By Earlier today (14 April), the Chairman of the Singapore People’s Party, Jose Raymond, pleaded the public to provide help to a friend of his who is currently isolated in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
He took the matter to his Facebook page, explaining the situation which had caused Noria Akip Steinheart, his ex-classmate, to be stuck in Malaysia with her mother and an Indonesian caregiver.
In Mr Raymond’s post, he stated that Ms Steinheart was looking for someone who will be able to provide transport for the three of them to enter Singapore between 20 to 22 April. The request is specifically asking for a Singaporean with a Singapore-registered car who will be returning to Singapore via Woodlands or Tuas checkpoint. To broaden the request, he said they are also requesting help from Malaysians with an approval letter to re-enter Singapore.
The three ladies who wanted to return to Singapore include a 76-year-old wheelchair-bound mother, her Indonesian caregiver, as well as Ms Steinheart herself.
Ms Steinhart’s elderly mother and her caregiver had been isolated in Johor Bahru since 18 March because they did not have access to transport when Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented. Ms Steinheart joined the isolation starting 22 March onwards.
Despite trying their best to contact the Singapore Consulate since 23 March, the trio could not get the help they needed due to the elderly mother’s mobility issue. Other than that, the caregiver did not have an approval letter to enter Singapore as her application was rejected three times.
The good news is that via a direct appeal with the Minister of Manpower, Josephine Teo, the caregiver will be allowed to enter Singapore between 20 to 22 April.
“They also could not get on a vehicle any earlier as they were waiting for an approval from MOM to allow the caregiver to re-enter to Singapore.
After 3 rejections, they managed to get an approval on 12 April after a direct appeal to Minister Josephine Teo (thank you) and were informed that they would only be able to enter Singapore between 20 to 22 April, according to the letter of approval for the caregiver,” wrote Mr Raymond.
As many may wonder why they need a car specifically as the mode of transport, Mr Raymond explained that the elderly Singaporean could not board the bus due to her medical conditions.
“The senior Singaporean will not be able to board a bus even if there is one available that is specifically arranged to transport Singapore citizen across the border because of her various medical conditions,” state Mr Raymond.
Ms Steinheart’s elderly mother was reported to have several medical conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, chronic urticaria, ischemic heart disease, chronic kidney disease, spinal stenosis as well as bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome.
Here is the list of her medical conditions uploaded by Ms Steinheart onto her Facebook:
Mr Raymond pleases for anyone from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority who might be able to assist these ladies to contact Ms Steinheart directly.