Opinion

The recent death of yet another serviceman, Aloysius Pang, has riled the public with many questioning whether Singapore Armed Forces is taking safety seriously in its trainings. Many Singaporeans have taken to social media to vent their anger against SAF and the government. Finally, after more than 3 weeks Aloysius Pang has passed away, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made …

Dr Tan Cheng Bock has said that he wants to enter Parliament again to hold the government accountable on issues such the country’s reserves and the Central Provident Fund. It would suggest that there are currently no opposition Members of Parliament, when in fact there are six elected Workers’ Party MPs. Have the WP MPs not done enough to provide …

By International Human Rights Lawyer M Ravi On Wednesday (12 February), Speaker of Parliament Tan-Chuan Jin said that he agrees with the judgment call by the Ministry of Health (MOH) not to inform patients and the public about the HIV data leak. Mr Tan listened ‘closely’ to what the Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said, and in the end turned …

by Prof Donald Low I think we can accept the Minister for Health’s explanation that his ministry made an honest “judgement call” not to inform the affected patients of the data breach back in 2016, and that it was not unreasonable for them to assess then that putting out the information would have caused more harm than good. So there …

The Middle East Institute (MEI) at NUS organized its annual conference on Mon (11 Feb). MEI is an autonomous research institute within NUS, set up to advance understanding of the Middle East, and to deepen engagements between the Middle East and Asia. It aims to provide reasoned views to scholars, students, policymakers, businesses and the public through publications, lectures, consultations …

Senior Minister of State for Law Edwin Tong (Tong) has said that Singapore will consider new laws to counter foreign interference, as it is “especially vulnerable” to these exploits to stir up distrust and undermine its democratic processes.  It is imperative to remember that as these sentiments are aired by Tong, the Singapore government is in the midst of controversies …

Less than a week ago, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat addressed widespread criticism that complacency has set in, leading to lapse after lapse by government agencies. “I reject the suggestion by some that the political leadership has allowed the  whole system to go slack,” he said. His ‘rejection” was headlined by the mainstream media. Yesterday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, …

Following the recent National Service (NS) training deaths, parents who worry for their sons’ safety during NS can be assured that each and every soldier has the right to stop unsafe training, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament on Monday (11 February). “I’ve said very clearly, on no uncertain terms, that anybody can stop unsafe training,” said Dr Ng. …

A 54-year-old veteran named Khris Ang recently took his Facebook page to vent his dissatisfaction over Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board after it had been changing the retirement payout age multiple times over the years. In his post, the former senior engineer said that when he started working, he had no option but to put in his monthly contribution into …

Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen is the most disarming of Ministers. He is solemn and straight talking yet quick to turn the tables on anyone in his path. Replying in Parliament to Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh, who said that in the light of a spate of training deaths, the SAF’s zero-fatality goal was unrealistic, Dr Ng said: “Which …