Parliamentary speeches and more

Mr Speaker‍ For the last two months, Singapore has experienced the worst haze seen in over a decade. Like with previous haze episodes, this is not just natural phenomena. The haze this year is caused by slash-and-burn clearance and peatland fires, as was the case with many previous haze episodes. Exacerbating these conditions is a Super El Niño phase ultimately made worse by human-caused climate change. 

Sir, the rather pedestrian title of this Bill—Statutes and Miscellaneous Amendments Number 2—belies, as others have noted, the import of elevating energy into a core ministry function in the government.I will offer some thoughts on why I agree with taking energy even more seriously in our economy. I will move on to discuss some broad contours surrounding the future of one specific source of energy—nuclear—in our economy.

Mr Speaker, before I begin, I declare my interest as a Consultant in a law firm specialising in shipping and maritime matters. As a practitioner, I have seen how technological change, digitalisation and growing regulatory complexity have transformed the maritime industry over the past three decades. It is therefore understandable that the Government seeks to update the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Act for a very different operating environment from that which existed in 1996, the year the MPA Act came into force and the year I started work.

Mr Deputy Speaker, this Bill comes at an important time. From 2030, all new car registrations must be cleaner-energy models, and pure petrol cars can no longer be registered. EV adoption is accelerating. In the first eight months of this year, EVs made up 63 per cent of new car registrations, and our EV population has reached about 82,100. We now have about 34,700 charging points, a little over halfway to our target of 60,000 by 2030. Yet only about one in nine cars on our roads today is fully electric, and around 436,800 cars still run on petrol alone. As these cars are replaced, demand for charging will grow sharply. Charging must be safe, reliable and convenient, whether at home, in HDB carparks or in condominiums.

Mr Speaker, my speech today will focus on the amendments concerning active mobility devices (AMDs) and the extension of the existing regulatory sandbox for Autonomous Vehicle deployments on roads to 31 December 2028.

Written answers to questions by Workers’ Party Members of Parliament

Mr Speaker, I rise to speak in support of this Bill.‍Most Singaporeans have never been inside a data centre. But when we scan a payment QR code, access services via Singpass, or video-call a loved one overseas, we are relying on one. Data centres are the physical backbone of the modern digital world, powering our daily activities, essential services, and our economy. We tend to only notice them when something goes wrong.

This Bill amends the Financial Services and Markets Act in two areas. My party colleagues, Kenneth Tiong and Jamus Lim, have focused on the proposed total loss absorbing capacity requirements. For my part, I will speak on the amendments relating to countering proliferation financing.

Mr Speaker, as with past years, the Finance (Income Taxes) Bill before this House seeks to implement the tax changes announced in Budget 2026, by amending the Income Tax Act and related legislation. My speech today will be largely domestic in focus, while my Sengkang Colleague Jamus Lim will focus on international issues such as those relating to BEPS2.0. 

Mr Speaker, I support the introduction of the Digital Infrastructure Bill, and I will spend most of my time on Part 4. I have been following developments in the data centre industry closely in recent years and have asked a number of Parliamentary Questions on it. I believe it is useful to provide some context to our debate today with statistics drawn from the replies to those questions.