Parliament to discuss Brexit impact on S'pore

Singapore

PARLIAMENT will sit again on Monday after a two-month break. Among the many issues on the agenda is the fallout from Britain's decision to withdraw from the European Union.

Backbenchers Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten) and Patrick Tay (West Coast GRC) intend to ask about the impact of "Brexit" on the Singapore economy.

Mr Lim also wants to know if the government will take any action to mitigate any adverse effect on both the stock market and the economy.

Mr Tay, meanwhile, is keen to learn more about Brexit's short- term and medium-term impact on the portfolios of state investment firm Temasek Holdings and sovereign wealth fund GIC.

In all, Members of Parliament have submitted a total of 136 questions on a wide range of topics for the different ministers to respond to. Eighty-six are for oral answer, while the other 50 are due for written responses.

The recent disclosures made in the Panama Papers - a trove of some 11.5 million leaked documents that detail financial and attorney-client information for more than 200,000 offshore entities - have gotten the attention of Sembawang MP Lim Wee Kiak.

He wants to know if any Singapore companies and individuals have been named in the papers, and wants the government to identify them if there are any.

He will also ask the Finance Ministry to state its position on Singapore being named by several international news sources as a haven for tax evasion.

A couple of MPs plan to ask about the government's move to remove Internet access from the work computers of public servants next year.

Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC) is curious about the reasons that prompted such a major change, and what other solutions had been considered before the final decision was made.

He will also ask about the potential impact that the restriction of Internet access will have on the productivity and service delivery of public servants here.

Non-constituency MP Daniel Goh of the opposition Workers' Party will ask if the move will affect the development of Singapore's Smart Nation platform and its pervasive connectivity; and what steps will be taken to restore public confidence in the Smart Nation vision.

The House will debate the Bretton Woods Agreements (Amendment) Bill, which is due for a second reading on Monday.

The Bill, which was first tabled at the last sitting in May, intends to introduce legislative amendments to allow the Monetary Authority of Singapore to enter into arrangements with the International Monetary Fund to give grants or other financial assistance on behalf of the Singapore government.

For more coverage of the EU referendum, visit bt.sg/BrexiT