Singapore Matters

2022-04-13 05:37:22 We have made significant progress in our fight against COVID-19. We are getting closer to the finish line, but still we cannot be sure that we are almost arriving. The virus has surprised us many times and will surely do so again. But overall, we are in a much better position. We can be quietly confident of dealing with whatever may come, and continuing to progress towards the new normal.

Key to our handling of the crisis has also been trust in the Government - trust that the Government has the best interest of Singapore and Singaporeans at heart, and trust that the Government is competent and will make the right decisions on behalf of Singaporeans. Singaporeans displayed that trust when they accepted the government’s advice and decisions, and they complied willingly with strict Safe Management Measures (SMMs), and when they came forward to get vaccinated.

This trust is precious.

- PM Lee at the Administrative Service Appointment and Promotion Ceremony, 12 April 2022. Open / Comment

2022-04-11 03:44:32 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻-𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿

𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁.

You have to be very careful not to define the problem with Ukraine in such a way that automatically, China is already on the wrong side, for example, by making this a battle of democracies against autocracies.

We all have a problem in Ukraine. I think if we talk about sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, a lot of countries can come along. Even China would not object to that, and would actually privately strongly support that. But if you say it is democracies versus Putin’s autocracy, I think that already is difficult. If you say democracies versus autocracies – plural – that already defines China into the wrong camp, and makes things even more difficult.

- PM Lee at the Dialogue with the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board (Apr 2022) Open / Comment

2022-04-10 04:30:00 ​​A government's obligation is to the present. But a government's deepest obligation is to the future.

Why did Mr Lee Kuan Yew say that? Because that is the only way to ensure an enduring future. If there is no enduring future, YOUR future will also not endure.

You cannot build a nation with an attitude that says 'let the future generations take care of themselves'.

Nation building is about building a Singapore that endures for many generations to come.

Every decision made today has an impact on the future.

This is why one should not adopt a cavalier attitude towards the need to save for the future. Open / Comment

2022-04-09 10:10:40 Do you know?

WP's formula for ministers' salaries would also pay at least one million.

Not only that, the WP's formula has a higher fixed component of 81% compared to 65% that ministers are currently getting. What this means is that with WP's formula, even if the WP minister performs badly, even if national outcomes are not achieved, the WP minister will still pocket 81% of the salary. Open / Comment

2022-04-08 13:52:07 Congratulations to Mr Khaw Boon Wan for the award and honour from Poland. Open / Comment

2022-04-08 12:21:24 A $1 million personal contribution from Dr Tan See Leng!

Opposition supporters often claim that people become ministers because they are eyeing the million-dollar salary. In reality, many ministers gave up millions to join political office. These include Shanmugam, Edwin Tong, Koh Poh Koon, Ng Eng Hen, Vivian Balakrishnan,, just to name a few. Not to forget, Dr Tan, a successful businessman in the private sector before he entered politics.

Women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) will get a boost with a $1 million gift from Manpower Minister Tan See Leng.

He said the endowment was inspired by knowing and working with many talented and capable women from fields such as medicine, pharmacy and chemical engineering, in announcing the personal contribution on Thursday (April 7) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Open / Comment

2022-04-07 18:30:01 2 years ago today, we entered the Circuit Breaker and Mask entered our lives in a big way. Open / Comment

2022-04-07 06:25:56 Did Workers’ Party propose more than one way to dip into strategic reserves?

WP proposed to shrink the reserves by using land sale proceeds directly for spending, and then spend more from the shrank reserves by increasing the NIRC to 60%.

If the generations before us had focused on their own spending, we will have less in NIRC to spend today. If we were to have just 20% less NIRC than today’s levels, our GST would need to increase to 11% instead of 9%, to make up for the funding gap. So drawing more NIRC now, means that our children, and the next generation will end up paying more taxes.

Let’s not forget that this ‘future’ generation includes everyone who is young and strong today. You will grow old in the future and be part of that silver generation that needs more support.

#landsaleproceeds #Reserves #WP

https://sgmatters.com/did-workers-party-propose-more-than-one-way-to-dip-into-strategic-reserves/ Open / Comment

2022-04-07 05:16:20 Congratulations to NUS and NTU!

They have emerged as the top universities in Asia based on global rankings by subjects.

According to the QS rankings, Singapore has the best higher education system in Asia, based on the Republic's share of programmes in the top 10 global lists. In Asia, the Republic's top spot is followed by Hong Kong, China and Japan.

Globally, Singapore has the fourth-best higher education system in the world, after the United States, Britain and Switzerland. Open / Comment

2022-04-04 11:54:53 WP Jamus Lim wants to know when SafeEntry will be abolished.

If he can recall, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung was asked a similar question by reporters during a press conference. Mr Ong had already said at that time that SafeEntry was an efficient way to check vaccination status as this is reflected in the TT App.

Therefore, we can already know from Mr Ong's reply that SafeEntry will no longer serve a purpose once there is no need to differentiate between the vaccinated and unvaccinated. It's just common sense and logic. Open / Comment