#158 When Public Service Starts Looking Like Public Relations 当公共服务开始看起来像公共关系
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#158 When Public Service Starts Looking Like Public Relations 当公共服务开始看起来像公共关系

There is a growing frustration among ordinary Singaporeans and small business owners: public-facing institutions are becoming very good at marketing themselves, but increasingly uneven at delivering the help they claim to provide. The issue is not that every officer is bad. That would be unfair. Many public servants still work hard, and many agencies remain…

#157 When Good Introductions Break Down: Trust, Records and Cross-Border Real Estate
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#157 When Good Introductions Break Down: Trust, Records and Cross-Border Real Estate

In cross-border real estate, relationships often begin warmly — meetings, meals, introductions, group chats, brand names and referral chains. But serious work begins only after the deal is done. A recent Manila condominium administration matter reminded me why overseas property ownership cannot rely on goodwill alone. This matter involved a Robinsons Land Corporation-linked sales agent,…

#156 We are pleased to share that iMerv Digital Pte Ltd is now a Green 100 SME
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#156 We are pleased to share that iMerv Digital Pte Ltd is now a Green 100 SME

#156 We are pleased to share that iMerv Digital Pte Ltd is now a Green 100 SME, TR 149 Essential aligned, issued by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC). For us, this is not just a badge. It is a practical step in strengthening our sustainability governance as we continue developing The Thousand Ships ecosystem across…

#155 Why Pay Transparency Is Still Not Talked About: The Real Organisational Scenarios Behind the Silence 为什么薪酬透明仍然鲜少被谈起:沉默背后的真实组织场景
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#155 Why Pay Transparency Is Still Not Talked About: The Real Organisational Scenarios Behind the Silence 为什么薪酬透明仍然鲜少被谈起:沉默背后的真实组织场景

Pay transparency sounds simple on the surface. Employees want to know whether they are paid fairly. Employers want to attract talent, retain people and build trust. Regulators increasingly want organisations to show that pay decisions are not discriminatory, arbitrary or opaque. Yet in many workplaces, pay remains one of the least openly discussed topics. The…

#154 Many Singaporeans still have SkillsFuture Credit available.
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#154 Many Singaporeans still have SkillsFuture Credit available.

Many Singaporeans still have SkillsFuture Credit available. #154 The question is not only: “What course should I take?” The deeper question may be: “What human skills will remain valuable in an age of AI, automation and digital transactions?” One area worth paying attention to is customer experience excellence. At its best, luxury thinking is not…

#151 China’s Artificial Sun, Nuclear Scale-Up, and the AI Age: Why Energy and Circular Infrastructure Will Define the Next World Order
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#151 China’s Artificial Sun, Nuclear Scale-Up, and the AI Age: Why Energy and Circular Infrastructure Will Define the Next World Order

For decades, nuclear fusion has often been described as the energy source that is always “30 years away”. Yet recent developments from China suggest that this assumption may need to be reconsidered. According to Xinhua, China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, better known as EAST or China’s “artificial sun”, achieved a major world-record milestone by sustaining…

#148 Ho Ching, The Enforcers, and Singapore’s Invisible Operating System 何晶、《执法者》与新加坡的隐形操作系统
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#148 Ho Ching, The Enforcers, and Singapore’s Invisible Operating System 何晶、《执法者》与新加坡的隐形操作系统

My previous article, “Professionalism, Restraint, and the Standards We Choose to Uphold,” spoke about slipping standards, public conduct, and the increasingly fragile balance between authority, restraint, and responsibility in modern Singapore. Today, I wish to continue that discussion through a different lens. A woman. A technocrat. An engineer. A steward of capital. And perhaps one…

#147 Professionalism, Restraint, and the Standards We Choose to Uphold 专业、克制,以及我们选择维护的标准
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#147 Professionalism, Restraint, and the Standards We Choose to Uphold 专业、克制,以及我们选择维护的标准

In recent years, Singapore has worked hard to strengthen regional business connectivity across ASEAN. Professional institutions, chambers of commerce, engineering bodies, startup ecosystems, and sustainability communities are increasingly interconnected. This is a good thing. However, with growth also comes an important question: Are we preserving the standards that made these institutions respected in the first…

#146 The Great Polymer Compression: Why ASEAN Waste Infrastructure May Become Strategic 《大聚合物压缩时代:为何东盟废弃物基础设施或将成为战略关键》
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#146 The Great Polymer Compression: Why ASEAN Waste Infrastructure May Become Strategic 《大聚合物压缩时代:为何东盟废弃物基础设施或将成为战略关键》

Over the past few weeks, various stakeholders, partners, traders, and industrial contacts connected to The Thousand Ships ecosystem have been quietly reporting a growing trend emerging across Southeast Asia’s polymer markets. What initially appeared to be temporary pricing softness is beginning to resemble something more structural. Across multiple categories of PE and PP plastics —…

Cross-border capital flows across ASEAN are gradually evolving beyond traditional transactional models. #145
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Cross-border capital flows across ASEAN are gradually evolving beyond traditional transactional models. #145

Cross-border capital flows across ASEAN are gradually evolving beyond traditional transactional models. Over the past weeks, I’ve been having meaningful discussions with various stakeholders across the Philippines ecosystem around several long-term themes: • Capital flows and regional diversification• ASEAN positioning and connectivity• Residency-linked ecosystems• Long-term wealth infrastructure and preservation What is becoming increasingly clear is…