Here we are in the final days of 2024. I hope everyone had a good Christmas, and that your break is still continuing.
I don't think I've done this in previous years, but it suddenly occurred to me that it might be nice to do a short sum-up of some of the work I did with this newsletter over the past year.
Tracking POFMA
FICA might not yet have been used against dissidents, but POFMA sure has. I've seen this up close as a member of the Transformative Justice Collective; we sure received quite a few 'love letters' from the POFMA Office this year. It has been incredibly frustrating.
Kirsten Han
Kirsten Han
I've been tracking the use of POFMA for awhile; some of you might remember me sharing a POFMA Tracker that I put together on a Google Sheet. I upgraded it over the Christmas holiday (very nerd, yes I know). It's now a database that you can search, sort and filter, with different views based on the various types of orders. You can also click on each entry and find the relevant press statement issued via the POFMA Office embedded.
Click on the banner below to check it out:
If you have any feedback on it (or spot any errors!) you can always reply to this email to let me know, or contact me via this button:
Solidarity with Palestine
There was plenty of organising in solidarity with Palestine this year, despite the government doing their level best to shut these events and actions down. Lawrence Wong, who became prime minister this year, has promised a more open Singapore, but there has been more rhetoric than reality when it comes to civil society and activism. The same day Lee Hsien Loong announced that he was stepping down, Singaporeans unfurled a massive banner at Gardens by the Bay calling on Singapore to end our arms trade with Israel. It would be an understatement for me to report that pro-Palestine activists are deeply disappointed with the government response so far.
Kirsten Han
On Friday (27 December) I was questioned at Tanglin Police Division about the students' letter delivery to the Ministry of Home Affairs in June; I'd reported on it in this newsletter then and, unlike The Straits Times, I didn't take sneaky photos of them and go to the police first. (I wonder if they've been called up for questioning?)
This is the second time I've been called up by the police for something related to my reporting for this newsletter (the first time was #FixSchoolsNotStudents in 2021; I also wrote for Xtra Magazine about the protest outside the Ministry of Education back then). It was a pretty short interview this time; I understand that other people have already been interrogated. We'll have to wait and see what action the authorities choose to take.
Kirsten Han
Altering States
I started Altering States, focused on drug policy, in May 2023. As an irregular newsletter, there weren't that many issues throughout 2024—only seven. But each and every issue was written with a lot of thought, learning/unlearning and care; I hope they were as illuminating and helpful for you to read as they were for me to write.
I wrote about the lack of important context in reports on drug seizures and arrests that we regularly get in the mainstream media. I also reflected on the stark contrast between our alcohol and drug policies.
Kirsten Han
Kirsten Han
Beyond that, I also reviewed a couple of books: about the complicated politics of the drug trade and its role in building a nation and about the experiences and traumas of people who use drugs. I have more lined up to read, so hopefully there'll be more reviews in 2025.
Kirsten Han
Kirsten Han
Death penalty
I write a lot about the death penalty on We, The Citizens because it's an issue that's so close to my heart and there aren't really that many places where Singaporeans can access critical views about our capital punishment regime.
Kirsten Han
I also published the human rights lecture I delivered in Perth last month—on the death penalty and the power (and limits) of storytelling—on this newsletter.
Kirsten Han
I didn't write as many special issues of We, The Citizens this year as I would have liked. I'd hoped to produce more reported features for this newsletter, but between Mekong Review, the Transformative Justice Collective and the other bits and pieces of things that I do, I didn't manage to really chase things down.
I hope to be able to do a little more in the way of original reporting in 2025. I've also been chatting with a couple of friends—Febriana Firdaus, who runs Indonesia at a Crossroads, and Mike Tatarski of Vietnam Weekly—who run newsletters in different parts of Southeast Asia about working together and amplifying one another's work, so I look forward to that taking shape next year. Also on the to-do list: how to revive and improve the Kaya Toast Mini-Mentorship Initiative.
On the whole, I'm proud to have another year of We, The Citizens under my belt, and I want to thank all of you for subscribing to this newsletter. If you're a Milo Peng/Dinosaur/Godzilla Funder, your subscription fees helped me stick with this work and keep running this newsletter with confidence in 2024. Thank you, really. 🙏🏼
(Remember: Singapore-based Milo Peng Funders can chope secondhand books!)
If you're not a Milo Peng Funder yet, I'd be very grateful if you considered a paid subscription (but I totally understand if that's not possible at this point in time):
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Thank you, everyone, for supporting We, The Citizens! I hope 2025 will be kinder and gentler for all of us.
Wishing you all a very happy new year!
