Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) will be removed from the Straits Times Index (STI). This move comes after SPH’s share price has been steadily declining, even after current CEO Ng Yat Chung took over the helm. SPH will be replaced by Mapletree Industrial Trust.

Back in 2017 as CEO of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), Ng Yat Chung was credited with the sale of NOL to CMA CGM. The sale of Singapore's shipping icon to a competitor was due to poor performance. He then relinquished his role. Later in that same year, SPH announced that Ng Yat Chung is the "best person" to lead the company, and was tasked to replace scholar Alan Chan. Many eyebrows were raised by this decision to continue putting a scholar with little to no business experience in such a top position.

With Ng Yat Chung running SPH, he tried to make reforms to the company. Some of his strategies included a retrenchment exercise in 2017, downsizing 5% of his staff in 2019 as its net profits continued to slump, and also investments into properties instead of focusing on journalism. However these moves to cut wages and expenses did not save the company from its downward trajectory.

Despite all the moves to cut salaries and reduce costs, the CEO of SPH reportedly earns a generous $1.9 million a year. Along with the estimated $16 million he earned from NOL, Ng Yat Chung certainly has been remunerated spectacularly.

With two homegrown companies which have fallen from grace under the leadership of Ng Yat Chung, it is uncertain if Ng Yat Chung will continue to serving as CEO.

A netizen took to his Facebook (FB) to spread a cautionary tale about being approached for media interviews. His story involved an interview he did with state media Channel NewsAsia (CNA). This interviewee was diagnosed with Covid19 and had spent 68 days being isolated.

When CNA initially approached him, the reporter told him that the news angle would be on "hygiene". The netizen was told that CNA would highlight the changes to his hygiene practices before and after he tested positive for Covid19. While the netizen had initially declined being interviewed, he became convinced by a contact that the news was for a good cause to educate others about good hygiene practices.

To his disappointment, CNA "sensationalised" and made its headline into a "clickbait" by focusing on the source of his infection instead. According to screenshots he uploaded, the article was initially titled "68 days of isolation and 22 swab tests: A Singaporean's long COVID-19 journey after a night of partying in the UK". Even after the interviewee requested for the headline to be changed, its focus was still on the partying, "...after possible infection at UK party".

The netizen questioned CNA's agenda with its insistence to retain the word "party", and implied that his story was sensationalised at his expense and "with false facts".

The resulting CNA story led to others leaving nasty comments about him. He also advised these people to consume news critically, and to keep their unhelpful comments to themselves.

Bloomberg reported that Singapore's Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is facing a money laundering probe by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for alleged money-laundering. It was said that the MBS may be investigated over how it handled the accounts of its top gamblers. A grand jury subpoena was reportedly issued to an ex-Chief of Compliance at MBS in January this year. However this investigation is still in its early stages.

It was also reported that MBS is separately being investigated by Singapore's Casino Regulatory Authority over some "money transfer policies". Bloomberg quoted an anonymous source that some MBS employees were discovered to had inappropriately filled in payment details on authorisation forms which were either pre-signed or photocopied.

Back in 1994, Lee Kuan Yew stated that casinos would only be allowed in Singapore over his "dead body". He was opposed to the ideas of casinos here for many years. One of the concerns may have been the dangers of Singaporeans spiraling into gambling addiction.

However, Lee Hsien Loong eventually convinced his father, even managing to make him an advocate and defender of the policy to make Singapore an entertainment centre. This was in an attempt to boost business and tourism with the concept of an "integrated resort".

A netizen posted a complaint about an alleged Carousell scammer.

According to the buyer's post, she was negotiating with the seller on the product and pricing. The seller confirmed that the product is available and will be sent by post.

After negotiating the deal, the buyer made a PayNow payment to seller through her mobile number. The buyer even sent a screenshot to show proof of the PayNow transaction.

However things took a turn for the worse when the seller suddenly claimed she was unable to check the PayNow transation immediately. The buyer sensed something was amiss and tried to get in contact with the seller.

According to the buyer, the seller had gone MIA after receiving the money. Her follow up messages via Carousell and WhatsApp were ignored.

Secretary-General of People's Voice Party (PVP) Lim Tean had cautioned against the reopening of schools a week before 2 June 2020. School reopening happened when Singapore recently entered its Phase 1 of reopening the country, and when two-thirds of Singapore's workforce are still working from home (WFH).

PVP noticed that the Covid19 situation here was still unstable as there were still community transmissions. PVP therefore voiced concerns about Minister of Education (MOE) Ong Ye Kung's reckless move to reopen schools and put students at risk. Ong Ye Kung gave all sorts of excuses such as the academic and socio-emotional development of children being impaired if they stay home for too long.

It looks like PVP was proven right when state media reported four students and one school employee tested positive for Covid19. The affected schools were Anglican High School, CHIJ Katong Convent, CHIJ St Theresa’s Convent, Geylang Methodist Secondary School and Hwa Chong Institution.

Ong Ye Kung continued to justified school reopening by explaining away that these school children were likely infected towards the end of Circuit Breaker (CB). However PVP says that this attests to the dangers of reopening schools as these infected students can infect others.

Lim Tean reminds voters that PVP has been the only Party that has been right about Covid19 since February 2020, and he attributed these right judgment calls because PVP, unlike the PAP, has been putting People First!

Under normal circumstances, nobody really gives two shits about PAP rallies. However, COVID-19 has made many Singaporeans start tuning in to the Prime Minister's broadcasts. Seizing the opportunity, the PAP rolled out a series of "national broadcasts" about the post-covid-19 future from 7 to 20 June which looks suspiciously like an election rally schedule.

The first speech "Overcoming the Crisis of a Generation" on Sunday, 7 June evening was given by the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong where he reminded Singaporeans of uncertainties ahead - a typical election trick - and then reassured them that "my Cabinet team, with the support of the whole public service, will do our best to lead us towards this enduring vision of what Singapore can be. We need every one of you to work with us". Sounds like election promises and pleas right?

In the coming evenings, other ministers Lawrence Wong, Teo Chee Hean, Chan Chun Sing, Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Heng Swee Keat will be giving speeches in turn. Yes, they activated Tharman this time after his long-time MIA from the national media because the PAP is doing everything to increase their chances of securing the 2020 elections.

Strangely, the PAP has been insisting that they are not sure of the election date due to the COVID-19 situation although it is clear they have been gearing up for it. The deputy prime minister Heng Swee Keat also recently hinted that elections should be held soon. The longer they keep the date in suspense, the more leverage they have over opposition parties.

Let's not forget how the PAP's excessive focus on elections distracted them from proper handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and led to the current state of crisis our country is facing today.

<Reader's Contribution>

It is no doubt that the elections are coming. The Elections Department has announced guidelines for polling and nomination during this Covid19 period but continues to to be evasive about campaigning rules.

"When asked if ELD will give a timeline for when these rules may be released, it said political parties and candidates will be given “enough time to prepare their physical campaigning strategies”.

Really? Will enough time be given to ALL candidates or only candidates from a particular party?

How can the ELD say that there will be enough time for all candidates, especially the opposition, to prepare for their physical campaign strategies when the ELD does not know, and is not supposed to know when the elections will be called? Only Lee Hsien Loong decides when to call for elections.

Unless the ELD is in cahoots with LHL about when the elections will be held?

Also, even if the situation is ever-changing with Covid, is there anything wrong with announcing the rules first then updating it later should there be any changes required?

The reasons given by the ELD is so weak that it holds no water. Instead, it just sounds like they are buying time for the ruling party and disadvantaging the opposition. But then again, this is no surprise since the ELD is under the umbrella of the Prime Minister's Office. Smelly.

ASS Loyal Reader Ang

Facing mounting pressure by repeated calls from various opposition parties, the Elections Department (ELD) finally announced some campaign guidelines if the GE was held amid the Covid19 pandemic. However, the announcement did not appear to offer any concrete rules for campaigning as ELD was still concerned with the developing Covid19 situation and how rules may be "overtaken by events".

With the predicted GE2020 to be announced in July, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) laid out some proposals to campaigning rules such that this GE will provide fair exposure and reach for all Parties. The SDP suggested:

1. Doubling the period between the Writ of Election being issued and Nomination Day to ten days. This will allow sufficient time for Parties to organise their campaigns and prepare their logistics and manpower.

2. Extend the official campaigning period to 21 days instead of 9 days. Such an extension will allow time for national issues to be addressed and debated on air and in print.

3. All Parties must be given access to media airtime on Mediacorp TV channels nightly.

4. All Parties must be have daily access to radio programmes.

5. Reserve column space on the state newspapers for Parties to publish their manifestos and feature their party proposals.

6. Parties who observe social distancing rules should be allowed to interact with residents at food centres, void decks and other common areas.

These proposals will ensure that all Parties can campaign meaningfully. Otherwise GE2020 will be like any other elections where the PAP gains maximum exposure, while opposition parties have to depend on an already shrinking alternate media to reach out to the electorate.

Lawrence Wong finally admitted to reporters on 8 June 2020 that at least half of Singapore's Covid19 cases show no symptoms. In their usual manner, Lawrence Wong and the Covid19 Ministerial Task Force did not disclose how many of the confirmed cases were asymptomatic.

Despite saying that asymptomatic individuals have less opportunities to spread Covid19 as they are not coughing or sneezing, Lawrence Wong told reporters that there have been cases of asymptomatic transmission locally, especially for infected persons who live in close proximity.

While it is unsure when the Task Force came to know this information, the Minister of Education (MOE) Ong Ye Kung had already allowed students to return to schools at the start of June 2020. Just recently, five individuals consisting of students and staff were found to be infected with Covid19.

What is more startling is that Elections Department (ELD) announced some measures for safe voting on the same day. If the PAP decides to hold a General Elections this year, which many speculate is in July 2020, Singaporean voters may go to the polls while Covid19 is potentially still around.

The guidelines drawn by the ELD show measures like temperature taking, wearing of masks and gloves, and sanitisers. However, based on what Lawrence Wong said about the 50% asymptomatic cases, are these procedures truly safe enough to protect voters or will we be at risk?

<Reader's Contribution>

In his speech to Singaporeans yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged Singaporeans to work with him and his team of 4G leaders as they lead us into uncharted, troubled and uncertain future.

There was nothing new or inspiring in PM Lee’s speech. He again harps on exceptionalism, but really, how exceptional have his team of 4G Leaders been?

The way they handled the Covid-19 crisis has dented our international reputation. Let us be mindful that the global community is aware that we went from being the ‘gold standard’ in pandemic care to being a ‘cautionary tale’. And this happened because they turned a deaf ear to the warnings of people who work with foreign workers, that the living conditions of such workers may be cause for concern for the coronavirus to spread like wildfire in the community. How can we trust leaders who are like a little deaf frog?

At the start of the pandemic, when people were instinctively seeking ways to protect themselves with masks, these very same leaders came out to say that “masking-up was not the best thing that every Singaporean can do to protect himself”. Only a leaked audio clip revealed the real reasons why these leaders may have been discouraging universal masking – because of supply chain constraints, they had to conserve the surgical masks for our medical system. How can we trust leaders who are not truthful to us?

In his speech yesterday, PM Lee took credit for keeping the number of fatalities in Singapore low. That the number of fatalities is low reflects on the diligence of our nurses, doctors and other essential workers in our healthcare sector. How can our leaders take credit for keeping the fatalities here low, but not take responsibility for the number of infected persons in Singapore which is nearing the 40,000 new cases mark? Also, are our number of new cases kept artificially low because fewer swab tests are being conducted?

Of course, more aggressive testing will drive up the number of infected cases but further risks of community transmission could be curbed. Unless our political leaders want to keep the infected numbers down before the elections. But then, how can you trust leaders who put electioneering first before properly fighting the pandemic?

Panic-buying, empty supermarket shelves and hoarding of essential items are just some of the knee-jerk reactions of a public concerned over potential food shortages triggered by the pandemic. And our leaders’ response to this is to diversify our food sources from countries further away. Doesn’t that seriously worry you?

While we are importing our food products from countries further away, our local farms have to cease operations as the government wants to take back the land to build more housing. With a declining total fertility rate, why the need to rush and build more housing?

The question for me is, should Singaporeans continue trust a team who have blamed their shortfalls on the lack of hindsight? Should we continue to trust a team without foresight?

Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, believed that a system of a few good men (and some women) would be the best fit for Singapore. He said in his memoirs, “My experience of developments in Asia has led me to conclude that we need good men to have good government. However good the system of government, bad leaders will bring harm to their people. […] The single decisive factor that made for Singapore’s development was the ability of its ministers and the high quality of the civil servants who supported them.”

This is one main reason why we do not have strong institutions and rigorous processes. This system of Government, however, could be dated and can only work when we have good, capable leaders with foresight.

This pandemic is unlike any other crisis many of us may have seen in our lives. But there may be many more unknowns and perils ahead of us. And with the many twists and turns before us, we must come together and work hand-in-hand to chart the way forward.

We cannot rely only on one man, or even one band of men and women. We cannot let these men amass so much power especially when they have readily admitted that they do not have the foresight.

It is a massive task – but united, we can!

Ravi Philemon, Red Dot United

The PAP have made use of the Covid19 pandemic to gain airtime on "national broadcasts" between 7 to 20 June. Even though there are speculations that these speeches are disguised election rallies, many have found these speeches lacking substance about Singapore's plans in a post-Circuit Breaker landscape. Among those who found these speeches wanting in concrete ideas was the Assistant Secretary General of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Leong Mun Wai.

On 10 June, Leong Mun Wai called out the speeches by Lee Hsien Loong and Lawrence Wong as being "far short of substance" especially when Singaporeans were hoping to find answers to soothe their anxieties caused by Covid19.

Instead Leong Mun Wai raised 10 points which Lee Hsien Loong or Lawrence Wong could have addressed instead of spewing out empty rhetoric:

1. Singapore may signal the start of Phase 2 when all foreign workers have been swabbed.

2. The living conditions of foreign workers need to be improved. Future construction projects will require longer schedules as Singapore works towards relying less on foreign workers for construction activities.

3. Construction companies which hope to hire foreign workers will depend on their productivity records and how much they have invested in automating their processes.

4. The needs of citizens affected by Covid19 will be looked into first. A General Elections will not be called until there have been zero Covid19 community cases for a month during Phase 2.

5. Singaporeans will be encouraged to maintain the social etiquettes and good hygiene standards practised during this pandemic.

6. The government needs to spend more to redevelop older HDB estates into cleaner and greene living spaces so that these residents can better support each other.

7. Healthcare will reform and focus on preventive care, social medicine and community support.

8. Accelerating digitalisation and improving the quality of childcare centres will enable more Singaporeans to work from home. Having such family-friendly practices will hopefully improve work-life balance and encourage increase total fertility rate.

9. The education system will be reformed so students can do more online studying at their own pace and place, and teachers will take on the role of life and character coaches to motivate students.

10. Singapore needs to set up a defence structure against future pandemics that rivals our defence plans against war and terrorism.

Singaporeans deserve better.

When Singapore faced a spike in number of Covid19 cases, the PAP government tried to encourage residents to download a locally-developed app called TraceTogether for contact tracing purposes. However this project failed to take off as many netizens complained about problems with the app including how it drained their phone battery life while others were concerned about their personal privacy.

In a renewed attempt to implement this failed project, the government recently announced that Singaporeans will be issued with a wearable contact-tracing device. Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Vivian Balakrishnan tried to reassure that the device only uses Bluetooth technology to exchange proximity information between devices. He claims there is no GPS in the token and it will not track users' locations.

Yet again this proposed token faced mounting concerns about privacy and surveillance. Among those voices was journalist Kirsten Han who came up with various questions about the token. She wrote many questions in her 9 June Facebook post:

1. There are other methods besides GPS to track people.

2. TraceTogether is meant for contact tracing, and this means users are being tracked. Why is there a need for this TraceTogether token when there other measures like SafeEntry?

3. The TraceTogether app was ineffective because not enough people have downloaded it, but PAP failed to disclose how useful it has been so far.

4. There is no known law to prevent other authorities, like the police, from confiscating the token. It is also unknown if there are laws preventing the police from asking the encrypted data from the Ministry of Health (MOH).

5. There may not be any laws to prevent the government from misusing tokens by planting them in specific locations to ping TraceTogether tokens and track persons who have been in that place.

6. There are no reassurances about an oversight mechanism that will independently check the PAP's claims about the storage and deletion of TraceTogether's data.

Based on responses from netizens, it is doubtful that this TraceTogether token will be as welcomed or as effective as the app.

Just how many paper generals does the PAP need? Since Pinky's own entry into politics as a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) scholar, the pattern of ownself select ownself has gone on and on and the number of paper generals in the party has been increasing. The latest addition to the "mix" is expected to be the country's first woman general (but not first woman paper general) Gan Siow Huang.

A week after Gan resigned from her position as Chief of Staff-Air Staff, she was seen with Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen at a Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC walkabout on 22 March. In April, she joined NTUC's e2i as deputy CEO. She is expected to be fielded as a PAP candidate in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC this coming elections.

Examples of ex-SAF officers turned ministers who have been parachuted into cabinet are the xia suay kee chiu (Major-General), Lui Tuck Yew (Rear-Admiral), Teo Chee Hean (Rear-Admiral), Lim Swee Say and Lim Hng Kiang (Lieutenant-Colonel). A number of MPs also come from the army.

Why do we not see more representation from the masses in cabinet? Does recruiting from the civil service and military make the PAP feel safer because these recruits will think on the same wavelength? The failures of the PAP simply show that they are severely out of touch with the ground and the leadership is in need of refreshment. The danger of group-think is higher than ever with recruits from similar backgrounds. We need diversity in parliament and to stop people from the same mould getting elected.

With talk of Singapore's General Elections being called soon, many political parties have tried to get the Elections Department (ELD) to release campaigning rules. However their requests have been brushed aside with excuses that all parties will have "enough time to prepare their physical campaigning strategies".

There have been speculations both by the state media and netizens that GE2020 will be called in July 2020. According to the latest campaigning guidelines by ELD, it seems that the PAP may be keen to hold the GE in the midst of a Covid19 pandemic.

Not to be outmaneuvered by the PAP while idling waiting for ELD to release its rules, major political parties like the Singapore Democratic Party, The Workers' Party and Progress Singapore Party have proactively made calls for donations, volunteers and members to help with their campaigns.

All political parties need whatever support they can get in their campaign against the ruling party, which is advantaged due to its access to the 158th media and other major media channels.

- More at AllSingaporeStuff.com https://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/ge2020-elds-reasons-not-announcing-campaigning-rules-do-not-stand-scrutiny
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The Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) Secretary-General Abu Mohamed told the Straits Times on 11 June that the membership applications from four parties have been put on hold. The parties were named as People's Power Party (PPP), Reform Party (RP), Singaporeans First (SingFirst) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). It seems that SDA was focusing on ramping up its preparations for the upcoming General Elections which many speculate will be a July GE2020.

PPP Secretary-General Goh Meng Seng clarified in a Facebook post that the PPP has never submitted any membership application to join SDA. What happened instead was PPP just asked for a preliminary discussion with the SDA leaders about the possibility of forming an alliance to strengthen Opposition Unity. 

Despite SDA temporarily putting off membership applications, PPP will continue to working towards opposition unity and collaboration with all parties.

PPP believes a united opposition parties is urgently needed to fight the PAP's dominant rule and counter their incompetencies with proper checks and accountability.

Government Technology Agency (GovTech) announced it had awarded a $6 million tender to a Singapore-based electronics maker PCI Pte Ltd to manufacture TraceTogether Tokens. The $6 million dollars will be used to supply an initial 300,000 dongles, worth about $20 each. The first batch of Token should be delivered in the second half of June 2020.

If the PAP successfully pushes through with its plan to tag every Singaporean, PCI Limited stands to gain access to a business potentially worth more than $110 million once Tokens are made for all 5.7 million residents.

PCI Pte Ltd started as a Silicon Valley circuit board manufacturer in 1972. However it was delisted from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in May 2019 and bought over by an American private equity firm Platinum Equity for $265 million in that same year.

These Tokens were suggested as the PAP's previous attempts to get Singaporeans on board with its TraceTogether app failed. The app which used Bluetooth scanning was incompatible with Apple iOS and marred by privacy concerns.

These Tokens will also use Bluetooth scanning, and Minister Vivian Balakrishnan yet again had to sell the idea that these devices do not track location through GPS and the data stored within is supposedly encrypted. However netizens remain unconvinced as there exists potential privacy issues.

With the upcoming General Elections expected to be held soon, many speculate that GE2020 will be held while Covid19 is still around. While the Elections Department (ELD) has not released its campaigning rules, there has been talk that GE2020 may be a virtual GE campaign due to social distancing measures in place. Many political parties have stepped up their game to overcome the Covid19 challenges by going online.

Netizens have seen how adaptable parties have been in using cutting-edge technology like Facebook Live and Zoom conferences to spread their voices to voters and residents. The Progress Singapore Party has already held three Zoom sessions with residents in the West side of Singapore to "MeetPSP". The Workers' Party Youth Wing (WPYW) held a Facebook Live webinar on 14 Jun titled "Re-imagining a Post-COVID Singapore".

Kenneth Jeyaretnam, the Secretary-General of The Reform Party is another party which has gone ahead to adopt technology. The Reform Party announced that it will be holding a Google Meet and Facebook Livestream for a video outreach on 15 Jun. The Reform Party will be fielding a panel to discuss where the party stands on policy issues which are relevant to all Singaporeans.

Political parties have traditionally depended on the state media to spread their campaigning messages, but this has been heavily criticised as the PAP has allegedly been given more exposure by these media. However such virtual meetings has levelled the playing field for the opposition parties by ensuring their voices have adequate airtime.

The Workers' Party politician Gerald Giam blogged about PAP's plans to roll out TraceTogether Tokens to all Singaporeans. If the PAP pushes its way through, an estimated 5.7 million residents in Singapore will be marked with a contact tracing device which will cost taxpayers over $100 million. However, TraceTogether has continually faced compatibility issues especially with iPhones.

Other First World countries which tried to develop their own contact tracing apps have also faced similar compatibility issues. To overcome these issues, Apple and Google have developed their own contact tracing protocol called Exposure Notifications. While the PAP stubbornly insists on developing and implementing its TraceTogether project, at least 22 countries have now switched to using Exposure Notifications.

Gerald Giam questioned why the PAP is wasting over $100 million to develop TraceTogether Tokens when a ready and effective Exposure Notifications solution has been created by the Tech Giants. Exposure Notifications will not only reduce the drain on handphone batteries, it can also have cross-border interoperability when travellers go overseas or arrive in Singapore.

Since 91% of Singaporeans already have a smartphone, Exposure Notifications can easily be implemented to the bulk of Singaporeans. The PAP can continue to issue its reprogrammed Exposure-Notifications-compatible Tokens to the remaining 9% of Singaporeans. This move will easily save taxpayers over $100 million.

One can only imagine why the PAP continues to insist using its failed pet project TraceTogether.

Yesterday the government announced that Singapore will be able to move into Phase 2 of reopening the country. From 19 June 2359hrs, Singaporeans will once again be able to meet their family, friends and loved ones (no more than 5), dine in at F&B outlets, exercise at gyms and pools and students can resume their tuition classes.

This is despite having a spike in the number of community cases over the past weeks.

While many may rejoice at being able to resume their normal activities again, we need to question why the government is so eager to move into phase 2, especially after the 154 media keeps releasing new information about potential PAP candidates on the ground.

As it is, a few ministers have already hinted that the general elections have to be held soon. Heng Swee Keat even said "yes, elections are coming nearer by the day...The sooner we get it done, the earlier we can rally everybody together to deal with these very significant challenges ahead"

Means if got no elections, they cannot rally everyone together? But I digress.

So now that people are able to gather in groups of 5 albeit with social distancing, this means that it is not illegal for people to be out and about, which means that the PAP can start their door-to-door campaigning, meeting the electorate and start selling their koyok again.

But with the Covid virus still in our midst, as seen in the so many asymptomatic cases, it is still a risk to start physical campaign as they might be vectors in spreading the virus, unbeknown to them. Not to mention the potential clusters that could form at election polling stations.

So many countries now are facing a second wave of covid outbreaks. It is unwise for the government to open up now so that they can hold elections and risk having our country go through a second wave of outbreak.

The Covid19 Multi-Ministry Taskforce announced last evening that Singapore will enter Phase 2 of its reopening on 19 June. This decision was based on the Taskforce's view that Covid19 is "under control". With Phase 2, Singaporeans can expect most activities to resume but with safety measures in place.

While many Singaporeans began rejoicing this Phase 2 announcement, The Workers' Party politican Bernard Chen Jiaxi eyed the Taskforce's decision more critically. Bernard Chen wrote in a Facebook post that Phase 2 was "nicely choreographed with the election in mind". He provided a suspected timeline for PAP to called for Parliament's dissolution:

• 18 June 2020: Singaporeans to receive Budget2020 cash payment
• 19 June 2020: Phase 2
• 20 June 2020: Heng Swee Keat will end the sixth ministerial TV broadcasts with a rallying cry

With all these feel-good factors, Bernard Chen predicts Parliament will be dissolved between 22 and 24 June 2020, giving all political parties a week to prepare. GE2020 may then see its Nomination Day on 1 July, Cooling-off Day on 10 July and Election Day as 11 July 2020.

He criticised this call to Phase 2 for GE2020 as the PAP prioritising its "narrow political interests" above the citizens' and country's interests.

While Bernard Chen thinks he may be "too cynical", his predicted timeline is similar to what some "political observers" expect. According to a 30 May 2020 Straits Times article, these political observers said GE2020 could be held as soon as Singapore enters Phase 2 and their expected Polling Day was also 11 July 2020.

The Elections Department (ELD) has not released its campaigning rules. If Parliament is really dissolved between 22 and 24 June 2020, has ELD kept its promise to give all parties sufficient to make their preparations?