Shows / Yah Lah But
Yah Lah But
A thrice weekly podcast on conversations Singaporeans are having but not saying out loud – politics, culture, identity. Haresh Tilani and Terence Chia consider every side, never quite agree, and never play it safe. Honest, informed, always worth arguing about. Subscribe so you don’t miss new episodes.
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Episodes
- Yah Lah But
#828: US Govt. Bans Foreign Access to Anthropic’s Claude AI & SG Men Launch ‘MenToo’ Movement
The US Commerce Department orders Anthropic to suspend Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for foreign nationals; Anthropic disables both worldwide, even for Americans…
- Yah Lah But
#827: PayNow Fix Creates NSFW Names & Malaysian Apologises for ‘Roti Canai’ on Masterchef
From June 6, the Association of Banks (ABS) masks PayNow names with Xs to fight scams, but the result was obscene names like “FOX SEX POX”. Elsewhere, Jaime…
- Yah Lah But
#826: PM Wong Answers Big Questions on AI, Declining TFR & Govt Cracks Down on World Cup Gambling
At a recent Singapore Press Club event, PM Lawrence Wong candidly discussed the threat of AI, declining birth rates, US-China chaos and questions about a…
- Yah Lah But
#825: MHA Blocks Anti-Indian Posts Online & SG Street Artist Stopped by SMRT, Police
Singapore police invoke OCHA (Online Criminal Harms Act) to block 14 China-linked posts targeting Indians on YouTube, Facebook and X. Elsewhere, Marcus Pang…
- Yah Lah But
#824: NTUC Calls Out Employers Hiding Retrenchment & US Probe Finds Singapore Guilty
NTUC exposes employers reframing retrenchments as "new opportunities," requiring workers to reapply for roles abroad despite layoffs. Elsewhere, a US Probe…
- Yah Lah But
#823: Pritam Singh to Face Workers’ Party Cadres & Circle Line’s Clockwise Signs Causes Confusion
25 WP cadres force a Jun 28 conference to vote on Pritam Singh’s future, saying his party reprimand wasn’t enough. LTA put “clockwise” signs on the Circle Line…
- Yah Lah But
#822: MOS Jasmin Lau's AI Warning to SG Firms & HK Principal Resigns After SAFRA Meltdown
Minister of State Jasmin Lau warns Singapore firms that the Government will take action if they accept AI grants and treat workers unfairly. Elsewhere, A HK…
- Yah Lah But
#821: Koh Poh Koon Resigns as SMS For Family & Free MRT Rides Reduce Crowding By 9% on NEL
Koh Poh Koon steps down as Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Health, calling himself an absent husband, father and son for 11 years. Elsewhere, LTA…
- Yah Lah But
#820: Indranee Defends Leading Baby Policy Without Kids & StanChart CEO Responds to Backlash
Indranee Rajah responds to questions about her leading S'pore's Marriage & Parenthood Reset while being single and childless. Elsewhere, StanChart CEO Bill…
- Yah Lah But
#819: Radar Failed Before SQ321 Turbulence & StanChart CEO Calls Staff “Lower-Value Human Capital”
The final report on SQ321’s turbulent disaster from 2024 has been released. It clears crew but cannot rule out radar malfunction that left pilots blind to…
- Yah Lah But
#818: H&M Chooses KL Over S'pore For Asia HQ & Fake PM Wong Zoom Call Led To $4.9mil Scam
H&M cuts 78 Singapore roles and moves its Southeast Asia HQ to Kuala Lumpur. Elsewhere, SPF released footage of a fake Zoom call meeting with PM Lawrence Wong…
- Yah Lah But
#817: DPM Gan Kim Yong’s Economic Plan for Singapore & Starbucks Called Out By MUIS For Pet Ban
The Economic Strategy Review (ESR) releases 32 recommendations as AI reshapes Singapore's economy, led by DPM Gan Kim Yong. Elsewhere, Starbucks Parkland Green…
- Yah Lah But
#816: Prof. Teo You Yenn - The Problem With SG’s Education System & Why Parents Feel Helpless
Prof. Teo You Yenn’s first book "This Is What Inequality Looks Like" sold 43,000 copies, spent 80 weeks on The Straits Times' bestsellers list and drew…
- Yah Lah But
#815: 2 S’poreans Killed By Banned Volcano Hike & Amos Yee Assaulted at Anime Convention
Why did the organisers of the hike up Mount Dukono proceed despite the warnings, resulting in 2 Singaporean hikers dying? Elsewhere, convicted child sex…
- Yah Lah But
#814: Pritam & WP Oppose Bill to Validate Decades of Fees & Recruiter Says S’poreans Not “Hungry”
Parliament retroactively validates fees collected by MND agencies without legal backing since independence. Chee Hong Tat can't provide the total amount. WP…
- Yah Lah But
#813: PAP’s Alvin Tan SLAMS WP’s Jamus Lim in Parliament & FREE First Dates from the Govt?
PAP’s Alvin Tan accuses WP’s Jamus Lim of omitting AVS investigation findings on a resident's dead dog case, calling the impression created in Parliament…
- Yah Lah But
#812: WP’s Kenneth Tiong on The “STUPID” Comment & Why He Left Finance for Opposition Politics
Kenneth Tiong, Workers’ Party MP for Serangoon in Aljunied GRC, on why Singapore's opportunity ladders have narrowed since the 1990s, how government grants…
- Yah Lah But
#811: Joko Anwar - Exposing What Politicians Won’t Admit By Using Horror
Joko Anwar, one of Indonesia’s hottest filmmakers and director of the critically-acclaimed film “Ghost in the Cell” which has been sold to 86 countries, on…
- Yah Lah But
#810: China Blocks SG-Based Startup’s $2B Meta Deal & Are SIA’s Muslim Meals Halal-Certified?
China just blocked Meta's $2B acquisition of Singapore-based AI Startup, Manus, and bars both co-founders from leaving China. A Threads user asks if SIA heats…
- Yah Lah But
#809: SAF Threatened By Strava Fitness App & AirAsia Fires Back at Chinese Woman Who Scolded Crew
Defence experts renew Strava warnings for the SAF after a French sailor exposed an aircraft carrier at sea. Elsewhere, a Chinese passenger demands Mandarin on…
- Yah Lah But
#808 - LKY School Dean on Closing the Straits of Malacca & Why The US is NOT in Decline
Prof Joseph Liow, Dean of the LKY School & Chairman of the Middle East Institute at NUS, on why Iran's nationalism makes US regime change impossible, why the…
- Yah Lah But
#807: Police Crackdown on Illegal Massage Shops & Elderly Couple Charged for “Free” Meal
The Singapore Police Force ends the licensing exemption for open-concept massage shops after vice spreads across HDB estates. Meanwhile, a daughter recommends…
- Yah Lah But
#806: SNOC Chief Mark Chay’s “Dead-End Sports” Blunder & Can You Walk the Causeway?
SNOC chief Mark Chay called certain school sports "dead-end" - then referred reporters to SNOC, who responded that every sport has "intrinsic value."…
- Yah Lah But
#805: School Bullies To Be Caned & Applying Makeup Not Allowed on MRT Trains
MOE is standardising caning and suspension for school bullies across all schools by 2027 along with more funding, but parents and teachers have their doubts…
- Yah Lah But
#804: MOM Report Raises Questions on Job “Overqualification” & NS Revamps Medical PES Status
1 in 5 Singapore workers are overqualified for their jobs, and most chose that. But do the reports by MOM and NTUC paint different realities? Elsewhere, NS…
- Yah Lah But
#803: Is NAC Choking Buskers in SG & Family Charged $2 for "Outside Drinks" at Restaurant | Jacky Ng
Jacky Ng joins Haresh to discuss how the busking profession is being squeezed by NAC's balloting system, unpredictable weather, and disappearing foot traffic…
- Yah Lah But
#802: Gan Kim Yong Tells S’poreans to Use Fans & Book Fair Slammed for $150 “Walking Exhibitors” | Rishi Budhrani
Rishi Budhrani joins us to explore why DPM Gan Kim Yong rubbed netizens the wrong way when he told S'poreans to use fans instead of aircon as a way to deal…
- Yah Lah But
#801: Are We Doing Enough for Our Ageing Parents? ft. Andy Seet
Forget traditional nursing homes – Singapore’s elder care revolution looks nothing like you’d expect. As the population ages rapidly, PCF Sparkle Care COO Andy…
- Yah Lah But
#800: Soh Rui Yong on Tan Chuan Jin’s Instagram "Deletion" & Mark Chay’s SEA Games Comments
Singapore's fastest distance runner is back! Soh Rui Yong joins us for the fifth time and is at his candid best as he talks about the SEA Games, Tan…
- Yah Lah But
#799: WP's Eileen Chong on Leaving MFA for the Opposition & the Hidden Cost of Singapore’s Success
From MFA diplomat to Workers' Party NCMP in five months, Eileen Chong is asking Parliament the questions most leave untouched - about Singapore's loneliness…
- Yah Lah But
#798: The Problem with Singapore's Leaders & Why Scrapping The Gifted Program Was a Mistake
We sit down with Crystal Lim-Lange - leadership consultant, ex-investment banker, former GEP kid, who shares with us her thoughts on how Singapore leaders…
- Yah Lah But
#797: How to Talk to Someone Who's Suicidal (Without Making It Worse) ft Charlene Heng
In Singapore, there is an average of one suicide death per day – and yet most of us still don’t know how to talk about it. Charlene Heng, Deputy Director at…
- Yah Lah But
#796: What The World Gets Wrong About Iran & the Middle East | Prof. Syed Farid Alatas
Prof. Syed Farid Alatas, an NUS sociologist, decolonisation scholar, and a man with family currently living under the Iran-Israel war, explains why the Middle…
- Yah Lah But
#795 ft. Dr Adrian Loh – What Teens Believe About Cannabis & Why Parents Should Be Concerned
Singapore's youth are exposed to drug-related content more often than parents may think. Psychiatrist Dr. Adrian Loh, council member of NCADA, on why attitudes…
- Yah Lah But
#794: Tan See Leng Warns Singapore to Save Power & Why Can’t Food Influencers be Nice?
Tan See Leng tells S'poreans to save energy as Middle East tensions threaten fuel supply - stockpiles are months deep but the government is signalling…
- Yah Lah But
#793: Han Hui Hui POFMA'd After Getting 3 Kids Back & Sneaky Sushii's Apology Falls Flat
Han Hui Hui's three children are taken to hospital by MSF, she livestreams from the hospital, gets POFMA'd the day after getting them back, and Ho Ching weighs…
- Yah Lah But
#792 ft Teo Joo Wah – CEO Managing Billions On Building Portfolios That Last & Singapore's Gold Play
Lion Global Investors (LGI) CEO Teo Joo Wah makes the case for building retirement portfolios that last – not just to perform. He breaks down why lifecycle…
- Yah Lah But
#791: HDB Claps Back at Woman’s "13" BTO Fails & Noise-Monitors Installed in Clementi
A TikToker’s “13 BTO tries” story forces HDB to publish the receipts, but their reponse has divided the internet. Meanwhile in Clementi, a noise-monitoring…
- Yah Lah But
#790 ft. Nicholas Ng – Autonomous Vehicles Better Than Human Drivers? SG’s AV Plan Explained
Driverless vehicles aren’t coming “one day”. They’re already here. Nicholas Ng, Director of the Centre for Autonomous Vehicles at LTA, explains how Singapore…
- Yah Lah But
#789: DBS CEO Tan Su Shan’s S$9.6m Salary & Yishun Drink Stall Bans Water Bottles
DBS CEO Tan Su Shan’s S$9.6m package goes public and divides the internet. Elsewhere, a Yishun coffeeshop drink stall tells a customer to hide his own water…
- Yah Lah But
#788: Minister David Neo Wants to Help Us Find Friends & Cultural Sensitivity for EP Workers
Acting Minister for MCCY, David Neo, wants to fix the problem of 1 in 10 Singaporeans have zero close friends. How? Through Arts & Sports. Meanwhile MOS Dinesh…
- Yah Lah But
#787 ft Natalia Goh – Can You Trust a Bank With No Branches? How Has Digital Banking Changed Personal Finance
Most of us just want banking to be simple: salary comes in, bills go out, and the rest… hopefully grows a bit. But banking has changed so quickly that a lot of…
- Yah Lah But
#786: Desmond Lee Rejects Jamus Lim’s “Simple Fix” & Influencer’s Iran-Israel Pun Backfires
Jamus Lim calls class-size relief a straightforward fix; Desmond Lee says teacher recruitment isn’t trivial in a tight labour market. Meanwhile influencer…
- Yah Lah But
#785: Indranee’s Parenthood Push & Lion Dance on Hawker Tables Stirs Backlash
TFR crashes to 0.87 and DPM Gan Kim Yong calls it existential as Indranee Rajah leads a marriage-and-parenthood workgroup. Meanwhile, an AMK lion dance troupe…
- Yah Lah But
#784 ft. Rahayu Mahzam – Don’t Suffer in Silence: How Singapore’s New Laws Can Help Fight Online Harassment & Abuse
Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Mdm Rahayu Mahzam breaks down how the new Online Safety (Relief & Accountability) Act is designed to…
- Yah Lah But
#783: Pritam Singh Demands Budget Report Card & PAP’s Henry Kwek Wants Media Funding
The Budget 2026 debates opens with a $15.1b surplus and Pritam Singh demanding a public “report card” while also questioning Ministerial Salaries. Meanwhile…
- Yah Lah But
#782: Will Trump’s 15% Tariff Hurt SG & Tan Chuan-Jin “Accidentally” Deletes Instagram
DPM Gan Kim Yong warns Singapore to brace for Trump’s 15% tariff after the US Supreme Court kills “Liberation Day” duties. Meanwhile ex-Speaker of Parliament…
- Yah Lah But
#781 ft. Zames Chew - Gen Z Handyman Upskilled into a Million-Dollar Repair Business
What if a job most people wouldn’t think twice about became a seven-figure business? Zames Chew, Co-Founder of Repair.sg, comes into the studio to share how…
- Yah Lah But
#780: What Budget 2026 Means for You & NTU Students Slammed for Wasting CNY Food
PM Lawrence Wong unveils Budget 2026 and signals Singapore’s next economic and AI push, while NTU faces backlash after students were filmed throwing lo hei on…
- Yah Lah But
#779 ft. Selena Ling - Chief Economist on How To Think Clearly In Uncertain Times
Selena Ling, Chief Economist of OCBC, joins us in our studio to answer the burning question on our minds: What does a Chief Economist actually do? In this…
- Yah Lah But
#778: Wealth Inequality in Singapore & BreadTalk Worker Fired Over Viral Cleaning Video
The latest paper from the Ministry of Finance shows Singapore’s wealth inequality exceeds income inequality, while median household incomes continue to rise…
- Yah Lah But
#777 ft. Rishi Budhrani - Plastic Bag Charges: Who Benefits? & Why are SG Workers Unhappy?
We get Singapore’s favourite funnyman, comedian Rishi Budhrani as a guest host on this episode! You’ll be surprised where we go, as we start with 2 everyday…
- Yah Lah But
#776 ft. Mark Tan - Should Retrenchment Benefits Be Law? & Amos Yee Fights Deportation to Singapore
Mark Tan of Rice Media joins us in the YLB studio to debate retrenchment benefits, after SMS Koh Poh Koon defended keeping retrenchment payouts non-mandatory…
- Yah Lah But
#775 ft. Allen Kuo – What Gold’s Rise Means For Singapore and The World | #775
There’s been a lot of renewed interest in gold, so we got Allen Kuo, Chief Investment Officer of Singlife, to walk us through everything we need to know about…
- Yah Lah But
#774 ft. Jasmin Lau - THAT TraceTogether “Fiasco”, PSLE Stress & Balancing Parenting with Politics
Half a year into her sojourn into politics, MP Jasmin Lau joins YLB to discuss parenting tradeoffs, tuition culture, and why policy change is hard in…
- Yah Lah But
#773: PROTECT Yourself from Corporate Scams!
Scams are getting increasingly common, and we are all at risk. In this episode, we chat with Aaron Chiew, Group Head of Digital Channels, Institutional Banking…
- Yah Lah But
#772 ft. Red Dot Perspective - Does “We First” Include Foreigners & PLB Alleged Cheating Scandal
Kian Boon from Red Dot Perspective steps in as a guest host to discuss the spiciest topics of the week! First, we break down Gan Kim Yong’s comments at an IPS’…
- Yah Lah But
#771: Singapore’s Myopia Problem For Kids & What Parents Can Actually Do
Childhood myopia is rising at an alarming rate in Singapore. The good news is it is not inevitable. We sit down with Dr Au Eong Kah Guan to unpack why myopia…
- Yah Lah But
#770: WP Rejects LO Appointment & Students Slam AI-Generated Posters
WP rejects PM Wong’s request to nominate a new Leader of the Opposition, and PMO says the LO office will stay vacant. Elsewhere, there’s huge backlash over 3…
- Yah Lah But
#769: Who Should Replace Pritam Singh as LO & Why Trump Wants S’pore on His “Board of Peace”
Note: This was recorded at 11am on Wed, 21 Jan 2026, before WP’s statement rejecting the LO nomination. As the Workers’ Party weighs who should replace Pritam…