APRIL 4 — Singapore has triggered a “circuit breaker”, a partial lockdown, now that cases of local Covid-19 transmissions have overtaken imported cases. Addressing the country on 3 April, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the move to close schools, shops and offices for non-essential services was aimed at pre-empting more infections.
For someone who urged Singaporeans to “trust that you are not working for personal gain, but for national interests”, Lee’s refusal to rule out an imminent election is baffling. The world has sung Singapore’s praises for its handling of the Covid-19 crisis, citing the many lessons learned during the fight with SARS in 2003. During the SARS outbreak, schools were shut 26 days after the first patient was detected. This time, it has taken more than 70 days since the first Covid-19 case was reported on 23 January.
After Lee’s announcement on Friday, a panel of his ministers expounded at length on why these new measures are justified now. Yet Singapore remains at DORSCON Orange. Memes and jokes exploded online and spread through messages, poking fun at the DORSCON status and the colour of Lee’s tie, whether it was orange or red and the true signal of the state of the nation.
With the special Bill, the ruling party is continuing to signal an early election. If called while Covid-19 infections are not fully controlled, an election while Covid-19 is raging will put lives at blatant, unnecessary risk. A risk the people of Singapore, civil servants, the police, volunteers and others involved in the organisation of an election, did not ask for.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
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