The Workers’ Party MP emphasizes the need for a supportive system as Singapore transitions to using private trustees in bankruptcy.
SINGAPORE — In a parliamentary address on Monday (Jan 9), Workers’ Party MP Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC) highlighted the various factors that can lead individuals to bankruptcy, including “misfortune, bad timing, and serving as guarantors for the debts of others.”
She emphasized that bankruptcy can be a debilitating and disempowering experience, as those who go through it often face stigma and are disqualified from holding public office or working in certain professions. “I hope that as we move towards a system where private trustees in bankruptcy (PTIBs) become the norm, the bankruptcy experience can be less painful,” she remarked.
Ms. Lim, who also chairs the Workers’ Party, spoke on the Insolvency, Restructuring, and Dissolution (Amendment) Bill, questioning the observations made over the past five years since PTIBs have been involved in cases with institutional creditors.
The parliamentary debate centered on the proposal to extend the use of PTIBs to non-institutional creditors and voluntary bankruptcies. Ms. Lim inquired whether there had been complaints from either creditors or debtors regarding the process, particularly concerning efficiency or neutrality.
She further questioned what resources would be available to assist non-institutional creditors and debtors in selecting an insolvency practitioner as a PTIB. “Currently, bankruptcy cases are managed not by a public officer from the Office of the Accountant (OA), but by a PTIB chosen by the creditor, whose fees are also covered by the creditor.
It is often said that he who pays the piper calls the tune. Have there been complaints from debtors about perceived unfairness from PTIBs?” she asked. Ms. Lim’s full speech can be viewed here.
