On civil discourse:
“I [think] the electorate is still very young, and to a certain extent, still rather undeveloped. So, it has probably come to a point where Singaporeans are just beginning to grapple with their opinions, their beliefs, they’re starting to shape it. They’re starting to realise that it is not as simple as black or white, or PAP/anti-PAP, opposition/anti-opposition. It’s really a lot more nuanced than that.”
“We haven’t really reached that stage where we can take ourselves lightly, and just learn to have a bit of laugh, to laugh at ourselves a bit more.”
On online media:
“I do think that in the future, and even in the short term, a lot more focus has to be put on educating young Singaporeans on how to use the online space. It’s vast, it’s a place where you can get all the information that you want, but it is also a place where you are anonymous and there are a lot of things you can say or do without feeling the immediate consequence of it and I think that is what is worrying.”
“The onus is on the silent majority online to come out and provide their input. This is something which perhaps will develop further in the years to come.”
“I think self-moderation speaks of a very mature and developed civil society.”
On civil society:
“At the end of the day, what kind of discourse do we want to promote? I think all of us have the freedom of speech and we do have the right to use it but are we going to just say whatever we want to say, or are we going to make an effort to make a responsible contribution to civil discourse in society?”
On anger towards the PAP:
“I know there is a lot of festering anger towards the ruling party but I think we also need to be discerning as citizens. So if we see that they are trying, I think we should give them credit for that at the very least. It doesn't make sense to keep beating them down everytime because it's just wrong."
Video of the interview:
