Thinking her post might resonate with homeowners facing space constraints, a woman in Singapore took to Instagram to share how she carved out a private space for her helper in a 4-room BTO flat.

However, the post received much criticism from netizens so much so that she had since deleted the original post.

She has since posted a clarification to explain her intent and apologised for coming across as "insensitive" in her original post.

Limited space

In the original post, the woman wrote that she and her husband thought about where their helper would sleep in their 4-room flat and whether she would have any privacy.

This was the first slide of the now-deleted Instagram post:

She then added that they "successfully squeezed in a single bed" in a room with a work desk setup.

A divider was added to provide the helper with some privacy.

The couple considered installing a curtain but ended up went with a divider, which was an easier option for them.

The woman shared this consideration in an Instagram story, with a link to where she bought the divider from.

She also shared that she got her helper a mini night light as she did not want something that would take up space on the floor.

She ended the post with this slide:

Criticism

The post clearly wasn't well received, drawing many negative reactions on Reddit and X.

The woman definitely did not expect her post to backfire which led to her deleting the original post.

Clarification

She also uploaded a clarification post with a black square image.

In the caption, she said that she "realised [her] previous post didn't give enough context" and "understand why some people felt uncomfortable with what they saw".

She went on to apologise if the post "came across as insensitive or as though [their] helper is confined to the small space behind the divider."

She explained it was not the intention and she should have explained it better.

The woman clarified that the work desk was for the day, and once the day ended, the room would be for the helper, as they did not need the room after that.

If they need to work after hours, they will use the desk outside.

She added that at night, the room is entirely the helper's, and they do not enter without knocking.

Regarding the divider, she said that because they share the room, they felt the helper should "at least have a visual barrier so her belongings and personal space aren't constantly exposed to us".

They felt this arrangement was better than the helper sharing a room with the baby who still wakes up occasionally at night and may disturb her sleep and rest.

Lastly, the woman said that space is genuinely a difficult constraint for them and it's not her intent to portray this as "luxurious setup".

Due to "housing regulations and [their] circumstances", moving to a bigger place is currently not an option for them.

"We know that sharing a room isn’t ideal, and we’re not trying to portray it as some luxurious setup. We just wanted to make the best arrangement we could within the space and circumstances we have."

The woman concluded that the "biggest" thing she failed to communicate in her original post was that the helper was not "confined to the space behind the divider" and she gets the whole room to use during her personal time.

"I shared the original post because I know many Singapore families face the same challenge of trying to accommodate a helper in a smaller home and I apologise if it offended anyone."

She has since limited the comments on her Instagram post.

Ng Lye Poh, the mother of Sheng Siong founders, has died.

According to the obituary, Ng passed away on Sep. 5 at 7:20am at the age of 91.

Ng, also known as the "Sheng Siong Ah Ma", was the victim of a high-profile kidnapping case in 2014.

She was remembered as an easy going and affable person.

Speaking to Lianhe Zaobao at the wake, her second son Lim Hock Chee said that the bereavement money will be donated to charity.

The kidnap case

Lim also recalled the kidnapping case, describing it as nerve-racking when he received the call from the kidnapper.

On Jan. 8, 2014, Ng was kidnapped by Lee Sze Yong and demanded S$20 million in ransom.

Lee told the court he had planned this for over two years after falling into S$200,000 in debt, CNA reported.

He decided that kidnapping Ng would help him, his mother, and his partner, Heng Chen Boon, be financially better off.

After going through Forbes magazine's "Singapore's richest" list for potential targets, he settled on Lim Hock Chee, who was worth S$500 million at the time.

Lee spent months gathering information.

On the morning of the incident, Lee approached Ng on an overhead bridge along Hougang Avenue 2 and lied to her that her son had fallen in the office.

Lee tricked Ng into getting into her car, then blindfolded her and drove her around, CNA wrote.

Lee then asked Heng to meet him at Punggol End, where Heng asked who Ng was, but was told not to ask questions.

Lee later confessed that he had kidnapped Ng.

When Lim made the ransom drop at Sembawang Park, the police caught Lee and Heng before they got the money.

Lee, who initially asked to be hanged, was sentenced to jail for life and three strokes of the cane.

Heng was sentenced to three years' jail.

Singapore handed over more than S$560,000 worth of humanitarian assistance to Nepal on Sep. 4, to support ongoing search, recovery and disaster victim identification efforts.

The package includes medical supplies, DNA testing kits, personal protective equipment, and specialised equipment for search and recovery operations.

"The humanitarian assistance package that we are handing over today has been put together through close collaboration between several Singapore agencies and the Nepali authorities, to support Nepal's ongoing search and recovery efforts," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Gan Siow Huang said.

She added that the Singapore Police Force (SPF), supported by the Home Team Science and Technology Agency and the Health Sciences Authority, is also deploying officers specialising in Disaster Victim Identification and aerial surveillance to assist the Nepalese authorities, in response to Nepal’s request.

According to an update on SPF's Facebook on Sep. 6, the 35-member contingent has arrived in Nepal and begun working on the ground in support of the ongoing disaster relief efforts.

"We are heartened by the generosity and compassion of Singaporeans in supporting the Nepali people during this difficult time," Gan said.

"The humanitarian assistance package that we are handing over today is a testament to the close relationship between our two countries. We hope that our modest contribution will support the brave men and women on the ground and bring comfort and relief to the people who are affected by this tragedy."

"We stand ready to provide further support in accordance with Nepal's needs," she added.

Search for missing Singaporeans ongoing

Gan also said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MFA) Crisis Response Team has been on the ground in Nepal since Aug. 27 and is working closely with local authorities to locate the missing Singaporeans.

The ministry remains in close contact with their families, providing regular updates, assistance on the ground in Nepal and other forms of support, she said.

"We will continue to render the necessary assistance as we work with all the relevant parties and families during this very difficult period."

The nine Singaporeans missing were earlier identified as Rengarajan Prabu, Shalinny Deavy Elan Sozan, Subramaniam Diraviam, Rajesvaran Ayyavoo, Estee Loeh, Ghosh Aditi, Ng Kit Kuen, Shubakshi Rawla, and Sumit Rawla.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong have both called on Singaporeans to reject attempts to divide them and to hold fast to the ideals of the National Pledge, to stand by one another “regardless of race, language, or religion.”

Their comments, made on social media, come as Senior Minister K Shanmugam spoke to the media on Sep. 5 that he had asked police to look into racist comments made regarding Singaporeans missing in recent Nepali floods, and in response to Singapore Airlines’ Air India investment.

The kind of Singapore we want to be

PM Wong said that at the recent National Day rally on Aug. 23, he had spoken about what it means to be Singaporean and “the kind of Singapore we want to be.”

He said that Singapore's identity must remain open and inclusive, and that whatever a Singaporean's background, if they embrace Singapore's values and way of life, they are part of this nation.

“This is what our national pledge stands for, and I believe the vast majority of Singaporeans share this view.“

Never allow prejudice to become accepted or normal

PM Wong expressed concerns over racist comments and anti-Indian abuse that had emerged over Nepal floods and questions about Singapore Airlines' investment in Air India.

PM Wong said that while Singaporeans can and should have robust debates, seemingly legitimate arguments should never be used as a cover to fuel prejudice against any community or hostility towards foreigners.

He said that such views did not represent Singapore, but they could not be dismissed as harmless online chatter.

If such behaviour were to continue unchecked, it ran the risk of becoming normalised, as well as possibly deepening mistrust between communities, pulling Singaporeans apart.

Because of this concern, he had discussed these developments with his cabinet colleagues, and this was why Shanmugam had decided to speak out firmly on this topic.

PM Wong warned that there would always be people who sought to exploit Singaporeans' differences, and while it was impossible to stop every hateful comment, the response to those comments was up to Singaporeans.

"We can reject such views and refuse to give them more space or legitimacy."

Singapore had held together because it had consistently rejected attempts to use race and religion to divide them, instead choosing to recognise each other as fellow Singaporeans.

PM Wong said that Singaporeans must keep making that choice and hold fast to the ideals in the national pledge of "regardless of race, language, or religion."

“We must never allow prejudice against any community to become accepted or normal in Singapore.”

Deeply troubling to see racist comments in the wake of the tragedy

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong similarly appealed to Singaporeans to live up to the ideals of the pledge.

He gave his deepest condolences to those who had lost loved ones or were affected by the Nepali floods, and said that the appropriate response should be compassion and solidarity.

“It is deeply troubling to see racist comments and hateful remarks directed at our Indian community in the wake of the tragedy.”

He said that it was equally disturbing when legitimate issues, such as SIA's investment in Air India, were distorted or exploited to “stir vicious racial and anti-Indian resentment.”

He said that Shanmugam had laid out the issues clearly in his statement.

While the temptation to stir racial prejudices and animosities would always exist, Singapore strived for interracial tolerance and respect.

Not race-blind

But he warned that human beings are not race-blind and that Singapore will always be “vulnerable to these visceral and divisive pulls.”

“Race and religion will always be a fault line in our society. Hence, we must continue to work hard to strengthen our cohesion and protect our racial harmony.”

SM Lee said that when such incidents happen, leaders need to speak up with force and conviction: “to call out what is happening, condemn the manipulation of base emotions, and call on all Singaporeans to stand together.”

He recalled similar incidents in the past, such as when anti-Indian sentiments were stirred up during the pandemic or during GE2025 when PM Wong had to call out attempts to politicise religion.

SM Lee called on Singaporeans to reject hatred and support those who are mourning.

Evoking the ideals of the national pledge, he said that Singaporeans should stand by one another regardless of race, language, or religion, and that it was important for us to make every effort to live up to these ideals.

Architectural photographer Darren Soh has appealed to Tampines Town Council and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, David Neo, the area's MP, to reconsider painting over the brick facade at Blocks 497A-L at Tampines Street 45.

The blocks have been designated to undergo repairs and redecoration works, with residents being given three proposed paint schemes to vote on.

The voting period began on Aug. 29 and will end on Sep. 13.

However, architectural photographer Darren Soh has warned that painting over the brick facade will be an irreversible move that would “completely wipe out the spirit and essence of the estate.”

Three colour schemes for residents to choose

Tampines Town Council said that each design had been thoughtfully curated to give the neighbourhood a "fresh and vibrant look" while complementing existing surroundings.

Three colour schemes were provided for residents of the blocks to choose from.

Two of the colour schemes are significantly more colourful than the current bare-faced brick look that the blocks currently sport, with colour scheme 1 being matched to closely mimic the existing design.

Not an ordinary HDB project

In response to the repainting exercise, architectural photographer Darren Soh urged the town council to consider carrying out localised repair works to areas of brick deterioration instead of painting over the iconic brick facade of Blk 497A-L.

In his post, he explained that the blocks in question were not an ordinary HDB project, but were, in fact, a very special one, especially when it came to its brick-clad facade.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Darren Soh (@darrensohphoto)

The blocks were the first of a scheme where Parliament decided that HDB should work with private senior architects to design and build HDB projects to “allow for more creative reimagining of social and internal spaces”, as well as “to add colour and character to HDB housing estates.”

The blocks at Tampines Street 45 was the first such project, and therefore, the first HDB estate to be designed by a group other than HDB, with Japanese construction firm Kajima and Global Architectural Firm P&T Group winning the bid to design what would become known as Tampines Neighbourhood 4 Contract 24.

HDB praised the use of patterned facing bricks for the HDB block facade as a "quality finish with low maintenance cost," according to an April 1992 Houseword newsletter.

Soh added that the unpainted brick facade of the blocks at Tampines Street 45 had become an icon of Tampines and was symbolic of steps taken by HDB to cultivate diverse and innovative design in public housing.

He noted that the project had received an honourable mention at the Singapore Institute of Architects 1995 Architectural Design Awards, a feat which was “usually reserved for projects that cost much more.”

The iconic HDB estate of eight blocks with two central courtyards also appeared in a few local shows such as "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and "I Not Stupid 2".

No turning back

Soh warned that the three proposed R&R schemes would paint over the brick facade and would potentially completely wipe out the spirit and essence of the estate.

He said that painting over the brick facade was potentially irreversible, saying, "Once you paint over brick, there is sadly no turning back."

He appealed to the Tampines Town Council and MP David Neo to reconsider painting over the facade.

Instead, he suggested carrying out localised repair works to areas of brick deterioration and painting over the plastered concrete areas.

Online reactions

Comments on Soh’s posts had a variety of responses, with some saying that repainting was required due to water seepage, but others are saying that nearby local blocks had also been significantly changed by repainting work.

Some asked if it might be possible to clean and coat the brickwork, suggesting that such technology had improved significantly in recent years.

Meanwhile, comments replying to Tampines Town Council's post were similarly a mix, with some echoing Soh's call to preserve the brickwork.

A full-time Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) National Serviceman was found unconscious at the training yard of Marina Bay Fire Station on Sep. 6 at about 8:10am.

He was identified to be 20-year-old LCP Muhammad Nur Ilham Mohammed Iswadi.

According to a statement from SCDF, he was on duty at the time of the incident.

SCDF personnel at the fire station immediately administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

He was subsequently conveyed to Singapore General Hospital, where he passed away.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that they received a call for assistance at 70 Marina View at 8:15am.

Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play, said SPF.

SCDF shared that LCP Muhammad Nur Ilham enlisted on Feb. 10, 2026 and completed the firefighter course at the Civil Defence Academy on Aug. 7, 2026.

He was then posted to Marina Bay Fire Station on Aug. 18, 2026.

"SCDF is saddened by his death and extends our deepest condolences to his family. We are providing all necessary assistance and support to the family during this difficult time."

Police investigations are ongoing.

A 61-year-old man got into a fight with a coffee shop's workers and stall owners at Bedok North.

When the police arrived, the man also shoved the officers before he was eventually handcuffed and taken away.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the man was believed to have drunk about two to three bottles of beer before he got into an argument with a female employee at the coffee shop.

The incident took place around 8pm on Sep. 4 at Block 204 Bedok North Street 1.

Physical fight

A diner, named Liu (transliteration), told the Chinese news outlet that after the argument, the man became violent and fought with the female staff.

Liu said that the two fought for a while, then stopped. Half an hour later, the stall owner arrived and asked the man what had happened.

The man apparently said a few words, but when the woman interrupted, the man became agitated and even attacked the stall owner.

"My friend saw that the owner's glasses were knocked off his face. Two employees who stepped forward to break up the fight were also assaulted," she added.

"The police arrived quickly, but to our surprise, the man even shoved the police officers."

Another witness, Chen (transliteration), shared with Shin Min Daily News that the man attacked the female staff before getting into a physical fight with two other staff.

During the fight, the man also bumped into a table where customers were eating, knocking over several bowls and plates.

Chen shared that this was the first time he saw someone assault the staff.

"One female employee had a cut at the corner of her mouth and was bleeding, while another employee said she could not lift her arm," he told Shin Min Daily News.

Disarray

When a reporter arrived at the scene, the man was undergoing a breathalyser test before he was handcuffed and taken away by the police.

The coffee shop was also in disarray, with spoons, plates and food scattered underneath a table.

Several police officers were also questioning people at the scene.

One male staff member, assaulted by the man, was being examined by medical personnel, and the two other injured female staff members were examined before they were taken to hospital.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said they received a call for assistance at around 8:05pm.

SCDF conveyed two persons to Changi General Hospital while two others were assessed for minor injuries and both declined to be sent to the hospital.

Laksa stall owner helps

Shin Min Daily News reported that the laksa stall owner at the coffee shop stepped in to help police subdue the man.

Speaking to the Chinese news outlet, the laksa stall owner said he only noticed what was happening when he heard a female employee scream.

He shared that when the police arrived, the man refused to cooperate with the officers, resisting arrest and assaulting the officers.

The laksa stall owner added that the man pushed a police officer and became increasingly aggressive, so a few people rushed forward to help.

"I grabbed him from behind and pinned him to the ground. He continued struggling throughout," he said.

A regular

Stall owners at the coffee shop told Shin Min Daily News that the man was a regular customer and had never caused any trouble before.

An employee at the Indian food stall said the man often came to the coffee shop to eat there.

However, the man normally had a good temperament and had never caused trouble before.

Another stall owner added that the man was a nice person, Shin Min Daily News wrote.

"We don't know whether he drank too much or was under a lot of stress. His behaviour suddenly became unusual."

Arrested for using criminal force

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force said it received a call for assistance around 7:45pm.

When they arrived, officers found several men engaged in a scuffle and intervened to break it up.

In doing so, a 61-year-old man pushed two officers and knocked the spectacles off one of them.

He subsequently also uttered vulgarities at another officer.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the 61-year-old man had a minor altercation with a 32-year-old man and two women, aged 29 and 25, and assaulted them. Two other members of the public intervened and tried to stop him.

The man was subsequently arrested for using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty and voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty.

He will also be investigated for voluntarily causing hurt and intentional harassment.

The two women sustained minor injuries and were conveyed conscious to the hospital.

Police investigations are ongoing.

While out enjoying the Singapore Night Festival, an Australian tourist discovered, to her dismay, that she had dropped all her cards.

These included her bank cards, driver's license, hotel key card, and other cards she regularly carried.

Speaking to Mothership, Katherine Doyle had spent more than three hours on Sep. 5 wandering around the Singapore Night Festival, taking in all the various installations and even visiting several museums.

She was at Bras Basah, surrounded by people, when she noticed her phone felt different.

Doyle looked inside her phone case and saw that all her bank cards, driver's licence, travel card, hotel key card and other cards she carried were gone.

Lost her cards at Bras Basah

Doyle immediately began retracing her steps and scanning the floor for any sign of her dropped cards.

She also asked the security guards on duty and the festival performers if anyone had handed them anything.

While they offered helpful suggestions, there wasn't a specific place for lost items.

So Doyle continued her search for another 20 minutes in the crowded festival.

"Do I retrace my steps even further back? Do I ask the main stage to make an announcement? Do I try and find the police station? Do I cancel my credit card yet?"

At one point, she walked past two young men who seemed to be looking down at a phone or a map.

Lucky to meet Good Samaritans

One of them looked up, and they caught each other's eye.

The man then did a double take, and Doyle noticed he was holding a pile of cards.

He asked if her name was Katherine, confirming that they had picked up her items.

"I think I said "oh my goodness" three to four times as I couldn’t believe we’d had the good fortune of crossing paths in the crowd," said Doyle.

"I think I took them by surprise when I threw my arms around them, thanking them over and over again. I explained that I was a tourist, and that I had been starting to panic as I’d lost everything."

The two men told Doyle they found her cards and were on their way to her hotel after identifying the hotel key card in the stack.

When she asked how she could repay them, the two men simply replied: "Don't worry about it".

"I had always heard that Singapore was an incredibly safe place, and that Singaporeans were known for their honesty and kindness.

These two young men could have simply handed the cards in somewhere and gone on with their evening. Instead, they took the time to work out where I was staying and were making their way to return them to me personally. I was incredibly grateful."

Doyle added that it was a "perfect ending to an already wonderful night" and "a lovely reminder of why tourists hold Singapore and its people in such high regard".

The kindness the two young men displayed will be what she remembers most about Singapore.

Nepal's army said a joint rescue team comprising its personnel and South Korean disaster experts rescued a Chinese man from a 225-meter hydropower tunnel on Sep. 5.

A video shared on X by Nepal's prime minister shows the man being evacuated by a helicopter and later being attended to by an army medic.

According to AP News, the man being carried out of the tunnel is a farmer named Lu Haitao.

In audio shared by Chinese state media CCTV, Lu could be heard telling an officer that he repeatedly shouted whenever he saw the rescue crews' lights, but they could not hear him.

Lu added that he could not believe it when the rescuers eventually shone the light on him.

Lu's sister told Chinese media that her brother was a farmer from Henan province in central China before heading to Nepal in February 2026 with another villager.

She added that she was thrilled to see her brother's photo on the news, describing his rescue as a fortunate turn of events amid the tragedy.

Rescuers also pulled a 64-year-old woman from her home on Sep. 5 in Nuwakot district.

Local authorities said that rescue efforts have focused on 12 hydropower projects across Nepal, with about 900 workers missing and about 500 believed to be trapped in various tunnels.

Specialised teams from India, China, South Korea and the U.S. have been searching through debris in hopes of finding survivors.

Devastating floods

On Aug. 26, flash floods and mudslides swept through mountainous areas along the Nepal-Tibet border.

The deluge, which consisted of mud and rocks, swept through the Lhende Khola river valley.

At least 19 bridges and about 40km of roads were washed away, along with homes and other critical infrastructure.

There was no warning, as it was not raining at the time.

Security camera footage from the Nepal-China border area showed a massive wall of water and debris rushing through the area, with people seen running to escape the surge.

Another video circulating online showed passengers inside a bus as floodwaters swept through the surrounding areas.

According to CNN, the US Geological Survey initially reported shaking in the region as a 4.4 magnitude earthquake along the Nepal-China border, north of Kathmandu.

At around the same time, what was described as an "avalanche" of ice and rock tore down a mountainside and into the Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhote Koshi River, which flows from China into Nepal through deep gorges.

While the cause of the Nepal flood wave remains to be determined, a team of international scientists believes a huge chunk of glacier sheared off and fell into the valley below.

In an official situation update posted on Nepal Tourism Board’s website on Aug. 27, the board said a preliminary agency-wise record received from trekking and travel companies had identified 644 travellers reported missing from affected areas.

Nine of those reported missing are Singaporeans.

"The information is being verified and cross-checked with travel agencies, guides, local authorities and security agencies," the board said.

Local authorities are also working to verify the whereabouts and safety of the missing tourists, it added.

According to Nepal's disaster management agency, at least 1,300 people were killed in the flash floods, and more than 5,000 remain missing.

Related stories

Workers' Party MP Kenneth Tiong has clarified his Air India questions and comments, stating that his concerns were purely commercial and condemning racist comments surrounding the subject.

He explained his position in a social media post on Sep. 5, in response to Senior Minister and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam questioning the intent behind his Aug. 26 social media post on the Indian airline.

The comments

SIA holds a minority 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, the latter of which recently reported a S$3.2 billion loss and was asking for nearly S$1.9 billion worth of fresh equity from its shareholders.

On Aug. 26, Tiong had posted on social media, stating that he would not support nor expect any future use of Singapore's state-owned investment company Temasek’s funds to prop up Air India via Singapore Airlines.

Tiong said, "No one, least of all Singaporeans, owes Air India a living,” And that “If Singapore Airlines wants to continue its bet on Air India, it should do so on its own two feet and not on Temasek’s.”

Speaking to the media on Sep. 5, Shanmugam addressed racist online comments about missing Singaporeans in the Nepal floods and about Singapore Airline's Air India investments, saying they were “shameful, nasty, and totally unacceptable.”

When asked if Tiong's post had crossed any racial or xenophobic lines, Shanmugam said, "I think you best ask him what he intended and what he meant.”

He said that Tiong ought to do his homework and “look at SIA's letter and the facts that I put out today, and ask if he is being responsible.”

SM Shanmugam also said that Tiong is entitled to his views and to ask questions about SIA and Temasek Holdings, the majority shareholder of SIA.

"But neither his views, nor that of any minister, or any other MP, should substitute for the commercial judgment of SIA's management and board of directors," he underscored.

"Once governments or politicians start directing individual investment decisions, commercial discipline will be compromised," Shanmugam explained.

"Decisions will become politicised – shaped by political considerations, rather than commercial judgment. In the end, Singaporeans will bear the cost."

Kenneth Tiong’s reply to Shanmugam

Tiong replied later that day, saying that he had read Shanmugam's comments.

Tiong said he wholeheartedly agreed with Shanmugam that racism had “no place in our society.”

Condemning comments about Singaporeans missing in Nepal as shameful, as well as any attacks on anyone's motives because of their ethnicity, Tiong said that he condemned them without reservation and that “our hearts go out to the victims of the Nepal disaster and to the families waiting for news.”

He said that he had always said that a person, upon taking the oath of citizenship, was part of the Singaporean family and nation, and that any attempt to draw a dividing line between the native-born and naturalised will fail.

“It will fail because that is not in the culture or history of this country. More importantly, it will fail because it is morally wrong.”

He said that it was unfortunate that questions about the Air India deal had become entangled with racist comments, and that his concerns “were and are purely commercial.”

He then elaborated on his concerns in two points.

Air India investment

Firstly, he said that Air India had lost more than S$3.5 billion in 2025, with SIA's share of the loss being over S$800 million.

Air India was now asking its shareholders for an additional US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) to fund a turnaround that its own chairman said might take up to 10 years.

He then said that SIA had S$10.5 billion in cash against S$10.7 billion in debt and that Temasek owns half of SIA.

This meant that SIA could afford to make the call to reinvest in Air India, but it left the question of how many more times similar occurrences would happen and who would pay for such investments and losses when SIA could not.

Previous backstop

Secondly, Tiong said SIA had been in a similar position before, saying that Temasek had backstopped SIA’s 2020 S$8.8 billion recapitalisation when the airline needed money.

Parliament had also approved hundreds of millions in wage and aviation support.

He said that then Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat had called SIA a strategic asset and that the government would consider more direct support if necessary.

Tiong agreed that it was the right call at the time, “but it meant that the line between SIA's money and Singaporeans' money holds only until SIA runs out of it.”

Questions to be answered

He said it was prudent for Singaporeans to ask what happens if the deal went bad and whether Temasek would again act as SIA's backstop.

He questioned what it would mean for Singaporeans' taxes and their quality of life, and whether asking the reserves to underwrite a loss was essentially “directing an investment.”

He said that asking these questions was what Parliament existed to do, and that he would ask these questions of the government on Sep. 8

Concluding, he said that “Singaporeans are best served when we can hold two things at once: Zero tolerance for racism and hard questions about money.”

“We should not let the two get mixed up. If we do, both causes suffer.”