Members of Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 26) extensively discussed the Government's plans to address the rising cost of living by disbursing more Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers among other schemes. They also voiced support for measures to help elderly Singaporeans and initiatives to encourage families to have more children, but called for the Government to provide more than just financial help. The Budget debate kicked off on Wednesday and will last until Friday. In all, 54 MPs are expected to speak before Prime Minister Lawrence Wong wraps up the debate. In his Budget speech on Feb 18, PM Wong, who is also the Finance Minister, said that the measures ensure that «no one will be left behind», and will tackle immediate challenges while laying the groundwork for the future. A total of 24 MPs and three Nominated MPs spoke on Wednesday in a debate that lasted around eight hours. Cost of living concerns Among the concerns raised by MPs about cost of living, several highlighted the $800 in CDC vouchers for Singaporean households.

SINGAPORE - Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng have filed defamation suits against Bloomberg and one of its journalists. The case against the media company and reporter Low De Wei will be heard in the Supreme Court on March 3. It comes two months after Tan and Shanmugam said they will act against Bloomberg and other media outlets for publishing statements which the ministers consider libellous concerning their property transactions. The statements were produced in a Dec 12 Bloomberg article on good class bungalow (GCB) transactions in Singapore with the headline, «Singapore mansion deals are increasingly shrouded in secrecy». The article was written by Low, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, has been a real estate reporter at Bloomberg since September 2021. The article focused on GCB deals inked from January to early December 2024, as measured by value, using findings derived from data compiled by Bloomberg News and List Sotheby's International Realty. It mentioned property transactions involving Tan and Shanmugam.

The various vouchers to be disbursed as part of Budget 2025 will help Singaporeans for a while, but not in the long term, said Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh on Wednesday (Feb 26). Kicking off the Budget debate in Parliament, the Workers' Party chief noted that the worth of Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers disbursed has increased from $100 in 2021 to $800 in 2025. «Cost increases have hurt people from across all segments of society,» he said. «Beyond the $800 CDC vouchers and $800 SG60 vouchers, more than a few political watchers noticed PAP MPs thumping their armrests in unison when the Finance Minister announced that climate vouchers worth $400 dollars were being extended to private household dwellers too — a relatively small and generally more well-off segment comprising about 15% of our population. »Reflecting on the cost-of-living crisis, this enthusiastic gesture was both ironic and telling."

The Singapore government has warned voters to remain vigilant against potential scams while checking their voter status. On Tuesday (Feb 25), an advisory issued via the gov.sg channel on Telegram addressed claims that scammers are impersonating the Elections Department (ELD) online. It also reminded voters to check their voting status only via official sources such as the ELD voter services page on its official website and the Singpass app. In a message posted on the ELD's social media platforms on Feb 19, the department said that it is aware of a scam warning currently circulating on chat messaging platforms. It also stated that the warning did not come from ELD itself. However, the image used in the message seems to be a screengrab of ELD's voter services webpage - also circulated during the 2023 Presidential Election and in 2024, ELD said.

If you think the Budget announcements this year have been generous, it's not because of the upcoming General Election (GE), Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in a response uploaded to his social media accounts on Tuesday (Feb 25). The GE is expected to take place this year, and some are wondering if this has influenced the Budget 2025 statement PM Wong delivered on Feb 18. «The fact is that the Budget coincides with a year when elections will be held,» he began. «If the Budget is deemed to be generous, it's only because we have managed our finances responsibly and well.» The government is doing «everything they can» to help Singaporeans cope with cost pressures, he also said. «That has always been our focus and will continue to be so.» Some of these measures are provided to Singaporeans in the form of vouchers - those aged 21 to 59 will receive $600 in SG60 vouchers across the month of July, while those aged 60 and over will get $800.

At least $1.1 billion was lost to scams in Singapore last year, up by 70.6 per cent from 2023. The number of scam cases rose by 10.6 per cent year-on-year to 51,501 cases, up from 46,563 in 2023, said the police in their annual Scams and Cybercrimes brief on Tuesday (Feb 25).  In 2024, e-commerce scams were the largest — 22.7 per cent of the total number of cases reported.  At least $17.5 million was lost to these scams, with concert tickets at the top of the list.

A 65-year-old American woman was arrested at Phuket International Airport with 4.3kg of crystal methamphetamine, according to multiple reports. The woman, identified as Melba Geraldine Sharp from California, was reportedly set to board Scoot Airways flight TR653 to South Korea via Singapore on Sunday (Feb 23), according to The Phuket News. The methamphetamine, worth 1.29 million baht (S$51,500), was discovered after Sharp was flagged down during a routine risk assessment of passenger profiles, The Nation reported. Officers had received a tip-off about possible drug smuggling through the airport and an X-ray screening revealed suspicious objects inside her suitcase, Customs director-general Theeraj Athanavanich told media. While examining her luggage, police found four sets of bed sheets that were unusually heavy. Authorities opened them to find rectangular packages wrapped in multiple layers of brown tape, Bangkok Post reported. Chemical tests revealed the packages to contain the methamphetamine, weighing a total of 4.3kg.

A 65-year-old male cyclist died in an accident involving a prime mover in Tuas on Monday (Feb 24) morning. In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident at the junction of Tuas Avenue 1 and Avenue 8 at about 11am. The cyclist was pronounced dead at scene by an SCDF paramedic. Photos circulating online show the cyclist lying face down in a pool of blood on the road. The wheel of his bicycle has been deformed in the accident. In another video of the aftermath posted on Facebook, a blue police tent is seen set up at the accident site. A prime mover and several police vehicles are spotted at the scene.

The new Large Families Scheme announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech on Feb 18 is neither an incentive nor a reward, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah. Rather, it provides financial support for parents who «would like three or more children», with the Government providing additional assistance.  «Incentive is like, 'if I give you money, out pops the kid',» said Indranee in a podcast with CNA shared on Monday (Feb 24). «It cannot work like that.» And to think of the scheme as a «reward» is also the wrong kind of signal to send to Singaporeans, she added.  As part of new measures to encourage Singaporeans to have more children, parents will receive a $5,000 Large Family MediSave grant for each third and subsequent child born from Feb 18. Parents will also receive $1,000 each year in LifeSG credits for each third and subsequent child between the ages of one and six, or a total of $6,000 over six years. Meanwhile, all third and subsequent Singapore citizen children born from Feb 18 will receive $10,000 in their Child Development Accounts (CDA) under the First Step grant.

Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today. 1. Fewer uni grads in 2024 found full-time work, though more had higher pay: Survey Graduates fresh out of university found it harder to find full-time permanent jobs, with the proportion dropping below 80 per cent, according to the latest graduate employment survey...» READ MORE 2. Chinese singer Curley Gao visits alma mater Dunman High School while in Singapore, buys Milo nuggets and McDonald's fries

«If you feel ok, there is no point going for health screening». This is a common misconception deterring people from getting their health checked. Reasons why one might avoid regular screenings could include the fear of discovering a negative outcome and assumptions that it takes time to keep up with appointments. Healthier SG, a national initiative, is here to help you navigate your preventive care journey with ease. In this episode, follow Chef Bob, a culinary host and esteemed chef, as he brings you through his journey of enrolling in Healthier SG. To learn how Healthier SG can help Singaporeans in their 40s like him, Bob visited Dr Precelia Lam, a Healthier SG General Practitioner (GP) from Raffles Medical who has assisted more than 300 Healthier SG enrollees in customising their health plans and supporting them in managing their health or conditions in the long-term. Dr Lam likens the Health Plan to «a recipe you and your family doctor create together». «It gives you a clear picture of your health right now and changes you need to make to keep your health on track and prevent issues down the road», she explains.

A woman, claiming to be the mother of a student kicked by schoolmates at Montfort Secondary School, has filed a police report and is threatening legal action, she said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Feb 23). The post by user Joleen Wee claimed that she is a single mum speaking out on behalf of her son's «traumatic experience.» This comes after a Facebook post on Saturday (Feb 22) depicted a boy being kicked and tripped by schoolmates. The video, which has garnered over 3,900 reactions and more than 10,000 shares, has since been removed. One of the earlier posts on Facebook had reportedly racked up more than 1.2 million views. In the video, a group of Montfort Sec students trail behind their schoolmate for a distance, before two break off to approach him. One of them then trips the boy and pushes him, causing him to fall, while the other kicks him. The boy then gets back to his feet and attempts to walk away before being tripped again. Phobia about going school Adding to this video, Wee claimed that her son had been strangled and beaten prior to the video that was uploaded.

SINGAPORE — Graduates fresh out of university found it harder to find full-time permanent jobs, with the proportion dropping below 80 per cent, according to the latest graduate employment survey. Results from the survey, which were released on Feb 24, showed that 79.5 per cent of graduates secured full-time positions in 2024, down from 84.1 per cent in 2023. But those who did find full-time jobs saw higher earnings with the median gross monthly salary at $4,500 in 2024, up from $4,317 in 2023. More fresh graduates were unemployed — 12.9 per cent in 2024, up from 10.4 per cent in 2023. This group refers to those who are unemployed and looking for a job or about to start work or business ventures. More of them are also in part-time or temporary work — six per cent, up from four per cent in 2023 — or doing freelance work (1.6 per cent, up from 1.5 per cent in 2023). Most graduates in this group were in such roles voluntarily, the survey noted.

A fire that broke out at a Kranji warehouse on Feb 19 has been successfully extinguished after four days of intense firefighting efforts by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).  In a Facebook post on Sunday (Feb 23), SCDF said that they have «worked round-the-clock to douse the deep-seated pockets of fire within the waste heaps» since Wednesday (Feb 19).  SCDF added that resources are being scaled down, but a fire engine and crew will be maintained at the premises to watch over the area that was affected by the fire.  The agency said they will also progressively hand over the site at 11 Kranji Crescent – listed online as the address of recycling firm Wah & Hua – to the premises owner for their recovery operations.

SINGAPORE – The measures announced in the 2025 Budget are not just about vouchers, but also steps Singapore is taking to strengthen the social support system and economy to ensure that nobody is left behind. In a speech to Marsiling-Yew Tee residents on Feb 22, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said he hopes the $143.1 billion spending plan announced on Feb 18 will give Singaporeans the confidence that there is a plan to take the nation forward. He said the Government is aware of cost-of-living concerns. “We are doing more to help all of you cope with cost-of-living pressures,” said PM Wong, who added that Budget 2025 is more than just vouchers alone. “Beyond short-term measures, we are taking steps to strengthen our social support system and economy, so that we can continue to create good jobs and opportunities for all Singaporeans.”