DPM Heng: No New ‘Ang Paos’ Will Be Given in Upcoming Ministerial Statement

Some of us see DPM Heng as this fellow…

…while others see him as this fellow:

Our boss changes to a new car whenever DPM Heng went on the podium to speak, so it’s safe to say that whenever he has an announcement to make, the views for our videos and articles drop to zero because everyone’s listening to how much the next ang bao is going to be.

A few days back, he announced that he would be delivering a “Ministerial Statement to provide an overview of the progress of our fight against COVID-19, our fiscal position, and our strategies for us to emerge stronger from this crisis as an economy and as a society.”

My boss has just paid a deposit for a new Mercedes but I guess come Monday, all Goody Feed employees would better hide under their desk.

DPM Heng: No New ‘Ang Paos’ Given in Upcoming Ministerial Statement

This afternoon, DPM Heng put up a Facebook post to talk about his Zoom meeting with business leaders and his fellow ministers, and he didn’t appear to have let MTI Minister Chan Chun Sing vet through before posting this image:

And in it, he told them that there would “will not be a new round of support measures”, and the “main purpose of my upcoming Ministerial Statement is to provide context for the Supplementary Supply Bill that will allocate resources for the measures announced in August.”

Here’s what he’s written lest you can’t read it:

I have been meeting our business leaders and workers regularly. Yesterday, ahead of my upcoming Ministerial Statement, my colleagues and I met up with some of our SMEs in the morning. Together with NTUC Singapore Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng 黄志明, we also met union leaders as well as career coaches with Workforce Singapore – WSG in the afternoon.

Since we announced that I will be making a Ministerial Statement next Monday, some people have asked if more support was on the way. I took the opportunity to explain to some of our participants that there will not be a new round of support measures. The main purpose of my upcoming Ministerial Statement is to provide context for the Supplementary Supply Bill that will allocate resources for the measures announced in August.

At this stage of the crisis, my team and I are fully committed to support our workers and businesses by refining our policies, expanding outreach and improving implementation, to make the most of the $100 billion committed to the fight against COVID-19. We hope that businesses and workers can make the best use of the measures that have been committed

The discussions yesterday have given us a better sense of the pain points of jobseekers and businesses, opportunities for collaboration in the coming months, and new ideas that we can develop for Budget next year. Many businesses and jobseekers are going through a tough time. But with the support measures in place and by working closely together, we can help businesses stay viable and keep workers employed. Just as important, we must look to the future and aim to emerge stronger.

So, what are the “measures announced in August”?

For Companies

In August, DPM Heng announced a few more help for businesses, but they’d be “tailor-made” for each sector:

• Extension of Job Support Scheme with payout of 10% to 50% of each Singaporean’s pay, and will end between end of 2020 to March 2021
• Jobs Growth Incentive whereby the authorities will co-pay new Singaporean employees

You can read more about this help here.

For Individuals

• Money to be given to individuals to boost domestic tourism (it’s now confirmed to be $100 per Singaporean)
• 4,000 roles to be created in healthcare sector
• Extension of COVID-19 grants

You can read more about this help here.

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