SINGAPORE: The People’s Action Party (PAP) government has always dealt with corruption and allegations of improper conduct thoroughly, transparently and by applying the full force of the law, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Wednesday (Aug 2), pledging that this will continue when Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong succeedsContinue Reading
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s monetary policy focuses on keeping inflation low and “does not take into account any potential impact” on the central bank’s profits, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan on Wednesday (Aug 2).
This is a similar approach taken by other major central banks around the world, which have also reported losses from monetary policy operations over the last year, he added in a parliamentary reply.
“MAS’ monetary policies focus purely on keeping inflation low and ensuring medium-term price stability. It does not take into account any potential impact on MAS’ profits because to do so would undermine its mission.
“MAS’ financial performance is a necessary consequence of its conduct of monetary policy,” said Mr Tan in response to several parliamentary questions about the record loss posted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in the last financial year.
For the financial year ended Mar 31, MAS recorded a net loss of S$30.8 billion (US$22.8 billion), widening significantly from a S$7.4 billion loss in the year before that.
This was largely due to the central bank’s aggressive monetary policy tightening to bring down inflation, which paved the way for a “broad appreciation” of the Singapore dollar against other currencies – such as the US dollar, euro and yen – that the official foreign reserves were held in.
As MAS’ financial results are reported in the Sing dollar, it saw “significant” negative currency translation effects of about S$21.4 billion, or 70 per cent of the annual net loss, the central bank said in its annual report last month.
MAS also incurred higher interest expenses of S$9 billion as part of mopping up excess liquidity in the banking system. This made up around 30 per cent of the loss MAS incurred in the last financial year.
These two factors outweighed a “small” investment gain of S$0.6 billion made on the country’s official foreign reserves, the central bank had said.
Speaking on MAS’ investment performance, Mr Tan, who is a MAS board member, said last year was an “unusual year” for financial markets where both bond and equity markets performed badly.
The central bank’s investment performance will have to be viewed from a longer-term perspective, he said, while adding that MAS’ investment portfolio had benefited from an unusual period of low inflation and low interest rates since the 2008 global financial crisis.
“Including this latest year, MAS recorded an annual average investment gain of S$11.7 billion in the last 15 years,” he told the House.
“Over a 20-year period, MAS’ average annual investment gain was 3.7 per cent. Notwithstanding the financial loss that we had been discussing, MAS’ (official foreign reserves) position remains strong.”
PUBLISHED : 2 Aug 2023 at 13:03
SAMUT PRAKAN: A 28-year-old Chinese man was arrested after a trove of smuggled, pirated goods was found in a warehouse in Muang district on Tuesday.
Luo Zhipeng was apprehended at the warehouse, which is in tambon Phraekasa. Police also impounded about 100,000 falsely branded items that included gas stoves, skateboards, hairclippers, camera bags and table fans.
Pol Maj Gen Phuthidet Boonkrapue, head of the Economic Crime Suppression Division, said on Wednesday that the goods were all smuggled into Thailand and stored at the warehouse for sale through retail shops and online platforms.
Mr Luo admitted to ownership and was charged with hiding and selling smuggled goods, he said.
He asked members of the House to consider if they would object to having the Speaker being married to an MP.
“I think the answer is no – that would be perfectly all right. There is no direct reporting line between the Speaker and an MP. Thus, an open, legitimate relationship between the Speaker and an MP is not in itself objectionable,” Mr Lee said.
He added that while this situation did not fall into the category where immediate action had to be taken, the Speaker has some official capacity vis-a-vis MPs, which puts other MPs and staff in an “awkward position”.
“After I spoke to Mr Tan in November 2020, he told me that the relationship would end. I took it to be so. I therefore felt there was some leeway to take some time, to decide what further steps to take,” Mr Lee said.
In this context, Mr Lee offered some possible actions that could have followed.
“On the basis that the extramarital affair had stopped, I would have asked Mr Tan to step down as Speaker sometime before the end of the term, but in a way which would reduce the public embarrassment to him and his family,” he said.
“As to whether one or both should also resign as MPs – I hadn’t decided at that time, but quite likely both would have had to leave at some point.
“On reflection, as I said, I should have forced the issue earlier, certainly before mid-term,” Mr Lee added.
The Prime Minister also told the House that while there was no doubt that Mr Tan and Ms Cheng behaved improperly, innocent family members were involved.
“Likewise for the case involving a former member across the aisle, in the Workers’ Party (WP). All their families are suffering,” Mr Lee said.
Two days after Mr Tan and Ms Cheng resigned, WP senior members Leon Perera – who was MP for Aljunied GRC – and Nicole Seah also resigned from the opposition party over an affair.
Mr Lee added: “I hope that MPs and the public can empathise and have compassion for the families, and give them the privacy and space they need to heal.”
PUBLISHED : 2 Aug 2023 at 12:46
PHUKET: Two Indian tourists drowned and a third was rescued after they were swept out to sea by strong waves that pounded Karon beach on Tuesday evening.
Four swimmers have now drowned in the sea in the last five days on this resort island province.
Police said the three men went swimming at Karon beach, near the Naga statue, on Tuesday evening. There were red flags on the beach warning people not to go swimming because the sea was too rough. The three swimmers were swept out to sea.
One of the men was rescued by lifesavers and was safe. The two others were also pulled from the water and were rushed to Patong and Chalong hospitals, where they were declared dead. Doctors said they had drowned.
Pol Lt Col Chompunut Ananthayakul, investigation chief at Patong, said they received a report of the double drowning about 8pm. The Indian embassy had been informed and would notify relatives, he said. Names were withheld in the meantime.
On July 28, a Senegalese tourist drowned while swimming at Freedom beach in tambon Karon of Muang district. His body was recovered on Sunday morning. On July 30, a Thai tourist from Phitsanulok province drowned and two others were rescued at Surin beach.
SINGAPORE: Transport Minister S Iswaran has been interdicted from duty with a reduced pay of S$8,500 a month until further notice, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a ministerial statement on Wednesday (Aug 2). Mr Lee was speaking in parliament on the corruption probe involving Mr Iswaran, as wellContinue Reading
PUBLISHED : 2 Aug 2023 at 12:18
PATTAYA: Police are hunting a man seen on video threatening a group of foreign tourists with a gun at a viewpoint on a local hill.
The 99-second video showed the gunman was of foreign appearance, aged 20-30 years and about 170 centimetres tall. He threatened about 20 men of Middle-eastern appearance, ordering them to sit down next to each other, at the Sor Thor Ro 5 hill viewpoint.
The gunman was wearing a black shirt and black trousers and wielded a pistol he pointed at the head of one man while giving orders.
The video appeared to have been taken with a handheld device, possibly a phone, and was posted on the Siamchonnews website, with no given source. The incident apparently occurred in the morning.
Pattaya police chief Pol Col Thanapong Phothi led investigators to the scene on Wednesday. They were examining surveillance camera recording fromth area and questioning local vendors.
Police were also trying to find the tourists who were threatened.
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s newest Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng called on Members of Parliament (MPs) to be vigilant in their personal conduct, after being sworn in on Wednesday (Aug 2).
Mr Seah becomes the country’s 11th Speaker in the wake of his predecessor Tan Chuan-Jin stepping down over an extramarital affair with fellow People’s Action Party MP Cheng Li Hui, who also resigned.
Just a week before that, Mr Tan also had to apologise for using “unparliamentary language” in response to an opposition lawmaker’s speech in the House.
Mr Seah, 61, pledged to perform his duties “impartially, firmly and fairly”, in a speech after his oath-taking.
He briefly paid tribute to Mr Tan’s efforts to demystify parliamentary processes and engage younger people on the institution of parliament.
“We are all too human, and as recent events have reminded us, our weaknesses are not only physical but also spiritual,” he said.
“I say this not to join with the chorus of sanctimony, but to reflect, first, on the need for us all to be vigilant in our personal conduct and choices.
“Vigilant with ourselves first of all, but also with our colleagues. To hold one another to account, not to fear to tell truth to power, nor be slow to listen to hard truths.”
He also stressed the importance of MPs performing their parliamentary duties responsibly.
“You and I, we are here for a day, for a fleeting number of terms. But our words here and our work here, they live on far beyond us.
“We must therefore remember and bear the weight of our office with dignity and a constant sense of duty,” he said.
<!–/*–><![CDATA[/* ><!–*/
#block-plasterarticleadsoverflowfix {
display: none;
} .block-ad-displayside01-display .ad-entity-container .advertisement__container .celtra-ad-inline-host .celtra-banner {
overflow: unset !important;
} .block-ad-displayside01-display .ad-entity-container .advertisement__container .celtra-ad-inline-host .celtra-banner iframe {
margin-top: 0;
} /*–><!]]>*/
<!–/*–><![CDATA[/* ><!–*/
#block-plasterarticleadsoverflowfix {
display: none;
} .block-ad-displayside01-display .ad-entity-container .advertisement__container .celtra-ad-inline-host .celtra-banner {
overflow: unset !important;
} .block-ad-displayside01-display .ad-entity-container .advertisement__container .celtra-ad-inline-host .celtra-banner iframe {
margin-top: 0;
} /*–><!]]>*/