Politics

A controversial and unpublished law amendment was passed by the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR-RI) in the third week of February 2018. DPR-RI silently passed the revision on the Law of Representative Assemblies, known as the MD3 law. If this amendment comes into effect, criticism of Indonesian politicians will be deterred and accountability of the politicians …

Speaking at the start of the Parliament sitting on 8 March (Thursday), Workers' Party Ms Sylvia Lim declined to apologise for her earlier "Test Balloon" remarks in Parliament about the impending GST hike and cited media reports and comments by economists that led her to suspect that the government had planned to raise the GST sooner, before the timeline of …

It was reported yesterday (12 Mar) that Major-General (MG) Melvyn Ong Su Kiat, the Chief of Army (COA), will take over from Lieutenant-General (LG) Perry Lim Cheng Yeow as Chief of Defence Force (CDF) on 23 March 2018. MG Ong joined the SAF in 1994 and was awarded the SAF Overseas Scholarship. He was commissioned as second lieutenant in 1994 …

It was earlier reported that Mr Charles Chong, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament from People's Action Party (PAP), may have been spreading "incorrect" news on the eve of 2015 GE, in which he eventually won in Punggol East. Chong alleged that $22.5 million transferred to the new town council of Workers' Party (WP) after it had won …

The Straits Times (ST) reported today (11 Mar) that the government had proceeded to seek legal advice from the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) to see if Workers' Party Sylvia Lim did breach parliamentary privilege in the recent "test balloons" debates in Parliament. After the close of Parliamentary debates on Thursday (8 Mar), Senior Minister of State for Law, Indranee Rajah renewed …

Yesterday (9 Mar), Senior Minister of State for Finance and Law Indranee Rajah made a renewed attack on her Facebook page against Sylvia Lim with a post titled, 'GST Hike: An Honourable Course of Conduct or not?'. She went on to piece together the events after Ms Lim had spoken last week and supported Minister Grace Fu's accusation that Ms …

On Thursday (8 Mar), WP Chairman Sylvia Lim explained in Parliament why she is not apologising for her earlier allegation that the PAP government had floated a "test balloon" about raising GST. She said, "I believe I was doing my duty as an MP to convey ground concerns, reactions and confusion." "I did not accuse the Government of being untruthful …

At a dialogue organised by the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) yesterday (9 Mar), Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say assured the 700 company officials attending the event that companies will have some leeway to bring in foreign professionals if they meet specified conditions. These foreign PMETs should have skills that are in demand and are "lacking" locally. Companies must also …

On Wed (7 Mar), Health Minister Gan Kim Yong told Parliament that co-payment in healthcare plays an important role in ensuring that the healthcare system is sustainable. However, he noted that some private insurance policies had offered zero co-payment coverage. He said that this encourages a "buffet syndrome" in patients. "They are called full riders," Gan explained. "Such riders encourage …

Yesterday (7 March), Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament that the fare formula for public transport is being reviewed in view of the upcoming infrastructure upgrades. He said that while Singapore's transport fares are currently "affordable", the Government also needs to ensure the sustainability of the transport network. "We must be careful that (fares) are not priced too …