Category: Singapore

Social distancing on public transport

Photo: The Online Citizen

Crowding in public transport is a weak link in social distancing measures that are being rolled out island-wide in view of the coronavirus pandemic. People are expected to sit at least 1 metre apart in the office and in restaurants, but then they proceed to squeeze into packed trains on the journey home. One solution would be to increase the frequency of buses and trains. That will reduce crowding and increase social distance (better than simply not talking, which one of our ministers suggested), and it is something within the control of the government and the public transport operators.

S’pore’s first Covid-19 deaths

So sad to hear about Singapore’s first two Covid-19 deaths happening within hours of each other. (Update 29/3/2020: A third death has since occurred.) My deepest condolences to the families of the two patients, an elderly Singaporean lady and an Indonesian man. This is something that we had been bracing ourselves for but the news still hits you like a ton of bricks. Let’s all continue to protect ourselves, our loved ones and the people around us by doing our part.

Bullying and racism in schools

Reading the original Twitter posts by the girl’s sister brought tears to my eyes and made my blood boil. What was not mentioned in the ST article was how the little girl was allegedly called a “black dustbin” and that she resorted to having her recess in the toilet because it was the “best place for (her) to cry and eat at the same time”. While details of these alleged incidents are still unclear and I’m sure the school and MOE are investigating, I think this should spark some soul-searching among all Singaporeans, especially us parents (my children are around that age). What values are we inculcating in our children? Do we harbour racist attitudes and inadvertently pass them on to our children? Do we teach our children to stand up to bullies, even if they are not the victims?

Straits Times article: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/bullying-in-schools-here-wrong-and-cannot-be-tolerated-ong-ye-kung

Allied educators in schools

Glad Leon Perera asked this Parliamentary Question (PQ). It arose after my conversation with a teacher during house visits in Fengshan. This teacher voiced concern that the number of classroom teaching assistants was being reduced. I was surprised to hear this and decided to look deeper into the issue together with my colleagues from The Workers’ Party. It resulted in Leon‘s PQ. He didn’t just stop when he got the initial answer, but continued to press the Parl Sec for the detailed numbers.

This highlights the value of the ground feedback we receive from residents. If you meet our MPs and volunteers when they drop by your place during house visits, please raise up such issues of concern to us so we can bring them to Parliament for debate. We work as one #TeamWP to be your voice in Parliament!

(TLDR: There are 4 categories of AEDs. The headcount in one of the categories, AED (Teaching and Learning), is indeed being reduced while those in the other 3 categories is being increased.)

Parliamentary Question by Leon Perera, on numbers of Allied Educators

Citing perceptions on the ground, Leon Perera asked if the Allied Educator (AED) Teaching and Learning staff numbers were being reduced, or whether the Government intends to do so. (28 February 2020)Vid Credit: CNA

Posted by The Workers' Party on Tuesday, 3 March 2020

Video credit: CNA

Lunar New Year orange distribution

恭喜发财！We enjoyed our 5th year painting Fengshan ORANGE, greeting residents of all races a Happy Lunar New Year and and wishing them good health in the year ahead. As before, it was our volunteers who made it all happen! Thank you to all the residents and stallholders who showered us with their own New Year greetings. 新年快乐！