Documentary: 101 East – We built this city (Video)

After Singapore’s first riot in decades, locals ask hard questions about the migrant worker abuse.

 On the night of December 8, 2013, paramedics rushed to the scene of a fatal traffic accident in Singapore’s Little India neighbourhood, where tens of thousands of South Asian workers socialise on their day off.

Little did anyone expect the situation to escalate into a bloody riot, Singapore’s first in more than 40 years.

Foreign workers power Singapore’s booming economy, forming a fifth of Singapore’s 5.3 million population, mostly in low-paying jobs that locals avoid.

The accident had occurred after construction worker Sakthivel Kumaravelu, a 33-year-old labourer from India, was stopped from boarding a bus ferrying migrant workers back to their dormitories. The bus ran over and killed him as he chased after it and fell.

Documentary: 101 East – Indonesia’s Rock Governor (Video)

 We go behind the scenes with the man tipped to become Indonesia’s next president — governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo. Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, is a man on a mission. Since he was elected governor of Jakarta in October 2012, he has undertaken a gruelling daily schedule in his efforts to make the city more liveable for its 10 million residents. The 52-year-old’s seemingly bottomless reserves of energy have been put to the test – Jakarta has no shortage of pressing issues – but his efforts are paying dividends. Everywhere Jokowi goes, people swarm around him. His popularity has risen so rapidly that he is tipped to become Indonesia’s next president when elections are held in July.
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Documentary: 101 East – South Korea, Caught in the Web (Video)

 We look at the impact of internet addiction as more and more South Koreans get caught in the web.
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