Car buyers who take up larger loans through private-hire purchase agreements as a way around the Government’s loan restrictions will be investigated.

Acting Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung, who is on the board of directors at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), served this notice in Parliament yesterday when responding to Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC).

The Workers’ Party MP had raised concerns that private-hire purchase agreements created a “loophole” or “work-around” to existing curbs.

The MAS rules currently allow buyers to borrow up to 70 per cent of the purchase price, with a loan tenure of seven years. However, some buyers are taking loans of up to 90 per cent of the car price, and paying it back over 10 years.

They do so through private-hire purchase agreements, in which they buy and register their car under a company, to be used for chauffeuring under ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Grab.

The MAS has previously said that loans taken to purchase private-hire cars do not fall under its car loan restrictions.

But Mr Singh pointed out that some people could take advantage of the system.

“There is also the prospect of not running it for that purpose at all, as when you register a company for private hire under the Uber or Grab framework but in actual fact what you’re doing is you’re owning a vehicle.”

Mr Ong replied that both the MAS and Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore (MTI) will look into such cases, which would be “in violation of the spirit of the policy”.

“I don’t think it’s correct for this to proceed,” said Mr Ong, who is Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and Senior Minister of State for Defence.

He also said the MAS has not had to take action against any financial institutions since the car loan restrictions were introduced three years ago.

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At a condominium in Orchard Road, maids are allegedly not allowed to use the swimming pool, a practice migrant worker group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) has condemned as discriminatory.

The practice first came to light in an article by online real estate portal PropertyGuru, which identified the condo as Four Seasons Park at Cuscaden Walk.

Home’s executive director, Sheena Kanwar, told My Paper that she received a call from an employer a few months back, who was “appalled” that her domestic worker was not allowed to use the pool.

Ms Kanwar added that the rule barring maids from using the pool is “shocking” and an unacceptable form of discrimination.

“There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be allowed,” she said.

“If they’re living there legally and they aren’t trespassing, then they should be treated like any other resident.”

Maid agency Nation Employment chief executive Gary Chin told Shin Min Daily News in a report yesterday that some condos have rules that bar workers, such as contractors and maids, from using the pool.

He added that the practice of not letting maids use condo pools seems to have become a societal norm.

However, he has not received any feedback from employers regarding this, nor has he got any complaints from domestic workers.

Some condo residents with maids told Shin Min that domestic workers should be allowed to use the facilities as long as they have done their jobs well.

Employer Ms Lin, who works in banking, said “as long as they do their work well, swimming or using the gym is a good thing physically”.

Another employer who gave her name as Mrs Chen, 30, said she disagrees with such “discriminatory practices” and that she does not mind if maids use the facilities at her condo in Geylang.

“But if the facilities are spoilt, the employer has to pay,” she noted.

Ms Liu, a 40-year-old manager who lives in a condo in Choa Chu Kang, said she took her maid to the sauna a few months ago. But the domestic worker “did not dare to go” and was afraid she would get scolded.

A management committee member of a condominium in the east who gave his name as Mr Wu, 45, said condos can implement additional by-laws as long as enough residents vote for them.

“However, at our condo, we do not have a stipulated rule that maids cannot use the facilities,” he added.

“But if the maids’ behaviour is inappropriate, such as littering, we will first give a reminder and later on obtain their unit number and inform the employer.”

Four Seasons Park condo did not respond to queries by press time.

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SINGAPORE – Job seekers are in for a challenging time for the rest of the year going by a survey of the hiring intentions of Singapore employers conducted by the ManpowerGroup and released on Tuesday (Sept 13).

Of the 646 employers the firm surveyed, 73 per cent had no plans to increase staffing levels in the October to December quarter, 13 per cent expected to add to headcount, 9 per cent were unsure while 5 per cent said they might lay off staff.

Adjusting for seasonal variations, Singapore’s net employment outlook for the last three months of 2016 stands at +7 per cent – the difference between the percentage of employers anticipating adding to headcount in the quarter ahead and the percentage likely to cut staff. Manpower said this figure was its weakest forecast since the third quarter of 2009 and makes seven straight quarters of gradual decline.

Year on year, overall hiring intentions have shrunk 5 percentage points.

“The hiring sentiment among employers in Singapore is reflective of the current state of the economy,” said Ms Linda Teo, country manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore.

She added: “Singapore, being export-driven, has clearly been affected by China’s slumping growth, downturn in commodities and the uncertainty due to Britain’s vote to withdraw from the European Union. Our figures also reinforce the slow domestic growth MTI has projected for the Singapore economy.”

Ms Teo was referring to the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s (MTI) trimming of its forecast for Singapore’s economic growth this year to 1 to 2 per cent – from 1 to 3 per cent previously projected.

The hiring outlook declined in five of seven industry sectors here, year on year, with the biggest drop of 15 percentage points reported by employers in mining & construction.

The outlooks are 11 and 9 percentage points weaker in the Public administration & education sector and the transportation & utilities sector respectively.

However, hiring plans improved by 3 percentage points in the services sector, and are 2 percentage points stronger in the finance, insurance & real estate sector.

The job market appears less gloomy elsewhere in the region.Employers in India and Japan continued to report the strongest hiring plans for the fourth quarter. In India, more than three out of 10 employers indicated they will add to their payrolls in the October-December time frame.

Similarly in Japan, talent demand is expected to remain robust with an active hiring pace forecast in most industry sectors and all regions, especially in the mining & construction sector. Hiring plans in this sector might be fuelled by ongoing preparations in advance for the 2020 Olympic Games, said ManpowerGroup.

Employer hiring intentions in China are showing a slight rebound even as it continues structural adjustments to de-emphasise its reliance on heavy industry.

Meanwhile, in Australia, positive forecasts are reported across all industry sectors and regions, and indicate that efforts to minimise the country’s reliance on mining and related support activities may be gaining momentum, said ManpowerGroup.

This article was first published on Sept 13, 2016.
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SINGAPORE – The Government will review the Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS), Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Tuesday (Sept 13), taking up a recommendation proposed by an advisory panel early last month.

The CPFIS was set up to offer CPF members a way to earn higher returns on their savings but it is “not fit for purpose”, Mr Tharman told an audience at the Economic Society of Singapore’s annual dinner.

Over the past 10 years, more than 80 per cent of the CPF members who put their savings into an investment product via the CPFIS would have been better off just leaving their money in the Ordinary Account, which earns a guaranteed 2.5 per cent each year, Mr Tharman noted.

Some 45 per cent of those who made use of the CPFIS even made losses over the same period.

In its second and final set of proposals to the Government last month, the CPF Advisory Panel, which had been tasked to recommend ways to improve the CPF system, had mentioned a need for the CPFIS to be reviewed.

And indeed the Ministry of Manpower will do so, Mr Tharman said on Tuesday.

This is in line with one of the priorities the Government will have to focus on to take the CPF system into the future, he said – providing a convenient option for those with more than the basic CPF savings levels to earn higher returns.

This article was first published on Sept 14, 2016.
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A super-fit man was jailed for two months yesterday for his role in a scam in which he helped national servicemen (NSmen) to pass their Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) – and pocket a cash award on their behalf for being “one of the best”.

Kho Puay Meng, 38, pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to cheat and is out on $25,000 bail, pending an appeal against his sentence.

A district court heard how around 70 NSmen were approached by, or went to approach, the scam’s alleged ringleader Lim Chun Chyi, 35 – an NSman himself – for help in completing the IPPT.

The tests at the time involved pull-ups, sit-ups and a 2.4km run and those who fail faced being sent for remedial fitness training.

Lim allegedly collected their identity cards and booked IPPT slots for them online before doing them himself – or getting someone else, such as Kho, to do them.

After passing with flying colours, they would then receive a cash incentive – of up to $400 for the “gold award” – from the Ministry of Defence, while the “client” would be handed back his identity card and results slip.

In early November 2014, NSman Tan Yi Li, 27, got a call from Lim, who offered to complete his IPPT on his behalf, in exchange for the payout disbursed by Mindef. Tan agreed.

Lim then called Kho and asked him to take the IPPT in Tan’s name, in return for half of the payout for an award.

Kho agreed and on Nov 22, Lim met Kho at the entrance of Khatib Camp and passed him Tan’s identity card.

Kho completed the IPPT in Tan’s name and got the gold award, then split the $400 incentive with Lim.

However, on Dec 6, a Certis Cisco fitness trainer on duty at the IPPT centre at Khatib Camp saw Lim and recognised him from before.

He searched Lim’s IPPT records and his belongings, and found out that he was taking the IPPT on behalf of others.

The Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command investigated before referring the case to police in April last year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jean Ting asked for two months’ jail, noting that “the scheme undermined the national service regime and its associated public policy objectives”.

Defence lawyer Ashwin Ganapathy asked for not more than four weeks’ jail, claiming that Kho’s “main motivation of committing the offence was because he genuinely wanted to help his fellow NSman who was unable to clear his IPPT”.

Kho has paid Mindef back the $400 that he cheated it of, even though he pocketed only $200 of the payout.

The maximum punishment for cheating and thereby dishonestly inducing a delivery of property is 10 years’ jail and a fine.

The cases for Lim and the rest of the NSmen involved in the scheme are pending.

Both Mindef and HomeTeam NSmen are believed to be involved.

‘More efficient’ IPT a hit among some NSmen

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times

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