SINGAPORE: From plans for a new law to reinforce deterrent sentences for scam offenders to measures to regulate data centres, parliament tackled a wide range of issues on Tuesday (Oct 6).
The House also heard that eight public service officers have been referred to the police as part of a review of property purchases near unannounced MRT stations.
Salary adjustments for the president and parliament’s presiding officers were approved, while MPs passed legislation covering tax measures and financial safeguards.
Here are five issues discussed in parliament on Tuesday.
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Parliament unanimously approved three motions relating to salary and allowance adjustments for the president, speaker of parliament and deputy speakers of parliament.
The three motions tabled by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah came after the House debated and approved the increase to political salaries last month. From Oct 15, political office holders will receive up to 9 per cent increase in their salaries, while allowances for Members of Parliament were also raised.
There was no debate on Tuesday as no MP rose to speak on the motions, which sought parliament’s resolution to implement the recommendations from the independent review committee to adjust the salary packages of the three roles.
With parliament approving the motions, the privy purse, which is used to meet the president’s salary, will be raised from S$1,568,900 (US$1,230,000) to S$2,568,200.
This gives effect to the salary adjustment for the president, which is pegged to the reference monthly salary of the prime minister and also consists of a 13th month bonus and an annual variable component pegged to rates received by the civil service, Ms Indranee said in her speech.
Meanwhile, the annual salary of the Speaker, if it were a full-time post, is pegged to the MR4 minister reference annual salary, comprising a monthly base salary, 13th month bonus and an annual variable component.
As it is a part-time post, the Speaker will receive half of the MR4 reference annual salary, bringing the sum from S$550,000 to S$900,000 a year.
Similarly, as the Deputy Speaker position is also a part-time post, the annual allowance is pegged at 15 per cent of the Speaker's part-time annual salary, bringing the amount from S$82,500 to S$135,000 a year.
Parliament also passed a Bill that, among other things, brought tax measures announced earlier this year into legal effect. The tax measures are meant to help businesses cope with cost pressures from the Middle East conflict and invest in AI.
These amendments allow the previously announced 50 per cent corporate income tax rebate and S$2,000 (US$1,560) cash grant for active companies that employ at least one local employee to take effect.
The Finance (Income Taxes) Bill also introduced amendments to comply with the latest global minimum tax rules and introduced changes to simplify tax filing for taxpayers.
Second Minister for Finance Jeffrey Siow estimated that the amendments will cost the government around S$1.5 billion.
The move will ensure that distressed financial institutions can be resolved in a way that preserves financial stability and maintains confidence in Singapore’s financial system, said Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Alvin Tan, who is also a board member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The new laws will allow the Monetary Authority of Singapore to impose total loss-absorbing capacity on domestic systemically important banks in Singapore. These comprise three local and four foreign banks – DBS, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, Maybank, Standard Chartered and HSBC.
Total loss-absorbing capacity is a type of international standard for such banks. It ensures that the banks have enough equity and bail-in debt, or debt that can be written off, so they can pass losses to investors and minimise the risk of a government bailout if they are in distress.
The changes also include some “technical amendments” to align Singapore’s framework to counter proliferation financing, or the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, with the updated international standards by the Financial Action Task Force, Mr Tan said.
Parliament debated the Digital Infrastructure Bill, with the 12 MPs who spoke so far supporting regulation of the data centre sector.
Under the Bill, all operators of data centres in Singapore with a critical IT load of at least 3 megawatts will need to be licensed.
Data centres will be required to meet facility-level energy-efficiency requirements, including power usage effectiveness requirements, as a first step.
MPs raised concerns over the climate impact of expanding data centre capacity in Singapore, with some noting how the facilities consume a large amount of water and power.
They questioned whether Singapore has enough low-carbon electricity to support the further growth of data centres, given the country's limited energy resources, and whether expansion could put additional pressure on the national grid.
Some also questioned the bearing of the costs associated with this growth.
The sitting was adjourned, and the debate will resume on Wednesday.
Parliament also heard an adjournment motion filed by Workers’ Party’s Sengkang GRC MP Jamus Lim on saving local food and beverage businesses. He called for the easing of rental and manpower constraints for the sector.
On rental concerns, he proposed that public agencies and government affiliates can take the first step in bringing about alternative tenancy arrangements, such as adopting tender criteria that place a greater weight on food offerings, business quality, and innovation and productivity plans, rather than bid prices alone.
To meet labour needs, he suggested, among other recommendations, that it would be helpful for F&B operators to be allowed to hire Malaysians as stall assistants, saying they "clearly share a similar hawker culture".
In response, Senior Minister of State for Energy, Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling noted that imposing rental controls was "not straightforward" and "could have far-reaching consequences".
She said that commercial properties operate under different market conditions and businesses too vary widely in operating models, locations and customer profiles.
Imposing rental caps would require the government to intervene directly in private commercial lease negotiations, Ms Low said, adding that this could distort market pricing and prevent rents from reflecting actual demand and supply conditions.
She added that the government provides targeted manpower flexibility “where there is a clear need”, such as allowing businesses to hire work permit holders from non-traditional sources for selected roles on the non-traditional sources occupation list, such as cooks. The list has been expanded to include more F&B roles from September.
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The House also heard that eight public service officers have been referred to the police as part of a review of property purchases near unannounced MRT stations.
Salary adjustments for the president and parliament’s presiding officers were approved, while MPs passed legislation covering tax measures and financial safeguards.
Here are five issues discussed in parliament on Tuesday.
INCREASES TO SALARIES OF PRESIDENT, SPEAKER, DEPUTY SPEAKER
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Parliament unanimously approved three motions relating to salary and allowance adjustments for the president, speaker of parliament and deputy speakers of parliament.
The three motions tabled by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah came after the House debated and approved the increase to political salaries last month. From Oct 15, political office holders will receive up to 9 per cent increase in their salaries, while allowances for Members of Parliament were also raised.
There was no debate on Tuesday as no MP rose to speak on the motions, which sought parliament’s resolution to implement the recommendations from the independent review committee to adjust the salary packages of the three roles.
With parliament approving the motions, the privy purse, which is used to meet the president’s salary, will be raised from S$1,568,900 (US$1,230,000) to S$2,568,200.
This gives effect to the salary adjustment for the president, which is pegged to the reference monthly salary of the prime minister and also consists of a 13th month bonus and an annual variable component pegged to rates received by the civil service, Ms Indranee said in her speech.
Meanwhile, the annual salary of the Speaker, if it were a full-time post, is pegged to the MR4 minister reference annual salary, comprising a monthly base salary, 13th month bonus and an annual variable component.
As it is a part-time post, the Speaker will receive half of the MR4 reference annual salary, bringing the sum from S$550,000 to S$900,000 a year.
Similarly, as the Deputy Speaker position is also a part-time post, the annual allowance is pegged at 15 per cent of the Speaker's part-time annual salary, bringing the amount from S$82,500 to S$135,000 a year.
FINANCE (INCOME TAXES) BILL
Parliament also passed a Bill that, among other things, brought tax measures announced earlier this year into legal effect. The tax measures are meant to help businesses cope with cost pressures from the Middle East conflict and invest in AI.
These amendments allow the previously announced 50 per cent corporate income tax rebate and S$2,000 (US$1,560) cash grant for active companies that employ at least one local employee to take effect.
The Finance (Income Taxes) Bill also introduced amendments to comply with the latest global minimum tax rules and introduced changes to simplify tax filing for taxpayers.
Second Minister for Finance Jeffrey Siow estimated that the amendments will cost the government around S$1.5 billion.
Watch:
FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS (AMENDMENTS) BILL
The move will ensure that distressed financial institutions can be resolved in a way that preserves financial stability and maintains confidence in Singapore’s financial system, said Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Alvin Tan, who is also a board member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The new laws will allow the Monetary Authority of Singapore to impose total loss-absorbing capacity on domestic systemically important banks in Singapore. These comprise three local and four foreign banks – DBS, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, Maybank, Standard Chartered and HSBC.
Total loss-absorbing capacity is a type of international standard for such banks. It ensures that the banks have enough equity and bail-in debt, or debt that can be written off, so they can pass losses to investors and minimise the risk of a government bailout if they are in distress.
The changes also include some “technical amendments” to align Singapore’s framework to counter proliferation financing, or the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, with the updated international standards by the Financial Action Task Force, Mr Tan said.
Watch:
DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE BILL
Parliament debated the Digital Infrastructure Bill, with the 12 MPs who spoke so far supporting regulation of the data centre sector.
Under the Bill, all operators of data centres in Singapore with a critical IT load of at least 3 megawatts will need to be licensed.
Data centres will be required to meet facility-level energy-efficiency requirements, including power usage effectiveness requirements, as a first step.
MPs raised concerns over the climate impact of expanding data centre capacity in Singapore, with some noting how the facilities consume a large amount of water and power.
They questioned whether Singapore has enough low-carbon electricity to support the further growth of data centres, given the country's limited energy resources, and whether expansion could put additional pressure on the national grid.
Some also questioned the bearing of the costs associated with this growth.
The sitting was adjourned, and the debate will resume on Wednesday.
Also read:
ADJOURNMENT MOTION ON F&B BUSINESSES
Parliament also heard an adjournment motion filed by Workers’ Party’s Sengkang GRC MP Jamus Lim on saving local food and beverage businesses. He called for the easing of rental and manpower constraints for the sector.
On rental concerns, he proposed that public agencies and government affiliates can take the first step in bringing about alternative tenancy arrangements, such as adopting tender criteria that place a greater weight on food offerings, business quality, and innovation and productivity plans, rather than bid prices alone.
To meet labour needs, he suggested, among other recommendations, that it would be helpful for F&B operators to be allowed to hire Malaysians as stall assistants, saying they "clearly share a similar hawker culture".
In response, Senior Minister of State for Energy, Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling noted that imposing rental controls was "not straightforward" and "could have far-reaching consequences".
She said that commercial properties operate under different market conditions and businesses too vary widely in operating models, locations and customer profiles.
Imposing rental caps would require the government to intervene directly in private commercial lease negotiations, Ms Low said, adding that this could distort market pricing and prevent rents from reflecting actual demand and supply conditions.
She added that the government provides targeted manpower flexibility “where there is a clear need”, such as allowing businesses to hire work permit holders from non-traditional sources for selected roles on the non-traditional sources occupation list, such as cooks. The list has been expanded to include more F&B roles from September.
Continue reading...