RPD Bites is a monthly report by Yayasan Mendaki's Research and Planning Department, focusing on issues affecting the Malay/Muslim community in Singapore as covered by local media. In December 2021, key themes included health, community concerns, economic developments, and support for the post-pandemic work environment amidst the emergence of the Omicron variant. The report highlights various relevant articles and emerging trends, providing insights for stakeholders and encouraging feedback from the community.

1. December 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 341 articles, Health (94), Community (92) and Economy (41) news
were widely reported in December 2021. This reflects Singapore’s growing concerns over
community and economic trends due to the emergence of the Omicron variant and
developments in Singapore’s COVID-19 vaccination plan.
64
50
12
34
14
27
30
42
1
7 6
54
94 92
13
41
20
81
Health Comm Tech Economy Governance Others
No. of Articles
ST BH/BM Total

4. Emerging Themes & Trends

5. Malay/Muslim Community
Community
• SMCCI encourages employers to incentivise employees to be
vaccinated (BH, 29 Dec)
• Pandemic: Pilgrims need to be ready for all possibilities before
completing Umrah or tour (BH, 17 Dec)
• Jamiyah Children's Home shuts after 28 years of sheltering
children in need (ST, 17 Dec)
• Rejuvenated Geylang Serai aims to draw both the young and old
while retaining cultural identity (ST, 13 Dec)
• Listen to original plays at Geylang Serai spots in new walking trail
(ST, 13 Dec)
• Malay/Muslim community prioritises atmosphere of harmony,
peace: Masagos (BH, 12 Dec)
• SG infrastructure provides opportunities for Malays/Muslims to
be models of success (BH, 12 Dec)
• Umrah pilgrims are advised to be ready for change with the
emergence of Omicron variant (BH, 2 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

6. Malay/Muslim Community
M3
• M³ seeks to support employees in a post-pandemic changing work
environment (BH, 12 Dec)
• M³ task force set up to focus on helping gig economy workers, and
women (BH, 7 Dec)
• M³ Eco formed in line with the family assistance of rental flats: Maliki
(BH, 6 Dec)
MUIS
• Faishal: More than 650 benefit from 'Fitrah’ programme (BH, 24 Dec)
• Muis to give out record amount of $3.5 million of zakat to more than
7,800 needy families (ST, 24 Dec)
• Muis issues new religious ruling on deviant teachings, advises
Muslims to be vigilant (ST, 9 Dec)
• Another 10 mosque madrasahs will be managed under Ilham starting
2022 (BH, 5 Dec)
MENDAKI
• PropNex CEO donates $1m for student financial assistance, in
collaboration with MENDAKI (BH, 29 Dec)
• KelasMateMatika@CC has reached 1,600 students in 2021 as
compared to 100 in 2018 (BH, 12 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: BH

7. Community
General
• Roping in men key to advancing gender equality in
Singapore, says women's rights activist (ST, 17 Dec)
• Police legally empowered to make forced entry into any place
in case of medical emergencies, to protect people from injury
or death as amendments to Police Force Act kick in (ST, 31
Dec)
• Police branch set up to help organisations boost defences
against terror (ST, 21 Dec)
• No room for racial or religious discrimination here
in S'pore: Masagos (ST, 12 Dec)
• 9 Swedish firms in S'pore, including H&M and AstraZeneca,
to double paid paternity leave to 4 weeks (ST, 10 Dec)
• New scheme for large energy users to buy electricity
at fixed prices (ST, 14 Dec)
• S’pore electricity spot prices hit new highs amid global
energy crisis, consumer prices expected to rise (ST, 3 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

8. Community
Elderly
• Ang Mo Kio ward aims to train community to tackle
seniors' mental health issues (ST, 13 Dec)
• All Yio Chu Kang estates to be dementia-friendly by 2025 (ST,
5 Dec)
• Housework may help seniors stay mentally fit and cut risk of
falls, S'pore study finds (ST, 4 Dec)
Migrant Workers
• Multi-year plan to boost migrant workforce resilience (ST, 19
Dec)
• 88% of eligible migrant workers in Singapore have received
Covid-19 booster shots (ST, 19 Dec)
• Medical insurance coverage of up to $100k being
considered for migrant workers (ST, 17 Dec)
• Radicalisation, scams among threats maids face online:
Webinar (ST, 13 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

9. Community
Housing
• A millennial’s dream is to buy a home, even if it isn’t a
dream home (ST, 11 Dec)
• Singles can apply for HDB rental flats to be matched with
flatmate under pilot scheme (ST, 18 Dec)
• Singapore raises additional buyer's stamp duty, tightens
HDB loan limit to cool property market (ST, 17 Dec)
• HDB to launch up to 23,000 BTO flats a year over next two
years (ST, 17 Dec)
• Cooling measures may lower property prices over 2
years, dampen collective sales: Experts (ST, 17 Dec)
• Resale condo prices up for 16th straight month in
November, longest consecutive rise since 2013 (ST, 16 Dec)
• Record 29 million-dollar HDB flats sold in November; resale
prices rise at faster pace (ST, 10 Dec)
• MAS warns Singapore households on rising mortgage debt
ahead of potential interest rate hikes (ST, 7 Dec)
• Most HDB flat owners to pay more in property taxes next
year: Iras (ST, 2 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

10. Community
Social Assistance
• FairPrice discount schemes for seniors, low-income families
extended till end-2022 (ST, 29 Dec)
• More than $400m in JSS payouts to be given to 24,400 firms
from Dec 31 (ST, 22 Dec)
• Charity that helps cancer patients gets a $30k boost from
another non-profit (ST, 17 Dec)
• North West district beneficiaries get to choose care pack
items to meet urgent needs and cut waste (ST, 7 Dec)
• Almost $8 million raised under NTUC fund for lower-income
union members (ST, 3 Dec)
Sports
• Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon marks return of in-
person mass participation running events (ST, 5 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

11. Economy
Business
• Singapore GDP growth slowed to 5.4% in Q4 on Omicron woes:
Reuters poll (ST, 31 Dec)
• Singapore factory output grows 14.6% in November (ST, 25 Dec)
• Inflation in S'pore continues to rise, surpasses Oct highs (ST, 24 Dec)
• Singapore non-oil exports surge 24.2% in November, biggest jump in
nearly 10 years (ST, 18 Dec)
• More businesses face extra costs with widening of jab-differentiated
measures (ST, 18 Dec)
• Most hawkers say they are unlikely to raise prices despite rising cost
of essentials (ST, 13 Dec)
• Singapore's building of economic and other links key amid Covid-19
disruptions: Iswaran (ST, 11 Dec)
• Singapore firms upbeat about 2022 despite Omicron (ST, 8 Dec)
• Retail takes off at airport terminals and Jewel amid
looming headwinds (ST, 5 Dec)
• S'pore retail sales up 7.5% in October but F&B takings down
amid Covid-19 dine-in curbs (ST, 4 Dec)
• Singapore manufacturing activity expands for 17th month but pace of
growth dips (ST, 3 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

12. Economy
Cybersecurity
• Acra proposes more data privacy for individuals in its
business registers (ST, 18 Dec)
• Watchdog raises alert level on software flaw, holds
emergency meetings (ST, 18 Dec)
• Ransomware hackers switching targets from other countries
to Singapore (ST, 14 Dec)
• Online fraudsters hit by pandemic blues when Covid-19 cases
rise (ST, 7 Dec)
• CNB cracks down on drug buyers who use encrypted
messaging apps including Telegram (ST, 5 Dec)
• Victims lose $10.4m in non-bank phishing scams from Jan to
Oct (ST, 4 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

13. Employment
• More support needed for platform workers'
retirement needs, baseline work injury coverage (ST,
31 Dec)
• Training in tech for special needs workers (ST, 23 Dec)
• Institution S2 prepares offenders for life, work,
reintegration upon release (ST, 22 Dec)
• Social Health Growth, a registered social service
organisation enables women to gain skills to access
better jobs (ST, 22 Dec)
• Demand for tech talent in financial sector far
outpaces local supply: Tan See Leng (ST, 17 Dec)
• S'pore's resident employment grew more quickly in
Q3, as labour market continues its recovery (ST, 16
Dec)
• Job vacancies in Singapore hit record high of
98,700 in September: MOM (ST, 16 Dec)
• Straw poll finds S'poreans not confident of their
skills; business leaders say it's a good sign (ST, 9 Dec)
• Boost for water industry with upskilling opportunities
and networking platform (ST, 3 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

14. Health
General
• Singapore public hospitals raised A&E fees this year (ST, 17 Dec)
• New species of bacteria named after Singapore (ST, 15 Dec)
• More lower-sodium products to help S'poreans cut salt intake
(ST, 13 Dec)
• Free pneumonia vaccines for seniors in Marsiling under
new health programme (ST, 4 Dec)
• Family physicians display commitment and
professionalism throughout Covid-19 pandemic: PM Lee (ST, 4 Dec)
• Fewer people diagnosed with HIV/Aids in Singapore in first 10
months of 2021: MOH (ST, 3 Dec)
Technology
• Biotech firm CellResearch pioneers stem cell treatment for diabetic
foot ulcers (ST, 20 Dec)
• New Eunos Polyclinic opening on Friday will provide 'paper-
less prescriptions' (ST, 17 Dec)
• Singapore rolls out first national pancreas transplant service in
South-east Asia (ST, 12 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

15. Health
Mental Health
• Raising mental health awareness through art (ST, 25 Dec)
• Curbs on physical, social activities amid pandemic fuelling
addiction to porn in Singapore (ST, 19 Dec)
• Covid-19 inflicts more stress on S'pore carers of people with
dementia (ST, 14 Dec)
• 89% of owners surveyed feel pets help improve mental health
during Covid-19 pandemic (ST, 14 Dec)
• Singapore schools working to ease teachers' workload amid signs
of burnout during Covid-19 pandemic (ST, 12 Dec)
• S'pore social workers' mental health badly hit during Covid-19
peak in 2020: Study (ST, 11 Dec)
• Singapore companies opening up to giving staff more mental
well-being support: Study (ST, 10 Dec)
• Women who are sexually harassed at work often quit or lose their
jobs: Aware study (ST, 9 Dec)
• Boosting parents' mental health and cyber wellness skills so they
can better help their children (ST, 8 Dec)
• Children at risk of mental stress during Covid-19: Helplines and
support chats report surge in cases (ST, 7 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

16. Health
COVID-19 Updates
• S’pore braces itself for Omicron wave: More ICU beds to be
added, more places open to only the vaccinated (ST, 15 Dec)
• Singapore should be more resilient with each Covid-19 wave: Ong
Ye Kung (ST, 15 Dec)
• Singapore on track to further ease Covid-19 measures soon:
Experts (ST, 13 Dec)
• S'pore to administer over 2 million Covid-19 vaccine doses over
next 2 months: Ong Ye Kung (ST, 12 Dec)
• S'pore approves Pfizer Covid-19 jab for children aged 5 to 11;
booster shots for 18- to 29-year-olds from Dec 14 (ST, 11 Dec)
• Free Sinopharm jabs offered to 1,000 seniors and lower-income
S'pore citizens (ST, 11 Dec)
• Experts agree with MOH move to stop daily Covid-19 updates to
media, as 'they are no longer meaningful' (ST, 8 Dec)
• Omicron variant a reminder of need for vaccine equity and
multilateralism: Noeleen Heyzer (ST, 3 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

17. Health
COVID-19 Updates (Cont’d)
• Students experiencing vaccine side effects will be allowed medical
leave (BH, 25 Dec)
• Vaccination for kids aged 5 to 11 to start on Monday (ST, 22 Dec)
• S'pore setting up paediatric vaccination centres; one can jab 1,000
children a day (ST, 17 Dec)
• People who take Sinovac vaccine at higher risk of severe disease
from Covid-19: NCID-MOH study (ST, 16 Dec)
• Boosters needed for extension of full vaccination status as Covid-
19 variants emerge (ST, 15 Dec)
• Unvaccinated people may not be allowed back to workplace
despite negative test result: Wong (ST, 15 Dec)
• Number of Covid-19 quick test centres to double to about 120 in
coming weeks (ST, 15 Dec)
COVID-19 Travel Lanes Updates
• S'pore suspends ticket sales for VTL flights and buses for inbound
travel between Dec 23 and Jan 20 (ST, 23 Dec)
• Dormitory-bound work pass holders cannot enter Singapore via
vaccinated travel lane: MOM (ST, 5 Dec)
• Daily ART tests for all VTL travellers arriving in S'pore from Dec 7;
more countries added to high-risk category (ST, 4 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

18. Education
• New study has been launched by NIE and SingHealth to track
children's cognitive growth in early years (ST, 25 Dec)
• Police launch crime prevention programme for primary
school pupils (ST, 24 Dec)
• Over 80% posted to one of first 3 choices of schools (ST, 23
Dec)
• 79.2% of students promoted to Secondary 5 (ST, 18 Dec)
• NTU's new interdisciplinary engineering and science school
to start taking in students in August 2022 (ST, 17 Dec)
• 180 students attend boot camp to get young people
interested in cyber security as career (ST, 16 Dec)
• Mental health lessons to be introduced in primary and
secondary schools, and pre-university: Chan Chun Sing (ST, 12
Dec)
• SkillsFuture report pinpoints skills Singaporeans urgently
need in the next 3 years (ST, 9 Dec)
• Universities, polytechnics join hands with Dell to develop
tech-related curriculum (ST, 4 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

19. Technology
• NTU scientists' plant-based emulsifier could replace egg in
mayo (ST, 24 Dec)
• Temasek Poly start-up makes smaller, lighter hydrogen fuel
cell (ST, 18 Dec)
• More cell-cultured chicken products approved for sale in
Singapore (ST, 17 Dec)
• New 5G innovation centre at NUS to boost digitalisation in
built environment sector (ST, 16 Dec)
• S'pore firms warned to quickly fix Log4j software security hole
that world experts call worst in years (ST, 15 Dec)
• Contact-free digital payments see big jump with Covid-19 (ST,
13 Dec)
• NTU's quantum engineering centre develops chips that can
predict stock prices, model Covid-19 clusters (ST, 8 Dec)
• SUTD students to design and build eco-friendly library in
Bukit Panjang void deck (ST, 7 Dec)
• S'pore firm unveils electric motorbike Ion Mobius, targets
production of 1,500 units a month (ST, 3 Dec)
Source: ST
Source: ST

20. Wishing everyone a Happy 2022