Current Affairs
SDP manifesto tackles major issues
Jewel Philemon, additional reporting by Elliot A. Pictures by Jeremy Philemon
The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) unveiled its election manifesto, “The SDP Solution”, on Wednesday at a press conference held at 22 Marshall Road.
The SDP is the only party which has released its manifesto exclusively on the Internet. The Party Secretary General, Dr Chee Soon Juan, said that, “(Having our Manifesto) online means our reach will be much wider as opposed to printing hardcopies which is just plain expensive and won’t reach everyone.”
Dr Chee said that the SDP Solution is a coherent and workable alternative to the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) manifesto which was released last week. He also added that the SDP Solution is “easily digestible” and a “concrete proposal.”
After a year of extensive research and feedback from the ground gathered by the SDP team, the SDP Solution was born. Aimed at addressing issues that confront the average Singaporean citizen, the manifesto tackles the issues of the rising costs of living, foreign workers, rising HDB prices, CPF, healthcare, income inequality, GIC/Temasek, Education, National Service, Political Rights, Transportation, Environment, Special Needs, Women’s Rights and the Media.
Dr Chee said, “We are not only talking about problems, but we’re also giving solutions.”
Excerpts of the solutions the SDP’s manifesto:
Rising Costs of Living and Influx of Foreign Workers
Rising costs of living and the increasing influx of foreign workers are two major issues which the SDP is focusing on in the course of the General Elections (GE).
The SDP Solution proposes to curb the rising costs of living by:
– Reducing the Good and Services Tax rate (GST) from 7% to 3%
– Abolishing GST for essential items such as rice, oil, medicine etc.
– Lowering Public Utility Board (PUB) bills by at least 50%,
– Making sure that our public hospitals reduce charges and to stop making a profit from Singaporeans,
– Bringing down bus and MRT fares by at least 20%
– Ensuring that the government increases public expenditure for the poor.
In light of the issue of increasing influx of foreign labour, the Manifesto also intends to introduce:
– A Singaporeans-First Policy
– Legislate minimum wage
– Democratize the political system
– Rely less on Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) and GLCs.
Rising Housing Development Board (HDB) Prices
Rising HDB prices are becoming a reality in Singapore today and the SDP intends to deal with this issue by making transparent HDB’s building accounts, extending the 99-year lease and advocating a zero-profit venture policy.
Central Provident Fund (CPF)
Many Singaporeans worry that they will not be able to enjoy the full benefits of CPF in old age. With the many other problems that arise with this issue, the SDP plans to address this cause of concern by:
– Reducing the cost of HDB flats
– Reducing CPF contribution rates
– Ensuring that the government undertakes its share of responsibilities
Healthcare
The Singapore Democratic Party holds that ‘a closer examination of Singapore’s healthcare systems reveal gaping holes as far as financing goes.’ They elaborate further that ‘under the PAP-engineered system, healthcare costs have become a deathtrap for many.’ The manifesto promises to increase cost subsidies instead of market subsidies and to stop the commercialization of healthcare in an effort to aid the people.
Poverty and Income Inequality
The SDP Solution also addresses the issue of poverty in Singapore by offering five solutions. They are:
– Re-calibrate our tax structure
– Introduce minimum wage
– Expand the Public Assistance Scheme
– Pay retrenchment entitlements
– Adjust the CPF system.
GIC/Temasek
The SDP also cites Singapore’s reliance on MNCs and GLCs as a big issue. The party said it hopes to “help Singapore avert this economic mishap and lead our country to greater and a more meaningful progress.” It hopes to achieve this by letting SMEs develop, scaling back GLCs and by empowering the workers.
Dr Chee says, “We should invest in our people rather than losing them overseas.”
Education
Dr Chee used his 12-year old daughter as an example saying that she has around 12 hours of schoolwork in a day including homework and supplementary lessons. Mr Tan Jee Say, a SDP candidate in the elections, also said that he feels very concerned, as a father, over the workload thrust on his children. The SDP Solution tackles this issue by:
– Rethinking the philosophy of education
– Reducing the class size
– Reducing content and rote-learning
– Introducing single-session schools.
National Service
The manifesto also takes on Singapore’s compulsory army conscription. It offers solutions to the issues of reservist training and conscientious objectors while vowing to reduce the two year full time service and increase volunteer army recruitment. It also questioned the transparency and openness of the government’s use of National Service.
Political Rights
The SDP which is a strong advocate of political rights for many years also highlights issues surrounding these rights and has declared that it will reform the election system, respect freedom of speech, assembly and association and abolish the Internal Security Act.
Transport
“The existing system is highly unsatisfactory and in dire need of an overhaul (because) it pits those who are financially powerful against those who are not and it must be realized – and emphasized – that traffic congestion is not caused by people who own cars but rather by the amount of usage of the cars,” says the SDP Solution outlining the issue of transport. It proposes to introduce separate categories for COE bidding, reduce the road tax, and abolish the ARF and set up an independent PTC to monitor the ERP System.
Environment
The SDP said that it is concerned with environmental issues as well. The party hopes to “create new green jobs in a high-tech, low-carbon economy by investing in green technologies, energy efficiency and public transport.” This will include implementing fair utilty bills and energy efficient homes and efficient public transport at reasonable fares among others.
Special Needs
Rights for the disabled are advocated for through the manifesto which pledges to provide equal services to the disabled, allow disabled people to lead organizations and to provide proper infrastructure to the disabled to be able to function independently.
Women’s Rights
The SDP has worked extensively with AWARE in drawing up nine solutions to issues faced by women. They include:
– To adopt legislation guaranteeing equal pay for work of equal value so as to narrow and close the wage gap between women and men.
– To ensure that paid family, maternity and paternity leave is guaranteed to all employees in the public and private sectors so as to ensure the equal sharing of family and work responsibilities by women and men.
– To encourage the provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life, in particular through promoting the development of a network of child-care facilities among others.
The Media
“A free press may make democracy very difficult, but it makes dictatorship impossible,” says the SDP Solution as it highlights the issue of “suppressed media” in Singapore. The manifesto vows to free the media and introduce the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) which, it says, will solve this problem.
Dr Chee Soon Juan reiterates, “The SDP Solution is by no means exhaustive. (It comprises of) some of the more important issues to bring out to the voters.” With all the hard-work and dedication poured into drafting such a comprehensive manifesto, Dr Chee and his team believe that the SDP Solution will be well received by voters.
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Current Affairs
Man arrested for alleged housebreaking and theft of mobile phones in Yishun
A 23-year-old man was arrested for allegedly breaking into a Yishun Ring Road rental flat and stealing eight mobile phones worth S$3,400 from five tenants. The Singapore Police responded swiftly on 1 September, identifying and apprehending the suspect on the same day. The man has been charged with housebreaking, which carries a potential 10-year jail term.
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SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly breaking into a rental flat along Yishun Ring Road and stealing eight mobile phones from five tenants.
The incident occurred in the early hours on Sunday (1 September), according to a statement from the Singapore Police Force.
The authorities reported that they received a call for assistance at around 5 a.m. on that day.
Officers from the Woodlands Police Division quickly responded and, through ground enquiries and police camera footage, were able to identify and apprehend the suspect on the same day.
The stolen mobile phones, with an estimated total value of approximately S$3,400, were recovered hidden under a nearby bin.
The suspect was charged in court on Monday with housebreaking with the intent to commit theft.
If convicted, he could face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.
In light of this incident, the police have advised property owners to take precautions to prevent similar crimes.
They recommend securing all doors, windows, and other openings with good quality grilles and padlocks when leaving premises unattended, even for short periods.
The installation of burglar alarms, motion sensor lights, and CCTV cameras to cover access points is also advised. Additionally, residents are urged to avoid keeping large sums of cash and valuables in their homes.
The investigation is ongoing.
Last month, police disclosed that a recent uptick in housebreaking incidents in private residential estates across Singapore has been traced to foreign syndicates, primarily involving Chinese nationals.
Preliminary investigations indicate that these syndicates operate in small groups, targeting homes by scaling perimeter walls or fences.
The suspects are believed to be transient travelers who enter Singapore on Social Visit Passes, typically just a day or two before committing the crimes.
Before this recent surge in break-ins, housebreaking cases were on the decline, with 59 reported in the first half of this year compared to 70 during the same period last year.
However, between 1 June and 4 August 2024, there were 10 reported housebreaking incidents, predominantly in private estates around the Rail Corridor and Bukit Timah Road.
The SPF has intensified efforts to engage residents near high-risk areas by distributing crime prevention advisories, erecting alert signs, and training them to patrol their neighborhoods, leading to an increase in reports of suspicious activity.
Current Affairs
Consumers Association of Singapore fined S$20,000 for PDPA breaches following two data security incidents
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The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has been fined S$20,000 by the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) for breaches under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).
According to a judgement which was published on 28 August, the fine was imposed due to the consumer watchdog’s failure to implement reasonable security measures to protect the personal data in its possession and to establish necessary policies and practices required under the PDPA.
The breaches resulted in two significant incidents, one in October 2022 and another in June 2023, where the personal data of up to 34,760 individuals was potentially compromised.
Both incidents were handled under the Expedited Decision Procedure (EDP) at the request of CASE, with the organization admitting to all the facts and contraventions of the PDPA, leading to a faster resolution of the case.
The First Incident: Phishing Attack in October 2022
The first incident occurred in October 2022 when a threat actor accessed CASE’s email accounts and sent phishing emails from its official email addresses.
On 8 October 2022, some consumers received unsolicited emails from “[email protected],” which falsely claimed that their complaints had been escalated to the “collections and compensation department” and that they were eligible for compensation.
The recipients were asked to provide their banking details by clicking on a chat icon.
The following day, similar phishing emails were sent from “[email protected],” an account used for complaints that had progressed to mediation. CASE later discovered that the phishing emails had affected up to 22,542 email addresses.
Further investigations revealed that the phishing emails likely resulted from the threat actor obtaining login credentials from a CASE employee via a phishing attack.
The compromised accounts led to the sending of 5,205 phishing emails to 4,945 recipients. Although CASE acted swiftly to suspend the affected accounts and reset all administrator passwords, three consumers reported that they had clicked on the phishing links and collectively lost S$217,900. CASE subsequently lodged a police report.
The Second Incident: Data Breach During Vendor Migration
While PDPC was investigating the first incident, a second breach came to light in June 2023. On 22 June 2023, PDPC received a complaint about a phishing email that replicated a consumer’s complaint previously submitted to CASE.
This led to the discovery that the personal data of 12,218 individuals, including names, email addresses, contact numbers, and complaint details, had been exposed. The PDPC concluded that the breach likely occurred during a data migration exercise conducted by CASE between December 2019 and January 2020 when CASE switched vendors.
Investigations revealed that CASE’s contract with one of its vendors, Total eBiz Solutions Pte Ltd (TES), did not stipulate clear security responsibilities. This lack of contractual clarity contributed to the data breach during the migration process, highlighting CASE’s negligent vendor management.
PDPC Findings and Penalties
The PDPC found that CASE had failed to enforce its password management policy, with some passwords not meeting minimum length and complexity requirements and others remaining unchanged for up to four years. Furthermore, CASE’s vendor management was deemed negligent, as one of its contracts did not specify clear security responsibilities, putting personal data at risk.
CASE admitted to not conducting regular security awareness training for its staff, with the last session held five years before the first incident.
The PDPC also noted that CASE lacked an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) policy, particularly in relation to patching and maintaining IT systems. The absence of a documented IT infrastructure management plan, insufficient logging and monitoring practices, and the lack of security reviews over the three years preceding the first breach were significant failures highlighted in the judgment.
In assessing the financial penalty, the PDPC considered the nature and gravity of the breaches, the duration of non-compliance, and CASE’s annual turnover. The fine of $20,000 was determined to be appropriate in light of these factors.
Remedial Actions by CASE
It is said that CASE, which is headed by Mr Melvin Yong, People’s Action Party Member of Parliament for Radin Mas, has implemented several measures to enhance its cybersecurity in response to the breaches.
These include introducing multi-factor authentication for all web-based applications, strengthening password complexity requirements, decommissioning end-of-life devices, and implementing patch management software for security updates.
CASE has also revised its contracts with outsourced vendors to include data protection clauses and mandated annual data protection training for all staff members.
CASE is working towards obtaining the Cyber Essentials Mark and the Data Protection Trust Mark to reinforce its commitment to safeguarding personal data and complying with PDPA obligations.
The PDPC has directed CASE to review and update its data protection policies, rectify all identified security gaps, and report back within one week of completion. The organization has also been instructed to conduct a penetration test after addressing the vulnerabilities to ensure no further security gaps exist.
The post Consumers Association of Singapore fined S$20,000 for PDPA breaches following two data security incidents appeared first on Gutzy Asia.
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