@JQ Yeah I think the market is really very different here. The reason the government offers that grant is because they are pretty much desperate for locally produced mother tongue books because none of the commercial publishers would do it out of their own pocket, because as you said it, they are loss-making ventures. Relying on imports from China/Malaysia/India may not be too relatable for the kids who grow up here and as a results mother tongue proficiency is dying in the younger generation to the point that they are no longer native speakers of their mother tongue language.
My approach is basically if I get the grant, I will move forward and "pay" the publishers using government money. Remember that you can also claim author and illustrator fee if selected for the grant. If I don't get it I'll submit the English manuscript for traditional publishing route.
Just my 2 cents. Your approach might be different and thats okay too 👌 But from what I am seeing you have a pretty high chance of getting if you keep up this quality of work and strengthen it with the feedback from people here. You can do it!!
I'll be sharing mine soon too hopefully...
