Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, spoke during the Committee of Supply (COS) debate on 4 March.
She said that 3 in 4 members of the public are of the opinion that the Singapore government has provided sufficient information on Covid-19, with more than 86% of the survey agreeing that the messages have helped their decision to get vaccinated.
Teo said that “we could not have handled a public health crisis if the public didn’t trust the health authorities, or didn’t believe the information they were receiving”.
She said that the government is determined to “never fudge, sugar coat, never hide”.
Teo highlighted the need for appropriate laws to preserve the public’s trust, such as POFMA, which has allowed the government to take action on 20 instances against misinformation related to Covid-19.
She also highlighted Gov.sg’s platforms across 10 channels, which have gained about 2 million subscribers now, as compared to pre-pandemic.
She added that it is “critical that we maintain these high level of trust as we strive to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic and see through future crises as Singapore together.”