RPD Bites is a monthly report by Yayasan MENDAKI's Research and Planning Department that summarizes issues and trends in local mainstream media relevant to the Malay/Muslim community. The March 2020 issue covered 966 articles across topics like the economy, health, and governance. Key themes included the COVID-19 situation, support for workers and businesses during the pandemic, and education initiatives to help Singaporeans stay employable. The report also summarized coverage of Malay/Muslim community issues such as Ramadan bazaar cancellations and mosque closures due to COVID-19.

1. March 2020

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 966 articles, Economy (192 articles), Health (147 articles) and Governance (138
articles) emerged as the top 3 categories for February.
• Notably, Economy news trended strongly with a total of 192 articles from Straits/Sunday Times
and Berita Harian/Minggu. This could be attributed to the relief-efforts for all strata of society as
announced during Budget 2020, Community of Supply 2020, and the Stimulus Package.
92
68
148
7
46 31 44
60
138
99
192
67
Governance Community Economy Malay Muslim Affairs
No. of Articles
ST BH/BM Total

4. Overall Coverage: Key Categories
• In the Governance, Economy, Education and
Employment Issues, the breakdown is as follows:
Economy (192), Governance (138), Employment
(123) and Education (49)
• In the Social-related and Community Issues, the
breakdown is as follows: Social (127), Health
(147), Community (99), Housing (14), and
Elderly (10).
Economy
192
38%
Employment &
Employability
123
25%
Education
49
10%
Governance
138
27%
Governance, Economy, Education
and Employment Issues
Community
, 99, 25%
Elderly, 10,
2%Housing,
14, 4%
Health,
147, 37%
General
Social
Issues, 127,
32%
Social-related and Community
Issues

5. Emerging Themes & Trends

6. Governance
COVID-19 Developments
• The COVID-19 situation continues to develop as the virus
spreads. Cases have spiked in many parts of the world and
countries, including ASEAN, have introduced lockdown
measures and bar foreign arrivals to limit movement to curb
the spread (ST, BH, Mar 2020).
• In Singapore, border controls have been imposed on all who
have returned to Singapore. Those served with the Quarantine
Orders, Stay-Home Notices, Leave of Absences and 5-day
Medical Leave are strongly urged to adhere to the
requirements of these schemes (ST, BH, Mar 2020).
• Social distancing measures are now in place where
Singaporeans are encouraged to maintain a distance of 1m
apart. Entertainment outlets have been ordered to close and
Singaporeans are strongly urged against making non-essential
shopping trips to malls (ST, Mar 2020).
NCID at Tan Tock Seng (ST)
Causeway on the night of Malaysia’s
lockdown commencement (ST)

7. Governance
Electoral Boundaries Review
• The new Singapore electoral boundaries were announced on
13 Mar, triggering speculations that a General Election is
imminent. Singapore now has 14 Single Member and 17 Group
Representation Constituencies in the next election (ST, 13
Mar).
• With the population increase in North East Singapore, the
changes sought to ensure that an adequate resident to
representative ratio is maintained. In relation to this, some
have urged the Government to consider carefully on the
timing of the election in light of the COVID-19 situation.
Election Officials at Work (ST)

8. Economy
More Support for Workers and Small Medium-sized Enterprises (SME)
• Members of Parliament (MPs) have raised on the need for more
initiatives to help workers stay employable and relevant in an
uncertain economy and for more support for SMEs to scale up,
innovate and go international (ST, 3 Mar).
• The Government pledged its support with the implementation of
the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit. It is set to benefit 35,000
enterprises. Each eligible employer would receive $10,000 in
credits to cover up to 90 per cent of enterprise and workforce
transformation programmes (ST, 4 Mar).
Support for Heartland Enterprises
• The Heartland Enterprise Upgrading Programme was announced
to support merchant associations to rejuvenate precincts through
the upgrading of common area infrastructure, organisation of
placemaking activities and upgrading of enterprises and workers in
order to attract more customers to these areas (ST, 4 Mar).
Read our Singapore Budget 2020 Special Edition Issue to know more
about the recently announced Budget Policies
Finance Minister Delivering Budget 2020
Speech (ST)
Tenants at Oasis Terraces Neighbourhood
Centre (ST)

9. Economy: COVID-19 Resilience Budget
The Government announced a supplementary Budget worth
$55b to support Singaporeans through COVID-19
(ST & CNA, 26 Mar).
Support for Individuals and Families
Support for Individuals and Families
Source: The Straits Times

10. Employment and Employability
Scheme for Working Adults to Apply for Full-time Diploma Courses
• Polytechnics have extended a scheme which allows for working
adults to apply for full-time diploma courses. It is hoped to
improve employability for them (ST, 24 Mar).
Skills Road Map for Teachers
• A new skills road map has been developed for teachers to enhance
their professional training. It will allow teachers to meet students'
changing needs with six priority areas.
• These include literacy assessment, teaching mixed-ability students,
supporting those with special needs, using inquiry based learning,
digital technologies and teaching values for resilience (ST, 5 Mar).
Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant
• To encourage the employment of seniors, the Government will
provide a maximum grant of $125,000 for companies commit to
provide part-time re-employment to eligible workers (ST, 4 Mar).
Teacher in Singapore (ST)
LifeWork Course for Mature Workers (ST)

11. Employment and Employability
Helping Older Workers enter the Tech Sector
• The new TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) Mid-Career Advance scheme
by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) seeks to
plug manpower gaps and match jobs to mature workers above 40
in the digital economy. It will offer them jobs in new roles such as
data analysts and cloud computing engineers (ST, 4 Mar).
Scheme to Help Freelancers Upgrade
• A $36m training support scheme is set to help freelancers upgrade
their skills through providing an allowance of $7.50 per hour by
attending SkillsFuture Series and sector-specific training
programmes.
• Freelancers who are in the Contribute As You Earn (Caye) scheme
will also have contributions matched dollar for dollar by the
Government, capped at $600 this year (ST, 4 Mar).
Communications and Information
Minister S Iswaran (ST)
Workers in Singapore (ST)

12. Education
New Undergraduate Degree Pathway for Working Adults
• NUS has introduced a new entry path “Advance@NUS” for working
adults who desire to attain degree. The path will account for work
experience and referrals instead of past academic qualifications.
• This is also hoped to diversify experiences within the university,
where fresh undergrads could learn from the experiences of their
working adult counterparts (ST, 2 Mar).
Research Programme in Computational Law at SMU
• Singapore will embark on pioneering research to create a working
programming language for the country's laws and contracts at the
new Centre for Computational Law. This effort will be supported
with a $15m boost by the Government (ST, 11 Mar).
Advance@NUS (ST)
SMU School of Law (ST)

13. Education
More Help for Schools with Students with Special Needs
• The Education Ministry (MOE) announced measures to better
support mainstream school teachers better in attending to
students with special educational needs but are not in special
education schools.
• Teachers will be able to access learning modules to equip them to
teach these students. MOE will also recruit more non-teaching
staff to provide learning and behavioural support for these
students (ST, 5 Mar).
Personal Learning Devices for All Secondary School Students
• All secondary school students would be issued a personal learning
device as part of a national digital literacy programme by 2028.
• Students will be able to access the Singapore Student Learning
Space (SLS), an integrated portal with educational resources for
learning at home and in school (ST, 5 Mar).
More ASEAN Content in Secondary School and Junior College
• Content on ASEAN will be featured prominently in social studies,
history, geography and economics subjects.
• It is aimed at providing students with a deeper appreciation of the
geographies, histories, cultures, languages and economies of the
region and promote and understanding of ASEAN’s growth and
similarities with Singapore (ST, 5 Mar).
School in Singapore (ST)
Students using Chromebook as part of a
Math lesson (ST)

14. General Social Issues
New indicator to show how well charities are governed
• The Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY)
announced that charities in Singapore could be graded soon to
help donors decide which organisations to donate to. A new
regulatory compliance indicator is being designed and is targeted
to be rolled out next year (ST, 7 Mar).
Helping Singaporeans Manage Cost of Living
• The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) will form the
Consumer Empowerment Panel in Apr to help address cost of
living concerns. The panel will work with stakeholders to help
consumers stretch their dollar by engaging and empowering them
to make informed purchasing decisions (ST, 4 Mar).
Donations in Singapore (ST)
Singaporeans at Paya Lebar in
Singapore (ST)

15. Malay/Muslim Community
Cancellation of Ramadhan Bazaars due to COVID-19
• The People’s Association (PA) has announced that the annual
Ramadhan bazaars have been cancelled due to COVID-19 risks (BH, 19
Mar).
Mosque Closures due to COVID-19
• The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) has announced the
necessity of closing mosques, including for congregational prayers, for a
period of time due to COVID-19.
• Acknowledging the impact this has on the community, MUIS will
continue to review and update the community on its decisions as the
situation develops (BH, 13 Mar).
Ciptasama M³
• M³ will be rolling out Ciptasama or Co-creation at towns to engage the
Malay/Muslim community on issues that matter to them.
• It aims to allow the Government to understand the concerns and
aspirations of the community better, and facilitate ground-up ideas into
reality (BH, 7 Mar).
MENDAKI-MUIS Preschool Grant
• A new MENDAKI-MUIS grant to help families with preschool children
was announced during Budget 2020. It will provide additional support
to these families in managing the cost of education (BH, 7 Mar)
Mosque Closure Notices due to COVID-19
(ST)
Muslim Affairs Minister Masagos in
Parliament (BH)

16. Malay/Muslim Community: Budget 2020 (Overall)
Source: MCI

17. Source: MCI

18. Malay/Muslim Community: Budget 2020 (MENDAKI)

19. MENDAKI
One MENDAKI Orange Heart Walk
• MENDAKI held a fundraising walk to declare its support for our
healthcare workers in the midst of COVID-19. 200 people participated
in the walk (BH, 1 Mar).
MENDAKI Tuition Scheme Refresh
• MENDAKI announced its proposals to refresh its suite of services under
the MENDAKI Tuition Scheme (MTS). The refresh is aimed towards
updating its pedagogy and improving the capabilities of its tutors in an
effort to improve its impact to the community (BH, 7 Mar).
Advancing the Skills of Kelas MateMatika (KMM) Facilitators
• MENDAKI will introduce two new modules on Mediated Learning
Experiences and Early Mathematics Concepts in its training structure
for its facilitators in the KMM@CC programme. It seeks to expand their
capabilities in these two fields (BH, 17 Mar).
New Maritime Industry Study Awards
• MENDAKI has partnered the Global Radiance Group of Maritime
Companies (GRG) to provide new study awards for students interested
to pursue a career in the maritime sector (BH, 24 Mar).
Orange Heart Walk (BH)
MENDAKI Tuition Scheme Students
(MENDAKI)