2019 marks the 200th anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles' arrival and the beginning of colonisation in Singapore. Following up on 2015's SG50 celebrations, this year Singaporeans will be hearing plenty about the SG Bicentennial. But how—and why—are we commemorating our own colonisation? How do Singaporeans view colonialism, and what impact has the dominant historical narrative had on our lives? We talk to freelance researchers Nurul Fadiah Johari and Farhan Idris, and artist and musician Bani Haykal about their reactions to the bicentennial.

In its 60 years in power, the People's Action Party has used three, very starkly different, official historical narratives. In this lecture, PJ Thum explains this historiography and how the current narrative aims to legitimise the continued subjugation of Singaporeans, weaponise nationalism, and perpetuate colonial mindsets.

Protests are often seen as disruptive and destructive, and are generally frowned upon in Singapore. Activists and performance artists have been arrested and charged under the Public Order Act in recent years, even for indoor forums and solo outdoor performances. In this episode, we sit down to talk to former student activist Tan Tee Seng and civil rights activist Jolovan Wham about activism, social change, and the rule of law in Singapore.

In our final episode of Political Agenda for 2018, New Naratif's Managing Director PJ Thum and Editor-in-Chief Kirsten Han sit down to talk about recent developments in Singapore, from the anointing of Heng Swee Keat as successor to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, to the ongoing maritime dispute between Singapore and Malaysia, and the upcoming bicentennial of Raffles' landing on the island.

Singapore has an ageing population. It's a situation often described in anxious, alarmist tones, with the growing number of senior citizens framed as dependent on a shrinking pool of able-bodied working adults. Yet the country is doing well in terms of health life expectancies, indicating that Singapore's elderly aren't as helpless or infirm as they are often portrayed as being. Is it time for a fundamental overhaul of the way we think about ageing? In this episode, we talk to Dr Kanwaljit Soin, founding president of Women's Initiative for Ageing Successfully (WINGS), and Fong Hoe Fang, the founder of Ethos Books currently in the process of retiring to future adventures.

There are almost a million work permit holders in Singapore, labouring in a range of low-wage, stigmatised professions: construction, manufacturing, domestic work. But many face physical and social segregation, and are excluded from data on Singapore’s resident population. This week, Dr Stephanie Chok from the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) and Debbie Fordyce from Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) join New Naratif to talk about this marginalised segment of Singapore’s population, and what the impact is on not just Singaporeans, but also the workers and their families back home.

Political Agenda is a fortnightly podcast by New Naratif, where we get interesting people together for a conversation about an important Singaporean subject or issue.

Singapore’s hawker centres have been described as a “cultural institution”, a source of pride as much as a source of good eats. Yet the hawker industry is in crisis today, with rents and overhead costs rising even as hawkers are pressured to keep their prices down. In this episode, PJ Thum heads to Chinatown Food Complex to speak to three hawkers, Jialiang, Yu Ting and Uncle Arthur, about the difficulty of surviving, not as cultural symbols, but viable businesses.

(All three of their stalls can be found at Blk 355 Smith Street Chinatown Complex, Singapore 050335:

Yu Ting and her friend Alex serve up fusion Japanese-Italian food at Sutachi at #02-60.

Uncle Arthur runs Chinatown Sun Seng at #02-61 serving up homely Singaporean and Chinese cuisine.

While you’re enjoying all this great food, Jialiang will be at Smith Street Taps at #02-62 supplying you with craft beer to quench that thirst. You can also order chocolate truffles from him online at Demochoco.)

On 6 September, the Indian Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality when it ruled on Section 377 of its penal code. The historic ruling on this colonial-era law gave a boost to Singapore’s LGBT movement, prompting a renewed push to repeal Section 377A of Singapore’s Penal Code. New Naratif sits down with Ready4Repeal co-author Johannes Hadi, Clement Tan of Pink Dot and PhD candidate Pamela Devan to talk about the anti-gay law and other LGBT issues in Singapore.

 From our speakers:

• Ready4Repeal: http://ready4repeal.com 
• Pink Dot: http://pinkdot.sg
• Check out Pamela Devan’s work: http://www.bu.edu/sociology/graduate-programs/current-students/pamela-devan/

 If you are in need of support or resources, check out these LGBT or LGBT-friendly organisations in Singapore:

• Brave Spaces runs a hotline for LBTQI women: http://bravespace.org/programmes-services/brave-helpline/brave-helpline-faq/
• Oogachaga is an LGBT-friendly counselling organisation: https://oogachaga.com/ 
• The T Project is a homeless shelter for the transgender community: http://www.thetprojectsg.org/ 
• The Kopitiam Brothers is a group by transmen for transmen: https://www.facebook.com/thekopibros/ 
• Pelangi Pride Centre is an LGBT community space and resource centre: https://www.pelangipridecentre.org/ 
• Same But Different is a legal guidebook for LGBT couples and families in Singapore: https://www.singaporelgbtlaw.com/ 
• The Bi+ Collective is a space for people who are bisexual: https://thebipluscollective.wixsite.com/tbcsg/about 
• Prout is an app to connect you with others in the LGBT community: http://proutapp.strikingly.com/
• The Healing Circle aims to provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ Malay Muslims to embrace both their spirituality and sexual orientation: http://www.thehealingcircle.sg/

New Naratif turned one on 8 September 2018 and we marked the occasion with our members with a live recording of Political Agenda! Managing Director PJ Thum and Editor-in-Chief Kirsten Han reflect on a rollercoaster year and take questions from the audience.