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Tag: GE2015

  • 11 Announcements From National Day Rally 2015

    11 Announcements From National Day Rally 2015

    Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech on Sunday was a wide-ranging one that was in equal parts a look back and a look forward.

    He also announced policy changes that drew cheers from many in the audience. Here’s a recap of the 11 key ones.

    HOUSING

    1. The income ceiling of buyers of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats will be raised from $10,000 to $12,000, and that for executive condominiums (ECs) from $12,000 to $14,000. This means more Singaporeans at the higher end of households will be eligible for subsidised housing.

    2. To make flats more affordable, the income ceiling for the existing Special Housing Grant (SHG) will be raised from $6,500 to $8,500. The maximum grant amount will also be doubled to $40,000.

    With these changes, even those who earn below $1,000, but hold a stable job and contribute to CPF regularly will be able to afford a two-room flat, PM Lee said

    3. Parents and married children who want to live near each other will get more help under the new Proximity Housing Grant. Children who buy a resale flat with or near their parents, or those who buy one near their married children, will get the grant. It applies to every Singaporean household, whether first-time buyers or not.

    4. A new scheme will be launched called the Fresh Start Housing Scheme. It is targeted at people who have sold their HDB flats and are now living in rental units. These families will get more affordable two-room flats, but they will come with shorter leases and restrictions on resale. To help this group resolve their problems, the Government will also provide “holistic” support for these families through counselling.

    FAMILIES AND BABIES

    5. The Baby Bonus scheme, which helps parents defray child-raising costs, will be extended to every child instead of just the first four children. The bonus amount will also be increased, PM Lee announced without giving a specific figure.

    6. Newborns will get more grants in their Medisave amount so that it’s enough to cover the new MediShield Life premiums for the child till he or she reaches 21. Currently, each newborn receives a $3,000 grant deposited in two trenches.

    7. Fathers will get more paternity leave. It will be increased to two weeks from the current one. The Government will pay for the extra week. This will be implemented on a voluntary basis for now, but with the public service launching it “straightaway”.

    The enhanced Baby Bonus, Medisave Grant and paternity leave changes will apply retroactively with effect from Jan 1, 2015.

    EDUCATION

    8. The Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore’s fifth university, will have its campus in Punggol. It currently runs courses at satellite campuses in the five polytechnics. It will be next to a new creative industry cluster that JTC will build. These will be integrated with Punggol Downtown and HDB’s upcoming Northshore District.

    9. The Government will work with Muis to strengthen the teaching of secular subjects like mathematics and science in madrasahs, or Islamic religious schools.

    LABOUR

    10. The re-employment age will be raised from 65 to 67 . This will be implemented by 2017. Currently, firms are required by the Retirement and Re-employment Act to offer re-employment to eligible workers when they turn 62, up to the age of 65.

    ELECTION

    11. PM Lee said he will call for a general election “soon”, but stopped short of giving a specific date.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Masagos Zulkifli: Sifat Toleransi Antara 3 Isu Yang Harus Ditekankan Pemimpin Melayu/Islam

    Masagos Zulkifli: Sifat Toleransi Antara 3 Isu Yang Harus Ditekankan Pemimpin Melayu/Islam

    Menteri di Pejabat Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Kedua Ehwal Luar dan Dalam Negeri, Masagos Zulkifli berkata beliau akan terus memberi tumpuan untuk memenuhi kepentingan budaya dan agama para penduduk.

    Beliau juga yakin para penduduk Melayu/Islam akan memilih kepimpinan yang dapat menyatukan serta memajukan masyarakat dengan negara.

    Semasa sidang media bagi mengumumkan barisan calon PAP untuk GRC Tampines hari ini (22 Ogos), Encik Masagos turut berkongsi tiga isu yang perlu diberi penekanan oleh para pemimpin Melayu/Islam.

    KEKALKAN SIFAT TOLERANSI DI KALANGAN MASYARAKAT MELAYU/ISLAM

    Pertama – bagaimana untuk mengekalkan sifat toleransi di kalangan masyarakat Melayu/Islam supaya tidak mudah terhasut dengan anasir yang boleh menggoyahkan perpaduan masyarakat setempat.

    Menurutnya, konteks kehidupan di Singapura begitu unik di mana kepentingan kaum minoriti tidak diketepikan.

    Maka itu, beliau menggesa agar sifat toleransi dan kesederhanaan terus diwujudkan dalam masyarakat Melayu/Islam supaya kepentingan bersama dapat dijaga.

    “Kita harus terus mewujudkan sifat toleransi, moderat dalam menghadapi segala isu yang cuba ditimbulkan untuk menghairahkan masyarakat kita supaya menekankan lagi keistimewaan mereka dari segi agama atau bangsa. Itu baik tapi kita harus ambil kira juga bahawa kita hidup dengan warga yang lain dan perlu menjaga kepentingan negara bersama,” katanya.

    Dua isu lain yang diutarakan adalah – usaha memastikan golongan Melayu/Islam yang sudah berjaya terus menyumbang kepada masyarakat, serta mengurangkan lagi kadar jenayah atau masalah dadah di kalangan masyarakat tersebut.

    PENDUDUK MELAYU/ISLAM TAMPINES BERI SAMBUTAN BAIK KEPADA PAP

    Bila ditanya pula oleh BERITAMediaCorp mengenai sentimen para penduduk Melayu/Islam di Tampines, yang membentuk sekitar 25% bilangan pengundi di GRC Tampines terhadap PAP, Encik Masagos menjawab, sambutan yang diterimanya setakat ini agak memberangsangkan.

    “Orang Melayu, mereka selalu mesra. Kalau bertemu dengan pemimpin, siapa saja, mereka membuka pagar dan sering mengajak kami masuk untuk bukan hanya menyampaikan isu-isu perumahan, tapi kadang-kadang, hanya untuk beramah tamah,” katanya.

    Mengulas pula mengenai usaha menarik sokongan para penduduk Melayu/Islam di Tampines, Encik Masagos menyuarakan keyakinan terhadap kemampuan masyarakat itu dalam menilai dan memilih barisan pemimpin mereka.

    “Saya yakin orang Melayu/Islam itu, mereka tahu kepentingan mereka supaya kepimpinan yang mereka pilih itu dapat menyatukan kami terus progresif bersama negara, tidak melupakan agama dan bangsa,” kata Encik Masagos.

    Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

  • NSP’S Steve Chia Withdraws From Macpherson SMC

    NSP’S Steve Chia Withdraws From Macpherson SMC

    National Solidarity Party’s member, Mr Steve Chia has announced via his personal facebook account that he would not be contesting in MacPherson Single Member Constituency (SMC) and also would not be contesting in the upcoming General Election.

    While Mr Chia did not clearly attributed the reason for his withdrawal from the election, but the content of the post suggests that the negativity surrounding NSP’s flip-flopping on the withdrawal from MacPherson SMC might have affected him much.

    The former non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) wrote in his post, “The Trolls have won”, followed with hashtags of ‪#‎MyReputationIsGone‬,  ‪#‎PeopleOnlyRemembersTheBad‬,‪ #‎NotWorthIt‬.

    He also attached a hyperlink to a website created that contains information of his past as a politician. He clarified that the site is not set up by him and that some of the information in it are not correctly written.

    Mr Chia went on to state his personal wish that Workers’ Party would send a strong candidate and take down MacPherson SMC.

    Earlier this week, former Secretary General, Hazel Poa resigned from NSP due to the party’s decision to go back on its earlier decision to contest MacPherson SMC, going into a three-corner fight with Workers’ Party and People’s Action Party. Mr Chia is said to be the candidate that the party was going to field for the SMC.

     

    Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

  • Ng Chee Meng Joins Teo Chee Hean In Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC

    Ng Chee Meng Joins Teo Chee Hean In Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC

    The People’s Action Party (PAP) has introduced two new faces in the six-member Pasir Ris-Punggol team for the coming election.

    They are former defence chief Ng Chee Meng, 47, and Temasek Holdings investment director Sun Xueling, 36, also known as Soon Sher Rene.

    Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean announced the line-up at the PAP Punggol North Branch at Edgedale Plains on Saturday morning.

    The others on the slate are  Mr Teo, Minister of State and Mayor Teo Ser Luck, Mr Zainal Sapari, and Dr Janil Puthucheary.

    Ms Penny Low, 48, announced that she was stepping down after three terms as MP in the GRC.

    Current Pasir Ris-Punggol MP Gan Thiam Poh, 51, has joined the Ang Mo Kio team after his Punggol South ward was absorbed into the GRC in the recent boundary changes.

    Mr Ng retired from the Singapore Armed Forces on Aug 18, and is seen as a potential office-holder.

    The three-star general is the highest-ranking Singapore Armed Forces officer to join the PAP to date.

    Ms Sun started helping out at grassroots events in Buona Vista in 2001 before she joined Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.

    In the 2011 election, the PAP team fielded in Pasir Ris-Punggol polled 64.8 per cent against a Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) team.

    The SDA has said it will be contesting there again in the coming election.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com
     

  • PAP’s Tampines GRC Team Unveiled

    PAP’s Tampines GRC Team Unveiled

    The People’s Action Parts (PAP) today (Aug 22) announced its slate of candidates for Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC). New face Ms Cheng Li Hui will join the five-member GRC team, along with NTUC deputy director Desmond Choo who previously contested the Hougang Single Member Constituency (SMC) during the 2011 General Election and the 2012 by-election.

    Ms Cheng, who is the deputy chief executive of Hai Leck Holdings, has been Councillor in the Northwest CDC since 2004. She is also the Vice-Chairperson of the Tampines East Citizens’ Consultative Committee and the Tampines East Community Club Management Committee.

    It was earlier announced that the two current Members of Parliament (MPs) for Tampines, former National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan and Ms Irene Ng will be leaving politics

    The other PAP candidates to contest in Tampines GRC are Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Mr Masagos Zulkifli and Mr Baey Yam Keng.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com