SINGAPORE LEGISLATION
| Date | 01 December 2002 |
| Citation | (2002) 14 SAcLJ 164 |
| Published date | 01 December 2002 |
| Author | ZARINAH MARICAN |
Digest of Acts passed between 1st September 2001 and 28th February 2002
(correct as at 1st April 2002)
Long Title: An Act to provide for the temporary suspension of provisions in the Parliamentary Elections Act (Chapter 218 of the 2001 Revised Edition) relating to registration of overseas electors and overseas voting.
Passed by Parliament on: 15 October 2001
Assented to by President on: 17 October 2001
Publication date: 17 October 2001
Commencement date: Deemed to come into operation on 26 September 2001
Summary: This Act suspends for a temporary period the provisions of the Parliamentary Elections Act relating to the registration of non-resident citizens as overseas electors and the conduct of polls at overseas polling stations established under that Act. The Act is deemed to have come into operation on 26 September 2001 and the suspension will remain in force until polling day of the General Elections 2001.
Related Legislation: Parliamentary Elections Act
Long Title: An Act to provide for making supplementary provision to meet additional expenditure for the financial year 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002.
Passed by Parliament on: 15 October 2001
Assented to by President on: 17 October 2001
Publication date: 22 October 2001
Commencement date: 22 October 2001
Summary: In accordance with Articles 148(2) and 148C(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, this Act makes additional provision for expenditure in excess of the sums authorised by the Supply Act 2001. Supplementary estimates in respect of the additional provision have been laid before Parliament.
Long Title: An Act to enable Singapore to fulfil its obligations respecting Article 41 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Passed by Parliament on: 15 October 2001
Assented to by President on: 17 October 2001
Publication date: 17 October 2001
Commencement date: 25 October 2001
Summary: This Act seeks to enable Singapore to fulfil the obligations undertaken by her respecting Article 41 of the Charter of the United Nations. The Article relates to measures (not involving the use of armed force) decided by the Security Council to be employed to give effect to its decisions.
Under section 2 of the Act, the Minister is empowered to make regulations to give effect to Article 41 of the Charter of the United Nations. The regulations made under the Act will be valid even though they deal with any matter that has been provided for in any written law or are contrary to or inconsistent with any written law other than the Constitution. However, the measures to be applied under the regulations will not apply to any financial institution or class of financial institutions to the extent that the financial institution or class of financial institutions is or may be subject to the directions of the Monetary Authority of Singapore under section 27A of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 186).
A failure to carry out any act required under a contract or any written law where such act is prohibited by the Act or any regulations made thereunder is immune from suit: section 3. Immunity from suit is also conferred on any person for any act done honestly in execution of the Act or any regulations made thereunder (section 4).
Section 5 deals with criminal liability for any breach of regulations made under the Act and states the punishment for such offences. Section 6 deals with the liability of citizens of Singapore for offences committed outside Singapore.
Long Title: An Act to establish a scheme known as the CONNECT Plan to encourage long service by teachers under the control or management of the Government and the CONNECT Fund for the purpose of that Plan and for matters connected therewith.
Passed by Parliament on: 5 October 2001
Assented to by President on: 17 October 2001
Publication date: 23 October 2001
Commencement date: 1 January 2002
Summary: This Act seeks to establish an incentive payment scheme known as the CONNECT Plan for teachers.
The key provisions are as follows:
Section 3 empowers the Minister to make regulations to establish the CONNECT Plan providing for payments of awards to members of the Plan or to their legal personal representatives or dependants, on account of the member completing a prescribed period of qualifying service. The members of the CONNECT Plan are all serving and future public officers in the Education Service who are below Superscale grade, and all permanent employees of aided schools who are employed for teaching duties on terms equivalent to that of Education Service officers below Superscale grade. The Minister, in making regulations, shall provide for contributions to be paid by the Government into the CONNECT Fund in respect of the members for the purposes of the Plan.
Section 4 provides that a member of the CONNECT Plan does not have an absolute right to any compensation for past services or to an award under the Plan. Section 5 is a saving provision for the powers of dismissal of an employer of a member of the CONNECT Plan. The contributions by the Government under the CONNECT Plan are excluded from the bankrupt member’s estate property by section 7.
Contributions may be withheld and awards refused if the member is a bankrupt, sentenced to certain penalties due to conviction, is dismissed, reduced in rank or subject to disciplinary charges at the time the contribution is due or (as the case may be) the award is payable. Moneys paid or payable under the CONNECT Plan shall not be deemed to form part of a deceased member’s estate or be subject to the payment of his debts but shall be deemed to be property passing on his death for the purposes of the Estate Duty Act (Cap. 96).
A condition of the payment of every award under the CONNECT Plan is that the Government may recover, cancel or reduce the award if it be shown to have been obtained by the wilful suppression of material facts or to have been paid in ignorance of facts which, had they been known, would have justified his dismissal or a reduction of his salary (section 10).
Sections 11 to 14 deal with the establishment of the new Government fund to be called the CONNECT Fund (the Fund) and other matters relating to the administration of the Fund.
Sections 15 to 17 deal with audit and accounting matters. In particular, section 17 provides for a person appointed by the Minister to periodically examine the Fund with regard to its prospective liabilities and the probable
annual provisions required by the Fund to meet those liabilities. The examination must be carried out for successive periods of a duration, not exceeding 5 years, to be determined by the Minister. The section also provides for an ad-hoc examination of the Fund at the Minister’s request, where an amendment is made to the CONNECT Plan, and the amendment affects the cost of benefits payable under the Plan or creates an initial unfunded liability. This examination is done to determine the amount to be appropriated from the Consolidated Fund.
Long Title: An Act to provide for membership of certain local and foreign companies in the Singapore Business Federation and for certain matters relating to the management and operation thereof, and to make a related amendment to the Small Claims Tribunals Act (Cap. 308).
Passed by Parliament on: 5 October 2001
Assented to by President on: 17 October 2001
Publication date: 4 March 2002
Commencement date: 1 April 2002
Summary: In view of the formation of a society known as the “Singapore Business Federation” registered under the Societies Act (Cap. 311), statutory provision was made to provide for membership and participation by larger local and foreign companies in the Singapore Business Society. The Singapore Business Federation has as its objects the enhancement of the organisation of the business community in Singapore and the representation, advancement, promotion and protection, in Singapore and abroad, of the major business concerns (such as investment and trade opportunities and labour management issues) of business entities carrying on commerce and industry in Singapore and, in particular, of larger local and foreign companies.
Section 4 (read with the Schedule) relates to the composition of the Council of the Federation.
Every local and foreign company that meets the criteria set out in section 5 shall become members of the Federation, unless the membership of the company is terminated in accordance with the Constitution of the Federation.
Section 6 relates to the appointment of the Board of Trustees...
To continue reading
Request your trial