Singapore Matters

2022-06-23 07:02:03 After working in Singapore for 19 years, Amrakajona Zakir aka Zakir Hossain Khokan is no longer welcome. He came to Singapore to seek greener pastures and Singapore gave him a living.

But he overstayed his welcome when his misleading public posts threaten to create troubles in dormitories pitting workers against management, at a time when we were thick in the midst of handling a pandemic and doing our best to keep everyone including workers safe.

He claimed he wanted to make Singapore a better country. He can take his activism home and make his home country a better country. His friends, Jolovan Wham and Kirsten Han can help him with his activism back in his home country. There's much work waiting for them there. Open / Comment

2022-06-23 06:06:17 The facts.

Zakir called migrant workers in Singapore 'work slaves', and our dormitories 'work camps'. He also alleged that soldiers and armoured vehicles had surrounded a dormitory, Westlite Tukang, when there were no soldiers, let alone armoured vehicles.

This false characterisation threatened to incite the migrant community.

His post was made worse by the fact that he signed off as “workers of Westlite Tukang”, even though he has never lived there.

There were police personnel on standby close to the dormitory as a precautionary measure.

"They never surrounded the dormitory or engaged workers there. Rather, it was MOM officers and dormitory personnel who engaged the workers to address their concerns.

Despite his activism....

"We renewed his work pass many times despite his activism and writings. We draw the line, however, when public posts are misleading, false or deliberately provocative," said MOM.

Singapore gave him a living. Open / Comment

2022-06-22 04:48:38 ​​You know something? Singaporeans are well taken care of by a competent govenment that cares, so much so that most of the time, we are shielded from the full brunt of a crisis.

Before you could feel the full brunt of chicken shortage, the government had activated their supply chains and worked with importers to bring in chilled chicken from Australia. And now, we could soon have chicken from Indonesia as Singapore looks to take care of chicken slaughter houses here and their employees, besides our stomachs.

At the start of the pandemic when countries interdicted mask supplies, Singapore acted fast to bring back our mask production line from Taiwan, invented high quality filter so that we would never lack high quality masks ever again.

The Government acted decisively very early on in the pandemic to save jobs, save businesses, support the self-employed and the lower income groups, preserve capabilities in sectors such as aviation which was hardest hit, so that they could easily take off again when the situation improved.

There were hardships but we were shielded from the full brunt of the pandemic. There was no deep scaring in the economy.
The government has done so well to take care of people that the consequence is that people do not fully understand or appreciate it when the government talks about facing a volatile, unpredictable and increasingly more dangerous world.

People spend their time on social media complaining against the government and calling for them to be voted out.

When DPM Lawrence Wong announced a relief package to help Singaporeans and businesses, they dissed the measures. Instead, they want the GST hike postponed. Some even want other taxes suspended.

This is because they are not the government and can focus only on the present and on one thing - inflation. The government, on the other hand, has to focus on both the present AND future challenges. They have to ensure that all their social programmes to help people can continue to run uninterrupted even when there is inflation. If we suspend taxes, do we also suspend social programmes to help people?

Some ask for the sky. They want free transport for 3 years to cope with inflation. Otherwise, vote them out, they said.

Suspend taxes, give free transport. Now, where is that money coming from? Print money? Or just spend from reserves and deplete them?

The Government will find ways to help Singaporeans cope as the situation unfolds around the world. But as Singaporeans, we also have our part to play by tightening our belt and bite the bullet. This is how we overcome together and be resilient. Open / Comment

2022-06-21 06:47:47 Happy in MacPherson! Open / Comment

2022-06-21 05:52:23 Former tourism, arts and culture minister, , Nazri Aziz suggested that Kelantan's annual floods can become a tourist attraction since it is "like a festival".

Foreign visitors can "buy tickets" to help in relief efforts during a flood.

Nazri said: "When our currency falls, it's time for us to promote tourism for the country because it is cheap for them.

"Singaporeans will come because they spend only one-third of their salary and to them, our five- or six-star hotels are just so cheap." Open / Comment

2022-06-21 04:26:22 Talk is cheap. Protests are easy.

But working to uplift people from poverty and educating people on the ills of drugs, and helping them to steer clear of drugs? Now, THAT'S hard work commitment.

The lives of drug addicts and their families matter too. If you cannot be bothered with them, then leave it to others to decide how to handle the drug scene.

See original post here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CeTci69PS9c/ Open / Comment

2022-06-20 15:30:04 Education Minister Chan Chun Sing and his happy interactions with students. Open / Comment

2022-06-20 04:40:55 ​​Ever since the SERS announcement, many have jumped in to exploit the concerns of senior home owners in order to make people angry with the government.

Seniors who have fully paid up their mortgage and looking forward to a commitment-free retirement have a genuine concern. This concern is to be addressed, not exploited without evidence or basis, by people who pretend to be concerned.

Our seniors are taken care of by the Pioneer and Merdeka Generation packages. Their medical care is heavily subsidised. In, fact the most senior amongst them will receive a Medisave top up of up to $1200 this month. In addition, they will also receive up to $500 in GST cash this year and $600 for next year. This is a permanent scheme.

Seniors with little CPF savings receive silver support of up to $3600 a year or $300 a month.

This is in addition to financial support they may receive under Comcare (for eligible seniors) at $600/mth for a person.

These are just some of the more familiar schemes among a host of schemes to help seniors.

Sunsidised education for foreigners?

The facts say otherwise. Formal education is almost free for Singaporeans. For the school and miscellaneous fees a Singaporean student pays each month, they also receive Edusave ($230 for primary and $290 for secondary).

As for higher education, it is heavily subsidised for Singaporeans, with tuition grants of up to 80% of course fees depending on the course of study.

Foreign students do not automatically get this grant. They have to apply for it, subject to approval. They get a smaller grant. They also need to serve a bond.

Singaporeans studying overseas also receive some subsidies from foreign governments.

Giving a smaller grant to some foreign students studying here is playing our part as a responsible member of the international community. The presence of foreign students here also benefits our students through exposure to different cultures and perspectives, and networking. Open / Comment

2022-06-19 13:02:13 Speedy recovery, DPM Heng Swee Keat!

DPM Heng is in Germany. He was to attend the inaugural financial technology (fintech) conference Point Zero Forum. But due to the covid infection and isolation, he would not be able to continue the working trip.

Mr Heng had travelled to London on June 12, where he attended the London Tech Week event, and arrived in Berlin on June 16. The last leg of his trip to Europe would have been in Switzerland. Open / Comment

2022-06-18 08:38:52 You know when youths care, the future is bright. Thank you, Eric, for the deep conversations with ITE students. Open / Comment