Government

Singapore Customs stated in a press release on Wednesday (2 January) that the three-quarter tank rule will be expanded to cover Singapore-registered diesel-powered vehicles, which is in line with the introduction of a usage-based diesel duty announced in Budget 2017 to reduce diesel consumption and resultant air pollution. Singapore-registered vehicles are required to have a minimum amount of motor fuel …

The Infrastructure Protection Act (IPA), which is touted to be part of counter-terrorism strategy to protect Singapore’s critical infrastructure, and buildings that are iconic or have high public footfall, will take effect from 18 Dec 2018. The Act was passed in Parliament on 2 October 2017. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) stated in a press release that new buildings …

Mr Eddie Teo will be appointed to be the new Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) by the President under Article 37B(3A) of the Constitution as Chairman of the CPA starting from 2 January 2019 to 1 June 2020. The Prime Minister Office (PMO) announced in a press release that Mr Eddie will be succeeding Mr J Y Pillay when his current term …

The National Environment Agency (NEA) announced in a press release on Wednesday (28 November) that public areas within the Orchard Road precinct will be designated as a No Smoking Zone (NSZ), where smoking will only be allowed at the Designated Smoking Areas (DSAs) from 1 January 2019 and the smoking corners at food retail establishments within the NSZ will also …

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will make a working visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina in conjunction with the 13th G20 Leaders’ Summit, at the invitation of His Excellency Mauricio Macri, President of the Argentine Republic from Wednesday (28 November) to Saturday (1 December), the Prime Minister Office (PMO) announced in a press release. The office stated that Prime Minister Lee …

The first phase of Moneylenders (Amendment) Act 2018 and Moneylenders (Amendment) Rules 2018, which was designed to provide better protection for borrowers and strengthen the regulation of licensed moneylenders, will be implemented starting from 30 November 2018. The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) stated on last Friday that the second phase of implementation will take effect in the first quarter of 2019. Together, …

President of the Republic of Chile Sebastián Piñera and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau will be visiting Singapore at the invitation of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, to attend the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits as Guests of the ASEAN Chair. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a press release on Tuesday 13 November. The ministry stated that …

New digital services that will be available on the One.Motoring website, starting from 26 November, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Wednesday (7 November). In its press release, the authority stated that vehicle owners will be able to use SingPass/CorpPass 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) for four new digital services on the One.Motoring website, which are transferring of vehicle ownership, transferring of PARF/COE …

The 33rd ASEAN Summit and related summits, which are to be held at Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre (Suntec) from 13 to 15 November 2018, have been declared as an ‘Enhanced Security Special Event’ under the Public Order Act. This was announced by Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Monday (5 November), stating that the area around Suntec has …

Second Education Minister Indranee Rajah wants Singapore to find a way to address the issue of unintended labeling or stereotyping of students that happens as a result of the streaming system in schools. These unintended side effects, she says, affects how pupils view themselves and are perceived by others. She was responding to a question posed to her following a …