It seems the opposition in Sg GE, has only one weapon which is anti immigrant sentiment, which does not make it any different to the major populist zeitgeist globally. As a Fallen Talent or FT who has studied on a NRF Scholarship plus worked in the country and is a Singapore-phile🇸🇬 proudly I can assure many that there are folks like me who are not PR do serve the island in our ways.

I work with non profits to serve unserved communities and businesses on the island to take them to international markets to the best of my abilities. I travel on short term visas and love the country.

Not all are leaches. Stop the white washing.

Digital Covid era election Singapore style is one of a kind. The ruling PAP sends in the very best in the form of suave and soft spoken Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister and master debater to demolish the opposition. SDP’s Dr CSJ was a terrible choice given his fractious history. He was called out many times during the debate as the weak link. The Progress Singapore Party representative on the debate asked some difficult questions.

Ivy League educated Dr Jamus Lim of the Workers Party held his ground and was forceful, gently. He set out the Worker’s Party’s scope of work very clearly when Dr Vivian called his party ‘PAP Light’. His training as a sovereign wealth fund economist came of good use.

Dr Paul’s intellectual heft was missed. SDP will remember this blunder for many years.

Today I updated my Academic Publications list, which I had not done over the past three years since I was in the Gulf. Publication list is a language is alien for the consulting space I know but intellectual production is vital even for a knowledge sector such as consulting, rife with a copy-paste mindset. Innovation is the currency in the new normal where growth prospects seem bleak.

I have been publishing since 2006 when I was hardly out of my teens. Not bad as I have been trudging away scrubbing one abstract/paper at a time for the past 15 years.

15 international conference papers, 3 journal papers, 2 conference papers and numerous articles for the popular media which I did not enumerate. Neither the consulting reports that I have authored or led.

It’s important to step back and count ones work and impact. Detractors are a dime a dozen. Let the work speak.

I speak to students at Delhi Technological University formerly Delhi College of Engineering on personal growth in this pandemic on July 4th. May the Forth be with you!

On the second day of the #BaluchistanDialogues hosted by @tilakchronicle and CASS, Pune has Mr. Hyrbyair Marri of The Free Baluchistan Movement speak along with Human Rights Lawyer Arif Ajakia. The session is moderated by Major Gaurav Arya.

Day one was an introduction with Major Arya speaking on India’s responsibility towards the Baloch cause called upon our government to act. Air Marshall Gokhale spoke as well to commence the online seminar.

Arif Aajakia rips apart the underbelly of the architecture of oppression in Baluchistan. From forced conversations to the wobbly basis of the idea of partition, he focused on the raw realities of a colonial state. He focused on the top down nature of the Pakistani state to implement its strategic objectives.

Mr. Marri speaks about the rejection of all shades of foreign occupation in Baluchistan from the Chinese, Turks to the Pakistanis. The speakers reject the Pakistani claim of a religious state, stating they are also of the same community of faith, but have an identity.

The two sessions spread across the weekend brought the vital topic of this space of aspirations to the spotlight of policy conversations. Excellent questions were asked and apt answers enlarged our collective understanding of the historical and contemporary dynamics of Baluchistan.

Major General Shishir Hari of CASS, Pune offered his vote of thanks in conclusion to the online seminar.

On the day 1 of the #BaluchistanDialogues presented by @tilakchronicle and CASS, Pune- Mr. Mark Kinra gave a comprehensive overview of the sociopolitical terrain of the fraught region. Major Gaurav Arya stressed India’s role in supporting the cause. He was blunt in emphasising the power politics of the global order. India should show it’s fighting side rather than the harmless angle, which only shows weakness. We tell ourselves falsehoods of peace when the real story is different. He wished tribes unite and don’t fight each other, and fight the oppressor.

This is the third election in Singapore I am following closely as I was there on the ground blogging and on social media in 2011 and 2015 while I was working at world class policy think tanks. This time I am overseas, but synced in with Singaporean Digital Public Sphere closely with friends contesting the polls as well.

2011 was a watershed election, with George Yeo helmed GRC falling to the Workers Party. Nicole Seah made a flash as well, who is back this time around with a different party. I saw election rallies in Clementi where I lived for years.

2015 was after Ah Kong passing away and was a hugely emotional tone, with Al Juneid GRC going down to the line, with the results declared post midnight.

2020 is an election which will be in the ‘new normal’ of the pandemic with four budgets. The parties have started releasing the candidate lists with interesting choices. The quality of the leadership talent amazes me across the board.

As a Singapore-Phile having studied on tax payer dollars which funded my NRF scholarship and my grants, the island is in many ways ‘This is Home’ in the spirit of the famous NDP anthem 🇸🇬

I watch the August 9th festivities on livestream every year too. I work with non profits there and help partner with specialists to take them to new markets in the Gulf. I few of them are on my digital feeds.

Looking forward to working in/with Singapore. I like that issues such as inequality and climate change are front and centre on the agenda.