Latest news with #SamuelLee
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Food Picks: Better butter from Churne
SINGAPORE – When it comes to compound butter, the possibilities are endless. So many ingredients lend themselves to being mixed into softened butter – garlic, chopped herbs, spices, nuts, seeds and the ubiquitous truffle oil. Churne, a home-based food business, makes complex ones that have many delicious applications. They are made b y S amuel Lee, 33, a private chef by day; and his wife, former pastry chef Lin Liping, 35. Of the three products, the Umami Duo ($24 for a 170g jar) is the one I want to slather on everything. The base is Churne's Signature Umami Pure – French butter with shio kombu and kizami nori mixed in, which is then swirled with Okinawa black sugar and aged dark soya sauce. What results is an umami bomb. Very savoury with just a touch of rounded sweetness, it is great on hunks of toasted sourdough, but also with steak or roasted vegetables. The Signature Umami Pure ($22 for a 170g jar) is perfect with steamed vegetables and adds depth to any savoury sandwich. Try tossing a big knob of it with cooked pasta – heaven on a forkful. Dark Chocolate Koji Caramel ($26 for a 170g jar) is no slouch. Like the other two, there is depth in the flavours. In this case, butterscotch, a slight edge of bitterness from the dark chocolate and a hint of sweetness from jiu niang, or sweet fermented rice. Spread this on a croissant or dollop it on ice cream (yes, butter on ice cream) or strawberries. A bundle of the three spreads is priced at $62. Info: Order via Instagram @ or WhatsApp chef Lee on 8838-4779. Delivery costs $10 to $30 depending on location and is free for orders of $180 and up. Self-collection in MacPherson i s also available. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Independent Singapore
27-05-2025
- General
- Independent Singapore
‘Now look elsewhere!' People's Power Party candidate Samuel Lee resigns
SINGAPORE: Samuel Lee, who contested in the recent General Election at Ang Mo Kio GRC under the People's Power Party (PPP), announced in a May 27 (Tuesday) social media post that he has resigned from the PPP. 'On May 23, I, Samuel Lee, resigned from the People's Power Party, to pursue new opportunities while continuing my commitment to activism and advocating for a better Singapore. I am grateful for the lessons learned and wish PPP well in its future,' he said in a 20-second video. @samuel_leeyr On May 23 (2025), I, Samuel Lee, resigned from the People's Power Party to pursue new opportunities, while continuing my commitment to activism and advocating for a better Singapore. I am grateful for the lessons learned and wish PPP well in its future. Thank you #SamuelLeePostGE2025 ♬ 原声 – Samuel Lee (李育儒) – Samuel Lee (李育儒) Mr Lee, 33, drew widespread attention on Nomination Day (April 23), when he sang the lyrics from 'I'm Just A Tiny Bird,' a Chinese song, during an interview. 'I look left, look right, look left, look right, for a career path. Is this a request considered too high?' he sang. @woodafook Can't deny this guy will be a legend in times to come #lookleftlookright #legend #therealslimshady ♬ The Real Slim Shady – Instrumental – Eminem The other reason why the former candidate received attention leading up to the May 3 polls is that he had been charged with two counts of reckless behaviour endangering the lives of others. This was for an incident in February 2022 in Toa Payoh, at a pedestrian crossing near Victory Family Centre's technical support centre. While driving a Mercedes-Benz, Mr Lee collided into the gate of the centre after he had an argument with a rider on a Personal Mobility Device (PMD) . Read related: Police investigating roadside jostling for right of way between Mercedes driver and PMD rider He was given a six-week jail sentence in June 2024. Goh Meng Seng, the secretary-general of the PPP, said that the party was aware of the incident. The party added that Mr Lee had been remorseful over what happened and had taken full responsibility for his actions, CNA reported on April 25. 'The Party believes strongly in rehabilitation and second chances,' the PPP said in a statement to the media over the matter. According to the CNA report, Mr Lee had been part of PPP since late 2023 and had been a member of its Central Executive Committee, handling matters related to the press. 'Born in a humble family and raised with the values of hard work and resilience, Samuel knows firsthand the challenges faced by ordinary Singaporeans,' wrote the PPP about Mr Lee last month, adding, 'Samuel is 33 years old. His political awakening originated from a simple but powerful realisation that no amount of individual hard work can fix a system that isn't working for the people. Therefore, he is passionate about championing policies that put people first.' On May 27, many commenters online brought back the lyrics Mr Lee sang last month as they commented on his resignation. 'Look right, look left and now look elsewhere!' wrote one Facebook user, who nevertheless gave the former candidate props 'for being brave enough to stand in elections!' Another quipped that he would 'Continue [to] look left, look right, look for a better opportunity.' One asked, 'Look left and right and now look where???' /TISG
Straits Times
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
GE2025: A nation of champion grumblers finds its groove in memes
Boisterous rallies, candidates glad-handing constituents at markets, MRT stations and bus interchanges, endless door-to-door visits – these are classic hallmarks of election hustings in Singapore, and this year's polls are no different. But there's another side to the 2025 campaign period. A parallel universe where politicians aren't in control but are definitely centre stage: the unpredictable, wildly entertaining world of memes, viral clips and cheeky online banter. Over the last few days, I've spent quite a bit of time on the campaign trail, attending rallies and observing exchanges between candidates and voters in walkabouts. Yet each night, I find myself irresistibly drawn to this other world – the meme ecosystem that lives, for my millennial generation, on Instagram. For Gen Zs, their version thrives on TikTok. Those of more senior vintage consume this content, spliced mainstream media or rally clips with voiceover or text commentaries, via Facebook and forwarded WhatsApp messages. Scrolling through my phone in the wee hours of the morning, I find myself guffawing in the darkness. My neighbours must think I've lost it. But how to explain what's so funny? It truly defies articulation, this peculiar alchemy of Singaporean political humour. The People's Power Party (PPP) candidate Samuel Lee's impromptu career ladder jingle that's now reached nationwide fame. Mr Ravi Philemon shedding his serious Red Dot United leader persona for an unexpected rendition of the K-Pop hit 'Apt'. PSP's Sumarleki Amjah earnestly demonstrating to Straits Times reporters how his silat training will aid his political strategy. And not just opposition candidates – memes ribbing the ruling party slate are abundant too. For instance, memes capturing the collective cringe of NSmen nationwide as they watch recently retired army general and PAP candidate Goh Pei Ming singing the marching tune 'Purple Light'. Then there's PPP leader Mr Goh Meng Seng. Having staked his pre-election position against the 'LGBTQ agenda,' he's now viral for emphatically clarifying he is 'not gay' and is 'straight.' Errr, okay, thanks. If not the politicians themselves providing the material, there are content creators like Don Shiau, whose uncanny impression of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, with his unique, wholesome enunciation, and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, with his baritone, gravelly voice, will leave you in stitches. I doubt I could explain all this to a foreigner, let alone a Martian, why these moments trigger such deep, visceral laughter. Yet conversations with friends and colleagues confirm I'm not alone. As the hustings inevitably sort us into partisan bubbles, sometimes leaving us seething at opposing arguments – especially as rhetorical swords have sharpened these past days – this meme ecosystem is serving as a curious balm. It injects levity – and a special sense of bonding. You get a sense that, yes, we have different political affiliations, but all of us find what we're watching funny because we're programmed with the Singapore source code to get the inside joke. Maybe these characters, their palpable lack of charisma and endearing oddities aren't so absurd after all. We probably all know some uncle like Mr Philemon whose usually placid demeanour betrays no hint of his hidden vocal talents. Or we recognise there's a tone-deaf enthusiast with an otaku personality like Mr Lee lurking in all of us. Or perhaps we've encountered someone like the PSP's Sani Ismail, who serenaded Straits Times viewers with 'Strangers in the Night' – these familiar characters populate our own karaoke circles, which is precisely why they hit so close to home. Editorial cartoons for the internet age The legendary satirist Saint Hoax defines a meme as a piece of media repurposed to deliver cultural, social or political expression, mainly through humour – an editorial cartoon for the internet age, as it were. What this campaign has shown is our collective brilliance at creating them, from anonymous meme makers to established accounts like and and comedians delving into this new craft. Maybe there's a touch of 'ownself praise ownself' here, but I'd go as far as suggesting we're world class at this. It's not new, of course. The 2020 'digital-first' pandemic election, where physical rallies were banned, showcased some of this prowess. Meme makers branded PSP founder Tan Cheng Bock as a 'hype beast' for, among other things, the revelation that his glasses were a fashion item without actual lenses. That campaign also introduced Singapore's political lexicon to such terms as 'stan accounts' (social media accounts helmed by obsessive fans of politicians) and 'fan cams' – mashup videos of candidates with background music. If 2020's run was the dry rehearsal – finishing fourth in the Premier League, so to speak – this election has elevated our national meme game to world-class status. The power of levity Getting the humour right in these election memes isn't child's play. Elections are serious business, and nobody wants to trivialise their gravity. But the deft touch some content creators bring shows remarkable skill worthy of recognition. Take the incident with SDP's Gigene Wong, who used a racial slur to describe her fellow Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC candidate Ariffin Sha. She apologised – twice – but considerable consternation lingered in the local Tamil community that such language could emerge in this day and age. Enter comedian Rishi Budhrani with a brilliant skit of himself mock-chastising Ms Wong in Hokkien, warning her of dire consequences should she somehow enter parliament and use such language on the 'law minister.' It was a show of how, done right, memes can masterfully diffuse uncomfortable tension with humour, while simultaneously highlighting the absurdity of out of bounds behaviour. More importantly, these memes and humour help us put things into perspective. Content creators across the Causeway have commented that even amid all the high tensions of our campaign here, Singapore's relatively clean hustings with our large pool of uncharismatic politicians was 'cute.' In a video lathered thick with irony, Malaysian comic Jason Leong, known for searing ribs of his country's political dysfunction, suggested that watching 'too many videos' of Singapore's 'uncharismatic' politicians over the last few days led him to the conclusion that there was a correlation between charisma and corruption. 'It is safe to say that most if not all Singaporean politicians are not corrupt, by the same token that a lot of Malaysian politicians are very charismatic.' Indeed, may it long be the case that there is an abundance of awkward politicians and oddities they do and say for our meme makers to make fun of. Better than the alternative – charismatic rogues whose smooth talk empties both promises and public coffers. Champion grumblers But this begs the question: How did we get so good at this? Is there something in the water here that makes our political ribbing so on point? I can imagine the usual foreign commentary trying to make sense of this: Singapore, tightly controlled with carefully managed media, offers people no proper outlets, so memes become the release valve. We strain our eyes, rolling them . A more perceptive read is that this steady state of irreverence comes naturally to us. Outsiders miss it because they think people who've kept the same ruling party in power for so long must be docile, maybe even simpletons. They can't see what we see – that Singaporeans have always been gnawing at something. A certain innate malcontent lives in our national DNA and has always found an outlet, even as we remain pragmatic beyond measure. The late architect of this national experiment, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, once quite surgically diagnosed it: 'You know the Singaporean. He is a hard-working, industrious, rugged individual. Or we would not have made the grade. But let us also recognise that he is a champion grumbler.' Blend those ingredients – our innate grumbling talent – with our youth's digital fluency, raised in one of the world's most connected societies, and you get the 2020s edition: champion grumblers evolved into champion meme makers. Bhavan Jaipragas is deputy opinion editor and a columnist at The Straits Times. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
NDTV
30-04-2025
- Business
- NDTV
Singapore Election 2025: Candidates Showcase Musical Prowess
Singapore: A curious election campaign trend has emerged in Singapore as the country gears up for its May 3 poll: candidates showcasing their musical chops, or lack of talent, on social media clips. The displays of musical talent range from clips of opposition star candidate Harpreet Singh playing the saxophone for local broadsheet The Straits Times, to others beatboxing and belting out songs in dialect or giving an awkward rendition of the earworm APT Korean song. One candidate, Samuel Lee of the small People's Power Party, has become a meme thanks to his self-written tune, badly sung, about looking left and right to find a career path. Some clips are freshly shot this election season as candidates are introduced to media or speak at rallies, others are older clips resurfacing of Singapore's guitar-playing Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on stage with a local band, or the leader of the opposition Pritam Singh singing at his party's Lunar New Year celebration. "They want to be relatable, but it won't work," said political scientist Walid Jumblatt Abdullah from Nanyang Technological University. "These silly Tiktok videos, these music videos, aren't exactly the best way to appear relatable," said Walid. "Just speaking like a normal human being, that would make them appear for more relatable." Voters, he said, are more discerning and would pay more attention to parties' and candidates' credibility and what they say about causes that matter to voters. The election comes amid a deteriorating economic outlook, due to US tariffs, with the government warning of a possible recession. Bread and butter issues still matter most to the 2.76 million voters. It is the first electoral test for Wong, who took over from long-time premier Lee Hsien Loong last year as leader of the People's Action Party, which has ruled the city-state of 6 million people since independence in 1965. According to an April poll by Blackbox Research of 1,506 people, Singaporeans gave the government the lowest scorecard ratings for its handling of the cost of living (52%), sales tax (55%), inequality (57%), car prices (58%) and housing affordability (59%). However, the PAP is almost certain to win most seats in the election, with candidates fielded in all 33 constituencies for 97 seats in parliament. Crucially, the PAP will be looking at its popular vote. The PAP's share of the popular vote fell to 61% in 2020 from 70% in 2015. If it sees another decline and its main opposition the Workers' Party build on its record 10 seats in 2020, it could be interpreted as a sign the PAP's grip on power is weakening.
Malay Mail
30-04-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
As Singapore heads into election, politicians showcase musical chops
SINGAPORE, April 30 — A curious election campaign trend has emerged in Singapore as the country gears up for its May 3 poll: candidates showcasing their musical chops, or lack of talent, on social media clips. The displays of musical talent range from clips of opposition star candidate Harpreet Singh playing the saxophone for local broadsheet The Straits Times, to others beatboxing and belting out songs in dialect or giving an awkward rendition of the earworm APT Korean song. One candidate, Samuel Lee of the small People's Power Party, has become a meme thanks to his self-written tune, badly sung, about looking left and right to find a career path. Some clips are freshly shot this election season as candidates are introduced to media or speak at rallies, others are older clips resurfacing of Singapore's guitar-playing Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on stage with a local band, or the leader of the opposition Pritam Singh singing at his party's Lunar New Year celebration. 'They want to be relatable, but it won't work,' said political scientist Walid Jumblatt Abdullah from Nanyang Technological University. 'These silly Tiktok videos, these music videos, aren't exactly the best way to appear relatable,' said Walid. 'Just speaking like a normal human being, that would make them appear for more relatable.' Voters, he said, are more discerning and would pay more attention to parties' and candidates' credibility and what they say about causes that matter to voters. The election comes amid a deteriorating economic outlook, due to US tariffs, with the government warning of a possible recession. Bread and butter issues still matter most to the 2.76 million voters. It is the first electoral test for Wong, who took over from long-time premier Lee Hsien Loong last year as leader of the People's Action Party, which has ruled the city-state of 6 million people since independence in 1965. According to an April poll by Blackbox Research of 1,506 people, Singaporeans gave the government the lowest scorecard ratings for its handling of the cost of living (52 per cent), sales tax (55 per cent), inequality (57 per cent), car prices (58 per cent) and housing affordability (59 per cent). However, the PAP is almost certain to win most seats in the election, with candidates fielded in all 33 constituencies for 97 seats in parliament. Crucially, the PAP will be looking at its popular vote. The PAP's share of the popular vote fell to 61 per cent in 2020 from 70 per cent in 2015. If it sees another decline and its main opposition the Workers' Party build on its record 10 seats in 2020, it could be interpreted as a sign the PAP's grip on power is weakening. — Reuters
