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Dear Readers, |
What's New I Talk of the Town I What's Buzzing |
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April has been an exciting month for REACH, as we launch our new series of dialogues for professionals, managers, engineers and technicians (PMETs) to better understand the issues facing them today.
You do have a stake in the issues and policies that matter to you, and we urge you to contribute your views actively towards policy-making. Do drop us a note if you are interested to participate in the PMET sessions or in our Facebook chat next month on healthy living.
Regards,
REACH
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 What's New |
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Latest Initiative – Reaching out to PMETs! |
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The first PMET dialogue – themed "PMET Matters: A Dialogue On Issues That Concern You" – was held on 23 April with 50 PMETs from various sectors such as real estate, healthcare and engineering. Participants engaged Minister Yaacob Ibrahim and REACH Chairman Dr Amy Khor on topics like work-life balance, preserving the Singaporean core and meeting the aspirations of younger workers. Read what our contributors are saying on our Discussion Forum and Facebook page, and check out REACH Chairman's speech about why REACH has launched this series. |
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Facebook Chat on Healthy Living Master Plan |
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Share your views on encouraging healthy living in Singapore with Dr Amy Khor, who is also Minister of State for Health, and Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Health, Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, at the MOH-REACH Healthy Living Master Plan 'LIVE' Facebook Chat on Wednesday, 8 May 2013, from 7.30pm – 9.00pm. Please RSVP to outreach@reach.gov.sg by 3rd May 2013. Hope to 'see' you there! |
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Talk of the Town |
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Travel Early, Travel Free – on the MRT |
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To ease the morning peak hour crunch, LTA will undertake a year-long experiment to offer free train rides during pre-peak periods! From 24 June 2013, commuters who end their journeys at 16 designated MRT stations in the city area before 7.45 am on weekdays will enjoy free travel, while those that exit between 7.45 am and 8 am will be given a discount of up to 50 cents. Commuters have shared their views on this new transportation trial. Would this incentivise you to travel earlier? |
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Ask DPM Tharman: Here Are His Answers |
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In a wide-ranging interview with The Straits Times earlier this month, DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam shared that the Government has no plans for another round of property cooling measures for now. He said the aim of such measures is to lower the prices of homes relative to incomes, but not cause a crash in the short-term. On the use of Singapore's reserves, DPM Tharman said that the Government is open to using more income generated from the reserves to pay for future higher spending levels but it will not change its stance on dipping into the reserves. Other highlights of his interview include the Government's cap on foreigners in the workforce to one-third and the current curbs on motor vehicle loans. |
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The "Sacred Cows" |
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During a recent Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) session, the notion of Singapore's size and fragility and our definition of merit were challenged. Some participants said the repeated refrain that Singapore is small and fragile, with no natural resources of her own, would curb Singaporeans' imagination and ability to think big and out of the box. Others suggested that it is time to move the definition of merit away from academic achievements and called for a thorough rethink of the "sacred cows" in Singapore's approach to development. What are your thoughts on meritocracy and Singapore's future well-being? |
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Raising Minimum Salary Level for Employment Pass |
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To help local PMETs who face competition from foreigners with lower salary demands, foreign PMEs will have to earn more in the future to qualify for an Employment Pass (EP). MOM is reviewing the EP framework, and the higher minimum salary requirements will affect the Q1, P2, and P1 tiers which have salary thresholds of $3,000, $4,500 and $8,000 respectively.
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What's Buzzing |
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"The real angst about PSLE is the pressure... because parents perceive certain schools give you an advantage in getting into universities," said Senior Minister of State for Education, Ms Indranee Rajah in a forum jointly organised by NUS Student's Political Association and REACH on 17 April 2013. Some 100 students from tertiary institutions and junior colleges raised concerns ranging from streaming to the expansion of university spaces to PSLE. Our REACH contributors too did not miss out on the action and had their say in REACH Discussion Forum and Facebook! Check out their thoughts on "Our Education System – Is Change Needed?" ! |
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"Parents know this is how it works. And to help their kids get ahead, it becomes a huge race to add skills and cram as much knowledge as possible in as short a time as possible. And this is how kids are robbed of their childhood. So why are we talking about reforming education? When it is HR practices, senior management attitudes and public attitudes that have to change first in order for parents to be convinced they can let their kids stand and stare?" – Guest, Discussion Forum |
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"I agree to keeping PSLE. I understand the challenges highlighted by Ms Indranee. But I think what has been highlighted will not sit well with the audience. There are always many angles to seeing something and the solutions henceforth. What Ms Indranee highlighted is the administrators' issues. Administrators' issues will stay within a system that we decide to keep to."– Guest, Discussion Forum |
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"For far too long, the MOE has failed to realise that the "compulsory MT exam policy" has been a serious millstone around the necks of our children, who could have otherwise obtained significantly BETTER grades in non-MT subjects. To preserve culture (language skills, history, etc.), MT should have equal (not higher) weightage than any other exam-subject - even at PSLE." – SP Fairley, REACH Facebook |
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