Goh Meng Seng tries too hard to discredit the PAP

First there was Terry Xu and his attempt to discredit police with fake news.

And then, there is Goh Meng Seng, the leader of an opposition party (People's Power Party) with his fake news to discredit the government.

These are also the same people who talk about integrity and accountability.

Singapore’s business elites are by far the highest value creators on the planet according to the Elite Quality Index 2021

Singapore is ranked #1,

The city state’s business elites are by far the highest value creators on the planet according to the Elite Quality Index 2021.

The Elite Quality Index (EQx) is a political economy index that measures the ability of the elite business models in a country – on aggregate – to create value, rather than to extract value.

The index examined 151 countries across four conceptual areas to determine the quality of the elites in any given country. These are: Economic Power, Economic Value, Political Power and Political Value.

Switzerland is ranked 2nd in the EQx Global Ranking, followed by UK in 3rd position.

The U.S. defends its rank (5th) and shockingly Germany falls from 3rd place in 2020 to 15th in 2021. Israel made the largest gains in the EQx2021 moving up a global rank to 7th.

Surprise 1: Elites are a mathematical certainty; they are inevitable
Surprise 2: Elites supply essential coordination capacity to society
Fact 1: Elites can be high-quality value creators
Fact 2: Elites can also be low-quality value extractors

South Asians? When you need them to do the cleaning, they are there.

When you need them to clean your blocks and neighbourhood so that you can have a safer environment, they are the ones to do the job, increasing their risk of exposure to the virus. You don't care which part of South Asia they hail from.

Our border restriction measures are strict. How do I know, you ask? From a daily average of 200,000 arrivals a day at Changi Airport pre-covid to an average of 1200 arrivals a day. Changi Airport is like ghost town. If that is not strict, what is? Total shutdown?

You charged that the government cares more for 'their' economy than your lives. 'Their' economy is 'your' jobs. You expect them not only to keep your safe, but to ensure your livelihoods. Yes, you do. Because if there is no food on the table and your children are hungry and crying, you won't say, "Thank you, government, that our lives matter more than our livelihoods."

Since 23 April 2021, all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history (including transit) to India within the last 14 days are not allowed entry into Singapore, or transit through Singapore.

#overheard

*the suffering is real*

Just caught up briefly with an Indian friend of mine recently.

He is originally from India. His family and him decided to settle down and make a living in Singapore a number of years ago.

He shared that close to thirty of his colleagues in India recently passed away because of Covid. Within his business unit, just slightly less than ten also contracted Covid but thankfully they survived, for now.

The suffering in India is real. It is pervasive and is widespread.

* an Indian friend of my wife described the situation in New Delhi as "a bloodbath".

I can imagine the desperation of those who are living and working here would feel, when they have loved ones stranded in India, especially so if they are young or elderly, vulnerable and living alone.

It is a life and death issue to them, literally.

And it is not unreasonable and perfectly understandable to expect some of them living here, to try their utmost to ensure the safety of their loved ones by arranging for them to be moved here. I would do the same too if I know that the safety of my loved ones is being threatened.

Perhaps we need to view Covid not simply as a country-specific problem.

Perhaps we need to view Covid more broadly as a shared humanity problem.

Perhaps.......

When viewed in this light, yes, we may be suffering much unwelcomed inconveniences because of the semi lockdown situation we are in.

But when compared to the dire and hopeless situation in India, our 'suffering' really pales in comparison.

..... we weep with those who weep.

Vaccines help nations exit pandemic faster

The messenger RNA (mRNA) shots developed by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna are better at stopping people from becoming contagious, helping reduce onward transmission.

Other vaccines, while effective in preventing acute illness or death from Covid-19, appear not to have this extra perk to the same degree.

So get vaccinated, will ya?

We can't shut our borders for a long time or we will end up having our lives without a livelihood.

Interview with PM Lee Hsien Loong at the inaugural Global Forum on Economic Recovery, hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce on 19 May 2021

We are a small open country, we have to deal with it as things go along, and we cannot afford to seal our borders off. Other bigger countries can, to a very great extent. For Singapore, you need food, fuel, people moving in and out, even during COVID-19. You have to do it to the extent that you can, while keeping ourselves safe with all the precautions, (such as) testing, contact tracing apps, protocols to make sure that people come in through proper procedures and are vetted, and so on. Not without risk, but unavoidable.

To open up completely again and have free travel, it is a long way off. Even travel bubbles – countries talk about it, but that needs confidence on both sides and we only want to bubble with countries which are safer than us. That means it is not easy to make a match.

- PM Lee on free air travel

Firstly, that you cannot afford to slacken. Each time you think you have got the COVID-19 situation under control, and you know how to respond to it, it pops up in a new direction. It can be a mutant, it can be a new avenue which you did not spot, but you cannot afford to slacken, and you must always think beyond what you imagine is likely to happen.

- PM Lee on the pandemic

Interview with PM Lee Hsien Loong at the inaugural Global Forum on Economic Recovery, hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce on 19 May 2021.

You need workers to do the installation.

Singapore General Hospital has decided to enhance the ventilation in their B2 and C class wards (which are currently spot-cooled with opened windows and oscillating fans) by installing air extractors. These will remove stale and humid air from the wards, keeping everyone safe.

Here's a learning point for everyone.

You need workers to do the installation. If you are shorthanded, the installation will either take a very long time to do, or not be done at all.

Now, I am just using this installation job to illustrate to you - the netizens - the impact on companies deprived of workers. Eventually, the impact will reach you. Your BTO, the hospital still under construction, your renovation work, that urgent repair.

So when you shout 'projects can wait' on social media, you haven't understood the full impact.

Every day, every week, every month, migrant workers who have finished their contract go home because they are homesick, they are worried about their families.

With a daily arrival of an average 1200 a day at Changi Airport and this figure includes returning Singaporeans and PRs, the number of workers allowed to enter barely replaces those who have gone back.

These workers are not just in the CMP sector. They are also in essential services such as PUB, checking on the quality of water every day etc.

The impact is not limited to companies when they have to shut down. Eventually, you will be the ones suffering a degradation of services.

Photo credit: Singapore General Hospital Facebook

The Delhi Chief Minister has no competence to speak on behalf of India.