Government

A total of 2,594,740 Singaporeans are eligible to vote in the next General Election (GE), according to the Elections Department (ELD). The current figures mark an increase of 134,256 electors from the 2,460,484 of eligible voters recorded by ELD prior to the last election in 2015. In a statement on Mon (15 Apr), ELD said that the Registers of Electors …

In the aftermath of the Japanese F-3A fighter jet crash last Tue (9 Apr), Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef) assured that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will be “safe to operate” prior to obtaining them. Responding to TODAY‘s queries regarding whether the crash on Tue will influence Mindef’s decision to acquire the new jets, a Mindef spokesperson said: “Mindef and …

A Public Sector Data Security Review Committee has been convened by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the wake of several cybersecurity breaches involving public healthcare databases in recent months, the latest being the data leak involving over 800,000 blood donors by a Health Sciences Authority vendor. The HSA database breach is the third cybersecurity breach concerning public healthcare databases …

Earthworks contractors will have greater clarity on the requirements they have to comply with for projects carried out in the vicinity of underground telecommunication cables by 1 June 2019 to prevent cable cut incidents, which have been the main cause of telecom service disruptions in recent years, the authorities announced in a press release on Monday (18 March). The Earthworks …

The second phase of reductions to the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) sales charge and wrap fees cap will be deferred by one year from 1 October 2019 to 1 October 2020 in response to industry feedback that financial advisors require more time to adjust to the revised CPFIS fees structure. In March 2018, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced the …

The Public Service Division (PSD) announced on Tuesday (5 March) that eight civil servants will be taking on a new position or seeing a change to their portfolio with effect from 1 April. The PSD also announced Ms Lai Wei Lin, 43, Deputy Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Education (MOE) to be appointed Second Permanent Secretary (Education). Ms Lai, 43, held …

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedics will be progressively equipped with Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs), which is is a compact device worn over the ear, starting from Saturday (1 February 2019). In a press release on Thursday (31 January), SCDF said that it expects to roll out the BWCs to all paramedics by 2020. The authority said that the use of the …

Senior civil servant Joseph Leong will be appointed Permanent Secretary (Defence Development) starting from 1 March, announced the Public Service Division (PSD) in a press release on Monday (28 January). Mr Leong, 48, who is a President’s Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) Overseas Scholarship recipient, is director at the security and intelligence division of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF). The PSD …

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 …