Feeling the heat

35.6 degrees Celsius: the highest recorded temperature yesterday in Singapore, making it the hottest day of 2016. According the National Environment Agency, “April is climatologically the warmest month of the year”, with dry and warm conditions forecasted to continue. Moreover, rainfall in the first two weeks of April “is likely to be below average.”

And Singapore might be feeling the heat in the socio-economic and political dimensions too. Singapore – like other developed countries – is experiencing a period of very poor productivity growth. Wrapping up a week-long working visit to the United States, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore is also not immune to divisive, populist politics, especially if individuals feel disenfranchised. On the government’s efforts to restructure its economy, he added that: “We are doing all the things which economists say ought to be done to fix [very poor productivity performance]. We haven’t seen the results yet but we are doing what we grieve are the right things.”

Echoing his sentiments about the political climate in the United States – sentiments which he had raised during an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week – the prime minister argued that “it’s because the population feels anxious, feels unsettled, feels angry and doesn’t feel that the existing political leadership and process are articulating or addressing those emotions”. He stressed that Singapore is not immune to these pressures, with Singaporeans turning to new engagement avenues or forms of contestation if there are feelings of disenfranchisement.

In other news, a 48-year-old man connected to separate alleged attacks on three female madrasah students on Friday morning has been arrested. Through Facebook posts and statements, ministers and parliamentarians have condemned the incident.

Finally, a five-year “Enabling Masterplan” will be crafted by a 22-member committee for persons with disabilities in Singapore. The plan will build upon the progress achieved in the past years, with greater support on education and employment for beneficiaries as well as greater support for their caregivers. “Some of the employers have specific needs”, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin said, reiterating the need to incorporate other national schemes in this plan, “therefore we develop specific training modules so that those with disabilities are trained and can move in quite seamlessly to their jobs as well”.

 

Featured image by Kong Chong Yew. 

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