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Tag: Grace Fu

  • Ministers Should Not Take Usage Of Public Amenities For Granted

    Ministers Should Not Take Usage Of Public Amenities For Granted

    The following is a letter from one of our readers, Maran Velayan.

    —
    I refer to your article, ‘Resident dismayed that “VIP Minister” Grace Fu parked her car in reserved spot’ (http://theindependent.sg/resident-dismayed-that-vip-minister-grace-fu-parked-her-car-in-reserved-spot). According to the article, the resident expressed dismay that the Minister would park in a busy carpark and in a spot which residents have to pay a fee to get season parking.

    This is not the first time some of these newer Ministers are caught parking indiscriminately, setting a very bad example for many others. In September, another netizen took Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung, to task for parking his car in lots reserved for emergency vehicles at the National Library (http://theindependent.sg/netizen-alleges-minister-parked-his-vehicle-in-a-reserved-spot-in-nlb).

    The National Library (NLB) was quick to jump to the defence of Minister Ong and said, “there are a total of 3 car park lots designated for invited guests. As can be seen from the photo, two of the lots were available for use by emergency vehicles, if necessary.” (http://theindependent.sg/nlb-suggests-it-was-alright-for-minister-to-disregard-emergency-vehicle-parking-lots)

    What NLB did not say was, why the Minister cannot be dropped off at a convenient spot by his bodyguard/driver and be picked up later when the event is over.

    All Ministers are assigned bodyguards, who often also double up as the Ministers drivers. When Ministers have to attend official functions, besides his/her personal bodyguards, another will be assigned to the Minister from the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

    This means that the Minister need not be deprived of proper security at an event even when the other driver is running an errand (like parking the car). Indeed this is what most older Ministers do and they are mindful never to take the public amenities for granted. The public too respects them for such considerations.

    Just like the NLB jumping to defend Minister Ong, a grassroots leader too has jumped in to defend Minister Fu. According to the Facebook page ‘We want Minister Grace Fu to resign’, Malaiya Maran S claimed that the event was organised by SPF and as organiser, the SPF has gotten permission from HDB to park at the red lot for a “short duration”.

    He thinks that “keeping aside 1 parking lot for the short duration isn’t too much” to inconvenient the public. “And on many occasions, when there is no nearby parking lot available, I have seen Ms Fu drop off at the vicinity and someone will valet park at another available location,” he added.

    imple logic would dictate that Minister Fu could be dropped off at the spot without compromising her security while her car is valet parked. And that is the right thing to do.

     

    Source: http://theindependent.sg

  • Smoking Ban In More Locations Likely

    Smoking Ban In More Locations Likely

    SINGAPORE: Smoking could be banned in more locations in the near future if a consultation held on Saturday (Apr 18) between the Government and some stakeholders is any indication.

    Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu said the Government is mulling over its “next steps” even as it eventually moves toward a smoke-free Singapore. However, she said policies must be balanced between smoking’s impact on non-smokers and accommodating the needs of smokers.

    Besides most indoor public areas, the smoking ban was extended in 2013 to include void decks, covered walkways and a five-metre radius of bus stops.

    Last year, Nee Soon South constituency piloted smoke-free zones, where smokers were urged to light up in six designated areas only.

    The smoking points have also led to less littering.

    The Singapore Management University (SMU) was one of more than 20 stakeholders at Saturday’s consultation session which included non-governmental organisations, healthcare professionals, and current and former smokers.

    Many are advocates of designated smoking points although some suggested these should also be enclosed.

    “We had suggestions of people putting up partitions – not just a line, because the smoke will just encroach into other areas,” said Peter Ong, a smoker and vice chairman of the Tai Seng Gardens Neighbourhood Committee.

    Others have proposed banning smoking for those born after year 2000.

    Dr Koong Heng Nung, senior consultant surgeon at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, said: “Smoking cessation programmes’ success rates have never been high. Even my patients diagnosed with lung cancer find it a challenge to stop smoking.

    “The idea here is to restrict the use of tobacco for a certain birth year onwards – phasing it in because we’re not restricting current smokers. It does not disenfranchise current smokers, and yet we’re setting a new social norm to a new generation of non-smokers.”

    The Government’s policy so far has been to point out where the public cannot smoke. But views aired confirmed this could create confusion among smokers and non-smokers alike.

    The Government is now deciding if it should focus on regulations that state where people can smoke.

    Ms Fu said: “First of all, there need to be rules – clear rules so that people understand where certain behaviour is allowed and where smoking is not allowed.

    “And for many of the responsible smokers, those will be very helpful. They would like to abide by the rules and they would like to know what is the right thing to do. If they do not have clear rules, they can’t do the right thing. Just having clear signs, designations, that would be helpful.”

    Ms Fu said enforcement also needs to be kept up on the minority who flout the rules.

     
    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • PAP Women’s Wing Urges Government To Provide More Assistance To Stay-At-Home Mothers

    PAP Women’s Wing Urges Government To Provide More Assistance To Stay-At-Home Mothers

    The People’s Action Party (PAP) Women’s Wing has urged the Government and families to do more to help stay-home mothers who will have little Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings of their own to draw on during their retirement years.

    The call was contained in a 10-point response to recent Government announcements that was endorsed by members at a special meeting held on Saturday (Feb 28) at PAP headquarters ahead of International Women’s Day and the Budget Debate.

    “For stay-home mothers, we are especially concerned that they do not get to benefit from the CPF system. As they do not receive formal payment and CPF contributions for their care-giving, they do not enjoy the attractive interest rates paid on CPF balances and the positive effects of interest compounding,” the PAP Women’s Wing said in a statement.

    “A sensible approach is for their husbands to make regular voluntary top-ups to their CPF accounts; likewise for their adult working children. We urge the Government to raise awareness of the benefits of such top-ups and the availability of GIRO transfer options,” the statement added.

    The PAP Women’s Wing also asked the Government to make special efforts to help stay-home mothers take advantage of SkillsFuture initiatives, so that they can keep their skills updated and remain employable should they decide to return to the workforce.

    For example, there can be more e-learning options that will allow stay-home mothers to access training from home.

    The Government could consider allowing husbands and children to make partial transfers of their unused SkillsFuture Credits to give more support to stay-home mothers who want to pursue training, the PAP Women’s Wing added.

    SkillsFuture is a national effort aimed at making it easier for students and workers to gain skills and continually improve on them during the working lives.

    Chair of the PAP Women’s Wing Grace Fu, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, said many of the home-makers had found it difficult to return to the workforce and therefore could not build up their own CPF savings.

    “The SkillsFuture initiatives open up new opportunities for stay-home mums to access training. This was not possible before, but in future, it should become easier for women who take a break to care for their families to get back to work,” she said.

    Ms Fu had helmed the PAP Women’s Wing with Vice-Chairs Josephine Teo and Dr Amy Khor and District Advisor Jessica Tan. Around 80 women activists from various PAP branches attended the meeting.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com