“Don’t end up like Josephine Teo”, netizen warns Minister Ong Ye Kung

Earlier on 21 May, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung stated that attending schools cannot be made “voluntary” as such a system is “not good for the morale of both students and teachers”.
Mr Ong took to his Facebook on 21 May to address some of the concerns that many parents have raised following the Government’s announcement to reopen schools after the country exits the circuit breaker on 2 June.
“It is likely that COVID-19 will stay with us for more than a year, and until a vaccine is available. We simply cannot keep our children at home for so long. The impact on their socio-emotional and mental well-being will be serious,” he wrote.
In response to the matter, one netizen, Oliver Choy, called out the Minister in the comment section, urging Mr Ong to take responsibility should anything happens.
“Don’t end up like Josephine Teo, and don’t say lack of foresight,” he remarked.
Replying to Mr Choy’s comment, one netizen wrote that Mr Ong is “shaping himself” to Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, as he went to visit the students without wearing a mask and practising social distancing.

Additionally, another netizen, who goes by the name Teo JL, commented that schools should resume after the country has seen the result of lifting the circuit breaker, “not concurrently”. He added that children should not be brought “along the front lines” when the country is facing imminent danger.
Both the comments may have been taken down since TOC is unable to find the comments at the time of writing.

Many parents have also penned their concerns on Mr Ong’s Facebook post, saying that it is too soon for the Government to reopen the schools as the pandemic is still ongoing. Some raised concerns about their children having difficulties to wear a face mask, especially for preschool students.
Moreover, Mansura Sajahan – a member of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and a parent herself – called out the education minister on Tuesday (26 May) for being “very irresponsible” for not making it compulsory for students to wear a face mask.
“Is he going to take responsibility if even one student gets infected with COVID-19 through not wearing of masks, let alone if a cluster forms? Accountability is low or non-existing in our present government, that is perhaps why Mr Ong is acting in this manner,” Ms Mansura remarked.
“At the most, they might apologise. But as a parent, I cannot allow this to happen to our children,” she added.