SINGAPORE: A household is seeking advice on Reddit about moving into another area for resale or just staying at their current place. In the post, the netizen remarked: “Wanted to check if people would advise to move to another area for a resale 4rm 70-80y house (est cost 1-1.2mil) or remain at current place (BTO. next year MOP and 10y hdb loan without [additional] cash)” 

The netizen shared that their monthly household income is $14-15,000, excluding bonuses, has no intention of getting a car, and currently has a helper but intends to stop hiring soon, which will not be difficult in terms of cleaning when they downgrade to a 4-room flat. 

The dilemma is also caused by several reasons. Several reasons as to why they wanted to move are that the new place is closer to their parents’ house, who offer support for the kids, as well as primary school considerations. However, what keeps them from moving is how comfortable they are now with their current set-up. 

With this, the netizen asked: “How to decide if to move?”

Several netizens shared their thoughts and opinions on this subject matter. One claimed that if the priority is for schooling, then it is best if they just move. 

“Solve your needs 1st. Schools for kids and parental support definitely are a good enough reason to move,” a netizen declared. 

However, some claimed that moving might not necessarily help with getting better schooling. A netizen stated: “Personally, I believe that financial security is precedent to everything…So I would say stay.” 

“In today’s and tomorrow’s uncertainty, I would opt for the status quo,” one concluded. 

Other related news 

In recent news, there was a report that the Housing and Development Board is now launching a new round of renovations across 27 estates islandwide—a significant upgrade for HDB residents. 

The projects are backed by government funding of more than S$130 million and will benefit more than 30,000 households. 

Read more about the story here.

This article (Singaporean couple debates whether to move closer to parents or stay in current BTO flat) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

PETALING JAYA, May 17 — Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli today declared that his new political platform, Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama), will contest future elections as an independent force and will not align itself with any political coalition.

Speaking at a press conference here today following the announcement of Bersama’s takeover of an existing party structure, Rafizi said the movement would adopt a multiracial, open-platform approach and field candidates across constituencies currently held by both government and opposition blocs.

“We are not going for any coalition. We are not bound by negotiating over seats or dealing with specific parties. We are multiracial and we can contest anywhere,” he said.

Rafizi said the party’s long-term objective is to build a political movement centred on ideas and generational renewal, drawing parallels with the early years of PKR and DAP.

He acknowledged that Bersama would face early constraints and challenges, but said such obstacles were not unusual for new political movements.

“If you look at PKR or DAP in their early years, they did not succeed at first. But over time, their ideas grew, and those ideas brought change,” he said.

Rafizi said Bersama would prioritise younger candidates, with those in their 30s expected to be groomed and given opportunities to contest in upcoming polls.

“We feel it is time for those of us in our 40s and 50s to take a step back and train the younger generation. That is the focus of Bersama,” he said.

He added that the party would assess public response over the next one to two months before finalising its strategy for the next general election, which he suggested could become clearer by July or August.

Rafizi also confirmed that he would contest the Pandan parliamentary seat under Bersama in the next general election, while Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad would contest Setiawangsa.

He said the party would field candidates in seats across the country if there was sufficient alignment with voter sentiment, regardless of whether those constituencies were held by Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional or Perikatan Nasional.

“God willing, wherever we see a need, Bersama will offer itself to contest in the upcoming series of elections. Regardless of whether the seats are currently held by PKR, DAP, Amanah, Umno, PAS or Bersatu, we will field strong candidates from the new generation if we assess that there is both a need and an opportunity,” he said in his speech earlier.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — Malaysia is looking to strengthen cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in urban liveability, digital urbanisation and Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) as part of its commitment to advancing resilient and inclusive cities amid growing geopolitical uncertainties.

Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, yesterday for an official working visit, reflecting Malaysia’s continued engagement in global urban diplomacy as countries navigate increasingly complex challenges affecting cities and communities worldwide.

In his capacity as President of the UN-Habitat Assembly, Nga said he began his mission with a bilateral meeting with UN-Habitat executive director Anacláudia Rossbach to discuss strengthening global collaboration in implementing the 2026-2029 UN-Habitat Strategic Plan.

He said the discussion focused on several potential areas of collaboration including the proposed establishment of a “Global Centre of Excellence for Urban Liveability” in Malaysia, the launch of a “UN-Habitat Digital Urbanisation Lab” focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and big data in local governance, as well as a proposed “Global VLR Solidarity Fund” aimed at supporting peer-to-peer mentoring among developing nations in implementing VLRs.

“The meeting focused on practical, people-centred urban solutions, with Malaysia highlighting its approach of integrating affordable housing, smart city initiatives and community wellbeing to address evolving urbanisation challenges.

“Malaysia also reiterated its commitment to advancing the New Urban Agenda through stronger multilateral cooperation, knowledge exchange and capacity-building efforts, particularly within the Asia-Pacific region,” he said in a statement yesterday.

As a long-standing advocate of sustainable urbanisation, Nga said Malaysia would continue prioritising affordable housing under its national development agenda, alongside policies promoting low-carbon cities, improved local governance and the digital transformation of urban services.

He said Malaysia remains fully committed to working closely with UN-Habitat and international partners to ensure cities become more resilient, inclusive and future-fit.

“This includes strengthening cities and communities to enable them to withstand global uncertainties, extreme climate events and the cost of living crisis. We are steadfast in our commitment to deliver a better quality of life for all,” he said.

The 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), co-organised by UN-Habitat and the Government of Azerbaijan under the theme “Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities”, will be held in Baku from May 17 to 22.

The forum is expected to gather 30,000 participants from 180 countries to exchange knowledge, share best practices and strengthen global cooperation in addressing urban challenges. — Bernama

IPOH, May 17 — The search and rescue (SAR) operation for victims of the boat capsizing incident involving Indonesian migrants in waters off Pulau Pangkor on May 11 was officially called off yesterday after six days.

Perak Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in a statement today said that the operation ended at 7 pm following no new discoveries in the search area.

To date, a total of 39 victims have been found, involving 23 survivors while another 16 were confirmed dead.

“Initial information obtained on the first day of the operation stated that the total number of victims was 37, however the figure is believed to be inaccurate,” the statement said.

The victims who died comprised nine men and seven women, whose bodies were sent to Taiping and Teluk Intan Hospitals for post-mortem and identification procedures.

Apart from MMEA, the operation also involved cooperation from various security agencies including the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Marine Police Force, as well as fishing communities in the surrounding waters.

The incident occurred on May 11 and involved a boat believed to be carrying Indonesian migrants that capsized about 8.2 nautical miles from Pulau Pangkor while en route to several destinations in Malaysia. — Bernama

WIGGINS (Colorado), May ‌16 — Perched behind the cash register at Stubs liquor store, Amy Van Duyn gazed out the window at a red-and-green gasoline price sign, which she said seemed to tick up daily. The price was US$4.34 (RM17.16) per gallon - about 50 per cent higher than it was in these parts when President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year.

“I used to fill my tank for US$36,” said Van Duyn, 42. “Now US$36 gets me half a tank.”

Her ‌co-worker Tonyah Bruyette said when it’s time to buy groceries, she’s left wondering where all her money went: “We’re putting it in the tank rather than on our table.”

Like most people in and around Wiggins, a farming town of 1,400 people in northeast Colorado, Van Duyn and Bruyette remain ardent supporters of the president, who won surrounding Morgan County by 49 percentage points in 2024. Nationally, Trump’s political fortunes appear to be waning. His war with Iran has sent fuel prices soaring past US$4.50 a gallon nationwide, and a Reuters/Ipsos poll last month found nearly 8 in 10 Americans hold the president responsible for higher gasoline prices. Trump was asked this week if people’s economic woes were motivating him to reach a deal with Tehran. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,” he responded. “The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon.” Democrats seized on the comments as evidence of an administration losing touch with an anxious public. Only 30 per cent of US adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy as of a May Reuters/Ipsos poll, an issue that had long been one of his political strengths.

But in two dozen recent interviews along Colorado’s Highway 52 — a two-lane blacktop road punctuated by grain elevators, feedlots and oil pumpjacks —Trump voters echoed the president’s logic.

Across Morgan and Weld counties, ‌which haven’t voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since 1964, voters were willing to pay more for gas if it meant eliminating a possible Iranian nuclear threat. Energy prices had ⁠also spiked under President Joe Biden, many said.

Some begrudgingly stood by Trump because of their ⁠distaste for Democrats; others expressed faith the president had a plan to bring costs down. It was a testament to the durable, ⁠personal bond Trump has built with his base, allowing ⁠him to weather multiple crises across his two ⁠terms.

“It feels like he hears us,” said Bruyette, “that he is fighting for us.”

‘Willing to sacrifice’

About 25 miles southwest of Wiggins, Jim Miller was elbows-deep in the engine of his ailing Dodge pickup.

A 65-year-old retired commodities broker raised in the liberal city of Boulder who now lives in tiny Prospect Valley, Miller considers himself “half-hippie, half-cowboy.”

He said enduring the momentary pain of high gas prices was worth ⁠preventing Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon. Miller recalled stories of American resilience during World War II, when goods were rationed and households lived with less.

“I struggle, like everybody else does, but I’m willing to sacrifice a little,” Miller said. “That’s been totally lost in this country, people’s willingness to sacrifice.”

In the unincorporated town of Roggen was Mike Urbanowicz, a 66-year-old trader with multiple college degrees whose farming cooperative moves 150 truckloads of grain each day.

He voted three times for Trump, but like many interviewed by Reuters, he considers himself a political independent, saying he distrusts the Republican Party nearly as much as their Democratic foes.

Gas prices were hurting his industry, he said, and Trump was “naive” to think he could quickly solve the issue. ⁠He expected prices would remain high into the fall, even if there was a breakthrough in stalled US-Iran peace talks.

But he preferred the status quo to Democrats, whom he saw as moving towards “full-blown socialism.”

“I voted for Trump because the alternative is so bad,” he said.

‘All on board’

In Fort Morgan, Lexys Siebrands, 22, lay ⁠prone on a table inside the Bad Medicine Inkporium tattoo parlor, smiling through the pain in her left calf, where there were images of a wanted poster, a stagecoach and other Western-themed designs.

A ⁠gay woman who recently ⁠found Christianity, Siebrands once considered herself a Democrat, but started to think of herself as a Republican around 2022 — citing what she called the hypocrisy of liberals around identity politics—and voted for Trump.

She saw war with Iran as inevitable. “Something was going to happen eventually, whether it was Iran doing something to us or us doing it to them.”

Sitting next to her daughter was 49-year-old Jyl Siebrands. She grew up as a political ‌independent but later gravitated towards Republicans.

She said she hated high gas prices, but feared the prospect of a nuclear-armed Tehran even more. “It’s just where we are with this war,” she said. “People just have to give it time.”

Did she have any red lines? Anything that might shake her faith in Trump’s handling of the war or the economy?

“No,” she said. “I’m all on board.” — Reuters

BANGKOK, May 16 — At least eight ‌people were killed and 25 others injured after a train collision ‌triggered a fire that engulfed a public bus in Bangkok today, rescue officials and police said.

Firefighters and rescue crews were dispatched as flames engulfed the bus and nearby vehicles, they ‌said, adding the crash involved ⁠a train, ⁠the bus, cars ⁠and motorcycles.

Rescue teams ⁠worked ⁠to pull injured victims from the wreckage as fire ⁠crews battled the blaze with water hoses in a race to contain the fire, officials said.

The fire ⁠has now been brought under control, with crews cooling the ⁠area, venting gas and continuing ⁠to ⁠search for victims, they said. The cause of the accident ‌is under investigation. — Reuters

SINGAPORE: Calls to install air-conditioning in public school classrooms have gained renewed attention after a former teacher backed a Workers’ Party MP’s proposal for the Ministry of Education (MOE) to spend less than one per cent of its budget on upgrading classrooms.

The debate over what some have described as “thermal inequality” in schools was first raised in Parliament in September 2025 by Workers’ Party MP for Aljunied GRC Kenneth Tiong. At the time, the Government said it would “continue to explore” the issue.

During this year’s Committee of Supply debates, Mr Tiong returned to the subject, arguing that classrooms remain one of the few spaces in MOE schools that are not air-conditioned, despite being where students spend most of their day.

Pointing out that around 420,000 children study in such conditions daily, he cited a National University of Singapore study which found that cognitive performance could fall by as much as 18 per cent in warm environments.

Mr Tiong also noted that there is currently no temperature standard for classrooms in Singapore schools. Comparing local schools with international and independent institutions that already have air-conditioning, he argued that students in neighbourhood schools were disproportionately affected.

“The children who can least afford the learning penalty are paying it,” he said.

The opposition MP called on MOE to introduce indoor temperature standards and commit to a phased rollout of mixed-mode air-conditioning in classrooms. He estimated the capital expenditure would come in at under S$100 million, which he said amounted to less than one per cent of MOE’s budget and would be a one-time cost.

His proposal triggered mixed reactions online. Some critics argued that large-scale installation of air-conditioning units would significantly increase electricity consumption and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, with some warning that comforts considered essential today could worsen environmental problems in the future.

Others, however, said the reality of rising temperatures made the issue difficult to ignore.

Among them was former primary school teacher Desiree Tan, who voiced support for the proposal in a forum letter published by the national broadsheet.

Ms Tan argued that Singapore’s school infrastructure was designed for a very different climate and said current classroom conditions were increasingly unsuitable for effective teaching and learning.

Drawing on her own teaching experience, she described how concentration levels among pupils would deteriorate by late morning as classrooms became hotter and more crowded.

She said classrooms packed with around 40 pupils often became “thick and sweltering,” while ceiling fans merely circulated warm air and created enough noise that teachers had to raise their voices to be heard.

Ms Tan added that the problem became especially severe during the COVID-19 pandemic, when mask-wearing made the heat more uncomfortable for both students and staff.

According to her, the situation typically worsened after recess, when pupils returned from outdoor activities exhausted and drenched in perspiration just as temperatures peaked towards midday.

She argued that the conditions were now so oppressive that meaningful teaching and effective learning were being compromised.

Calling for a shift away from passive cooling measures such as cool paint and faster fans, Ms Tan said Singapore should upgrade classrooms to reflect modern climate realities.

“We have journeyed six decades into nation-building, and we should be well-positioned to do better for our students,” she wrote.

She urged MOE to establish classroom temperature standards and commit to a phased installation of air-conditioning across schools so that all students could learn in a fair environment, regardless of which school they attended.

Her comments appeared to strike a chord with other educators online.

In a Facebook comment, teacher Otto Fong said he had never taught in a classroom without air-conditioning and questioned how educators could effectively manage increasingly technology-driven lessons in hot environments.

He noted that modern teaching involves teachers moving frequently around classrooms to facilitate activities and engage students rather than simply lecturing from the front.

Without air-conditioning, he joked that he would probably be remembered by afternoon as “that teacher who smelled like a gym locker room.”

Mr Fong also highlighted other practical concerns, including noise spillover between non-enclosed classrooms and the strain that heat places on computers and projectors that are now widely used in lessons.

He warned that higher temperatures could shorten the lifespan of such equipment as schools increasingly rely on online materials, videos and digital presentations in daily teaching.

This article (Ex-teacher argues air-conditioning in classrooms is not a luxury but a necessity) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.