Note from the Editor
Rice Media is a product that works in a more mature media market. We’re not new media 1.0, where it’s still about viral news. We’re kind of the voice that comes after that.
Recent Articles
From a very healthy lifestyle to a craftsmen breathing life into some unloved objects, here are some of our favourite stories from the past few weeks.
What Questions Did DPM Heng’s Press Conference Fail to Address?
Top Image: MCI
Within our country’s short history, political leadership transitions have always been muted and predictable affairs, framed as “nothing to see here, let’s move on”. The transition from Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong was settled in 1984; when the takeover official
Regardless of Race, Language or Religion. What About Gender?
Photography by Wallace Woon.
Two weeks into her new job, Rachel* found herself on the floor of her office, drunk and having chipped a tooth. Scrambling to tear herself away from a drinking game that took a turn for the physical, the 21-year-old ran to the bathroom to call her partner.
How Expat Women Became The Casualties of Singapore’s Latest Labour Policy Change
All images by Liang Jin Tey.
Kate, Therese, and Lucia (not their real names) all hail from different countries and have never met each other, but they spoke of their predicaments to me in a common language of outrage and betrayal.
“An awful shock, “like a slap to the face”, and “just inc
Meet Serene, The Singaporean Who Moved To Australia To Become A Land Developer
Immigration has become a hot topic in the past year. But thus far, the discussion has mainly been centred around foreigners that choose to come to Singapore. But what about the other side of the picture? In this ‘Singaporeans Abroad’ series, we share with you the stories of locals who—thanks t
Mark's Table
![The Plight of Dover Forest, And One Secondary School Teacher’s Fight to Save It]()
All images by Feline Lim unless otherwise stated.
Though he’s wearing a threadbare military tee from his NS days, it’s hard to imagine Chua Chin Tat crawling through the mud with a semi-automatic weapon. He is calm and deliberate when he plods, heron-like, towards Dover Forest.
The Plight of Dover Forest, And One Secondary School Teacher’s Fight to Save It
All images by Feline Lim unless otherwise stated.
Though he’s wearing a threadbare military tee from his NS days, it’s hard to imagine Chua Chin Tat crawling through the mud with a semi-automatic weapon. He is calm and deliberate when he plods, heron-like, towards Dover Forest.
Sign up for the newsletter
If you want relevant updates occasionally, sign up for the private newsletter. Your email is never shared.
01
![How Singapore’s Hotels Are Preparing For the Next Decade of Hospitality]()
How Singapore’s Hotels Are Preparing For the Next Decade of Hospitality
Fortunately, things are looking up. Vaccines are progressively rolling out, and lockdowns are getting lifted across the world. Staycations, now becoming more of a necessity to stave off cabin fever, have given Singapore’s tourism industry the big boost needed to recover. Innovative new ways and new tech are being utilised to keep hotel guests safe until the outbreak eventually blows over.
02
![Sadly, Farming Games Can Never Match Up To Real Life Farming]()
Sadly, Farming Games Can Never Match Up To Real Life Farming
Lacking the courage to make a career switch into agriculture and the funds required to venture overseas, I resorted to playing Stardew Valley—an idyllic role-playing farming game set in the rural countryside. The premise of the game is simple: A young professional leaves a soulless corporate job to run a dilapidated farm. It mirrors a trend we see in real life (and my inner desires to hit the quit button from city living) too.
03
![The Secret Beauty of Ubi, Uncovered In 24 Hours]()
The Secret Beauty of Ubi, Uncovered In 24 Hours
Word on the street is that things have changed—quaint cafes and hip stores have popped up in every corner. Business owners and real estate companies operating in these zones are excited about this trajectory, and are bracing themselves for an influx of sightseers and daytrippers.
04
![The Unbearable Loneliness of Being: How Singapore’s Trans Teenagers Cope With School]()
The Unbearable Loneliness of Being: How Singapore’s Trans Teenagers Cope With School
‘Transgender’ is a general term used to describe someone whose gender identity is different from the sex assigned at birth. A trans man is someone whose assigned sex at birth was female, but whose gender identity is male. Similarly, a trans woman is a person whose sex assigned at birth was male but whose gender identity is female.
05
![The Changing Frontier of Sustainability: Good for People and Good for the Environment]()
The Changing Frontier of Sustainability: Good for People and Good for the Environment
While most Singaporeans appreciate the importance of protecting the environment and addressing climate change in the abstract, many do not see the daily impact this has on their own lives, or the way individual choices shape the way we live as a society.
06
![Why Are We So Willing to Give Our Data to Big Tech, But Not the Government?]()
Why Are We So Willing to Give Our Data to Big Tech, But Not the Government?
Ever since the TraceTogether backpedalling kerfuffle, the government has gone on an apology blitz to right the wrongs of breaching public trust. This includes promising to pass laws on which crimes fit the bill when such data is used — though it’s hard to imagine extremists bringing along their TraceTogether tokens to a terror plot meeting.
07
![The Future of Work: A Youth’s Perspective on the Transition from School to Work]()
The Future of Work: A Youth’s Perspective on the Transition from School to Work
2020 has not been not a great year to be graduating. Compounding the traditional difficulties of entering the workforce, the disruption brought about by COVID-19 has made the search for meaningful work tougher. Therefore, we must do more to ensure the competitiveness and employability of young people.
08
![The Consequences of Singapore’s Snitching Culture in 2021]()
The Consequences of Singapore’s Snitching Culture in 2021
With the events surrounding Covid-19 and GE2020, never before in Singapore’s 55-year history, had there been as many opportunities to inform on our neighbours and turn in our family members to the police. There were also more digital tools at our disposal to catch fellow Singaporeans with their pants down (see: NUS culture).
09
![Is Canberra The New Ghost Town Of Singapore?]()
Is Canberra The New Ghost Town Of Singapore?
Every neighbourhood in Singapore has a reputation: Bukit Timah is old money, Sentosa Cove is new money, Marine Parade is for the beach lovers, Sengkang is for the young liberal middle-class families, Joo Chiat and Tiong Bahru are for the trendy expats, and Yishun is just … ratchet.
10
![Covid Taught This Teacher To Take Risks. So He Quit To Turn His Hobby Into A Business]()
![Do Frontline Lower-Wage Workers Feel Appreciated?]()
5:23
![Comedian to Concierge: The “Swiss Army Knife” of lyf@Funan]()
![Actor to Wedding Planner: Ensuring Harmony in Ceremony]()
![Competitive Eater to Hotel Chef: An Appetite for Food Sustainability]()
![While Singapore Sleeps: 4:15am at Jurong Fishery Port]()
![Ong Weijian and the Quest for the Three-Door Bus]()
![Singaporeans Will Have Access to Stem Cell-based Seafood Very Soon]()
![Hawker Culture On UNESCO’s Heritage List Means Nothing If No One Takes Over]()
![The MOE vs. Trans Debate Has Nothing To Do With ‘Culture Wars’]()
![One Last Walk Down Lorong 3 Geylang]()
![Why Future-Proofing Workers Is Critical as Singapore’s Factories Automate]()
Covid Taught This Teacher To Take Risks. So He Quit To Turn His Hobby Into A Business
“When I was doing the sums on how much sales I’m making,” Justin Lin, 31, says, “I was like, ‘Wait, I only made $50 bucks today and I worked so hard last night? I gotta change my menu items or I gotta increase the prices.’”
11
![Why Future-Proofing Workers Is Critical as Singapore’s Factories Automate]()
Why Future-Proofing Workers Is Critical as Singapore’s Factories Automate
Four years ago, the strategy for Singapore’s economy to remain relevant in a fast-changing world was clear: automate our factories and future-proof the manufacturing output of our country. This strategy was necessary, since manufacturing accounts for one-fifth of our GDP.
13
![Technically Speaking: From Sociology Graduate to Data Science Programmer]()
Technically Speaking: From Sociology Graduate to Data Science Programmer
My switch from an analyst role to a more technical one surprised many, especially friends and former classmates. “Statistics? Machine learning? Automation? Whatever happened to sociology? All those years spent learning social relationships, interaction, culture of everyday life?” It took some explaining that both sets of skills work hand-in-hand to create magic for users and customers. After all, we can only create good technology when we understand human needs and their social contexts. One major trigger for this switch took place in 2017.
14
![Meet Wendy Ong, The Singaporean Woman Who Manages Hollywood’s Biggest Stars]()
Meet Wendy Ong, The Singaporean Woman Who Manages Hollywood’s Biggest Stars
Immigration has become a hot topic in recent months. But thus far, the discussion has largely centered around foreigners that choose to come to Singapore. But what about the other side of the picture? In this ‘Singaporeans Abroad’ series, we share with you the stories of locals who—thanks to living in a globalised world—have found success in different corners of the globe, whether financially, romantically, or for the pure joy of adventure.
15
![Are Our Fears About The TraceTogether Token Justified? We Asked A Data Privacy Expert]()
Are Our Fears About The TraceTogether Token Justified? We Asked A Data Privacy Expert
RICE spoke with Mr Roland Turner, a data privacy professional, to unpack some of our fears around the token, and whether we should indeed be proceeding with caution.
16
![You Can Buy Personal Data Off Karangunis, and No One is Talking About it]()
You Can Buy Personal Data Off Karangunis, and No One is Talking About it
In the heart of the CBD where business folks commute in the midday sun, a familiar face walks around collecting discarded cardboard or old furniture. His lorry is parked near cafes that serve coffee priced at more than five dollars a cup, a luxury he will probably never afford in his lifetime. In the meantime, while every security expert seems to be looking into the abyss of cyberspace for the next big phishing attack or security breach, this old rag and bone man, more locally known as the ‘karanguni’, could be holding one of the keys to solving some of the data breaches that have been plaguing our nation.
Random Opinion
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod.
Video
https://youtu.be/XWq5kBlakcQ
Do Frontline Lower-Wage Workers Feel Appreciated?
When circuit breaker kicked in last year, most of us were able to seek refuge at home thanks to flexible work-from-home arrangements. However, not everyone was afforded this luxury. Due to the physical nature of their jobs, they had to be outside and this increased their potential exposure to the co
5:23
Mark's Table
Comedian to Concierge: The “Swiss Army Knife” of lyf@Funan
Stand-up comedian Rishi Budhrani meets Justin Chan, a lyf Guard (Concierge) at lyf@Funan, to see if he could make a good concierge himself. Together, they educate us on how the traditional role has evolved in this day and age, where one would need to wear different hats to deliver the best service.
Behind Closed Doors
Actor to Wedding Planner: Ensuring Harmony in Ceremony
How does a wedding look like in a pandemic? Actress Munah Bagharib takes us to Oasia Hotel and tries her hand at planning a grand wedding with events planner Karen Chua. There, she finds out what goes on behind the scenes to plan an event of a lifetime — all while ensuring everyone stays safe.
Mark's Table
Competitive Eater to Hotel Chef: An Appetite for Food Sustainability
We follow professional eater Zermatt Neo as he trades his huge appetite for a stint in the kitchen with Chef Wong, Fairmont Hotel’s Executive Chef. There, he learns what it takes to cook in a professional, sustainability-focused kitchen with a secret farm.
Photo Stories
The Rice Podcast
From a very healthy lifestyle to a craftsmen breathing life into some unloved objects, here are some of our favourite stories from the past few weeks.
See all
Why Future-Proofing Workers Is Critical as Singapore’s Factories Automate
Four years ago, the strategy for Singapore’s economy to remain relevant in a fast-changing world was clear: automate our factories and future-proof the manufacturing output of our country. This strategy was necessary, since manufacturing accounts for one-fifth of our GDP.
