Mothership Memo is Mothership’s daily brief on the important headlines of the day. We will also contribute our views on the issues at hand.

Blogger Roy Ngerng removes blog post about PM Lee and applies for NMP 

Blogger Roy Ngerng has removed the blog post about PM Lee Hsien Loong that was deemed to be defamatory. The post drew similarities to the ongoing City Harvest church leaders trial on how the government is "misappropriating" CPF funds.

Ngerng took down the blog post on Monday night, but is still deciding how he should respond to the letter of demand from PM Lee's lawyer. Ngerng also said that his lawyer M. Ravi would be meeting with PM Lee's lawyers to discuss the issue.

In the meantime, Ngerng has announced that he will be running as a Nominated Member of Parliament. The NMP proposal was submitted by blogger and activist Han Hui Hui. According to Yahoo News, Ngerng said that he would focus on issues such as healthcare, education and retirement if he is nominated.

The million dollar question -Will Ngerng apologise to PM Lee today? If Ngerng doesn't post an apology on his website and compensate PM Lee for damages, he will be sued for defamation.

By applying for the NMP position, Ngerng continues to shine the spotlight on his cause about the CPF. If Ngerng plays his cards right, he may earn a place as a respected activist in Singapore. 

MOM says it will continue to review and improve CPF

President Tony Tan's address at the re-opening of Parliament noted that the Government will continue to improve CPF savings and annuity schemes and give more options for older Singaporeans to monetise their homes. In response, the Ministry of Manpower said it will continue to review and improve the CPF system in consultation with the labour movement and employers.

The conversation on social media regarding CPF has been led by Roy Ngerng recently. He called for CPF to scrap the Minimum Sum Scheme to allow Singaporeans to withdraw their CPF at the age of 55. This call has the support of some quarters of the online space and it is not known how many Singaporeans agree to this. It is timely for the Manpower Ministry to explain and remind Singaporeans of the rationale behind CPF and the Minimum Sum Scheme.

Top photo from Roy Ngerng Facebook Page. 

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