WP's Eileen Chong on Leaving MFA for the Opposition & the Hidden Cost of Singapore’s Success | #799
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Show Notes
From MFA diplomat to Workers' Party NCMP in five months, Eileen Chong is asking Parliament the questions most leave untouched - about Singapore's loneliness epidemic, arts funding gaps, AI's real costs, and the price of one generation's relentless success.
𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙧: 𝙇𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙂𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘓𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴’ 𝘊𝘌𝘖 𝘛𝘦𝘰 𝘑𝘰𝘰 𝘞𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵.
𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 | https://yahlahbut.short.gy/Ep792
𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘌𝘛𝘍 | https://yahlahbut.short.gy/LGI-GoldETF
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥/𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.
𝘠𝘢𝘩 𝘓𝘢𝘩 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘗𝘰𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥/𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦.
𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙧 – 𝙇𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙂𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴.𝘤𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘓𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴® 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 (𝘜𝘌𝘕/ 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘕𝘰. 198601745𝘋)
𝙇𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙂𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙋𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙀𝙏𝙁 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙪𝙣𝙙'𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙙𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨 (𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙 (𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙨)), 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙨. 𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨, 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙂𝙓-𝙎𝙏.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴
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(00:00) Pre-Roll
(00:00:50) Intro
(00:01:12) Introducing Eileen Chong, WP NCMP
(00:02:59) From Spotlight to Short Runway: Joining WP Before GE2025
(00:04:32) Was Politics Always on Her Radar?
(00:05:42) Scholar, Diplomat, Then Opposition: The Reasoning
(00:08:00) Singapore's Treadmill Culture & the Hidden Wellbeing Cost
(00:10:10) What She Observed in the Diplomatic Corps: Beijing & Seoul
(00:13:15) Does She Even Have Time to Disconnect Now?
(00:14:44) Her Parliament Speech: Time, Presence & Space
(00:16:51) Singapore Exceptionalism: Why Self-Defeating Thinking Holds Us Back
(00:19:23) TFR at 0.87 & What Korea's Reversal Means for S'pore
(00:21:29) How Singapore Is Perceived in Diplomatic Circles
(00:24:25) Why She Pushed for IR Education in Schools
(00:25:52) What Diplomats Actually Do
(00:28:39) S'poreans Spend $1.8B on Tuition: Can the Mindset Change?
(00:32:54) The Culinary School Dream She Never Pursued
(00:34:34) Speaking Up for Small Arts Practitioners in Parliament
(00:36:05) Making the Case for Arts: Beyond Entertainment, Beyond ROI
(00:40:00) Hallyu & What Singapore Can Learn from Korean Soft Power
(00:42:42) 1 in 10 S'poreans Have No Close Friends: Her Response
(00:45:22) Growing Up in Jurong West & West vs East Singapore
(00:47:55) What's It Really Like Being in WP & Inside Parliament?
(00:51:29) Is There Really a Chinese Faction in WP? & Pritam Singh's Title
(00:54:18) Being an Opposition MP at Official Events: Treated Differently?
(00:56:01) AI in Parliament: Cautious Optimism & the Darker Side
(01:00:21) How She Has Changed & Defining Success as a Millennial NCMP
(01:03:40) What Gives Her Hope About Singapore's Future
(01:04:36) One Shiok Things
(01:11:56) Post-Interview Reflection
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