RPD Bites is a monthly scan covering issues and trends surfaced in various local mainstream media sources that would be of relevance to the Malay/Muslim community. It is compiled by the Research and Planning Department (RPD) of Yayasan MENDAKI. Budget 2021 provides a suite of measures to create a vibrant economy with good jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans and business; cohesive society with a strong social compact and community spirit; welcoming and sustainable home for generations to come; and fiscal and social reserves to enable continued stability and progress.

1. MARCH BUDGET 2021

2. What is RPD Bites?
RPD Bites is a monthly scan covering issues and trends surfaced in various local
mainstream media sources that would be of relevance to the Malay/Muslim community. It is
produced by the Research and Planning Department (RPD) of Yayasan MENDAKI.
RPD Bites begins with an article count across different media sources which are
categorised into these main areas: education, economy, employment and employability, social
and community, and Malay/Muslim affairs. Other salient areas for the month are also
highlighted. It then delves into emerging themes and trends observed.
We hope you find this month’s RPD Bites insightful and useful for your needs. We
look forward to your continued partnership and support, and welcome any suggestions you
might have. You can reach us at RPD@mendaki.org.sg to feedback.
RESEARCH &
PLANNING
DEPARTMENT

3. Overall Coverage
• With a total of 262 articles, Social and Community (85), Budget 2021 (56) and Economy and
employability (42) news were widely reported in March 2021. This reflects Singapore’s on-going
concerns over economic and employability issues arising from COVID-19.
• This reflects Singapore’s growing concerns over social and community issues arising from COVID-19 and
the highlights of the Singapore Budget 2021 initiatives.
• This version of Bites will cover aspects of the Budget that was engaged by the Straits Times, Berita
Harian and Berita Minggu.
52
28
10 12 7
60
4
14 13
0
30 25
56
42
23
12
37
85
Budget 2021 Economy Education Governance MMA Social and Community
No. of Articles
ST BH/BM Total

4. Emerging Themes & Trends

5. Themes
Budget 2021 provides a suite of measures to create: (gov.sg, 24
Mar)
• A vibrant economy with good jobs and opportunities for
Singaporeans and businesses;
• A cohesive society with a strong social compact and
community spirit;
• A welcoming and sustainable home for generations to come;
and
• Fiscal and social reserves to enable continued stability and
progress.
Areas of coverage:
• Families & Households
• Workers
• Business
• COVID-19 Relief for Recovery
• Building a Sustainable Home for All
Source: ST File
Source: ST File

6. Families & Households
• NMP Dr Shahira Abdullah suggested that the Ministry of
Communications and Information partner the Education
Ministry in offering its national digital literacy programme to
parents from low-income households. (ST, 02 Mar)
• Eligible soon-to-wed Muslim couples will pay about one-third
less for a marriage preparation programme, Cinta Abadi, by
receiving a rebate of $70. (ST, 08 Mar)
• Healthcare subsidies to be revamped: Acute hospitals will
switch to using per capita household income (PCHI); There
will also be just one subsidy range for the two subsidised ward
classes - B2 and C - that will range from 50 to 80 per cent. (ST,
05 Mar)
• New engagement office to train Malay/Muslim volunteers,
improve outreach. (ST, 08 Mar)
– M³ Engagement Coordination Office (Eco) will be to focus
on building the capability of volunteers in M³@Towns
Source: ST PHOTO -KUA CHEE SIONG
Source: ST File

7. Families & Households
• The Strengthening Families Programme@ Family Service
Centres (SFP @ FSC) by the Ministry of Social and Family
Development (MSF) will bring together programmes and
support services for marriage and divorce. (ST, 06 Mar)
– These include marriage preparation courses, programmes
that provide support for couples who marry young and
transnational couples and programmes run by the
Divorce Support Specialist Agencies (DSSA).
• The KidStart programme, to help young children from low-
income families, will be expanded to another three towns –
Chua Chu Kang, Bukit Panjang and Bukit Batok. (ST, 09 Mar)
• The Community Link (ComLink) programme, which provides
comprehensive and coordinated support to low-income
families, will also be expanded nationwide to 21 towns over
two years. This will cover all 14,000 families with children who
live in highly subsidised rental housing. (ST, 09 Mar) Source: ST FILE
Source: ST FILE

8. Families & Households
• More than 350,000 Singapore residents received the Covid-
19 jab, says Gan Kim Yong. (ST, 05 Mar)
• Flexi-MediSave rules to be eased to allow seniors to withdraw
up to $300 for outpatient treatment. (ST, 05 Mar)
• Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad
announced that self-help group MENDAKI will pilot a pre-
school education programme to help Malay children perform
better in school. (ST, 08 Mar)
– The Kelas Siap Sekolah (KSS) pilot programme will support
100 children to better prepare for Primary 1 by helping
them develop in areas such as computational thinking,
mathematical concepts and literacy skills.
– MENDAKI plans to recruit 850 mentors this year to
mentor 1,700 students in the group's schemes, which
include tuition programmes.
Source: Berita Harian
Source: REUTERS

9. Workers
• Foreigners on Dependant's Passes will need a work pass in
order to work in Singapore, instead of a letter of consent. (ST,
03 Mar)
– This means their employers will need to apply for an
Employment Pass (EP), S Pass or work permit for them,
and the relevant qualifying salary, dependency ratio
ceiling and levy will apply.
• Raising the statutory retirement age to 63 and the re-
employment age to 68 will proceed as planned on July 1 next
year, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo . (ST, 03 Mar)
• The Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant and Part-time Re-
employment Grant will raise the retirement and re-
employment ages to 65 and 70 respectively well before 2030.
(ST, 04 Mar)
• 4,500 jobs and training opportunities are available for
workers in the social service, early childhood sectors and for
those with disabilities.(ST, 05 Mar)
Source: ST PHOTO - GAVIN FOO
Source: LIANHE ZAOBAO

10. Workers
• The Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) of salary support will be
extended beyond September. (ST, 04 Mar)
• Self-employed people who deferred their MediSave
contributions last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic will still
be able to receive matched MediSave contributions from the
Government until Dec 31 this year. (ST, 04 Mar)
• More than $655 million in relief payouts have been given to
over 50,000 taxi and private-hire drivers. (ST, 05 Mar)
– Government has earmarked another $116 million to be
paid out under the Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund (CDRF)
between March and June.
Source: ST File
Source: ST -DESMOND WEE

11. Education
• Students in some schools are now placed in mixed-form
classes with full subject-based banding. This way, students
with mixed abilities can be classmates while taking subjects at
levels which match their capabilities. (ST, 04 Mar)
• The new Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) scoring
system kicks in this year, with the Primary 6 cohort to be
graded using wider scoring bands instead of precise T-scores.
(ST, 04 Mar)
• A new private university: an alliance between Lasalle College
of the Arts and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa) - will
award its own degrees in three to four years' time, said Mr
Wong. (ST, 04 Mar)
Source: ST - TIMOTHY DAVID
Source: LASALLE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS

12. Education
• Students who leave the Institute of Technical Education (ITE)
prematurely will receive support under a new pilot
programme that aims to pair 100 at-risk youths with mentor
who can serve as positive role models for over two years. (ST,
06 Mar)
• The popular Polytechnic Foundation Programme which
prepares selected polytechnic-bound Normal (Academic)
students for entry into polytechnic will be reviewed to see
how it can be expanded to cater to a more diverse profile of
secondary school students. (ST, 04 Mar)
• MOE will relook ITE's curricula to allow its students to attain a
Higher Nitec qualification within a shorter time, to meet its
goal for all ITE graduates to upgrade beyond a Nitec
qualification over the course of their careers by 2030.
Currently about 30 per cent of Nitec graduates do not
progress to Higher Nitec or other publicly funded upgrading
pathways. (ST, 04 Mar)
Source: ST PHOTO - KUA CHEE SIONG
Source: ST PHOTO - TIMOTHY DAVID

13. Business
• MOM will also be releasing a framework later this year to
emphasize safety performance for public sector construction
tenders. (ST, 03 Mar)
• Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant, which provides up
to 80 per cent funding support to firms looking to
internationalise, will be extended for six months to March 31,
2022.(ST, 02 Mar)
• The scope for qualifying expenses in the Double Tax
Deduction for Internationalisation (DTDi) scheme has been
expanded to include virtual trade fairs to account for new
modes of internationalisation due to COVID-19. (ST, 02 Mar)
• The Enterprise Financing Scheme - Venture Debt programme,
introduced in October 2015, will be enhanced from April 1,
2021 with a higher supported maximum loan quantum of $8
million, up from $5 million, per borrower group. (ST, 02 Mar)
Source: ST File
Source: ST - ONG WEE JIN

14. Business
• Local Enterprises Funding Platform will actively seek out
promising large local enterprises to invest in, focusing on
sectors that are aligned with the engines of growth in
Singapore's economy. (ST, 02 Mar)
• Businesses and individuals have submitted more than 8,600
notifications for temporary relief from their contractual
obligations under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. (ST,
02 Mar)
• About 117,000 notices of cash grants totalling $947 million
have been issued to property owners with tenants who were
eligible for rental relief. (ST, 02 Mar)
• Law Minister introduced Simplified Insolvency Programme in
January to provide financially distressed micro and small
businesses with a cheaper and faster way to restructure their
debts or wind up and pivot to a different industry. (ST, 02
Mar)
Source: ST File
Source: ST File

15. Business
• Systematically implementing, monitoring and quantifying the
outcomes of industry and workforce transformation was
discussed in viewing of industry transformation during the
pandemic. (ST, 03 Mar)
• More than six out of 10 workers hired under the Jobs Growth
Incentive (JGI), which encourages employers to bring forward
the hiring of locals through wage subsidies, did not experience
a drop in pay. (ST, 03 Mar)
• The maximum job traineeship duration has been shortened
from nine to six months. To nudge companies to open up
headcounts, they are not allowed to take on the same person
for a second traineeship. (ST, 04 Mar)
Source: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Source: ST PHOTO - GIN TAY

16. Business
• National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said that it hopes to
implement the progressive wage model (PWM) for the food
services and retail sectors in the next two to three years, as
well as the strata management, pest management and solar
technology sectors in the near future. MPs highlight
safeguards for PWM must be in place to stop vendors from
profiteering. (ST, 03 Mar)
• Singapore's maritime sector can expect $20 billion in
investments from industry players by 2024. This will create
more jobs here, said Senior Minister of State for Transport
Chee Hong Tat. (ST, 05 Mar)
• Under enhancements to Scale-up SG, the Government aims to
groom another 50 future local champions over the next two
years. Specialist advisers will be deployed at SME centres to
provide support with finance and digitalisation. (ST, 09 Mar)
Source: ST File
Source: ST File

17. Business
• Chief Technology Officer-as-a-Service scheme will be available
to all SMEs, including home-based businesses that are under
sole proprietorship – as part of plans to help businesses go
digital. (BH; ST, 02-03 Mar)
• Organisations running Singapore's critical information
infrastructure (CII), such as telecommunication networks and
public transport systems, will be asked to better manage their
vendors' cyber-security risks in the wake of recent global
hacking attacks through third-party suppliers. (ST, 02 Mar)
– This will be done under a new national effort called the
CII Supply Chain Programme, which is being developed
by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) with CII
owners and an external consultant that the agency will
engage.
Source: ST File
Source: ST PHOTO - KELVIN CHNG

18. COVID-19 Relief for Recovery
• Extension of the COVID-19 Recovery Grant: (Gov.sg, 29 Mar)
– Up to $700 per month for 3 months, for employees who
have lost their jobs or are placed on involuntary no-pay
leave for at least 3 consecutive months
– Up to $500 per month for 3 months for employees and
self-employed persons who are facing average income
loss of at least 50% for at least 3 consecutive months
• Arts freelancers and businesses will get more support, as the
Government pledges another $20 million to help the sector
tide over the pandemic. (ST, 08 Mar)
– A top-up to the Arts and Culture Resilience
Package (ACRP), which will cover the cost of new grants
for self-employed workers and business transformation,
as well as the extensions of other support. This brings the
total package to $75 million.
– One new scheme is the Business Transformation Fund,
which aims to help arts and culture organisations become
more efficient and sustainable.
Source: TUCKYS PHOTOGRAPHY
Source: ST File

19. Building a Sustainable Home for All
Source: ST PHOTO - LIM YAOHUI
• Singapore will also set aside 50 per cent more land for nature
parks, providing some 200ha of new nature parks by 2030.
The fourth edition of the Singapore Green Building
Masterplan, with three key targets to be fulfilled by 2023: (ST,
04 Mar)
– 80 per cent of all buildings by gross floor area (GFA) will
be greened
– 80 per cent of all new developments by GFA will be
classified as super low energy buildings.
– Best-in-class green buildings will see an 80 per cent
improvement in energy efficiency compared to 2005
levels.
• Singapore public sector aims to peak carbon emissions
around 2025, five years before national target. GreenGov.SG
initiative will see the public sector taking the lead in
environmental sustainability in government-owned offices,
public sector infrastructure such as waste-to-energy plants,
public transport infrastructure, hawker centres and
healthcare facilities. (ST, 04 Mar)
Source: ST PHOTO - LIM YAOHUI

20. Building a Sustainable Home for All
• The deposit refund scheme that refunds people for their
beverage containers set to be made into law next year. (ST, 04
Mar)
• COVID-19 brought the "critical role" of the People's
Association (PA) to the fore and its work over the years has
allowed Singapore to respond cohesively to the pandemic.
(ST, 09 Mar)
• HDB flat-buying process to be streamlined; buyers can apply
for bank loan on flat portal. (ST, 04 Mar)
– Buyers can also apply for housing loans from participating
financial institutions directly on the Housing Board flat
portal, without having to submit separate applications,
said National Development Minister Desmond Lee on
Thursday
Source: ST PHOTO - SHINTARO TAY
Source: ST File

21. Others
Source: ST File
Source: ST PHOTO - YONG LI XUAN
• New mental wellness curriculum in polys, ITE to encourage
students to seek help early: (ST, 03 Mar)
– Schools will appoint dedicated key personnel to oversee
peer support and student well-being matters
– MOE will continue to grow the number of teacher
counsellors and equip them further over time.
– A refreshed Character and Citizenship Education (CCE)
curriculum that places stronger emphasis on mental
health and cyber wellness education has been
implemented, starting with secondary schools this year.
• The National Central Fill Pharmacy (NCFP) will consolidate
medications across multiple providers in a central location
from 2022, which will then be sent to patients' homes,
secured postboxes or a location that is convenient to them.
(ST, 05 Mar)

22. Published by
MENDAKI Research and Planning Department
(March 2021)
22