National Development Minister Lawrence Wong has rebutted remarks by Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chairman Paul Tambyah that the multi-ministry Covid-19 task force did not rely on the advice of medical experts in its work.
Saying the allegations were “baseless and false”, Mr Wong, who co-chairs the task force with Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, said on Sunday (July 5) that it has always relied on scientific evidence and the advice of medical experts in coming up with decisions.
“They are an integral part of the team, we involve them in all our deliberations, and every time Mr Gan Kim Yong and I hold the press conferences we have the director of medical services (Associate Professor Kenneth Mak) with us,” he said, adding that this has been the case since the outbreak started.
Mr Wong also addressed Professor Tambyah’s remarks that the Manpower Ministry (MOM) was to blame for an advisory that asked employers not to get workers tested.
He noted that the advisory was issued in February after an infection at Seletar Aerospace Park.
Physical rallies may be absent this time around, but on the ground, expressions of support are no less fervent.
Another round of chants erupted between supporters of the People’s Action Party (PAP) and Progress Singapore Party (PSP) at a coffee shop in Yishun on Sunday (July 5) morning.
According to The Straits Times’ Liveblog, the “shouting match” happened at about 11.20am at Block 747, after PAP’s Nee Soon GRC candidate, Associate Professor Faishal Ibrahim, arrived at the coffeeshop. PSP leader Dr Tan Cheng Bock and member Lee Hsien Yang were seen at the same coffeeshop just 20 minutes earlier.
Passionate residents were seen chanting their support for both parties in the video, with PAP supporters calling out “PAP!” as PSP supporters responded with “Tan Cheng Bock!”
When asked about the commotion, Faishal told The Straits Times that he saw it as a sign the residents have forged a bond with him, “And at the end of the day, when they see things like these happening, they come and support us.”
“Lite” is not always bad and some have a preference for it, says Workers’ Party (WP) candidate Yee Jenn Jong.
On a Facebook post this morning (July 5), he wrote: “I like lite. I order Teh Siu Dai, sometimes even kosong. If I am tempted for a Coke, I go for lite. Even Mdm President made a pitch for Milo Gao Kosong.”
Yenn’s post was in response to a question posed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during a Facebook live stream session yesterday afternoon (July 4).
PM Lee had made a guest appearance in support of the People’s Action Party (PAP) Sengkang GRC team, and fired shots at WP along the way, stating: “Why do you want to settle for PAP-lite? The real thing is much better.”
There are MPs and then there are real MPs, the ones who are their “own man” and will not “become part of group-think”, like Dr Tan Cheng Bock, says Lee Hsien Yang.
The younger estranged brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared his thoughts about the current crop of PAP and opposition candidates standing for election in this year on Facebook this morning (July 5).
He goes on to write that Dr Tan, who is now part of the opposition after having served 26 years as a People’s Action Party (PAP) MP, has “always been his own man” and is “that rare MP who exercised independence of mind”.
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) comments on how the Government has handled the COVID-19 pandemic are “baseless and false allegations”, said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong on Sunday (Jul 5).
Mr Wong, who co-chairs a multi-ministry task force on COVID-19, was responding to comments made by SDP chairman Paul Tambyah on Friday during a pre-General Election forum organised by the National University of Singapore Society (NUSS).
Dr Tambyah, an infectious diseases expert, had said that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) issued “a statement telling the employers they were not allowed to bring their workers for testing”.
Mr Wong said it is not true that authorities discouraged the testing of workers against the advice of medical experts.
“These are baseless and false allegations,” he said.
“The MTF (multi-ministry task force) has always relied on scientific evidence, and the advice of medical experts in our work, and in coming up with all decisions,” he added.
“Medical experts are an integral part of our team, we involve them in all our deliberations,” Mr Wong said, noting that at every press conference held by the task force, the Ministry of Health’s director of medical services Kenneth Mak was present.
Mr Wong said that while he “fully respected” Dr Tambyah as a leading expert in his field, “it is very disappointing that he has deliberately chosen to distort the facts, just to try and score some political points”.
“I had fully expected and I was prepared for the SDP to do this, but I had expected better of Professor Tambyah. He claims the MTF is distracted. But it seems that he is the one who is doing the politicking and undermining the work of everyone on the frontline,” he added.
During Friday’s forum, Dr Tambyah, who was recently elected as president of the US-based International Society of Infectious Diseases (ISID), praised Singapore’s initial handling of the pandemic in January and February.
In February, when there was a cluster of COVID-19 cases involving Bangladeshi workers at the Seletar Aerospace Heights construction site, he said this was “handled really well”, but that employers started thinking “hey my workers are living in the same dormitory maybe you should bring them for testing”.
“And then what happened was the Ministry of Manpower issued a statement telling the employers they were not allowed to bring their workers for testing, and if they brought their workers for testing, they would lose their work pass privileges,” said Dr Tambyah.
On Sunday, Mr Wong said: “On the specific issue of the advisory by MOM, Professor Tambyah has got his facts wrong.”
Dr Paul Tambyah at the NUSS Pre-General Election Forum 2020. (Photo: Anne-Marie Lim)
“It was not MOM that unilaterally issued that advisory. It was the doctors and medical experts that had requested the MOM to put out that advisory to their employers,” he said.
“At that time, many employers were asking their workers to go to the A&E departments in hospitals to be tested, in order to be certified free from the virus and fit for work,” Mr Wong said.
“It was doctors who could not issue such a memo to the employers and that’s why the doctors and medical experts have asked MOM to put out an advisory to clarify the matter with employers.”
Mr Wong added that “ultimately, Singaporeans will see and judge what we have done”.
“We have been fully engaged in this fight against COVID-19 continuously for the past six months, and that’s how we have kept our infection rates low in the community, protected the lives of Singaporeans, especially our vulnerable groups,” he said.
“We have mounted a major operation in the dormitories to test and clear all the workers and we are more than halfway through.”
In response to a question on how much he is on the ground during the campaigning period for the General Election, Mr Wong said the work of the multi-ministry task force continues even during campaigning.
This involves having meetings, continuing to monitor reports every day, looking at daily updates, as well as working with teams comprising public health experts and officials on the ground to oversee the work that is required to control the infection, he added.
“That work has not stopped, that work continues, right through. even now. So, whatever spare time on top of that work, that’s where I come in to the ground to meet my residents. That’s the situation,” Mr Wong said, adding that the work was “important because we do not want to compromise at all”.
ELECTIONS NOT TO BLAME FOR RISE IN CASES: LAWRENCE WONG
In response to a question on the increase in the number of community COVID-19 cases recently, Mr Wong, who is a People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, said the rise could be attributed to the resumption of activities, regardless of the election.
“If we look at all countries around the world that exited from the lock downs, because of the resumption of activities, election or not, right, it’s really because of the relaxation of the very strict movement control measures, and when activities resumed, one must expect the number of cases to go up,” he said.
“We knew this would happen in Singapore too. We had anticipated this, and we had said this, from the very start.”
Mr Wong acknowledged that parties could improve safe distancing measures on the ground, noting that some of their practices were “uneven”.
“I’m sure where there are lapses, the Elections Department has its people, be it safe distancing ambassadors or enforcement officers there, to quickly go in, remind all the relevant parties, be it candidates, activists or helpers, what the necessary measures are (so) the elections can be conducted safely,” he said.
But Mr Wong disagreed with suggestions that this meant the elections should not have been held in the first place, pointing out that the uneven practices “applied across the board”.
“It’s not just about candidates. We do know that there are food and beverage operators that are not doing as much as they can,” he said.
“We do know that there are places where there are crowds, where people do gather. So it’s not about elections. Whether or not in Phase 2 the rules are complied with to the fullest extent – I think that’s something that we are concerned about.”
Mr Wong said the Government continues to remind every Singaporean to play their part to fight COVID-19 together, even as safe distancing ambassadors and enforcement officers walk the ground.
“So this is not an issue of elections. Whether or not you have elections, we will be dealing with the pandemic for a long time. Like as we have said it’s not a matter of months, it could be more than a year,” he added.
“This whole issue of learning to live with COVID-19, learning to comply with safe distancing measures, embracing this as a habit, really has to be integral to our lifestyles and all of us have to do more.”
There are no physical rallies held this year in view of the Covid-19 situation, and all the parties have gone online to share their thoughts and vision for Singapore, as well as to address concerns that Singaporeans might have.
We’ll be adding to this list throughout the day, so do check back for updates on the latest schedules regularly.
SINGAPORE: All employers – including the public service – have to make sure there are enough vacancies, traineeships and on-the-job opportunities for Singaporeans, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Sunday (Jul 5).
This is so, he said, that Singaporeans can “continue to learn and do something constructive,” even during this “very difficult period”.
Mr Ong was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a walkabout at Kampung Admiralty, where he was meeting residents. He was accompanied by his fellow candidates from the People’s Action Party (PAP) team contesting Sembawang GRC: Incumbents Mr Lim Wee Kiak and Mr Vikram Nair, as well as new faces Ms Mariam Jaafar and Ms Poh Li San.
His comments come after Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on Saturday that the focus of this General Election should be about how Singapore can get through the COVID-19 crisis, rather than the survival of any opposition party or how many seats the PAP would get in Parliament.
The People’s Action Party’s Sembawang GRC candidates Education Minister Ong Ye Kung (left) and Lim Wee Kiak on a walkabout on Jul 1, 2020. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
Mr Ong was asked by reporters what else could be done to help the economy recover as quickly as possible. In response, he stressed the importance of “jobs, jobs, jobs … like we’ve always said before.”
On the healthcare situation, he said it is also important to control the virus and its transmission, in order to “get back to normal life and economic activities” as quickly as possible.
He added that part of this also involves working with different countries to make sure ”green lanes” are established, and people will be allowed to travel again.
“Singapore is a small country, and we need to be connected to the rest of the world,” he said. “So our ability to connect is extremely important to revive our economy.”
EVALUATE COVID-19 CRISIS BASED ON “OBJECTIVE MARKERS”
Mr Ong also addressed questions on the Government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, noting that it is a “valid question” that “needs to be discussed in the next few days.”
“This kind of question, you can give a comprehensive, objective evaluation,” said Mr Ong.
Progress Singapore Party (PSP)’s Tan Cheng Bock earlier commented in his party political broadcast that the PAP Government had struggled to find the right answers when it failed to prepare Singapore for the “explosion” of COVID-19 cases in foreign worker dormitories.
Mr Ong pointed out that local transmission is low, and the situation in the foreign worker dormitories is under control and “getting better by the day”.
The People’s Action Party’s candidate for Sembawang GRC, Ong Ye Kung, greeting residents during a walkabout at Kampung Admiralty on Jul 5, 2020. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
By the end of the month, he added, the Government aims to have 80 per cent of foreign workers ready for work again, following testing, segregation and quarantine.
He added that unlike many other countries, Singapore’s healthcare system is also not under pressure. As a result, fatality rates are “one of the lowest”.
“So I think we can evaluate the performance based on some objective markers,” he said.
The Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) may have all their eggs in one basket by only contesting in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, but party chief media officer Harminder Pal Singh assured Singaporeans that their GST proposal sets them apart from others.
In an almost two-hour e-rally yesterday (July 4), Singh shared the party’s proposed post-Covid-19 recovery efforts, such as reducing GST to 3 per cent and implementing a progressive GST system.
Too busy to watch? We’ve got you covered. Here are three highlights from Singh’s online rally:
“High cost of living”
“We are going to address the burden of the high cost of living by pushing for the GST to go down to only 3 per cent, for food, household items and necessities,” Singh said.
“This move will especially help the lower- and middle-class Singaporeans, like you and I.”
The party also proposed a progressive GST system for luxury items, up to 15 per cent. This is the biggest difference in SDA’s manifesto and post-Covid-19 plans from every other party, he said.
Some 23 years after her father’s untimely death during the 1997 General Election, Wendy Toh says that the emotions still come flooding back whenever election season rolls around.
The actress paid tribute to her late father, who had been a member of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), as well as those working behind the scenes in politics in a touching Facebook post on July 5.
According to Toh, her father Steven was a staunch supporter of opposition veteran Chiam See Tong and served in the SDP from the early 90s until his death in December 1996.
Even before the election, he had been working tirelessly, she recalled. But he would not live to see his efforts bear fruition.
Shortly after Nomination Day, he passed away from a heart attack after pulling an all-nighter at the town council office of the now-defunct Nee Soon Central SMC.
Reflecting on her father’s legacy, Toh wrote of her memories accompanying him on walkabouts and his choice to take “the road less travelled”, opting for contract and part-time stints with political parties instead of a full-time job.
Singaporeans have nothing to lose if they elect Progress Singapore Party (PSP) into Parliament, said member Kala Manickam.
“At most, it’s one term, right? Nothing to lose what, anyway, you’ve lasted 55 years [living] with all the pain and struggles.”
In a two-hour-long e-rally on Saturday night (July 4), the Nee Soon GRC candidate was candid when asked whether PSP is ready to manage a town council.
“Yes, we have a very competent team,” she replied.
Manickam shared that party leader Dr Tan Cheng Bock has past experience as chairman of Jurong East town council and explained how her fellow party members’ diverse range of knowledge and skills will help keep operations running smoothly.
“We’ll do a better job and we have fantastic plans for Nee Soon GRC,” the 52-year-old added.
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