Seniors should initiate legacy planning to provide clarity for loved ones: Halimah Yacob
SINGAPORE - The number of seniors is increasing in Singapore, but many still have not made plans for when they die, said former president Halimah Yacob, urging them to initiate such discussions.
It is important to do so to make the process easier for loved ones and grieving children when the time comes, she said on May 17.
Recognising that legacy planning is a sensitive topic, Madam Halimah said that the younger generation may not have the courage to broach the topic of death.
'Conveying our last wishes, or communicating to our loved ones our preferences regarding funeral rites and religious traditions, is critical so that they have clarity,' she said, speaking at a symposium on legacy planning by the Silver Caregivers Cooperative.
It will make things easier for our loved ones when they know our wishes, so they are spared of confusion and everyone has peace of mind, she added.
Madam Halimah said that like many, she has thought about legacy planning for a long time, but has not taken the first step to start.
'I'm 71 years old now, so I think I should do something about it,' said the mother of five.
Legacy planning includes estate and asset distribution plans, drafting a will, making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) to ensure a trusted person can take charge if one loses mental capacity, and discussing advance care plans to settle preferences for medical care.
Digital assets – like financial accounts, e-mail, social media, online business accounts and tech devices – are increasingly being discussed in wills and end-of-life documentation.
Some law firms have seen a significant increase in queries from people asking about cryptocurrencies or other types of digital assets like non-fungible tokens.
The symposium, held at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Paya Lebar, was attended by around 120 people who signed up to learn more about legacy planning.
Associate Professor Thang Leng Leng from the National University of Singapore, who spoke during a presentation at the event, said that beyond asset distribution, legacy planning also includes values, wishes and preferences.
This includes how you want to be taken care of if you need long-term care, funeral arrangements, and passing down family values and traditions.
Prof Thang said that one thing she regrets is not asking for family recipes from her grandfather, who cooked Hakka dishes. 'I am no longer able to taste that special food from my grandfather,' she said.
Another speaker, Dr Adeline Lam, a senior consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, spoke about the importance of establishing advance care plans.
Advance care planning allows people to discuss their medical treatment preferences in advance, and enables them to designate someone to decide on medical care for them if they become mentally incapacitated.
This helps to circumvent conflict when difference in opinions arise between family members regarding medical treatment for a loved one, she said.
'Having conversations and letting your family know your wishes so that they know what to do is important, so the burden of guilt is not there. They know that 'This is what Mum wants', for example,' she said.
Lawyer Norhakim Md Shah urged the audience to make a LPA.
He said the process to be appointed as a deputy under the Mental Capacity Act takes a long time. This process is initiated when a person loses mental capacity and does not have an LPA for a trusted person to make decisions on their behalf.
'Doing an LPA cuts short a problem you can foresee. Nobody lives forever, and there are things we can do to help the people around us so that they do not get themselves in a complicated situation just because we have chosen not to do anything to prepare.'
The LPA application fee, which is usually $75, is waived for Singapore Citizens until the end of March 2026.
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CNA
5 days ago
- CNA
IN FOCUS: Subletting of hawker stalls an 'open secret' despite decade-long ban
SINGAPORE: After closing a Western food stall at a coffee shop last year, Mr Ng set his sights on a new goal – opening a hawker stall with his wife to sell artisanal and traditional coffee. Rather than bid for a tender through the National Environment Agency (NEA), the 31-year-old visited about 10 hawker centres to look for a stall to sublet. 'The only reason why I'll choose to sublet is because … good places will never be given up,' said Mr Ng, who did not want his full name published. Although Singapore prohibits the subletting of hawker stalls, the practice has persisted. Experts say it undermines the intent of hawker centres, which are meant to offer affordable food and support small-scale entrepreneurship. 'If the government were to allow subletting, it would attract a more commercially oriented type of vendor, the same sort of people who are already in the food courts and the kopitiams,' said National University of Singapore (NUS) economist Ivan Png. Such vendors would 'price more commercially' and food costs would go up, he added. Experts also point to the principle at stake – that subsidised hawker stalls should not be used for private gain. But most of the 20 hawkers CNA spoke to said it is an 'open secret' that under-the-table subletting arrangements are common across hawker centres. The ban on subletting was introduced in 2012. Stallholders were given a three-year grace period to adjust, and current rules require successful tenderers or their registered joint operators to personally run the stall for at least four hours daily. BETTER LOCATION, HIGHER FOOTFALL Mr Ng said he would prefer to go through NEA's official tender process if better locations were available. 'At the end of the day … that stall is not yours. So anytime, if the real owner wants to take back right, there's nothing you can do,' he said about sublet stalls. But the stalls available for tender are often not ideal, Mr Ng said. 'You know every single shop will 'toh' one, what's the point?' he said, using the Hokkien term for 'fail'. He has been quoted S$8,000 (US$6,300) to sublet a popular stall in Chinatown, and as low as S$2,000 for stalls in less crowded areas. The median rent for non-subsidised hawker stalls has remained at around S$1,250 monthly between 2015 and 2023, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said earlier this year. Those on the subsidised rental scheme typically pay S$192, S$320 or S$384 per month, Ms Fu said in a parliamentary response in 2023. But as older hawkers retired, the proportion of subsidised stallholders fell from 40 per cent in 2013 to 30 per cent over the same period. Mr Melvin Chew, who runs Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck and Kway Chap at Chinatown Complex, said most prime-location stalls are still held by older hawkers. 'You can hardly tender for such good location unless the existing hawkers are willing to give up or return to NEA,' said the 47-year-old. 'So most people will hunt for such stalls.' COMPETITIVE BIDS The limited number of stalls available for tender means that bidding can be competitive. Mr Tan, a hawker who sublet a stall to sell Chinese desserts, said bids for government-run hawker stalls were 'way too high' for him. People often bid 'crazy' prices, the 39-year-old added. In one 2024 case, a stall at Marine Parade Central drew a record bid of over S$10,000. Dr Koh Poh Koon, the senior minister of state for the environment ministry then, said that such bids were outliers and 'not the norm'. How to bid for a hawker stall through NEA NEA holds tender exercises for vacant stalls on its website, typically from the 13th to the 26th of every month. The five highest bids are published about one week after the tender closes, and the final results are released five to seven weeks later. There are no minimum bid prices and stalls are awarded to the highest qualifying bid. Successful bid prices are also published on NEA's website as a reference to guide future tenderers. In November last year, NEA revised its rental renewal policy to reduce inflated bids. Previously, tenderers could put in high bids to secure the stall, as their tendered rent would be adjusted downwards to the assessed market rate after three years. Now, rental for the second tenancy term is adjusted downwards by 50 per cent of the difference between the tendered and assessed market rates. But Mr Tan said many available stalls were designated for Halal or Indian food, which he did not want to sell. Of 34 stalls in the latest tender in July, 26 stalls were designated as such. Mr Tan, who sublets a stall at a hawker centre in the west, pays about S$4,100 for rent, while the original stallholder pays about S$2,600. 'I have no choice, because these people don't let go,' he said. 'How I get to bid, I can't bid at all, right?' Some see subletting as more affordable than renting from privately run coffee shops. One hawker who wanted to be known only as Tim said he pays a 'reasonable' S$3,000 a month to sublet a hawker stall in Bukit Merah. The 34-year-old, who runs a noodles stall, said he sees subletting as a 'win-win' solution. 'I pay less rent and my business is good. At the same time, I managed to help the stall owner so that they don't have to work already.' He pointed out that many veteran hawkers have been working for decades and still need income in their retirement. 'You are killing people's careers and lives if you don't let them sublet,' he said. 'If they return (the stall) to NEA, what do they do? They still have things to pay for in life.' Anecdotally, most stallholders who rent out their stalls are older hawkers seeking passive income. While most sublet their stall for slightly higher than what they pay for rent, some 'spoil market' by charging 'very high prices', said Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck's Mr Chew, who also founded the Facebook group Hawkers United - Dabao 2020. Under the Hawker's Succession Scheme, veteran hawkers planning to retire can pass down their skills, recipes and stalls to aspiring hawkers. Those who return their stall to NEA and exit the trade receive a one-off ex gratia payment of S$23,000. But many see the payout as modest compared to what they can earn by renting out the stall or arranging a private takeover. In such takeovers, buyers pay an agreed fee directly to the original stallholder before applying for a transfer of ownership. A hawker in his early 60s told CNA he put his drinks stall up for takeover at around S$80,000. After 40 years in the trade, he hopes to retire due to poor health. With help from a property agent, he has received a few enquiries so far. FINDINGS STALLS TO SUBLET Former hawker Khoo Keat Hwee, who used to run Mentai-Ya Japanese Cuisine, said it is common for those seeking stalls to visit hawker centres in person. He recalled being approached several times a year by property agents. Mr Khoo, 38, who is now an F&B consultant, said the 'most ridiculous' quote he heard was S$8,500 a month to rent a stall at a hawker centre in Bedok. CNA also found listings for hawker stalls on platforms such as Carousell and Facebook, with monthly rents ranging from S$2,900 for a stall in Jurong West to S$4,000 for one near Rochor. One Toa Payoh stall was listed for takeover at a staggering S$168,888. In the past year, there were at least 10 such posts in a Facebook group, seven listings on Carousell and one on property platform Carousell said sellers are responsible for ensuring listings comply with local laws, and it is 'not privy to and not in a position to enforce' third-party agreements. Facebook and did not respond to queries. KNOCK-ON EFFECT ON PRICES Some argue that subletting helps preserve variety in hawker centres. Food critic KF Seetoh said it can 'add to the colour of the culture'. 'It's a win-win for both original hawkers and the new player, and customers won't really care much as long as food is affordable and good,' he said. But others warn of a knock-on effect on prices. Mr Khoo said sublet stalls tend to charge more. For example, a plate of chicken rice may be priced at S$5 to S$6 compared with the national average of S$3.80 in 2023. 'The whole ecosystem will be affected,' he said. 'At the end of the day, food prices will not be as cheap or as affordable as they're supposed to be.' Mr Ng, the hawker looking for a stall to sublet, acknowledged that if he were to pay a much higher rent, he would need to price his coffee higher. 'I'll need to cut down my cost to maybe S$3 a cup. That's also very expensive for iced coffee,' he said. Dr Tan Ern Ser, adjunct principal research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, pointed out that subletting was banned to curb rental hikes, which could ultimately drive up food prices. Allowing subletting would run counter to the intent behind hawker centres, which is to encourage entrepreneurship and preserve hawker culture, he added. LOOPHOLES AND ENFORCEMENT In March, Dr Koh said in a Facebook post that detecting subletting 'isn't always straightforward'. 'Subletting is done under the table, and NEA has to conduct thorough investigations to uncover and substantiate such cases,' he said. Requiring stallholders to physically operate their stalls remains the 'most practical and fair way' of preventing subletting. In 2024, NEA identified and warned more than 230 stalls that were not personally operated by registered stallholders. More than 100 terminated their tenancy. Others resumed personal operations or provided valid reasons for their absence, such as medical conditions, Dr Koh said. Earlier this week, I explained in Parliament the importance of NEA requiring a hawker to personally operate a stall in... Posted by Koh Poh Koon - 许宝琨 on Friday, March 14, 2025 In response to CNA's queries, NEA said it conducts thorough investigations to uncover and substantiate subletting cases. This includes gathering photo evidence, conducting interviews and performing repeated checks before action is taken. Members of the public who suspect a hawker stall is subletting can inform NEA, which will look into cases that have reasonable grounds for investigation, the agency said. Still, hawkers told CNA that some stallholders register sublessees as workers to evade detection. An ayam penyet hawker in his 40s told CNA he is looking to rent out one of the two stalls he has for about S$4,000 a month, despite paying only S$2,000 for it. To avoid detection, he plans to register the sublessees as his workers, keeping the stall under his name. 'The only difference is they get the income,' he said. When asked how he would respond to government inspectors, he replied: 'The ruling is you have to be at the stall. We are at the stall.' Tim, the hawker subletting in Bukit Merah, said the original stallholder is present almost daily and remains on-site when inspectors visit. Such inspections are conducted regularly and at random times. Veteran hawker Niven Leong of Sin Kee Famous Chicken Rice said many enter the trade as entrepreneurs, not traditional hawkers. 'I am a businessman, I'm not a hawker,' said the 65-year-old of such hawkers. 'The mentality is different.' "GRASPING SAND" In March, a hawker's Facebook complaint that his pregnant wife was 'forced' to man their stall in Yishun sparked renewed scrutiny of the rules. Experts say enforcement is no simple task. NEA oversees over 6,000 cooked food stalls across 123 markets and hawker centres. Author and researcher Ryan Kueh, who wrote From Streets to Stalls, said enforcement must be balanced with empathy for older hawkers who have legitimate reasons for not being able to operate their stalls personally. 'I do think NEA does its best to look at this on a case-by-case basis,' he said. 'Obviously, there will always be individuals who try and test the system, and I do think those individuals should be clamped down on hard.' Assistant Professor of Urban Studies Aidan Wong from the Singapore Management University likened the situation to 'grasping sand'. 'Too loose, and you get the problems of this idea that widespread subletting is occurring. Hold it too tightly, and you disincentivise any form of public hawkering,' he said. Adjunct Associate Professor Terence Ho from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS added that subletting could make it more difficult for genuine hawkers to obtain a stall. Unlike coffee shops, hawker stalls are intended to provide Singaporeans with the opportunity to run a small food business, he said. 'There is an element of wanting to preserve Singapore's distinctive hawker heritage, rather than have big chains with hired workers take over the running of hawker stalls,' he added. Younger hawkers are already feeling its effects. 'We can't go in, the barrier is getting higher,' said Mr Tan, the Chinese desserts hawker. Big players with deeper pockets will be able to bid higher prices and crowd out new entrants, he added. Mr Ng, the hawker searching for a stall to sublet for his artisanal coffee business, still hopes to run his own stall one day. While he acknowledges that the current system makes it difficult for younger hawkers to enter the trade, he said he understands why some choose to sublet their stalls for passive income. 'Humans are humans. Nobody will say no to money,' he said, adding that a harsh clampdown on subletting could have unintended consequences. 'It might actually make a lot of people lose their rice bowl.'
Business Times
24-07-2025
- Business Times
Hunn Wai and Olivia Lee: Intellectual and creative equals
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN POWER COUPLE HUNN Wai and Olivia Lee can come across as rather unfriendly. Look them up on the Internet and you're more likely to find pictures of them looking grim – stern almost – than smiling. But prepare to ditch those impressions when you meet the duo. Not only are the husband and wife warm and engaging in person, they're also very attentive, with a refreshing sense of curiosity towards just about everything. They don't just want to know about the hows, but also the whys behind things. Confident and comfortable in their own skin but eager to learn, they embody the teachable spirit that they probably hope to instil in their students. Wai, 45, whose full name is Wai Yuh-Hunn, is an adjunct associate professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, while Lee, 40, is an adjunct assistant professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Being prominent industrial designers and university lecturers are not their only commonalities. Both are also recipients of DesignSingapore Council's overseas scholarships. Wai pursued a master's degree at the prestigious Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands, while Lee topped her cohort and clinched first-class honours at the renowned Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. They also started their respective design practices. Wai is one half of Lanzavecchia + Wai (L+W), a creative studio based in Singapore and Milan, and Lee is the founder of her eponymous firm. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Too many similarities to make for a good, lifelong partnership? That was an idea Lee, who was named as one of the eight most promising designers at the famed Milan Furniture Fair in 2017, had to disagree with. 'Because with Hunn, I realised the value of a similar vocabulary and a lens with which you look at life together.' A meeting of minds Wai and Lee knew of each other when they were undergraduates pursuing industrial design at NUS. But it was only when they returned from their studies overseas that they found themselves in similar orbits in Singapore's small design circle. By then, Lee was on Wai's radar as she was featured on design blogs. 'Also, I knew that being an independent designer is not easy, so I respect anyone who takes that path,' he says. Hunn Wai wears a shirt, blazer and trousers by Tod's. Olivia Lee wears a blazer and trousers by Loewe. PHOTO: DARREN GABRIEL LEOW For Lee, who was the first female industrial designer to go solo and start an independent studio in 2013, it was nice to connect with other creatives also trying to make a dent in the international design scene. 'There were very few studios that you could really swop stories with, and I really respected what Hunn was doing with the L+W practice – punching above their weight on this big stage,' says Lee, whose clients include global names such as Cartier, Hermes, Samsung and The Balvenie. Plus, it didn't hurt that Wai took an interest in her project, the Marvellous Marble Factory, for Singapore Design Week in 2015. He also helped her tear down the installation – which reimagined marble in a playful and fantastical way – when the show concluded. 'Chivalry works, you know,' Lee says with a laugh. 'Especially from a peer you respect professionally. We were just really aligned in values and ambitions.' In their practice, both use narrative as a core design strategy, dig deep into research for traits to weave into their projects, and involve wonder, play and wit. The difference, if one were to distil it, is in how these ideas are expressed, with Lee being more classical and elemental, and Wai, more expressive with flourishes. A joining of hearts Growing up, both Wai and Lee lived in condominiums with open spaces in the western part of Singapore, and enjoyed improvised play with neighbours of different nationalities. 'We were exposed to a more cosmopolitan but also very idyllic, very safe world with a lot of make-believe,' says Lee. 'Our inner children really see and recognise each other.' Even today, play and curiosity remain cornerstones of their relationship, driving how they pursue new experiences, travel, as well as love the simple, poetic and finer things in life. 'We have such a huge bandwidth for collecting all these experiences, and improvising together,' she says. Wai proposed to Lee at the Teshima Art Museum, which hosts a single piece of artwork in the form of a freestanding concrete shell, on the island of Teshima in Japan. Fittingly, when they got married in 2018, they declared each other as fellow life explorers. After all, they enjoy both the expansive and convergent intellectual processes which allow them to refine and iterate their decisions – in work and in life. Hunn Wai wears a shirt and pullover by Zegna. Olivia Lee wears a dress by Tod's. PHOTO: DARREN GABRIEL LEOW 'Everything can be unpacked and discovered. We think about life as this open-world game, and it's actually quite fun,' says Wai, who earlier this year became the first Singaporean co-curator of DesignSingapore Council's Future Impact showcase at Milan Design Week. His studio has also done work for brands the likes of Living Divani, Cappellini, Tod's and – yes – Hermes. Because he is 'curious about everything and has an opinion about everything', Wai says he has the propensity to fill up mental space – but has learnt from his wife to be patient. Lee, on the other hand, tends to 'hang back and overthink a little too much'. 'From Hunn, I've learnt to be a bit more gung-ho.' A sharing of ideals The infinitely curious couple read each other well and also look to one another when searching for the right word or concept to articulate a thought. The love and mutual respect between them is abundantly clear, as are the dreams they share. One such dream is the design of their ideal home – although it wouldn't be a straightforward exercise. Says Wai: 'We're thinking about how it fulfills us as inquisitive people; or even as people who enjoy culture, food and art – not only the consumption of these things, but also their creation, and how to share and communicate them and empower the community around us. These are all things we would like to layer into a home project.' A much bigger dream, however, is one inspired by their visit to the Storm King Art Center, an open-air museum in New York with possibly the largest collection of contemporary outdoor sculptures in the United States. 'It's a beautiful piece of land with lots of site-specific sculptures,' Lee gushes. 'We could invite friends or people we admire to populate (a similar kind of park). So if Sentosa or Saint John's Island needs ideas on how to transform their island…' They also envisage opening a creative school within the park, so more can be exposed to the power of design thinking. 'When we were younger, we were really just struggling hard to make a mark, to be seen and heard, to exist as creatives and know that our work has meaning,' says Lee. 'Now, we're in a position in our career where we have tasted some of that success and recognition, and it feels like each time we hit a new milestone... we're thinking further and wider in terms of impact, about how our work leaves a legacy.' And although much of their life already involves collaboration – they feed and bounce ideas off each other – the couple have yet to join forces when it comes to work. They acknowledge that while they're both 'very good pilots', they're not sure if they can co-pilot together. 'Also, it took so long for me to craft a singular identity as a female designer, so I'm cautious that in a collaboration, I get subsumed into the partnership or just be seen as Hunn's wife,' Lee admits. For now, Wai is preoccupied with the homecoming show for Future Impact and a project commissioned by the Japanese government. Lee, meanwhile, is working on a large-scale public art installation and expanding her practice into the field of augmented reality. 'Growth is a huge keyword in our relationship,' says Wai. 'In design or innovation, you're staring at ambiguity every day, looking at the unknown and thinking about what you can pull out to create new value or new thinking. And I think that's how we face life as well.' Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow Fashion direction: CK Make-up and hair: Alison Tay, using Armani and Goldwell
AsiaOne
22-07-2025
- AsiaOne
Over 280 applications, 0 offers: Fresh grad's year-long job hunt highlights new jobseeker woes , Singapore News
She had graduated with a bachelor's degree from the National University of Singapore's Business School in April 2024, but it has taken her more than a year to secure a full-time job. The 25-year-old, who wanted to be known as Adeline, has been working in a marketing agency since June. She told AsiaOne that her job hunt saw her apply for various positions in government agencies, multinational corporations as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises. Amid the tears and growing resignation, she still managed to create an Excel sheet to track her progress. Out of 287 applications, Adeline reached the initial HR screening for 12 positions. She advanced to interviews with hiring managers for eight of those and completed the full interview process for four roles — only to be either ghosted or ultimately told she was not the right fit. 'In that sense, a lot of time and effort was invested with little to no progress,' added Adeline. Adeline's experiences are a reflection of the recent struggles of other fresh graduates in their job search. The latest annual graduate employment surveys conducted by local universities and polytechnics show that fewer of their fresh graduates secured full-time employment in 2024. For fresh graduates from the universities, 79.5 per cent of them secured full-time jobs in 2024, down from 84.1 per cent in 2023. Employment outcomes for polytechnic graduates also declined, with 54.6 per cent of them in full-time permanent jobs in 2024, down from about 60 per cent in 2023. Yvonne Tan, a certified Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) senior professional, told AsiaOne that economic uncertainty is the reason why some businesses are hiring fewer fresh graduates. 'Many are focusing on cost control and prefer experienced hires who can contribute immediately,' she said. Tan observed that the technology industry has seen the largest decline in entry-level openings. This is due to jobs that have been reduced or outsourced to other countries in the region, such as India, Vietnam and the Philippines. 'It has made it more difficult for fresh graduates to enter the tech industry unless they possess in-demand niche skills or have completed relevant internships that give them the competitive edge,' she said. The banking and finance industries have also seen fewer entry-level roles in Singapore, according to Tan. These include job functions such as operations, compliance processing and support services — roles that are viewed as stepping stones into the sector, she added. Boosting fresh grads' employability Speaking to the media earlier this month, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang said that the Government is watching the employment situation of fresh graduates closely. She pointed out how institutes of higher learning are stepping up to help graduates having difficulties in their job search — offering career coaching, networking opportunities, upskilling courses, and organising career fairs. There are also moves by schools to highlight graduates' soft skills to potential employers, as hiring moves towards a skills-first model. One such initiative is the Singapore Management University's co-curricular transcript, which its graduating class of 2025 will receive on top of their academic transcript. A first among universities here, the transcript indicates the skill sets the student has developed through their co-curricular activities, and the extent to which the individual has developed these skill sets through progressive levels. Besides a documentation of a student's growth, Professor Paulin Straughan, SMU's dean of students, told AsiaOne that the co-curricular transcript will help fresh graduates, who typically do not have much formal work experience, to stand out during the hiring process. 'We heard from employers how very often it was challenging to identify applicants who already possess critical core skills and the right attributes to contribute effectively at the workplace,' she said. 'These are qualities that aren't captured in an applicant's academic grades or grade point average.' While schools can give students a lift in their job prospects, HR professional Tan said that fresh graduates can boost their employability by gaining real-world experience through part-time jobs or internships during school breaks. 'Taking short learning courses, even those unrelated to their field of study such as artificial intelligence or digital tools, can help them stay relevant and stand out to employers," she added. 'Silver lining' in latest data Despite the gloomy outlook, Tan observed that the employment prospects for fresh graduates will improve in the next six to 12 months — though recovery will be slow. 'There might be contract roles available, and fresh grads who are open to such opportunities will be better positioned to benefit,' she added. Manpower Minister Tan See Leng had also expressed a similar view about keeping an open mind, adding that he sees some "silver lining" based on employment data. Calling for graduates and parents to 'stay calm', he pointed out during a Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce press conference on July 10 that the employment rate for the 2025 university graduating cohort was 51.9 per cent in June. This is four percentage points higher than the rate in June 2024. "We have heard, for instance, about these fresh graduates who may face anxieties starting their careers in these turbulent times,' he said. "We understand their anxieties, but we want them to be assured that there is support available." [[nid:719202]] chingshijie@
