TOC Youth Week: Get out of town

Oct. 23 | Joel Tan / Writer The minute something interesting and distinctive begins to develop in the heart of town, we pull out our guns and go “shoot the eyesore”. A few weeks ago, I opened up the Lifestyle section of the Straits Times on Sunday to read...

Religion and the right not to respect it

Jun. 15 | Joel Tan The hold of religion over law and policy creeps in like a thief in the night: once we lose sight of it, we afford religions a trump card, even above fundamental human rights, that they do not deserve. Human rights, civic rights, freedoms, rights,...

Shouldn’t MINDEF be more transparent about servicemen deaths?

Jun. 12 | Breaking News: Another servicemen dies on Wednesday (Earthtimes). June 12 – SAF suspends physical training after two deaths in two days. (CNA). Singapore‘s Ministry of Defence has declared a three-day time-out (12-14 June) on all physical...

TOC Opinion – Police: Foreigners not allowed to complain

Jan. 28 | By Joel Tan Singapore residents have made notable complainers over the years, in what may, along with eating, be described as the nation’s favourite past-time. Over the weekend, however, an interesting twist on this seemingly harmless activity has...

When saying “traditional, conservative society” doesn’t cut it anymore

Sep. 19 | By Joel Tan The spotlight is once again on the fight for gay rights in Singapore- it is an increasingly emotional war of words and like all wars, is inherently fruitless. I say fruitless because, after 22 years since the last review of the penal code...