
Malaysia's expanded Sales and Services Tax to take effect tomorrow
Malaysia's expanded Sales and Services Tax (SST) will take effect tomorrow (Jul 1), despite public outcry. The tax hike of 5% to 10% will apply to a range of luxury and non-essential items, such as imported seafood. Foreigners can also expect to pay more for private healthcare and education. The expanded SST is projected to generate up to RM10 billion, or US$2.4 billion, a year — revenue the government said will go towards healthcare, education and targeted subsidies. Afifah Ariffin has more.
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CNA
44 minutes ago
- CNA
Jail for former CEO who gave MOM false information to get work passes for his companies' foreign investors
SINGAPORE: In exchange for investment funds, the former chief executive officer of a building solutions company agreed to apply for employment passes for two foreigners under his firm and its subsidiaries. While doing so, he submitted false statements to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in relation to the hiring of the two foreigners. Chu Sau Ben, 59, who helmed Libra Group Limited, was sentenced to a five-week jail term on Monday (Jun 30) after pleading guilty to a charge under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Two other charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing. He served as director of Libra Group Limited, Libra Engineering and Libra Building Construction from 1997 until 2020 and was also CEO and executive chairman of these companies at the time of the offences. Through its subsidiaries, Libra Group Limited mainly provided mechanical and electrical engineering services as a sub-contractor such as the installation of air-conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems. In 2018, his companies began facing financial difficulties and he sought funds from investors in a bid to expand the business overseas. The next year, he was introduced to a woman named Wang Jie, a director of Hai Sin International, which was in the business of helping clients buy over, invest in or start businesses in Singapore. It also engaged in programmes in China to persuade foreigners to invest in Singapore. Wang told Chu that she would be able to introduce people who could invest in his companies, but in return, he would have to pledge part of his shares in his companies to these people in addition to applying for employment passes for them. Chu agreed. Wang is facing similar charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and her case is pending before the courts. She referred two foreigners by the names of Liu Lei and Chen Bingchuan to Chu. Both foreigners had no intention of working in Singapore and just wanted to legalise their entry and residence in the country. Chu's companies received S$2 million (US$1.6 million) from Chen and no less than S$1 million from Liu in exchange for applying for their work passes. Chu agreed to apply for an employment pass for Liu under Libra Engineering and Liu pre-paid S$360,000 to Wang for his purported monthly salary of S$10,000 a month for 36 months. On Aug 15, 2019, a declaration form for Liu's employment pass was submitted to MOM. This form falsely stated that Liu would be employed by Libra Engineering as a regional project manager. The form was signed by Libra Engineering's general manager under Chu's instructions. Liu's employment pass was approved, but investigations showed that he was never employed and never performed any work for the company. Chu and Liu did not keep in contact and Chu did not know what Liu was doing. MOM's prosecutors Amos Tan and Khong Zi-Wei sought six to eight weeks' jail for Chu. They said that Chu's offence "involves the very mischief that the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act seeks to prevent" and that he allowed a foreigner to obtain a work pass without any intention for the person to work for the employer declared in the pass. "At the outset, the accused's intention ... was for the sole purpose of receiving financial gains," the prosecutors added in calling for a deterrent sentence. They also said that the offences were discovered only around two years later and after comprehensive investigations by MOM, which highlighted the difficulties in detecting the crime.


CNA
an hour ago
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CNA938 Rewind - Mind Your Money - Plugging the cybersecurity talent gap without adding headcount
CNA938 Rewind Singapore's cybersecurity needs are growing, but hiring budgets aren't. With AI-powered threats on the rise and digitalisation surging across sectors, companies face a tough dilemma: strengthen cyber defences without growing headcount. Cheryl Goh finds out the best workaround for this with Pang Tzer Yeu, CISO-in-Residence at Red Alpha Cybersecurity.

Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Seniors can claim $800 SG60 vouchers from July 1; adults to get $600 in vouchers from July 22
Each person will also receive in the mail an SG60 postcard containing a message from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and a QR code that can be scanned to claim the vouchers. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG Seniors can claim $800 SG60 vouchers from July 1; adults to get $600 in vouchers from July 22 SINGAPORE - Singaporean seniors aged 60 and above can now claim $800 worth of SG60 vouchers, while adults aged between 21 and 59 will be able to claim $600 worth of the same vouchers from July 22. Unlike CDC vouchers, which are issued to households, these one-off vouchers to celebrate Singapore's 60th year of independence are for individual Singaporeans. They are part of a broader SG60 Package announced at Budget 2025 by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Seniors can claim their vouchers at from 10am on July 1, while other adults can do so from 10am on July 22. The vouchers can be used at all businesses that accept CDC vouchers and are valid till Dec 31, 2026. In total, some three million adults will get the vouchers, which are estimated to cost the Government a total of $2.02 billion. 'The SG60 vouchers are our way of recognising the contributions of all Singaporeans in our nation-building journey,' said PM Wong in a social media post on July 1. Each person will also receive in the mail an SG60 postcard designed by differently abled artists. The postcard contains a message from PM Wong and a QR code that can be scanned to claim the vouchers. Seniors will get to claim their vouchers first 'in appreciation of their long-standing contributions to Singapore's growth and success', said the Community Development Council in a statement on July 1. This earlier rollout will also ensure that seniors can get dedicated help to claim their vouchers. The claim and spend process for SG60 Vouchers is the same as that of CDC vouchers – upon claiming the vouchers, the individual will receive an SMS link from ' Those who need help to claim their vouchers can get assistance at community centres and clubs, and at SG Digital Community Hubs. In the first two weeks of the launch until July 11, about 200 volunteers from public agencies and schools such as ITE College West, Nanyang Polytechnic, and Tampines Meridian JC will be stationed at selected CCs alongside CDC ambassadors to assist residents. Half of the vouchers – $400 for seniors and $300 for adults – can be used at participating supermarkets, and the other half at participating hawker stalls and heartland merchants. This covers some 23,000 heartland shops and hawkers, and eight supermarket chains that have over 400 outlets all over Singapore. They are Ang Mo Supermarket, Cold Storage, Giant Singapore, Hao Mart, FairPrice, Prime Supermarket, Sheng Siong and U Stars Supermarket. The SG60 vouchers will support Singaporeans in defraying the cost of living pressures, said Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Low Yen Ling told reporters on June 25, at a briefing on the voucher scheme. Around $1 billion worth of SG60 vouchers will also 'go some way (towards) supporting our heartland shops and hawkers in increasing footfall and also sales', she noted. People can find participating merchants at Ms Low, who is also the chairman of the Mayors' Committee, said: 'The 1½ years of validity period (of the vouchers) will give all Singaporeans greater flexibility to pace, use and spend their SG60 vouchers gradually.' The SG60 vouchers are part of a slew of SG60 goodies announced by PM Wong at Budget 2025. Other initiatives include a personal income tax rebate, a gift for babies born this year, and $100 in SG Culture Pass credits for every Singaporean aged 18 and above in 2025. In 2025, Singaporean households also received $300 worth of CDC vouchers in January, and $500 worth of CDC vouchers in May. These are valid till Dec 31, 2025. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.