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Deep Dive - Is Singapore's electric vehicle infrastructure catching up with demand?
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Electric vehicle sales hit a new high in the first three months of 2025, accounting for 40 per cent of total car registrations. Yet concerns about charging networks and capacity remain.
Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak with transport economist Walter Theseira and Stephanie Tan, CEO of EV-Electric Charging.
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Independent Singapore
6 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
‘Is this considered normal in SG?' — Jobseeker says interviewer ghosted her after they collected her payslips, income letter, tax letter, and referee contact details
SINGAPORE: A jobseeker shared on Reddit that she was ghosted by a prospective employer after completing several rounds of interviews and submitting multiple personal documents. Posting anonymously on the r/askSingapore subreddit, she explained that she had applied for a position that was originally advertised as a full-time, permanent role. After several interviews, however, the company informed her that the job would now be offered as a 12-month contract instead. They cited her career break and previous history of short-term roles as factors behind the decision to switch her to a contract position. Despite the revised terms, she chose to proceed with the application. The company then asked for her 'payslips, an income letter, a tax letter, and the contact details of her referees,' stating that these were needed to prepare the job offer. Unfortunately, after providing the necessary documents, she heard nothing more from the company. 'They completely ghosted me for a month now,' she said. 'Is this considered normal or fair in Singapore? Or should I be concerned that my info was used? Would love to hear others' or HR professionals' thoughts on this. Thanks,' she added. 'Your best option is to move on…' In the discussion thread, a Singaporean working in human resources said the whole thing sounded super shady. They explained that when a company is preparing an employment contract, the only document typically required is the NRIC. They added that there is usually no valid reason for a legitimate company to request income letters or tax documents at the hiring stage. The person suggested that whoever was asking for all these documents might not be a real employer but could be trying to collect sensitive personal data. 'It sounds as if some scammer wants your data instead of a company. This seems so BS. Referral contact makes sense. But if they ghost you, sometimes it MIGHT also be because they said some stuff that doesn't align with what they want,' they added. Another Redditor commented, 'Red flag. You noticed it. If you don't move on, then any problem you face in the future is on you.' A third wrote, 'No, not normal at all. I would have pushed back on the income letter and tax letter, and even for pay slips, I would have redacted certain information. This company is sus as hell.' A fourth advised, 'There are many things that could have happened. Your references didn't work out, the company strategy changed, the hiring manager or HR left, there is a hiring pause because of tariffs/war, etc. It's not ideal, but nothing to be concerned about. I know it sucks when you were so close to landing a job, but your best option is to move on.' MOM: Only job-related info should be requested While the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) does not explicitly prohibit employers from requesting documents such as income letters or tax records, such requests are generally uncommon. For payslips, candidates have the right to decline if they are uncomfortable sharing them. Moreover, as per their guidelines, employers should only collect information that is directly relevant to assessing a candidate's suitability for the role. This includes qualifications, work experience, and job-related skills. See also Leisure marketplace SelenaGO raises seed funding from UMG Idealab Application forms should also avoid questions about personal details such as race, religion, marital status, pregnancy, or disability, unless there is a clear and valid reason related to the job. Read also: $1.5K a month and drowning': 27-year-old creative worker shares fears about the future Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
Independent Singapore
6 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
SG worker wonders why his colleague overreacted to minor mistakes at work and resigned on the spot
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean employee recently shared online that his colleague abruptly quit after receiving what he felt were minor complaints. In a post on the r/askSingapore forum on Friday (Jun 13), the employee explained that he works in a small SME with around 20 staff members. His colleague, who had been with the company for about 10 months, received two complaints about his work earlier in the week. However, the employee believed both trivial matters had already been settled without much fuss. 'The first issue wasn't even his fault — it was a paperwork mix-up that's already been settled. Nobody got blamed, and it was resolved without drama,' he wrote. 'The second issue was that he forgot to take a photo of an item. Again, super minor — the customer could easily help us with the photo, and our company already said it's not a big deal. They just reminded him to be more careful next time.' Despite this, the colleague apparently took the feedback very personally. 'He felt like his work reputation was affected and straightaway drafted a resignation letter and sent it to our boss — all within the same day.' The employee added that his colleague would often speak about how younger people today were not able to handle hardship, which made the sudden resignation feel even more unexpected. 'He always talked about how 'young people nowadays cannot 吃苦' (can't take hardship). Yet now, just because of two small incidents (one of which wasn't even his fault), he resigned,' the employee said. 'Now, if he leaves, guess who has to take over his tasks, plus my own, plus train the new guy when he comes in? Yah, me lor. But that's life, I guess. Anyway, just wanted to get this off my chest.' 'Nothing wrong with it; he doesn't owe the company anything.' In the comments section, several Redditors weighed in with their own interpretations of the situation. One Redditor suggested that the colleague might just be super serious about his work, like the 'siao onz' type who takes full responsibility for anything that goes wrong and has really high standards for himself. So even if the issues were minor, it might've hit him harder than expected. Others felt that the resignation might've been on his mind for a while already, and the recent issues just gave him the push he needed to go. One wrote, 'It's from your perspective. He could have already been thinking of resigning previously and taken this chance to quit. Nothing wrong with it; he doesn't owe the company anything. Don't make it sound like his fault; he CAN leave the company anytime. If you can't handle it/have issues, tell your superiors; he has nothing to do with it.' Another added, 'As you said, it wasn't his fault. It sounds like his boss blamed him for it, and heis super unhappy mentally about many things already.' Meanwhile, a third Redditor urged him to also leave the company, writing, 'Bro, leave la, if you manage to survive the double workload, they will not hire another person. It's the way of the world now.' In other news, a daughter took to Reddit to vent about how mentally and emotionally draining it's been living with her mum, who she believes may be struggling with undiagnosed mental health issues. See also 8 proven tips for successfully scaling an e-commerce business Posting anonymously on the r/askSingapore subreddit, she shared that her mum often displays signs of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. 'She's always overthinking, sad or angry about something,' the daughter wrote. When we get into arguments—which can be over very minor things because she's very sensitive—she would think of herself as the victim and how life is super hard for her.' Read more: 'Every day feels draining': Daughter shares struggle living with mum who may have undiagnosed mental illness Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
Independent Singapore
11 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Hiring slows at Singapore banks: ‘Even replacements don't match attrition,' says recruiter
Photo: Freepik/freestockcenter SINGAPORE: Singapore banks are pulling back on hiring, with only one new hire for every two who resign, as firms hold off on spending to stay liquid, said Ken Ong, managing director at Morgan McKinley Singapore, as reported by the Asian Business Review. He pointed out that 'Even the volume of replacement is not in proportion to the attrition level.' He also expects slow bank hiring to continue this year, with most roles limited to contract and project-based work amid a flat economic outlook, though relationship managers and roles in wealth management and family offices are still in demand. 'When they look at that sort of projection, then they will also take a step backwards from hiring for a replacement role,' he said, with many holding off to stay more agile with cash flow and to ensure they have 'a bit of a cushion'. The bigger issue, he added, is that most firms are simply being very cautious. 'Bulge bracket banks are not hiring as many,' Mr Ong said, adding that while this is the case, second-tier banks, specifically Asian banks, are still hiring select roles to boost their cybersecurity, cloud investment, and data analytics. Banks are also using contract work to assess potential hires before offering full-time roles as a way to 'validate performance, 'Mr Ong said. On the other hand, new hires are choosing contract roles to explore different career paths. Mr Ong said many no longer feel the pressure to specialise early in their careers and instead want broader exposure before deciding what area to focus on. He also mentioned bankers moving into fintech and some roles from Hong Kong being shifted to Singapore. /TISG Read also: Aspiring accountants can now earn both professional and academic qualification in one study path
