MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Chong Kee Hiong

by Augustine Low

During the first two days of parliamentary speeches, one proposal that stood out came from Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Chong Kee Hiong.

He put forward the idea yesterday that workers should be allowed to take up two jobs for “better job security”.

Employers who currently bar their employees from taking up a second job should change their thinking, he reasoned. Instead, they should encourage workers to learn and apply new skills to pursue an additional vocation.

Chong is not talking about giving workers the opportunity to moonlight for extra income. He is talking about workers taking on dual roles within the organisation, especially one with different business units.

Citing an example, he said the F&B sector was badly hit by the COVID-19 outbreak but supermarkets and online grocers saw good business: “So if a company runs a restaurant and also sells and delivers ingredients, it will be able to ride out this storm better.”

And get this – he adds that employees’ pay should not be affected in this arrangement. While it may mean that one would not get a pay cut but at the same time, it would mean that there is no extra income for doing two jobs within the organisation!

Chong urged the government to incentivise companies and workers to adopt this approach.

Perhaps the MP is speaking from experience because he himself has two jobs. He has a part-time job as an MP while holding a full-time job as Chief Executive Officer of Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Suntec REIT).

But the big difference is that Chong is paid $16,000 for being a part-time MP and another hefty salary for being a corporate CEO.

Curiously enough, Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre (Suntec Singapore) last week announced that 85 of their employees were retrenched because the industry has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Suntec Singapore comes under the portfolio of Suntec REIT, overseen by Chong as the CEO.

Couldn’t Chong have recommended that his great idea be put into practice? Wouldn’t it have averted the retrenchment exercise by Suntec Singapore?

Correction — Post edited to correct quotation of the MP

Subscribe
Notify of
38 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

PM Lee’s troubling decision: The reappointment and maintenance of Tan Chuan-Jin as Speaker despite knowledge of his affair

Opinion: The recent resignation of Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin, after revelations of an extra-marital affair, has forced Singapore into a state of political introspection. More critically, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s decision to reappoint and maintain Mr Tan in a position of authority, despite knowledge of the affair, has profound implications for Singapore’s political landscape. Could there be instances where individuals are appointed to positions of authority, despite knowledge of their personal indiscretions, potentially subjecting them to undue influence?

Messaging of job provision by Govt may have distracted voters from the big picture on citizens’ rights and high cost of living

As the general election (date unknown) looms ever closer, it is important…

Ravi Philemon: Edward Go’s death reminds all Singaporeans of the sacrifices and risks that all NSFs bear for us

by Ravi Philemon Today (13 Dec), Singapore bid farewell to the fallen…

How many jobs went to Singaporeans in 2012?

By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “Report findings show local…