Vikram Nair
Singapore
“I thank the Minister of State for the answer, as well as forming a workgroup to look into this issue. I think it is worrying that platform workers have a much higher rate of workplace injuries than many other groups and I think compensation is one component, but does the Minister of State think any interim measures are needed while the wo…”
“I thank the Minister of State for the answer. I think it is an improvement from the last time this question was asked two years ago, which was 17 minutes and 164 minutes. So, there is improvement. But a one-and-a half-hour waiting time is still quite long.”
“Thank you, and I thank the Minister of State for flagging the answer to me as well. So, I have a supplementary question. The answer was that the Ministry is engaging the digital service providers as well as preparing advisories for parents.”
“I thank the Minister of State for the response and to explain that the OCHA Directions are being issued to Telegram as well. The only reason I mentioned Telegram specifically is it seems to emerge in a whole range of crimes, including selling of drugs, etomidate, sexual crimes, scams.”
“It seeks to enable efficient cross-border travel while retaining Singapore's legal framework and ensuring that foreign officers cooperate within defined limits. It also provides for reciprocity, so that Singapore officers can exercise similar functions in Malaysia.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I note that amongst the different sources of energy, diesel prices have risen much higher than electricity prices. And diesel fuels many commercial operators, including buses and lorries, which feeds into many other sectors.”
The complete record
Every one of 760 lines we hold for Vikram Nair, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 16.
“I think it is sensible to have both systems operating concurrently for a transitional period, but if the Government’s intention is to transition all transactions electronically, which I think is sensible, I would suggest this be telegraphed to the market and nudges be put in place to encourage more people to transact electronically in this transition process. Second, where there are mistakes in the form or omissions, for example, if a selling party does not indicate the address of its conveyancing solicitor or indicates an incorrect address, under the law currently, as long as a buyer does everything in his power to indicate his intention to exercise the option, the court would generally uphold the transaction. In relation to paper options, sometimes the exercising solicitor’s name is even left blank. I think it will be important for the electronic transaction system to also have some flexibility for parties to record their exercise of the option or intention to make completion payments, even if for some reason the seller may have made some mistakes in the electronic forms. Disputes have traditionally arisen around whether the formalities for exercise of the option were met where a seller may wish to avoid a transaction. Third, the Land Register is generally taken as an authoritative record for the legal owner of a property. However, in a fast moving market, unscrupulous sellers may sometimes issue options to more than one buyer – a practice that has been the subject of several reported court decisions. In these situations, the first party to exercise and register his or her interest in the Land Register, would generally prevail over those who register later.”
“In a fast moving property market, this can lead to significant claims against any party responsible for missing a deadline including purchaser, seller, lawyers, especially if a transaction does not go through. Against this backdrop, having the option to perform various parts of the conveyancing transaction electronically should simplify the process. This Bill allows the seller to now issue an option electronically and for the buyer to exercise this option electronically. It is also possible for payments to be made into an electronic platform, obviating the need for cheques and cashier’s orders. Additionally, parties will have real time visibility over funds available from bank and in the CPF. So, this should reduce deadline jitters. I envisage this Bill will be a valuable service that will align with the movement of the financial industry away from paper transactions. I do have a few suggestions in relation to this Bill and the electronic conveyancing process. First, I note that the operative mechanism here is that any transaction in the electronic transaction mechanism will now satisfy the requirements of section 6(d) of the Civil Law Act for a transfer of property. This means that this rule is not intended to replace, but rather to supplement the existing methods of conveying property. This will mean a slightly more cumbersome process for parties in the industry as it means they still need to be familiar with the old processes. I would like to clarify with the Senior Minister of State if the intention is to slowly have this electronic transaction process replace the current system.”
“Mr Speaker, I support this Bill. I declare my interest as a lawyer that acts in property-related disputes and a partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, a law firm that has a conveyancing practice. This Bill introduces an important tool to simplify the conveyancing process. It provides users the option to deal electronically with the sale of property. Other jurisdictions such as England and Australia have also moved to permit electronic conveyancing. Currently, the typical process for selling a property involves the sellers issuing an option to the purchaser in exchange for the payment of an option fee, usually 1% of the value of the property. This option must then be exercised by payment of an option fee, usually a further 9% of the price of the property. Once the option is exercised, the purchaser then has an interest in the property and the seller is under an obligation to complete the sale in exchange for payment by the purchaser of the remaining amount of the price. Currently, all these processes take place with the exchange of paper documents. The options are issued in writing in paper. Payment to exercise the option is made either by cashier’s order or cheque, usually to the seller’s designated lawyers. Thereafter, if the purchaser is getting a loan or using CPF, the purchaser’s lawyers have to deal with the sellers lawyers, CPF Board and the bank and ensure that payments from all these parties along with the seller are ready for execution at the designated time for completion. Generally, in property transactions, time is of the essence, and if any deadline for payment is missed, that will give the other party a right not to proceed with a sale and even ask for damages.”
“I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the response. One of the concerns underlying this question was the article that said that suicide was the leading cause of death amongst youths. Has the MOE done any studies into these suicide cases to see if there any lessons to be learnt and how best early intervention might have helped in each of these cases so that we can prevent or reduce the number of future cases?”
“Thank you to Senior Minister of State. One clarification. If parents were to identify youths with such addictions and flag it, who would be the best authorities to flag it to and what interventions would be available, assuming the child or youth was unwilling to be treated?”
“Thank you, Speaker. Picking on some of the points that Senior Minister of State made, I understand that two thirds of the disputes relate to noise related matters and about 50% of people who are asked to go for voluntary mediation, do not do so. Another 20% refused it outright. Taking these points, I would like to make a suggestion to MND, which I had actually raised in a previous Sitting five years ago, and that is a very simple solution for MND to set threshold levels on noise, educate the public on it and then take enforcement. I would respectfully suggest this solves several issues: it avoids the entire sway, the resources needed to decide each noise case, case-by-case in mediation, and then CDRU and then everywhere else. Instead, with a clear benchmark and enforcement, the first point of contact for most people is to call the Police. There are guidelines, they can enforce, or a suitable MND officer can enforce. I would be grateful for MND's consideration on this.”
“This would reduce some of the "cliff" effect that long serving employees currently face in that if they are made redundant before they are 65, they are likely to get a substantial payout pegged to each year of service, based on the current guidelines. On the other hand, if they are made redundant after 65, say, when they are re-employed, they will not get any redundancy benefits. On the other hand, if retirement benefits are legislated, every employee knows they will get a good payout at the time they reach retirement age and the cliff effect will not be there. The upshot of these suggested changes is to gently incentivise longer term relationship between employers and employees by tying financial incentives to long-term employment. This will also hopefully give employees more security in their employment and some guarantees of payouts in the event they lose their jobs. Mr Deputy Speaker, in my speech, I have shared some thoughts on global security, domestic security and finally, job security. I support the President’s address and look forward to supporting the work of the Government in overcoming the challenges in the years ahead. [Applause.]”
“Likewise, the Mid-career SkillsFuture Grant is there as a support cushion for those who may lose jobs or need to upgrade later in life. Over my years in this House, I have also spoken up for stronger labour protection in our laws. I had suggested legislating anti-discrimination laws and retrenchment benefits. The Government has moved forward on these, initially through the tripartite framework, with guidelines on both. Anti-discrimination laws have since been enshrined in our Workplace Fairness Act. Stronger labour laws change the relationship and negotiating positions as between employers and employees. Generally, having less legislation creates a freer market with employers having less inhibitions to hire and employees having less incentives to stay at an employer. This, however, may result in a more transactional relationship between both, resulting in less willingness for employers to invest in employees since they may leave after being trained and less downside for employees for leaving. On the other hand, if there is legislation that, for example, gives employees legislated redundancy or retirement benefits, employees will have less incentive to leave their employer since these benefits generally kick in only when the employee is made redundant or retired. These may be linked to their years in service, typically say anywhere from a week to a month worth of pay per year of service. This creates incentives for employees to stay with their employer and for employers to invest in their employees for a long-term relationship. Legislated retirement benefits is a suggestion to pay employees at the time they retire, a sum based on their years in service. Similar to a redundancy benefit in concept, save that it will be paid to all employees at the time of retirement.”
“Facebook, on the other hand, has had pages impersonating Government officials and promoting dubious investments and it seems, from recent news reports, they have been used for government impersonation scams. I think MHA should consider if it needs more levers to deal with social media platforms and other means that scam operators use to reach out to victims and if so, in this term of Government, to bring in legislation to do so. We are one of the safest countries in the world but in the face of organised transnational crime, we need to remain on our guard and deal with ever-evolving threats. In the last part of my speech, I touch on a deeply personal matter for many Singaporeans, job security. The President's address sets out the challenges Singapore faces in a changed world, in particular, with a looming trade war sparked by US tariffs and the rise of AI. One major risk to Singaporeans from these developments is the loss of jobs. Singapore has generally had a very low unemployment rate. While we were expecting an economic slowdown, this has not materialised yet and the latest labour market report for the second quarter of 2025 shows a resilient labour market. The report shows total employment growth and that unemployment rates have remained at 2%. The incidence of retrenchments are also low. Notwithstanding that, the long-term issues remain. Undergraduates are taking longer to get jobs. The Government has introduced a slew of well thought through initiatives to address these matters. This includes the great programme to assist fresh graduates to get work experience if they have difficulty getting jobs. The idea of governments paying private employers to reduce their risk in hiring fresh graduates is a novel support solution.”
“I understand, for Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung, that new legislation is contemplated under MOH deal with this matter but if the penalties and measures appear to be a step down from what is available under the Misuse of Drugs Act, this may still send the wrong signal to traffickers. This episode with etomidate also reveals the potent force of our laws and also what happens if a drug-like substance is not captured by them. I think we may need to consider if we need more flexible laws which not only have a list of banned substances but also sets out some general principles of when a hitherto, unclassified substance may be considered a drug, say, if it meets certain objective requirements. This general provision may help to capture new substances and allow Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to move more swiftly when new substance comes into circulation. In relation to scams, while the prospect of waging wars in foreign countries with the operators of scam centres may be a stretch too far for Singapore to do alone, I think it is important for us to take all available steps against the arms and legs of scam operators. This was similar to the approach taken to combat unlicensed money lending more than a decade ago which has almost eradicated the threat from our heartlands. The latest legislative changes on this front have been to take action against those who provide bank accounts and otherwise facilitate scammers. However, many scams are also being done on social media platforms, including Facebook and Telegram. Telegram, in particular, I understand, is being used both as a platform to sell vapes and etomidate, as well as to reach out to people to provide bank accounts to facilitate scams.”
“Interestingly, ketamine, which was also a compound component of Kpod, but classified as a drug, did not see such a large spike, which suggests the classification of the substance as a drug makes a difference for the sellers' behaviour and its proliferation. Around the same time, The Straits Times was running a series of stories on Kpod. I had met a resident at my meet-the-people session, who shared the story of her son who was struggling with Kpod addiction. She wanted her son to get treatment but under the laws as it then stood, the Health Sciences Authority could only confiscate the vapes and issue a fine. In the end, the parent paid the fine and the son got fresh vapes. The son displayed all the traits of a drug addict, including trying to get high on a daily basis, being unable to concentrate in school and threatening violence or suicide if the vapes were to be taken. This, coupled with the articles I read at the time, suggested etomidate should be classified as a drug and I made this suggestion. I am grateful the Government moved swiftly and decisively on this even before Parliament resumed. I am concerned, though, that the classification of etomidate as a drug is only temporary and that we have announced an end date of February 2026. I think it is important for us to set out clearly what will happen once we get to this stage next year. If there is a public step down in the seriousness with which we treat this, barely months after the crackdown, that may signal to traffickers that it is safe to resume business once again.”
“Singapore is one of the safest cities in the world and our citizens have no fear of walking alone at night or even leaving valuables like mobile phones around to chope dining tables at eateries. Despite this, though, the surge of organised crime lurks beneath the surface. Two major issues are drugs and scams. Both of these originate from abroad. Recent reports describe scam centres operating from Shan state in Myanmar, where scammers are usually victims of human trafficking. The same area was also associated with the growing of opium and the trade in heroin. These stories are horrifying and as the victims of these scams are all over the world, I think stronger transnational cooperation and coordination is needed to deal with these international syndicates, especially where crime originates from areas of states that may be beyond the control of the government of the country involved. Within Singapore, our war on drugs has generally been successful because of the combination of strong laws, effective enforcement and swift justice. Drug traffickers know that Singapore is not to be trifled with. Despite this, the threat and power of organised syndicates remain and the recent spike with Kpod and etomidate shows these syndicates exploiting a rare chink in our armour. Essentially, a substance that was not previously classified or used as a drug, etomidate, started becoming used as one, with similar effects of addicts losing control of themselves and suffering serious side effects, including suicidal tendencies and violence, as Senior Minister of State Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, shared this morning. I believe lax penalties for sellers led to the initial spike in sales of both vapes and etomidate.”
“While none of them are sending boots on the ground, their assistance remains important. As between allies too, those who have most to lose from your defeat are likely to have a stronger incentive to help you. In the case of Ukraine, it is its European allies who are closer to it that are now playing a more important role in continuing to support its war efforts. The US remains important in resuming weapon supplies but it has not made significant fresh financial commitments. The reality is that Singapore is a small country and we never know who our potential aggressor could be. Sometimes, your closest allies today may turn aggressors tomorrow, as was the case between Russia and Ukraine. Your aggressors could also come from very far away, as was the case in World War II when we were invaded by Japan. An important bulwark against this, in addition to being fully prepared to defend ourselves, is to build a wide set of relationships, both diplomatic and defence-related. Having a wide range of allies means that there are more potential countries that could be aligned with you and willing to help if the situation calls for it. In Singapore's case, natural counterparts would be other countries in Southeast Asia and, potentially, Japan and Korea, which are both advanced Asian economies with strong research and development capabilities for potential defence technologies. I think an important priority for this term of Government will be to include our investments in our own defence and our diplomatic and defence relations in the region. The second aspect I wish to discuss is domestic security. Singapore prides itself on having one of the lowest crime rates in the world.”
“Thucydides, the Greek historian who wrote about the war between Athens and Sparta, was often referred to for the proposition that a confrontation between a rising power and a dominant one could lead in military confrontation. There were several potential flashpoints at the time including over Taiwan and the South China Sea. If there was a military confrontation between the US and China, the whole world would be impacted by the fallout. From the US point of view at the time, the earlier the confrontation, the more likely would it be to triumph, rather than allowing China to catch up with its faster growing economy. Luckily, this military confrontation never happened. I would also suggest that such a confrontation is less likely to happen. Instead, the US appears to be in a position of what writers McDonald and Joseph wrote in "Twilight of the Titans" as a retrenchment, a position of gradual withdrawal from its dominant position on the world stage. It will still remain an important and influential force but it cannot be counted on to come to the defence of other countries or right every wrong of international law. This is what seems to be playing out both in Ukraine and in the Middle East. The implications of this are important, particularly for small countries, like Singapore. It means that in the event of war, no matter how wrongful the conduct of the aggressor, we still cannot count on anyone else to come to our defence. We need to be in a position to fight for ourselves against any potential aggressor. Allies remain important, though, in the case of Ukraine, it would not have been able to continue this war for so long without financial and weapon support from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries.”
“The Second Gulf War with Iraq, on the basis that it had weapons of mass destruction, was more controversial as there were disagreements on whether Iraq's conduct triggered the requirements for collective response. However, again, the message was clear. If you breach the fundamental norm of international law, collective response was a real possibility. Actions like this would have had a strong deterrent effect on would-be aggressors. Many countries cut back on military spending following the end of the Cold War and the reliability of the United States (US) deterrent may have accelerated this process. Countries that had conscript programs, including in Europe, South Korea and Taiwan, cut back on these and military spending in most of Europe was cut back. People were indeed enjoying the peace dividend. However, war is an expensive business. The US had taken up the mantle of global policeman and incurred significant expenses. President Obama inherited one of the largest deficits in US history and gradual cut back in US military spending began, which would mean being more careful with foreign interventions. In 2012, the Russian invasion of Crimea, while met with international condemnations and sanctions, did not meet with collective military response or anything stronger. Some analysts believe this gave Russia more confidence that its current attack on Ukraine would go similarly without significant international resistance. During the first Trump presidency, there was a view that China was a developing power and security gets particularly dangerous when a rising power threatens the incumbent.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, the President's address charts the path ahead for the Government in this term. The President stated in his address, our first priority is to secure our home and safeguard Singapore's place in the world. My speech is structured around the theme of security. Global security, domestic security and, finally, job security. Over the course of my 14 years in this House, I have spent a decade each in the Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs and Law, and continue in two GPCs this term. The foci of these GPCs are Singapore's external and internal security, respectively. As union advisor, I know job security is a matter close to every worker's heart. I, therefore, address these three matters. First, global security. Over the last three decades, the global security situation has fundamentally changed. Following the end of the Cold War, historian Francis Fukuyama wrote a book on "The End of History" which suggested that liberal democracy had triumphed over communism and the world could continue to look forward to peaceful prosperity. The inevitable communist revolution that Karl Marx had predicted had not come to pass and hence, the historic dialectic of history had ended. This did not mean conflict had ended but with the triumph of America in the Cold War, we had a unipolar world and the triumph of a rules-based liberal world order. Where there were breaches of our fundamental norms of international law, say, in relation to armed conflict, the idea of collective security and international action against the aggressor was real. Examples of these included the First Gulf War, where Kuwait was liberated following the invasion by Iraq; and the war in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre.”
“And with vapes coming on board, it is something that we will certainly discuss with our counterparts and see how we can not only have that evidence, but also look at how we can stay relevant in the current context.”
“Thank you. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State, what are the known adverse effects of etomidate? And certain places – China, Hong Kong, Taiwan – have listed it as a drug. I take Senior Minister of State's point that this is not yet listed by the UN. But does the Senior Minister of State think that we would need a more flexible system to classify as drugs those that have serious adverse effects, but for which the long-term impact may not yet have been studied? Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary question. Essentially, as I shared earlier, there is no robust scientific evidence of its significant harm and addictiveness yet. Essentially, for the harms with regard to its effects, you can term it as psychiatric effects, very serious psychiatric effects like feeling suicidal; and also there are physical effects, like the feeling of confusion, loss of consciousness, uncontrolled movement and disruption of vital body functions, for example, irregular heart rhythms, abnormal blood pressure, breathing difficulties and hormone imbalances; and some can be very fatal. What we do is, for the psychoactive effects, for example, we have amended the MDA. But for some of these below-the-threshold, we continue to look at it, we work with our counterparts overseas and also, we find opportunities to see how they can also share with us some evidence. Because MDA also results in serious enforcement and also some of the legislative levers that we can use. So, we have to be very sure and also we need to make sure that it is backed by robust scientific evidence. But I take the Member's feedback. With the recent advent of substances like etomidate, certainly the landscape would be changing.”
“I have a supplementary question. From what I understand, there are around 14 days of leave, but it has to be pre-qualified, of which I think, three days for childcare, two days for parent care, one day is for Housing and Development Board registration. From what I understand, leave to take care of spouses would be considered no pay leave. I will be grateful for the Minister's clarification that this is not the case.”
“Thank you. I thank the Senior Minister of State, especially for the explanation of the Mid Career SkillsFuture Grant. The first part of my question actually was about the utilisation of SkillsFuture credits generally. Because I think in the middle of this year there was a report that said 70% of eligible households have not used the one-off $500 top-up for SkillsFuture, which is set to expire at the end of this year. So, taking the Senior Minister of State's point that SkillsFuture is meant for the long term, does the Senior Minister of State see this as a problem and is this something for which, say, the expiry should be extended, or something for which we should encourage people to utilise more quickly?”
“I thank the Minister of State for the explanation and the plans in this complex area. I agree that the greater the insurance coverage, the more likely the cost will be to escalate. I have two clarifications on this. One, is the Ministry looking at any regulatory measures to make sure that healthcare providers do not use insurance as an opportunity to overcharge? And this may include disciplinary proceedings, and so on. The second is from the point of view of the insurance users. I take the Minister of State's point that this is a contract, but in practical terms, quite often the people who buy insurance policies do so on standard terms; they do not negotiate it and they do not really have that option to go to a different insurer so readily, once they have been in a contract for a certain period of time. So, I think there is an element of consumer protection that needs to go in as well. Even though the insurance is renewed yearly, if the coverage does get worse, I think the Ministry should have some guidelines on when it will step in to protect consumers.”
“I thank the Minister for his clarification on Singapore's position on the recognition of Palestine. I think that one of the reasons the other countries have changed their position is they believe some of the actions that Israel will be taking now will make it much more difficult to have a two-state solution, including the current Israeli government's statement that it will not recognise a state of Palestine, as well as expanding settlements in the West Bank. What these other governments believe is recognising a state of Palestine now will help to preserve the hope of a two-state solution. Is this something that Singapore would consider as well, if it feels the actions of the Israeli government may be undermining the two-state solution?”
“Speaker, I am just picking up on a point that the Minister made earlier, but which comes within MHA's prerogative. The Minister was mentioning that a lot of vapes are sold through social media, potentially Telegram. Does MHA think it has adequate tools to deal with sale through social media and whether any more tools are needed? Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: I thank the Member for the supplementary question. Yes, we are in the social media space and that is how we have been able to dismantle many of the syndicates, and we will continue to do so. This is a platform where it has developed tremendously, and it also changes very fast. The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) as well as our agencies, we continue to develop not only the platform but how we can be more effective in our enforcement and at the same time going upstream on that.”
“I do not believe that we actually lack the laws necessary to investigate, apprehend and prosecute egregious money-laundering practices in the real estate sector. What I feel is more important is a steely eye focus on ensuring enforcement and compliance, for which I hope the Government would redouble the efforts to stamp out the scourge of Singapore-washing.”
“In response to a Parliamentary Question posed by my hon friend Mr Leong Mun Wai, the Minister for National Development indicated that, and I quote, "property agencies and property agents are required to perform due diligence checks on their clients before commencing business, any business relationship or facilitating transaction with them." Yet, in our conversations with those working in the sector, some have raised a nagging sense that AML procedures in the industry are somehow not as robust as those for the financial sector more generally. The Inter-Ministerial Committee report observed this too, noting that the, and I quote, "uneven implementation practices across and within sectors". And in response to this clarification question that I had posed on the Inter-Ministerial Committee last year, Minister Indranee conceded that the Government had, and I quote, "already started to do more in this space and will certainly see what they can do to strengthen the regulations in the sector". So, the relevant question beyond whether these changes proposed in today's Bill are only marginal is whether more substantive legislation is actually required to bring the industry to the frontier of AML best practices than the rest of the financial sector in Singapore is required to abide by. I am not a lawyer, but I would appreciate if the Minister would be willing to share if the laws, as they stand, together with the amendments proposed today are indeed sufficient to have brought about an earlier detection and detention of the Fujian Gang. If so, was it a matter of execution that fell short rather than the legal framework per se? And if not, what laws would be necessary? And why have these laws not been proposed to this House today? The essence of my message, Sir, is simple.”
“How many of the recent cases that have come under investigation have involved the financing of WMDs relative to plain vanilla AML or terrorism financing? Based on my reading, the remaining provisions introduced are also somewhat fairly mild. Changing penalties to each instance of contravention, adding a requirement that unrepresented counterparties in real estate transactions be subject to more scrutiny and raising the maximum penalty from $100,000 to $200,000. It is only in clause 10 where there seems at first glance to be some real teeth. It proposes amendments to the regulation making powers of the Council in section 72 of the Estate Agents Act, but when one returns to the original Act, one may be disappointed again. Here the change is again to be to insert "proliferation financing" to the list of requirements for what may be subject to regulation. Sir, perhaps the underlying reason for the seemingly limited slate of amendments to the law is because there is already a robust set of laws in place to ensure the proper due diligence of real estate transactions even back in 2023. The Council for Estate Agencies in its guide on 2021 regulations related to the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing had already set out a comprehensive set of guidelines for how to conduct customer due diligence, including enhanced procedures for when the risk of money laundering or terrorism financing is greater. The January 2025 version of the guide does indeed update the list of red flag indicators, doubling the page coverage in process, but my point is simply that we will not be raft of laws to combat so-called Singapore-washing even before this present update. And the Government has acknowledged as much.”
“44 pm Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Mr Deputy Speaker, the Bill at hand is focused on bringing to effect the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on anti-money laundering (AML) and, in particular, those that relate to AML efforts in the real estate sector. Improving the regulatory framework is critical, not least because the so-called Fujian Gang had parked a significant amount of their three billion in illicit funds in property. This is unsurprising, given the big ticket nature of real estate transactions and the sky high prices of our housing. But it just underscores the importance of enhancing our regulatory efforts in the sector to prevent a recurrence of the events of August 2023. For this reason, there is little reason to reject legislative effort – changes that edify such efforts. Hence, I support the Bill. Given the importance of the issue, I was therefore surprised to see how the proposed amendments did not appear to be all that extensive. Many of them entail logical, but seemingly minor expansions of scope from changing the term "money laundering and terrorism financing" to money laundering, proliferation, financing and terrorism financing. Indeed, by my count, half of the clauses in the Bill relate to this change. While I do not necessarily question the value of enfolding the illicit financing of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) into the scope of our anti-money laundering regime, it would nevertheless be helpful to this House to understand why this definition or expansion is deemed to be so crucial and relevant for our continued efforts in the real estate sector at this particular point in time.”
“This means in a situation where a normal person would suspect there might be money laundering, it is likely an agent would be expected to do so as well. Currently, due diligence obligations exist on banks and on law firms, who have to be especially careful when they take in client monies for conveyancing transactions. I also take the Minister's point that they do apply to real estate agents as well – at least, in recent years, I think since 2021. This actually already creates quite a secure backdrop to limit money laundering in property transactions. Essentially, if a party takes a loan or pays through a bank account, the bank would already have done due diligence or should have done due diligence on the source of funds. If instead of going to a bank, the person brings a pile of cash to his conveyancing lawyer's office, the lawyer would then clearly have their obligations triggered. Against this backdrop, I will be grateful if the Minister can clarify whether the existing framework has had any shortcomings such that the due diligence obligations imposed on real estate agents have to be expanded. I would also be grateful if the Minister can clarify whether estate agents have had any issues complying with existing 2021 regulations, including obligations such as keeping records. My main concern with expanding legislation is compared to banks and law firms, estate agents have more limited resources to conduct due diligence. Of course, if there is greater mischief that needs to be addressed, then I think this legislation would be fair. I would be grateful for the Minister to clarify the additional mischief that is intended to be captured by this legislation. 4.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, this Bill proposes certain amendments to the Estate Agents Act and Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act in order to introduce further safeguards against money laundering. According to the Explanatory Statement, this is based on recommendations of FATF. Fighting money laundering is clearly an important matter, especially in a financial centre like Singapore. The recent arrests related to the multi-billion dollar money laundering cases in Singapore also highlighted that a number of those involved had used their ill-gotten gains for the purchase of properties in Singapore. Against this backdrop, it is understandable that we would want to impose obligations on real estate agents. Real estate agents, though, are a diverse group and typically self-employed. There are currently 36,058 registered property agents according to a report in January 2025. Their income is based on commissions and is generally irregular, depending on whether or not they have transactions. The legislation now imposes on them higher penalties and obligations for the failure to do due diligence on either clients or counterparties where they have reason to suspect money laundering, proliferation financing or terrorism financing, where earlier due diligence exercises give them reason to doubt the veracity of the information provided to them. It also expands the existing obligations to cover counterparties to transactions. While the test is phrased subjectively, I expect in practice, they will be judged objectively on whether or not they would have had reason to suspect money laundering. Otherwise, there will be a perverse incentive on agents to turn a blind eye – the infamous Nelsonian blindness.”
“Chairman, the last few years have seen significant changes to improve access to justice. Thanks to initiatives from MinLaw, the Law Society, community organisations and, of course, the many lawyers that contribute their time and money to pro bono work. On the Ministry's part, it set up the Public Defender's Office, a major initiative that now provides criminal defence services for impecunious defendants. The Law Society has set up an Institution of Public Character called Pro Bono SG and through this, provided legal aid for those who need assistance in civil matters. In the Admiralty division, for example, the Realm of Tranquility, a local charitable organisation, collaborated with Pro Bono SG to open a community legal clinic at their premises which brings legal aid to the heartlands. These are commendable initiatives and I would like to know if the Ministry has any further plans to facilitate access to justice? An important aspect of justice is also the ability to enforce judgements easily. In the Committee of Supply 2024, the Ministry mentioned it was studying ways to improve the civil enforcement framework. I will be grateful for any updates on this. Finally, over the years, the Ministry has simplified the bankruptcy regime, making it easier for individuals to restructure debts and also made it easier for bankrupts to get discharged from bankruptcy. Perhaps, in part, because of these measures, the number of bankruptcy applications seems to have gone up. Does the Ministry have any views on this matter and is it planning any further actions in relation to the bankruptcy regime?”
“Chairman, it has been barely three decades since the Internet was first introduced into most of our lives. Many of us in this House may remember life and childhoods without the Internet. For the children of today, this is almost unthinkable. As Internet use has become a ubiquitous part of life, the potential for online harms has also grown. The issue of scams, many of which take place online, has just been discussed in the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA's) Committee of Supply (COS) debate. Other types of online harms include exposure to harmful online content or conduct, including explicit or violent materials, cyberbullying and harassment. Addiction to screens is also a problem, especially with children and youths; and countries, such as Australia, have passed legislation to limit access to social media for children. The Prime Minister announced in October last year that a new agency will be set up to deal with online harms and provide a one-stop centre for victims. He mentioned that MinLaw and MDDI are working together on this project. In conjunction with this, I also note that a public consultation was held by MinLaw and MDDI to get feedback from the public. Does MinLaw have any updates on this initiative, the likely legislative framework and details on the plans for this new agency? Cyberbullying and Online Harm”
“Thank you, Sir. My clarification is for Minister of State Sun. I thank her for answering my cut on scams and outlining the comprehensive range of measures. Specifically, the Minister of State highlighted that there were scams from Telegram and also other social media platforms, including Facebook, and Carousell has been used for scams. There is an online Code of Conduct that they have complied with, which has reduced the scams somewhat. Would the Ministry also consider potential legislation to require these platforms to address scams and potentially also have mechanisms for compensation of victims, if a platform is used to facilitate scams and they do not take adequate actions to prevent those scams?”
“The most recent measures include action being taken against Singaporeans who may have assisted foreign scammers, including those who help with opening bank accounts that are being used to facilitate scams. Would the MHA consider taking stricter measures to better detect and deter local Singaporeans from assisting scam operations, in particular, by being money mules? In some ways, this is similar to the measures we have taken against drug traffickers and illegal moneylenders. While we may be unable to take action against foreign principals, by taking a zero-tolerance approach against their agents in Singapore, we managed to bring both of those problems under better control. I understand from previous COS debates that the transnational nature of scams makes it difficult to both combat scams and recover the victims' assets. Does the MHA have any further thoughts on how this may be addressed?”
“Chairman, in many parts of the world, drug use is a problem getting out of control. Even in developed countries like the US, the opioid crisis haunts many of its largest cities. Thousands of lives are ruined by the ready availability of drugs all over the world. Singapore has remained a relative oasis against this scourge thanks to a combination of strong laws, including the death penalty, against drug trafficking. Strong enforcement of the laws and national education as well support these measures. Singapore's rates of drug addiction have been amongst the lowest in the world. Concerningly though, Central Narcotics Bureau's (CNB's) latest figures on drug use amongst youths shows a larger number of arrests over the last two years amongst users below 20 years old. Do these figures suggest growing drug use amongst youths? What are MHA's strategies for dealing with the rise of drug use amongst youths in Singapore? Scams Chairman, Singapore is amongst the safest cities in the world and we are proud of our low crime rates. Unfortunately, one area of vulnerability for us has been scams. According to reports, last year, our people lost $1.1 billion to scams, with the largest number of cases ever reported. The figure is around 70% higher than the $651.8 million that scammers took in 2023. In recent years, MHA has taken a variety of measures to combat scams, including better education and publicity, rolling out the ScamShield app and engaging in cooperation internationally to try and crack down on scam operators. Notwithstanding these measures, it appears the problem continues to grow and scammers are thriving.”
“Chairman, while Singapore generally remains a safe and harmonious place, maintaining racial and religious harmony requires ongoing work. At the last Sitting, this House passed the Racial Harmony Bill and this complements the earlier legislation we had in relation to religious harmony. These Bills give the Government a new set of tools to deal with racial and religious harmony. Notwithstanding the safeguards in place, we continue to see self-radicalised people getting arrested under the Internal Security Act. The most recent was our first arrest for a person engaged in far-right extremism in Singapore. In previous years, we had seen people arrested who were self-radicalised by materials from violent religious groups online. What is the Ministry's assessment of the main threats to racial and religious relations in Singapore and what actions does it plan to take in response?”
“I would like to thank Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister Maliki Osman and Senior Minister of State Sim Ann for sharing the work of the Ministry, and of course, all the staff in the Ministry and all our missions abroad for their hard work carrying our flag. Chairman, I seek leave to withdraw my cut. [(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $576,173,800 for Head N ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $36,600,000 for Head N ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]”
“Chairman, just two clarifications. The first is: pulling together the different threads of multilateralism, it is quite clear that the current US administration has moved away from the multilateral approach. But what seems to emerge is that many other countries, including Europe, Japan, and even China has said it is bringing its disputes to the WTO. So, is it possible that there are divergent currents, and there are, in fact, many countries which still believe in multilateralism, and it would still be possible to work on the positive views towards multilateralism and build more networks for Singapore, which I think we are already doing. The second is: I am grateful to Minister Maliki for sharing the principled approach we have taken in relation to Palestine, and for reminding this House that we have taken a strong view against the illegal actions taken by Israel in the occupied territories. One of the issues that many agencies providing aid are facing is that aid is not actually reaching the recipients. What has Singapore's experience been with aid reaching the recipients, and if we have been successful, what has helped with that?”
“Yes, thank you. In areas like defence, digital technologies, healthcare and trade. Will the Minister elaborate on the plans for the bilateral relationship with Indonesia in the coming year?”
“Mdm Chairperson, Indonesia, one of our immediate neighbours, is the largest country and economy in ASEAN. We have had a long-standing and close historic relationship with Indonesia and were both founding members of ASEAN. 4.00 pm In 2024, three landmark agreements were signed with Indonesia covering areas, such as airspace, extradition and military training. These agreements were negotiated between teams led by Senior Minister Teo Cheen Hean for Singapore and Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investments, Mr Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. This was signed at the leaders retreat and witnessed by then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Jokowi. These agreements resolved and provided clarity on some long-standing matters in our bilateral relationship. In October last year, President Prabowo was sworn-in as Indonesia's new President. He met with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in November 2024 and both leaders agreed on several areas of cooperation, including, according to a Straits Times report —”
“Chairman, the US has been an important ally of Singapore on multiple fronts, including on trade, investments and defence. We have been a reliable ally of the US in this region since our Independence. On the trade front, the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2004. According to data from MFA, we have over 5,800 US companies based in Singapore. Our bilateral trade and Singapore's investments in the US in more than 30 states have supported over a quarter million jobs for Americans. In relation to defence, we have signed several important defence agreements with the US and have training detachments in Idaho, Arizona and Texas, which make us the second largest permanent foreign military contingent in the US. Our forces have regular training exercises with the US. According to MFA, we have cooperation on many other fronts with the US, including people-to-people exchanges, cooperation on climate, space, critical technologies and cybersecurity. Have any of these wide-ranging areas of cooperation been affected by the change in the US administration? Recently, the US expressed concerns that some US technologies, specifically, Nvidia chips, may have been moved through Singapore to China, in breach of US trade restrictions on such chips. This incident has cast Singapore in a negative light as a potential backdoor for US tech leakage. What is Singapore doing to manage and correct such perceptions? Singapore's Relations with US”
“Chairman, multilateralism has been the cornerstone of our world since the end of World War II. The United Nations, along with the Bretton Woods institutions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank were the key pillars of a world where major powers acknowledged that this was the best hope for a more prosperous and secure world for everyone. This was followed by a proliferation of multilateral treaties on a wide range of matters over the decades as countries found more and more areas to cooperate on. Singapore, like many other countries, prospered against this backdrop and is party to a large network of multilateral and bilateral treaties. In my opening cut, I had discussed how the US seems to be redefining its relationships with both its NAFTA and NATO allies. More troublingly, the US has also announced it will withdraw from the World Health Organisation and the Paris Climate Agreement. What is the impact of these moves on international co-operation to tackle issues such as pandemics and climate change, and how can small states like Singapore prevent a weakening of the international rules-based order? Multilateralism and Rules-based Global Order”
“Finally, how would Singapore respond to the risks of being caught in this contestation between the US-China in the tech space and on other fronts? [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“The US, which was hitherto, being an important supporter of the effort with provision of weapons to Ukraine, seems to now be more focused on a mineral deal with Ukraine and pressuring Ukraine to negotiate a peace deal that may involve giving up large parts of its territory, which was illegally conquered. The most obvious evidence of this rift was US voting along with Russia and North Korea against a resolution in the United Nations (UN) put forward by its Western allies condemning the invasion of Ukraine. 3.00 pm I would like to ask the Minister what impact these shifts in major power alliances will have for Singapore and whether there are any opportunities for Singapore in what appears to be a much less certain world. In relation to China though, the US position does not seem to have changed significantly between the administrations in terms of direction. The new administration has announced a further increase in tariffs against selected goods from China. These may have less of a dramatic effect as the two countries' economies have already been decoupling since the initial round of tariffs launched more than a decade ago. At the same time, contestation between the two, especially on the technology front, has intensified. The launch of DeepSeek has demonstrated China's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, developed at a much lower cost than its counterparts in the US. It appears the race is very much on between these two great powers on the technology front. As US-China contestation intensifies, how has Singapore's ties with these major powers changed, and how has our role in the global landscape been affected? What can Singapore do to manage these tensions?”
“Chairman, I seek to move, "That the sum to be allocated for Head N of the Estimates be reduced by $100". In the Committee of Supply (COS) last year, the United States (US)-China relationship was described as the "most consequential" for international affairs. It appears that this year, one of the most consequential factors is not just this relationship, but the new US administration's recalibration of almost all its international relationships. Other than US and China, the major powers of the world may be considered the developed world countries, the nuclear powers as well as the G20 economies. Following the last election in the US, the new administration in its first month in office included plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the US' closest neighbours and important trading partners under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Around the same time, tariffs were also threatened against the European Union (EU) countries, hitherto a close ally of the US in both economic and security matters. Indeed, US is Europe's largest trading partner and most EU countries are also a security ally of the US through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Traditionally, US and Western Europe had been regarded as the "West", a group of generally philosophically aligned developed nations. It appears though that this alliance is now under pressure. The differences on security matters have played out most starkly in positions on the war in Ukraine, with most European NATO allies condemning Russia's attack and supporting Ukraine's right of self-defence.”
“Chairman, I would like to thank Minister Ng Eng Hen, Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How and Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad for sharing the good work of MINDEF and SAF in an increasingly uncertain world. I would also like to thank all the staff at MINDEF and the people of SAF. With that, I withdraw my cut. [(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $22,099,590,500 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $2,226,482,800 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]”
“Just two quick clarifications. The first is on unmanned technologies. I think the Minister mentioned that in relation to drones, the Air Force is going to have a special unit dealing with it. The Army will have a drone accelerator as well. Are there any plans for the Navy to similarly have its own unit dealing with unmanned technologies? That is the first. The second clarification is – in a world that is increasingly fracturing and alliances may become more uncertain, to what extent are we also doing acquisitions of defence technology locally and helping the local defence industry to grow?”
“I would, therefore, like an update from the Minister for Defence on how the SAF has been integrating unmanned technologies into its training and operations and its plans on dealing with threats from unmanned technologies. Counter-unmanned Aircraft System”
“Chairman, one of the topics I have raised over the years in the COS debate has been the use of unmanned systems in warfare. One of the perennial problems SAF faces is falling cohort sizes because of falling birthrates. This is a trend that is set to continue. Against this backdrop, unmanned systems provide a unique opportunity to be able to project force with less manpower. For militaries, unmanned technologies can potentially improve operational efficiency through automating repetitive or high-risk tasks, such as using autonomous ground robots for battlefield surveillance or remotely-controlled robots to conduct dangerous bomb defusals. More recently, I understand that AI simulators could allow soldiers to conduct drills multiple times in different variations within a short period of time, improving their learning and practice using the least amount of resources. As unmanned technologies improve, we are also starting to see platforms that can also execute operations with greater precision and reliability. Some of us may know about the DJI, whose flagship drone, the DJI Matrice 350 RTK, is capable of surveying, mapping and doing infrastructure inspection with great precision. Other unmanned platforms can navigate challenging terrains and support complex logistical operations with minimal human intervention and supervision. Conversely, unmanned platforms from potential aggressors, including non-state actors, also pose a new threat. The cost of using an aerial drone for an attack is relatively small and more difficult to detect, compared to say flying an aeroplane or launching a missile.”
“Chairman, Singapore is a digital nation, with robust digital infrastructure and with people accessing a wide range of services through digital means, including communications, Government services, banking and ecommerce. As both we and the world become increasingly interconnected and reliant on digital technology, we would also have new vulnerabilities that adversaries can exploit if we are not careful. On the military front, cyberattacks can disrupt military command and control systems, intelligence and surveillance operations, even the functionality of weapons systems. In fact, the low cost of entry for cyber operations means anyone can engage in cyber warfare. Unlike traditional military domains, where power is often correlated with economic resources and industrial capacity, the digital domain has very low barriers for entry. Determining the source of the attack can also be difficult and may hinder our responses, making it even more crucial for the military to develop sophisticated strategies to deal with them. The pace of technological change in the digital domain is rapid and relentless. The military must continuously adapt to emerging technologies to stay ahead on our defence. On this note, I would like to seek an update on SAF's progress in addressing threats in the digital domain. Whole-of-Government Approach on Digital Threats”
“Its rivalry with the US seems set to intensify on multiple fronts, with the latest salvos being a further round of tariffs against each other. Closer to home, China continues its military exercises in the South China Sea and along the Taiwan Straits, areas that remain perennial sources of tension. Most recently, it conducted live firing naval exercises circumnavigating Australia, which has caused consternation for the Australians. Globally, the two major conflicts continue to simmer. The Russia-Ukraine war continues, even as the US has engaged both parties, trying to facilitate some settlement. It appears, though, that despite being subject to an unlawful invasion by Russia, Ukraine may have to give up parts of its territory as part of any peace deal. While there is a ceasefire in the Isreal-Hamas conflict at the moment, this appears tenuous, with both sides making allegations against the other for not having honoured the terms to ceasefire. Against this backdrop, where collective security and the rules-based order appear to be fraying, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will be important for Singapore's safety and security. I would be grateful if the Minister can share, what is MINDEF's evaluation of the security situation in the world and the region, and its approach to the potential threats Singapore may face. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] MINDEF's Plans and Priorities”