Song of a Reformed Headhunter

Weekly column for the Singapore Unbound newsletter. Sign up here . In September, in Singapore, migrant worker and domestic helper Parti Liyani was acquitted of 4 charges of theft against her. She had earlier been convicted by the State Courts of stealing more than $30,000 worth of items from the family of Mr Liew Mun Leong, the (former) Chairman of Changi Airport Group. This was overturned by the High Court. In his judgment, Justice Chan Seng Onn said the convictions against Ms Parti were “unsafe” due to the presence of an “improper motive” and that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.  How could the lower court and the prosecution have erred so badly, resulting in nearly 4 years of hardship to Parti Liyani as she underwent police investigations, stood trial, was wrongly found gulity, and then appealed against her convictions? She had to remain in Singapore throughout this time, but she could not hold a job, and so she had to depend on...

I really enjoyed this conversation last Thursday with fellow queer writers Kiran Bhat, Tom Cho, Farzana Doctor, Angela Meyer, and Sarah Sala, moderated by William Johnson. We all hail from different places—Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, US—but find a common basis to discuss our different identities and writings. What is queer about our writing? How has it changed through the years? How has the pandemic changed us? What excites us about queerness now? So inspiring to hear different writers' takes on these topics. Hosted by the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, the event can be viewed on YouTube .

 So pleased to launch these new awards with the help of a major donor. Singapore Unbound, a NYC-based literary non-profit, is pleased to announce three awards of USD250.00 each for the best three undergraduate critical essays on topics in Singapore literature. The purpose of these awards is to encourage the teaching and study of Singapore literature at college level and the cultivation of general appreciation for the character and achievements of Singapore literature. Link for more information and submission guidelines.

Michael J. Sandel's The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good ? is a very persuasive and lucid argument for the darker side of meritocracy. Pursued as the ultimate goal, meritocracy gives its winners the illusory sense of having won the economic race through individual talent and effort and bequeaths on its losers a deep resentment against the winners and a despair at oneself. Especially valuable is Sandel's emphasis on the psychological harm in addition to the economic damage. It is not enough to redistribute economic gains. We need to elevate again the dignity of work, for its intrinsic value and its contributions to the common good.

Weekly column written for the Singapore Unbound newsletter. Sign up here . For SP Blog’s 7th Annual Books Round-up , 41 Singaporean writers, artists, and thinkers, living in Singapore and abroad, give their favorite read of the year. What is striking in this year’s recommendations is the variety of presses publishing Singaporean works. One of these presses is the new indie comics publisher Difference Engine , which released the recommended SOUND: A Comics Anthology . We may well be seeing a publishing renaissance in Singapore that overcomes the challenges of pandemic publishing. Big thanks to all our contributors who wrote so passionately about their recommendations. We hope you enjoy reading all the contributions as much as we’ve enjoyed compiling them. Please support independent publishers and booksellers by ordering from them directly. Join us for holiday festivities at Second Saturdays on Saturday, December 12, 7.30 pm ET. Our featured author, multiple award-winning c...