Kenneth Paul Tan, PhD (Cambridge)
Professor of Politics, Film, and Cultural Studies
Hong Kong Baptist University

"Associate Professor Kenneth Paul Tan, from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said he hopes the review on dormitories, when it comes, will take in diverse voices from civil society in policy discussions. 'And I hope, most of all, that we have deeper discussions with a view to minimising our dependency on low-waged migrant workers, investing in productivity-enhancing technology, redesigning essential jobs to overcome unnecessary stigma, and designing more generous

Article available here: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/know/when-a-pandemic-entered-singapores-working-class-dorms/article31531376.ece

This panel discussion focused on harsh issues that migrant workers face in Singapore as well as the role of NGOs. These issues include systemic policy struggles such as high recruitment fees that keep workers in debt and limit their social mobility. Additionally, in light of the COVID-19 situation, there has been increasing attention on problems such as layoffs, salary issues and living conditions of the migrant workers. These problems are multi-faceted with no easy solution.

Excerpts from "Moral Panic and the Migrant Worker Folk Devil in Neo-Authoritarian Singapore", a conversation with Kenneth Paul Tan, podcast, http://www.socialservice.sg. 1. What is neoliberal globalization? https://youtu.be/uZRtizXXhmE 2. How did Singapore evolve towards neoliberal globalization? https://youtu.be/ALQIpYWsYUc 3. What does political authoritarianism look like in Singapore today? https://youtu.be/Y9QMO4XOJgQ 4. Are academic concepts and theories useful to the pu

Kenneth Paul Tan spoke at a roundtable of Singaporean social scientists. The coronavirus crisis has shown that our wellbeing depends a lot on how we are organised as societies. Human beings may be one species, but how our societies distribute things, make decisions, and deal with conflicts differ across space and time. The current crisis makes it clear that these variations are not merely theoretical, but matters of life and death. What can be done to ensure that Singapore’s