News 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. The key highlights for this month are: • The Singapore Budget will continue to provide support for sectors that face difficulties amid the Covid-19 pandemic and help Singaporeans manage concerns over the cost of living. • Lower-income groups will benefit the most from the comprehensive set of measures laid out in the Budget to help everyone cope with the cost of living. • National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and MENDAKI sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to help Malay-Muslim workers boost skills and employability.

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What is News Bites?
News 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 Design Department (R&D) of Yayasan MENDAKI.
News 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 News 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 &
DESIGN
DEPARTMENT

3. Overall Coverage
• With a total of 253 articles, Community (61), Economy (58) and Health (38) news were widely
reported in February 2022. This reflects Singapore’s growing support within the community,
efforts in managing the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases and discussions on the Budget 2022
announcements.
25
45
31
23
7 9
36
13
7 3
16
9
61 58
38
26 23 18
Community Economy Health MMA Education Employment
No. of Articles
ST BH/BM Total
3

4. Emerging Themes & Trends
4

5. Community
Children
• Gaming addiction on the rise among children in Singapore amid
pandemic. (ST, 6 Feb)
• Digital literacy workshops ensure underprivileged children do not
get left behind. (ST, 24 Feb)
– The sessions are targeted at underprivileged children
between the ages of seven and 12 largely living in rental flats,
in efforts to equip them with skills needed for the digital
economy.
Youths
• Singapore's youth want their future living environment to be
more inclusive and green, with more wheelchair-friendly public
transport and nature parks. (ST, 4 Feb)
– They also expressed their desire for Singapore to stay
resilient by keeping up to date with technological
advancements and to retain its heritage through the
conservation of monuments.
• Young people continue to make up the bulk of first-time drug
abusers, with three in five offenders below the age of 30. (ST, 10
Feb; BH, 9 Feb)
Source: ST
Source: ST
5

6. Community
Social Assistances
• Daughters Of Tomorrow, which matches underprivileged women
with employment opportunities, distributed $58,000 worth of
grocery vouchers from 2020 to last year. (ST, 2 Feb)
• More than 250 people from 65 families were served a festive
meal by staff volunteers from OCBC Bank on 7 February. The
meals were distributed to families living in rental flats. (ST, 7 Feb;
BH, 9 Feb)
• 81 agencies will get support from this year's President's
Challenge fund-raising campaign. The campaign is focusing on
supporting lower-income families that have been
disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. (ST, 23
Feb)
• Cold Storage expands partnership with The Food Bank Singapore
to provide needy families with food. (ST, 24 Feb)
• More than 1,200 low-income families will receive grocery
vouchers after over $122,000 was raised in a fund-raising drive
by Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities (THKMC) to mark its 10th
anniversary. (ST, 24 Feb)
Source: ST
Source: ST
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7. Community
Support for Senior Citizens
• PAP Community Foundation donates $400,000 for gift bags for
7,800 seniors who live alone in rental flats. (ST, 3 Feb; BH, 4 Feb)
• Sata CommHealth received a sum of $250,000 from the
President's Challenge last year to kick-start its pilot integrated
treatment programme for seniors. (ST, 8 Feb)
• 360 bus stops to be made senior-friendly by removing steps,
improving barrier-free access. (ST, 10 Feb)
Support for People with Disabilities
• New initiatives for passengers with dementia or other invisible
disabilities launched at Changi Airport. (ST, 2 Feb)
• Murals at bus interchanges and MRT stations will help people
with dementia find their way home. (ST, 7 Feb; BH, 8 Feb)
• All of the 98 train stations operated by SMRT will be listed as
dementia go-to points (GTP) by the end of this year, allowing
members of the public to take people with dementia who
appear lost to these stations to get help. (ST, 26 Feb)
Source: ST
Source: ST
7

8. Economy
Budget 2022
• The Singapore Budget will continue to provide support for
sectors that face difficulties amid the Covid-19 pandemic
and help Singaporeans manage concerns over the cost of
living. (ST, 3 Feb; BH, 4 Feb)
• A package that will be rolled out to cushion the impact of
the impending goods and services tax (GST) hike is set to
cover about 10 times the extra amount some families will
spend, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. (ST, 9 Feb; BH,
10 Feb)
• The Singapore Government is committed to progressive tax
structures beyond Budget 2022. (ST, 22 Feb)
• Parliament is expected to sit for about two weeks starting
from 28 February to debate the Budget 2022 statement for
the new financial year. (ST, 25 Feb)
• Lower-income groups will benefit the most from the
comprehensive set of measures laid out in the Budget to
help everyone cope with the cost of living, said Finance
Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (Feb 25). (ST, 25 Feb)
• The delay of the goods and services (GST) tax hike to next
year has given businesses here some breathing space as
many are currently grappling with rising costs. (ST, 26 Feb)
Source: ST
Source: ST
8

9. Economy
Economic Outlook
• While the economy is forecast to grow by 3 per cent to 5 per
cent this year, the improvement has been weaker for some
sectors, said DPM Heng Swee Keat. (ST, 1 Feb)
• The economic recovery looks to be well entrenched with new
data showing that firms are increasing moves to reconfigure
their business models for the post-pandemic environment while
requests for government assistance have fallen. (ST, 11 Feb)
– Enterprise Singapore (ESG) noted on Friday (Feb 11) that
the number of companies drawing government support for
growth and transformation efforts rose 44 per cent to
22,100 last year.
• The global energy crunch has increased electricity bills for some
local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by three to
five times, with more expected to be hit this year as contracts
under old rates expire. (ST, 14 Feb)
• The median household income grew last year in tandem with
Singapore's economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic,
after it had fallen in 2020 for the first time in a decade, according
to new figures released by SingStat. (ST, 15 Feb)
Source: ST
Source: ST
9

10. Health
COVID-19 Updates
• Vaccination-differentiated measures kick in at hotels,
institutes of higher learning and indoor sports facilities. (ST, 1
Feb)
• Employees and students who have recovered from Covid-19
do not need a letter or memo to certify their recovery before
returning to work or school. (ST, 5 Feb; BH, 5 Feb)
• A new Covid-19 treatment facility (CTF) at the Singapore
Expo for children and the elderly started on February 14 to
help hospitals care for the most vulnerable Covid-19 patients
amid a steep Omicron wave. (ST, 14 Feb)
• From February 16 to March 15, Covid-19 patients with mild or
no symptoms can visit a test centre to take a supervised self-
administered antigen rapid test (ART) for free. (ST, 15 Feb)
• New Covid-19 measures slated to start on 25 February
postponed due to infection surge. (ST, 24 Feb)
• Various sectors that no longer have to conduct rostered
routine testing (RRT) for their staff have unanimously
welcomed the easing of rules, which came into effect on 18
February. (ST, 24 Feb)
Source: ST
Source: ST
10

11. Health
Developments in Healthcare
• People undergoing minimally invasive heart surgery can look
forward to having one fewer incision through their chest wall
- reducing trauma for them. (ST, 1 Feb)
• A national programme focusing on preventive care will be
launched to help rein in soaring healthcare costs and reduce
the burden on patients' families, said Health Minister Ong Ye
Kung on 12 February. (ST, 13 Feb)
Impact on Healthcare System
• Hospitals and community care facilities are in need of nurses,
healthcare professionals, volunteers and more hands on
deck amid the rise in Covid-19 cases here. (ST, 21 Feb)
• Doctors at some Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs)
are getting staff to perform additional shifts and hiring
people in order to extend their operating hours and ease the
strain on their colleagues in the healthcare system. (ST, 23
Feb)
Source: ST
Source: ST
11

12. Education
Ministry of Education (MOE) & Early Childhood Education
• More than 192,000 children aged between five and 11 have
been given at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while
more than 56,000 have got both shots, said the Ministry of
Education. (ST, 4 Feb)
• Parents who want to monitor their children's mental health
can refer to a new guide published by the Ministry of
Education (MOE) in December last year. (ST, 7 Feb)
• More secondary school students will learn life-saving skills
and be involved in volunteer work in the community under an
updated Total Defence programme. (ST, 7 Feb)
– They will also have the option of learning psychological
first aid and be certified in it.
• Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) is developing
guidelines for parents of preschool children in need of
early intervention, following the recommendations of the
Inclusive Preschool Workgroup to further strengthen the
support provided. (BH, 15 Feb)
• The nationwide surge of Covid-19 infections has left many
pre-schools struggling to cope as more young children are hit
by the Omicron variant. (ST, 20 Feb)
Source: ST
Source: ST
12

13. Education
Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs)
• Needy students from the Singapore Institute of Technology
(SIT) can now tap a new $25 million fund that will enable
them to go for overseas exchange programmes, internships
and other experiential learning opportunities. (ST, 4 Feb; BH, 5
Feb)
• All full-time Singaporean undergraduates enrolled in the
National University of Singapore (NUS) will not need to pay
tuition fees if they come from homes with per capita income
of up to $1,000. (ST, 8 Feb; BH, 9 Feb)
• The education system must pay attention to those who have
already graduated and retrain about half a million adult
learners each year, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing.
(ST, 10 Feb; BH, 10 Feb)
• The National University of Singapore (NUS) and other local
universities will launch new courses this year in areas such as
data analytics and sustainable urban development. (ST, 24
Feb)
• Five of Singapore's university student unions have formed a
new network to collectively tackle issues concerning
undergraduates here, such as mental health, employability
and sustainability. (ST, 26 Feb)
Source: ST
Source: ST
13

14. Employment
Employment and Employability Trends
• As the economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, fewer
employees are tapping the SGUnited Traineeships
Programme. (ST, 6 Feb)
• More than 46,000 workers have secured new jobs with the
help of the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC)
Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) since the Covid-
19 pandemic hit Singapore two years ago. (ST, 7 Feb)
• Approximately 660,000 individuals benefited from
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG)-supported skills upgrading
initiatives last year. (BH, 9 Feb)
• More university graduates secured full-time jobs last year, as
Singapore's economy grew and recovered from a recession
brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. (ST, 16 Feb)
• Competition for tech talent in Singapore will continue to
heat up this year, with firms raising salary offers as a
bargaining chip. (ST, 21 Feb)
Source: ST
Source: ST
14

15. Malay/Muslim Affairs
Yayasan MENDAKI
• The number of adult learners attending training courses with
MENDAKI jumped by 46 per cent last year, compared to the
pre-pandemic year, 2019. (BH, 4 Feb)
• Malay/Muslim students applying for the MENDAKI Tuition
Scheme (MTS) need to pay an annual registration fee of only
$10 from this year - a sharp drop from the previous $210. (ST,
5 Feb)
• MENDAKI's mentoring program, Mentoring@MTS, has been
upgraded to #AmPowered@MTS for added value. (BH, 5 Feb)
– The 9-month mentoring program aims to guide students
to make more informed decisions about their post-
secondary education pathways based on their own
interests and strengths.
• Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic,
MENDAKI is still able to expand its reach to benefit more
students, said SMS Zaqy Mohamad. (BH, 6 Feb)
– More than 7,000 students benefited from the MTS
program held at around 88 MTS centers last year.
• National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and MENDAKI sign
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to help Malay-
Muslim workers boost skills and employability. (ST, 25 Feb; BH,
26 Feb)
• 126 MENDAKI volunteers recognised for contributions to
Malay/Muslim community. (ST, 26 Feb)
Source: BH
Source: BH
15

16. Malay/Muslim Affairs
Support for Malay/Muslim Community
• Social support extended to Muslim families and children who
are going through divorce will be strengthened under
amendments to the Administration of Islamic Law (AMLA)
Act passed by Parliament. (BH, 15 Feb)
Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS)
• More funds for converts under agreement between MUIS and
Darul Arqam. (BH, 5 Feb)
• MUIS and Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (SMCCI) discuss expansion of collaboration. (BH, 5
Feb)
• MUIS has developed a new and enhanced procedure to
strengthen the administration of the Foreign Halal
Certification Bodies (FHCB) Recognition Scheme, following a
review. (BH, 8 Feb)
– Among the changes, a list of FHCBs recognized by MUIS
will be published on its website to ensure transparency
and ease of reference.
Source: BH
Source: ST
16

17. Published by
MENDAKI Research and Design Department
(February 2022)
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