TraceTogether: why oppose something good?

Granted, some were taken aback by the revelation that the Police can access TT data.

After the initial surprise, many realise that the data was accessed towards a good end - to help solve crimes.

We were told in Parliament that Police accessed the data once - in a murder case.

If an additional tool will increase the efficiency in solving serious crime, why not?

Why are WP and PSP defending the privacy of potential criminals?

If a person is detained for planning an act of terrorism, would Gerald Giam and Tan Cheng Bock oppose accessing his TT data to find out fast who his close contacts are?

Does the privacy of criminals deserve protection?

Your privacy deserves protection.

But does the privacy of those who commit serious offences like murder, rape, or acts of terrorism deserve your protection?

𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞.

The table lists the serious offences that will be specified in a new legislation to formalise the assurances that the government gave, that data from TraceTogether will only be accessed for serious offences.

Give a thought to it.

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

We are truly living in unprecedented times.

First it was Gerald Giam of Workers' Party who spoke in Parliament and wanted the Police to be specifically ruled out from accessing TT data for investigation into serious crimes.

And now we have Tan Cheng Bock's Progress Singapore Party which wanted TT data to be exempted from the Criminal Procedure Code.

These are politicians who watch the winds on social media and go where it blows.

Next, will there be a politician who will stand up and query: with all the modern tools of technology available, why can't the Police solve crimes faster?

Gerald Giam of WP wants the government to specifically rule out data from TraceTogether from being accessed by Police

Hypothetical: A person was murdered in a back alley. His Trace Together token was found on him. Should the police be prohibited from getting information on the token to establish who killed or possibly witnessed his death?

Key words: Criminal investigation

Riding on the uproar, Gerald Giam of WP wants the government to specifically rule out data from TraceTogether from being accessed by Police.

Here's what you need to understand about TraceTogether:

Your location is not recorded. Only who you have come into contact with is recorded. The data is encrypted. The data is purged after 25 days.

Whatever data collected stays with you until:
1. you are infected with COVID-19, OR
2. you are being investigated or assisting the investigation of a serious crime (a possibility).

So who are we protecting in this uproar over Police being able to access it to investigate serious crimes?

New Year Message 2020

In his New Year Message, PM Lee said:

My team and I will strive to continue deserving your trust, to keep on strengthening our social compact, to sustain the promise of Singapore as a fair and just society, and to help you achieve your hopes and dreams. We are determined to give every Singaporean equal opportunity to do well, to prepare you to take advantage of opportunities in a different world, and to help you deal with life’s inevitable setbacks.

What the world will look like post-COVID-19 is far from certain. But Singapore must emerge strengthened by the shared experience of this crisis. Whether we indeed become a more vibrant economy and resilient society will depend on us, and on the decisions that you and I make in this crisis and beyond.

Just as we have come together to overcome the challenges of the pandemic, the defining crisis for this generation, so too we must come together to rebuild better and stronger. A new generation of Singaporeans has shown we have what it takes to make our small island nation survive and succeed, but the fight against COVID-19 is not yet won. In the months and years ahead, we will face new and unexpected hurdles. Things may happen that force us to change our plans. But as long as we stay together as one Singapore, I am confident we will blaze a path forward. 

PM Lee's new year message 2021: Let's not falter in this final stretch.

PM Lee's new year message. Let's not falter in this final stretch.

Through enormous effort and sacrifice, we have stabilised our situation in Singapore, even as the virus continues to rage on elsewhere in the world.

Now is not yet the time to celebrate. That time will come. Meanwhile, I ask for your support to keep up our efforts, and not to falter in this final stretch.

What has stood out in our response to COVID-19 is the trust our people have in our system and in one another. In many countries, COVID-19 has deepened old fault lines and created new tensions. Singapore has thankfully avoided major divisions among our people, and the pessimism and loss of trust that have happened elsewhere.

Trust in our system remains high. Singaporeans have cooperated with the government and complied with the COVID-19 rules, because the government has been open and upfront about the facts, and justified your faith that it is doing its very best to deal with the crisis.

- PM Lee

PM Lee Hsien Loong's New Year Message 2021: all out support for businesses and workers

A report by the Washington Post says that theft in the US has risen during this pandemic. What is striking is that this rise is driven by theft of essential food items, like bread and baby formula.

About 26 million American adults reported not having enough food to eat in Nov 2020. Many have lost their jobs and are desperate.

Singaporeans are fortunate. The Singapore Government went all out to support businesses and workers, digging into our reserves stored up through prudence, and set up a National Job Council to create jobs, opportunities and traineeships for Singaporeans.

This new year, let's count our blessings and be thankful for what we have, and work together for a brighter tomorrow.

In his new year message, PM Lee said:

The Government has gone all out to support our workers and companies, to prevent massive job losses and business failures. We passed five Budgets, totalling close to $100 billion. We drew heavily on our past reserves to help businesses and workers through the Jobs Support Scheme, the Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme (SIRS), the COVID-19 Support Grant, and many other schemes. We set up new channels, virtual and physical, to help jobseekers get matched to employers that were still hiring.