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
#648 ft. Dr Tan See Leng - Foreign Talent, Economic Anxieties & Speaking Cantonese in Parliament
★ Our GE2025 Plans!! ★ Sign up for our newsletter at https://www.yahlahbut.com to find out firsthand where we'll be during each day of the campaigning period…
- Yah Lah But
#647 ft. Dr Chee Soon Juan - Issues With the PAP, Conviction Politics & Why He’s Still Running for GE2025
★ Our GE2025 Plans!! ★ Sign up for our newsletter at https://www.yahlahbut.com to find out firsthand where we'll be during each day of the campaigning period…
- Yah Lah But
#646 ft. Koh Buck Song - Country Brand Ambassador on the Singapore Identity, Soft Power & What Makes Us Unique
Koh Buck Song, poet, writer, and country brand advisor, has helped shape how the world sees Singapore. He joins us to unpack the essence of what it means to be…
- Yah Lah But
#645 ft. Professor Donald Low - GE2025, US Tariffs & COVID’s Impact on China
★ Our GE2025 Plans!! ★ Sign up for our newsletter at https://www.yahlahbut.com to find out firsthand where we'll be during each day of the campaigning period…
- Yah Lah But
#644 ft. Inderjit Singh - Former MP on Speaking up From Within the PAP, Our Evolving Political Culture & Avoiding Groupthink
★ Our GE2025 Plans! ★ Sign up for our newsletter at https://www.yahlahbut.com to updates and to find out firsthand where we'll be during each day of the…
- Yah Lah But
#643 ft. Ravi Philemon - Why We Need “Mosquito Parties”, Going Up Against Tharman & His Reasons for Leaving PSP
Red Dot United’s Secretary-General Ravi Philemon opens up about why he left the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) to start Red Dot United just weeks before…
- Yah Lah But
#642 - PM Lawrence Wong Goes Viral & Calvin Cheng’s Gaza Comments Spark Backlash
PM Lawrence Wong’s speech on US tariffs and global trade shockwaves didn’t just make headlines in Singapore - it went viral around the world, earning praise…
- Yah Lah But
#641 ft. Harpreet Singh - The Time for Change Is Now, His Long Journey Into Politics & Reforming the Singapore Dream
Arguably the biggest catch of the upcoming election, Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh joins Yah Lah BUT for a candid, wide-ranging conversation. He reveals why an…
- Yah Lah But
#640 - Lawrence Wong’s Response to Tariffs “Overblown”? & Marine Parade’s Benefits Under Scrutiny
Last Friday, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong released a video warning Singaporeans to brace for global economic instability in light of US-imposed tariffs. The…
- Yah Lah But
#639 ft. Seah Kian Peng - Social Mobility & Decorum in Parliament
We come full circle, as the Speaker who first introduced Yah Lah BUT to Parliament now comes to our studio as a guest! Seah Kian Peng shares his candid views…
- Yah Lah But
#638 - NMPs Joining Political Parties Scrutinised & Tan See Leng’s ‘Exposure, Not Pay’ Remarks
Two Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) recently stepped down to join political parties, raising eyebrows about the role’s neutrality. Minister Shanmugam…
- Yah Lah But
#637 ft. Dr Paul Tambyah - Why He Chose Opposition Politics, Chee Soon Juan & the Politics of Public Healthcare
He’s an internationally-renowned infectious diseases expert who became an opposition politician with the Singapore Democratic Party. In this candid…
- Yah Lah But
#636 ft. Ong Ye Kung - Hard Truths: Singapore's Tightrope With the US, The One Lesson From Aljunied 2011 & The Ageing Time Bomb
Singapore's Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung delivers a no-holds-barred conversation in this YLB episode - tearing into US-Asia power shifts, Singapore's…
- Yah Lah But
#635 ft. Bertha Henson - GE2025, Middle Fingers & the State of Opposition Politics
She’s the journalist who sparked the NRIC unmasking saga, and she’s back on Yah Lah BUT. Bertha Henson joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about…
- Yah Lah But
#634 - Edwin Tong vs. Unfriendly Residents & $11K Nun Job Stuns Singapore
The GE2025 season is heating up - barely 2 weeks in and it’s already spicy. A video of Minister Edwin Tong’s walkabout in Marine Parade went viral for…
- Yah Lah But
#633 - Singapore Drops in World Happiness Ranking & Should We Wear Boxers Outside?
Singapore is no longer the happiest country in Asia, according to the latest World Happiness Report. We dropped from 29th to 34th globally, losing our regional…
- Yah Lah But
#632 ft. Dr. Janil Puthucheary - Singapore’s Future & What Youths Really Want
In this special episode, we sit down with Dr. Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information & Ministry of…
- Yah Lah But
#631 - Shanmugam’s MPS Stand-Off with Activists & Can Unit Pricing Combat Shrinkflation?
A video of Minister K. Shanmugam verbally clashing with activists at a Meet-the-People Session last week has gone viral, with the activists in question drawing…
- Yah Lah But
#630 ft. Hazel Poa - Electoral Boundaries, Education Reform & Leadership for the Future
In this special episode, we sit down with Hazel Poa, Non-Constituency MP from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), to discuss her unexpected journey into…
- Yah Lah But
#629 - GE2025 Electoral Boundaries Shake-Up & Lady Gaga and Singapore Write a Bad Romance
Singapore’s Electoral Boundaries Review Committee has released its long-awaited report, remaking constituencies ahead of the imminent GE2025. With more MPs…
- Yah Lah But
#628 - Tan See Leng’s Cantonese Catchphrase & Should Thaipusam be a Public Holiday?
Last week in Parliament, Minister of Manpower Dr Tan See Leng chided PSP’s Leong Mun Wai with a viral Cantonese movie quote that is dividing public opinion…
- Yah Lah But
#627 - Yah Lah BUT Live! PMAs To Require Medical Certification & $2,000 Dating Bounty
We return with our first YLB Live show of 2025! In this episode, we talk about the government tightening rules on Personal Mobility Aids (PMAs), by introducing…
- Yah Lah But
#626 - Lapses Revealed in NRIC Unmasking Issue & SCDF Hiring Foreigners?
The NRIC unmasking saga is far from over - after a thorough investigation, a 36-page report reveals how a “confluence of shortcomings” led to the NRIC…
- Yah Lah But
#625 - Turbocharging Inflation: GST Debate Heats Up & Pickleball Noise Wars
A heated GST debate erupted this week as Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh accused the government of “turbocharging inflation” with the timing of the GST…
- Yah Lah But
#624 - Fewer Jobs for Fresh Grads in SG & Flying With a Corpse for 4 Hours
The latest Graduate Employment Survey shows that fewer fresh graduates in Singapore are landing full-time jobs within six months of graduation, despite median…
- Yah Lah But
#623 - Montfort Bullying Incident Sparks Outrage & Grants to Save Coffee Shop Toilets?
The Montfort Secondary School bullying incident has shocked Singapore, with a viral video showing students attacking a fellow classmate. Despite the school's…
- Yah Lah But
#622 - Total Defence Exercise Leads to Food Poisoning & Pregnant Hawker Forced to Stand
A Total Defence food resilience exercise took a wrong turn when 20 students fell ill after eating ready-to-eat meals catered by SATS, a major food supplier…
- Yah Lah But
#621 - Budget 2025: Sweet Enough? & Dalmatian Flies SQ Business Class
Budget 2025 is here, and PM Lawrence Wong delivered what many are calling an "election budget" - packed with CDC vouchers, SG60 bonuses, and support for…
- Yah Lah But
#620- - Pritam Singh Found Guilty & Singapore’s Incels Speak Out
Pritam Singh, Singapore’s Leader of the Opposition, has been convicted of lying to Parliament’s Committee of Privileges, marking a historic first for a…
- Yah Lah But
#619 - Fatherhood, Flexi-Work, and Finances: Starting a Family in the Modern Age
Join us for a heartfelt episode of Yah Lah BUT that starts on the grassy patch of Crawford Heights, then transitions to a scenic ride along the Kallang River…
- Yah Lah But
#618 - Iswaran’s Home Detention Sparks Debate & Coldplay’s Singapore Music Video
Former Transport Minister S Iswaran has been moved to home detention just four months into his 12-month jail term, sparking a wave of online backlash. How does…
- Yah Lah But
#617 - Singapore’s New Racial Harmony Law & Are Singaporeans More Accepting?
Singapore’s Parliament just passed the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill, marking a major legal shift in how race-related issues are handled. From new…
- Yah Lah But
#616 - Singapore’s F&B Crisis & Is Punggol Our Silicon Valley?
Singapore’s F&B industry is in trouble—over 3,000 food and beverage businesses shut down in 2024, the highest number in nearly 20 years. Are skyrocketing rents…
- Yah Lah But
#615 - Trump Blames Diversity for Air Crash & Vigilantes on SG Roads?
Donald Trump wastes no time in blaming diversity policies for a deadly air crash, doubling down on claims that hiring standards have fallen. His controversial…
- Yah Lah But
#614 ft. Tan Suee Chieh - Why I Spoke up On the Income-Allianz Deal
On this episode, we chat with Mr. Tan Suee Chieh, former CEO of NTUC Income and NTUC Enterprise. Suee Chieh was a key voice raising concerns about the…
- Yah Lah But
#613 - Trump’s Inauguration & Hwa Chong Student’s $1,690 Dior Sneakers
Donald Trump is officially back as the 47th President of the United States, and his inauguration speech felt more like a Game of Thrones coronation than a…
- Yah Lah But
#612 - Pritam Singh’s GE2025 Strategy & Pakistan Airlines’ PR Disaster
In a recent speech, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh made a bold call for one-third opposition representation in Parliament and for unity amongst Workers’…
- Yah Lah But
#611 - GE2025 Survey Drops & PAP Flag Reaches Everest
As GE2025 looms, a Blackbox Research survey reveals Singaporeans’ biggest concerns—cost of living and jobs, not political scandals. What does this mean for…
- Yah Lah But
#610 - Zuckerberg Flip-Flops on Meta’s Fact-Checking & Singapore’s Corporate Jargon Decoded
This week, Meta makes waves as CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces the end of third-party fact-checking in the US, shifting responsibility to users through…
- Yah Lah But
#609 - Scammers Target ICA’s Online Service & SM Lee Warns Against Nativism
We dive into the ICA’s suspension of its online address change system after 80 unauthorized attempts exploited a glaring loophole. How is this connected to the…
- Yah Lah But
#608 - NRIC Unmasking Saga Laid Open in Parliament & Political Showdown in Bukit Gombak
This week, we unpack the exchanges in Parliament about the recent case of unintentional NRIC unmasking by ACRA. Minister Josephine Teo and Minister Indranee…
- Yah Lah But
#607 ft. Hawker Faye Sai - Blame Singaporeans for the End of Hawker Culture?
This past November, the topic of saving hawker culture was fiercely debated in Parliament, and while we discussed it in YLB 588, we wanted to hear directly…
- Yah Lah But
#606 - Do Singaporeans Speak Bad English? & Expats Now Doing Food Delivery
A recent study revealed that Singapore’s adult literacy proficiency is below the OECD average. This raises concerns about the competitiveness and employability…
- Yah Lah But
#605 - Does Class Size Matter? & Is It Ever OK to Hit a Child?
In an interview with ST to mark the start of the school year, Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing made the point that the quality of teachers is a far more…
- Yah Lah But
#604 ft. Andie Chen - SingPost Fires its Top Management & Music Festival at Sentosa Angers Attendees
In our last episode for 2024, we’re talking about major screw-ups. SingPost dramatically fired its CEO and two other top executives recently. The plot thickens…
- Yah Lah But
#603 - Government Apologises for NRIC Debacle & Apparently Gain City Is Influential?
You’ve been waiting for this one. Just when we thought 2024 would close out quietly, a national regulator makes a rare, alarming blunder, then the government…
- Yah Lah But
#602 ft. Yip Pin Xiu - On the Mind Games Needed to Sustain Her 7 Gold Medal Streak
It’s fair to say that Yip Pin Xiu has had a good 2024. Singapore’s most decorated paralympian extended her streak with another two gold medals in Paris this…
- Yah Lah But
#601 ft. Adele Chan - How to Be Present During the Festive Season
Our sponsor - OPPO This episode is brought to you by OPPO! FOMO keeps us connected to our phones 24/7. But what happens on our phones is often way less…
- Yah Lah But
#600 - Yah Lah BUT Live! The Very Best of 2024
We’ve made it to episode 600! And what better way to celebrate it than to record it live in front of an audience of 60+ YLB fans, right on the cusp of #SG60…
- Yah Lah But
#599 - CEO of US Health Insurer Murdered & Local Cosplayer Offers Unusual Services
This episode we’re talking about Luigi Mangione, whose alleged murder of the CEO of UnitedHealth on a sidewalk in New York has captured global attention. What…
- Yah Lah But
#598 - Hard to Find Candidates for GE2025 & Swiss Air Crew Film Passengers Having Sex
The GE2025 hype train has left the station, and you know we love us some political punditry. So today we’re discussing a CNA report on how political parties…
- Yah Lah But
#597 ft. Jacky Ng - MSF Tells Parents: Don’t be Naked with Your Kids & NUH is getting Robot Nurses
We know Singaporeans are an obedient lot, but will we heed the latest guidelines from the Ministry of Social and Family Development? They’ve just issued advice…
- Yah Lah But
#596 - Fight at Vivocity Lift Goes Viral & Astons Raises Prices by 19%?
At Yah Lah BUT, we’re big on looking at issues from multiple angles, and we’ve got a good example this episode! A TikTok video showing a fight at a lift lobby…
- Yah Lah But
#595 - StanChart Marathon Runner Dies & Geylang’s Dodgy Hair Salons
We’re into the last month of the year and we start with the sad news that a participant of this year’s Standard Chartered Marathon passed away after completing…
- Yah Lah But
#594 - HSA Can Bust You for Vaping & Yet Another Case of Blackface
There’s no smoke without fire…or in this case, vapes? Apparently, plainclothes Health Sciences Authority (HSA) officers have the power to enter and search your…
- Yah Lah But
#593 ft. Selena Tan - Dim Sum Dollies Do SG60 & The Challenges of Theatre in Singapore
SG60 is just round the corner, and Singapore’s beloved cabaret troupe Dim Sum Dollies are back to celebrate it! In this episode, we speak to founding member…
- Yah Lah But
#592 - PAP Turns 70, Enters its Lawrence Wong Era & Even Hokkien Mee is AI Now
The ruling People’s Action Party turned 70, and has officially entered its Lawrence Wong era. At its ginormous biennial conference, our new PM formally took…
- Yah Lah But
#591 - Student Eco-activist Charged for Deflating Tyres & Singapore’s Toilet Mascot Returns
Today’s episode is all about sending messages and changing behaviours. An NUS student thought it was a good idea to deflate the tyres of several cars to send a…
- Yah Lah But
#590 - Resorts World Sentosa Underperforming? & HSBC Senior Managers Scramble to Keep Their Jobs
There’s a saying in gambling: the house always wins. Unless, it seems, you’re Resorts World Sentosa. Due to unsatisfactory tourism metrics, authorities have…
- Yah Lah But
#589 - Big Tech Employees Now Getting Smaller Perks & MFA Officer Guilty of Child Neglect
Big Tech used to be all about big employee perks: flexible hours, free food, travel opportunities, in-office naps and massages, all to attract top talent to do…