It was reported that a recent job advertisement placed by the Istana looking for butlers and junior chefs has caused much controversy in social media (‘Istana offering lowball salaries for its butlers and cooks?‘). The Istana has offered S$1,400 to S$2,000 for the butler positions and S$2000 to S$2,500 for junior chef positions. Netizens have questioned about the offered pay …

A member of the public, Paul Chan Poh Hoi, wrote to ST Forum on Thu (18 Jul) arguing that profitability should not be main concern for the rail operators in Singapore. Given the “public” nature of public transport, a rail system should be measured by its ability to serve the people, and not its ability to generate additional wealth for …

According to a recent OCBC’s Financial Wellness Index survey, the majority of working adults in Singapore are financially unprepared for retirement (‘Most working adults not financially ready for retirement‘, 16 Jul). The survey polled 2,000 working adults in Singapore between the ages of 21 to 65, asking about the state of their financial health. In particular, half of those among …

At a dialogue held by the National University of Singapore’s Social Service Research Centre yesterday (18 Jul), Second Minister for Education Indranee Rajah told the audience that the Singapore’s 4G leadership will continue to strengthen support for those who have less, and strive to ensure all have opportunities to improve their lives so as to tackle inequality. “As Singaporeans, we …

On Tue (16 Jul), a member of the public, Gabriel Cheng Kian Tiong, wrote to ST Forum asking People’s Association (PA) on why a facility of community club was used by foreigners to further their political causes. In Singapore, all community clubs come under the purview of PA, a government statutory board chaired by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and …

It was reported in the media today (‘Myanmar groups stage protests at S’pore embassies‘, 18 Jul) that Myanmar nationals sympathetic to the rebel Arakan Army (AA) staged a coordinated demonstrations outside of Singapore embassies in Tokyo yesterday and Washington on Monday. They were protesting against the Singapore Government’s arrest and deportation of leaders of the Singapore Arakan Association. The protestors …

A member of the public, Gabriel Cheng Kian Tiong, wrote to ST Forum today (16 Jul) questioning People’s Association on why a facility of community club was used by foreigners to further their political causes. “A community club is basically a place for citizen-oriented activities and the fact that Myanmar nationals used it for their political causes in this instance …

The media reported on Monday that the joint venture project between Singapore and India to build the new Amaravati capital city for the state of Andhra Pradesh has been stalled by the Indian state government (‘New state government reviewing Amaravati plans‘, 15 Jul). The project is a joint development between the Singapore Consortium led by Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Development, and …

After the close of the markets last Friday (12 July), it was reported that Singapore Press Holdings’ (SPH) third-quarter profits dropped by 44.1% from $46.91 million last year 3Q to the present $26.2 million. While their digital media segment posted good improvement in revenues, the traditional print advertisement revenue declined by a 16.7%. Additionally, the circulation revenue was also lower …

Last Monday, undergraduate student Marcus Aw Chen Feng, 21, wrote to ST Forum arguing against the impending raise of GST to 9%, which is expected to happen between 2021 and 2025 announced by the new PM-designate Heng Swee Keat in Parliament earlier (‘Drawbacks to raising GST‘, 8 Jul). Marcus wrote, “Raising taxes means higher prices for consumer goods, including necessities …