MPs to ask about recent tech layoffs, prevention of crowd crushes; debate on Bills related to 377A repeal on Nov 28

SINGAPORE — Questions surrounding the spate of recent layoffs in the technology industry as well as precautions to prevent a crowd crush this upcoming festive season have been tabled for debate in Parliament on Monday (Nov 28).

There will also be the second reading of two Bills related to the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code.

The two Bills — one on repealing Section 377A and the other on amending the Constitution to protect the definition of marriage here — were first introduced in Parliament last month after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in August that Singapore will strike down the law that criminalises sex between men.

Based on the parliamentary order paper released on Friday, seven questions have been tabled by Members of Parliament (MPs) regarding policies at large-scale events or public places to prevent crowd crushes or stampedes.

The questions raised by the MPs ranged from whether there are adequate crowd control measures at large-scale events here to whether the authorities have identified a list of locations or events that may give rise to crowd crushes or stampedes.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh, MP for Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC), has asked Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam about the lessons learnt from the recent stampede incidents in several countries and whether there have been enhancements to Singapore’s crowd control measures.

Recently, several incidents have made the headlines, including the deadly stadium stampede at a football match in East Java, Indonesia, as well as the Halloween crowd surge in Seoul’s Itaewon neighbourhood in South Korea.

Mr Gerald Giam, MP for Aljunied GRC, has asked Mr Shanmugam whether the Ministry of Home Affairs has identified a list of places that are at risk of crowd surges and stampede situations, what these locations are and whether the organisers at these locations or events are required to put in place enhanced safety steps.

Several other MPs such as Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong GRC) and Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten) asked whether there are policies in place to avoid crowd crushes and stampedes.

Some MPs also want to know more about the recent rounds of layoffs by technology firms here.

Earlier this month, Twitter axed about half of its employees across the globe, including at its Singapore headquarters. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, had also announced that it would cut 13 per cent of its workforce.

These are on top of retrenchments at big names such as Stripe, Shopee and Grab, some of which have offices and employees in Singapore.

Ms Cheryl Chan (East Coast GRC) and Ms Mariam Jaafar (Sembawang GRC) has asked Manpower Minister Tan See Leng on the total estimated number of workers affected by such layoffs here.

Separately, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Saktiandi Supaat asked Dr Tan about the success of the Ministry of Manpower's job placement initiatives in helping retrenched tech employees find suitable replacement jobs and whether the ministry will engage with industry actors to “centralise information” to ensure fairer and more equitable re-employment processes.

Besides that, state investment firm Temasek Holdings' investment in cryptocurrency exchange FTX will also be discussed in Parliament on Monday.

More than 10 MPs have tabled questions surrounding the firm’s investments and FTX’s collapse. This came after Temasek said earlier this month that it will write down its US$275 million (S$378 million) investment in FTX.

MPs also filed several questions about the recent examination paper leak at the Nanyang Technological University and whether there are enough measures in place to prevent similar incidents from happening.

On Monday as well, opposition MP Leon Perera (Aljunied GRC) will move an adjournment motion that aims to raise the voices of students and staff members at institutes of higher learning in policymaking.