In July 2022, the SMU Apolitical Society (SMU Apol) in collaboration with the NUS Students’ Political Association (NUSPA), organised the Singapore Model Cabinet (SMC) 2022.

SMC is an annual event that aims to provide a platform for pre-University and University students to gain a better understanding of the constitutional role of the Executive branch of Government, specifically the Cabinet of Singapore. Through roleplaying as members of the Cabinet, SMC seeks to grant participants the opportunity to appreciate the intricacies of the policy formulation process, understand the challenges involved, and hone their negotiation skills.

This year, participants were tasked to tackle one of the following four contemporary themes faced by the Singapore Government today: (1) Climate Change; (2) Inequality; (3) Social Compact; and (4) Geopolitics. By the end of SMC, each Cabinet was to complete a written Cabinet Memorandum, and present their policy recommendations to a panel of judges.

The event was a three-day programme which began with a Training Day on 9 July, where 72 participants from various Universities, Junior Colleges, Polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education Colleges met for the first time and got to know each other better. “Cabinet sessions” then officially began on 16 and 17 July.

Day 0: Training Day (9 July)

On Day 0 of SMC, participants arrived at the SMU School of Accountancy for registration and. gathered at their assigned seminar rooms for the event admin briefing and ice-breaking session. Participants were also introduced to the three categories of prizes that would be given out for their participation – Best Contributor Award, Best Presenting Cabinet Award, and Best Cabinet Memorandum Award.

Participants had the opportunity to learn more about the roles of a Cabinet Minister from  Professor Yaacob Ibrahim, a former Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (2002-2018). . In the insightful lecture by Prof Yaacob Ibrahim, he spoke on the importance of the Private, Public and People (PPP) network. He explained that for any effective policy making to happen, one must engage with all three stakeholders - to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that everyone is in consensus. The lecture also helped participants better understand the skill sets and approaches that they should take when writing their Cabinet Memorandum, and when presenting their Cabinet Memorandum on the final day of SMC.

SMC Day 1

On the first official day of SMC, participants had the privilege of engaging Senior Parliamentary Secretary (SPS), Mdm Rahayu Mahzam to better understand the role of a current policymaker. In the dialogue, participants asked SPS Rahayu a wide range of questions ranging from national security to social security. By the end of the dialogue session, SPS Rahayu noted that youths of today have a lot of passion and heart for the people and the community - and urged the participants of SMC 2022 to not underestimate the values that youth bring to the process, to Singapore.

SMC Day 2

For Day 2, National Youth Council Chief Executive Officer, Mr David Chua; Executive Development Board Executive Director, Ms Regina Low; and SMU’s Associate Professor of Law, Mr Eugene Tan formed the panel of judges to evaluate nine teams. Each Cabinet was given 10 minutes to present and 5 minutes of Q&A time from our distinguished panel.

To cap off the event, participants were honoured to have Minister for Education, Mr Chan Chun Sing, join a dialogue session to discuss the pillars of SMC 2022. The discussions were engaging and robust, with participants asking Minister questions that are close to their hearts.

SMC 2022 was an important one, as it was the first full physical event SMU Apol has organised and hosted in SMU since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We plan to continue organising more dialogues to create a platform for students to engage the Government of the day to raise their day-to-day policy concerns and to keep the conversation going.

“The true experience of physical events can never truly be replicated online. It was my team’s pleasure to have had the great opportunity to organise SMC 2022 and host it at our SMU Campus. To create a future that is equitable for all Singaporeans today and tomorrow, we must continue to create platforms for youth advocacy and conversations. I am thankful that SMU Apol has the support from the Office of Student Life to continue doing so!”