SINGAPORE – There is great interest in how fair workplace guidelines will soon become law, as announced in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally (NDR) speech on August 29.

This is evident from the questions being asked about how seriously the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep) will take complaints on discrimination at the workplace.

The concerns were raised, among other issues, during a post-NDR dialogue session with grassroots volunteers and Malay-Muslim community leaders on Wednesday (Sept 08) night.

About 200 participants attended the event organised by The People’s Association Malay Activity Executive Committees Council.

The panellists for the dialogue included Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman.

Questions from the floor probed the panellists regarding discrimination in the workplace and how Tafep will address the issue.

A participant who joined the dialogue through Zoom asked for clear guidelines to be put up regarding language requirements for job postings.

Issues facing Singapore’s ageing population were also brought up during the dialogue.

Someone from the floor described his experience facing age-related discrimination while job-searching. He said that although he had a wealth of experience, he was offered lower wages than his younger counterparts.

Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Saktiandi Supaat provided more information to participants regarding how Tafep will address these employment issues.

Questions about theproposed Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act were also raised at the dialogue.

PM Lee had announced that the act would be introduced to encourage moderation and tolerance between different racial groups.

Participants asked whether the act would cover bullying in schools.

These concerns had been raised at a dialogue session with Malay youth, held by the same organisers on Aug 31, at which participants had mentioned their experiences with casual racism among students.

Racial incidents that have happened over the past few months were also brought up in both dialogues.

Discussing the topic of young Malay families living in rental flats as mentioned by PM Lee, participants asked what can be done to help them.

Speaking to the media after the event, Dr Maliki referred to plans to reach out to these families in rental flats through the DIAN@M3 project, pointing out that he had mentioned this earlier.

The project will support households in rented flats with the aim of guiding them towards owning their own homes.

Dr Maliki said: “What’s heartening for all of us engaging the participants today is the realisation of the awareness that they have with regards to the issues that we are facing together as a community.

“Also their willingness to work together with organisations like M3 and other Malay Muslim organisations and the government to reach out to community members who require support, and for us to be able to uplift the community members together as we move forward and bring the community to greater heights.”

A participant of the dialogue, Mr Sudirman Othman from Henderson-Dawson Malay Activity Executive Committee, said: “The community has a lot of concerns, from our identity, to our livelihoods. But it is heartening to have our leaders wanting to receive feedback and questions from us.”

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