A man spotted rats, which he said were as huge as his fist, at a restaurant at Woodlands Civic Centre on late Sunday night (Sep 27).
Stomp contributor Poh was dining at McDonald’s when he noticed several rats at neighbouring dining establishment Lerk Thai Restaurant at around 11.45pm.
He told Stomp: “Multiple big rats as huge as an adult male fist were seen feasting in the restaurant. I spotted three of them but there were possibly more.
“My friend told me he saw a huge rat running into the restaurant too.
“This is very unhygienic and shows a lack of proper measures to keep rats away from the food.”
Poh, who shared a video that compared the size of the rat to his hand, said he informed a manager at McDonald’s about the rodents.
Former manager Lau Disan was doing well before the pandemic hit, but she has had to take a 50 per cent pay cut after switching from the ravaged retail industry to early childhood education.
Her experience is far from rare: Many job seekers are now willing to accept lower salaries because of the tight employment market and difficult economic conditions brought on by the coronavirus, experts said.
Ms Lau, 46, was a retail manager for 15 years in the jewellery trade and earned over $4,000 a month. Now, she is a trainee childcare educator at Kinderland earning half that.
But she said the pay cut was acceptable because she is still undergoing training under a Professional Conversion Programme for pre-school teachers.
“I have zero prior experience in early childhood education,” she noted. “In order to get into the industry, I have to lower my expectations, accept that I am learning from scratch and start afresh.
“I benefit from working half a day, and training to gain a professional diploma at the same time. It is a win-win for employees and employers.”
The distribution of TraceTogether tokens will be progressively expanded to about 100 locations islandwide, such as in malls and community centres.
More than 100,000 tokens have been collected since distribution kicked off on Sept 14 at 20 community centres and clubs in the Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar areas, the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group said yesterday.
Collection points were rolled out at a further 18 community centres on Friday, while TraceTogether mobile booths will be deployed at various malls over the coming weeks.
The full deployment schedule and list of locations can be found on the TokenGoWhere website at token.gowhere.gov.sg
The public can go to any active distribution point to collect the tokens.
The locally developed TraceTogether programme helps with contact tracing efforts by identifying nearby tokens or phones with the app installed, enabling the authorities to identify a person’s close contacts if needed.
SINGAPORE : Accounts manager Joana likens her husband to a “useless piece of large display furniture” at home.
Despite being unemployed for the last 20 years or so, he hardly helps with the household chores such as cleaning the house – leaving it all to his 54-year-old wife to handle them even when she has to work up to 10 hours in the office.
“Asking him to do anything is very difficult,” said Ms Joana in Mandarin of her husband of 27 years who is a year younger than her. She declined to give her full name.
While she feels resentful at times, Ms Joana, who has two children, said she could only grin and bear it when it comes to the uneven distribution of their household responsibilities.
“Yes, I feel it’s not fair. But men and women are also different … Maybe women like cleanliness more and we cannot tolerate untidiness, so we’ll just do what needs to be done,” she said.
Then, there’s Ms Hannah (not her real name) who picks up her children from the childcare centre, cooks for her family of five and finishes up the housework – after spending about 10 hours at her teaching job daily.
Every day, like clockwork, either her mum or mother-in-law would call to ask if she has finished cooking and bathing her three young children before her electrician husband comes home.
“To them, my career is secondary and it should not take priority over my husband and children,” said the 31-year-old. “But truthfully, it feels like coming home from a full-time job to another full-time job.”
Ms Joana and Ms Hannah are not alone among working women who have had to shoulder more than their fair share of household responsibilities despite holding full-time jobs.
Nearly 60 years after the landmark Women’s Charter was passed in Singapore to protect and advance women’s rights, gender equality is by and large still elusive – even though some strides have been made in terms of breaking corporate or political glass ceilings.
“When we’re talking about fundamental values, we really have to go to the roots of patriarchal values, which is our daily living, social culture… We’re talking about how control and power is imposed through a hierarchical level – the father to the household, to the mother, mother to children and so on,” said Mrs Constance Singam, a long-time gender equality advocate.
Patriarchal values, and the traditional mindset about gender roles – such as the wife being primarily responsible for matters at home with the husband playing a supporting role — are still entrenched in society.
Media reports of sexual violence against women and court cases of voyeurism involving female victims also suggest that respect for women in Singapore has yet to become deeply embedded in the nation’s DNA.
The Government now aims to address all this by embarking on its first-ever comprehensive review of issues affecting women in the city-state.
Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam said on Sep 20 that the initiative aims to shift the Singaporean culture and mindset on gender equality and respect for women.
This review, called the “Conversations on Women Development”, will culminate in a White Paper that aims to create a roadmap towards gender equality.
“Every boy and girl must grow up imbibing the value of gender equality. They need to be taught from an early age that boys and girls are to be treated equally with respect,” he said at the first of a series of virtual dialogues to be conducted as part of this review.
“It has to be a deep mindset change,” said Mr Shanmugam, adding that society’s outlook on gender issues will be easier to change then.
He added that penalties against sexual violence should not be seen as penalising an offence, but as penalties against a “violation of fundamental values”.
While it remains to be seen what the White Paper will contain, some gender equality advocates said the review may lead to a paradigm shift in how the Government treats gender-related issues.
Said Mrs Singam: “One of the things that I am particularly excited about… (is that) this is the first time our Government has spoken up, since the Women’s Charter, not just about women’s development but fundamental values.”
The former president of the gender rights group Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) added: “This is a Government which is pragmatic in its approach to public policy. But here is a minister who is talking about fundamental values.”
Calling this review progressive but overdue, Ms Braema Mathi, the honorary secretary of human rights non-governmental organisation Maruah, said that progress made on women’s issues in the past had been issue-specific, such as the repeal of marital immunity for rape.
“There are improvements but it cannot become where you (NGOs) put a case forward to us (the Government) and we think about it and we work our way through. If you have it by a gender-equality ethos ingrained within the Constitution, (ensuring gender equality in policy making) has to be done,” said Ms Mathi.
As the review prepares to gather feedback and recommendations, we look at some issues which gender advocacy groups and community leaders say are among the three biggest challenges faced by women in Singapore: Sexual violence, balancing work-family dynamics and sexism at the workplace.
Achieving gender equality requires a “deep mindset change” as well as changes to Singapore’s cultural value system, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Sunday (Sep 20). Jeraldine Yap reports.
WORK-FAMILY DYNAMICS
The unequal distribution of household work – as faced by the likes of Ms Joana and Ms Hannah – has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended life as most have known it, both at work and at home.
Many women have been forced to shoulder a bigger share of the burden as families grapple with the aftermath of closed schools and daycare centres.
The pandemic has led Ms Josephine Tan, a mother of three, to leave the labour force to focus on her family – especially to care for her 87-year-old mother who has dementia.
The 53-year-old former public servant said it seemed easier for her to give up her job even though she was earning more than her taxi-driver husband because “he wouldn’t know what to do at home”.
For Ms Nur Farhana Aziz, 28, even though her husband does his share of the housework, there are some things that she needs to do herself, she said. They include cooking for the family, bathing her two children, and going through their homework.
The pre-school teacher added that the physical exhaustion from managing both her class and house often leaves her mentally stressed and causes her to lose sleep.
Asked why the housework was not divided equally, Ms Farhana said: “I’ve been taught since young that these are the responsibilities of a wife.”
Ms Fannie Lim, executive director of charity organisation Daughters Of Tomorrow, said even today, women are still expected to take on the caregiving role at home and sacrifice their careers.
When they are ready to return to the workforce, they may then be hired to do the same job with lesser pay.
“Unpaid care work is underappreciated, and similarly, if a woman chooses to fulfil her responsibility at home, they should not be penalised for it,” Ms Lim said.
In its first nationwide study on the gender pay gap, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) found that in 2018, women were earning 6 per cent less, on average, than a man with the same job in the same industry, and of the same age and educational qualifications.
An MOM spokesperson said then that the cost of parenthood likely accounted for a big proportion of the pay gap.
Ms Junie Foo, president of the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisation (SCWO) – a partner organiser of the dialogue sessions for the review – said the pandemic has highlighted the difficulties women face in being caregivers and breadwinners at home.
“There have been more cases of stress on the family front as women work from home and give care. With the economy facing a huge downturn, women are also likely to be retrenched especially those working in small and medium enterprises,” she added.
This is why the SCWO is advocating to make childcare leave and eldercare leave interchangeable.
Currently, single women or those who do not have children cannot take childcare leave, despite them being primary caregivers for the elderly.
“Implementing flexible working hours at workplaces will allow more women or even men for that matter to remain actively engaged in the economy and provide necessary care for their loved ones,” said Ms Foo.
Ms Shailey Hingorani, who is AWARE’s head of research and advocacy, said that the Government could implement the statutory right to request for flexible work arrangements, as well as making paid eldercare leave and family care leave mandatory for sandwiched caregivers.
It could also introduce a support grant for caregivers that provides cash to them pegged to the salaries of paid care workers, as well as Central Provident Fund contributions that match the prevailing rates of employers.
Ms Nicole Lim, who runs female health and wellness podcast Something Private, said it is important for young children to see that tasks and responsibilities are not made gender-specific through everyday routines.
“If they see that their mommies are doing household chores and their daddies never help out, these are behaviours they can subconsciously learn and internalise,” she added.
Domestic woes aside, women must also grapple with discrimination and harassment at their workplaces, according to 13 women spoken to.
While companies have tried to address sexism and discriminatory practices by setting up channels for reporting, and conducting workshops to identify workplace harassment, the women spoke of how the sexism which they experienced was more subtle and therefore more difficult to address.
Ms Heidi (not her real name), who works in the public relations industry, said her boss did not do anything that would have been considered an offence in the eyes of the law. But he would often stare at her from head to toe, leaving her feeling very uncomfortable.
“He would come to me and say ‘Why are you so dressed up today? Are you going on a date?’” said the 34-year-old.
Ms Heidi, who wanted to remain anonymous out of fear of a backlash within the industry, also recounted an incident where she wore a dress with a side slit and he told her that there was “too much leg”.
As for Ms Dutt, working in the male-dominated sports industry meant that she had to work very hard in the early years to prove that she was equally knowledgeable about sports as the men.
“(The men would ask me:) ‘Do you know what this rule means? You need me to explain to you how this works?’ You needed to prove you know more and you can be better (than them),” said the 42-year-old senior producer in the sports broadcasting industry, who declined to reveal her full name out of concern that her career will be affected.
Ms Dutt also has had to confront misogyny at her workplace as there would be male colleagues who talk about women in demeaning ways in front of her. Once, a colleague talked about wanting a Hollywood actress to perform oral sex on him.
“You have to deal with innuendos on a daily basis… It’s not a comfortable environment,” she added.
To make matters worse, their complaints about such incidents to their respective companies did not result in any change at all, said Ms Heidi and Ms Dutt.
Ms Farhana, the pre-school teacher, recalled the time when she became the butt of a running joke at her previous workplace, a construction company, when a male colleague saw breast pumps in her bag.
She also experienced discrimination at the company, where she was tasked to be the “office housekeeper” even though it was not part of her job scope as an administrative personnel.
“I left the company because I felt like they didn’t take me seriously… It’s like they just saw me as the girl who topped up paper for the copy machine despite all my qualifications,” she added.
To best address discrimination at work, AWARE’s Ms Hingorani said: “The Government should enact a Workplace Equality Act that prohibits discrimination, defines clear legal liabilities for employers, and provides legal remedies for workers facing discrimination.
“This Act could also include sections on workplace harassment, to ensure that employers have in place pertinent policies, training, and grievance and disciplinary mechanisms.”
Ms Georgette Tan, president of United Women Singapore (UN Women), reiterated that employers should put in effort in creating gender-neutral human resources policies.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
Sexual violence has been front and centre in public discussions over gender equality since the Monica Baey case – which was followed by a series of other sexual assault crimes – erupted last year.
According to AWARE, the focus on sexual violence arose partly due to global movements such as #MeToo, and attempts here to break the silence on an often taboo subject.
AWARE’s sexual assault care centre had seen around 800 cases on average annually for the last two years.
Police figures in May showed that family violence had been on the rise since circuit breaker measures kicked in on Apr 7.
Between Apr 7 and May 6, there were 476 police reports filed for offences commonly associated with family violence, compared with the monthly average of 389 for such cases before the circuit breaker period.
“If women are valued or perceived as equal to men and they are recognised for their value, we would not have this issue of domestic violence,” said Ms Tan from UN Women, adding that it was exacerbated by high stress levels due to the COVID-19 crisis.
AWARE also warned about the growing online communities of “incels”, or involuntary celibates, in which men position themselves as the dominant gender, deserving of sexual pleasure by virtue of being male.
It pointed to the existence of communities, such as SG Nasi Lemak on messaging platform Telegram, which actively encourage the overt commodification of women’s images for non-consensual sexual gratification. The chat group is now defunct, with three men and a male teenager hauled to court for their involvement.
“Given the magnitude of sexism and misogyny in Singapore, and inadequate comprehensive gender/sexuality education programmes in place, it is counter-productive to assume that new generations will be somehow more progressive than earlier ones,” said Ms Hingorani.
Sexual harassment and assaults against women are not being taken seriously enough in Singapore, activists warn, after students at elite universities were given punishments criticised as too lenient for their crimes. (AFP/Catherine LAI)
Social activist Noor Mastura, 30, said although the global #MeToo movement has encouraged thousands of women to come forward and report sexual abuse and assault, discussions in Singapore are mostly limited to activist circles.
“Generally, you don’t see parents speaking to their kids about this. The effects of that are extreme because we are still seeing women and young girls being sexually abused,” said Ms Mastura, referring to the spate of sexual violence and voyeurism cases in the universities.
She added: “Everytime we read about these cases where the perpetrators are from (the same university) in the media, we think to ourselves that it’s just another case. It has become normalised and we have become desensitised. This should not be the case.”
Student groups, such as Girl, Talk at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Students for a Safer NUS (National University of Singapore), were formed as a result of the spate of sexual crimes.
Both groups hope to empower women to respond to campus sexual harassment.
Ms Carissa Cheow, co-founder for Students for a Safer NUS, said that sexual violence arises from the current unequal structures of power, which need to be examined.
Girl, Talk is set up by Ms Danelia Chim, 23, Ms Dawn Kwan, 23, Ms Heather Seet, 23, and Ms Seow Yun Rong, 24. The group said there is an urgency to address issues of sexual violence as they are often brushed aside and not treated with “sufficient gravity”.
Through their research, they found that many women had experienced some form of harassment but gave it little thought, oftentimes because they internalised their distress or brushed off the incident despite their initial discomfort.
“The internalisation is insidious. From the conscious or unconscious avoidance of groups of men at night, to not reporting a sexual harassment incident for fear of retaliation, victim-blaming or being rendered a ‘false accusation’, we subconsciously pick up ‘lessons’ about what it means to be a woman today,” the group said.
And shame is one reason why victims of sexual violence may not want to talk about their experience, said Ms Mastura.
“It is entrenched in our community that are motivated by shame – like we want our children to get good grades so that we can tell the neighbours.
“But shame protects perpetrators and the only way to weaken it is to talk about it,” she pointed out.
AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: NATIONAL SERVICE
For mindsets to change on the issue of gender equality and women’s rights, a buy-in from the opposite sex – men – is equally needed.
And one grouse that some men like to raise whenever the topic is broached is that Singaporean males have to serve two years of National Service (NS), while the women are “spared”.
However, Mrs Singam pointed out that men are compensated for their two years of military service with higher starting salaries, while women do not receive similar compensation for bearing and looking after children.
Over the years, several gender equality advocates have called for NS to be redefined and for the Government to allow both men and women to serve – in a reimagined NS.
Instead of just viewing it as military service, Mrs Singam said all acts of service to society can be part of NS.
While women can serve NS in many other ways, Ms Tan from UNWomen pointed out that they can also be just as good in combat positions, such as fighter pilots and officers.
In a recent commentary for TODAY, SCWO’s Ms Foo said allowing women to serve in a different type of NS “would remove one of the obstacles to full gender equality”.
Young advocates from NUS also offered similar suggestions.
In a virtual interview conducted over teleconferencing platform Zoom, undergraduates heading the various committees in Students for a Safer NUS said that NS can be redefined to include environmental or economic protection, for example.
Mr Luke Levy noted that NS in its current state “promotes overtly masculine tropes”, such as physical dominance, and women entering NS in its current state would find it challenging.
Ms Rayna Kway reiterated that the way men talk about gender inequality needs to be examined.
“They are like ‘Oh we serve NS and you don’t. So it means we can get away with certain things and get some privileges.’ It’s also an inherent problem, in which society is set up where we are in this ‘us’ versus ‘them’ situation,” she said.
HOW CAN MINDSETS CHANGE?
Several gender equality advocates described the move to make gender equality a core value for Singaporeans a “re-steering” exercise.
They cited education and legislation as the two important avenues through which change can happen.
“A child’s education begins at home. If the child sees the mother being treated with respect at home, he or she will learn to respect her too,” said Ms Lim from Daughters of Tomorrow.
Ms Mathi from Maruah said the education programmes here have to be reviewed, down to how stories are being taught to young children at the nursery level.
Teachers have to be trained to increase their level of sensitivity and deal with their own blind spots – such as how girls and boys may be talked to differently, she added.
One way of bringing about mindset change is for the school syllabi to challenge young people’s thinking on gender roles, and discuss the effects of traditional gender roles and the consequences of unequal power in relationships and other aspects of life, suggested Ms Hingorani.
Referring to sex education, she said that consent should be taught not just in theory but in real-life situations as well when a couple finds themselves in the “heat of the moment”.
“Sex education should also involve conversations on healthy relationships, emotional literacy, respect and bodily autonomy,” she stressed.
The group behind Girl, Talk said there must be a framework in schools that can clearly state what is acceptable and what is not in sexual violence cases.
“We’re under-equipped when it comes to a playbook on how to respond in deeply stressful and vulnerable situations … and how individuals can assert themselves in different ways are crucial to helping anyone respond to a potential harassment scenario,” it said.
Ms Mastura suggested that the Ministry of Education (MOE) work with women’s groups to come up with a sexual education curriculum.
It was previously reported in the media that schools have not engaged external vendors for sexuality education since 2017.
A group of women wearing face masks sit on a breakwater on East Coast Park in Singapore July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Tim Chong/Files
An MOE official had said this was “largely because schools feel that the MOE sexuality education programme is able to meet the developmental needs of students” and teachers are deemed to be “better able to support (students) and help manage their concerns, including on sexuality issues”.
Outside formal education, a legislative change which Maruah’s Ms Mathi wishes to see is for the Constitution to be amended to include gender equality, and for legislation on anti-discrimination to be passed as well.
Attesting to how education must be accompanied by legislative changes, Mrs Singam cited the example of how Scandinavian countries forced men to take parental leave and trained them to be husbands and fathers.
One major mindset change that needs to occur, said several advocates, is to stop equating demands for greater gender equality with the dilution of men’s rights.
Ms Hingorani said that any wide-ranging effort to tackle gender inequality needs to eradicate the false notion, mostly held by men, that gender equality only benefits women.
Advocates say men need to be part of this journey towards achieving greater gender equality as patriarchy affects men as well.
Men are burdened with breadwinner responsibilities, and the need to conform to stereotypes that they are not supposed to be emotional or vulnerable, for example.
When asked why he decided to be part of the gender equality movement, Mr Levy pointed out that men also suffer if they do not subscribe to dominant forms of masculinity.
The fight for greater gender equality is “fighting for fellow men as well”, said Mr Levy. “Not everyone conforms to one single identity of what a man should be.”
Women holding the Singapore national flag pose for a photograph at the Merlion Park to mark the 55th National Day celebrations in Singapore on Aug 9, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Rosland Rahman)
SCWO’s Ms Foo believes that gender equality “is not about putting the men down but pulling up the women who have been disadvantaged all these years through centuries of men being in the driving seat”.
However, for a mindset change to occur, the Students for a Safer NUS group said that structures perpetuating these patriarchal attitudes need to be looked into as well.
And that involves the Government here recognising that it has had a hand in this through the laws and policies it has put in place, Ms Cheow said.
Advocates brought up the quota imposed on the number of female medical students and the graduate mothers’ scheme as some examples of how past policies have been unfair for women.
Referring again to how the Government aims to inculcate gender equality as a fundamental value, Mrs Singam said: “If you talk about fundamental changes in the value system, I am afraid that the Government has to look at its own value system. Patriarchy disempowers everybody.”
SINGAPORE – Sentosa’s beaches were filled with people on Sunday (Oct 4), about two weeks before guests will be required to book their visits during peak periods.
Groups of friends and families were spotted at Palawan, Siloso and Tanjong beaches, where some sun-tanned, played volleyball or held picnics. Others took to the water, swimming or kayaking close to the shore.
For university students Charlene Lee, 19, and Nicole Lin, 20, the upcoming reservation requirement was one of the reasons for their visit to Siloso beach on Sunday.
“In the future, we would be too lazy to book,” Ms Lin said.
Since July, the island’s three beaches have been segmented into seven zones, each with a capacity limit ranging between 100 and 350 people to allow for safe distancing.
The zones also have specific entry and exit points, where visitors are required to check-in and check-out using the SafeEntry digital system.
SINGAPORE: For 15-year-old Nur Natasha Mohamed Riduwan, school co-curricular activities (CCAs) look a little different these days.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the unit sergeant major of the National Cadet Corps Air (Girls) at Changkat Changi Secondary School would train alongside her schoolmates, coaching juniors in drills and physical training.
There were no masks in sight, and the 42 girls could intermingle freely. Once a year, a passing out parade would be held in conjunction with NCC Air (Boys), with about 100 students in attendance.
But with in-person CCAs suspended when students returned to school for Term 3 this year, Natasha and her peers started having online CCA sessions instead. The students practised drills, went through physical training and played icebreaker games on live Zoom sessions – together, but apart.
“We were actually able to interact and see each other, and also through the bonding games, we actually get to know each other even though we’re not physically there together,” said Natasha, adding that she was initially “surprised” that CCAs could be conducted online.
It was not easy to supervise training sessions over Zoom. For instance, it was difficult to observe drills “via the small Zoom window”, said the Secondary 3 student. “It was actually challenging for us to correct their mistakes with verbal cues only.”
Experts CNA spoke to stressed that the benefits of face-to-face CCAs in school cannot be replicated online.
“There is a big difference. For example, (for) musical instruments or even drama, it’s very different to stage a Zoom performance than to stage a live performance … It is not the same thing,” said Associate Professor Jason Tan of the National Institute of Education (NIE) Department of Policy and Leadership Studies.
“For sports, it is also definitely not the same thing to do sports training online. There’s only so much you can do with your coach online. You need that face-to-face interaction with your team members and your coach. So it’s been very tough for everyone this year.”
Adding that it will be “very tough” to replicate the experience online, Assoc Prof Tan also noted that while overseas trips and learning journeys could be conducted virtually, it is still “not quite the same thing”.
“Of course you have to ask yourself, what are you losing in terms of the authenticity of the experience? The whole point is to have that face-to-face human interaction. I don’t see a satisfactory solution to that problem right now,” he added.
Treating online activities as “distinctly new” would be better than “a wholesale conversion” from regular CCA activities, said head of psychological medicine at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital Dr Goh Kah Hong.
Noting that some activities are better suited to be held online than others, he said: “The element of in-person interaction is perhaps the hardest to replicate online. That is not to say that it is always impossible.”
The interpersonal dynamic in school has “changed dramatically” due to pandemic-related measures, Dr Goh said.
“Kids are not allowed to play during recess time, let alone participation in CCAs in large groups. Many out of class activities allow our students to be creative, to apply what they learnt, and also help develop social skills,” he said.
“It is definitely a loss when children are deprived of these opportunities.”
“REAL CONSEQUENCES” FROM LOSS OF CCA TIME
Children from less privileged families may lose out more from missing in-person CCA sessions, said Assoc Prof Tan. CCAs also give students a chance to mix with other students across levels, streams and subject bands.
“One thing that comes to mind immediately is the fact that not all homes are able to provide these sorts of experiences on a regular basis. So for some students, these school-organised CCAs or other activities are a major source of development outside of lesson time,” he said.
“For example music lessons and sports and so on, especially for parents who can’t afford to pay for lessons outside of school, the school (is) playing a very major role.”
Experts also noted that co-curricular activities are important because they give students a sense of accomplishment or confidence outside of the classroom, especially if they may not be experiencing this in their academic subjects.
“Specifically, for primary school students, extracurricular activities present opportunities beyond their academic curriculum to build up a child’s self-esteem and confidence when they become aware of the physical and cognitive abilities that they can achieve,” said clinical psychologist at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) Jerlyn Ang.
“Additionally, students hone problem-solving skills as they navigate through social situations to complete group tasks or activities. Secondary school students seeking out adolescence can also be enabled to explore their self-identity and sense of belonging through shared experience with their peers through goal-led extracurricular activities.”
Losing out on CCA time could also affect students who want to use their extracurricular experience in next year’s admission exercises or scholarship applications, said Assoc Prof Tan.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) had announced in May that direct school admission (DSA) exercises for students applying to secondary schools and junior colleges would continue.
No physical trials or face-to-face interviews will be part of the DSA selection process, MOE had said, and students may be asked to perform simple tasks during e-interviews to demonstrate their potential in a specific talent area.
“We recognise that there might be limitations in assessing students via e-modes for certain talent areas, like team sports,” MOE had said at the time, noting that events like the National School Games and Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation cannot be used to assess students.
“(In interviews), they talk about leadership potential, about competitions, they talk about demonstrating experiences in the field of study that they’re applying for,” said Assoc Prof Tan.
“So this loss of CCA time has very real consequences, I think especially for next year’s admissions exercises.”
After MOE’s announcement that lower-risk CCAs would be allowed to resume from end-July, Natasha and her schoolmates shifted to a mix of online and offline sessions.
Natasha (right) with assistant sergeant major for NCC Air (Girls) Siti Hawa Mohamad Isa and NCC Air District Commander Lee Heng Hiang. (Photo: Changkat Changi Secondary School)
Even though they can now train together in person, the safe distancing measures in place mean that they still only train in groups of five, and cannot mingle with the other groups. Having to wear masks throughout training also poses a challenge, Natasha added.
Although training in small groups is “more time consuming”, she said: “Despite the challenges, I know that we understand the need for these measures to keep everyone, including our families safe. I’m actually grateful for the school for all the efforts to have these measures in place, and also to allow our CCA to continue for all of us.”
Responding to CNA queries, divisional director of the student development curriculum division at MOE Tan Chen Kee said CCAs play “a key role” in the holistic development of students.
Before face-to-face CCAs resumed, schools implemented a mix of online CCAs and class-based ones. For example, CCAs such as computer programming, art and robotics were adapted for online learning, Mrs Tan said.
“While these cannot replace face-to-face CCA sessions, schools have been able to tap on them to continue to provide learning opportunities for our students’ holistic development,” she added.
For activities that were more suitable to be conducted face-to-face, schools could implement them at the class level to minimise intermingling. This also meant students could try different CCAs that they otherwise might not have been exposed to, she added.
“We know that many students have missed participating in their CCAs, and students who were selected to participate in inter-school competitions were also understandably disappointed – particularly the graduating students,” said Mrs Tan.
“Nonetheless, we appreciate that students understood the need to suspend these activities and the importance of prioritising safety, no thanks to the COVID-19 situation.”
FINDING NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Despite the challenges, experts said there may be a silver lining in the move to conduct some portions of CCAs online.
Citing examples of CCA organisers uploading video lessons for students, KKH’s Ms Ang noted that this can allow students to learn at their own time and pace.
“This can also allow more time and flexibility for students who are slower in attaining mastery of skills to practice repeatedly and catch up with their peers,” she added.
At Changkat Changi Secondary, the participation rate in online CCAs has been “relatively high”, and the responses from students were “very positive”, even though they were not compulsory, said the school’s head of department for Physical Education and CCAs Sim Chong Ghee.
He noted that when the school’s netball team spoke to a former national player over Zoom, students were observed to be “listening attentively and asking meaningful questions”, and were “deeply inspired” by the sharing session.
“Students were very satisfied with the learning and were engaged in the activities. And at the same time, most students indicated that they have missed having the CCAs conducted face-to-face, and they have also expressed their readiness to return to normal CCA sessions,” Mr Sim added.
“It will not be 100 per cent the same as what it used to be because of all the limitations in terms of the safe management measures and guidelines, but we are trying our best.”
On a broader level, the introduction of smaller groups in CCAs could also be applied to class sizes, said Dr Goh.
Class sizes in Singapore are “on the high side” compared to other developed nations, and it is now a good time to start planning for more intimate and smaller classes which will also help with physical distancing amid the pandemic, he added.
“The school curriculum has already been evolving, but generally the education system remains very content heavy. Perhaps we could infuse more elements of flexibility and creativity into the normal curriculum, allowing for emphasis on life skills rather than acquiring knowledge,” said Dr Goh.
“It is not easy to have a paradigm shift, but the current climate does call for one. This opportunity may just be the one to leapfrog our education into the future.”
The CNA Leadership Summit 2020: Navigating the Post-Pandemic World will discuss through a series of TV programmes and webinars how businesses and organisations have reacted to the pandemic and applied innovative practices.
SINGAPORE: As countries around the world gradually lift their restrictions in place to tackle COVID-19 and normalise economic activity, global economic chiefs have warned that we are not out of the woods yet.
On Sep 9, Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), cautioned that a full recovery of the economy is unlikely without a vaccine and urged governments to continue their measures to support businesses and workers.
“This crisis, however, is far from over,” she wrote in a column for Foreign Policy magazine, co-authored with IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath. “The recovery remains very fragile and uneven across regions and sectors. To ensure that the recovery continues, it is essential that support not be prematurely withdrawn.”
Their caution came after data released on Sep 4 showed that about 10.6 million of the 22.2 million jobs lost in the US during the height of the pandemic have been recovered.
However, the US monthly job statistics also showed that it may be premature to be optimistic – the 1.371 million jobs created in August are fewer than the 1.734 million in July as the Labour Department also reported a slowdown in the hiring rate in July to 4.1 per cent from the 5.1 per cent in June.
With major economies showing similar signs of a long and slow recovery, governments around the world will need to pull out all the stops and use all the available levers to get their economies moving again.
CASH INFUSION
First, is government spending, which is perhaps the easiest and most direct. But it can also be the costliest. In times of recession, governments could consider borrowing more to spend on infrastructure projects – some of which might already be shovel-ready.
This Keynesian approach could help alleviate unemployment immediately and infuse economies with much-needed cash. But it relies on governments knowing which goods and services will add most value and produce the highest fiscal multiplier.
An artist’s impression of the Sydney Football Stadium. (Image: Infrastructure New South Wales)
A multiplier of greater than one could create more jobs while anything less could lead to lesser jobs created and possibly even a net loss of jobs.
It would nice to think that government spending would be both job and value enhancing. But a study by Valerie Ramey and Sarah Zubairy for the National Bureau of Economic Research found that multipliers tend to be lower – between 0.6 and 1.
But governments still choose to spend anyway. It helps to keep people – who might otherwise be unemployed – gainfully in work as infrastructure building, for instance, could help stimulate demand, investments and, consequently, growth in the economy.
But it could also lumber some countries with enormous debts that might never be repaid. Their hope, though, is that economic expansion could eventually whittle down the debt as a proportion of GDP.
But the interest payments on the loans could cripple some economies beyond repair, too. That is unlikely to be an issue right now, whilst interest rates are low.
What’s more, some economies, such as Japan, have even learnt to cope with debt to GDP in excess of 100 per cent for nearly three decades.
Japan can be viewed as a special case because Japanese Government Bonds (JGB) are bought by the Bank of Japan. The central bank’s insatiable appetite for the bonds has helped to keep yields low. Effectively, the government is being financed by its central bank at very low interest rates.
Apart from the central bank, JGBs are also sought by risk-averse investors, savers, banks, and insurers who prefer return of capital rather than return on capital. The bonds are also denominated in yen, which is perceived as a safe haven in times of economic upheaval.
But there can be a price to pay. Low interest rates can deter lending, and high levels of savings can deter consumer spending. The consequence could be anaemic economic growth because business could delay investments and households could put off spending.
Debt is not a problem until it becomes one. It is an issue that can probably wait to be resolved when the more immediate problem of dealing with the pandemic is settled.
PARADOX OF THRIFT
Encouraging consumers to spend more can be another useful lever and an impactful one if the economy has a strong consumer base. But it is also difficult to achieve, especially when consumers’ confidence may be affected.
The on-going COVID-19 is an example where despite some governments, as in Malaysia, distributing cash handouts to citizens, that didn’t translate to higher consumer spending, as consumers may have been worried about the impact of the pandemic and job security.
The coronavirus outbreak has hit consumer spending but the commerce ministry hopes it will bottom out in March AFP/GREG BAKER
Understandably, estimates that hundreds of millions of people could be out of work globally both during and after the pandemic could, in turn, leave many people wondering if they might be next in line to be fired.
According to the International Labour Organisation, the pandemic could have resulted in a 14 per cent reduction in global working hours. The fall was the equivalent of 400 million full-time jobs, based on a standard 48-hour working week. The global decline was multi-factorial, and included shorter working hours, temporary leave, and job cuts.
Consequently, demand for goods and services could fall victim to the paradox of thrift that John Maynard Keynes highlighted as a possible threat during recession. He said that people should collectively spend more to avoid a deeper recession. But he also admitted that they, instinctively, tend to do the opposite and instead save more.
Consultants McKinsey & Company found that even as some countries have reopened, many economies are continuing to see their incomes fall. It concluded that with many consumers expecting COVID-19 to negatively impact their finances, they are mindful about their spending and trading down to cheaper products.
PRIVATE INVESTMENTS
Keynes argued that interest rates, another lever at governments’ disposal, should be lowered to stimulate more borrowing and spending.
But it is hard to see how this would work today with interest rates already at historic lows. Among the G7 economies, the US and Canada have the highest interest rates of 0.25 per cent. Japan has the lowest of -0.1 per cent.
Unless there are tangible signs of consumers resuming spending, businesses are unlikely to invest, which could render another lever of economic growth, namely, private sector investments, ineffective. No business will want to put their capital at risk, unless there is a predictable return on the money invested.
China has pledged to further open up its economy to foreign investment AFP/STR
Another McKinsey & Company report has found that businesses around the world have planned cuts of 10 per cent to 80 per cent with immediate effect to stabilise cash flows. With many businesses fighting for survival during this downturn, it may be a while before they consider ramping up investments again.
A fourth lever of growth is net exports. It can be a powerful driver of economic growth, especially for countries that are rich in commodities or those that can add significant value to imports. This could be an attractive proposition as many businesses look to relocate their supply chains to more politically-stable countries.
But the World Trade Organisation is not hopeful. It believes the decline in global trade to be worse than the trade slump brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008.
It said the unavoidable declines in trade and output will have painful consequences for households and businesses, on top of the human suffering caused by the pandemic itself.
MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK
The old proverb that says many hands make light work has never been truer. We can all do our part to drive a bit more consumer spending because it is a lever that could have a big impact and one that we have some control over.
If we constrain our spending it will only hurt us in the long-run, in terms of overall lower economic growth a dampened business environment, which will not help us.
The upshot is that we all have a role to play in digging ourselves out of this economic slump.
This is not the time to be an armchair critic, to be a hand-wringer or to be a finger-pointer. Instead, it is a time for us to spend a little more, if we can afford to.
David Kuo is the co-founder of The Smart Investor and previously the CEO of the Motley Fool Singapore.
Two men, aged 20 and 36, were charged in court on 2 October 2020 for separate cases of cheating and/or forgery offences involving the COVID-19 Support Grant (“CSG”) and the Temporary Relief Fund (“TRF”). The CSG and TRF were launched to provide financial support to Singaporeans affected by the economic impact of COVID-19, and are administered by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (“MSF”).
The 20-year-old man was charged for cheating, and attempting to cheat MSF into disbursing grants for eight TRF applications by making false income declarations. Two of these applications were made in his name while the remaining six were made in the names of his parents and friends. MSF approved five of these applications and disbursed $2,500 to him. In addition, he has been charged for (i) cheating a friend into providing his SingPass details which was used to apply for the TRF, and (ii) engaging in unlawful remote gambling.
The 36-year-old man was charged for cheating MSF into disbursing the TRF grant, and attempting to cheat MSF into disbursing the CSG grant. He was alleged to have falsely declared his employment status in both applications. In addition, he has been charged for forging a retrenchment letter to support his false declarations in both applications and forging a payslip for his CSG application. MSF approved the TRF application and disbursed a $500 payout, but did not approve the CSG application.
If convicted, the two men face the following punishments:
a) For each charge of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, imprisonment of up to 10 years and a possible fine;
b) For each charge of forgery for the purpose of cheating under Section 468 of the Penal Code, imprisonment of up to 10 years and a possible fine; and/or
c) For the charge of unlawful remote gambling under Section 8 of the Remote Gambling Act, imprisonment of up to 6 months and a possible fine.
The Police take a serious view against any person involved in dishonest or fraudulent conduct pertaining to applications for Government grants. Offenders will be dealt with severely in accordance with the law. PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE 02 October 2020 @ 2:57 PM
SINGAPORE – There were 12 new coronavirus cases confirmed as at Sunday (Oct 4) afternoon, including two community cases and six imported cases.
Both community cases were are work pass holders, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
The latest increase takes Singapore’s total number of cases to 57,812.
More details will be announced on Sunday night.
The MOH said on Saturday evening that the day’s single community case was detected under enhanced community testing to test all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection when they first see a doctor.
Wearing a mask outside the home has become part of everyday routine over the past six months or so, but one grey area remains: When should it be removed – and put back on – when dining out?
Getting it wrong can be costly: 32 diners were fined $300 each for flouting Covid-19 safe management measures at food and beverage (F&B) outlets, the authorities said last Tuesday – some for not putting on masks after eating or drinking. The breaches were observed in eateries at Boat Quay, Bugis, Orchard Road and Tanjong Pagar.
The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) did not give a breakdown on the number of people fined for not wearing masks promptly after their meals, but a spokesman set out the rules.
Masks must be worn at all times except when eating or drinking or doing strenuous activity, regardless of the premises. Conversations in eateries after meals should be carried out with masks on.
