authorities to remove a "warplane" design that was painted onto the side of a block, citing that it was “terribly distasteful" and in "bad and poor taste". However, MP Baey Yam Keng decided against doing so, and justified why in a Facebook post. Was he right in rejecting the call to remove the design? Elsewhere, a Singaporean couple travelling round the world with their 4...

Former Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan stops by the YLB studio to share his candid views about the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and to discuss how the struggle between the global superpowers will ultimately affect us in Southeast Asia. Also, he answers the big question on everyone’s minds: are we headed towards World War 3? What will a second Trump term mean for the rest of the worl...

We usually talk about the news, but did not expect to BE the news, which is what happened this week! Our Yah Lah BUT episode with Leong Mun Wai was referenced during this week’s parliamentary sitting by the Speaker of Parliament, Seah Kian Peng. What exactly was Mr Leong’s “act of contempt” on our podcast, and what did we think of the entire fiasco? Elsewhere, the “Friends of the PAP” group of inf...

Recently, Protect Singapore released a scorecard grading politicians based on their LGBTQ stance. Some were disappointed that this occurred right before Pink Dot, but we argue why it might be a good thing. Elsewhere, NUS announced that its students can take Wednesday afternoons off for out-of-class activities starting this August, ostensibly to aid their mental well-being. We question whether this...

In this Haresh-less episode, we end the patriarchy with guest host Caitanya Tan @caitofalltraits, as we deep dive into the recent debate about why more women in Singapore are choosing to remain single. We also discuss her thoughts about a viral Reddit thread about the Singapore podcast scene, and why some locals think our accent is “cringe”. (00:00) A message from Octa (01:39) Intro (16:58) Why Si...

In light of Haresh’s absence, we have comedian Jacky onboard as this week’s guest host! We talk about last weekend’s big news: the oil spill caused by an allision between two vessels that stained coastlines at East Coast Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, Keppel Bay, the Southern Islands and Sentosa. We discuss the media frenzy around the issue, and whether more could have been done to contain the spi...