What kind of involvement do Singaporeans want in policymaking?
The Maju Forest-Gillman Barracks issue has seen Singaporeans making their voices heard, offering counter-proposals, and demanding more transparency from the Government.
This isn’t the first time Singaporeans have made their views known – remember issues including the Dear You bilingual policy debate, the SimplyGo roll out, and the scrapped NTUC Income-Allianz deal.
Are we in a new era of civic participation, and does the way the Government engages Singaporeans need to change? Also, would too much consultation hamper policymaking?
In this episode of The Usual Place, I speak with:
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Assistant Professor of Sociology George Wong, who researches grassroots organisations in urban governance and politics in Asia at Singapore Management University, and
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Jonathan Ng, an independent consultant with more than 20 years of experience in policy advocacy and regulation, and a former civil servant. He also creates social media content about how government and businesses work.
Highlights (click/tap above):
2:17 Reactions to S’poreans speaking up about Maju Forest
6:33 Has the Government responded well?
9:38 Citizens must trust that their voices matter: Jonathan
11:00 S’poreans want to “see how the sausage is being made”: George
13:54 Should policies satisfy every stakeholder?
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