On the individual level, it's "nice" to see people donating to help others in need. The local media loves to highlight this; the angle is usually how Singaporeans are generous and caring and empathetic, really.

What's less examined is *why* we're crowdfunding in the first place.
Donating is a nice thing as an individual, but as a society we should be asking if it's just that a delivery rider doesn't get work injury compensation/accident insurance 'cos we have a gig economy that leaves companies free of responsibilities for the workers who prop them up.
Local media focused on how encouraging it is to see Singaporeans chip in to raise money for Piang Ngaih Don's family after her case came up in the press. That might assuage our conscience, but I'm sure her family would have preferred her to *not* be murdered by her employer.
Every time something terrible happens to a migrant worker(s) we donate and crowdfund. But only a minority organise to push for *systemic* change that would not just compensate a worker's family, but enact clearer protections that'll prevent this shit happening again.
Meanwhile, the government tweaks around the edges of fundamentally exploitative systems, issues press releases about how there will be more outreach/counsellors/spot-checks/bureaucracy, and we move on until something terrible happens again.
If we really have empathy, if we really want to stop terrible things happening to marginalised/vulnerable communities, we can't stop at donating $$$ via GoFundMe or Giving.sg. We need to be organising and applying pressure for systemic and structural reform.
Support activists who are already doing this, and desperately in need of more voices and more amplification. Stand in solidarity when they are harassed, investigated, or otherwise targeted by the powerful.
There are ongoing efforts in multiple areas calling for systemic change. For instance, NGOs like @home_migrantssg and @twc2sg have been saying for over a decade that migrant workers shouldn't be transported in the backs of lorries. Do what you can to strengthen their calls.
Earlier this month @tjc_singapore published an article detailing the systemic changes that need to happen to provide more protections so domestic workers like Piang Ngaih Don will not be abused and murdered by their employers: transformativejusticecollective.org/2021/04/15/add…
Today, @sgclimaterally submitted a petition, supported by other civil society groups, calling for better rights for gig economy workers like private-hire drivers and food delivery riders:
You can catch up on the key points raised in @sgclimaterally's livestream today, where they talked about workers' rights and climate action:
Singapore has a “Many Helping Hands” approach. It’s peddled as an “all hands on deck”, kampong spirit thing. What it often means, though, is that volunteer groups and citizens take on the work of meeting needs that can/should be addressed by the state. straitstimes.com/opinion/all-ha…
But this sort of approach can be remarkably inefficient, requiring people in need of help to go to multiple organisations/agencies to get help a bit here, a bit there. There is a psychological and emotional toll to this.
We can crowdfund till the cows come home to support charities and help low-income families, but the support this generates will never be as efficient as, say, the government legislating a living wage.
Stuff like living wages are also things that only govt can do. Once someone said, “Wasn’t it inspiring to see SGeans step up to volunteer/donate when #Covid19 broke out in dorms?” Yes, but only govt can raise the living standards across the board and deal w/ systemic wage theft.

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More from @kixes

20 Apr
🧵on #Covid19 tech + surveillance in 🇸🇬

1/ Unlike this time last year, when Singapore's epidemic curve shot up and we were seeing new cases in the 100s/1000s (mostly within migrant worker dorms), the number of cases have come right down now, and tend to be mostly imported cases. Image
2/ Of course, this drop in cases + vaccination roll-out doesn't mean that we should get complacent and think that #Covid19 is over, because it isn't.

But what are we doing doubling down so hard on #Covid19 tech and surveillance?
3/ Early last year, the government introduced TraceTogether, a contact-tracing app that works via Bluetooth to ping close contacts.

This is a #wethecitizens issue I wrote with support from privacy conscious friends in March 2020: wethecitizens.net/tracetogether-…
Read 31 tweets
16 Apr
While thinking further about @the_ayeminthant's piece, as well as looking at responses to my own piece on @splicenewsroom (thank you everyone!) I'm reminded of this experience that I had years ago... (here comes the 🧵)
1/ This was back in the day when I still thought that freelancing might only be a temporary arrangement for me. A well-established and respected Western, English language media company was hiring a Southeast Asia Correspondent, so I thought that I'd apply.
2/ The job ad (obviously) stated that fluency in English was necessary. But it also said that proficiency in a Southeast Asian language would be a strong advantage.
Read 11 tweets
8 Apr
When the ruling party in your effectively one-party state country sees its succession plan go up in smoke, you don't wait until the regular Saturday slot to send out your newsletter weekly wrap. Here we go with this week's #wethecitizens: wethecitizens.ghost.io/not-according-…
One thing I didn't add about Lawrence Wong was that he was the minister who talked about "culture wars" when asked about MOE's policy re: transgender students. That's one black mark against his name, although I'm not sure how many (esp. older) Singaporeans would make a note.
With HSK out of the running for the premiership, people are now going to be reading tea leaves and placing (real/figurative) bets on who’s up.

I argued in #wethecitizens that this isn’t the most important question for Singapore.
Read 9 tweets
8 Apr
Heng Swee Keat no longer in the running to be Singapore’s next prime minister. He says the result his team got in East Coast GRC in the last general election is not the reason why he chose to step aside.

Sure thing, buddy channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore…
What’s not mentioned here is that LHL *could* have stuck to the schedule of stepping down in 2022; some have argued that his pledge to remain (made in the middle of the GE2020 campaign) was a response to lacklustre public enthusiasm for Heng and the 4G.
After all, LHL had already allowed the 4G to oversee the #Covid19 situation, which is why we kept seeing Lawrence Wong at those briefings. If there was confidence in the 4G, LHL could have stepped down at 70 as promised. straitstimes.com/politics/4g-le…
Read 7 tweets
7 Apr
Hey @Forbes, please don't let people who don't know anything about Singapore write about Singapore.

During the "circuit breaker" lockdown, psychological treatment wasn't even included in the list of essential services: straitstimes.com/singapore/ment…
Psychology services were re-categorised later in the month, after outcry: channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore…
Written like someone who read some government press releases and websites, and nothing else
Read 4 tweets
14 Mar
‘I feel weirded out by trans people but am too scared to say so publicly in case I get cancelled cos the woke movement has created such a climate of fear” says person who just got her article published in a major local media outlet todayonline.com/gen-y-speaks/g…
The author raises the example of JK Rowling as an example of why she's now afraid to admit that she still has questions and discomfort about transitioning and openly transgender people.
But the the Rowling tweet she highlights is *not* an example of someone who sincerely wants to learn. Rowling was glibly taking a position that trans women aren't women. This is very different from "I'm not well-versed in this issue and would like to know more."
Read 10 tweets

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