APPLICATION OF PMESII FRAMEWORK IN SINGAPORE’S WAR ON COVID-19
Written By: Adrian LEE, MSc(Security Management), MBa, CCTP, ACTA, PMC 10928
“We have built up our institutions, our plans, our facilities, our stockpiles, our people and our training because we knew that one day, something like that would happen again,” Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed extraordinary strain on world leaders. This grave humanitarian and economic crisis caused by COVID-19 creates fear and loss of confidence among general public. It is challenging for world leaders and respective Government to respond against such tsunami on the onslaught of many uncertain and complex issues posed by the massive scale of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What started as an uncertain and slow-developing situation in a far corner in Wuhan, China, had made some world leaders underestimate the complexity and impact that COVID-19 can cause when the “War” is far from their doorstep. Hence, this article is written to share practical application of PMESII as powerful strategic planning framework for world leaders when faced with an uncertain and complex situation. This is to aid and discern large volume of data to provide informed options for execution of the various plans by the world leaders.
PMESII framework was developed by the United States military and was used in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq. The PMESII is an acronym and stands for Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information and Infrastructure. These six factors are mutually connected to define the state of an Operational Environment (OE) and its effect on an organisation or in this instance, Singapore, and its OE during the War on COVID-19.
POLITICAL
On 2 January 20, Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) issued its first COVID-19 health advisory. Temperature screening at Singapore’s Changi International Airport was announced. This was followed by daily updates on MOH’s official government portal on Covid-19, showing that the MOH was on top of the developing situation in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic first emerged.
As the situation in Wuhan, China continued to develop, temperature screening at Changi International Airport and land border controls were expanded together with the decision to isolate potential COVID-19 cases. When the first local case of COVID-19 was discovered on 23 January 20, the Government initiated contact tracing and further containment measures to prevent its spread in Singapore. These containment measures include enhanced screening at seaports, the isolation of potential cases at hospitals, as well as at university hostels, distribution of masks to the general public, and banning travellers from nations with widespread of COVID-19.
Singapore continued its Whole-of-Nation approach with the Multi-Ministry Task Force (MTF) spearheading the fight and updated the public with advisories on personal protection to limit the spread through Gov.sg in WhatsApp group chat. Its swift response has resulted in the slowing the spread of COVID-19.
On March 12, 2020, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addressed the general public on the psychological aspect of the fight against COVID-19. He reassured the public about the Singapore’s government ability to stay on top of the situation by highlighting the measures taken so far as well as the preparations being made for the future.
On 26 March 20, the Singapore Government further announced stricter measures such as gatherings outside of work or school of more than ten people, the physical distancing of at least one meter. The maximum penalty for either offense is a fine of SGD10,000 and six-months imprisonment. In addition, it is a criminal offense to breach government-ordered “Stay-Home Notices” and safe-distancing measures. Other implemented measures such as barring the entry of short-term visitors, directing all events and mass gatherings to be deferred or cancelled until at least 30 April 20 and shutting bars and cinemas.
This has earned the densely populated city-state international praise for their effort. Singapore’s success can be attributed partly to the decisive political will, effective containment measures by the Multi-Ministry Task Force (MTF) as well as strong confidence in the measures that were established.
Another factor is the effort by the Singapore Government to allay fear, such as to assure the general public about the stockpile of necessities during the brief period of panic buying.
MILITARY
As part of the Government’s efforts to reassure the public, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) was called upon to support the distribution of medical masks to the public. A team of 1,500 from the SAF worked around the clock to pack medical masks so that they could be transported to distribution centres across Singapore for the distribution on 1 February 20.
In 2003, during the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), SAF’s medical personnel were deployed to assist in medical screening at Changi International Airport. The SAF was also deployed to carry out contact tracing. In terms of efficiency, the SAF is an obvious choice for Singapore Government during national-level contingencies. The SAF is a standing force of able-bodied personnel who are organised with a clearly defined chain of command. This means the SAF can be easily configured into multiple units of different scales for a variety of missions.
In assisting national-level contingencies conveys a very clear message — that the Government is taking action. This is reassuring to the public, and in the SAF’s case, this message is further strengthened by the fact that the SAF is largely a conscript force. The deployment of the SAF is not just about the Government commitment; by involving every “Singaporeans Son” through the largely conscript SAF, it also communicates the message that the entire nation is united in the fight against a silent and invisible threat.
ECONOMIC
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.”
COVID-19 and its fallout impact are wreaking havoc on the world economy. Singapore’s economy is no exception to the globalised ripple effect caused by COVID-19. On 26 March 20, the Government unveiled Supplementary Budget 2020 worth more than SGD48 billion to combat the growing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Resilience Budget” includes a deadline extension for income tax payments and an increase in tax rebates.
Here are some key areas of the Resilience Budget:
For workers
Supplementary Budget saw the enhancement of the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), which was first introduced in the Budget 2020 announcement in February. The scheme, which is meant to help around 1.9 million local workers retain their jobs, will be given a total of SGD15.1 billion, The Straits Times (ST) reported. The Government will now co-fund up to 25 per cent of the first SGD4,600 of the worker’s wage, up from 8 per cent announced earlier.
Also, the aviation and tourism sectors will get more assistance, with 75 per cent of wages supported, while food services will receive 50 per cent support, ST reported. The scheme will be extended till the end of the year, and businesses will have three pay-out tranches — May, July and October.
Cash pay-out for self-employed Singaporeans
According to ST, a new Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme will see eligible self-employed Singaporeans get SGD1,000 in cash every month for nine months. In addition, SGD48 million has been set aside for the Self-Employed Person (SEP) Training Support Scheme (TSS) with hourly training allowances increased from SGD7.50 to SGD10, ST reported.
More jobs created
The Manpower Ministry is due to announce a new SG United Traineeships programme, which will provide up to 8,000 work experience opportunities for first-time job seekers. At the same time, around 10,000 new jobs will be created over the next year under the SG United Jobs initiative, ST reported.
Pay-outs for lower-income workers enhanced
Lower-income workers, including those who are self-employed, will now get SGD3,000 in cash as Workfare Special Payment, ST reported.
Support for people who lose their jobs
Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat also revealed that SGD145 million would go towards social service offices and community centres to help the unemployed. A temporary relief fund will be set up in April to help families that need urgent help, while a COVID-19 Support Grant from May to September will provide SGD800 a month for three months those who lost their jobs as they seek new work or training, ST reported.
For business
On 26 March 20, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng said restaurants, shops, hotels and tourist attractions would be exempted from the property tax in 2020. Some businesses will get a 30 per cent property tax rebate, while income tax payments for firms and people who are self-employed will be deferred by three months, ST reported.
Hawker rentals waived for three months
Hawkers managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) will not have to pay their rents for three months, while eligible tenants of the Housing Board and National Arts Council will have their rents waived for two months. Businesses will benefit from the freezing of government charges and fees for one year, an ST report said.
Aviation, tourism, transport and art sectors to receive help
The aviation industry is set to get a SGD350 million enhanced support package that will include rebates and rental relief. SGD90 million will is set aside to help the tourism industry, The Business Times (BT) reported. A SGD95 million enhancement to the Point-to-Point support package will help taxi and private-hire car drivers meet their daily costs, while private bus owners are set to get a one-year road tax rebate and six-month parking waiver at government-managed carparks, ST reported.
SMEs to get more help with loans
A total of SGD20 billion in loan capital will be set aside to support firms and catalyse private sector loan capital, ST reported. The quantum for trade loans under the enterprise financing scheme (EFS) will be doubled to SGD10 million for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Other enhancements include further subsidies to loan insurance premiums, raising of maximum supported loans under the Temporary Bridging Loan Programme (TBLP), and an increase of maximum quantum under the EFS’ working capital loan for SMEs, ST reported.
For Singaporeans and households
Cash pay-outs and vouchers increased
All Singaporeans above the age of 21 will now receive cash pay-outs of SGD900, SGD600 and SGD300, depending on their income, ST reported. Parents with a Singaporean child below the age of 20 will receive SGD300, up from the previously announced SGD100.
Singaporeans who live in 1- and 2-room HDB flats and own a maximum of one property will get SGD300 in grocery vouchers in 2020 and SGD100 in 2021. A special SGD100 PAssion Card top-up for Singaporeans above 50 years old announced in February will be given as a cash pay-out instead.
Government fees frozen
All government fees and charges will be frozen for one year till 31 March next year. Loan repayment and interest charges for graduates who took government loans for their university and polytechnic studies will be suspended from June 2020 to May 2021, ST reported.
Self-help groups get more support
Self-help groups are getting more support, with SGD20 million over two years to help more families, up from SGD10 million previously. Community Development Councils will get USD75 million, up from USD20 million, ST reported.
SOCIAL
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a televised speech that he remained confident of the medical outcome of this outbreak, but “the real test is to our social cohesion and psychological resilience”. He pointed to courage, calm and unity as key virtues during this stressful period, and the hope, surely, is that Singaporeans come out the other side stronger.
On 7 March 20, at Our Tampines Hub, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng launched the “Overcome as One” movement, a campaign organised by the Singapore Kindness Movement to encourage Singaporeans to show appreciation to those fighting to keep the COVID-19 pandemic under control while also being socially responsible and working together to overcome challenges stemming from the COVID-19.
As part of Singapore’s six pillars of Total Defence[1], “Living harmoniously and looking out for one another”. Singaporeans need to promote social cohesion and harmony. It involved helping people of different ethnicities as well as showing consideration for one another. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, the shortage of masks worldwide has left many vulnerable. Students Sheryl Goh, 18 and Vaishnavi Devan, 19, have been offering free masks on online marketplace Carousell and social media platform Reddit.
“I think it’s unfair to put all the responsibility on the Government when we’re a community.” Ms Sheryl Goh, a student at Singapore Polytechnic said.
Even as the industry is being battered by the pandemic, some food and beverage outlets have banded together to deliver free meals and coffee to several hospitals, including the National Centre for Infectious Diseases and National University Hospital bringing back the kampung/community spirit.
“Although the industry has been badly hit, we believe that business and giving are two separate entities… We are united by food, so I hope we can use this network to do some good.” Mr Han Li Guang, 35, chef-owner of one-Michelin-starred restaurant Labyrinth, said.
In each lift of Block 267B Punggol Field, residents of a public housing block were surprised and touched by the gesture of an anonymous neighbour who left surgical masks and a bottle of hand sanitiser in both lifts of their neighbourhood. A small basket of masks and alcohol swabs as well as a bottle of sanitiser were tied to the grab handles. A note stuck to the basket reads, “Please take one if you need”, and is signed simply “neighbour”[2].
INFORMATION
“We are aware there has been false information purveyed on various platforms that we are going to declare DORSCON RED, that the Government is going to go into a lockdown mode, that we are going to scale back the MRT and bus services. All of this is completely untrue. We have issued clarification through the Gov.sg WhatsApp service. Such false information is completely irresponsible, and it just serves to raise the level of anxiety and cause fear and panic in our population.” Communications and Information Minister, S Iswaran said.
The Minister also referred the public to the websites of the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Gov.sg for correct and updated information; he asked the public not to share fake news. Mr S Iswaran said, “We hope that everyone will exercise prudence in sharing information and verify the source and the truthfulness of it before they share it with their loved ones and friends.” He said that the Government had sought to communicate information about the COVID-19 spread in a “timely, accurate and transparent manner”.
The Singapore authorities had signalled that they would not hesitate to act firmly against recalcitrant to contain the spread of misinformation and falsehoods using Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act[3] (POFMA), as these could spread fear and panic.
INFRASTRUCTURE
“Shortages of personal protective equipment is one of the most urgent threats to the outbreak response…when health workers are at risk, we are all at risk,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
As at 2019, according to MOH website[4], there are 19 Acute and nine Community hospitals that can be leveraged in the War on COVID-19. The Infrastructure factor considerations include stockpile of essential medical supplies, continual review of medical polices/SOP and provision of medical manpower support.
In addition, Singapore had invested in medical surveillance. It had built a good medical response system over time such as conducting annual pandemic Table-Top Exercise (TTX) and Full Troop Exercise/drills (FTX) i.e. germ games (not war games); to identify the gaps and vulnerabilities in the inter-Government/ministry medical response.
With the benefits of all the science and technology, Singapore continued to invest in medical R&D, i.e. treatment approaches, diagnostics kits, through Research entities like A*STAR, DSO-National Laboratories as well as universities/academia. This is to reduce the turnaround time to study the pathogen and be able to make drugs, antibodies or vaccines that can be used against COVID-19 fight.
Over time, Singapore had trained healthcare and medical workers. The medical workforce scalability includes reserves that can augment the medical capability exponentially. These people are either trained or with a medical background and are ready to be deployed at the various hospitals to combat this threat.
In Short
“It is absolutely crucial for us to hold together, to respond effectively to the immediate challenge, and also to give people confidence that we can cope with this,” Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
Singapore has shown the effectiveness of swift and decisive actions by a nation’s Government in containing the spread of COVID-19. Beyond the health aspect, however, is the lesson that psychological defense is an important factor to prevent a contingency from being aggravated by the general public struck with panic and fear. It is the collective vigilance, quick & coordinated action and the ability not just to announce things, but to deliver sustainable and sensible measures that are the backbone of Singapore’s survival against the Covid-19 fight.
Though the PMESII framework was developed by the US military, it can be applied in Singapore’s War on COVID-19 as a strategic planning framework in an uncertain and complex situation. This framework can be used in Singapore to discern large amounts information to include more angles through the six mutually connected factors that are collected during the initial phase; to analyse and provide the informed options to execute the plans accordingly.
Healthy People, Healthy Economy, Healthy Nation…No People, No Economy, No Nation
Be Safe, Stay Vigilant, Ever Ready.
Thank you.
- Dedicated with heartfelt thanks to ALL healthcare personnel and ambulance teams, those in contact tracing, as well as those manning the border control at the airport and immigration checkpoints.
[1] Total Defence (or TD) is the name of Singapore’s comprehensive defence strategy. It is based on the understanding that besides military action, aggressors can also attack the country by wrecking its economic systems, tearing its social fabric apart, targeting Singaporeans’ beliefs and commitment to defence, and its ability to recover from disasters, both natural and man-made. Total Defence encompasses six key pillars — military, civil, economic, social, psychological and digital defence — and focuses on the need for each Singaporean to play his or her part to keep the country strong.
[2] Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/proud-have-person-our-block-residents-touched-gesture-caring-neighbour-who-put-masks?cid=h3_referral_inarticlelinks_03092019_todayonline
[3] Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) seeks to prevent the electronic communication of falsehoods (i.e. false statements of fact or misleading information), as well as to safeguard against the use of online platforms for the communication of such falsehoods. POFMA also puts in place various measures to counteract the effects of such communication and to prevent the misuse of online accounts and bots (i.e. computer programmes that run automated tasks). Statements communicated to one or more end-users in Singapore, through the internet and on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as MMS and SMS, will fall under the POFMA’s purview.
[4] https://www.moh.gov.sg/resources-statistics/singapore-health-facts/health-facilities
