Law to safeguard social cohesion to take effect on Sept 15
The Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act, which was passed by Parliament on Feb 4, 2025, took effect on Sept 15, empowering the Government to issue restraining orders against individuals involved in making content that prejudices Singapore’s racial harmony.
It also introduces a community remedial initiative, which gives those who have committed less egregious race-related offences a chance to mend community ties instead of prosecution.
In a statement on Sept 14, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the new law strengthens Singapore’s ability to preserve racial harmony, respond effectively to emerging threats, and safeguards the city-state’s multicultural society against malicious foreign influence.
Artificial intelligence may need aviation-style safety regulations to gain trust: Josephine Teo
Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said in a LinkedIn post on Sept 17: “Trust is an essential requirement for a technology to be regularly relied upon. In time to come, the world of AI must have its own safety set-ups. They are still taking shape and far from mature.
More research and testing is needed. This takes time and commitment.”
She compared the regulations that AI may need to safety regulations in the aviation industry, where layers of safeguards and standards give people confidence to use the technology.
Former group director of HDB accused of breaching agency’s database 161 times
Tan Chew Ling, who was group director of estate administration and property at HDB, had allegedly accessed HDB’s housing management submissions database on 161 separate occasions despite not being authorised to do so.
She is facing accusations that she breached the agency’s database and retained documents pertaining to seven HDB flats in 2024. According to court documents, she managed to obtain the documents and information only due to her position in the agency.
She is facing one charge of committing unauthorised access to computer materials under the Computer Misuse Act.
Tech In Asia Conference returns to Singapore for 15th edition
Over 2,000 attendees came together for the 15th edition of the Tech In Asia Conference, under the theme “Lead the Enterprise AI Era”. The two-day event from Sept 15 to Sept 16 featured talks and panels by industry leaders from the tech and AI sectors.
“As AI moves rapidly from experimentation into the way businesses operate, the conversation is shifting from what AI can do to how organisations can deploy it effectively and create lasting business value,” said Mr Terence Lee, Overall lead and Editor-in-Chief, Tech in Asia.
As AI becomes more powerful and more widely available, access to the technology will increasingly be only the starting point: Tan Kiat How
At the official opening of the Google Cloud Singapore Engineering Center (SEC) on Sept 15, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How spoke on the future steps of adopting AI effectively.
The SEC will serve as a dedicated product development hub where Google teams will work directly with regional enterprises and start-ups to build, test, and bring production-grade AI solutions to market.
“As AI becomes more capable, our task is not simply to build more capable machines. It is to build more capable people, more capable organisations and a more capable society,” said Mr Tan.
Over 200 AI courses, new centre launched by new workforce agency to boost career support
The Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) announced more than 200 AI courses, from applying AI to developing advanced capabilities for AI-enabled roles, have been rolled out under new initiatives to help develop a future-ready workforce and support workers in growing resilient careers.
SWDA also launched a new centre called Connect by SWDA, which is located at the Lifelong Learning Institute at Paya Lebar. The centre will provide more integrated support for individuals and employers across their careers, skills and workforce development journeys.
MOE to explore smaller classes where needed for more students in pilot with six schools
At the Schools Work Plan Seminar, Education Minister Desmond Lee said more students could benefit from smaller class sizes, as part of a pilot to improve teaching and learning, starting with six schools from January 2027, addressing over 1,900 school leaders and teachers.
Mr Lee said that smaller classes would allow teachers to give students closer attention and faster feedback and that this initiative must happen alongside a broader redesign of teaching and learning.
Retailers slash prices on drinks like beer, tea without Return Right logo
From Oct 1, all plastic bottles and cans from 150ml to 3 litres must be labelled with the 10-cent deposit mark under the Beverage Container Return Scheme. To prepare for the change, some retailers and distributors are selling drink containers that do not carry the requisite Return Right logo at discounts of up to 50 per cent.
Stores from companies like Don Don Donki, Cold Storage Singapore, Watering Hole, and K-Market have been trying to clear unlabelled stock of the beverages.
Muslim organisation in Singapore raises $200,000 for Nepal flood relief efforts
A total of $200,000 in donations has been raised through the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation (RLAF) to support relief efforts for those affected by the Aug 26 floods in Nepal.
In the RLAF statement, chief executive Adnan Abdul Hamid said the organisation is “deeply heartened by the overwhelming generosity” of the community. “To see individuals, businesses and organisations come together and raise $200,000 is a powerful expression of compassion and solidarity,” he added.
Singaporean suffers cardiac arrest after being run over by bus in Taiwan; resuscitated in hospital
While crossing the road in Taichung, a central city in Taiwan, a 67-year-old Singaporean woman was run over by a bus on Sept 16.
The woman was in a state of cardiac arrest after she was rescued, with open fractures to her upper right arm and lower left leg, as well as a fracture to her hip, local media reported.
According to Central News Agency, she was taken to hospital, where her heartbeat was restored after resuscitation.
