Practical Passion

Tell us more about what you do.
Very briefly, I do political and policy analysis for my clients to further their business strategies. They consult with us for advice on how they should shape their own policies regarding the governments, and what they do in the country.

Is this what you thought you’d be doing when you were younger?
When I was younger, I didn’t think I had any aspirations. How I viewed my ideals, aspirations and education system was not my own thoughts. But in my second year in university, I took up Liberal Arts. I tried all kinds of courses, including one in US politics and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and I just deep-dived. This solidified it for me, and I realised, “Okay, I have a lot of interest in this.” From then, all my courses focused on international relations. 

We understand your father’s setting up a school in Uganda for local students. Can you tell us more? Is this something you see yourself doing too?
He’s bringing over our educational system for Ugandan students while adding in a Christianity curriculum. He’s working on making it accessible to everyone in the villages and giving them devices to use. I don’t see myself exactly following in my dad’s footsteps. My passion is working at more of a policy level by influencing government decisions, and my current job helps me build the skills to be able to do that someday.

What are these skills you need?
Currently, I’m understanding how governments think and how that affects the way to shape certain policies. For example, if my dad wants to get his school approved by the ministry of education in Uganda, the first step is to understand what the government’s priorities for education are. When I’m campaigning for a certain cause in the future, this helps as I would know where to start. Another important skill I’m picking up is how to deal with people. When I first went to Uganda in 2018, I wanted to start work immediately but everyone told me I was too fresh. I didn’t really get it till I started my first job and then I realised it’s the people skills you really need to hone over time. Now, it’s just about learning how to work with different people on different kinds of projects, and not taking things personally.

What’s a policy you would change in Singapore?
I would say the freedom of speech law. I would change the fact that they make it so hard for you to gather as a group for you to voice your opinions, so that’s why nobody wants to do it. And when someone wants to do it, even in a non-violent, non-hateful way, they clamp down on it so much. I feel in a progressive society, that’s not going to fly.