A recent podcast clip sparked a national conversation about whether young Singaporeans are still “hungry” enough. I’ve listened to many of the reactions online.

Some agreed. Some disagreed.

But one thing stood out to me. The conversation felt incomplete.

Not because people were wrong. But because certain lived experiences were missing from the room.

It brought me back to an experience I had in 2019. The Day I Was Asked Why I Was Muslim

At the time, I had just left Booking.com and was exploring my next career move before eventually pursuing my MBA in Ireland and completing my CIPD Level 7 qualification in the UK.

One opportunity led me to an interview with Marina Bay Sands.

What happened during that interview shocked me.

Instead of discussing my experience, track record, leadership capabilities or ability to do the job, I found myself being asked questions that felt deeply personal and completely unrelated to my ability to perform.

• Why was I Muslim?
• Was I sure I was Malay?
• Was I Chinese?
• Could I speak Mandarin?
• Was I married?
• Did I have children?

I remember sitting there wondering:

Why does any of this matter?

Especially for a role where none of those questions had anything to do with my ability to lead, hire or perform. The longer the conversation went on, the more uncomfortable I became.

Eventually, I told the interviewer directly that I was uncomfortable with the questions being asked.

I also told her I was no longer interested in proceeding with the opportunity.

After the interview, I reported the experience to the Tripartite Alliance. To be honest, I wasn’t particularly optimistic that much would come from it. I also wrote to the CHRO because I believed the organisation should be aware of the experience candidates were having.

What stayed with me wasn’t anger. It was disappointment. I couldn’t understand how a senior talent leader could hold such views. Nor could I understand how an organisation of that scale could allow those questions to be part of a hiring conversation. For a long time, the experience affected me more than I wanted to admit cos this is not the only time happened to me.

I remember feeling angry at my circumstances. Angry at my identity. Angry that I seemed to exist in a space between categories.

Growing up mixed race meant I was often told I wasn’t Malay enough for some people and not Chinese enough for others. Sometimes it was subtle.

Sometimes it wasn’t. School (even the Teachers) wasn’t always kind.There were moments that felt like bullying, gaslighting and exclusion. You learn to laugh things off. You learn to adapt. You learn to keep moving because at times I was told not to play the minority card (some call me crazy) which is only what non minority usually say.

But to be honest – those experiences leave fingerprints. Coming from a low-income household and a broken family environment, I didn’t have the luxury of assuming life would work itself out.

I started working young. Every job change mattered. Every salary increase mattered. Sometimes I was fighting hard just to secure another $100 a month because my family’s livelihood depended on it.

Nobody needed to teach me about hunger. I lived it. Which is why I find conversations about who is and isn’t “hungry” so fascinating.

• Who decides?
• Who created the measuring stick?
• And based on what experience?

Because hunger looks very different depending on where you start.

A person raised in a stable household with financial security may experience work very differently from someone carrying family responsibilities, financial pressure and generational hardship.

Neither experience is invalid. But they are not the same. This is one reason why I struggled with parts of the recent podcast discussion. Not because I believe younger Singaporeans are perfect. Far from it.

As a recruiter, founder and employer, I have worked with exceptional Gen Z talent.

I have also worked with Gen Z employees who lacked accountability, professionalism and maturity.

Both realities exist. But I have also worked with leaders who were disconnected, biased, entitled and completely out of touch with how much the world has changed. Both realities exist too.

The issue wasn’t whether younger people are hungry.

The issue was how easily we simplify a complex issue into a single character judgement.

What was also missing from that conversation was representation.

If we are going to talk about young people, perhaps young people should be in the room.

And perhaps people from different racial backgrounds should be in the room. If we are going to discuss lived experiences, perhaps we should include people who have actually lived them.

Because conversations become more meaningful when we speak with people rather than about them.

The economy today is not the economy of twenty years ago.

• Housing is different.
• Job security is different.
• Technology is different.
• Social pressure is different.

The ability to stay in one company for ten years is different.

The world that Gen Z is navigating is fundamentally different from the one many older generations inherited.

That doesn’t mean younger people have it harder. It means they have it differently.

And nuance matters.

As I’ve gotten older, something else has changed too.

I care less about proving myself to people.

I care less about labels.

I care less about fitting neatly into categories.

When I look at the world today, with wars, displacement, suffering and people fighting for survival on a scale far greater than my own experiences, many of my past frustrations feel smaller.

Not invalid. Just smaller.

I no longer feel anger when I think about that interview.

I mostly feel gratitude.

Because every experience, even the painful ones, shaped who I became.

And perhaps that’s why I still come back to the same question.

When we talk about hunger, ambition and drive—

Are we measuring character? Or are we measuring circumstance?

And who gave any of us the authority to decide the difference?

I also want to be clear. This is not an attack on any individual from that podcast. In fact, this not hungry or driven enough debate applies to hiring managers too. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, experiences and perspectives.

My concern was never about agreement or disagreement. It was about representation.

Conversations about generations are richer when younger people are present. Conversations are more meaningful when different racial perspectives are included. Conversations are more nuanced when people who have experienced hardship have a seat at the table.

No one can represent an entire generation, race or social class. But when whole groups are missing from the conversation, blind spots are inevitable. That is why diversity matters—not because it is politically correct or fashionable, but because lived experience reveals things that data, assumptions and personal opinions often cannot.

The podcast touched a nerve because it was never really about Gen Z.

It was about belonging, opportunity and survival.

It was about who gets to define ambition, hunger and success—and who gets to set those standards for everyone else.

The older I get, the less interested I am in proving who is right. I am more interested in making sure the right voices are in the room.

Because better conversations happen when people with different realities are willing to listen to one another. That is where nuance lives. And perhaps that is what was missing all along.

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This podcast is filmed at Vivid Media Studio.

Vivid Media is a Singapore-based media production company specialising in corporate photography, video production, podcast production, live streaming, and event coverage. Their services include professional LinkedIn and corporate headshots, executive portraits, brand storytelling videos, TV commercials (TVCs), social media content, multi-camera podcast production, and event videography.

With an in-house studio and production team, Vivid Media supports businesses, creators, and organisations in producing high-quality visual content that enhances brand presence, thought leadership, and audience engagement. From corporate campaigns and leadership profiles to podcast filming and hybrid events, they provide end-to-end production solutions from concept development to final delivery.