The Front Row Podcast

Keith Yap

Front Row Interviews with experts to expand your mental map of the world. Made in Singapore. For Asia and the World.

  1. 9 HR AGO

    #75: Ho Kwon Ping - The Coming Civilizational Reset: US, China & Singapore's Future

    Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Ho Kwon Ping.Ho Kwon Ping is one of Singapore's most iconic entrepreneurs. He currently serves as the Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, the international spa and resort group he established in 1994. Under his leadership, Banyan Tree grew from a single resort in Phuket into a global luxury brand operating in over 30 countries. He runs the business alongside his wife and co-founder, Claire Chiang. Beyond the boardroom, Ho is known for his candid perspectives on Singaporean society, the changing global order and what he thinks Singapore needs to succeed in the coming years. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Introduction01:37 - Singaporeans And Cultural Intelligence 07:07 - Singapore's Strength 14:10 - Maintaining A Cultural Core in a Globalized World18:21 - Cultural Intelligence vs. Cultural Identity19:52 - Redefining Luxury: Aspirational vs. Exclusive26:30 - Status Obsession 30:03 - The Coming Civilizational Reset39:43 - US and China As Civilizations 40:57 - Clashing Reference Points In Political Discourse 50:07 - Implications for Singapore in a Post-Western World57:43 - Diversifying Knowledge: AI and Non-Western Civilizations59:06 - Communitarian Capitalism 1:03:11 - Mindset Shifts for Thriving in a Messy World1:12:36 - The Price of Sovereignty 1:13:27 - Avoiding Mediocrity 1:19:50 - Building World-Class Excellence1:25:05 - Difference Between Leadership vs. Management1:32:53 - Hope for Singapore 2056This is the 75th episode of The Front Row Podcast. Full transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

    1h 40m

  2. 9 FEB

    #74- Mehran Gul : Why The Future of Technology is Global

    Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Mehran Gul. Mehran Gul is an author and researcher exploring the shifting geography of technological innovation and the rise of breakthrough companies beyond traditional Western hubs.He is the author of The New Geography of Innovation, published by Simon & Schuster (U.S.) and William Collins (U.K.), which charts the emergence of dynamic tech ecosystems across Asia, Latin America, Africa, and beyond. The book originated from an essay that won the Financial Times/McKinsey Bracken Bower Prize for the best business book proposal by an author under 35. It has since been translated and published in China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Russia.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro: The New Geography of Innovation00:35 Why The West Used To Dominate01:24 The Global Inflection Point in Tech01:54 3 Lenses to Map Modern Innovation04:46 Govtech Innovation in Singapore 06:05 Researching the Map: Lessons from 200 Interviews07:39 3 Through-Lines of Singapore’s Success09:37 Beyond the US-China Binary12:51 The ResNet Case: Why US-China Synthesis is Ending14:14 Debunking the Silicon Valley "Obituary"16:58 Why Some Hubs Die and Others Survive19:42 Talent Density vs. Relationship Density21:41 The Geopolitics of Capital & Reserve Currencies24:30 Can You Actually Replicate Silicon Valley?27:07 The London Paradox: Why UK Startups Exit Early31:20 Is Europe a Regulator or an Innovator?34:10 The Hidden Strengths of European Universities37:13 The Mittelstand: Germany’s Deep Tech Backbone41:10 China: The "Precocious Student" of Innovation43:47 Invention (USA) vs. Execution (China)49:03 Watching India 51:44 Singapore as an ASEAN Launchpad55:22 Solving the Exit Bottleneck in Singapore57:23 Switzerland vs. Singapore: Two Small State Models01:01:42 Why Innovation is a Biological System01:07:05 Advice for Policymakers: Diversifying the Horizon01:11:44 Advice for Graduates: Learning to Learn AIThis is the 74th episode Of The Front Row PodcastFull transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

    1h 14m

  3. 1 FEB

    #73- Why Singapore Wasn't Kicked Out From Malaysia - Susan Sim

    Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Susan Sim. This is the second of a two-part series covering Singapore's merger and separation from Malaysia. Susan Sim is the editor of The Albatross Files- Inside Separation, a landmark publication that brings to light previously classified documents detailing Singapore's merger with and separation from Malaysia in the 1960s.For the first time, oral histories, cabinet memos that were previously secret are now declassified. This book brings into light the raw emotions and real struggles Singapore's first generation of leaders faced when contemplating seperation. She is also the author of The People's Minister, a biography of E.W. Barker, Singapore's longest-serving Law Minister and a key figure in the separation negotiations. In this conversation, we talk about her editorial approach, the last two months leading up to Separation and why more of us should care about EW Barker. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Trailer00:45 What Are The Albatross Files13:05 Understanding Separation28:15 The Emotional Weight of Separation34:24 Why The Hong Lim Election Mattered36:50 Why The British Was Excluded42:43 The Final Week Before Separation49:08 The Role of E.W. Barker in the Separation Process56:38 E.W. Barker: A Man of the People01:03:07 Lessons for Young Singaporeans from HistoryThis is the 73rd episode Of The Front Row PodcastFull transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

    1h 6m

  4. 23 JAN

    #72 - The True Story Of Singapore's Separation From Malaysia

    Thank you for checking out my interview with Janadas Devan, Senior Adviser at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and Deputy Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office of Singapore. Mr Devan coordinated The Albatross File: Inside Separation, the authoritative 488-page volume documenting Singapore's path to independence, co-published by Straits Times Press and the National Archives of Singapore. The troubled 1963 merger with Malaysia began with fundamental disagreements and was strained by the 1964 race riots. Finance Minister Dr Goh Keng Swee maintained a secret file code-named "Albatross"—referencing Coleridge's poem about burden and consequence—containing Cabinet memos, negotiation records, and his handwritten notes from meetings with Malaysian leaders. TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Trailer00:51 Subscribe!01:19 Did We Take Merger For Granted?05:25 The 1945 Split: Singapore's First Separation09:44 Battle for Merger12:48 What Tunku Actually Wanted16:20 Ten Months: From Victory to Riots19:08 September 1963: PAP's Big Malay Win26:30 Misreading Malaysian Politics28:33 The Counter-Offensive Gamble38:29 LKY's Strategy Works Too Well42:35 The Idealists Who Opposed Separation46:30 Ideological Divide in Singapore's Cabinet49:49 How Real Was The Risk to Lee Kuan Yew?52:53 How LKY Rattled UMNO57:16 LKY's International Reputation59:16 Why Secrecy Was Essential01:04:21 Tunku's Decision: "Singapore as Gangrene"01:07:17 Dr Goh's Masterstroke01:11:28 Understanding Separation In Context01:15:30 Three Lessons for Singapore This is the 72nd episode of The Front Row Podcast. Full transcripts: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/ Connect with me:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.co Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

    1h 20m

  5. 16 JAN

    #71- Why We Are Entering an Era of Global Disorder- Shaun Rein

    Thank you for checking out my interview with Shaun Rein. Shaun Rein is the Founder and Managing Director of China Market Research Group (CMR), the world’s leading strategic market intelligence firm focused on China. He works closely with boards, billionaires, heads of state, CEOs, and senior executives of Fortune 500 and leading Chinese companies, as well as private equity firms, SMEs, and hedge funds, helping them navigate China growth, political, and investment strategies. This is Episode 71 of the Front Row Podcast. Timestamps00:00 Intro01:24 Did China Game the System?06:16 Governance: Serving the 90% vs. the 1%11:52 Corporate Influence Today16:34 The Age of Tech Oligarchs23:06 American Companies in China28:40 Weaponizing the Dollar & Sanctions33:42 The Resource War: Chips & Rare Earths37:56 China’s Drive for Self-Reliance41:36 Venezuela as a Sign of the Times45:12 What Happens to the BRI?47:22 Trump’s Greenland Ambitions50:50 The Leadership Vacuum in Europe55:22 Biden vs. Trump on China58:26 US and China’s Domestic Challenges01:05:51 What the US and China Can Learn From Each Other01:09:13 Shaun’s Core Insight01:13:04 Advice for Young Professionals Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or connect with me here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: https://www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.co

    1h 17m

  6. 9 JAN

    #70- Tommy Koh on The Art of Diplomacy, Negotiations and Balancing Great Powers

    Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Professor Tommy Koh. Prof Koh is Singapore's Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a position he has held since 1990, and Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore. He is a veteran diplomat and negotiator recognised globally for his contributions to international law and diplomacy. Koh's distinguished career spans international law, diplomacy and education. He served as Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (1968–71; 1974–84) and Ambassador to the United States (1984–90). His most notable international contribution was serving as President of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, where he successfully steered 119 countries to sign the convention in 1982—creating what he called "a constitution for the world's oceans." He was also a member and second chairman of the High-Level Task Force that drafted the ASEAN Charter, providing the institutional and legal framework for the organisation. Koh has represented Singapore in major legal disputes, including serving as chief negotiator in the reclamation works dispute with Malaysia over Tuas and Pulau Tekong (resolved in 2005), and as part of Singapore's legal team in the Pedra Branca cases before the International Court of Justice (2003 and 2017). At NUS, Koh was the founding Rector of Tembusu College and currently serves as Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the Asia Research Institute and Special Adviser to the Institute of Policy Studies. TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Trailer0:42 Introduction1:18 Living Through Decolonisation6:27 Becoming The Youngest UN Ambassador12:13 Why International Law Cannot Protect Small States17:21 Condemning America in 198319:04 Creating the UN Constitution for the Oceans28:20 ASEAN's Peace Miracle29:51 Why LKY Was America's Friend37:51 What Singapore Should Not Import from America41:35 The Downside of CEO Worship52:08 Understanding China56:17 China's Return To A Tang Dynasty Vision?1:02:42 How to Engage an Assertive China1:07:14 Insights From Five Generations of Singapore's PM1:18:07 Tommy Koh's Hopes for Singapore1:21:48 Tommy Koh's Advice For Young Singaporeans This is the 70th episode Of The Front Row Podcast Full transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/ Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.co Get access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

    1h 24m

  7. 2 JAN

    #69- How Singapore Beat the Odds—and What We Must Do to Keep Winning - Lim Siong Guan

    Lim Siong Guan is a Professor in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, instructing on leadership and change management. Siong Guan was the Head of the Singapore Civil Service from September 1999 to March 2005. He has been the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence (1981-1994), the Prime Minister’s Office (1994-1998), the Ministry of Education (1997-1999) and the Ministry of Finance (1998-2006).He worked directly with Singapore's founding fathers to help Singapore transform itself into a modern economic hub of Southeast Asia. He was also Lee Kuan Yew's first Principal Private Secretary. He has chaired the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (2004-2006), the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (2004-2006) and, the Central Provident Fund Board (1986-1994), and has been a board member of many companies including Temasek, the other sovereign wealth fund manager of Singapore. He is currently an Advisor to the Group Executive Committee of GIC. GIC is the fund manager for the foreign financial reserves of Singapore. He was the Group President of GIC from 2007 to 2016. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Singapore University of Technology and Design, and Senior Fellow of the Singapore Civil Service College. Siong Guan was Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board from October 2006 to June 2009. The Board is the Singapore government’s lead agency for planning and executing strategies to enhance Singapore’s position as a global business centre. Much of its work is attracting international corporations to set up manufacturing and services activities in Singapore as critical links in the global supply chain. Siong Guan has co-authored with Joanne H. Lim two books. The first was “The Leader, The Teacher & You – Leadership Through the Third Generation,” a book on leadership and governance, which won the Singapore Literature Prize for non-fiction in 2014. The second was "Winning with Honour in Relationships, Family, Organisations, Leadership, and Life, a book on winning in life and work. He is the founder chairman of Honour (Singapore), a charity that seeks to promote the culture of honour and honouring in Singapore. He is a SwissRe Group Advisor and a member of the International Board of the Stars Foundation, a Swiss foundation that promotes leadership development for leaders of the next generation. This is the 69th episode of Front Row Podcast. CHAPTERS:00:00 Trailer00:46 Introduction & Early Public Works Experience04:09 The Road Roller Story: Learning Practical Governance08:41 Dr Goh Keng Swee's Leadership in MINDEF10:29 Building the Junior Flying Club & Early Lessons15:01 The Glider Experiment: Learning to Cut Losses18:50 Becoming Lee Kuan Yew's Principal Private Secretary22:27 Understanding Power: Service Before Self26:16 The Three Pillars of Trust: Care, Competence, Commitment29:39 Building Singapore's Defence Force from Zero35:42 Total Defence & the Philosophy of Deterrence40:29 Talent Management Across the Public Service46:51 Introduction to Scenario Planning49:37 Hotel Singapore & Home Divided: National Scenarios53:54 PS21: Transforming the Public Service57:45 The Innovator's Dilemma: From Copy-and-Improve to Indigenous Innovation01:04:56 The Unknown Unknowns: Planning for Uncertain Futures01:08:38 The Mother's Challenge: Cultural Barriers to Innovation01:12:41 Defining Success 30 Years Out01:14:50 Advice For Fresh Graduates Entering The Working World Full transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

    1h 16m

  8. 26/12/2025

    #68- Making Sense of Industrial Policies in the 21st Century

    Dr Jostein Hauge is a political economist and an Assistant Professor in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, based at the Centre of Development Studies and the Department of Politics and International Studies. He is also the Director of the MPhil in Development Studies and a Fellow of Magdalene College. His research lies at the intersection of international political economy and development economics. He is the author of The Future of the Factory: How Megatrends are Changing Industrialization, published by Oxford University Press. The book investigates how industrialization pathways are shaped by recent technological developments, new forces of globalization, and the threat of ecological collapse. It also charts new pathways for industrial policy and global governance.TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Introduction and Trailer 01:20 Why Alexander Hamilton Still Matters for Economic Development 03:03 The Return of the State: From Free Markets to Industrial Policy 07:21 Beyond Tariffs: The Full Toolkit of Modern Industrial Policy 10:28 America's Industrial Policy Deficit and the CHIPS Act Gamble 14:02 The Rise of Services and the Manufacturing Illusion 17:35 How America Lost 25% of Global Manufacturing in Three Decades 20:43 The Fatal Mistake: Conflating Low Price with Low Value 23:41 Losing the Industrial Commons: Why Offshoring Costs More Than Jobs 26:04 The East Asian Tiger Playbook: Investment, Patience, and Reciprocal Control 33:32 China's Gladiator Economy: When Copycatting Drives Innovation 37:27 The Patent Paradox: Protecting Profits or Enabling Development? 40:16 Vietnam's Geopolitical Tightrope: Navigating US-China Competition 44:56 Mexico's Cautionary Tale: When Liberalisation Fails 50:31 Financial Repression as Development Strategy: Controlling Capital for Growth 54:31 Why Industrial Policy Requires Embracing Failure 55:35 Who Bears Responsibility for Climate Change? 59:00 China's Green Tech Dominance: Opportunity or Threat for the Global South? 1:02:01 The Overcapacity Debate 1:08:52 AI Anxiety and the Luddite Fallacy: What History Teaches About Automation 1:16:20 Ha-Joon Chang's Impact on Jostein 1:20:42 Advice for Fresh Graduates Entering the Working World

    1h 23m
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About

Front Row Interviews with experts to expand your mental map of the world. Made in Singapore. For Asia and the World.

Information

  • Creator
    Keith Yap
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    75
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Keith Yap
  • Show Website
    The Front Row Podcast

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