Civil servants' property purchases near planned MRT stations among issues to be raised in parliament on Oct 6

Members of parliament will also question the government on rising retrenchments, the North-South Corridor delay and changes to Primary 1 registration.

Pedestrians walking in front of the parliament building in Singapore, May 2, 2025. (File photo: AP/Vincent Thian)

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SINGAPORE: The government’s review of property purchases by officers involved in rail planning will come under scrutiny in Parliament when it sits on Tuesday (Oct 6), after a working paper reported a link between some property purchases and planned MRT stations before their locations were publicly announced.

Members of parliament have filed multiple questions on the working paper by researchers regarding the subject, the authorities' review and the safeguards against public officers using non-public information for personal gain.

Questions have also been filed on rising retrenchments in Singapore, the two-year delay to the opening of the North-South Corridor, and changes to the Primary 1 registration process.

CIVIL SERVANTS' PROPERTY PURCHASES STUDY

A total of 10 questions from MPs for oral answer were tied to a United States-based research organisation's working paper on civil servants' property purchases. A separate written question also concerned the working paper.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less The working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research reported a statistical link between purchases near planned MRT stations before their locations were publicly announced and people whom its authors classified as civil servants in agencies connected to rail planning. The paper has not been peer-reviewed. Singapore's Public Service Division (PSD) said in mid-September that it was reviewing the working paper's data and methodology. On Sep 25, PSD said that the government was also reviewing property purchases made between 2007 and 2011 by officers involved in rail planning to assess if there was "actual misconduct". MP Joan Pereira (PAP-Tanjong Pagar GRC) asked Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is also Minister for Finance, whether PSD had completed its review of the paper and what initial findings or anomalies had been identified. She also asked whether further investigations and enforcement measures would be required.

The working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research reported a statistical link between purchases near planned MRT stations before their locations were publicly announced and people whom its authors classified as civil servants in agencies connected to rail planning.

The paper has not been peer-reviewed.

Singapore's Public Service Division (PSD) said in mid-September that it was reviewing the working paper's data and methodology.

On Sep 25, PSD said that the government was also reviewing property purchases made between 2007 and 2011 by officers involved in rail planning to assess if there was "actual misconduct".

MP Joan Pereira (PAP-Tanjong Pagar GRC) asked Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is also Minister for Finance, whether PSD had completed its review of the paper and what initial findings or anomalies had been identified.

She also asked whether further investigations and enforcement measures would be required.

Some MPs also filed questions about regulations for public officers handling development plans.

MP He Ting Ru (WP-Sengkang GRC) asked Mr Wong if civil servants were required to declare property purchases that may relate to non-public information on future transport infrastructure, and how such declarations were cross-checked against officers' access to planning information.

NMP Terence Ho asked the prime minister whether the government believed there was a need to strengthen safeguards, including rules and penalties, to ensure public officers did not use privileged information for material gain for themselves or their family members.

Retrenchments in Singapore rose to 4,620 in this year's second quarter, marking the highest level since Q4 2020.

The order paper for Tuesday's sitting showed that MPs filed 10 questions concerning retrenchments, asking about support for affected workers and their re-entry into the workforce.

MP Valerie Lee (PAP- Pasir Ris-Changi GRC ) asked Ms Jasmin Lau, Acting Minister for Manpower, how her ministry assessed whether career conversion programmes led to sustained employment for mature workers.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had highlighted last month that unemployment indicators among older resident workers aged 50 and above warranted closer monitoring, with long-term unemployment in Q2 edging up among both workers in their 50s and those aged 60 and above.

Ms Lee also asked if further measures were being considered to support long-term employment for mature workers and reduce their risk of repeated displacement.

MP Wan Rizal (PAP-Jalan Besar GRC) also asked Ms Lau how employment facilitation and job-matching support were tailored to different groups of workers, and how MOM assessed whether these efforts helped them find new jobs.

MP Patrick Tay (PAP-Pioneer) asked the acting minister for manpower which sectors consistently recorded the lowest six-month re-entry rates for retrenched resident professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) in the last 14 quarters.

NORTH-SOUTH CORRIDOR DELAY

Several questions were filed about the two-year delay for the North-South Corridor’s opening.

The viaduct section, from Admiralty Road West to Lentor Avenue in northern Singapore, is expected to open in phases from 2029, instead of 2027 as previously announced.

Construction of the corridor has been ongoing since 2018. Last month, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the project was facing challenging ground conditions and complex engineering works. It described the Novena stretch as one of the project's "most technically demanding" sections.

MP Louis Chua (WP-Sengkang GRC) asked Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow whether pre-construction site investigations had identified the North-South Corridor's engineering complexities, as well as the geological, groundwater and subsurface risks that were later encountered.

He asked why the issues were not adequately addressed as part of construction plans if they had been identified, and if LTA could publish the ground information provided to the project's tenderers and the actual conditions encountered at affected sites.

MPs Lee Hui Ying (PAP-Nee Soon) and Poh Li San (PAP-Sembawang West) filed questions about the delay's impact on residents and businesses near construction sites.

Ms Lee asked Mr Siow how residents and businesses in Nee Soon South would be affected and what measures would be taken to mitigate the impact.

Ms Poh's question was on support for affected residents and business owners along the Lentor Avenue to Admiralty Road West viaduct section. She also asked how construction safety would be stepped up given the harder than-expected site conditions.

PRIMARY 1 REGISTRATION

MPs also raised questions about the Primary 1 registration process after several changes were announced last month.

MP Elysa Chen (PAP-Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) asked Education Minister Desmond Lee if his ministry expected registration pressure to shift toward Phase 2A as schools discontinue Phase 2B parent volunteer schemes.

She also asked whether the Phase 2A criteria would be reviewed alongside Phase 2B.

MP Tin Pei Ling (PAP- Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC) asked the minister whether the changes to the Primary 1 Registration Framework could be deferred by a year to allow families to transition or adjust accordingly.

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议员们还将就裁员人数不断增加、南北走廊项目延误以及小学一年级注册制度的变更等问题质询政府。

2025年5月2日，行人走过新加坡国会大厦。（资料照片：美联社/Vincent Thian）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：一份工作文件报告称，在地铁规划官员购置房产与规划中的地铁站位置公开宣布之前，政府官员购置房产的情况与这些购置房产之间存在关联。因此，政府对参与铁路规划的官员购置房产情况的审查将于周二（10月6日）在国会开会时受到审查。

议员们就研究人员撰写的工作文件提出了多个问题，涉及该主题、当局的审查以及防止公职人员利用非公开信息谋取私利的保障措施。

也有人就新加坡不断增加的裁员、南北走廊开放延迟两年以及小学一年级注册流程的变更等问题提出了质疑。

公务员购房研究

议员们共提出了10个需要口头答复的问题，这些问题都与一家美国研究机构关于公务员购房情况的工作报告有关。此外，还有一份书面质询也涉及该工作报告。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小谜题，脑力挑战 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 国家经济研究局的一份工作报告指出，在规划中的地铁站位置公开公布之前，在地铁站附近购买房产与报告作者归类为与铁路规划相关的机构公务员的人员之间存在统计关联。该报告尚未经过同行评审。新加坡公共服务署（PSD）在9月中旬表示，正在审查该工作报告的数据和方法。9月​​25日，PSD表示，政府也在审查2007年至2011年间参与铁路规划的官员的房产购买情况，以评估是否存在“实际不当行为”。丹戎巴葛集选区人民行动党议员琼·佩雷拉向兼任财政部长的总理黄循财询问，公共服务局是否已完成对该文件进行审查，以及初步发现哪些异常情况。她还询问是否需要进行进一步调查和采取执法措施。

美国国家经济研究局的工作报告显示，在规划中的地铁站位置公开公布之前，附近地区的购物行为与报告作者归类为与铁路规划相关的机构公务员的人群之间存在统计联系。

该论文尚未经过同行评审。

新加坡公共服务署（PSD）在9月中旬表示，正在审查该工作文件的数据和方法。

9月25日，公共服务署表示，政府也在审查2007年至2011年间参与铁路规划的官员所购买的房产，以评估是否存在“实际不当行为”。

国会议员琼·佩雷拉（人民行动党-丹戎巴葛集选区）询问总理兼财政部长黄循财，公共服务局是否已完成对该文件的研究，以及发现了哪些初步结果或异常情况。

她还询问是否需要进行进一步调查和采取执法措施。

一些议员还就负责处理发展规划的公职人员的相关规定提出了质询。

议员何廷儒（工人党-盛港集选区）询问黄先生，公务员是否需要申报可能涉及未来交通基础设施非公开信息的房产购买情况，以及此类申报如何与官员获取规划信息的途径进行交叉核对。

非议员何志强询问总理，政府是否认为有必要加强保障措施，包括规则和处罚，以确保公职人员不会利用特权信息为自己或家人谋取物质利益。

今年第二季度，新加坡的裁员人数上升至 4,620 人，创下自 2020 年第四季度以来的最高水平。

周二会议的议程文件显示，议员们提出了 10 个与裁员有关的问题，询问如何支持受影响的工人以及他们如何重新进入劳动力市场。

人民行动党议员李慧玲（白沙-樟宜集选区）询问人力部代部长刘嘉敏，其部门如何评估职业转换计划是否能为成熟员工带来持续就业。

人力部上个月曾强调，50岁及以上老年居民工人的失业指标需要更密切的监测，第二季度50多岁和60岁及以上工人的长期失业率均有所上升。

李女士还询问是否有进一步措施来支持年长工人的长期就业，并降低他们再次失业的风险。

国会议员 Wan Rizal（人民行动党-惹兰勿刹集选区）还询问刘女士，就业促进和工作匹配支持是如何针对不同群体的工人量身定制的，以及人力部是如何评估这些努力是否帮助他们找到新工作的。

国会议员郑德源（人民行动党先驱选区）询问人力部代理部长，在过去 14 个季度中，哪些行业的被裁员的本地专业人士、经理、主管和技术人员（PMET）的六个月再就业率一直最低。

南北走廊延误

关于南北走廊开通延迟两年的原因，有人提出了一些疑问。

从海军部西路到新加坡北部伦多大道的高架桥段预计将从 2029 年开始分阶段开放，而不是此前宣布的 2027 年。

该走廊的建设自2018年以来一直在进行中。上个月，陆路交通管理局（LTA）表示，该项目面临着复杂的地质条件和复杂的工程作业。LTA称诺维娜路段是该项目“技术难度最高”的路段之一。

国会议员蔡瑞生（工人党-盛港集选区）询问交通部长萧正树，施工前的现场调查是否已发现南北走廊的工程复杂性，以及后来遇到的地质、地下水和地下风险。

他质问，如果这些问题已被发现，为什么在施工计划中没有得到充分解决，以及陆路交通管理局是否可以公布提供给项目投标人的实地资料以及受影响地点的实际情况。

国会议员李慧莹（人民行动党义顺选区）和傅丽珊（人民行动党三巴旺西选区）就工期延误对建筑工地附近居民和企业的影响提出了质询。

李女士询问萧先生，义顺南的居民和企业会受到怎样的影响，以及将采​​取哪些措施来减轻影响。

Poh女士的问题是关于如何为伦多大道至海军部西路高架桥段受影响的居民和商户提供支持。她还询问，鉴于施工现场条件比预期更为恶劣，将如何加强施工安全。

小学一年级注册

上个月宣布了几项改革后，议员们也对小学一年级注册流程提出了质疑。

国会议员陈慧珊（人民行动党碧山-大巴窑集选区）询问教育部长李智陞，随着学校停止第二阶段B期家长志愿者计划，教育部是否预计注册压力会转向第二阶段A期。

她还询问第二阶段 A 的标准是否会与第二阶段 B 的标准一起进行审查。

国会议员陈佩玲（人民行动党-马林百列-布莱德尔高地集选区）询问部长，小学一年级入学登记框架的变更是否可以推迟一年，以便让家庭有时间过渡或做出相应的调整。

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