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Heart of the Matter

Heart of the Matter - Presidential Election: What do voters think about politics in Singapore?

Heart of the Matter - Presidential Election: What do voters think about politics in Singapore?
05 Sep 2023 05:13PM
25 mins

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 with Walid Jumblatt Abdullah, Assistant Professor at the Nanyang Technological University and Eugene Tan, Associate Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University.

Heart of the Matter - New BTO framework: Will moving up the property ladder get harder?

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 OrangeTee & Tie, Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at real estate platform MOGUL.sg, and Sarah Lin, a 27-year-old who successfully balloted for her flat after seven tries.

24/08/2023 29 mins

Heart of the Matter - What will it take to attract and retain good nurses in Singapore?

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 Yong Keng Kwang and CEO of recruitment agency People360 Services Jordache Keith share their thoughts with Steven Chia.

17/08/2023 30 mins

Heart of the Matter - Workers' safety on lorries: A system of many moving parts

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 Social Sciences.

10/08/2023 27 mins

Heart of the Matter - Why are parents still gunning for brand name primary schools?

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 from the National Institute of Education and Tan Hui Min, a mother of two.

03/08/2023 25 mins

Heart of the Matter - Why is it so hard to get concert tickets in Singapore?

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 Adelyn Aidzil, a Taylor Swift fan.

06/07/2023 22 mins