YES!! It was announced at the National Day Rally that maternity leave will be extended to 16 weeks! It was supposed to take effect from Jan 2009, but after some "feedback", the effective date was brought forward to 17 August 2008. Either way, I'm in! My 小B's a January baby... :D

This move by the government has caused polarising views, as expected. While many (like me) welcomed it, there are also many others who felt that the employers will be the ones negatively affected by it. Some felt that more incentives should be given to the fathers. Some felt that while this is giving incentives to married couples to procreate, it is also depriving singles of time to look for their life partners.

Like Randy said, it's like a double-edged sword, cuts both ways. Well, every policy is such, isn't it? You can never gain 100% support and agreement. In any case, I'm happy about it. :)