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. The key highlights for this month are: • 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.

1. MARCH 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.
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. Social and Community
COVID-19
• At least 70% or more of the population needs to be vaccinated
before heard immunity is reached. Forecast is for 1.25 million to
be vaccinated by end of April. (ST, 01 Mar)
• Over 4,500 S'poreans and their families were brought home with
MFA's help during pandemic last year. (ST, 02 Mar)
• Singapore has launched a campaign (VacciNationSG) to raise
awareness of the national vaccination programme, as part of its
push to get residents inoculated against Covid-19. (ST, 02 Mar)
• More than 150,000 teachers and other staff in educational
institutions will be offered the Covid-19 vaccine from March 10,
said the Ministry of Education. (ST, 08 Mar)
• Fighting 'coronasomnia': More in S'pore seeking help for insomnia
during Covid-19 pandemic. (ST, 17 Mar)
– A global study found that 51% of Singaporeans have lost
sleep over work, finances and Covid-19 news.
Source: REUTERS
Source: REUTERS

6. Social and Community
Mental Health
• Parents today can tap on a variety of digital resources to better
support their children's mental health. (ST, 03 Mar)
– Share-the-Care video series by Families for Life covers topics
such as building strong family relationships
– Positive Parenting Programme (Triple P) outlines evidence-
based techniques to promote children's psychological, social
and emotional competence.
• Beyond the Label Media Guide: As part of efforts to address the
stigma associated with mental health conditions, the National
Council of Social Service (NCSS) launched a guide with words and
phrases that should be avoided when reporting on the issue. (ST,
16 Mar)
• Suicide prevention agency, Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) received
39,492 suicide and crisis-related calls last year. (ST, 16 Mar)
– This was up from 33,387 in 2019 - an increase of 18 per cent -
as more people sought help for mental distress amid the
pandemic.
Source: ST PHOTO - KELVIN CHNG
Source: ST file

7. Social and Community
Travel and Transportation
• Personal travel will return from 2nd half of 2021: International Air
Transport Association (IATA) chief. (ST, 11 Mar)
• Travelers flying with Singapore Airlines (SIA) will be able to view
their COVID-19 test results and use them to check in at Changi
Airport with a single app. (ST, 09 Mar)
– The software was developed by the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) to make travel more seamless
amid the pandemic.
• More than 82,000 people have set sail on cruises, with no Covid-
19 cases on board since the pilot programme started last year. (ST,
03 Mar)
• Mandatory theory tests for e-scooter and electric bicycle riders
will begin from the middle of this year. All bicycles must have
brakes from September. (ST, 05 Mar)
• When it becomes fully operational in end-2024, the new
Integrated Train Testing Centre (ITTC) in Tuas will be among the
first in the world that can test different trains and rail systems at
the same time, without disrupting regular passenger services. (ST,
18 Mar)
Source: ST PHOTO - KUA CHEE SIONG
Source: ST PHOTO - ARIFFIN JAMAR

8. Social and Community
Women Issues
• Member of Parliament Mdm Rahayu Mahzam highlights that more
effort is needed to empower women and the need to rethink
women stereotypes in the community. (08; 12 Mar, BH)
– There is a need to redistribute housework to support women
to reach their potential.
• Study: 58% of female STEM graduates pursue a career in the same
field. (14 Mar, BH)
• A $250,000 scholarship has been set up for female students taking
the STEM courses. (15 Mar, BH)
• Malay/Muslim MPs have relayed community's views on nurses
wearing tudung to Cabinet. Muslim leaders told last August that
position on nurses wearing tudung under review, likely to change:
Shanmugam. (24, 25 Mar, BH, ST)
Source: ST File
Source: Berita Harian

9. Social and Community
• Several hundred retail assistants across 71 Unity drugstores and
pharmacies will be trained by next month to spot signs of family
violence, to make it easier for victims and the community to
report violence or seek help. (ST, 11 Mar)
• The number of babies born in Singapore fell to a 10-year low last
year, while total deaths were the highest in almost a century. (ST,
14 Mar)
• Patients will soon be able to benefit from an integrated platform
that allows faster processing of hospitalisation claims and more
convenient access to their insurance policy details. (ST, 16 Mar)
• 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer: Fewer than one in five
Singaporeans practices good information hygiene, even as the
majority have no qualms spreading news that they find
interesting. (ST, 19 Mar)
Source: ST PHOTO- GIN TAY
Source: ST PHOTO - GAVIN FOO

10. Economy and Employability
• The Singapore IP Strategy 2030 is being developed by the Ministry
of Law to help strengthen Singapore's position as a global hub for
innovation, intangible assets (IA) and intellectual property (IP)
over the next decade. (ST, 02 Mar)
• Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and Workforce Singapore (WSG) aims
to examine the rise of remote working worldwide which may have
a long-term impact on the hiring needs of Singapore's retail
sector. (ST, 12 Mar)
• Workers can claim tax deductions on expenses incurred while
working from home last year, including the cost of air-conditioning
and Wi-Fi. (ST, 07 Mar)
– The person must have incurred the charges while carrying out
work duties and must not have been reimbursed for these
charges by his employer.
Source: ST PHOTO - KUA CHEE SIONG
Source: ST PHOTO - CHONG JUN LIANG

11. Economy and Employability
• Singapore's employment level saw sharpest decline in two
decades in 2020, with foreigners bearing brunt. (ST, 17 Mar)
– Unemployment rates fell to 3.3 per cent overall, 4.5 per cent
for citizens and 4.4 per cent for resident
• By end-March, $940 million in Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) payouts
will be disbursed to more than 98,000 employers here. (ST, BH,
Mar 19)
• Hotels, travel agents and tour guides license fee waivers extended
to end-2021 to aid the recovery of the tourism sector. (ST, 02 Mar)
– Some 7,000 tourism businesses had benefited from the Jobs
Support Scheme in 2020, and firms in the sector will receive
further wage support until September 2021.
• High-tech farming 'toolbox' can help Singapore weather future
food supply challenges: Member of Parliament Chan Chun Sing.
(ST, 17 Mar)
– Singapore now banks on three strategies to safeguard its food
supply - importing from a diversity of countries and
jurisdictions, boosting local production, and stockpiling.
Source: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Source: ST FILE

12. Economy and Employability
• Biotech a growing sector in pandemic, with Acumen Diagnostics
aiming to hire 30 people under training scheme. (ST, 11 Mar)
– Acumen is joining forces with the Employment and
Employability Institute (e2i) and Republic Polytechnic (RP) to
start a course for medical technologists and molecular
diagnostics manufacturing technologists.
• Singapore looks to revive its battered meetings, incentives,
conferences, and exhibitions (Mice) sector through trialing
wristbands to track movements and partitioned meeting pods
with microphones. (ST, 09 Mar)
• ByteDance, the owner of viral video app TikTok, has embarked on
a hiring spree in Singapore. It posted 338 jobs in Singapore in the
past 6 months as the Chinese group deepens its operations
outside the mainland to satisfy global regulators. (ST, 18 Mar)
Source: ST File
Source: REUTERS

13. Economy and Employability
• As strategic competition between the United States and China
grows, the corporate world can serve as a bridge between
societies, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng
Swee Keat. (ST, 10 Mar)
• More than 10,300 employers from various sectors received
assistance in employing workers or transforming employment
through programmes under the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and
Singapore Workforce (WSG) last year. (BH, 13 Mar)
• The employment rate among women remained relatively positive
during the coronavirus pandemic, which speaks to the resilience of
female workers and the broader support for them to remain in the
workforce – Josephine Teo. (ST, 11 Mar)
• F& B industry partners hopes commission payments depreciates
with AirAsia Food entry in the food delivery business (BH, 02
Mar). The platform will charge restaurants 15 per cent commission
per delivery. (ST, 02 Mar).
Source: MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
AND INFORMATION
Source: AIRASIA/INSTAGRAM
: AIRASIA/INSTAGRAM

14. Education
• The institutes of higher learning will generate around 20,000 tech
talent over the next three years, and Workforce Singapore and the
Infocomm Media Development Authority's place-and-train
programmes will also provide another 6,250 workers in functions
such as software engineering and cyber-security. (ST, 02 Mar)
• Local intake into infocomm technology has grown to 7,600
students in the 2020 academic year, which accounts for 14 per
cent of the intake cohort compared with 11 per cent five years
ago. (ST, 02 Mar)
• More than 9 out of 10 new graduates from Nanyang University of
Technology (NTU) 2020 cohort gained employment within six
months of completing their final exam. (BH, 02 Mar)
• Progression to a Higher Nitec qualification at the Institute of
Technical Education (ITE) will be shortened. (ST, 03 Mar)
Source: ST File
Source: ST File

15. Governance
• New laws may be enacted to counteract harmful online content
threats such as violent extremist propaganda as well as intimate
photographs spread without permission. (BH, 02 Mar)
• Singapore and the United States have reaffirmed their strong
bilateral ties in defence and the desire to deepen them further.
(ST, 04 Mar)
• Physical Employment Standard (PES) review by SAF looks into
better matching roles with soldiers’ abilities regardless of their
medical fitness. (ST, 07 Mar)
• Stiffer penalties proposed for sexual offences to reflect
Government's tough stance. The maximum penalties for three
sexual offences are set to be increased. (ST, 05 Mar)
• Trust in Singapore's key institutions of Government, business,
media and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) rose across
the board amid a pandemic and economic recession, according to
the latest Edelman Trust Barometer report. (ST, 19 Mar)
Source: ST
Source: ST

16. Malay/Muslim Community
MENDAKI
• 100 preschool educators participated in the webinar 'Strategi
Pengajaran Dwibahasa’ conducted by Berita Harian and MENDAKI.
The webinar discusses the approach that preschool educators can
take to teach bilinguals. (BH, 01 Mar)
• Over $100,000 accumulated as a result of ETF's inaugural charity
event in Khalid Mosque. (BH, 21 Mar)
• New Executive Director for MENDAKI Sense: Benjie Ng Ser Kwei.
(BH, 17 Mar)
• MENDAKI starts the new Kelas Siap Sekolah programme in
May in an effort to improve the pre-school education framework.
(BH, 09 Mar)
• YAYASAN MENDAKI CLUB (YMC) launched on 20th February aims
to benefit Malay/Muslim students in secondary schools by pairing
them with mentors. (BH, 21 Mar)
• Mr Zaqy Mohamad hosted an engagement with past Anugerah
MENDAKI recipients and mentioned how personal development
and contributing back to society are important. He encouraged
participants to support MENDAKI's efforts by becoming a
volunteer in various programmes. (BH, 27 Mar)
Source: Berita Harian.
Source: Berita Harian

17. Malay/Muslim Community
• Ministry of Education (MOE) is exploring the possibility of
furthering the Uplift initiative that has been introduced to assist
primary and secondary school students in need to polytechnic
students and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). (BH, 05
Mar)
• Community Engagement Coordination Office (Eco) from M3: new
government-led office to be established by the middle of this year
to better handle Malay/Islamic volunteers and manage community
resources. (BH, 09 Mar)
• Adaptation to the teaching of The Malay language is crucial in
order to sustain the native language for the new generation of
students.(BH, 05 Mar)
– MOE is committed to supporting these efforts through the
Malay Language Usage Learning and Promotion Committee
(MLLPC).
Source: Berita Harian
Source: Berita Harian

18. Malay/Muslim Community
• Dewan Perniagaan dan Perusahaan Melayu Singapura (DPPMS):
Over 20,000 businesses were able to access loans worth $17.4
billion from March to December 2020, as many as 90 percent of
them are small and micro-sized companies. (BH, 01 Mar)
• Malay Language Centre of Singapore (MLCS) reports gaming, video
editing among methods Malay teachers use to get students to
enjoy language class. (ST, 17 Mar)
M3 dialogue
• Efforts should be continued to help the workforce and bridge the
gap of digital transformation. (BH, 01 Mar)
• Participants recommended expanding the marriage support
programme for Muslim couples – ‘Bersamamu’.(BH, 01 Mar)
Source: BH
Source: BH

19. Malay/Muslim Community
• Dewan Perniagaan dan Perusahaan Melayu Singapura (DPPMS):
Over 20,000 businesses were able to access loans worth $17.4
billion from March to December 2020, as many as 90 percent of
them are small and micro-sized companies. (BH, 01 Mar)
• Malay Language Centre of Singapore (MLCS) reports gaming, video
editing among methods Malay teachers use to get students to
enjoy language class. (ST, 17 Mar)
MUIS
• MUIS will thoroughly research individuals who supposedly
offer spiritual healing services in the name of Islam but are in
fact contrary to religious principles. (BH, 02 Mar)
• Mosques have now been given permission to conduct
additional religious programmes. (BH, 05 Mar)
• Muslims are encouraged to take care of other religious
places of worship, not just mosques. (BH, 12 Mar)
• Mosques are preparing for tarawih prayer spaces for
Ramadan. (BH, 21 Mar)
Source: BH
Source: BH

20. Published by
MENDAKI Research and Planning Department
(March 2021)
20