Deep Dive

The rise of e-commerce has been nothing short of spectacular on the back of a pandemic. Yet, as the biggest climate conference COP26 takes place in Glasgow, how do staggering online shopping figures sit with a growing consciousness over sustainability, packaging waste and unnecessary consumption? What does a sustainable Singles’ Day look like if not lower sales or fewer advertisements to attract shoppers? Lin Suling finds out from Lazada Group’s Chief Business Officer James Chang and Sharon Ng, Professor and Head of the Marketing Division at NTU Nanyang Business School.

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Their numbers are not small and they take us where we want to go and deliver us food and groceries. As more turn to gig work – amidst a pandemic, can platform companies treat them like employees with CPF top ups and insurance? But what impact would that have on bottom lines and will consumers pay higher prices? Lin Suling unpacks the complex topic of compensating flexible work with Managing Director of Grab Singapore Yee Wee Tang.

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Is 2021 the year when employees take back control over work amid predictions of a great resignation wave, not to mention complaints of bad bosses, long working hours and unfair demands? Are our expectations as workers unrealistic? How much responsibility should managers shoulder and what does a good balance look like? Lin Suling checks back with Adrian Tan, strategist at the Institute for Human Resource Professionals, and Leong Chee Tung, co-founder of EngageRocket one year and many work-from-home months later.

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Is the launch of more Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) a turning point for travel and an end to restrictive quarantines? CNA’s Lin Suling speaks to sociologist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences Omer Ali Saifudeen, Expedia Asia-Pacific Head of Communications Lavinia Rajaram and business journalist Raini Hamdi to find out how safe VTLs are amid smaller planes and crowded airports, how long more before travel reverts to pre-COVID levels and what’s behind hesitant public attitudes towards travel.

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In the eye of a storm, Singapore hospitals are fighting off a fresh wave of infections, after being on the frontlines of COVID-19 for 20 months. How have hospitals reorganised themselves to deal with this surge? Can doctors, nurses and other staff go on leave? Have more community facilities, additional beds and the shift towards home recovery helped in easing the load? Lin Suling speaks to Associate Professor Melvin Chua Peng Wei, Deputy Chairman, Division of Medicine and Inpatient Care, Sengkang General Hospital and Dr Stephanie Sutjipto, Senior Resident at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

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The vast majority of Singapore residents are vaccinated and worldwide, nearly 6 billion shots have been given. Yet, barely nine months later, the first call for booster shots has gone out. But what does the data say? Why are there mixed scientific views? Will this confusion create even more uncertainty and affect eventual uptake? Lin Suling gets Dr Leong Hoe Nam, infectious disease specialist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital and Dr Hsu Li Yang of NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health to break it down.

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Singapore is one of the world's most vaccinated countries but the unvaccinated remain at risk with every infection surge. Is it time to stop persuading people and consider mandates especially for those without legitimate medical reasons? Could a sharper differentiation of measures for the unvaccinated nudge more to get the shot? And what are the drawbacks of making COVID-19 vaccination compulsory? Lin Suling gets answers from David Lye, Director of the Infectious Disease Research and Training Office at NCID, and Ashley St John, Associate Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School’s Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

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With one of the world’s highest vaccination rates and the ability to quickly test for COVID-19 infections, some questions were raised this week when the Singapore Government said it would not rule out a circuit breaker as it navigates a path towards opening up further. Is it possible to have a clean, clear exit strategy from the pandemic? And how close is Singapore to being able to live normally with an endemic COVID-19? CNA's Lin Suling speaks to Associate Professor Lim Poh Lian, member of the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination, and Professor Ooi Eng Eong of the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at Duke-NUS Medical School.

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Penalised for breaking COVID-19 rules and refusing to wear a mask, Benjamin Glynn and Paramjeet Kaur claimed rules are not for "living people" with "sovereign rights". Where did such ideas come from? Are they a nuisance fringe group with little traction, or could there be a more serious undercurrent gathering steam slowly? Tan Ern Ser, Associate Professor of Sociology at NUS and Eugene Tan, Associate Professor of Law at SMU unpack this phenomenon with CNA's Lin Suling.

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Malaysian politics has been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride. With prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob now at the helm, ready to appoint a Cabinet, CNA’s Lin Suling asks ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Dr Francis Hutchinson and Singapore Institute of International Affairs’ Dr Oh Ei Sun: Will the new government survive a confidence vote? Will UMNO seize this chance to redeem itself? What are the implications when the monarchy, which was never meant to be a backstop against politics crises, steps in? And are these dynamics simply part of Malaysia’s journey towards becoming a “normal” democracy?

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