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Serious Many Pappys don't like OngYK..not Team player.
- Thread starter SalahParking
- Start date
I think Ah Heng knows that too, that is why when Loong did not want to give him a longer runway, he decided to take off for his holiday on his shorter runway.
OYK encourages vaccination again.
A friend sent me this chart this morning, right after Switzerland beat France in Euro 2020.
It showed that cases are spiking in the UK, especially amongst the young, who are least vaccinated and often out and about.
While young people are less likely to develop severe disease, they can fall very sick too.
We have opened up 500k booking slots over the past few days. Most are to cater to Singaporeans in the 12-39 age group – some 700k people.
There has been good take-up. In the middle of last week, only 32% of this group have taken their first dose or booked a slot. Now it is 52%. And I hope it will continue to rise.
As our supplies are not in shortage now, we will open up booking for non-Singaporeans two days earlier than planned – on 30 June. This will better help sustain a strong momentum of vaccination. Every day matters.
Our biggest worry continues to be our seniors. 25% of our seniors are not vaccinated yet for various reasons. We worry that as Singapore opens up, there will be more movement and activity between people, and the greater the likelihood of them being exposed to the virus.
So please try to persuade your loved ones to go for vaccination. Show them one of these videos explaining why they should - my colleagues and I spoke in every language we know to reach out to them. https://youtube.com/playlist…
And if you are a young person, by getting vaccinated, you also minimise the chance of bringing the virus to our seniors and infecting them.
Ong Ye Kung
10 mins·A friend sent me this chart this morning, right after Switzerland beat France in Euro 2020.
It showed that cases are spiking in the UK, especially amongst the young, who are least vaccinated and often out and about.
While young people are less likely to develop severe disease, they can fall very sick too.
We have opened up 500k booking slots over the past few days. Most are to cater to Singaporeans in the 12-39 age group – some 700k people.
There has been good take-up. In the middle of last week, only 32% of this group have taken their first dose or booked a slot. Now it is 52%. And I hope it will continue to rise.
As our supplies are not in shortage now, we will open up booking for non-Singaporeans two days earlier than planned – on 30 June. This will better help sustain a strong momentum of vaccination. Every day matters.
Our biggest worry continues to be our seniors. 25% of our seniors are not vaccinated yet for various reasons. We worry that as Singapore opens up, there will be more movement and activity between people, and the greater the likelihood of them being exposed to the virus.
So please try to persuade your loved ones to go for vaccination. Show them one of these videos explaining why they should - my colleagues and I spoke in every language we know to reach out to them. https://youtube.com/playlist…
And if you are a young person, by getting vaccinated, you also minimise the chance of bringing the virus to our seniors and infecting them.
Imho, this guy sounds a little tooooooo positive.........................
Someone pasted this at the lift lobby at one of the blocks in my constituency. A resident took a photo of it and shared with me. What a nice way to spread positivity during challenging times.
Thank you, kind stranger. Little acts of kindness go a long way.
#MakeSembawangSpecial
Ong Ye Kung
12 hrs·Someone pasted this at the lift lobby at one of the blocks in my constituency. A resident took a photo of it and shared with me. What a nice way to spread positivity during challenging times.
Thank you, kind stranger. Little acts of kindness go a long way.
#MakeSembawangSpecial
OYK addresses FTAs and CECA.
The recent two incidents of verbal and physical assaults on Indians were disturbing and not reflective of what Singaporeans are.
They occur amidst an undercurrent of sentiment against immigrant Indians over the past 2 years. There are concerns from Singaporeans that need to be addressed, but the unhappiness is also fuelled in no small part by false allegations by the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) about how the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has given Indian PMEs a free hand to come here to work.
Following the incidents, at the Parliament sitting in May 2021, Minister Shanmugam called upon the PSP to file a motion on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and CECA in Parliament, so that we can have a proper debate on the matter, discuss what is at stake for Singapore, and shine a light on untrue statements about CECA.
In the run up to the filing of PSP's proposed motion, we have received many parliamentary questions on the matter, including many from PSP.
To answer these questions, Dr Tan See Leng and I will be delivering Ministerial Statements at next week’s sitting – he as Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, and I as a former trade negotiator.
We will explain how vital FTAs are to Singapore and how they work.
We will address in particular the false allegations that FTAs allow foreign professionals a free hand to live and work in Singapore.
We will also move to open our Ministerial Statements for debate. This will allow members of the PSP to respond to our statements if they wish to.
Ong Ye Kung
7 hrs·The recent two incidents of verbal and physical assaults on Indians were disturbing and not reflective of what Singaporeans are.
They occur amidst an undercurrent of sentiment against immigrant Indians over the past 2 years. There are concerns from Singaporeans that need to be addressed, but the unhappiness is also fuelled in no small part by false allegations by the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) about how the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has given Indian PMEs a free hand to come here to work.
Following the incidents, at the Parliament sitting in May 2021, Minister Shanmugam called upon the PSP to file a motion on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and CECA in Parliament, so that we can have a proper debate on the matter, discuss what is at stake for Singapore, and shine a light on untrue statements about CECA.
In the run up to the filing of PSP's proposed motion, we have received many parliamentary questions on the matter, including many from PSP.
To answer these questions, Dr Tan See Leng and I will be delivering Ministerial Statements at next week’s sitting – he as Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, and I as a former trade negotiator.
We will explain how vital FTAs are to Singapore and how they work.
We will address in particular the false allegations that FTAs allow foreign professionals a free hand to live and work in Singapore.
We will also move to open our Ministerial Statements for debate. This will allow members of the PSP to respond to our statements if they wish to.
from straitstimes.com:
SINGAPORE - Perks for Covid-19 vaccinated individuals, such as being exempt from pre-event testing for certain events, are not meant to be discriminatory.
Rather, this differentiation between the vaccinated and unvaccinated is necessary from a public health standpoint as Singapore moves towards creating a sense of normality with endemic Covid-19 as an end goal, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in an exclusive interview with The Straits Times' senior health correspondent Salma Khalik on Thursday (July 1).
The authorities see this differentiation in terms of risk, whether someone has a higher or lower risk of getting infected and passing on the virus, Mr Ong said. He stressed that vaccination will not just protect the individual, but also the person's family and the whole of society.
When most have taken their jabs and everyone who wants to take the vaccine has received it, there will then be good justification for this group of vaccinated people to have some privileges, such as things that they can do in bigger groups, in closer settings, Mr Ong explained.
While details have yet to be fully ironed out, the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19 provided some examples of such perks in late June, such as overseas travel allowed without stay-home notice, as well as non-travel-related ones such as larger group gatherings.
Right now, those who are fully vaccinated are already exempt from pre-event testing for events such as live performances and wedding solemnisations. All participants and spectators for this year's National Day Parade will also have to be fully vaccinated.
However, there will be social aspects that need to be managed so that nobody feels excluded, such as for families with young children who cannot receive the vaccine yet, Mr Ong said.
"And so I think we would also need to think through these issues to see whether some dispensation is appropriate."
Perks for those vaccinated against Covid-19 not meant to be discriminatory: Ong Ye Kung
SINGAPORE - Perks for Covid-19 vaccinated individuals, such as being exempt from pre-event testing for certain events, are not meant to be discriminatory.
Rather, this differentiation between the vaccinated and unvaccinated is necessary from a public health standpoint as Singapore moves towards creating a sense of normality with endemic Covid-19 as an end goal, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in an exclusive interview with The Straits Times' senior health correspondent Salma Khalik on Thursday (July 1).
The authorities see this differentiation in terms of risk, whether someone has a higher or lower risk of getting infected and passing on the virus, Mr Ong said. He stressed that vaccination will not just protect the individual, but also the person's family and the whole of society.
When most have taken their jabs and everyone who wants to take the vaccine has received it, there will then be good justification for this group of vaccinated people to have some privileges, such as things that they can do in bigger groups, in closer settings, Mr Ong explained.
While details have yet to be fully ironed out, the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19 provided some examples of such perks in late June, such as overseas travel allowed without stay-home notice, as well as non-travel-related ones such as larger group gatherings.
Right now, those who are fully vaccinated are already exempt from pre-event testing for events such as live performances and wedding solemnisations. All participants and spectators for this year's National Day Parade will also have to be fully vaccinated.
However, there will be social aspects that need to be managed so that nobody feels excluded, such as for families with young children who cannot receive the vaccine yet, Mr Ong said.
"And so I think we would also need to think through these issues to see whether some dispensation is appropriate."
The only way OYK can try to overtake LHL's favourite Keechiu, is by being a smart aleck.
Anyone who likes fried carrot cake for breakfast and prata for lunch cannot be too bad.
OYK also tracks home vaccination team to Pulau Ubin............................. but then that is his job, unlike HSK.
Vacc-sea-nate!
Several doses of COVID-19 vaccines set sail to Pulau Ubin this morning. In the steady hands of one of our Home Vaccination Teams, three of our less-mobile seniors on the island received their vaccination.
Their caregivers and several frontliners stationed at Pulau Ubin also received their jabs.
Kudos to our vaccination team for going the extra (nautical) mile to deliver the jabs.
Know of a senior who has not been vaccinated? Do help to talk to them and get them protected for their own well-being.
Ong Ye Kung
24 mins ·Vacc-sea-nate!
Several doses of COVID-19 vaccines set sail to Pulau Ubin this morning. In the steady hands of one of our Home Vaccination Teams, three of our less-mobile seniors on the island received their vaccination.
Their caregivers and several frontliners stationed at Pulau Ubin also received their jabs.
Kudos to our vaccination team for going the extra (nautical) mile to deliver the jabs.
Know of a senior who has not been vaccinated? Do help to talk to them and get them protected for their own well-being.
from straitstimes.com:
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung paid tribute to pharmacists who stepped up to shoulder more public health responsibilities during the pandemic.
SINGAPORE - When pharmacies turned to online channels to deliver medicine during the pandemic, pharmacist Vernadine Goh knew the switch would be challenging for her elderly patients.
"Many of them are not familiar with technology and don't have someone at home to help them (order their medicine online). So we take on the role of educators to help them navigate the digital space," said Ms Goh, 26, whose duties at Guardian included helping hospitals to facilitate the delivery of medicine to patients. She is no longer with Guardian.
On Friday (July 2), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung paid tribute to pharmacists like Ms Goh who stepped up to shoulder more public health responsibilities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He was speaking at the launch of the 20th Asian Conference on Clinical Pharmacy, a four-day conference which started on Thursday. More than 800 delegates will be discussing - on virtual platforms - how the pharmaceutical landscape has changed during the pandemic and how it will continue to evolve.
In his speech, Mr Ong lauded pharmacists for ramping up medication delivery services to cope with the virus outbreak. This ensured that patients whose medical appointments were pushed back due to the Covid-19 situation continued to have access to their medicine.
Mr Ong also recognised pharmacists for evaluating Covid-19 vaccines for use here and reviewing the latest medications for treating the virus.
"Given the rapidly changing evidence and many novel treatments, it was imperative that these medications were quickly made available in Singapore, and monitored closely for their safety and efficacy," he said.
Remdesivir, which was initially developed for the treatment of the Ebola virus, is one such drug that has been approved by the Health Sciences Authority to treat adult Covid-19 patients with severe respiratory conditions.
The Health Minister also noted that pharmacists helped to develop pre-packed medications with multilingual labels for patients at foreign worker dormitories and community care facilities.
Looking ahead, Mr Ong said that pharmacists will "move closer to the community", such as going to senior care centres to help the elderly manage their medications.
There will also be more collaboration between various healthcare providers to provide more holistic care, he added.
Ong Ye Kung lauds pharmacists for ramping up medication delivery services amid Covid-19
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung paid tribute to pharmacists who stepped up to shoulder more public health responsibilities during the pandemic.
SINGAPORE - When pharmacies turned to online channels to deliver medicine during the pandemic, pharmacist Vernadine Goh knew the switch would be challenging for her elderly patients.
"Many of them are not familiar with technology and don't have someone at home to help them (order their medicine online). So we take on the role of educators to help them navigate the digital space," said Ms Goh, 26, whose duties at Guardian included helping hospitals to facilitate the delivery of medicine to patients. She is no longer with Guardian.
On Friday (July 2), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung paid tribute to pharmacists like Ms Goh who stepped up to shoulder more public health responsibilities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He was speaking at the launch of the 20th Asian Conference on Clinical Pharmacy, a four-day conference which started on Thursday. More than 800 delegates will be discussing - on virtual platforms - how the pharmaceutical landscape has changed during the pandemic and how it will continue to evolve.
In his speech, Mr Ong lauded pharmacists for ramping up medication delivery services to cope with the virus outbreak. This ensured that patients whose medical appointments were pushed back due to the Covid-19 situation continued to have access to their medicine.
Mr Ong also recognised pharmacists for evaluating Covid-19 vaccines for use here and reviewing the latest medications for treating the virus.
"Given the rapidly changing evidence and many novel treatments, it was imperative that these medications were quickly made available in Singapore, and monitored closely for their safety and efficacy," he said.
Remdesivir, which was initially developed for the treatment of the Ebola virus, is one such drug that has been approved by the Health Sciences Authority to treat adult Covid-19 patients with severe respiratory conditions.
The Health Minister also noted that pharmacists helped to develop pre-packed medications with multilingual labels for patients at foreign worker dormitories and community care facilities.
Looking ahead, Mr Ong said that pharmacists will "move closer to the community", such as going to senior care centres to help the elderly manage their medications.
There will also be more collaboration between various healthcare providers to provide more holistic care, he added.
from tnp.sg:
To keep the population safe from Covid-19, it is best for 70 per cent to 80 per cent or more of the population here, including close to 90 per cent of the elderly, to be vaccinated against the disease, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said yesterday.
Seniors are at higher risk of falling seriously ill and dying from the disease, and the higher vaccination numbers are necessary, as children aged below 12 cannot be vaccinated for now, while new and more transmissible variants are spreading. The number of children who are aged up to 11 years is slightly below 506,000.
"Ninety per cent would be very hard to reach, but I am really hoping that for the most vulnerable groups - the seniors - we can approach a figure somewhere near there," he told The Straits Times.
"Two-thirds fully vaccinated by National Day, I deem it an interim milestone. We can and need to go further than that."
Beyond National Day, he said, 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the population could be vaccinated, though this depends on "willingness of our people".
Mr Ong noted experts have said that 80 per cent or more need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity against the Delta variant of Covid-19, the dominant strain here, and more transmissible than other strains.
Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of the community becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely.
"People will still get infected, but they will be fine. And so you make Covid-19 more like influenza... " said Mr Ong.
When contacted, Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, said: "Herd immunity is actually not a binary concept, in the sense that once we surpass some estimated threshold for herd immunity, the community suddenly becomes safe from large outbreaks."
Instead, the extent and speed of reopening are linked to the risk of infecting the unvaccinated, and thus depend on how quickly Singapore can vaccinate the population, said Prof Teo.
"So, for example, if we hit 50 per cent with both doses, we may relax certain measures. When we hit 60 per cent or 70 per cent, there will be other kinds of relaxation, and eventually, working towards a lifting of most, if not all, the restrictions," he said.
Ong Ye Kung hopes 70% to 80% of population can be vaccinated
To keep the population safe from Covid-19, it is best for 70 per cent to 80 per cent or more of the population here, including close to 90 per cent of the elderly, to be vaccinated against the disease, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said yesterday.
Seniors are at higher risk of falling seriously ill and dying from the disease, and the higher vaccination numbers are necessary, as children aged below 12 cannot be vaccinated for now, while new and more transmissible variants are spreading. The number of children who are aged up to 11 years is slightly below 506,000.
"Ninety per cent would be very hard to reach, but I am really hoping that for the most vulnerable groups - the seniors - we can approach a figure somewhere near there," he told The Straits Times.
"Two-thirds fully vaccinated by National Day, I deem it an interim milestone. We can and need to go further than that."
Beyond National Day, he said, 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the population could be vaccinated, though this depends on "willingness of our people".
Mr Ong noted experts have said that 80 per cent or more need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity against the Delta variant of Covid-19, the dominant strain here, and more transmissible than other strains.
Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of the community becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely.
ENDEMIC
"That doesn't mean the battle will be lost because you can still have an endemic Covid-19 (without) herd immunity."People will still get infected, but they will be fine. And so you make Covid-19 more like influenza... " said Mr Ong.
When contacted, Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, said: "Herd immunity is actually not a binary concept, in the sense that once we surpass some estimated threshold for herd immunity, the community suddenly becomes safe from large outbreaks."
Instead, the extent and speed of reopening are linked to the risk of infecting the unvaccinated, and thus depend on how quickly Singapore can vaccinate the population, said Prof Teo.
"So, for example, if we hit 50 per cent with both doses, we may relax certain measures. When we hit 60 per cent or 70 per cent, there will be other kinds of relaxation, and eventually, working towards a lifting of most, if not all, the restrictions," he said.
OYK praises home-based baker.
Met Sery during one of my home visits. She has four bubbly children. She started her home-based baking business - partly so that she could have more time with her children. Soon, she got so good at what she is doing that she was crowned winner of the MediaCorp Suria Kek Champion reality baking show in 2019. COVID-19 has affected her baking business in the past few months. But she is taking this all in her stride.
“I ask myself why am I the chosen one blessed with all this? I know my purpose, and that is what keeps me going.”
#PeopleOfSembawang #MakeSembawangSpecial
Ong Ye Kung
4 hrs·Met Sery during one of my home visits. She has four bubbly children. She started her home-based baking business - partly so that she could have more time with her children. Soon, she got so good at what she is doing that she was crowned winner of the MediaCorp Suria Kek Champion reality baking show in 2019. COVID-19 has affected her baking business in the past few months. But she is taking this all in her stride.
“I ask myself why am I the chosen one blessed with all this? I know my purpose, and that is what keeps me going.”
#PeopleOfSembawang #MakeSembawangSpecial
from msn.com:
SINGAPORE —The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has made free trade agreements (FTA), particularly the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between Singapore and India, "political scapegoats" in order to discredit the People's Action Party government, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in Parliament on Tuesday (6 July).
Ong told the House that the PSP has repeatedly alleged that CECA allows professionals from India “a free hand” to come and work in Singapore. "Nothing in the agreement implies Singapore must unconditionally let in professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) from India,"said Ong, a former trade negotiator who was delivering a Ministerial Statement.
"Contrary to PSP’s claim, our ability to impose requirements for immigration and work pass, has never been in question in CECA or any other FTA that we have signed."
Ong charged that, for months, the PSP has alleged that FTAs and CECA have led to the "unfettered inflow" of Indian professionals, displacing Singaporeans from their jobs, and bringing about all kinds of social ills.
"This is a seductively simplistic argument that workers facing challenges at their workplaces can identify with, and has stirred up a lot of emotions. CECA-themed websites have sprouted, filled with disturbing xenophobic views about Indian immigrants."
In the process, said Ong, "toxic views" turned into verbal and physical assaults on Indians, including Singapore citizens.
It was the opening salvo of a debate with the PSP on CECA, a challenge issued by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam which the opposition party accepted last month. Last Thursday, PSP also refuted Ong’s “false allegations” that it has helped fuel sentiment against Indian immigrants arising from its position about CECA.
Signed in 2005, CECA was India’s first comprehensive bilateral FTA with any country.
Singapore's network of FTAs is a "major selling point" for investors, with its total trade in goods and services three times its gross domestic product. Since 2005, its total trade has nearly doubled from around $890 billion to $1.5 trillion.
Ong explained that an FTA requires a country to remove or lower tariffs on substantially all trade between FTA partners. He noted that FTAs are especially important to Singapore's small and medium enterprises, as they free them from being constrained by the small domestic market, and give them access to world markets.
"We could not have advanced the welfare of Singaporeans to the degree we have without FTAs. When you attack FTAs, and worse if your attack succeeds, you are undermining the fundamentals of our existence."
CECA, claimed Ong, gave Singapore a "strategic first-mover advantage" in India, just when the latter was taking off to be an economic powerhouse.
According to Ong, CECA reduces tariff barriers, which made Singapore goods more competitive in the Indian market. Partly because of that, bilateral trade between the two countries had grown by over 80 per cent, from $20 billion in 2005 to $38 billion in 2019.
Similarly, Singapore’s direct investment abroad in India grew by nearly 50 times, from $1.3 billion to $61 billion during the same period. In 2019, 660 companies from Singapore have investments in India, almost double the number a decade ago.
"As these companies grow regionally, they hire more people back home too. In 2019, they employed 97,000 locals," said Ong, who is also a Member of Parliament for Sembawang.
Instead, the common and best practice is to interview the suitable candidates, consider them fairly, and make a judgement on the best person. "These are all market-friendly, widely adopted, reasonable obligations."
Ong acknowledged that this means foreign PMEs can compete for jobs with locals at the company level and there can be a zero-sum situation. Hence, a trade-off is at play – many jobs, strong competition, or few jobs, no competition, he added.
He revealed that the number of employment pass (EP) holders has increased from 65,000 in 2005, to 177,000 in 2020. This is an increase of 112,000, or an annual growth rate of just under 7 per cent.
He stressed, "Over this period, the increase in number of local PMEs is much higher, by over 380,000. We need to find the right balance where there are more jobs, some competition."
Ong warned, "If someone promises you many more jobs with no competition from foreigners, he is selling you snake oil. It is not possible. It cannot be on any government’s policy menu."
The minister noted that foreign PMEs also help cushion the impact on the local workforce when times are bad, as they bear the brunt of job losses. Amid the pandemic, for the 12 months to April 2021, the number of Employment Pass holders dropped by about 21,600, and S Pass holders fell by about 26,800.
The Minister added, "And when the concentration happens in areas like Changi Business Park, some may feel that we have lost a part of Singapore. Members of the House have raised this concern."
However, dealing with this "excessive concentration" is not a straight-forward matter of chopping up the operations of a company here. "We don’t want to unintentionally cause the whole investment to move elsewhere. This will hurt even more Singaporeans."
The minister alluded to Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai's comment in the House that Piyush Gupta, the naturalised Singaporean CEO of DBS, was not "home grown", and that this was a "failure".
He urged members of the House not to give credence to "very negative, even ugly, minority views" and that they should be very careful about what they say on such matters.
"We must always be a big-hearted people, even while we grapple with the significant challenges of globalisation to forge the best path forward for Singapore."
PSP has made FTAs, CECA 'political scapegoats' to discredit PAP: Ong Ye Kung
SINGAPORE —The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has made free trade agreements (FTA), particularly the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between Singapore and India, "political scapegoats" in order to discredit the People's Action Party government, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in Parliament on Tuesday (6 July).
Ong told the House that the PSP has repeatedly alleged that CECA allows professionals from India “a free hand” to come and work in Singapore. "Nothing in the agreement implies Singapore must unconditionally let in professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) from India,"said Ong, a former trade negotiator who was delivering a Ministerial Statement.
"Contrary to PSP’s claim, our ability to impose requirements for immigration and work pass, has never been in question in CECA or any other FTA that we have signed."
Ong charged that, for months, the PSP has alleged that FTAs and CECA have led to the "unfettered inflow" of Indian professionals, displacing Singaporeans from their jobs, and bringing about all kinds of social ills.
"This is a seductively simplistic argument that workers facing challenges at their workplaces can identify with, and has stirred up a lot of emotions. CECA-themed websites have sprouted, filled with disturbing xenophobic views about Indian immigrants."
In the process, said Ong, "toxic views" turned into verbal and physical assaults on Indians, including Singapore citizens.
It was the opening salvo of a debate with the PSP on CECA, a challenge issued by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam which the opposition party accepted last month. Last Thursday, PSP also refuted Ong’s “false allegations” that it has helped fuel sentiment against Indian immigrants arising from its position about CECA.
Signed in 2005, CECA was India’s first comprehensive bilateral FTA with any country.
CECA is 'part of the solution'
On Tuesday, Ong declared, "Our FTAs in general, and CECA in particular, are not the cause of the challenges our PMEs face; if anything, they are part of the solution."Singapore's network of FTAs is a "major selling point" for investors, with its total trade in goods and services three times its gross domestic product. Since 2005, its total trade has nearly doubled from around $890 billion to $1.5 trillion.
Ong explained that an FTA requires a country to remove or lower tariffs on substantially all trade between FTA partners. He noted that FTAs are especially important to Singapore's small and medium enterprises, as they free them from being constrained by the small domestic market, and give them access to world markets.
"We could not have advanced the welfare of Singaporeans to the degree we have without FTAs. When you attack FTAs, and worse if your attack succeeds, you are undermining the fundamentals of our existence."
CECA, claimed Ong, gave Singapore a "strategic first-mover advantage" in India, just when the latter was taking off to be an economic powerhouse.
According to Ong, CECA reduces tariff barriers, which made Singapore goods more competitive in the Indian market. Partly because of that, bilateral trade between the two countries had grown by over 80 per cent, from $20 billion in 2005 to $38 billion in 2019.
Similarly, Singapore’s direct investment abroad in India grew by nearly 50 times, from $1.3 billion to $61 billion during the same period. In 2019, 660 companies from Singapore have investments in India, almost double the number a decade ago.
"As these companies grow regionally, they hire more people back home too. In 2019, they employed 97,000 locals," said Ong, who is also a Member of Parliament for Sembawang.
More competition for jobs
Ong conceded that many parties to FTAs commit not to impose labour market tests. This is a common clause in Singapore's FTAs, including with India, Australia, China and the US, and means that companies are not required to go through "onerous processes" and documentation to prove that no suitable locals will take a job, before they can hire a foreigner.Instead, the common and best practice is to interview the suitable candidates, consider them fairly, and make a judgement on the best person. "These are all market-friendly, widely adopted, reasonable obligations."
Ong acknowledged that this means foreign PMEs can compete for jobs with locals at the company level and there can be a zero-sum situation. Hence, a trade-off is at play – many jobs, strong competition, or few jobs, no competition, he added.
He revealed that the number of employment pass (EP) holders has increased from 65,000 in 2005, to 177,000 in 2020. This is an increase of 112,000, or an annual growth rate of just under 7 per cent.
He stressed, "Over this period, the increase in number of local PMEs is much higher, by over 380,000. We need to find the right balance where there are more jobs, some competition."
Ong warned, "If someone promises you many more jobs with no competition from foreigners, he is selling you snake oil. It is not possible. It cannot be on any government’s policy menu."
The minister noted that foreign PMEs also help cushion the impact on the local workforce when times are bad, as they bear the brunt of job losses. Amid the pandemic, for the 12 months to April 2021, the number of Employment Pass holders dropped by about 21,600, and S Pass holders fell by about 26,800.
Foreign PME concentrations
Ong also acknowledged that foreign PMEs are concentrated in certain sectors, and from certain countries of origin. "Indeed, as our digital economy and our needs for tech talent grew, more PMEs from India came into Singapore, through our EP framework."The Minister added, "And when the concentration happens in areas like Changi Business Park, some may feel that we have lost a part of Singapore. Members of the House have raised this concern."
However, dealing with this "excessive concentration" is not a straight-forward matter of chopping up the operations of a company here. "We don’t want to unintentionally cause the whole investment to move elsewhere. This will hurt even more Singaporeans."
Welcoming diverse talent
As a city-state connected to the world, Singapore must welcome diverse talent from all over the world and invite them to fit into society. "When Singaporeans go overseas to live and work – about 200,000 of us do – we expect the same of ourselves, and hope that we receive hospitable welcomes from our foreign hosts too," said Ong.The minister alluded to Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai's comment in the House that Piyush Gupta, the naturalised Singaporean CEO of DBS, was not "home grown", and that this was a "failure".
He urged members of the House not to give credence to "very negative, even ugly, minority views" and that they should be very careful about what they say on such matters.
"We must always be a big-hearted people, even while we grapple with the significant challenges of globalisation to forge the best path forward for Singapore."
from msn.com:
SINGAPORE —Falsehoods, especially when related to issues like racism or xenophobia, can be quelled early if the government releases certain information, conceded Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in Parliament on Tuesday (6 July).
"I take to heart what the Leader of the Opposition (LO) said, that with information, we can quell such falsehoods, much earlier," said Ong, who was concluding the debate on the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between Singapore and India.
While some data is classified, the Sembawang Member of Parliament acknowledged, "Some information is better to come out early, and then we can move on. And especially as you say when it concerns, issues like racism or xenophobia, it's much better to quell it early."
LO Pritam Singh, who is the Workers' Party chief, noted that there had been two previous parliamentary queries in the last five years, from WP and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), about the number of intra-corporate transferees (ICTs) in Singapore. These are overseas employees at an MNC who have worked for at least a year in the company, before being posted to its Singapore branch.
Singh noted that the WP's earlier query arose from feedback on the ground about CECA and Indian nationals working in the country. "At that point, the reply that came was, the ministry does not disclose data on foreign manpower with breakdown by nationality, including data on ICTs," said the Aljunied MP, who added that this was followed by the PSP's query in February 2021.
In response to the PSP, the government disclosed overall ICT numbers over employment pass holders.
On Tuesday, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng disclosed that there were 4,200 ICTs working in Singapore last year, about 500 of whom are from India.
While Singapore does not usually publish detailed statistics on its foreign workforce for foreign policy reasons, Dr Tan said the government had chosen to reveal some figures on employment pass holders in order to allay the damage from "misconceptions".
Singh noted, "The point I want to make to the government at large is, there is opportunity to quell, or at least to nip some of these issues in the bud, when they start moving into the realm of xenophobia, nativism and one important outlet for that is information.
"And so I hope the government understands that, with more information actually, we can hold the line better in terms of some of these discussions moving into a realm of xenophobia and so forth."
'Falsehoods' can be quelled if government releases info early: Ong Ye Kung
SINGAPORE —Falsehoods, especially when related to issues like racism or xenophobia, can be quelled early if the government releases certain information, conceded Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in Parliament on Tuesday (6 July).
"I take to heart what the Leader of the Opposition (LO) said, that with information, we can quell such falsehoods, much earlier," said Ong, who was concluding the debate on the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between Singapore and India.
While some data is classified, the Sembawang Member of Parliament acknowledged, "Some information is better to come out early, and then we can move on. And especially as you say when it concerns, issues like racism or xenophobia, it's much better to quell it early."
LO Pritam Singh, who is the Workers' Party chief, noted that there had been two previous parliamentary queries in the last five years, from WP and the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), about the number of intra-corporate transferees (ICTs) in Singapore. These are overseas employees at an MNC who have worked for at least a year in the company, before being posted to its Singapore branch.
Singh noted that the WP's earlier query arose from feedback on the ground about CECA and Indian nationals working in the country. "At that point, the reply that came was, the ministry does not disclose data on foreign manpower with breakdown by nationality, including data on ICTs," said the Aljunied MP, who added that this was followed by the PSP's query in February 2021.
In response to the PSP, the government disclosed overall ICT numbers over employment pass holders.
On Tuesday, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng disclosed that there were 4,200 ICTs working in Singapore last year, about 500 of whom are from India.
While Singapore does not usually publish detailed statistics on its foreign workforce for foreign policy reasons, Dr Tan said the government had chosen to reveal some figures on employment pass holders in order to allay the damage from "misconceptions".
Singh noted, "The point I want to make to the government at large is, there is opportunity to quell, or at least to nip some of these issues in the bud, when they start moving into the realm of xenophobia, nativism and one important outlet for that is information.
"And so I hope the government understands that, with more information actually, we can hold the line better in terms of some of these discussions moving into a realm of xenophobia and so forth."
OYK on tv with Dasmond Koh.
Was on Channel 8 with Dasmond Koh 许振荣 for “Get Fit With Me” 《健康那些事 》- in Mandarin, Hokkien, Teochew and a bit of Cantonese, to urge all our elderly to be vaccinated.
Hope that through such outreach efforts we can get more of our elderly to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Those aged 70 years and above are our most vulnerable group and at risk of severe illness if unvaccinated.
Do help encourage them 加油
#ICYMI You can catch the video here now. https://youtu.be/pzF1nJ9rg7E
#mtl mai tu liao
Ong Ye Kung
5 July at 22:37 ·Was on Channel 8 with Dasmond Koh 许振荣 for “Get Fit With Me” 《健康那些事 》- in Mandarin, Hokkien, Teochew and a bit of Cantonese, to urge all our elderly to be vaccinated.
Hope that through such outreach efforts we can get more of our elderly to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Those aged 70 years and above are our most vulnerable group and at risk of severe illness if unvaccinated.
Do help encourage them 加油
#ICYMI You can catch the video here now. https://youtu.be/pzF1nJ9rg7E
#mtl mai tu liao
OYK announces updates from 12 July:
As the COVID-19 situation improves in Singapore, and more people get vaccinated, Lawrence Wong and I announced the following today.
From 12 July:
• Groups of up to 5 persons will be able to dine-in at F&B establishments, and participate in mask-off workouts in gyms and fitness studios.
• Wedding receptions can resume, for up to 50 persons without Pre-Event Testing (PET) and up to 250 with PET.
Around the 4th week of July, 50% of our population would have received two doses of the vaccine. When that happens, we will be able to open up further, including bigger gatherings of vaccinated people. Specifically, we are considering:
• Dining up to 8 persons if all are vaccinated.
• Events, including religious services of up to 500 persons if all are vaccinated.
It makes sense, because vaccinated persons are much less likely to catch the virus and pass it on to others. We are working out the details.
Today also marks a milestone in vaccination – as 2/3 of our population has received their first dose. What it means is that so long as they all turn up for their next appointment, we will have at least 2/3 of our population fully vaccinated. This will be a very significant achievement.
Photo source: The Straits Times
Ong Ye Kung
18 mins·As the COVID-19 situation improves in Singapore, and more people get vaccinated, Lawrence Wong and I announced the following today.
From 12 July:
• Groups of up to 5 persons will be able to dine-in at F&B establishments, and participate in mask-off workouts in gyms and fitness studios.
• Wedding receptions can resume, for up to 50 persons without Pre-Event Testing (PET) and up to 250 with PET.
Around the 4th week of July, 50% of our population would have received two doses of the vaccine. When that happens, we will be able to open up further, including bigger gatherings of vaccinated people. Specifically, we are considering:
• Dining up to 8 persons if all are vaccinated.
• Events, including religious services of up to 500 persons if all are vaccinated.
It makes sense, because vaccinated persons are much less likely to catch the virus and pass it on to others. We are working out the details.
Today also marks a milestone in vaccination – as 2/3 of our population has received their first dose. What it means is that so long as they all turn up for their next appointment, we will have at least 2/3 of our population fully vaccinated. This will be a very significant achievement.
Photo source: The Straits Times
OYK learns more about wastewater sampling.
Yesterday, Gan Kim Yong and I were at Beo Crescent (where I spent several of my childhood years) to learn more about wastewater sampling.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) has deployed 200 sampling sites around the island for COVID-19 surveillance.
Essentially, someone infected with COVID-19 will discharge viral fragments in their stools. By collecting the waste sample of residents of the surrounding blocks through the manhole, NEA is able to detect the viral fragments. By sampling and testing daily, it can find out if the virus is spreading to more people.
This has helped us to identify possible transmission clusters early, and to move in quickly to test and ringfence cases to minimise spread to the community.
So while this method cannot detect an infected individual, it is a very good early warning system, which enabled us to proactively conduct swab operations at Hougang, Yishun and Bukit Merah View to reduce further transmission to the wider community.
Many thanks to the teams at NEA, NTU, NUS and more, for developing this surveillance capability which has helped us greatly in this fight against COVID-19.
Ong Ye Kung
1 hr·Yesterday, Gan Kim Yong and I were at Beo Crescent (where I spent several of my childhood years) to learn more about wastewater sampling.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) has deployed 200 sampling sites around the island for COVID-19 surveillance.
Essentially, someone infected with COVID-19 will discharge viral fragments in their stools. By collecting the waste sample of residents of the surrounding blocks through the manhole, NEA is able to detect the viral fragments. By sampling and testing daily, it can find out if the virus is spreading to more people.
This has helped us to identify possible transmission clusters early, and to move in quickly to test and ringfence cases to minimise spread to the community.
So while this method cannot detect an infected individual, it is a very good early warning system, which enabled us to proactively conduct swab operations at Hougang, Yishun and Bukit Merah View to reduce further transmission to the wider community.
Many thanks to the teams at NEA, NTU, NUS and more, for developing this surveillance capability which has helped us greatly in this fight against COVID-19.
