Parliament

In a bid to manage the ever-growing threats of cybersecurity breaches and terrorism in the Southeast Asian region, as well as to mitigate the negative effects of a globalised economy and workforce, the Singapore Government will increase its expenditure in key areas such as defence and security, technology and enterprise, and social spending to uplift the livelihoods of Singaporeans. Finance …

The increase in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 7% to 9% will be mitigated through the scaling down of tax relief received by travellers, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat. Mr Heng, in delivering the Singapore Budget 2019 in Parliament on Monday (18 Feb), said that given “the rise in international travel” into and through Singapore, the Government will …

Singapore is home to an ageing population and even now, 1 in 4 people are over 55 years old. As such, a big chunk of the budget is being earmarked to help support Singaporeans entering their silver years. This year, an extra S$3.1 billion was earmarked for premium subsidies and other forms of support for Singaporeans, bringing the total up …

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat revealed the long awaited details for the new Merdeka Generation Package (MGP) during the budget presentation today in Parliament (18 Feb). The package will benefit Singaporeans born in 1949 or earlier who missed out on the Pioneer Generation Package but obtained citizenship by 1996. The MGP is intended to help eligible Singaporeans with their medical …

The Singapore Parliament will sit at 1:30pm on Monday, 18 February 2019, for the 92nd session of the 13th Parliament. *18 oral questions and 6 written question have been scheduled to be asked. There will be a Ministerial Statement from Minister for Finance: BUDGET STATEMENT: That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the financial year 1 April …

By International Human Rights Lawyer M Ravi On Wednesday (12 February), Speaker of Parliament Tan-Chuan Jin said that he agrees with the judgment call by the Ministry of Health (MOH) not to inform patients and the public about the HIV data leak. Mr Tan listened ‘closely’ to what the Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said, and in the end turned …

On Monday (11 Feb), Worker’s Party secretary-general Pritam Singh, in proposing the amendment of Section 14 of the Government Proceedings Act (GPA), branded the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)’s “zero-accident mindset” in the wake of reservist Corporal First Class (NS) Aloysius Pang’s death at the end of last month as “unrealistic” and “wishful” even in “industries with notoriously strict safety standards”. Two years ago, …

It is “unrealistic” and “wishful” for the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) to expect zero fatalities in National Service (NS), given the foreseeable and inherent risks involved in military training in general, said Worker’s Party secretary-general Pritam Singh in Parliament on Monday (11 Feb). Mr Singh added that the “zero-accident mindset” adopted by MINDEF following the death of reservist Corporal First …

Personal mobility device (PMD) users and their accident victims can undertake voluntary mediation when they experienced accident at the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) or the Law Society of Singapore, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Lam Pin Min in his parliamentary reply on Tuesday (12 February). This was his response to Member of Parliament for Nee Soon Er Dr …

The Committee of Inquiry (COI) which looked into the death of full-time national serviceman Liu Kai found that the Bionix driver involved in the event continued reversing despite repeated commands to stop, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in Parliament on Monday (11 February). He added that the police are now investigating into the communications between the Bionix crew, and …