Singapore plans new law for meetings as companies uncertain on how to comply with COVID-19 rules

The Singapore government is planning to introduce a new legislation to provide clarity over how meetings are conducted after business houses have voiced concern about how they should comply with the new rules for gatherings that were put in place to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

As of Monday, the total number of COVID-19 cases stood at 879, including three deaths, in Singapore.

The government has taken a slew of measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The regulations include limits on gatherings outside work and school to 10 persons or fewer. The ban will be in place at least until April 30.

According to a joint statement released by the law and finance ministries on Tuesday, the Singapore government will introduce a new legislation to provide clarity over how meetings are conducted in the wake of the new rules for gatherings.

The move came following several companies' voicing concern about how they should comply with the new rules while also acting in accordance with the legal provisions of governing meetings.

"We are aware that certain provisions in written law and certain legal instruments (such as a company's constitution) provide for personal attendance at meetings," the ministries acknowledged in the statement.

The government, it said, has received feedback that businesses are uncertain about how to comply with both those provisions and the regulations.

As such, the government will introduce a new legislation at the next Parliamentary sitting to provide "legal certainty" on the issue, the statement said.

The proposed provisions will allow for alternative arrangements to be made for when personal attendance at a meeting is provided for "in any written law or legal instrument".

If passed, the provisions would be brought into force "as soon as possible", the statement said.

Meanwhile, Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran on Tuesday said more businesses are seeing the value of increased digitalisation in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the government has long encouraged companies to use more digital technology in their processes, the coronavirus has brought into stark relief its relevance and usefulness at a time when firms have had to activate their business continuity plans, he said in an interview on Money FM 89.3.

"Right now, businesses see the value proposition - whether it is working remotely, whether it is transacting with business partners around the world - and also for employees understanding why digital technologies are very relevant and useful," he said.

Digital technology has also helped the government manage the crisis, Iswaran said, citing how the Gov.sg WhatsApp service has provided Singaporeans with "reliable information in a timely manner (that) also enables them then to navigate all the other information that they're receiving on a daily basis".

The service now pushes out more than one million messages a day in the four official languages, a significant milestone for the government, he said.

Singapore has four official languages -- English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil.