CPF balances, Ease applications now available in four languages: Vivian Balakrishnan

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said that the roll-out of multilingual digital government services would make such services more inclusive and accessible in a "multilingual #SmartNation". PHOTOS: FACEBOOK/VIVIAN BALAKRISHNAN

SINGAPORE - Singaporeans checking their CPF balances online can now do so in four languages, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, who is Singapore's Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative, said in a Facebook post on Monday (Oct 1).

Those who wish to apply for Enhancement for Active Seniors (Ease) improvements in their HDB flats can also do so in either English, Malay, Chinese, or Tamil.

In his post, Dr Balakrishnan included screenshots of a sample CPF homepage and Ease direct application page in the four languages.

The National Healthcare Group's polyclinics will also allow patients to make medical appointments online in vernacular languages before the end of this year, he added.

Dr Balakrishnan thanked community groups Mendaki and the Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda) for vetting the translations, and said that the roll-out of multilingual digital government services would make such services more inclusive and accessible in a "multilingual #SmartNation".

"Digital services must be accessible for everyone - regardless of language. This is an issue that I have felt strongly about for a long time," he said.

"We are re-designing digital government services to make them simpler, more intuitive, and more accessible for all citizens," he wrote in the post.

His post, which was written in English, also contained Malay, Chinese, and Tamil translations of his message.

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