“Isn’t it ludicrous?” says Lim Tean on the topic of border closure

Singapore — With the recent call to tighten Covid-19 safety measures, many Singaporeans are unhappy. The People’s Voice party’s founder Lim Tean, in particular, is upset with the choices made by the Government on the border closures.

“They were stupid enough to allow travellers from India to keep coming in even after it was clear that India had become a disaster area for Covid,” Mr Lim raged on Wednesday (May 5).

This was a day after Education Minister Lawrence Wong explained that “Singapore cannot afford to close our borders for a long duration.” “We need migrant workers in a wide range of essential services,” he added.

But the minister’s argument failed to convinced Mr Lim.

Blaming the Government, the People’s Voice leader wrote: “And when they have run out of excuses, they revert to the narrative that we are not a resource rich country and cannot afford to have our borders closed. What bunkum!”

The Government should close the borders for as long as necessary for the safety of the people, he stressed.

“Isn’t it ludicrous to suggest that you can’t even keep the borders closed temporarily when the country has S$1.48 trillion in reserves?” he argued.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat refused to reveal Singapore’s total reserves when the Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh (Workers’ Party) asked for the figure in Parliament last year. Mr Heng declined to disclose the figure on grounds of “strategic defence”.

The Online Citizen website, however, claimed in April:

“While the total size of Singapore’s reserves has been shrouded in secrecy by the Government, ironically, the figure – estimated to be at around S$1.48 trillion – is publicly available from sources like the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and some news reports.”

Other Singaporeans also are concerned about the borders and public.

Some are claiming the Government is placing the economy over the safety of the people.

Online, comments are appearing such as “dont gamble with citizens life”.

“Nobody ever suggested a permanent closure of the borders,” wrote one concerned citizen on Facebook, adding what the people wanted was a temporary closure, and reviews could be done once the Covid wave had settled down.

Denise Teh is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG