1 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider working with the Ministry of Education to share with school students the risks associated with buying health products, especially those sold online.
\tThe Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health (Mr Amrin Amin) (for the Minister for Health): The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) regularly educates the public on the risks of buying health products from dubious or unknown sources, including online purchases. For example, last year, HSA ran a six-week online campaign to educate consumers on such dangers. It included an animated YouTube video to explain the risks, and pop-up advisories targeted at consumers looking for health products online.
There are also efforts targeted specifically at school students. HSA has worked with the Health Promotion Board (HPB) to include the risks of purchasing health products online in HPB's school-based educational programmes. HSA has also collaborated directly with tertiary students from the local polytechnics and universities to reach out to their peers about the dangers of buying health products online.
HSA will continue to work with HPB and the Ministry of Education to educate school students on the risks associated with buying health products from dubious online sites and the need for discernment when purchasing health products.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Prevention of Spillage on Roads by Trucks Carrying Sand","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"2 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) how does the Ministry ensure that lorries that carry sand do cover them up to prevent spillage on the roads while moving; and (b) for lorries that are found not to have done so, what are the penalties that are imposed on them.
\tThe Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) (for the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources): Sand or other materials spilt from improperly covered lorries on public roads can endanger the safety of motorists and dirty our environment.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) engages sand suppliers and commercial transport companies to remind their drivers to be vigilant in keeping sand covered during transport. Commercial transport companies are also reminded to inspect their lorry fleets regularly for faulty cargo flap covers.
From 2016 to 2018, NEA took more than 450 enforcement actions against drivers for transporting sand and other materials without proper cover. Under the Environmental Public Heath (Public Cleansing) Regulations, persons conveying sand or other similar materials along a public road by vehicle without adequate cover face fines of up to $1,000 upon conviction for a first offence. Additionally, under the Environmental Public Health Act, persons who drop or spill the same on a public road would also be liable for fines of up to $2,000 upon conviction for a first offence.
Members of the public who witness sand spillage on public roads should report the incident to NEA.
Mr Speaker: Ms Joan Pereira.
\tMs Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. On the roads, I very often see vehicles carrying sand – both wet and dry – overloaded with these items: sand, gravel, stones. They may even be partially exposed. These pose a real danger to other vehicle users and even people. Can NEA consider working with the Ministry of Transport to deploy road surveillance technology to monitor such vehicles and take enforcement action where necessary?
\tDr Amy Khor Lean Suan: I thank the Member for the supplementary question. NEA employs portable surveillance cameras to detect vehicles that spill sand or other materials on public roads. They deploy such devices at hotspots to spot and identify errant vehicles and their drivers for further investigation and enforcement. In addition, NEA does stakeouts along public roads to spot and act against such errant vehicles and drivers.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA), on the other hand, conducts routine patrols and operations to enforce against overloaded vehicles. Offenders who are caught with their trucks or lorries exceeding the maximum laden weight limit can be fined up to $1,000 upon conviction, jailed for up to three months or both.
Mr Speaker: Mr Lim Biow Chuan.
\tMr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten): In my constituency, there are thousands of such heavy laden vehicles plying the road. Unfortunately, the feedback I have is that they are either uncovered or they are spilling debris all over the road. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether enforcement can be stepped up because 450 summonses do not seem like a lot. Every day that I drive on the road, I see a lot of such vehicles that are in breach.
The other thing is whether the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) or NEA could consider from the origin of the journey, make it mandatory for the contractor that loads the sand to carry out an inspection before the vehicle can even go out. That means, the contractor checks and ensures that the vehicle is properly covered and everything is secured before the vehicle even goes out. And if any vehicle is caught in breach, we not only go after the driver, but we also go after the contractor that allowed the vehicle to get out of the worksite in the first place.
\tDr Amy Khor Lean Suan: I thank the Member for the supplementary questions, as well as for his suggestions. First, as I have said earlier, any member of the public who actually observes such spillage on the road can report it to NEA. As I had also noted, NEA does stakeouts as well as deploy portable cameras for surveillance of such acts. Very often, our portable cameras are installed at hotspots where we have received quite a number of feedback cases and tip-offs about such spillage, for instance, near large construction sites or concrete batching plants where these vehicles often ply, in order to enforce against such vehicles and the drivers.
I just wish to make a note that between 2016 and 2018, we received more than 300 instances of feedback on spillage on the roads from such trucks and lorries, and these numbers have been declining. So, the Member could follow up with NEA on the area that he is talking about.
As regards the responsibility, as I have also said, upstream, we work with the commercial transport operators as well as the sand suppliers and remind them to inspect their lorry fleets frequently while making sure that their flap covers are operational. The drivers are responsible for ensuring that the flap covers properly cover the building materials before they drive off the site. That is why our Act makes them responsible, but we work with the vehicle owners to identify who the particular drivers are.
As I have said, we will continue to see how we can engage with the commercial transport operators as well as the sand and building material suppliers upstream.
Mr Speaker: End of Question Time. The Clerk will now proceed to read the Orders of the Day.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Estimates of Expenditure for The Financial Year 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020","subTitle":"Committee of Supply – Paper Cmd 19 of 2019","sectionType":"OS","content":"[(proc text) Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [3rd Allotted Day]. (proc text)]
[Mr Speaker in the Chair]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Committee of Supply – Head R (Ministry of Law)","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"Head R (cont) –
[(proc text) Resumption of Debate on Question [1 March 2019], (proc text)]
[(proc text) \"That the total sum to be allocated for Head R of the Estimates be reduced by $100.\" − [Mr Christopher de Souza]. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Question again proposed. (proc text)]
The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Edwin Tong.
The Senior Minister of State for Law (Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai): Chairman, I thank the Members for their speeches that were made last week and also for the various suggestions that were canvassed.
The Ministry of Law's (MinLaw's) focus is two-fold:
First, we continually update the legal framework to meet the people's needs as well as the businesses', that is, all those who call Singapore home. Fundamentally, our rule of law must remain strong. Our legal framework must have laws that are relevant and also updated.
Second, we are strengthening Singapore’s position as the premier legal services hub for Asia, and beyond. This also supports and contributes to the continuing transformation of Singapore’s economy. We must continue to have a trusted system.
I will touch on these themes, as follows, and I will begin by giving an update on my Ministry's efforts to continually update the legal framework to meet those evolving needs. Mr Christopher de Souza touched on this.
On criminal justice, we passed extensive amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and Evidence Act last year. We have since implemented most of the measures. My Ministry also worked closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs on wide-ranging amendments to the Penal Code and other substantive criminal laws that were introduced in Parliament earlier this year. A major focus of these amendments is to enhance legal protections for vulnerable victims of crime and ensure that our criminal justice framework addresses new forms of crime effectively.
As for family justice, we set up a committee with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Family Justice Courts last year to build on the wide-ranging changes made in 2014. Its report will be released soon. We will consider the committee’s recommendations thereafter.
Moving on to civil justice, we amended the Supreme Court of Judicature Act in October 2018 to enhance efficiency in Court procedures and allow the Courts to better manage proceedings. That same month, two committees, one convened by my Ministry and another by the Judiciary, proposed a number of changes to enhance the efficiency and affordability of our Courts. The public consultation on these proposals concluded on 31 January 2019. We are reviewing the feedback and will make the necessary legislative amendments this year.
We will also work on legislation this year to strengthen the enforcement of civil orders.
These proposals work together, and they also overlap with one another, to ensure that our Court processes continue to provide effective access to justice. And that must remain the hallmark of our judicial system.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked about promoting the use of mediation for commercial disputes. First, I am encouraged to hear about his story and also his very positive experience with the Mediation Centre. This vindicates the efforts of our mediation community to enhance mediation as an effective alternative dispute resolution tool.
Litigants are currently encouraged to attempt an amicable resolution of their disputes through alternative dispute resolution (ADR). This can include mediation, neutral evaluation or even attempting to negotiate settlements privately.
Two of the changes proposed by the committees relate to ADR: firstly, making it mandatory for parties to attempt to resolve their disputes before resorting to litigation; and secondly, empowering the Court to order parties to attend ADR if the Court is of the view that the parties had failed to reasonably consider ADR prior to commencing the legal proceedings.
We recognise that ADR mechanisms, such as mediation, can be a valuable tool in resolving disputes or providing a forum for parties to ventilate key issues. We will decide how best to encourage the use of ADR after considering feedback on these proposals.
Moving on to the area of community justice, Mr Patrick Tay asked about cases filed under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA). As at 31 December 2018, 535 applications for Protection Orders have been filed. Of these, 213 Protection Orders and 193 Expedited Protection Orders were granted. These include applications by victims of workplace harassment. Ninety-nine applications for Protection Orders were referred to the State Courts Centre for Dispute Resolution. Of the 96 cases that completed mediation, 59 reached a settlement leading to a withdrawal of the application or the grant of a Consent Protection Order.
Over the same period, 12 civil proceedings for statutory damages have been brought under section 11 of POHA, while 11 applications for non-publication orders under section 15 of POHA have been filed.
Three thousand and eighty-nine Magistrate's Complaints have been filed for alleged POHA offences, while 51 Magistrate’s Complaints have been filed for alleged breaches of Protection Orders or Expedited Protection Orders. About three out of 10 Magistrate's Complaints, inclusive of those related to POHA, underwent mediation. And about 80% of these cases reached a settlement. One thousand seven hundred and fourteen criminal cases with POHA charges have also been commenced by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
We note Mr Patrick Tay's suggestion to track the types of cases filed and will work with the State Courts to explore this further.
As for the reporting and publication of POHA cases, any person may ask for a copy of the Court’s decision. The Court may consider factors, such as whether the applicant has a sufficient interest in the action or any other legitimate reason for making the request in assessing whether to grant the request. In every POHA case, oral grounds of decision are provided to explain the Court’s reasons for its decision. As in all cases in the State Courts, full written grounds will be published if there is an appeal to the High Court on the matter.
Mr Murali Pillai asked for an update on our review of the probate and administration regime. This review is taking place against the backdrop of a whole-of-Government effort to improve the experience of citizens and also their loved ones at the end-of-life. My Ministry is working with the Ministry of Health, the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and also several other Government agencies to develop a Moments of Life Digital Portal to support Singaporeans as they deal with their estate management matters or those of their loved ones in the end-of-life journey. Features will also include step-by-step guidance on making wills and settling post-death estate matters. A beta version will be released by the end of 2019.
On top of that, we are also considering ways in which we can simplify estate administration, how the process is for affected families, particularly where smaller estates are concerned. So, we are making the process simpler, more straightforward, less expensive for the simpler, smaller cases but, at the same time, also going upstream to help with estate management and planning prior to that stage.
Mr Christopher de Souza and Mdm Rahayu Mahzam asked about legal aid. We recently amended the Legal Aid and Advice Act to simplify the means test, provide greater flexibility to grant aid and also improve on the overall administration of legal aid. These changes will be implemented in the second half of this year.
On criminal legal aid, the number of accused persons assisted per year has risen after the Government introduced direct funding in 2015. the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme assisted almost 1,600 cases in 2018, almost four times the number of cases that were assisted pre-2015, before the Government funding. We will continue to review these schemes to ensure that persons of limited means, the right target clientele for this scheme, will remain assisted and will have access to justice.
Mdm Rahayu Mahzam also asked about supporting lawyers' low bono efforts. We are working with our partners, the Law Society Pro Bono Services and the Singapore Academy of Law, to study how we can further enhance support for pro bono and also low bono efforts.
Mr Chen Show Mao also asked about legal aid for arbitration in disputes over consumer contracts. As a general rule, legal aid is not provided for arbitration because it is a private, consensual dispute mechanism and it is typically used for high-value commercial dispute resolution. Nonetheless, I would like to assure Mr Chen Show Mao that there are several avenues available for such consumers to seek assistance and redress. Let me just outline a few.
Before consumers undergo arbitration, they can obtain free legal advice from the Legal Aid Bureau (LAB) on the arbitration clauses in the contract. This can help consumers better understand their rights and obligations under the contract, and LAB can also provide substantive advice and also legal options available to the consumer. Consumers who then wish to take their dispute to resolution by arbitration in a quick and cost-effective manner can consider the Law Society's Pro Bono Arbitration Scheme, which adopts streamlined procedures and, more importantly, waives the fees of the sole arbitrators in those cases. If the consumer wishes to challenge the arbitration clause or the arbitration award, he can apply for legal aid for representation in Court. And LAB will represent such consumers if there are legal merits in his case.
That said, if Mr Chen Show Mao is able to provide us with the specific case that he has encountered. In the example he cited last week, there is a case where a consumer is in a situation where he has got no choice over the entry into the contract. My Ministry will review the case and see what we can do to assist on a case-by-case basis. On top of that, we will also continue to monitor developments in this area with the Ministry of Trade and Industry since it concerns consumer protection and consider whether further steps need to be taken.
A number of Members have asked specifically about the intellectual property (IP) regime in Singapore, and I will turn to that next. The Minister for Finance spoke about positioning Singapore as a \"Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise\" for our next phase of growth, so these are quite pertinent questions which Members have raised. My Ministry's efforts in the area of IP will support this push in four major ways.
First, we are positioning our IP system to better support creators and innovators. Mr Patrick Tay asked about protecting the IP rights of creators. We will be amending the Copyright Act to better support creators in this digital age. For example, creators will find it easier to build their reputation as people who use their works will then have to properly acknowledge the creator. Creators of certain commissioned works will also enjoy default ownership of their works whereas, previously, the commissioning party would own the works.
As for innovators, innovative businesses in data analytics will find it easier to mine data for analysis. Details can be found in the Copyright Review Report, a fairly comprehensive report which was released in January 2019.
At the same time, we are also reviewing the IP dispute resolution system to make it more accessible, especially for individuals and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), so that they can more effectively safeguard their rights. We held a public consultation on proposed reforms in late 2018 and we are now studying the feedback that was received from the community for the next phase.
Mr Patrick Tay also asked about helping Fintech startups to protect their IP. Last year, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) introduced a FinTech Fast Track Initiative which accelerates the file-to-grant period of deserving FinTech patents to approximately six months, and that is in place of the usual two to four years. IPOS will extend this initiative for a further year to 25 April 2020. FinTech startups can also avail themselves of other assistance schemes available to Singapore businesses, some of which I am going to highlight.
Second, we are helping Singapore businesses in commercialising their IP rights. Ms Jessica Tan asked about this. There are various forms of assistance already available to enterprises, in particular, SMEs and startups, on IP strategy and management:
Businesses that need preliminary advice on IP strategies to support their business plans or on IP legal issues can tap on IPOS' IP Business Clinics and Legal Clinics. These are available to small businesses, individuals and sole proprietors, and approximately 600 businesses have availed themselves of the use of these clinics since 2015.
IPOS also provides specialised consultancy services on IP audit, due diligence and strategy to help enterprises identify their intangible assets and also integrate them into their own strategies for growth and expansion. About 80 enterprises have benefited from these services, with close to 90% of them being either SMEs or startups. When enterprises seek assistance in developing their IP strategy management capabilities, eligible costs may also be defrayed under Enterprise Singapore's Market Readiness Assistance Grant and the Enterprise Development Grant.
While there is still some way to go in encouraging businesses to leverage their IP growth and take advantage of the ecosystem, we have seen a number of success stories. One example is OTSAW Digital, an SME which builds autonomous robots for the security industry. IPOS assisted the company in developing its IP strategy – how to protect and manage its IP and, thereafter, exploit it, as well as other intangible assets.
OTSAW now has internal processes to identify IP that is developed and to protect it appropriately. It is also more aware of IP-related issues when negotiating with other business partners and also, of course, potential investors. The company is now expanding internationally into Malaysia, Indonesia and the Chinese markets. We are naturally excited to see them grow as they leverage their startup position, IP rights, and look forward to observing their continued success.
Third, we are making it easier for businesses to commercialise IP from the public sector. The National IP Protocol was developed and rolled out in April 2018 to encourage commercialisation of public sector IP and also research and development outputs. It streamlines IP practices in our public research institutes, universities and public agencies to reduce the time and effort needed to structure commercialisation agreements entered into with the private sector. This will foster greater collaboration between the private sector businesses on the one hand and the public sector.
Finally, and in response to Ms Jessica Tan's question on job opportunities, we have also several initiatives to develop talent and create jobs in the IP sector. IPOS has partnered SkillsFuture Singapore to develop the first national level skills development framework for the IP sector. This will be rolled out in August 2019. This framework will provide comprehensive information on the career options, skills needed for the various job roles, and also the training programmes relevant for the IP sector. This will aid in the upskilling of new entrants and also existing IP professionals.
IPOS has also partnered Workforce Singapore on the IP Professional Conversion Programme, and with SkillsFuture Singapore on the SkillsFuture Study Awards. These schemes provide financial support for the reskilling of newly-hired employees and for individuals who are seeking to deepen and broaden their skills.
We are also developing programmes to ensure that trained individuals are recognised with certifications. For example, IPOS launched a Specialist Certificate in Intangible Asset Management in January 2019 and also collaborated with the Singapore University of Social Sciences to launch a Master of IP and Innovation Management programme in 2017. This year, the first batch of 14 students is expected to graduate from this programme, with another 21 expected in the next cohort.
All these measures work towards ensuring that our legal system meets the needs of all, whether it is the man-in-the-street or businesses large or small who call Singapore home. Our legal system as a whole also plays a broader role as a supporting pillar for the next phase of Singapore’s economic transformation. On this, there are two interlocking aspects of my Ministry's efforts to provide this support.
First, we are strengthening Singapore's position as an international legal services hub.
Second, we are working to establish Singapore as a thought leader of international rule of law and pursuing international cooperation.
These mutually reinforcing efforts together underpin our position in an increasingly uncertain world as a trusted, stable centre for law and business, and I would like to elaborate on these few points now.
First, we are investing in strengthening Singapore's position as a premier legal services hub, both regionally as well as globally. This means strengthening our position as a dispute resolution centre, growing new areas to meet the demands of international legal services, and finally, promoting the use of Singapore law to meet business needs.
There are three broad categories of efforts related to dispute resolution.
First, we have been and we continue to position Singapore as a trusted and neutral forum for dispute resolution. We have done well in international dispute resolution, but we will continue to build on these efforts to further enhance our position. We are now the third most preferred seat of arbitration globally. The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) is also the third most preferred arbitral institution in the world. And SIAC, along with the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), have all seen increases in caseload over the years. For SIAC, the highest caseload was 452 cases in 2017, of which 83% were international in nature. As for SIMC, as of 31 December 2018, it had received a total of 68 case filings from parties from more than 20 different jurisdictions. For SICC, 29 cases have reached SICC since it was established in 2015.
Mr Murali Pillai asked for an update on SICC. Beyond just the caseload alone, what SICC has been working very hard on is to enhance the enforceability of SICC judgments.
In 2018, our Supreme Court and the Supreme People's Court of China signed a Memorandum of Guidance on the recognition and enforcement of money judgments in commercial cases. This means that parties who have commercial dealings are much clearer on how any money judgments arising from disputes can be enforced against any other party, whether in Singapore or in China.
Mr Murali Pillai also asked about third-party funding, for an update in the area of international arbitration. My Ministry has consulted a public consultation to obtain feedback from stakeholders on how the reforms have been working in practice. We also asked if there was a need to extend third-party funding to new areas.
Generally, it has been positive. Mr Murali Pillai would be pleased to know that funders have seen an upturn in the requests for funding in Singapore and there has also been support for expansion. We are currently reviewing the overall framework, how it might work, including areas for potential extension into proceedings commenced in SICC and any appeals from SICC.
Second, we must continue to invest in order to strengthen our leadership position. We are bolstering our infrastructure to meet demand and also support growth. The expansion of Maxwell Chambers is on track. The newly refurbished building located next to it, the Maxwell Chambers Suites, will be launched in the third quarter of 2019, shortly. This will add 120,000 square feet of floor space and triple Maxwell Chambers' current size.
But it is not just about size or how big the physical infrastructure is.
We need to deepen our collaborations with international institutions. And on this score, we have attracted top arbitral institutions to set up offices in Singapore. The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, for instance, has set up a case management office here. The Permanent Court of Arbitration has its new office in Singapore, its first in Asia. SIAC has also signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with a number of Chinese institutions in 2018 alone. China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, one of the leading commissions in China for dispute resolution, an MOU was signed in 2018. Likewise, an MOU was also signed with the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration as well as with the Xi'an Arbitration Commission.
As far as mediation is concerned, SIMC signed an MOU in 2018 with the Asian Development Bank to help resolve disputes that may arise in infrastructure public-private partnership projects, and an MOU with the China Council for Promotion of International Trade Mediation Centre in January 2019.
Further to our efforts in enhancing Singapore's attractiveness as a forum for dispute resolution, we have also identified several high-growth practice areas to develop.
First, in the area of insolvency and debt restructuring. We amended the Companies Act previously and now we have got an omnibus Act that was passed in 2018, the Insolvency Restructuring and Dissolution Act. And that was the final piece of principal legislation in our phased implementation of the recommendations of the Law Review Committee as well as the Committee to Strengthen Singapore as an International Centre for Debt Structuring.
So, we now have legislation that seeks to properly balance the interests of debtors and creditors as they are undergoing restructuring in Singapore.
The Act, which we target to bring into force this year, benefits local businesses needing help, positions Singapore as a location of choice for foreign debtors to restructure and also creates new opportunities for insolvency professionals, distressed debt funds and also financial institutions.
Second, in the area of Projects and Infrastructure. We have taken steps to capture the increasing demand for legal services in this area. Infrastructure Asia, Singapore's infrastructure office, was launched in October 2018. This is an office set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Enterprise Singapore, and supported by MinLaw through our Professional Services Programme Office. It provides a platform for information exchange on infrastructure opportunities in Asia, facilitates investments and financing, and gives Singapore-based infrastructure players access to these opportunities.
In the same month, we also launched the Singapore Infrastructure Dispute-Management Protocol. It helps to proactively manage differences to prevent them from escalating into disputes and also minimise the risks of time and cost overruns, all of which aimed at enhancing and improving on the large-scale infrastructure ecosystem in Singapore.
Mr Christopher de Souza has rightly pointed out that Singapore's position as an international legal services hub can be further strengthened by promoting the use of Singapore law. We agree. And Singapore law is well-placed to meet the legal needs of businesses in Asia, particularly those businesses that are previously familiar with or accustomed to using English law.
Singapore law benefits from its roots in the English common law system but has gone on to evolve to remain modern and relevant. And overlaid on our common law are legal frameworks and statutes which are often developed in very close consultation with the industry users. Those who choose Singapore law choose to do so as they wish to tap into a legal system that is not just familiar but one which is trusted, both in Singapore as well as internationally.
The promotion of Singapore law does not, however, just involve Government stakeholders, but is also driven from the ground up, by the Bar and from others within this ecosystem. For example, in October 2018, the Singapore Academy of Law and the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association launched the Venture Capital Investment Model Agreements (VIMA). This is a set of standard-form documents which make the process of structuring a deal faster, quicker and more cost-efficient for startups and venture capital firms. VIMA incorporates Singapore law as the governing law and Singapore as the chosen dispute resolution forum.
My Ministry also works with the universities to encourage research that helps to develop and strengthen Singapore law. The intent is to ensure that our law remains cutting-edge, and not just cutting-edge, but also one that meets the needs of our modern businesses. We continue to welcome views and suggestions from practitioners and businessmen alike on how we can further strengthen and enhance these laws.
Besides the efforts to strengthen our position as a premier legal services hub, we are also investing in establishing Singapore as a thought leader in international rule of law efforts and also participating in legal cooperation.
First, we want to establish Singapore as an advocate of, and a thought leader in, international rule of law efforts. The Singapore Convention on Mediation will be the first convention under the UN auspices to be named after Singapore. This reinforces Singapore's reputation brand as a forum of choice for cross-border dispute resolution and also other forms of alternative dispute resolutions. We also engage actively in international efforts to design new international rules to ensure that Singapore's perspectives and our unique circumstances are not ignored. For example, my Ministry, together with other Ministries, worked to secure Singapore's re-election as a member of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law from 2019. This will enable Singapore to continue to actively participate in the development of international trade law.
We have also worked hard to promote international law scholarship, particularly in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) law context. For instance, we supported the launch of the ASEAN Law Academy at the National University of Singapore (NUS) last year. At the same time, we must also ensure that we are a responsible global citizen, if we are to earn and maintain the trust of the international community. There are two aspects to international cooperation that I will touch on: criminal cooperation and civil cooperation.
As a sign of our commitment to international cooperation to combat transnational crime, we concluded the Model ASEAN Extradition Treaty in 2018 and launched the commencement of negotiations for an ASEAN Extradition Treaty. We also launched the commencement of negotiations on a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with China.
We are pursuing a number of efforts in the area of civil cooperation as well. Mr Murali Pillai asked whether Singapore intends to accede to the Hague Apostille Convention. My Ministry is currently studying the possibility of doing so. We have begun discussions with stakeholders, engaged representatives from the Hague Conference about the practicalities and the steps needed in implementing the Convention.
All of these efforts translate into more opportunities for Singapore law practices. Both Mr Christopher de Souza and Mdm Rahayu Mahzam have asked how Singapore law practices are being assisted to take advantage of the opportunities created for them.
The final area that I will, therefore, cover relates to our efforts to support Singapore law practices (SLPs) to adapt. And not just that, but to go beyond and take advantage of these opportunities in this broader landscape that has been curated. Broadly, we are supporting SLPs in three ways.
First, in new business areas. To sustain their business in the face of competition and technological disruption and, as Ms Rahayu Mahzam has pointed out, law firms need to venture into new practice areas. We cannot keep holding on to the conventional ones. My Ministry will continue to help Singapore lawyers develop capabilities in high-growth practice areas. To give an example, we worked with the NUS Faculty of Law to roll out \"The Project Finance Academy\", a three-day practical hands-on workshop in November 2018 to take participants through the main legal considerations in structuring project financing transactions and negotiating infrastructure deals.
We also encourage and support law firms to develop new practice areas and access regional opportunities. Also, in response to Ms Rahayu Mahzam's suggestion on continuing professional development (CPD) courses, the Singapore Academy of Law and the Law Society of Singapore have been developing various CPD programmes and courses, designed in a new way, to equip practitioners interested in deepening or building practices in new areas. Some of these programmes are also approved for SkillsFuture credits. Mdm Rahayu Mahzam might like to know. We will share the feedback that has been given by Ms Rahayu Mahzam last week with the Singapore Academy of Law and the Law Society.
On Ms Rahayu Mahzam's point about providing customised consultancy services to small and medium firms, the Singapore Academy of Law's Future Law Innovation Programme (FLIP) recently launched an initiative, where, for as low as $1,500, small and medium-sized law firms can engage a consultant to review their workflows and advise how they can better harness and adopt technology to help with the process more efficiently and perhaps more importantly for these small firms also more cost-effectively.
Second, on internationalisation. My Ministry is supporting the efforts of SLPs to capture a greater share of international demand for legal services. In other words, look not just at Singapore as the market, but to go beyond Singapore, into the region and globally. Together with the Law Society of Singapore and the then-International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, we launched the Lawyers Go Global programme in February 2018.
The programme helps lawyers expand their networks outside Singapore through mission trips, training and also a branding exercise for the Singapore lawyer brand. In the last 12 months, close to 60 lawyers have participated in three mission trips. We have also stepped up our engagements in Asia. My Ministry has led our law firms and institutions on promotion trips to Asian countries. I visited China earlier this year to strengthen Singapore-China legal and judicial cooperation. During my visit, I attended and spoke at the \"China-Singapore International Commercial Dispute Resolution Conference\", a first of its kind, jointly organised by Singapore and China.
Prior to this visit, 24 lawyers from six leading firms in China's Shaanxi province undertook a month-long attachment in Singapore as part of MinLaw's initiative to help Chinese lawyers better understand what Singapore has to offer as a business hub for Chinese companies as well as also to help Singapore lawyers connect with their Chinese counterparts and learn about and tap into opportunities in the Belt and Road Initiative.
The Chairman: Senior Minister of State, if you could just wrap up. You have got one minute to go.
Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: Yes.
Third, in the adoption of technology, we are supporting law practices to keep up to date with technology. So, Members might like to know that under the Tech Start for Law scheme, SLPs have been given 70% funding, 115 law practices of which 99% are small and medium-sized ones have collectively adopted 143 of such solutions. In the longer term, we will work with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) to develop a broader-term roadmap for up to 2030, in identifying technologies that will impact and change the delivery of legal services.
Fourth, we continue the development of legal talent not just for lawyers but also for sub-specialists like paralegals. We continue to work closely with the law schools to ensure the law curriculum, the training, are robust and prepare our lawyers and paralegals for future generations. We will also continue to support Singapore lawyers to deepen their skills through the SkillsFuture programmes, as I mentioned earlier.
Mr Chairman, just give me a few minutes as I wrap up.
I will conclude with the question that drives all of us – what purposes must the legal framework serve?
The Chairman: The guillotine time is 11.55 am. So, assuming clarifications do not extend beyond that, I am happy to eat into clarification time. But only a few minutes. And counting.
Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: All right, then I will go on. Members might like to know that since 2016, in the context of supporting Singapore lawyers, 78 Singaporean lawyers and inhouse counsel have successfully applied for the SkillsFuture Study Award for the legal sector to hone leadership skills in management of their own law firms. So, the Singapore Academy of Law and INSEAD run a Law Firm Leadership Programme. At the same time, SkillsFuture also supports qualifications for solicitors to seek admission as solicitors of England and Wales through the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme.
From 1 April 2019, we will also be supporting lawyers who wish to take the New York State Bar exam, through the SkillsFuture Study Award as well.
The role of paralegals is growing and we recognise the integral roles that they and other legal support professionals play in this industry. So, we will also continue to work with the Singapore Academy of Law on its programme, Legal Industry Framework for Training and Education for paralegals. This maps out the competency and training that are needed for paralegals to move up the value chain and support legal services.
In addition, we also provided pathways for paralegals who wish to upskill and advance their career. To give an example, 80% of places in the Singapore University of Social Sciences Law School are set aside for mature students, including paralegals.
Mr Chairman, allow me to conclude now.
As I mentioned earlier, we ask ourselves: what purpose must our legal framework serve? We must have a legal framework that is fair, transparent, updated and remains relevant to the users of the system and, most importantly, underpinned by a strong rule of law. It must then meet the needs of individuals and businesses who call Singapore home. We do this through ensuring that our criminal, civil and family justice networks and frameworks are up to date and making sure that persons of limited means have and will continue to have access to justice.
Second, on a broader level, the legal framework must support Singapore’s continuing economic growth. This is especially crucial as we enter a season of global economic uncertainty. While it will pose challenges, there will also be many opportunities from these challenges and disruptions that we can reap, if we can leverage our position as a stable and trusted centre for law and businesses.
None of this, however, can be done by the Government alone. In particular, therefore, I wish to record my appreciation and gratitude to the many members of the Bar for their numerous contributions to the work of my Ministry. Many have given their time and expertise to sit on our committees, give feedback during consultations, and also collaborate with us on our many initiatives, both locally as well as overseas. I am grateful for their close involvement in all that we do, and I look forward to building on this strong relationship. On our end, we will continue to work with all stakeholders to achieve all of the objectives I have just set out. Thank you, Mr Chairman.
The Chairman: Three minutes. Clarifications, please. Mr Christopher de Souza.
Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah): I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State. I saw quite a thick file, and if there is anything more the Senior Minister of State would like to say on SkillsFuture, legal technology use in Singapore, and regional and global outreach —
The Chairman: This is clarification, not an excuse for extra speech time.
Mr Christopher de Souza: In addition to those clarifications, Mr Chairman, the use of SMC is very positive. But at the same time, where we have a lot of cases settled and the settlements are kept confidential, it does impact the development of legal jurisprudence in Singapore. So, in addition to the clarifications that I asked previously, would there be a move to encourage parties who do not mind having their settlements non-confidential in nature and allow for the mediators' understanding and grounds in coming to his/her conclusion published, and quite possibly published as a judgment of Court or a decision of the SMC?
Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: I thank the Member's question on mediation. Most mediations – and I think Mr Sitoh Yih Pin's own experience has been the same – are private and confidential for a number of reasons. People choose to look at the dispute from different angles. Mediation allows you to explore resolution of the dispute on means which are completely extralegal on different considerations, such as commercial considerations or maybe confidentiality considerations.
So, it might not necessarily add to legal jurisprudence to have those mediation agreements published. But I understand Mr Christopher de Souza's point on those cases where there might be legal jurisprudence and legal merit in doing so. With the consent of the parties, obviously, and the mediators, that can be considered.
On Mr Christopher de Souza's first point – and I welcome that because it gives me an opportunity to explain this a little bit more – we do see development in upskilling of know-how, competencies as a very important part of legal development. We have to make sure that our lawyers who come out from law school and those who come out from their practice traineeship are properly equipped for practice. Mr Christopher de Souza knows that we have been looking very closely at what we do with practice traineeship. The Committee has given a very extensive discussion on that.
On top of that, those who are already in practice, either as lawyers or those who are now serving a legal fraternity as paralegals or other support professionals, there must be ample opportunity to upskill. We are very glad to be working with SkillsFuture and the Academy of Law as well, in having a broader and more diverse mix of opportunities available and supported by SkillsFuture, so that these individuals who are already in the system can upskill themselves and enhance their career opportunities and, overall, lend to the improvement of the legal landscape that we have.
The Chairman: Any other clarifications? Mr Christopher de Souza, would you like to withdraw the amendment?
Mr Christopher de Souza: Mr Chairman, Sir, we have had a productive debate, first starting on Friday and then now concluding on Monday. I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State Edwin Tong for his comprehensive responses to our cuts.
Sir, Singapore continues to have an efficient and effective governance system based on the rule of law due to the hard work of many players in the legal industry. These include MinLaw, IPOS, the Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office and many other public officers.
So, in conclusion, a big thank you to Minister K Shanmugam, Senior Minister of State Edwin Tong, MinLaw and the officers for their hard work. With that, Mr Chairman, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.
[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $269,697,500 for Head R ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $323,398,500 for Head R ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Committee of Supply – Head V (Ministry of Trade and Industry)","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"The Chairman: Head V, Ministry of Trade and Industry. Mr Liang Eng Hwa.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah: Mr Chairman, I beg to move, \"That the total sum to be allocated for Head V of the Estimates be reduced by $100\".
Sir, the uncertainty in the global economy and, more fundamentally, the fast pace of technological advancements necessitates that we constantly seek new positioning in the global marketplace, develop new niches and recalibrate our value propositions.
One value proposition that we have been very successful at is in the area of developing Singapore as a regional hub, such as in air and sea transportation, petrochemical, trading centre, finance and banking. These regional hubs have helped better connect and plug our tiny island to the rest of the world.
We should continue to invest and upgrade our physical connectivity, such as the building of Changi Airport Terminal 5 (T5), Tuas Port and the other infrastructure, to stay ahead of the pack.
While we know that many economies also have similar aspirations and many do want to model after the Singapore experience, with enough capital, there is no stopping these countries in the region from building and replicating physical hubs, such as ports, airports or other new specific theme hubs.
So, just competing on building more state-of-the-art physical infrastructure alone is not enough to maintain our superiority in the global connectivity race. We need to work on the soft attributes and continually develop the non-physical connectivity aspects in areas, such as the digital infrastructure, data risk capital, legal system and regulations, talent and so on.
In this regard, I would like to ask the Minister how we could anchor ourselves as a key node in the global trade flows. What are our plans to enhance both our physical and non-physical connectivity?
Sir, in Budget 2019, a slew of schemes and programmes aimed at helping enterprises to deepen capabilities and to scale up were announced, with particular emphasis on boosting effectiveness and achieving better outcomes from these schemes. The key words that I picked up are \"scale up and growing our enterprises\".
We have a diverse enterprise landscape of about 200,000 companies, from micro-enterprises to large firms, each with varying level of value contribution and labour productivity. Hence, a one-size-fits-all approach will not be an optimal strategy and not an effective use of resource.
In this deepened phase of transformation, what is needed to help promising companies are more customised approaches to support enterprise growth.
Besides the enhancement and extension of the existing schemes, such as the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG), Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) and the Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS), the Finance Minister also announced new schemes, such as Scale-up SG, Innovation Agents Programme and so on.
Can I ask the Minister how the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the economic agencies intend to support and help the different sizes of companies to transform and to improve productivity?
One of the highlights of this year's Budget Statement is the tightening of the Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) for the service sector. Understandably, the tightening of foreign workers' quota will be painful to some companies which are unable to find local workers.
There are many of the smaller companies who are still heavily dependent on foreign labour to sustain their businesses. How can we help these businesses reduce their dependence on foreign labour? How could we help the enterprises to be more labour-efficient by adopting technology and digitalisation? How can we help companies to improve productivity and be in a position to hire more local workers and to support our Progressive Wage Model?
Sir, Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) are the key enablers in the transformation journey. By being the representative organisation with its outreach and network, TACs can be an influential multiplier and help bring more companies on board into sectoral transformational efforts, such as Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs).
In our Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance, Trade and Industry engagement with businesses as well as the TACs, the TAC leaders shared about the heavy workload and pressures they are under, subjected to, to participate in the ITM-related transformation efforts and work. They feel a great sense of heavy responsibility on their shoulders. Some TACs said that they only have about five to six headcounts in their association, and their leaders are themselves facing severe business challenges. So, the TACs need more support and encouragement.
I understand that there are schemes, such as the Local Enterprise and Association Development (LEAD) programmes administered by Enterprise Singapore (ESG), that can help TACs to play a more proactive role to drive capability development and internationalisation efforts. Can I ask what is the take-up rate so far of the LEAD programme by the TACs, and has it been effective?
Can I also ask whether those TACs that are involved in the ITMs, are they adequately resourced and ready to support the next phase of a much deeper transformational effort?
Sir, in my interactions with the businesses, some companies also told me that they are quite happy and contented with their current state of their businesses and are not prepared to take new growth risks, even despite the various attractive schemes available to them. Well, it is their business call, and we have to respect that. So, can I also ask the Minister what have we done to enthuse businesses with the external opportunities out there, the network and the trade partnership that we have established? How can we get the companies to see the better commercial returns by seeking growth, innovation and improving productivity?
Finally, I would like to hear from the Minister how MTI will prepare Singapore for the next stage of growth. What are the enablers that we need to further strengthen and create to enhance our overall value proposition?
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Mr Chairman, Sir, though we achieved 3.2% gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2018, which was actually lower than 2017 at 3.9%, there is a concern that we have achieved the 2018 growth through a declining quarter-to-quarter. The usual peak season at the end of 2018 did not happen for some of the sectors.
Into 2019, there are many uncertainties. Based on the feedback and survey of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by the different chambers of commerce, there is some pessimism. But with a forecast of 1.5% to 3.5% for growth this year, this range is only of moderate growth. Our economy is still dependent on manufacturing. The services sector is maintaining its growth trend. Manufacturing, being a pillar of our economy, over-reliance on this sector is a concern unless the manufacturing sector transforms itself to a higher value-add.
As many local businesses are concerned with 2019, they harbour some of the hopes and dreams to go overseas. But what are the plans the Government has to implement a higher range of growth for the forecast, as well as strengthening the enterprises?
Though I believe there is some investment sense in not putting all our eggs in one basket in all sectors, we have to be selective with our limited resources. What are the specific sectors that the Government may want to look at to help uplift the growth to the higher range of our forecast?
Mr Douglas Foo (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, Sir, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Committee 2025 plan is well underway. And ASEAN is poised to be the fourth largest economy by GDP in 2030 as the other countries in ASEAN hit their stride in terms of economic growth. In addition to any initiatives and support from the Government, it is imperative that Singapore's well-calibrated approach to regulation is maintained so that our businesses continue to stay competitive to tap on opportunities in ASEAN. Can the Ministry provide an update on the initiatives that the Ministry has undertaken to prepare our businesses to better seize the opportunities presented by the impending ASEAN expansion?
Additionally, given that businesses face greater uncertainty and a weaker economic outlook in part due to the geopolitical uncertainty with the United States (US)-China trade conflict, is the Ministry able to share information on how it has helped our businesses seize opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since it was first announced by China in 2013? Are the planned initiatives to help businesses explore the ASEAN region different from those of the BRI?
Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Mr Chairman, the ASEAN region has been growing in affluence. Governments have been more willing to invest in recent years, and many are eyeing the sectors in which Singapore is leading in the region. Many of our neighbours are also doing a good job catching up with us. Batam, for example, has increased in investments to develop local shipping and manufacturing sectors. In Malaysia, they have been building up their ports and getting into the oil tanking business in a big way. Many of the oil companies are also taking up the storage tanks to store their oil cargoes.
So, too, in medicine. Penang and Kuala Lumpur, besides Bangkok in Thailand, offer competitive prices for those seeking medical treatment. The strong Singapore dollar has also been a factor in encouraging medical tourism to other locations in ASEAN. Healthy economic growth in the region is to be celebrated, but this means that we will have to do more to stay competitive and relevant. Our strategic location has given us an edge in the region, but we must take more proactive measures to enhance our global connectivity and continue to position ourselves as a key node in the global flows, especially within the ASEAN region. This will apply not only to physical connectivity like our airport and air routes but also non-physical modes. Can MTI provide updates on the Ministry's efforts to enhance our modes of connectivity in the region?
Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast): Singapore's economic transformation over the last few decades owes much to its position as a regional and global economic hub. Indeed, Singapore's economic history is rooted in its beginnings as a thriving, open port.
As we stand at the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, how can we continue to build on our status as a world-class \"hub\", leveraging such technologies as self-learning machines, robots, autonomous vehicles and the Internet of Things? These new technologies will generate huge waves of change, transforming the way we work, live, consume, trade and invest. The emerging technologies will exert disruptive impact on jobs, firms and overall economies at an unprecedented speed. As a small open economy, our response must be to embrace the technological advancements to come and to use them as new opportunities for ourselves.
The Finance Minister spoke about positioning Singapore as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise. I believe Singapore is well-poised to deploy our strengths towards fulfilling this vision.
However, as Mr Liang Eng Hwa said, other countries and regions are not standing still. According to innovation strategist Charlie Ang, countries and their companies can attain sustained economic supremacy if they possess leading edge, proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The infusion of superior AI technologies into national industries, exported products and digital platforms is likely to be the next source of national competitive advantage. McKinsey predicts that “Leading AI” countries could capture an additional 20% to 25% in net economic benefits.
I would like to ask the Minister how we can strengthen our capabilities on the data, financial, regulatory and technology fronts. What can we learn from established centres, such as Silicon Valley, whilst carving out a unique proposition that distinguishes us, Singapore, from other emerging centres, such as the Greater Bay Area? Which areas should Singapore focus our investments? How much risk are we willing to tolerate in this journey towards rapid and breakthrough innovations? What new social compact do we need to foster with our citizens as we venture boldly into unchartered waters fraught with risks and failures, but rich with untold rewards and returns?
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry (Nee Soon): Chairman, physical and non-physical connectivity has traditionally underpinned Singapore's success as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise. As ASEAN and the larger Asian region continues to grow, they are also becoming better connected to the world. Across the world, technology is also changing the way people and business connect with one another, as well as shortening and shifting supply chains and value chains. Therefore, it is essential for Singapore to constantly review the current and future plans for both our physical and non-physical connectivity, so that we can stay ahead of the game and tap on new opportunities.
As such, can MTI share our plans, moving forward to strengthen our ports, airports, logistics and customs clearance as well as data connectivity? Can MTI also share how we are building up our non-physical connectivity for Asia and ASEAN? In particular, can MTI provide an update on how we have strengthened our footprint in Asia through the Global Innovation Alliance, share details of the upcoming Global Ready Talent Programme and provide an update on how we can help our companies internationalise through various ESG programmes?
The Chairman: Mr Teo Ser Luck, you can take both your cuts together.
Mr Teo Ser Luck: We have 24 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Economic Partnership Agreements with 36 partners, including the recent European Union (EU)-Singapore FTA (EUSFTA). So many businesses, unfortunately, are unaware of what advantages these agreements bring to their businesses, especially those smaller local enterprises.
FTAs are an effective platform to encourage internationalisation of companies. However, it is unclear if any companies are tapping on it.
FTAs should also enable the efficient flow of trade volumes through technology and connectivity. There is also a need to review FTAs which may not be meeting the original objectives or did not impact the trade flows, the bilateral trades of the two countries or the region. It is also important to develop such relationships and build up new FTAs with emerging markets and countries. However, we should not jump ahead of the capacities of our local companies when building up or developing these FTAs because it may lead them to disappointment and, worse, great losses to the company.
Does the Ministry have any quantifiable indicators that measure the impact of these different FTAs, for example, the number of companies benefiting from it? And what can be done to connect our local companies to these platforms that the FTAs can potentially help them?
With the rollout of ITMs for 23 sectors, the focus has been on strengthening companies by transforming them. Transformation also meant changes in processes, business models and strategies. This will certainly impact employees at all levels within the companies that are undergoing transformation or change. There will be resistance to the change, and ITMs may not reach the level of success that would make a difference or what is expected.
I believe there are three aspects of transformation that will impact the workers directly. First, the job redesign, change in the process, change in the scope of the job. Second, job shift, the job itself is no longer available and they have to change sectors. Changing sectors also requires a mindset shift. Thirdly, job displacement, that is, when the job they had is absolutely obsolete and there is no way the workers can find any other jobs with the current skillset or even upgrading some of the skillsets to the next level. Of course, we can say it is still a mindset shift and they are unwilling to change. But how can we help these workers, how can we help these employees, especially when those whose companies are undergoing transformation change to a great level?
Mr Chen Show Mao (Aljunied): Sir, I would like to urge that we give importance to raising the productivity of older workers and to job redesign specifically as a means to achieve that objective by making it part of the ITMs, in addition to leaving it to the efforts of the individual employers. Could we expressly identify job redesign for older workers as a key component of each ITM? Could we set out among the suite of initiatives on improving productivity in any given industry, meaning, making job redesign for older workers part of the suite of initiatives for improving productivity in any given industry so that we may spur the collective thinking that can go into finding better solutions of job design for older workers and channel some of the industry's efforts in innovation in this direction?
Perhaps, resources could be pooled by companies in the industry to develop best practices to modify tools and equipment for use off-the-shelf by older workers throughout the industry.
As businesses in our industries think about how to change, or even disrupt processes in the workplace in order to generate greater value, on the back of better used resources, could we make job redesign for older workers a required part of the syllabus?
We know productivity is one of the four pillars supporting the growth and competitiveness plans of an ITM. Could we envision job redesign for older workers as a key component of the ITMs perhaps as a third horizontal, along with promoting infocomm technology (ICT) adoption and skills development? It can help to support the industries and produce improvements across the economy in the face of an ageing workforce.
Mr Douglas Foo: Mr Chairman, Sir, all 23 ITMs covering 80% of the Singapore economy have been launched since March 2018. In my capacity as the current President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), we work at different levels to encourage manufacturing businesses to explore the different industry roadmaps.
Within our 10 industry groups, we hold regular dialogues and focus roadmap sessions without members having to provide resources and support from the transformation journey. However, almost a year on from the launch of the ITMS, from conversations with the broader SMF member base, it is apparent that awareness on the specifics of the ITMs is still lacking. Businesses also need help to cope with rapid changes in technology and new business models. Can the Ministry share if it has plans for more impactful communications and assistance to reach a wider audience and, in so doing, lend a hand to the ground efforts of TACs?
Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, electric vehicles are the future, if Singapore is to meet its commitments under the Paris climate change accord. The Land Transport Authority's figures at end-2018 show Singapore’s electric vehicle fleet to be small. Of the 615,000 cars on our roads, only 28,000 are electric or hybrids. Of 20,000 taxis, just 104 are electric; of 137,000 motorbikes, only two are fully electric/battery-powered.
Can we not do more to promote adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles? We do have tax breaks. But other countries have introduced reduced parking, reduced road usage fees and other incentives which go further than what we currently offer. Our progress seems slow. Raising the diesel tax will not help the environment unless there are attractive, cleaner options as my colleague Mr Dennis Tan argued in his Budget speech.
Also, can we not accelerate developing a network of charging and/or battery swapping stations island-wide? In October 2018, SP Group announced they will be speeding up the installation of electric vehicle charging points and roll out 1,000 such points by 2020. But in Parliament in 2016, the Government stated a goal of 2,000 charging points. I would like to ask the Government by when the 2,000 charging points goal will be met and what will be done to root the operational know-how with Singapore firms and ensure that this can become an exportable industry.
Following on from an earlier Parliamentary Question I filed, I would also urge the Government to reconsider setting a date far into the future for a total fossil fuel vehicle ban, as the United Kingdom (UK) and France have done. A hard target in the long-term future would focus minds and get stakeholders to start planning for the inevitable, thus hastening its arrival.
Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines): Sir, in our mature developed economy, Singaporeans constantly seek new economic growth areas for a second wing of growth. Can MTI share what are the new economic growth areas that it is currently pursuing? With increased global demand for food, Singapore can capitalise on this trend even though we have limited production capacity. After all, we have the knack of turning a disadvantage into a strategic strength. We can use our investment and innovation infrastructure and regional hub status to boost efficiency, profitability and yield.
I understand that ESG, through its investment arm, Seeds Capital, has channeled more than $90 million worth of investments into early-stage tech startups with food and agri-tech solutions. Can MTI update on the progress of such investments? How does the Ministry plan to continue to develop Singapore into an urban, agricultural and ecocultural technology hub? How can we better help Singaporeans who are interested in this sector?
Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tampines): Mr Chairman, Sir, I spent the first eight years of my working life in the Economic Development Board (EDB) and am aware that the manufacturing sector has always been a strong anchor of economy.
The Committee on the Future Economy recommended building a globally competitive manufacturing sector, at around 20% of GDP, over the medium term. This underscores the continued importance of manufacturing in our economy. We need to press on with this sector's transformation in order to seize opportunities offered by technology and changing market demands and value chains.
The nature of manufacturing is changing. It increasingly encapsulates a value chain of activities, including services, such as design, research and development (R&D), logistics, marketing and after-sales services. The closer nexus between manufacturing and services has encouraged manufacturers to incorporate services elements into their businesses to differentiate their products and enhance their competitiveness.
In MTI's Committee of Supply (COS) last year, Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon spoke about how the global manufacturing landscape is evolving due to rapid technological developments, and quoted areas, such as robotics and industrial Internet-of-Things. What are some of the promising growth areas which our manufacturing companies can tap on as a result?
Given the pace of change, what can our companies do to capitalise on these technological developments and stay ahead as we transit to Industry 4.0? What is the Government doing to support the growth of our manufacturing sector?
Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling (Fengshan): Sir, I have spoken in this House previously about the need for collaboration and building an ecosystem that provides opportunities for our local enterprises to internationalise and build capabilities in the face of the emerging challenges in the market. I understand that MTI has put focus on this and extra emphasis to assist local companies in the past two years.
While I support the ongoing efforts, it is equally important for us to recognise the need to continue developing organic companies and groom them into a full-fledged business or industry. Why is it important to do so? First, encouraging the creation of many startups do not naturally translate into building an industry or development of large local enterprises. Secondly, companies that have been operating for some years in any specific fields may no longer retain the expertise after they sell out the business should the new business owner shift the company’s expertise out of Singapore.
While consolidation and acquisition of businesses are a normal process, what seems to be a trend in our successful local enterprises is the lack of perseverance in building businesses where there is product or service expertise coupled with intellectual property (IP) knowledge. Further, some of these successful local enterprises tend to cash out as soon as the opportunity arises instead of attempting to develop the business to greater heights. This, in the long run, will impede our ability as an economy to have large local enterprises that can contribute meaningfully to our GDP or our workforce.
By not expanding the base business or retaining core expertise in Singapore, it may be difficult over time for us to attract the multinational corporations (MNCs) in continuing investments in Singapore.
I have two suggestions for MTI to consider supplementing what exists today.
First, to tailor the funding and schemes to assist large local enterprises, as opposed to the current grants provision that is uniformly applied across all SMEs. For example, if the company is currently lacking in certain functional domains and the skilled expertise has to be sought from foreign talent pool in the interim, allow them to have a special quota to hire the expertise for a defined period and put in place measures that can ensure that knowledge transfer must take place to develop future inhouse expertise and the local workforce gets an opportunity to step up. Grants that are also given need to be customised and assessed on specific grounds that may not exist in today’s business context or agency's definition. Have that flexibility to review, and the agency officers who review these grants must have some level of business experience or exposure that allows them to understand commercialisation and business cases so that they can better provide these approvals not on the basis of against a checklist.
Second, create a panel of expertise that can act as consultants or mentors to startups or existing firms that wish to internationalise. ESG is providing currently a suite of services that I must say the contact leads in overseas markets have proven to be useful for some of the companies venturing abroad. However, there exists a gap for these companies that are trying to navigate the business culture differences to understand which functions within their entire operations of specific industry will be more effectively performed overseas and how they can collaborate with other Singapore companies in the global arena. Thus, I suggest we begin with the provision of a panel made up of experts from specific industries, retired or existing senior management executives from MNCs, consultants and business owners who wish to volunteer their insights or even take a stake in the companies to enable their leap towards internationalisation. This will be a tremendous help for the startups or local large enterprises.
Mr Leon Perera: Sir, for some time now, our economic agencies have been promoting the idea that local companies should go abroad by \"hunting in packs\", that is to say, by cooperating, forming consortia, sharing networks, know-how, even infrastructure and assets.
We do see this with certain countries. Japanese companies often share certain types of information among themselves relating to overseas markets. Japanese business centres are also commonplace in Asia, providing cheap, good locations for firms just starting up in Asian countries. Japanese and Korean conglomerates are also known to bring suppliers from their own countries when they go abroad.
I would like to ask: after decades of promoting the idea of hunting in packs abroad, what results have we achieved? Has competition among companies in the same industry been an impediment? What have been the successes and failures?
I have two suggestions. Would the Government consider using overseas economic offices to obtain information about commercial tenders, to be shared among relevant Singapore companies in specific industry cooperation circles, with the member firms perhaps paying a small fee to receive these alerts? This kind of tender surveillance is a very simple yet practical form of support that operationalises the idea of hunting in packs, since our Singapore companies would jointly share the cost for such tender surveillance customised to their needs.
Secondly, would the Government consider consolidating economic agency offices abroad in buildings where there are decent serviced offices, so that Government officers can be close to Singapore firms starting up abroad, to facilitate information exchange?
Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied): Mr Chairman, Sir, innovation and R&D are key enablers of success in Industrialisation 4.0.
According to the National Research Foundation, Singapore has built a cluster of globally impactful universities and specialised research institutes staffed by cohorts of researchers doing cutting-edge research. There are also numerous research collaborations with industry partners, though most are with large corporations. We are only seeing R&D investments in startups bearing some fruit lately.
The Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE2020) Plan recognises that Singapore needs to focus more on the \"enterprise\" component as our research and innovation base has firmed up. One of the four major thrusts is a sharper focus on value creation, allocating more of the R&D budget towards public-private research collaborations and helping companies to absorb new technologies to further our Future Economy and Smart Nation initiatives.
There appears to be an important gap in this whole plan. While our universities and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research research institutes have offices of technology transfer to support the commercialisation of research and innovation and enhance collaboration with companies, our Government institutions do not have such setups.
The biggest potential here is the commercialisation of military technology, as has been shown by the US and Israel. The Israelis have become renowned worldwide in efficiently effecting technology transfers to commercialise military technologies for civilian applications to benefit their economy.
Singapore is lagging behind in this area. Technology transfers have been moving one way, benefiting our defence sector. The Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and the Defence Science Organisation (DSO) have been working with the private sector to tap into the new technologies of Industrialisation 4.0 to enhance defence capabilities.
There has been some interesting reverse flow of technology transfers though, for example, the production of mass thermal scanners to combat the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak. But there has not been a systematic push to commercialise our defence technologies, even though one in 12 scientists and engineers in Singapore is employed by the defence sector.
Economic defence is one of the six pillars of our Total Defence strategy. Our SMEs are an integral part in economic defence. Integrating them into the research and innovation sector is a key thrust of the RIE2020 Plan. One way to do this is to build a strong technology transfer ecosystem bringing together the Ministry of Defence, DSTA, DSO, ST Engineering and our SMEs.
The Chairman: Mr Teo Ser Luck, you can take your three cuts together.
Mr Teo Ser Luck: Sir, for several years since the Productivity and Innovation Credit started, to ITM, EDG and several other schemes, there has been a focused effort to provide resources for our local companies to be strengthened and be more competitive. Also, with the merging of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING) Singapore to form ESG, there is additional support and very focused effort through direct Government help to support these companies.
The objective of strengthening our companies is to prepare them for the future and to compete effectively overseas. For several years, we have been asking them to transform to digitalise, to automate, but it is difficult for some of the companies, especially those in the services sector.
I have recently visited companies which deal in flower arrangements and packaging of flower gifts as well as small businesses that deal with preparing \"chwee kueh\" and other local food. I wonder how they can digitise, and they were asking me, \"Since you have been in business, how do we digitise some of these processes when we have a winning formula here using a lot of labour?\" For some companies, they may not be able to transform and look beyond what they already have. It is difficult for them to scale as well. But we should continue to push companies to continue to develop some ideas on how to automate the processes and also to develop their IP.
For many years, we have depended on the MNCs that are in Singapore and we form a large scale of local companies which are mainly suppliers who have not developed their own IP or their own branding that can scale them up for going overseas.
I see a few aspects as well as potential for the companies to develop. Firstly, we have to identify the nature of the product, services or the business model, make changes to those. It may not necessarily be automation or digitalisation. Secondly, it is talent and functional skills and these talent and functional skills, if these are developed with depth, they can build up the company. Third, it is leadership and mainly the mindset change of the leader.
We have to be able to foster the partnerships between the big and the small companies. But it is not just by size, although size does matter. What is more important is to match and complement the knowledge or skills of these companies. The creativity and innovation of each company complement the resources and strengths of the other company, if we draw them together into a partnership, that will strengthen them as a company as a whole.
In coming to the new year 2019, we are looking at the future, and there will be a fair bit of consolidation for some of the sectors, especially with the concern on DRC. Everybody is thinking about what to do with their own companies and their own sectors. So, it is important for us to look at some of the consolidation possibilities and combining the companies together and making them partner together.
What are the Ministry's plans moving forward to strengthen the companies? What are the Ministry's plans and initiatives moving forward to foster the partnership of these companies?
There are ways for consumers when they purchase products to be able to buy beyond their means of their income or income stream. They go into a hire purchase or instalment payment scheme, and that creates some problems.
We have tight regulations on financial institutions in their lending platforms and also non-bank lending platforms in regulating them, making sure that they do not go beyond their means to lend out to those that they cannot do the Know Your Customer survey or assess their credit readiness. But for retailers, many of them go into the credit scheme where the consumers could live beyond their means, will purchase it and pay based on instalments. We have seen many of these through our residents when we meet them during the Meet-the-People Sessions when they come forward after having encountered problems with all their purchases – whatever they have bought, have to be repossessed.
So, can the Government share if there are any regulations to tighten this, so that retailers may not over-extend their credit and consumers will not run into a risk?
Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten): Sir, allow me to declare my interest in speaking on this topic as the President of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).
In 2018, CASE received 1,917 complaints against businesses in the beauty and slimming industry. This makes the industry with the highest number of complaints. Of these, 1,829 are in relation to the beauty industry and 88 are in relation to the slimming industry. And this is despite CASE signing eight Voluntary Compliance Agreements with these beauty- and slimming-related businesses asking them not to breach the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA).
For many of these consumer complaints, they relate largely to businesses taking advantage of a consumer by exerting undue pressure or undue influence on the consumer to ask them to sign a contract, or businesses taking advantage of a consumer when the supplier or the business knows or ought reasonably to know that this consumer is not in a position to protect his own interests. So, the consumer is usually placed in a vulnerable position in an enclosed space because they are undergoing treatment at the business outlet.
So, imagine, you get a coupon telling you that you can go for free treatment or treatment at a very low price. And once you go for the treatment, midway through the treatment, the person providing the treatment puts undue pressure, tremendous pressure on you for the next one to two hours, asking you to sign up for a treatment package, or to sign a credit card for such a package. So, if you put yourself in that position, the consumer is really a captive audience where he or she is constantly being persuaded \"you need further treatment\", \"this treatment is good for you\", \"signing a package would be of better value for you.\" Now, all these methods, Sir, are technically breaches of CPFTA.
However, from CASE's experience, when we take up an application for injunction, the Court will require a high threshold to be met before the Court will grant any injunction for breach of the CPFTA due to such unfair practices. For a consumer who had been pressured to pay for a package, the last thing he or she would wish to do is to commence legal action or go to Court to recover such payments.
Hence, in our view, it may be easier to avoid the need for unnecessary Court litigation by imposing a mandatory cooling-off period on such industries. This would provide a consumer, who had been subject to an unfair sales pressure with the right to cancel a contract within a certain period of time. The consumer can then obtain a refund of monies paid within this specified period, without this consumer needing to prove an unfair practice. This will send a right signal to genuine businesses that they should not use unfair business practices to persuade their customers to sign up for a package.
So, I urge the Ministry to consider implementing a mandatory cooling-off period for contracts entered into with businesses in the beauty and slimming industries. I was told by the Hong Kong Consumer Council that they, too, are looking into legislating for a cooling-off period for the beauty and fitness services industry.
Another area of concern for CASE is the increasing number of consumers who are purchasing from entities incorporated overseas or from entities that may not be regulated under a consumer-related legislation in Singapore. An example would be consumers who bought their holidays from Agoda.com, Booking.com, Priceline.com and sg.hotels.com. All these entities are not licensed under the Travel Agent's Act and some are not even incorporated in Singapore. Hence, they may not be regulated under existing legislation. CASE urges the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to work with the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and the credit card issuing banks to raise awareness of charge-back schemes with their credit card banks. And this is because such a mechanism will allow consumers to readily lodge a charge-back in instances of business closure.
In Hong Kong, card-issuing banks are required to comply with a Code of Banking Practice which provides that credit card-issuing banks must provide for reasonable channels for consumers to submit claims and to make such pertinent information available to consumers. In addition, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has further required all card-issuing banks to upload to their official websites, information about the charge-back dispute resolution process as well as the charge-back dispute resolution form. So, this will basically mean that consumers who have paid for their purchases using their credit card will be able to cancel the contract, go back to the credit companies and seek refund.
Sir, I would urge MAS to consider doing likewise as this will allow consumers to reduce their losses if a business were to cease operation after collecting their deposits.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: Sir, a credit sales agreement is a useful system for someone who needs an important big-ticket item to own it first and pay the money over regular instalments. One example is the Courts' Flexi plan. This can be immensely helpful to the low-income. However, it can also be damaging if interest rates are high and if the said person is not financially-savvy.
Through interactions with my residents, I have been made aware of cases where some of them were baited by low upfront costs and misleading advertisements. This led to them running into arrears because they eventually find themselves unable to cope with the instalment plan. I even had one resident asking if he could use his Central Provident Fund (CPF) to service the hire purchase fees for some items purchased from a furniture store. His situation must have been quite desperate.
Marketing campaigns and advertisements are bold with their plans and claims these days. It is not uncommon to see advertisements boasting \"$0 upfront\" payments, especially for expensive gadgets like smart phones. Some instalment plans offer vouchers and goods-in-kind, very attractive freebies, to entice customers. Some offer payment plans spread out over 24 to 48 months, so the monthly instalment cost seems low. But it all adds up substantially. When you do the mathematics, it is much more expensive than paying for the price in full. Those who are less financially savvy are less likely to keep proper financial records. They may overestimate their ability to pay off the instalment plans.
Although credit sales advertisements are often accompanied by disclaimers about the conditions of each instalment plan, these are usually in small print. Even if the consumer has seen it, psychologically, their mind has already committed to the self-perceived good deal. Coupled this with a very persuasive salesperson when one shops in person, and that is a guaranteed transaction. Most people do not realise they have made a poor purchase decision until perhaps months later when they find themselves grappling with the payments.
So, does MTI have plans to regulate the types of marketing done by credit sales companies or even hire purchase ones to entice buyers? Are credit sales agreements regulated?
One episode on Talking Point last year showed how individuals who do not have credit cards are given credit from certain retailers to purchase goods. I find it worrying that some merchants would persuade customers into parting with their money with no care about whether they will have problems paying it off later.
One major furniture company even cited that no minimum income is required for its instalment plans. On the surface, it seems like they are doing a good deed to help those who are short on money to purchase the furniture and then pay later. But what happens later if the customers cannot afford the instalments?
Has any check been done to find out how many customers purchasing goods and services under credit sales plans had to forfeit their deposits? What will MTI do to ensure that the businesses and financial institution companies do not over-extend credit to consumers without checking their credit worthiness?
Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Sir, the nation-wide rollout of the Open Electricity Market last September giving households the option of buying electricity at a discount to the tariff rate is one important avenue by which Singaporeans can better manage the cost of living. This consideration is also relevant for Town Councils as such statutory organisations have also benefited from the liberalisation of the electricity market earlier.
However, on 2 January this year, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) shared with Town Councils that one player, Red Dot Power, which coincidentally was in an existing electricity supply contract with the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council, would be exiting the market. EMA informed the Town Council the retailer would cease to be able to purchase electricity from 4 January, and all accounts under the Town Council's purview would be transferred to the SP Group.
EMA also informed the Town Council that any early termination fees/charges contractually that the Town Council would have had with the affected retailer would not be applicable. While there was no interruption of electricity services, weeks elapsed before a new contract could be called for and awarded. In the interim, the wholesale SP tariff rate applied which was significantly higher than the contracted rate, at the cost of savings to the Town Council.
With individual households now able to buy electricity directly from retailers, how will EMA deal with retailers that unilaterally terminate their contracts in the retail space? What recourse do households have against such retailers that unilaterally abandon their contract or are not able to fulfil it? Would households also be barred by EMA from claiming for their expectation loss and what compensation would be available should the retail price of electricity be significantly higher at the point of termination, to the detriment of the consumer?
Finally, it was reported in today's Business Times that out of the 30 licensed electricity retailers, the 13 which were authorised to sell electricity to households and small businesses have cleared \"additional regulatory hoops to ensure viability to safeguard consumers' interests.\" As Red Dot Power was one of them, what were these additional regulatory hoops and what went wrong?
Mr Baey Yam Keng: Mr Chairman, Sir, over the years, our processes and regulations have provided a safe and predictable environment for our people and enterprises.
With the emergence of new technologies and business models, it is important to ensure that our rules keep pace. If we are not flexible in our approach, we could easily lose our competitive advantage. A regulatory environment that supports innovation and risk-taking is, therefore, vital for our future economy.
However, there will be tradeoffs involved and difficult decisions to make. Different regulatory agencies have their reasons for imposing rules and regulations. Some rules are needed to ensure safety, while others are needed to protect public interests.
But over-regulation could lead to high regulatory and compliance costs, and unnecessary delays in the processing of licence applications and maximising of business opportunities. Our regulatory framework must, therefore, strike a good and fair balance, so that our businesses can be competitive and our economy can create more good jobs.
I note that the Pro-Enterprise Panel has worked with public agencies and companies to address many of these regulatory concerns that businesses face. How does it ensure that our regulations are kept up-to-date and do not add unnecessary compliance costs for our businesses? More broadly, will our regulatory agencies be able to keep pace with the changes and develop regulatory frameworks that are needed for the future economy? Will there be more sandboxes to allow and promote new business models? What is our strategy to ensure that the Government regulations do not encumber the growth of enterprises?
Mr Lee Yi Shyan (East Coast): Mr Chairman, this Chamber enacts laws, creates regulations and enables Government agencies to formulate rules. By updating our laws, introducing new regulations, we keep our governing framework current, effective and relevant to the needs of the society.
While many new regulations are conceived for their specific purposes, there can also be unintended effects and heightened compliance costs to those the regulations seek to serve.
According to the arguments of Brexiteers, EU regulations are estimated to cost Britain a total of $120 billion per year. The common agricultural policy alone reportedly cost £10 billion and indirect costs and by inflating food prices.
Some other economists estimate that the current regulations cost the UK 6% of its GDP. One of them, Prof Patrick Minford, said, \"If Britain seizes the freedom to move away from the EU regulations, the current 6% could be cut by a third, boosting GDP by 2%.\"
Chairman, while we are not debating the merit of Brexit here, it suffices to recognise the duality of regulations. Regulations seek to protect but sometimes prevent. There are tradeoffs, using benefits on one hand, but also increase compliance costs on the other. High compliance costs are not just a result of the need to conform to new standards per se but also the outcome of multiple inspection stations, longer inspection time, uncertainties in the final outcome of the test.
New regulations added to existing ones can also lead to confusion. They can be onerous and costly for businesses. Already, some businesses here have found it hard to navigate in an ever increasingly regulated environment.
Sir, I would like to ask the Minister if the Government has a framework to review and reduce outdated and obsolete regulations on a regular basis to keep the regulatory burden light. Would the Ministry consider applying expiry dates or sunset clauses to newly introduced regulations? How could our business associations and SMEs provide their feedback and suggestions to the Government on a regular basis with a view to improving regulations for certain industry sectors or for business in general?
I would like to ask the Minister if our Government would consider establishing a methodology to measure regulation impact on businesses, regardless of whether the regulation is introduced by MTI or other Ministries. Finally, how has the Pro-Enterprise Panel performed with respect to cutting Government red tape and improving our overall pro-business environment?
The Chairman: Minister Chan Chun Sing.
The Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Chan Chun Sing): Mr Chairman, I thank Members for their comments, questions and suggestions.
As we manage our near-term challenges, we must also keep a close watch on the longer-term trends that will impact our economic competitiveness and continued success. Our near-term challenges include the uncertainties of US-China trade relations, the slowing Chinese economy, Brexit and various regional elections. Our medium-term and more significant challenges include shifts in global trade patterns, production chains and value chains brought about by technological shifts and geopolitics. Finally, we should carefully watch the developments in international taxation. Our future attractiveness as a choice business location will be shaped by the outcomes from ongoing discussions at international fora on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting and taxation principles for the new digital economy.
Despite the uncertain global context, there are reasons for us to be optimistic.
If we get our fundamentals right, we can further distinguish ourselves and attract global investors to come here and create better jobs for fellow Singaporeans. Our fundamentals must include: first, effective governance founded upon long-term political stability, long-term planning, and a strong tripartite relationship that enables us to overcome challenges together. Second, a global mindset. We must overcome the constraints of our geographical size by leveraging the digital economy and our connectivity, and embracing talent, technology and ideas from the world. Third, a competitive advantage in innovation, creativity and standards, but not price. We must create a virtuous cycle where research and innovation translate into commercial opportunities and gain, which then enables further innovation. This must be supported by a progressive business environment with agile regulations and a strong IP protection regime. Finally, a skilled workforce with sustained emphasis on continuous training and lifelong learning. Our workforce must have knowledge of the region to value-add when others use Singapore as a platform.
As Mr Teo Ser Luck observed, our overall pace of growth is expected to moderate in 2019, and this will be uneven across sectors. While outward-oriented sectors are generally expected to see a moderation in growth this year due to the weaker external outlook, there remain some bright spots. These include the information and communications sector, and the medical technology and aerospace segments within the manufacturing sector. Such sectors are expected to do well, in part because they can leverage our extensive connectivity, and are also knowledge-intensive sectors that capitalise on our strengths in areas like high-quality standards and a robust IP regime.
In general, domestically-oriented sectors will need to push ahead with transformation efforts to improve their value-add and raise productivity. Performance varies across firms within each of these sectors. We have seen good efforts by some firms, and will need to sustain the momentum and impetus for restructuring to uplift more firms within these sectors.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked how we can prepare Singapore for the next stage of growth. To this end, we have a four-prong strategy. First, to deepen and diversify linkages to markets; second, to transform industries to seize new opportunities; third, to strengthen capabilities of enterprises and workers; and, fourth, to empower businesses and consumers through more agile regulations and a more pro-business environment.
Let me first touch on market development on how we plan to deepen and diversify our linkages to create more opportunities overseas for our companies.
As a small economy, the world must be our hinterland. We must ensure global opportunities remain open to our businesses and people. This means deepening and diversifying our linkages to overseas markets.
We will upgrade our trade agreements to secure deeper market access and updated rules that cater to new business models and regulations.
During our ASEAN Chairmanship in 2018, we completed several initiatives to boost ASEAN's attractiveness as a business and investment destination. The ASEAN Single Window is now in place. Five ASEAN countries are exchanging trade documents electronically, with the remaining countries coming on board this year. The ASEAN-wide Self Certification Scheme will save time and costs for our businesses. The ASEAN Agreement on E-commerce, ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement and enhancements to the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement will boost digital connectivity, improve market access in ASEAN's growing services sector and reduce investment impediments.
With China, the upgraded China-Singapore FTA will provide businesses with enhanced investment protection, greater access to China's legal, maritime and construction services sectors, and improved Rules of Origin for petrochemical and plastics exports.
Next, we must expand our network of FTAs to give our companies privileged access to more markets vis-a-vis our competitors. This ensures the diversification of our markets and supply chains, to not overly rely on any one particular market.
Last year, we saw the entry into force of the historic Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. This establishes our first FTA with Canada and Mexico. A few weeks ago, the EUSFTA and Investment Protection Agreement received the European Parliament’s consent with a clear majority. This brings us one step closer to an FTA with our third largest goods trading partner and largest services trading partner. We continue to make progress on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) under Thailand's chairmanship in 2019. We are also broadening our reach by looking into FTAs with the Eurasian Economic Union, the Pacific Alliance, and the Southern Common Market in South America (MERCOSUR). For the longer term, we must increasingly take up opportunities in emerging markets by familiarising ourselves with the culture, regulations and business networks in regions that are newer to us.
Mr Teo Ser Luck asked about quantifiable indicators of how our companies have benefited from FTAs, and what can be done to increase their utilisation of FTAs.
Singapore’s trade with our FTA partners accounts for 92% of our total trade in goods and services. One of the key benefits for our companies from FTAs is tariff savings, which measure the dollar savings from our FTAs' lower tariffs for Singapore-originating goods. Our companies enjoyed tariff savings of about $730 million in 2016, a substantial increase from the $450 million enjoyed a decade prior.
Since 2016, about 1,800 companies have benefited each year from ESG's efforts to build awareness of our network of trade agreements and its benefits. These include broad-based FTA outreach sessions, assistance requested via the Enterprise Infoline and our SME centres, and customised one-to-one advisories for companies. We will continue to work with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the TACs to help our companies utilise our wide network of FTAs.
Our trade agreements complement efforts by Singapore and like-minded countries to evolve international rules and uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system embodied in the World Trade Organization (WTO). A major international effort is now underway to ensure that WTO remains relevant to the modern economy. Singapore is actively contributing as a co-convenor of the e-commerce Joint Statement Initiative. The Initiative comprises 76 WTO members that have committed to negotiations to develop multilateral rules aimed at helping companies navigate the complex e-commerce landscape by reducing cross-border hurdles and giving greater certainty on regulatory rules. We welcome further collaboration with like-minded countries to push the envelope on digital trade issues to build an open, inclusive, connected and predictable regulatory environment for businesses.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Ms Foo Mee Har, Mr Henry Kwek and Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked how we can build on our global air and sea hub status to create a unique value proposition that distinguishes us from others. I agree with the comments that we need to go beyond hardware to include the wrap-around software to distinguish ourselves.
To bolster our hub status, we need to continue to deepen our physical connectivity while building \"modern\", non-physical modes of connectivity to be a key node in global flows. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) will share more on our efforts to strengthen our physical connectivity while the Ministry of Communications and Information will share more on our efforts to bolster our digital connectivity.
Mr Douglas Foo also asked how the Government is helping our companies seize opportunities in ASEAN, as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) enhances integration and infrastructural links in the region.
The China-Singapore Connectivity Initiative – New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor will facilitate trade flows between Southeast Asia and Western China through Singapore. Besides reducing the time needed to transport goods between the two regions from three weeks to one, this multimodal and multifaceted economic link will improve modern dimensions of connectivity and lower costs for businesses. This includes our connectivity in terms of data exchange and customs facilitation.
ASEAN, with its rising middle class and rapid urbanisation, presents huge opportunities for Singapore companies. We have supported our companies to capture these opportunities by catalysing capability development, market access and access to manpower and financing. We will continue to facilitate our companies’ foray overseas through our network of overseas centres, which supported over 100 projects in ASEAN last year. To assist Singapore companies in their initial entry into overseas markets, we have also set up a Plug and Play Network which comprises 16 partners across nine markets globally. This includes six ASEAN markets, and we will be expanding to Myanmar this year.
In 2018, we launched Infrastructure Asia to facilitate investments and financing to support the infrastructure needs of the region. By bringing together local and international firms across the value chain to develop, finance and execute projects, this enables infrastructure players to tap on opportunities in the region. We are able to do all these because of our superior brand in terms of trust, the rule of law and our financial system.
As the economic landscape transforms, non-physical modes of connectivity will play an increasingly important role.
First, data connectivity through the exchange of digitalised trade documents. The Networked Trade Platform can help businesses save time and cost by decreasing the need for paper exchanges.
Second, we need to promote the flow of ideas and talent. Companies invest in Singapore because we have access to talent, both local and global. For Singapore to thrive, we will continue to develop our local talent, and welcome global talent, especially those with high-end digital and engineering skills, to complement our local workforce.
Mr Henry Kwek asked MTI to share more about the Global Ready Talent Programme (GRTP) and the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA).
Today, more than 50% of Singapore enterprises find it difficult to internationalise because they lack the right talent for their overseas operations. To address this, we need to build a pipeline of local talent with the requisite in-market knowledge to identify growth opportunities and navigate challenges in overseas markets.
The GRTP comprises two components – overseas internships for Singapore students, and a management associate programme for young professionals. We will focus on markets in Southeast Asia, China and India. Singapore enterprises can receive up to 70% funding support for the allowance or salary of participants. ESG will work with TACs and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to facilitate internship placements between companies and students.
We will also continue to promote the exchange of ideas and talent with innovation hubs around the world. Last year, on top of launching GIA in Bangkok, we also accelerated expansion plans, establishing GIA activities in France, Japan and Germany. We will continue to expand the GIA network in 2019.
Sir, our next three strategies aim to enable our companies and people to capture the opportunities from our linkages to markets.
Our industry transformation efforts are off to a good start, with productivity growing faster in the last three years as compared to the first half of the decade. Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon will elaborate on how we will continue to transform our industries of today, while investing in new growth areas for tomorrow in order to benefit Singaporeans.
Over the next three years, as the overall Services Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) and its S Pass Sub-DRC are progressively lowered, we will walk alongside, and support, our businesses for the transformation journey ahead, through the following enhancements.
First, we will extend the enhanced 70% support under EDG for another three years, till the end of financial year (FY) 2022. This will help more SMEs undertake deeper and more ambitious transformation as part of our economic restructuring.
Second, we will extend the enhanced support of up to 70% under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) for another three years as well, till the end of FY2022. This will help the smaller companies adopt pre-scoped equipment and solutions to achieve the initial productivity boost.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa will be pleased to note that the enhancements will benefit our workers, too.
We will streamline our efforts and resources with the Labour Movement so that we can collectively reach more businesses and their workers. We will do this by merging the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC's) Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) into the EDG from FY2020 and stipulating local employment outcomes that we expect grant recipients to fulfil as part of such support, so every project can expect to have local employment outcomes as part of their key performance indicator.
On top of this, we will work with SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) to support successful PSG applicants in their efforts to train their workers. For us, business transformation must come together with skills uplifting for our workers. The two are mutually related and cannot, and should not, be separated.
My colleagues Senior Ministers of State Koh Poh Koon and Chee Hong Tat will elaborate on these measures. Minister Josephine Teo will also share at the Ministry of Manpower's COS debate about how enterprises across all sectors can continue to tap on the Lean Enterprise Development (LED) scheme for transitional manpower support, where needed.
Beyond industry-wide efforts, transformation begins with each and every enterprise. To tackle the challenges ahead and turn them into opportunities, we will need to level up, scale up and team up our enterprises.
For enterprises that have a proven track record of growth, strong leadership and growth ambition, the new Scale-up SG programme can support them in the next leap of growth to become our future industry leaders. ESG will work closely with these enterprises and expert partners to identify priority growth themes, provide customised guidance on the execution of their business plans, and provide access to valuable networks and connections. Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat will elaborate on Scale-up SG and our enterprise-centric approach to move away from grants to support enterprises in levelling up and teaming up to build real capabilities. And we agree fully with the comment that we need a customised approach and it will not be a one-size-fits-all approach for all our 200,000 enterprises that are of varying sizes with differing needs.
Our final strategy is to ensure that we have an ecosystem that empowers businesses and consumers. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Tan Wu Meng will speak about the enablers we are developing to support a well-functioning market. This includes creating a pro-enterprise regulatory environment, promoting competition, and protecting consumers.
Mr Chairman, I have outlined the measures in place to ensure that the Singapore economy is prepared for its next phase of growth.
By developing markets, industries, enterprises and enablers, we can be confident of overcoming our limitations of size and punching above our weight. This will include making sure that our workers keep pace with the skills upgrading necessary for them to get better jobs with better pay.
Economic growth cannot be an end in itself. It is the means by which we generate good jobs and better wages for all Singaporeans. It is the strong foundation upon which we build our social progress and mobility. And this is our social compact. Amidst global uncertainty, Singapore can once again distinguish ourselves by transforming ourselves to take advantage of new technologies and new markets. Together, we can create a better future for all Singaporeans.
The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon.
The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Dr Koh Poh Koon): Mr Chairman, Singapore is a small and open economy. To remain globally competitive, we need to transform our industries and develop new areas for growth.
Singaporeans must benefit from the new opportunities that industry transformation brings. We have seen friction and instability arise in other parts of the world when workers feel they are left behind. We should learn from these developments and ensure that both our companies and our workers share the gains from transformation.
Chairman, allow me to provide an update on our ongoing efforts to transform our industries.
In the first phase, we have taken a sectoral approach through the 23 ITMs that have been launched. In the next phase, we will be developing synergies across sectors to build and deepen linkages between the complementary industries. In this way, industry stakeholders along different parts of the value chain can come together to innovate and ride on market opportunities.
This includes strengthening our partnerships with the TACs, which Mr Douglas Foo spoke about, through the LEAD programme. My colleague Senior Parliamentary Secretary Tan Wu Meng will elaborate further in his part of the speech.
Our transformation efforts have begun to bear fruit. For example, in line with efforts to strengthen supply chain and logistics capabilities in the Trade and Connectivity Cluster, the Centre of Innovation for Supply Chain Management in Republic Polytechnic has rolled out several initiatives. One of which, the GoLEAN Improvement Programme, helps companies systematically optimise their processes through building a culture of continuous improvement.
One beneficiary of this programme is SATS-BRF Food, a food processing and distribution company. It has improved the productivity of its core meat-cutting operations, achieving 18% manpower savings and freeing up workers to support new business initiatives. This has also resulted in shorter lead time to deliver orders, better customer service, and lower processing cost.
More importantly, by working closely with the unions, SATS-BRF Food was able to sustain these productivity improvements and thereby improve welfare for its workers. They are now able to start their shifts at more convenient times and some have seen wage increases made possible by job redesign.
Another promising growth area undergoing rapid transformation is Advanced Manufacturing, which Mr Baey Yam Keng spoke about. We are building new niches in areas, such as additive manufacturing and advanced materials, by deepening the capabilities of our companies and workers.
The Singapore Smart Industry Readiness Index was developed by EDB and leading global technical service provider TUV SUD and launched in November 2017. This is a diagnostic tool for companies to evaluate their readiness for Industry 4.0. To date, we have awarded over 230 funded assessments and helped more than 150 manufacturing companies better prepare for Industry 4.0.
The unions have also been important partners in building our capabilities in advanced manufacturing. For example, NTUC, the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), EDB and the Metal Industries Workers' Union have recently engaged 16 major players in the manufacturing sector, such as Epson, Seiko and Natsteel, on the adoption of the Index and the training that is available for their workers. Such tripartite partnerships are very important in ensuring that as companies upgrade to new technologies, our workers also upskill into higher value-added jobs.
At the same time, we are also developing next-generation estates, such as the Jurong Innovation District (JID), which will catalyse the Advanced Manufacturing cluster. JID will feature innovative infrastructure, such as an underground District Logistics Network, that will free up surface land and provide seamless integration with JID buildings to transform the way we deliver goods.
Beyond physical infrastructure, we are creating platforms for local and global talent to come together to exchange ideas and to collaborate.
Last October, we hosted the inaugural Industrial Transformation ASIA PACIFIC (ITAP), an offshoot of the Hannover Messe, the largest Industry 4.0 event globally. It is a platform for leading manufacturers, technology providers and thought leaders to exchange ideas and best practices. This Singapore edition attracted 15,000 visitors across 55 countries, exceeding our initial goal by 50%. We look forward to hosting ITAP again this year to profile Singapore as the regional hub for Advanced Manufacturing.
The growth of the advanced manufacturing sector will have spillover effects for emerging adjacent industries, such as electric vehicles (EVs), which Mr Leon Perera spoke about. In Singapore, players like Grab and ComfortDelgro have also been adding EVs and hybrids to their fleets, in line with the Government's push to encourage more carbon-efficient vehicles. Singapore's strong manufacturing and electronics sectors will allow us to plug into the global supply chain to meet the increasing demand for EV parts. We can also build our expertise in other nascent areas, such as self-driving software development and automotive cybersecurity. Questions on plans for charging infrastructure and the use of EVs, unfortunately, fall under MOT, so I hope the Member perhaps will raise these questions at their COS.
Mr Chairman, in addition to transforming existing industries, we will also develop a new sector that offers exciting job opportunities – agri-technology.
The food and agri-tech sector is a $5 trillion global industry that is growing rapidly, fuelled by new innovations in processes and products. Our good innovation climate, strong talent base, reputation for food safety and strategic location position us very well to capture a slice of this industry, particularly here in Asia.
Mr Desmond Choo asked how we are doing to develop this industry. Our vision is for Singapore to be a leading urban agriculture and aquaculture technology hub with a food production model that can be exported to the region.
To realise this vision, I am currently leading a multi-agency team looking at how we can better support the agri-tech industry in the areas of industry and enterprise development, R&D, manpower and regulations. This Steering Committee will work closely with industry players and associations, such as the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation, to take on board industry feedback.
As we grow this nascent sector, we will encounter new challenges that will require us to explore regulatory flexibility and innovative ways of doing things. For example, under the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF's) fire code, farms are regulated in much the same way as factories because production activities, such as packaging, are allowed onsite. However, some of the fire code requirements may not be applicable for farming activities and may constrain a farm’s operations. Local egg farm, Chew's Agriculture, faced such difficulties when seeking fire safety approvals for its new farm at Neo Tiew Road. I am happy to hear that SCDF worked closely with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to understand the farm’s unique operations and was willing to exercise flexibility in view of the low fire risk and site limitations.
We are also helping more of our agri-companies expand into foreign markets. For example, Sustenir, a local startup which specialises in the production of non-native plants, recently launched the first strawberries grown here in Singapore. It has worked with ESG to develop regional marketing capabilities and is expanding its operations to Hong Kong.
To catalyse agri-tech innovation and co-creation among industry players, we need to strengthen our infrastructure support. So, I am pleased to announce that we will establish a new 18-hectare Agri-Food Innovation Park (AFIP) in Sungei Kadut. AFIP will bring together high-tech farming and R&D activities, including indoor plant factories, insect farms, and animal feed production facilities. We are working with local and overseas industry players to develop this first phase of the park, which will be ready from the second quarter of 2021, with potential for future expansion, depending on demand.
Beyond the hardware and infrastructure, a talent pipeline is crucial to succeed in this endeavour. More Singaporeans, especially younger ones, are showing interest in high-tech urban farming. We are now seeing an emerging new generation of young technopreneur farmers.
We agree with Mr Desmond Choo that interested Singaporeans must be equipped with the specialised and relevant skills to benefit from opportunities in agri-tech. Our IHLs have been instrumental in driving these efforts. For example, Republic Polytechnic has launched a Diploma in Urban Agricultural Technology early this year. As the sector develops, we expect more of such course offerings from our other IHLs.
Minister Heng Swee Keat also mentioned in his Budget speech that Temasek Polytechnic will be launching a Centre of Innovation in Aquaculture. This will pool together resources, IP, infrastructure and expertise from Government agencies, IHLs and Research Institutes, which companies and practitioners can tap on to deepen their capabilities.
These developments will support our agri-tech sector in becoming an export industry. Our position as an agri-tech hub will strengthen Singapore’s economy, create good jobs for Singaporeans and buttress Singapore's food security.
Food is important to us not only as an industry. But it is something that is close to every Singaporean’s heart. Even in our communities, interest in urban farming is growing.
For instance, the Citiponics Farm @ Ang Mo Kio is a pilot project located in my own constituency in Yio Chu Kang, on the rooftop of a multi-storey Housing and Development Board (HDB) carpark at Level 6, Block 700, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6. This is the first time we are piloting commercial urban farming on an HDB multi-storey carpark, and it is another example of how our Government agencies like AVA and HDB have exercised regulatory flexibility to support the agri-tech industry. This farm will hire local residents, including the elderly, and provide them with on-the-job training. My elderly residents from the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA) Senior Community Home are very excited to have the chance to bond with one another by exercising their green fingers and, at the same time, earn for themselves a source of income.
NTUC FairPrice at the nearby Ang Mo Kio Hub will be one of the first buyers of the farm’s produce. Planting had started last month in February 2019, with the first harvest expected in April 2019. So, residents can soon look forward to fresh vegetables that are produced by the community, in the community and for the community.
Mr Chairman, industry transformation must not be an end in itself. It is a means to expand human capabilities and open up new opportunities for our people.
In my time with the Labour Movement and in MTI working with companies and workers, I observed that some companies have yet to translate increased productivity into tangible benefits for our workers. Therefore, some workers find it very hard to see how industry transformation can benefit them.
Currently, the IGP administered by NTUC's e2i aims to address this. It helps companies kickstart productivity projects. In turn, they are required to share the productivity gains with their workers through higher wages. However, as the pace of our industry transformation quickens, we need to do more to encourage companies to move in this direction.
As Minister Chan Chun Sing mentioned, the EDG's enhanced funding support will be extended for three more years. Companies will enjoy up to 70% of qualifying costs till end of FY 2022. This is to support SMEs in undertaking deeper and even more ambitious transformation projects.
At the same time, we will merge IGP into the EDG. Mr Teo Ser Luck and Mr Liang Eng Hwa will be pleased to note that through this merger, we will encourage companies to more intentionally translate enterprise transformation efforts into improvements in workers' livelihoods. We will do so by requiring businesses embarking on EDG projects from 1 April 2020 to commit to the fulfillment of workers' outcomes. These outcomes may include wage increases, job creation, job redesign or hiring of older workers. With this change, workers' outcomes will be a mandatory consideration from the very first dollar of the EDG funding. NTUC and ESG will work closely together on the mechanisms to implement this, and we will announce details later. Mr Chairman, I will now continue in Mandarin, please.
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: The merger of EDG and IDP represents a significant change in how we approach our enterprise transformation efforts. We will encourage companies to think of how to improve their workers' skills and career prospects through transformation right at the start when companies design their transformation plans and apply for Government grants. After merger, from 1 April 2020 onwards, NTUC, the unions and ESG will work together to ensure improved productivity is translated into better worker outcomes, such as wage increases, job creation or hiring of older workers.
Through this change, we hope to send a strong signal about the Government's commitment to work closely with the Labour Movement to keep People at the heart of our transformation.
(In English): On Mr Chen Show Mao's query, the inclusion of worker outcomes into the enhanced EDG will be complemented by the efforts of the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers which was established last year. This Workgroup is studying issues relating to older workers, including how to make workplaces more conducive for them. The Workgroup's recommendations will be released later this year. In fact, many of the suggestions by Mr Chen Show Mao are not new and have already been implemented on the ground. For example, our Labour Movement's push to implement more company training committees will be one mechanism in which the Labour Movement can work with companies to ensure that workers' outcomes, including older workers', are taken into account when the company transforms.
In conclusion, Mr Chairman, to create good jobs for Singaporeans, we must press on with our industry transformation efforts, that is, enhancing capabilities, developing infrastructure and facilitating partnerships.
We put people at the heart of our industry transformation because they are our nation’s most valuable asset. By partnering unions and businesses, we can translate economic growth into real opportunities and better outcomes for all.
The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat.
The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Chee Hong Tat): Mr Chairman, business leaders must take the lead in enterprise transformation, as they know their business and customers best. The Government will provide customised support through our enterprise development schemes.
As Minister Chan Chun Sing said, our efforts are centred around three \"Ups\": Level Up, to strengthen companies' capabilities; Scale Up, to help enterprises grow in Singapore and abroad; and Team Up, to encourage companies to work together for win-win outcomes.
Mr Teo Ser Luck suggested that companies must level up and strengthen their capabilities. Let me touch on three aspects where companies can do so: skills training, adopting technology, and business process re-engineering.
Enterprise transformation must start with its people, to redesign jobs and upskill workers. Transformation may be technology-driven, but it should remain human-centric and people-led.
Earlier, the Minister shared that we will enhance PSG to support employer-led training. Enterprises which qualify for PSG can apply for a training subsidy to cover 70% of their out-of-pocket training expenses, capped at $10,000 per enterprise. This is on top of existing SkillsFuture subsidies and the funding for pre-scoped productivity solutions under PSG. MTI will work with SSG on the implementation.
Another priority is to encourage companies to make good use of technology. Regardless of size and sector, all companies need to embrace technology as a tool to improve productivity, reduce operating costs and develop better products and services.
Mr Low Thia Khiang suggested having more public sector research flow into industries. We share similar views. MTI has been doing this under the RIE2020 Plan. We encourage our research agencies to collaborate with industry players so that companies can benefit from the R&D and commercialise the IP. There are more than 1,500 industry projects deploying more than 1,000 technologies developed by our researchers. We want to grow these numbers over time.
Defence-related research also benefits our companies. For example, optronics technology which originated from defence research was used by an SME to measure water quality in our reservoirs. There is scope to explore having more of such collaborations. However, I am sure Mr Low Thia Khiang would agree that not everything from defence research can flow into the commercial sector, as some are classified projects to protect national security.
Enterprises can also re-engineer their business processes by harnessing the value of design and using design thinking. I look forward to welcoming Design Singapore to the MTI family from 1 April. We can further strengthen the synergies with economic agencies to grow design capabilities in our enterprises and workforce and use design as an enabler to improve Singapore’s competitiveness.
Next, we will support companies on their growth journeys to Scale Up their operations locally and overseas. We have built a vibrant startup ecosystem through a range of measures, such as financing, networks, infrastructure and mentorship. To succeed, we must remain open to ideas and talent, including attracting overseas startups and entrepreneurs, to operate here and use Singapore as a hub for the region. Several Members have made this point as well.
A number of our startups originate from the universities and polytechnics. I am encouraged to see young Singaporeans stepping forward to start their own business and turning their passion into possibilities. The nature of the industry is such that a few will succeed but many will fail, and some may even fail repeatedly.
But this is part of the learning process and what we need to build an enterprising society. It includes a \"never-say-die\" attitude, the courage to take calculated risks and the resourcefulness to translate innovative ideas into reality.
For enterprises that are ready to expand beyond Singapore, we will help them to develop their internationalisation capabilities and expand into overseas markets, tapping on our extensive FTA networks. For many years, IE Singapore, now ESG, has been supporting our companies in foreign markets through its overseas offices, working closely with EDB and other Government agencies.
In 2018, seven in 10 Singapore businesses surveyed by SBF have activities in overseas markets. For companies that have internationalised, overseas revenue forms nearly half of their total revenue and has grown more quickly than local revenue. Not surprising. The overseas markets have greater potential for growth.
To Mr Henry Kwek's query, ESG supported over 570 internationalisation-related projects in 2018, a 25% increase compared to 2017. We worked with partners to help our companies enter new markets. Last year, ESG added eight new partners to its Plug and Play Network, which has recently expanded to two new countries, the United Arab Emirates and Cambodia.
As Ms Cheryl Chan highlighted, these initiatives and partnerships provide large firms and SMEs with in-market support to help them with their overseas expansion.
We have seen Singapore companies taking on more ambitious projects overseas, which entail larger investments over longer periods of time. While these efforts may reap long-term returns in the future, banks may be hesitant to provide financing, given the higher level of risks. The Government will increase our support for these projects.
In his Budget speech, the Minister for Finance announced the new Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS), which will be launched this October. EFS brings ESG's financing schemes under a common umbrella scheme, making it easier for our companies to access financing support.
The Government will raise the maximum insurance cover for overseas project financing under EFS to $50 million and increase the maximum tenure to 15 years. To support companies that are internationalising via mergers and acquisitions (M&A), the scheme will provide a higher maximum loan cover of $50 million for such projects to allow companies to quickly build new capabilities and expand overseas.
The Government will support a higher risk share for loans to young enterprises under EFS, for both domestic and international projects. We will also provide a higher risk share for enterprises venturing into challenging markets, as they do face higher hurdles in obtaining financing.
I agree with Miss Cheryl Chan that we should provide tailored support to nurture local enterprises that can grow and contribute significantly to our economy. Minister Chan Chun Sing mentioned the Scale-up SG programme to groom high-growth enterprises into future global champions. Through this programme, we will help enterprises develop and implement long-term plans tailored to their specific growth priorities in areas, such as innovation and international expansion.
For instance, a healthcare services company with overseas operations may aim to double its footprint through M&A and expand upstream by developing its own products. Through Scale-up SG, the company will receive targeted support to develop a commercially viable product prototype, as well as to shortlist and validate acquisition targets.
When these companies grow and succeed in future, I hope they will also provide opportunities to other local companies. In this way, we can sustain our scale-up efforts and grow more Singapore companies into globally competitive enterprises.
Sir, let me move to the third \"Up\": Team Up. As noted by Mr Teo Ser Luck and Mr Leon Perera, collaborations among enterprises can support capability development to testbed innovative solutions and form business alliances to capture opportunities here and overseas.
For example, Rolls-Royce and KA Industrial Engineering, a local SME, have worked together on an automated system for loading and unloading fan blades. Previously, the process was carried out by multiple technicians dressed in protective suits, due to the high temperatures. With the automated system, a single technician can manage the process, away from the furnace, improving both productivity and worker safety. Importantly, working with Rolls-Royce helps KA Industrial Engineering open doors to other clients.
Partnerships can be amongst enterprises of all sizes and with TACs, too. Last year, ESG facilitated over 30 collaborative initiatives and supported over 40 companies to win new projects in overseas markets.
We enhanced Partnerships for Capability Transformation (PACT) last year. This will continue to support collaborations between enterprises of all sizes. I encourage companies to band together to tap on PACT to benefit from one another's strengths, develop deeper capabilities and successfully internationalise.
Sir, let me conclude by reiterating MTI's commitment to support enterprises in their transformation journeys. Our conversations cannot start with Government agencies telling companies to buy equipment, adopt information technology (IT) solutions or appoint consultants. We should not pretend that we know what each firm needs to improve its products and services. That must come from the business owner, based on a good understanding of what his or her customers require.
Likewise, businesses should not begin the conversation by asking what grants they can obtain from the Government. We want to encourage entrepreneurs, not grantrepreneurs who seek to maximise their grant amount instead of focusing on how they want to transform and grow their business.
Enterprise transformation must start with a vision of what the business wants to achieve, what problems it wants to solve and what capabilities it needs to build to reach its goals. Then we look at what schemes and grants can best support the company. Our efforts must be enterprise-centric and transformation-focused, not scheme-centric and grant-focused.
MTI will continue to work with other Government agencies and industry partners to review our policies and processes to achieve this outcome. We believe this is effective in helping businesses to build deep capabilities and for Singapore to grow a thicker layer of fast-growing local companies.
The Chairman: Senior Parliamentary Secretary Tan Wu Meng.
The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry (Dr Tan Wu Meng): Mr Chairman, for broad-based economic success, the Government cannot do it alone. Our TACs are crucial partners on this journey.
TACs are a store of social capital – institutional memory, industry networks, access to overseas markets. TACs help the Government to better understand the needs of our business community.
To Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Douglas Foo’s queries, we support our TACs to broaden the reach of our ITMs and drive industry projects through the LEAD programme. Since its launch in 2005, the LEAD programme has supported more than 50 TACs in spearheading projects involving close to 52,000 companies.
Last year, the Association of SMEs launched the SME Cloud Exchange Network Software (SMECEN) with LEAD support. This is a cloud-based platform for companies to perform accounting and human resource functions. SMEs adopting SMECEN can reduce the average manhours per job by up to 80%, which will allow their workers to take on higher-value work, higher-value functions.
In 2017, LEAD was expanded to support a larger base of TACs. The maximum funding level was also increased from 70% to 90% of qualifying costs for high-impact projects involving multiple TACs.
I encourage our TACs to play an even stronger role. ESG will develop five-year roadmaps with TACs to help our TACs adopt a longer-term strategy to drive industry transformation.
For example, ESG is developing a roadmap with SBF to help our local businesses access overseas markets. We will support TACs to implement the roadmaps through the LEAD programme. This includes seconding our public officers to selected TACs to allow our officers to better understand our businesses' concerns as we work together as one Team Singapore.
Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat spoke about developing our enterprises. For this, we need a pro-business environment. As the Minister for Finance said during the Budget Debate, the Government must be prepared to experiment and take calculated risks. This applies to our regulations, which Mr Baey Yam Keng and Mr Lee Yi Shyan touched upon.
First, we must create an environment where new business ideas can take flight. One way is through regulatory sandboxes, where companies can learn quickly, iterate quickly. This has enabled new business concepts like dining in a \"Floating Donut\" in Marina Bay. When the idea was first raised or first floated, agencies had public safety and pollution concerns. But with the sandbox in place, the company was allowed to test their business concept for six months, with necessary safeguards.
Second, we want to streamline regulations to reduce costs, cut paperwork and free up resources. This is a progressive economic policy move because it is the smaller businesses which have fewer resources to navigate regulations.
Third, we will make it easier for businesses to apply for licences. Starting with the food services sector, we will pilot a one-stop portal to help automate the application process and cut down processing time as far as possible.
For example, the portal will automatically recommend a course of action for land use approvals. This will save companies the hassle of going to different agencies' websites to find out the approved land use of a particular place.
To Mr Lee Yi Shyan's query, the Pro-Enterprise Panel (PEP) and agencies have, together, developed the best practices on licensing approaches. They have also reviewed and streamlined more than 1,000 regulations since PEP’s formation in 2000, based on ground feedback and international reports on the ease of doing business in Singapore.
For example, the requirement to affix company stamps on Government forms has been removed. We agree with companies' feedback that this was outdated, unnecessary, cumbersome and time-consuming.
However, the suggestion of imposing a \"sunset clause\" on regulations may be too prescriptive. Agencies, too, need flexibility. What is more important is a mindset where agencies are continuously alive – alive to the idea of rules review, alive to the idea of adapting, alive to the idea of transformation. A living culture of asking \"why do we have this rule?\", \"is the rule still needed?\", \"is there a better way of doing things?\" Because governance is not always about adding more rules. Sometimes, we subtract, we simplify. Sometimes, we need to tidy up to spark innovation; and, sometimes, we need to tidy up to spark joy.
Besides supporting our enterprises, we want well-functioning markets that help consumers benefit from more choices and more competitive prices. Under the Open Electricity Market (OEM), households and small businesses now have more choices. At the same time, we will ensure that consumers’ interests are protected.
I would like to assure Mr Pritam Singh that retailers in the OEM are thoroughly vetted and have to satisfy a stringent set of requirements before being allowed to serve OEM consumers. For example, retailers have to consistently hedge at least 50% of their wholesale electricity price risk. Retailers must also safeguard all security deposits collected from household consumers and return them to these household consumers should a retailer exit the market.
EMA also has safeguards in place to prevent retailers from unilaterally terminating contracts, unless the retailer is exiting the market or the consumer has breached the contract terms. Retailers who wish to exit the market are expected to find other retailers to take on those consumers on the same terms and conditions. If the retailer cannot find a replacement or if the consumer rejects the proposed transfer, the supply of electricity to the consumer will not be disrupted as the consumer will be transferred to SP Group.
Mr Pritam Singh asked about the retailer who had been selling electricity to the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council. Red Dot Power was predominantly retailing to businesses. It was not involved in the full OEM launch and we understand that Red Dot Power's exit was due to cash flow issues.
I hear Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Teo Ser Luck's feedback on instalment plans. In my own constituency duties, I have seen similar situations with my residents and, in my previous role as a backbencher, I have filed Parliamentary Questions on related topics as well. So, I hear their concerns. Today, most consumer credit providers, such as moneylenders and financial institutions, are already regulated. Such providers have to adhere to rules, including borrowing limits. While retailers offering inhouse credit sales agreements are not specifically regulated today, they are still subject to general laws, like the Sale of Goods Act and CPFTA.
I agree that there should be adequate information disclosure by retailers so that consumers can make informed decisions. Enticement of consumers to over-leverage on credit should not be allowed. The Government is working with stakeholders to review industry practices and the appropriate regulatory response. MoneySENSE, the national financial education programme, also provides consumers with tips on what they should look out for when taking loans and instalments.
On Mr Lim Biow Chuan's suggestion, the Government has to balance between consumers' interests and a pro-enterprise environment. A broad-based cooling off period may potentially be subject to abuse and introduce uncertainty to businesses. There are also challenges, some quite complex, in defining the arena of \"beauty and slimming\" services. CASE and the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) have conducted outreach activities to educate consumers on what our consumers should watch out for before committing to purchases.
On Mr Lim Biow Chuan's suggestion for MAS to take reference from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's approach to chargeback policies, MAS will study this. ABS has also developed Frequently Asked Questions on chargeback. MAS will continue to work with stakeholders to educate consumers on their rights and obligations when making purchases using credit cards.
Sir, generally speaking, if you are a consumer, do read the terms and conditions carefully. If you are not sure, do not be afraid to ask. Is the business reputable? What kind of financial commitments are in the contract? Think about buying from CaseTrust businesses which offer a cooling off period. Let me reassure this House that CCCS will not hesitate to take action against retailers who persist in unfair practices. Chairman, in Mandarin please.
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: We also want consumers to access information more easily and compare options, and save money, time and effort. MTI is working with CASE to develop a crowdsourcing app for consumers to compare prices for groceries and cooked food. Through this app, consumers are able to share price information which benefits the wider community. Those with less time, less awareness of market prices, and less purchasing experience, will benefit the most. As for seniors without smartphones, they can still benefit through hearing of good bargains from neighbours, family members or friends who use the app.
(In English): In conclusion, economic transformation is a collective effort. It takes all of us – Government, businesses, TACs and our workers – our brothers and sisters in the Labour Movement. It takes all of us, working together, to transform our economy to succeed. Let us continue working together to create good jobs, better opportunities and a bright future for Singapore and all our fellow Singaporeans.
The Chairman: Any clarifications? Mr Liang Eng Hwa.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa: Sir, I understand that Minister Chan Chun Sing has just returned from Siam Reap, Cambodia, where he attended the RCEP Ministerial Meeting. So, probably it is timely to ask him on the latest progress of the RCEP negotiations. We have a few elections in the region in the member states. Is there enough political will to overcome the specific sensitive issues and do we have reasons to be optimistic for the agreement to be concluded this year?
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Chairman, let me thank Mr Liang Eng Hwa for his question. Yes, indeed, I just came back from Cambodia. In Cambodia over the weekend, the Ministers had a good discussion on RCEP. What I sense from my RCEP Ministerial colleagues is that all of them have reaffirmed their determination to try their best to conclude RCEP this year. More so than last year, they understand the strategic significance of RCEP and also the criticality of the timing of RCEP.
In a world where we see the rise of protectionism, unilateral moves by various countries and so forth, many in Southeast Asia and in the rest of Asia see the urgency to try to conclude this, not just for the economic benefits alone but also because of the positive message we want to send to the rest of the world of how we collectively believe in greater integration for the greater good of our peoples.
Over the weekend, the Ministers have agreed on a 2019 workplan which will include intermediate targets to be achieved each month for us to ensure that we get to the finishing line by the end of this year. Under Thailand's ASEAN chairmanship, we see this as a very positive development.
However, as Mr Liang Eng Hwa said, there are a few uncertainties. In particular, there are four regional elections: India, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia. From now till the end of May, these four countries will be very involved in their domestic elections. What the Ministers have directed the negotiators to focus on is to make sure that we clear as much of the technical issues as possible from now till June.
The next critical milestone for the Ministerial meeting will be in August this year in China. This will be a critical milestone because this will be a point where we will make the political decision and show the political commitment that all the 16 countries want to get it done this year.
So, the first part of the year, we will see the frontloading of the technical aspects of the work. In the third quarter of this year, we hope to see a resolution on the political direction after the completion of the four regional elections. In the meantime, the respective working groups are working hard to close off the remaining chapters and the technical issues.
The Chairman: Mr Pritam Singh.
Mr Pritam Singh: Just following up with the clarification from Senior Parliamentary Secretary Tan Wu Ming on electricity retailers. I understand in the event a retailer exits from the market in the household sector, the retailer will be required, as per Senior Parliamentary Secretary's answer, to provide electricity or to find a retailer who would provide electricity at the same price. In the event that fails, I do not believe that Senior Parliamentary Secretary Tan has clarified what compensation alternatives would be available to the residents, given that they would be back on the standard SP tariff rate. In case I missed that, just a query.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: I thank Mr Pritam Singh for his clarification. From the viewpoint of household consumers, one of the key objectives in the OEM is that in the event a retailer exits, that household continues to receive electricity. The power is not disconnected. As a first instance, if a retailer is exiting, they are expected to try and find an alternative supplier for that household with equivalent terms or, failing which, if the alternative cannot be found, the household reverts to SP Group as the provider of last resort in such a situation.
Mr Pritam Singh also raised a separate question, which is, whether there is a concept of expectation loss here. It is worth bearing in mind that in the current operating environment, where households may have obtained discounted rates from an electricity supplier, and subsequently, if the supplier exits, and they revert to SP Group, they have obtained savings at that point. So, I am just wondering what Mr Pritam Singh means by seeking compensation.
Mr Pritam Singh: If I can put it in a different way. Right now, let us say, the shoe is on the other foot and the consumer decides to move on to another retailer, because the rates are more favourable than the existing rate that the consumer has bargained for. What would happen is they have to pay a termination fee and I am just wondering if there is a similar mechanism if it was the other way round. That is essentially the essence of my question.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: So, there are actually two distinct scenarios in that one question which Mr Pritam Singh has raised. One scenario is, if the retailer is still in the market and the consumer decides to initiate termination of the contract, and to move to another retailer because of a better deal. In that situation, if the consumer is the one initiating the termination and moving to a different supplier, then those terms and conditions, whether there is an early termination fee, would apply.
But, in the event of the other situation, when a retailer chooses to exit the market, firstly, as I mentioned earlier, the retailer has to source around to see if another retailer will offer an equivalent plan to the existing consumers. In that situation, even then, the consumer can decide he does not like this alternative because there is another better alternative available in the market when the existing retailer exits, the consumer still has that choice. So, it depends on which situation Mr Pritam Singh is looking at for the purposes of this question.
The Chairman: Mr Low Thia Khiang.
Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, I have two clarifications for the Minister. First, whether the ongoing issue with Malaysia, namely, the airspace and the port issues, if they remain unsolved, would they affect Singapore's economy? The second clarification is whether the Minister sees the defence industry having the potential to contribute to the Singapore economy.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Chairman, let me thank Mr Low Thia Khiang for his two clarifications. Let me take the second one first.
Whether we see the defence industry as able to contribute to our overall economy, the answer is definitely yes. In fact, if you look at ST Engineering today, I do not have the exact numbers, but if I am not wrong, almost half of their business comes from the non-defence sector. So, there is some cross-pollination of ideas and benefits in growing ST Engineering companies. And there are examples that my colleagues have given just now. So, the answer is definitely yes. The defence industry, either directly or indirectly, through the use of the related technologies, can benefit the wider economy.
On Mr Low Thia Khiang's first question about the impact of the issues with Malaysia on the Singapore economy, there are two levels that we must always bear in mind. First, is that Malaysia is part of the wider ASEAN economy and, obviously, any uncertainties in Malaysia's economy will affect Singapore, just as it will affect the regional countries.
Our position is that we continue to look for win-win situations and win-win projects together with Malaysia because we always believe that a prosperous Malaysia that is doing well economically is good for Malaysia, is good for the region. We will continue on this mode, this kind of mental model that we are seeking win-win cooperation.
Having said that, of course, any disruption to the Malaysian economy can have and will have a significant impact on Singapore's economy, which is why, over the last few months, MTI has been encouraging our companies to seriously consider the impact of Malaysia’s political and economic trajectory. We asked and encouraged our companies to diversify their sources, their supply chains and their markets. This is part of our wider strategy to ensure that we will never be held ransom by any one particular market for our supply chains or for the market for our products and services.
So, this, we must continue to do, regardless of whether it is Malaysia or any one particular market. But the Member is right, Malaysia is our next-door neighbour, our closest neighbour. Because they are our closest neighbour, all the more we must make sure that we continue to diversify and take this issue very seriously, that our economy is never held ransom or dependent on a single source.
The Chairman: Mr Lim Biow Chuan.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: I just wanted to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, we already have a mandatory cooling-off period for purchase of timeshare contracts. There is also what they call a free-look period for life and health insurance products. Can the Senior Parliamentary Secretary give a compelling reason why MTI is not prepared to consider a cooling-off period for contracts with businesses in the beauty and slimming industry?
Dr Tan Wu Meng: I thank Mr Lim for his clarification. Certain considerations apply. First of these is whether the extent of commitment by the individual consumer is very substantial and whether there have been legitimate opportunities for the consumer to decline entering into a contract at that point in time.
I hear what the Member said about how someone going for a massage finds himself under the wrong kind of pressure. But we also have to bear in mind that if a consumer feels they have been wrongfully confined, if someone is trying to extract certain decisions or concessions while they are in a vulnerable position, a consumer can and should consider asking for the authorities to be alerted. If someone locks you in a room and asks you to sign a contract, I think Mr Lim Biow Chuan, being a lawyer, he also knows what the options are available. And you do not necessarily need to call in a lawyer for that. So, that is one part of it.
But more broadly, I would say there is also the need for us, throughout society, to continue sending a message, not just looking at legislative measures but also as a community of consumers and concerned citizens, about what kind of sales tactics are acceptable, unacceptable or completely beyond the pale in our society.
The Chairman: Any further clarifications? Mr Liang Eng Hwa, would you like to withdraw your amendment, please?
Mr Liang Eng Hwa: Sir, if I may say something about Mr Teo Ser Luck. I am happy that he filed so many cuts this time for MTI. He used to be helping and supporting entrepreneurs and startups when he was in MTI, and now he is himself an entrepreneur and a startup. So, this is an indication of our vibrant startup scene.
Sir, growing and transforming our economy is so very important for Singapore, so crucial. We can only now wish MTI and the economic agencies every success. With that, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment, Sir.
[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $1,032,517,000 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $4,755,830,400 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Committee of Supply – Head Q (Ministry of Communications and Information)","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"The Chairman: Head Q, Ministry of Communications and Information. Mr Cedric Foo.
Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng (Pioneer): Mr Chairman, Sir, I beg to move, \"That the total sum to be allocated for Head Q of the Estimates be reduced by $100\".
One of the basic building blocks of a strong nation is a vibrant economy, an economy that is driven by competitive companies with skilled and creative employees and underpinned by an efficient infrastructure. Strong business and productivity growth are preconditions for higher wages for our workers. Hence, it is critically important that our businesses, both large enterprises as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) receive the Government’s support to stay relevant, to innovate and to build deep capabilities to sustain growth right into the future.
Digitalisation is transforming companies, economies and our very way of life. A digital economy has many benefits for businesses. Increased productivity, reduced operating costs and higher asset utilisation are but some of these apparent benefits. In addition, technology can help us tackle issues, like an ageing population and manpower constraints in Singapore. Today, one in four of our workforce is aged 55 and above. With declining birth rates, higher life expectancy and more senior citizens opting to remain in the workforce, this ratio is poised to increase over time. Our ageing workforce compels our Large Local Enterprises (LLEs) and SMEs to embrace digitalisation to reap opportunities of the digital economy or risk falling behind.
Across many industries, new technologies are disrupting existing business models. Leveraging digital platforms, innovative companies have been eroding the market share or even replacing established companies by improving the quality, speed or price at which value is delivered. There are numerous examples of such disruptions, ranging from companies disrupted by ride sharing, brick and mortar retail stores disrupted by online 24/7 stores, traditional print media disrupted by social media platforms and so on.
Singapore has done well as we have fast and reliable broadband access and also a high penetration rate for active mobile users. However, we do have some challenges.
Even as our businesses aspire to adopt technologies, many companies, especially our SMEs, find it difficult to do so. They do need help. To begin with, SME shareholders and managers often have such questions: \"How do I start the digital journey? Which areas of digitalisation will produce the best returns on investment? Who can assist me to help fund these investments? Can my employees adapt to these changes? Will it result in near-term losses?\" These are but some of the many questions that our SMEs have prior to embarking on the digitalisation journey.
Some key success factors for business digitalisation are scale, large datasets, financial stamina to win market share and to create network effects. By definition, SMEs in Singapore are small and our local market is also small. Therefore, the challenges for SMEs to embark on the digitalisation journey are formidable.
Our lead enterprises or LLEs also need assistance. Being larger and operating in more markets, their challenges are less daunting. To accelerate the pace of digitalisation, the Government can set interoperability standards so that a local ecosystem of digital infrastructure that is reliable, resilient, accessible and secure can take root and thrive. Our LLEs can then leverage such shared infrastructure to transform their businesses and stay on top of rapid advances in digital technologies. Our LLEs can then be the receptacle to innovate and be our global champions, leading the way for our SMEs and startups to venture overseas.
Could the Minister lay out for this House his plans to assist our businesses, both large and small, to adopt technology and to innovate in this digital economy?
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
The Chairman: Mr Cedric Foo, you can take your next two cuts together.
Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng: Thank you, Mr Chairman. Following on my earlier cut on the need for businesses to adopt digital technologies, my next cut is on our workers and measures taken to ensure that we have sufficient talent to support a growing digital economy.
Support for our businesses can be seen as a means to enable our citizens to have good jobs and good wages, thereby improving living standards in Singapore. At the same time, in order for businesses to thrive, they need sufficient workers with digital skills, knowledge and the right attitudes to embrace the constantly evolving digital environment. This symbiotic relationship is key for a successful digital economy.
However, many countries, including Singapore, are facing a shortage of workers who are equipped with digital skills necessary for the digital workplace. To prepare our youths, basic digital skills and technology literacy have to be introduced at an earlier age. They must also be encouraged to challenge the status quo rather than accepting conventional norms, always relooking at how everything is done, thinking expansively on innovative products and solutions. More importantly, our workers have to accept that continuous learning is now a norm, and new capabilities and skillsets will have to be acquired many, many times throughout their career life, as the job market would be anything but static.
Over the last few years, the Government has put in place a range of support measures for our workers. The SkillsFuture and Adapt and Grow programmes are some good examples.
Businesses, too, must step up on training and job redesign through professional conversion programmes for employees. Typically, the affected employees, requiring skills retooling, have been loyal employees for years. Upskilling and reskilling these employees will allow the company to retain the organisational values and culture. Such workers would also have, often times, deep customer relationships that are worth retaining. It has always been the case that technological innovation destroys some jobs and replaces them with new ones. For many of our workers, especially the older ones, buzz words like \"Smart Nation\", \"digitalisation\", \"machine learning\", artificial intelligence (\"AI\") and \"robotics\" can be very disconcerting and intimidating. We have to do more to encourage our workers to embrace such changes and reap the tangible benefits of upskilling.
I am thinking that maybe \"Natural Language Programming\" for oral commands for certain robots, like in the cleaning industry, could be programmed in \"Singlish\".
Investments in digital talent will be critical to ensuring Singapore remains competitive. Society will be better off as we invest in our people.
I would like to ask the Minister to provide an update on the programmes and initiatives that we are implementing over the next few years so as to ensure that we have sufficient talent to support a digital economy.
Mr Chairman, according to research by Bain & Co, harnessing the collective power potential of the region's digital economies could accelerate intraregional trade and result in a gross domestic product uplift of US$1 trillion across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by 2025. If ASEAN countries can come together and grow as a single integrated regional digital economy, ASEAN citizens could enjoy significant benefits and improve living standards.
For example, a common e-payment platform would facilitate the ASEAN digital economy, to ensure interoperability across state boundaries and leverage the large ASEAN market for e-commerce. However, developing a common e-payment system requires close coordination and data flows across boundaries.
But there is a growing number of countries that are enacting laws and barriers that make it more expensive, time-consuming or even illegal to transfer data overseas. Governments are citing privacy and cybersecurity concerns as they are reluctant to allow a company in another country to have access to their citizens' data. This is despite the significant economic benefits that we talked about.
To minimise the risks of cyber threats, ASEAN needs to develop a secure cyberspace through building and reinforcing the framework for online security. Sharing critical information, establishing protocols to deal with hacking, coordinating cyber agencies for ASEAN members and creating a regional dispute settlement resolution are some ways to developing a secure cyberspace.
I would like to ask the Minister to share his views on how we may facilitate greater cross-border data flows.
The Chairman: Mr Teo Ser Luck, you have two cuts. Please take them together.
Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Many companies are still unprepared to go digital in the new world and in the future. And the Government has been making tremendous and focused efforts to help them go digital, coming up with several schemes and major schemes.
But, for many companies, due to their business nature and the length of time they have been in business, they are still trying to figure out which part of the process can be digitised. So, it is not just knowing when to start and where to start, there are a couple of scenarios, in my sense, that these businesses cannot see the need to change. They have been entrenched in the business for too long and they possibly have a winning formula in their business as they have built such depth in their domain knowledge that they did not see the need to change. Some things are best relied on manual labour, not because it is more cost-effective but because it could possibly give them the efficiency and the margins that they are looking for. So, they do not find the need to change and no motivation to go digital at all.
The business nature and the ecosystem around the business itself creates certain margins that they had for many years. So, status quo helps them to survive and going digital is a form of risk.
Thirdly, it is the lack of the skill and knowledge within the company, that is, of the bosses, entrepreneurs, founders, staff, workers. There is a lot of unwillingness and real intent to change. But at the same time, they are reluctant to hire talents or changemakers into a company because that means giving up some of the ownership for those decisions that they have to make. So, how do we get them to digitise? In a sense, are we prepared to allow some of them to consolidate or even fade away if they do not go digital?
There are many schemes and programmes rolled out for these local enterprises to help them in this new wave of the digital economy. But how effective have they been? And are we really seeing more and more companies coming forward? There are almost 200,000 SMEs around in Singapore but how many have taken up and gone digital?
Over several weekends, at the grassroots and the community levels, I organised several small gatherings in different locations for residents. And over time, more and more residents would join such gatherings and we find that it is getting harder and harder to do things in a manual approach, including signing up for some activities or even knowing whether they are going to come or not, as well as conducting surveys with these residents.
We figured that we should digitise the process and then make it a little bit more online that will be more accessible for them and, at the same time, easier to collect the data. Inclusive of my volunteers and the residents, not everyone is receptive to it. Of course, there are some elderly persons who find it very hard and so we will have to keep the manual process going.
But it is an important process to prepare Singaporeans in this digital world because it is not just affecting their daily lives and everything that they do in the near future, but also in finding new jobs or new opportunities in their careers as well as acquiring new skills.
My sense in this process of change is that in preparing Singaporeans to be able to adapt to this new digital world, we certainly still have a distance to go. So, how can Singaporeans be more prepared and what can the Government do to help prepare Singaporeans for this digital age in their daily lives, in finding new jobs, acquiring new skills, so that they could better adapt to this new world?
Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): Automation, digitalisation and AI are disrupting how we live and how work is organised. As old jobs get displaced, new jobs are created that require the right attitude and new competencies. We need to unlearn and relearn if our people are to exploit the new opportunities and capture value in the new economy.
According to an October 2018 McKinsey report on the future of work in Switzerland, it is estimated that the demand for tasks requiring basic cognitive or physical and manual skills could decline by 20%. Conversely, the need for social and emotional and technological skills is to rise by about 20% and up to 50% respectively. The skill shift is also expected to exceed the regular rate at which labour and skills drop out of the market.
These findings can well apply to Singapore. Hence, it is imperative that we continue to invest in our human capital and help our people transition. We will also need to accelerate the speed at which we do so. The Government must work with businesses to ensure relevant training content and hands-on practice, culminating in real job opportunities.
I am aware of the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA's) effort in running human capital programmes. I would like to know what outcomes have we achieved so far and how does the Ministry measure the immediate and long-term success of the programmes. Do the new jobs and skills trained match well?
For individuals with no Infocomm technology (ICT) background, are there programmes in place to help them make the career switch? If there are, what is the success rate so far?
The Chairman: Mr Douglas Foo, you can take your two next cuts together.
Mr Douglas Foo (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, Sir, on SMEs Go Digital, since the launch of the SMEs Go Digital programme during Budget 2017, the programme has helped and has developed many initiatives with the aim of helping local SMEs use digital technologies, build capabilities and participate in the digital economy.
Through partnerships with trade associations and chambers (TACs), such as the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, the programme provides SMEs with consultancy advice from specialist digital project managers to help them implement pre-approved digital solutions to transform their businesses.
As announced by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in Budget 2019, the programme has seen some 4,000 SMEs adopt pre-approved digital solutions offered under the programme. While this number is indeed encouraging, it is a drop in an ocean of nearly 200,000 SMEs in Singapore.
Therefore, can the Ministry provide a progress update on the SMEs Go Digital programme, particularly with respect to the minimum number of SMEs the programme is intended to reach, and how the Ministry intends to get SMEs to accelerate the adoption of digital solutions?
As the manufacturing sector advances towards Industry 4.0, the sector will increasingly require the skillset of info-communications media (ICM) professionals to harness frontier technologies to help the sector reach Industry 4.0's standards sooner. The ICM Industry Transformation Map (ITM) was launched in November 2017 with the goal of employing more than 210,000 ICM workers and create more than 13,000 professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) jobs by 2020.
Can the Ministry provide an update on the ITM's employment goals so far? Also, what are the Ministry of Communications and Information's (MCI's) long-term plans to attract talents to become ICM professionals?
The Chairman: Mr Ong Teng Koon, you can take your two cuts together.
Mr Ong Teng Koon (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Sir, one of the challenges of being an infrastructure provider is that you tend to be taken for granted. People assume that your services will always be available whenever they want it. They give no thought to the effort and planning that go into providing such services.
However, the moment there is any disruption, everybody is instantly up in arms. For example, consumers were outraged by a 3.5 hours' outage in Singtel's broadband services in July last year, or another similar disruption in November.
The digital economy – streaming services, e-commerce, cloud computing – is built on the assumption of uninterrupted access to the Internet. But no matter how much service providers invest to ensure 99.999% uptime, it can be undone by failure at the infrastructure level. Loss of connectivity can have potentially catastrophic business consequences as businesses are unable to access customers or essential services, such as banking, payments and so on.
Sir, what are our plans to ensure that our digital infrastructure is able to support our growing digital economy?
Sir, the rapid pace of technology advancement shows no signs of slowing. Concepts that seemed like science fiction just a few years ago are starting to impact our daily lives.
Autonomous vehicles, intelligent home automation, bots powered by natural language processing that can hold an almost human-like conversation, these things are already here. The impact that they will have on our daily lives is still not fully understood, but will surely be profound. It will shape how we live, work and play.
Singapore has invested billions of dollars to support research into such areas. The current Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE 2020) plan has allocated $19 billion to key areas, such as advanced manufacturing and urban solutions.
Sir, looking forward to the next decade, what is the Ministry doing to further invest in frontier technology and sharpen Singapore's competitive edge?
Mr Mohamed Irshad (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, the SingHealth cyberattack was the largest breach in Singapore to date. On 15 January 2019, the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) fined SingHealth S$250,000 and fined the Integrated Health Information Systems Pte Ltd (IHiS) S$750,000.
These punitive fines underscore the large scale of the breach and the sensitive and confidential nature of the patients' data that was lost and it is a signal to other organisations to take the necessary steps to safeguard personal data.
However, there does not appear to be any remedy or compensation available to the actual victims of the data breach. There is no obvious recourse for the ones who had their personal data stolen. In addition to fines, can we provide a way for victims of data breaches to claim compensation for the loss of personal data?
In December 2017, Uber delayed in reporting that personal information of 380,000 users in Singapore had been compromised in a breach the year before. After the breach had occurred and before Uber's admission of the said breach, it was reported that victims of the data breach were preyed upon by the hackers who used the stolen personal data to cause even more harm to the victims. It is unclear how many of those victims suffered further losses as a result of the actions of the hackers.
Is it possible to have a tribunal to allow the victims to seek compensation for any losses they might have suffered as a result of the data breach?
Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): Chairman, the PDPC was set up in 2013 as the implementing agency for the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). According to the PDPC's website, the number of enquiries and complaints received by it in the last four years ranged from between 2,200 and 3,300 annually. I have a few enquiries about this.
First, were the major classes of complaints related to the \"Do Not Call\" Registry or were they complaints about organisations not exercising reasonable care to protect personal data from unauthorised disclosure?
Secondly, what are the resource and staffing level of the PDPC to enable it to look into the kinds of cases it is facing? The Minister recently pointed out that in the SingHealth data breach, the PDPC had leveraged the findings of a Committee of Inquiry (COI) called by the Government. If another major breach were to occur and a COI is not formed, does PDPC have the resources to investigate a major case on its own?
Next, I would like to ask about outcomes achieved for complainants. PDPC has usefully published its decisions online. Where the PDPC found that organisations were in breach of their obligations to safeguard personal data, it was usual that PDPC will impose financial penalties and also give directions on how the organisations should improve its data security arrangements. Has PDPC ever assisted a victim of a data breach to obtain redress, for example, mediating a financial settlement with the organisation?
Finally, the coverage of the PDPA still excludes what is defined as \"public agencies\". This exclusion seems artificial when data is collected by entities under PDPA obligations and then transmitted to the Government. While I accept that Government agencies have many laws and regulations concerning data obligations, is there a convincing reason to exclude public agencies from PDPA?
Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang): Mr Chairman, during the Committee of Supply (COS) debate last week on the Smart Nation topic, Minister Vivian Balakrishnan mentioned that Singapore was going to \"double down\" on AI. He pointed out that AI, and in particular, deep machine learning, has revolutionised many services, including providing voice assistants, language translations, global positioning system optimisation and helping to detect fraud.
These are revolutionary developments and Singapore must continue down this path. However, there are concerns about AI being used improperly. Machines, like humans, need to be taught and trained, and this requires access to data. I have some concerns that people may not be aware of the full extent to which their personal data is being gathered and used.
The second, of course, is after this data is gathered and technology is developed, the same information in the wrong hands can lead to trouble, including in the hands of foreign actors, hackers and scammers. Has the Government considered societal concerns surrounding the use of AI and, if so, how are we addressing them?
Prof Lim Sun Sun (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, as we make definitive strides in realising our Smart Nation ambitions, I greatly welcome the announcement of the Proposed Model AI Governance Framework. While big data, deep learning and neural networks may sound abstract, their growing deployment has real consequences for society. AI-driven automated decision-making is increasingly being used for systems and processes that determine product prices, insurance premiums and job recruitment, just to name a few. These are areas where alarms about algorithmic bias have, indeed, been raised. Issues relating to data justice, algorithmic fairness and explainable AI must thus be closely monitored to ensure that we reap the best of technology while effectively managing unintended adverse consequences. The Proposed Model AI Governance Framework is, therefore, especially timely. It will help to warrant that our drive for innovation does not leave ethicality in the dust.
By enunciating a common AI governance approach and offering a set of consistent definitions and principles relating to the responsible use of AI, we provide greater certainty to industry players. Can MCI, therefore, share its plans for ensuring that this framework is effectively disseminated across all relevant industries? How will it raise awareness of the guidelines governing the responsible use of AI and encourage their application? Are there also plans to have this framework introduced into the curriculum of students taking AI-related courses in our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs)?
Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang): Mr Chairman, Sir, I understand that the Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) sectors have been established with the express aim of improving cybersecurity so as to ensure the continuous delivery of essential services in Singapore.
I applaud the Government's efforts at safeguarding our digital sphere. This is of paramount importance as we make the transition into a Smart Nation. Recent events, both domestically and internationally, such as the cyberattacks on SingHealth and the recent hack into the Australian parliament's computer network, underscore the threats that we face, and the necessity for swift, decisive action to mitigate or neutralise these threats.
Having said this, I would like to seek some clarification in three areas: first, what are the essential public services that have been identified under the CII? Second, how will the infrastructure pertaining to these sectors be set up or otherwise modified to ensure robust cybersecurity? Third, what are the contingencies that the Government will employ in the event of a cyberattack or disruption of essential services?
Mr Teo Ser Luck: Recently, I had a chat at the workspace in my constituency. The workspace is occupied by many entrepreneurs and many of them build their business using the Internet or social media as a platform. So, I had a chat with this user. He runs an e-commerce company and he told me that one day, he woke up and he realised that there was no sale within his system. He was wondering why and, actually, his system was hacked. His customer database was hacked, as well as the entire website was hacked. What happened was he had to close the business for a few days and he almost had to close the entire business.
Many businesses probably take cybersecurity for granted. If we could, we should educate more and more businesses, especially the smaller businesses and the startups which are building their businesses over the Internet, about cybersecurity. I would like to know whether the Government has any plans to help instil greater knowledge on cybersecurity and the importance of it in the near future.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Chairman, Budget 2019 has focused our attention on cybersecurity by adding the Digital Defence pillar to our Total Defence strategy. This is appropriate, coming after the SingHealth attack and the HIV Registry leak. There is one critical vulnerability that now needs addressing. In Singapore, the extensive interface between the private and public sectors means that cybersecurity for businesses is a critical vulnerability. The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has also been relying on private companies to drive technological innovation and adaptations.
Will the Government thus consider implementing targeted initiatives to bolster the cybersecurity capabilities of businesses, especially our local SMEs, urgently? It has been suggested that the Government should provide grants for SMEs to train employees and improve cyber defences. Yes, it has also been suggested that a Government hotline be established for businesses to obtain advice and report cybersecurity breaches without adversarial treatment from the Government.
Mr Vikram Nair: Mr Chairman, as more and more of our systems go online, cybersecurity becomes a particular concern. The two high-profile incidents this year highlight our vulnerability.
The first was the unauthorised access of SingHealth records by a foreign state actor. This highlighted that there are well-funded organisations and countries out there that may deliberately try and break into our systems.
The second involved the improper leak of the Ministry of Health's (MOH's) registry of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients. This highlighted that a human lapse by one of the individuals entrusted with access to the system, coupled with malicious intent by another, can lead to disastrous consequences.
These incidents show two aspects of the vulnerability of our Government systems, and it is foreseeable that both of these, external threats as well as human error by trusted individuals, are timeless issues that are almost impossible to eradicate. Against this backdrop, are there ways to assess the cybersecurity of our Government systems and better improve it?
Mr Douglas Foo: Mr Chairman, Sir, according to the Global Cybersecurity Index 2017, Singapore topped the list as the country that was prepared against cyberattacks, surpassing the United States (US). However, despite the robustness of our cybersecurity strategy, attacks, such as the one on MOH, demands that we continue to be vigilant and steadfast in our defence against cyberattacks. Just like the other pillars of Total Defence, Digital Defence involves everyone, from individuals to businesses to the Government. Therefore, can the Ministry explain how it intends to encourage collaboration amongst industry partners to harness local cybersecurity expertise to develop secure, high-quality products that contribute towards a safe and trusted cyberspace for Singapore?
Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Jurong): The advent of technology has brought with it new ecosystems and new methods of engagement. Technology and, in particular, the Internet, has changed the way we socialise, work and do business. These changes have brought about massive improvements by connecting people as well as increasing efficiency and productivity. However, there are people who have sought to misuse and cause harm to others on these new platforms.
Last year, Singapore's overall crime rate went up by 1.4%, propped up mainly by a surge in online-related scams. There was also a 40.3% increase in the number of crimes under the Computer Misuse Act. We have also seen several instances of cyberattacks in public domains, like the recent high-profile SingHealth cyberattack which affected 1.5 million patients. Private entities are also prime targets for digital attacks. In 2017, Uber announced that the personal information of over 57 million Uber users and 600,000 drivers were exposed by hackers. In November 2018, Marriot International also announced that cybercriminals stole data of approximately 500 million customers.
As the Government boosts the nation's cybersecurity infrastructure and strengthens the legal framework to deal with digital crime, it is important for the community to be equipped with sufficient knowledge and skills to protect themselves from online harm. Individual users, businesses and organisations need to be prepared.
As we introduce Digital Defence as the sixth pillar of Total Defence in Singapore, we must remember that in most cases, humans or computer users are the weakest link in cybersecurity. The most robust cyber defences are susceptible to breaches even by the act of that one single user, whether it is because of lax passwords, unknowingly leaking confidential data or falling prey to phishing attacks that trick users into giving up sensitive data.
In this regard, how can we improve cybersecurity awareness among citizens and businesses so that we can continue to leverage the opportunities that technology brings while minimising the threats online?
Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied): Mr Chairman, Sir, the COI investigating the SingHealth cyberattack recommended to significantly improve the competency of cybersecurity personnel.
Manpower planning and talent development strategy are critical in the national strategy to strengthen cybersecurity. In 2012, the Economic Development Board (EDB) reported that there were 1,200 cybersecurity specialists although there are 140,000 information technology (IT) professionals. After seven years, where do we stand today in terms of number and percentage of cybersecurity specialists among IT professionals? How many more are needed and being targeted?
One of the key thrusts of the National Cyber Security Masterplan 2018 is to grow Singapore's expertise in cybersecurity. The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has been working with our IHLs to expand cybersecurity programmes. Polytechnics and industry have collaborated to establish cybersecurity centres. IDA is also collaborating with FireEye to upskill cybersecurity professionals. EDB and NEC corporation are collaborating to develop capabilities in strategic areas through overseas attachment. ST Engineering established the DigiSAFE Cyber Security Centre to reskill those interested in a mid-career switch.
With the establishment of the Home Team Science and Technology Agency and MINDEF’s Defence Cyber Organisation, and also the public sector Cybersecurity Professional Programme and MINDEF's Cyber Full-time National Servicemen (NSF) Vocation, we now have a varied landscape for manpower and talent development in cybersecurity.
Are these different efforts being coordinated by the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and IDA in accordance with the national strategy? Are these efforts competing with one another for a small pool of talents or complementing one another for synergies?
Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio): Mr Chairman, the anonymous nature of the Internet has led to a \"disinhibition effect\" where people take on an online persona that is different from their persona in real life. The disinhibition effect has been studied extensively by researchers to understand cyberbullying behaviour and other forms of undesirable online behaviour, such as trolling and catfishing. While such online behaviour is objectionable, its effect is relatively contained.
What is worrying is the emergence of deliberate online falsehoods, where the reach and potential impact of such falsehoods are widespread. The Internet has provided the perpetrators of falsehoods with a veil of anonymity and the disinhibition effect has emboldened the perpetrators to craft messages that are patently false, with the malicious intention to obfuscate the truth. The malice of online falsehood can lead to communal and racial violence, distrust in the establishment and sway public opinions on important social issues.
Singapore is not immune to the malice of deliberate online falsehoods. Some state actors and individuals have mounted falsehood campaigns to discredit our institutions, to cast aspersions on our Government and systems. These orchestrated campaigns need to be dealt with swiftly and decisively before they gain momentum.
Yet, dealing with deliberate online falsehoods require a multi-agency approach that includes combating falsehoods with facts, educating Singaporeans to discern between truth and untruth, and for media companies to play their part to weed out fake posts and misinformation campaigns.
What are some concrete steps that the Government is taking to help Singaporeans guard against deliberate online falsehoods in an increasingly complex digital and media environment?
Mr Vikram Nair: Chairman, this House set up a Select Committee to look into the matter of Deliberate Online Falsehoods. I should declare that I participated in the public consultation by the Select Committee as part of the People's Action Party (PAP) Policy Forum.
Some of the key issues raised included: first, fake news is often plausible and interesting, which makes it likely to circulate very far; second, the truth is rarely as interesting, so corrections and rectifications do not get the same attention; third, social media and messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, have allowed fake news to go very far; fourth, there is evidence that foreign actors have used fake news to interfere in elections, such as the US Presidential election and even the United Kingdom's (UK's) vote on Brexit; fifth, private organisations often profit from fake news, and these include not only those who deliberately create it, such as Temasek Review, but many of those who benefit from its dissemination, including platforms like Facebook which get monies from advertising revenues.
The Chairman: Mr Vikram Nair, kindly wrap up.
Mr Vikram Nair: Yes. After the Select Committee's deliberation, are there any plans to introduce new measures to counter the threat of deliberate online falsehoods as recommended by the Select Committee?
Prof Lim Sun Sun: Mr Chairman, I commend the establishment of the Digital Readiness Blueprint but would like to ask how it caters to the varying skillsets of Internet users.
While we, fortunately, do not have a digital access divide in Singapore, research around the world has shown that the \"second level digital divide\" pertaining to online skills can significantly influence how much people can benefit from their online experience. Furthermore, with our high smartphone penetration rates, we need to pay particular attention to Internet use via mobile phones.
Because the mobile Internet is centred around apps, mobile-only users who rely exclusively on mobile devices are quite distinct from mobile-first users who use mobile devices predominantly but in combination with other devices. These differing usage patterns can translate into different online experiences that reflect variances in online competencies and breadth of exposure to content. These can, in turn, shape individual worldviews and understanding of key societal issues that impact their personal lives.
How do we then map the skills covered by the Basic Digital Skills Curriculum against prevailing Internet usage trends in Singapore? Also, what plans are in place to have the curriculum regularly refreshed to take into account (a) shifting technological trends and (b) changing needs in schools and workplaces?
Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng: Mr Chairman, there are several reasons for the digital divide. The primary one is a lack of ready access to computers, smartphones and the Internet. To be applauded are initiatives, such as Home Access programmes for low-income families and Enable IT for persons with disabilities. Both these programmes have done well to provide affordable and inclusive digital access for all Singaporeans.
Another reason for the digital divide is the lack of skills, as Prof Lim Sun Sun pointed out just now, to use digital technologies safely and confidently. Besides being able to operate a device, it is also important for good cyber hygiene habits, including awareness of the negative impact of technology, such as fake news, cyberbullying and social isolation.
Yet another reason for the digital divide is the lack of willingness of some of our citizens to participate in a digital economy. High-profile cyberattacks, including the SingHealth data breach last year, have some of our citizens fearing the use of digital technologies. Yet others have been deterred when they hear of people falling victim to online scams.
Given the numerous impediments to digital inclusion, I would like to ask the Minister to share his strategies and plans to bridge the digital divide so that everyone can benefit from the digital economy.
Mr Ong Teng Koon: Chairman, digital services have become an increasingly central part of our lives. We all use mobile apps multiple times each day. From games to health tracking to stock market information, we hardly even notice them anymore. They have become so fundamental to our lives that the United Nations (UN) has even spoken of protecting Internet access as a key element of protecting an individual’s rights.
However, there is also increasing concern about a \"digital divide\". Lower-income groups are going to be disadvantaged if they lack exposure to the digital world due to affordability concerns. Apart from lack of access to more affordable substitutes for physical services, they may also fail to acquire essential skills needed to work productively in the digital age. If children from lower-income households miss out on digital experiences, we risk creating a permanent underclass.
Significant steps have already been made to address this issue, such as the Home Access Programme, which provides eligible households with two years of subsidised fibre broadband. Free WiFi hotspots are also becoming increasingly common.
What more can we do to ensure that digital connectivity is affordable for the vulnerable and disadvantaged segments of our society?
Ms Tin Pei Ling: Chairman, as we gear up for a digital economy, we must make sure that our people are able to benefit from this transformation and not be left behind. We must not inadvertently create a new inequality or widen an existing gap between those who can access and exploit the new digital technologies and those who cannot.
Whilst future generations of elderly will be better-educated and tech-savvy, we must not neglect our current generation of seniors. We need Smart Seniors for a Smart Nation. We need to harness technology to supplement our shortage of eldercare manpower and help more seniors live independently in the comfort of their own homes and community. We need to harness technology to help them stay connected to news and information, support networks, friends and families. To do all these, it is important to ensure that they are digitally ready. Digital readiness is the very first step and a critical enabler for our elderly to fully exploit the benefits of technology.
In MacPherson, we conducted a simple survey of 315 public rental residents last year and identified that the largest barriers with going digital are know-how, possession of smartphones and data plans. Hence, my grassroots team and I actively seek out partners with the resources to help our seniors and digitally vulnerable residents to overcome these barriers. I would like to thank IMDA and MCI for the support.
With the ability of oversight and access to a much larger network of resources, I would like to ask the Ministry what has been done to target efforts at helping seniors and the digitally vulnerable to learn, access and use digital technologies to enhance their quality of life?
Dr Teo Ho Pin: Mr Chairman, Sir, our libraries are a wonderful resource to instil knowledge in our people. I understand that there have been collaborative efforts between the National Library Board (NLB) and SkillsFuture Singapore to upgrade the skills of Singaporeans. This is done mainly through SkillsFuture @ Libraries workshops held in our libraries.
I would like to seek some clarifications on how our libraries can play a more proactive role in supporting SkillsFuture and lifelong learning. Also, I would like to seek an update as to how the Ministry has encouraged adult learners to use library resources.
Sir, with the advent of digitisation, we can explore the use of technology to support lifelong learning. I would like to suggest that this be facilitated through two channels: first, the NLB mobile app, and second, NLB's Learning Pods.
Sir, the NLB mobile app can be improved to collect user preferences and user data with the consent of users. This information can be subsequently used in the recommendation of library resources, such as books, e-books, audiobooks and videos, to users to aid in their self-development and learning.
In fact, we can go one step further and create a data-sharing platform between SkillsFuture Singapore and NLB. This data-sharing platform will collate information, such as the career aspirations, sector of work or interests, of users who have registered with SkillsFuture. Subsequently, knowledge, resources and skills which are of interest or are beneficial to the respective users can be identified. The relevant resources can then be recommended to users through the NLB mobile app. This will allow users to identify the materials which will best aid in their self-improvement and learning and encourage self-learning. In essence, this approach will allow for the customisation of tailor-made learning programmes suited to the individual learning needs of Singaporeans.
Sir, I understand that the libraries at Yishun North Point and Harbourfront have seven learning pods each. These learning pods contain video tutorials on various subjects ranging from coding to business. Sir, the learning pods, with their interactive screens, present tremendous potential to support self-learning. We should encourage the proliferation of these learning pods throughout libraries across Singapore.
Sir, the opportunities for lifelong learning which our libraries can provide are many. I urge the Ministry to expedite the development of our libraries into self-learning hubs for Singaporeans.
The Chairman: Mr Darryl David, can you take one cut? We are going for tea break after this.
Mr Darryl David: Thank you, Mr Chairman. Libraries today face critical challenges from many counts: from the Internet, modern cafes and even homes with book repositories. The question is not whether print and digital media can exist side by side in libraries. It is how the library can be a third space, for diverse social groups to exchange ideas, inclusively.
Libraries can be physical or virtual social spaces with social media applications. How can we transform our libraries into community hubs for people to interact, interconnect, learn, produce, share, meet informally, hold discussions or organise social events, special shows and exhibitions?
Libraries can also be \"living rooms\" for sharing of ideas via book clubs and forums, a safe space and meeting place for all. How does the Government ensure that our libraries continue to serve as an inclusive social space for Singaporeans of all ages?
The Chairman: Order. I propose to take a break now.
[(proc text) Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House. (proc text)]
Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 3.20 pm.
Sitting accordingly suspended
at 2.57 pm until 3.20 pm.
Sitting resumed at 3.20 pm
[Mr Speaker in the Chair]
[(proc text) Debate in Committee of Supply resumed. (proc text)]
[Mr Speaker in the Chair]
Head Q (cont) –
The Chairman: Mr Darryl David.
Mr Darryl David: Mr Chairman, I would like to speak on civic discussions and diversity of views. Global cities across the world are often characterised by openness and tolerance of divergent views. One significant trait of such vibrant societies is the people's ability to \"talk\" through multiple, conflicting perspectives without hysteria and harm. While psychologists argue that it is social survival depends on conformity, recent research also suggests that divergence fosters creativity.
Stanford Professor Carol Dweck has done extensive work on the concept of \"Growth Mindset.\" Individuals who believe their talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies and input from others have this growth mindset. I believe that respect for divergent views can be fostered in our schools to help students engage calmly in rational exchange to develop a growth mindset. I would like the Government to consider how we can we improve civic discussion in our schools and beyond to encourage the plurality of views among Singaporeans.
Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): Mr Chairman, Sir, before I begin, I declare my interest as the Chief Executive Officer of a research consultancy that undertakes surveys.
Sir, many Singaporeans nowadays have the experience of being interviewed by opinion polling agencies conducting surveys on behalf of the Government. In a reply to my previous Parliamentary Question, then Minister Yaacob Ibrahim responded that \"The Government does not compile statistics on the surveys conducted by various agencies, or which among them are published.\"
The results of opinion surveys, if published, would be valuable to many stakeholders in society. For example, charities could design better fundraising programmes to help their beneficiaries by understanding the climate of public opinion around the issues and beneficiaries they are addressing. Academics could mine such surveys for research purposes. Civil society groups could use survey data to develop better programmes to raise awareness around their focused issues. Citizens could use that knowledge to better shape and calibrate their actions as citizens, for example, in writing letters to the media, expressing views on social media and making representations to consultative committees.
Sir, I understand that the results of some surveys are published, for example, by the feedback unit Reaching Everyone for Active Citizenry @ Home (REACH). I would like to call for the adoption of a rule that all Ministries and Government agencies conducting opinion surveys publish the reports arising from those surveys for the use and benefit of society at large, where they do not impinge on national security or sensitive matters.
I would like to ask if there are currently mechanisms to enable all Government agencies or Ministries to access data from non-published surveys conducted by other agencies or Ministries. If not, the publication of such surveys could even improve governmental efficiency and spending by reducing survey overlaps.
Government surveys are conducted using public funds. The results of those surveys should be available for all to use, not only the Government and Government leaders.
Ms Tin Pei Ling: Well-meaning policies can become ineffective and rile people if communications are not done well. Worse, in the absence of effective policy communications, those who wish us ill could exploit the opportunity to distort facts or spread fake news. It would be tragic if policies designed with Singapore's and Singaporeans' best interest in mind are misunderstood and fail to receive public support.
Conversely, policies that are effectively communicated can receive widespread public support, thereby ensuring their successful implementation. Mother tongue and National Service policies are excellent examples. We can observe the robust public support these policies receive till this day because people understood the rationale, despite the personal sacrifices they may have to make. Effective policy communications, therefore, strengthen our national solidarity.
Given the imperative of effective policy communications, I would like to ask the Ministry how it intends to improve the communication of Government policies across different age groups and communities to maximise policy impact and benefit the intended audience?
The Chairman: Mr Darryl David, please take the next two cuts.
Mr Darryl David: Mr Chairman, first, is on public service broadcasting (PSB). Over the years, IMDA has supported the production of PSB programmes which have several national and social objectives. PSB programmes promote Singapore, the Singapore identity and values, such as family, community, social inclusiveness and cohesiveness. At the same time, they cater to special interest groups, for example, the elderly and youths. They have also helped to increase cultural awareness in a plural society and foster religious harmony.
Over the years, such programmes have also helped to educate viewers, for example, through current affairs exposure so that we can be plugged into the world as global citizens to understand the cross currents that affect us.
Today, a revolution called cord-cutting is spreading throughout the world, freeing people from the ties to cable even, with over-the-top (OTT) services offered by Netflix, Amazon Prime and even Viu for fans who want to binge-watch Korean content. Can the Government share how PSB is changing in this ever-evolving media landscape?
In the last five years, efforts to grow the media industry has rapidly accelerated. Big players like Lucasfilm; RGM Holdings, a well-known talent management company; BKN Media, an acclaimed animation studio; and DLM Digital Studios, a major Indian film production company, have set up shop in Singapore, increasing the international profile of the media industry.
In the area of media education, Nanyang Technological University's (NTU's) School of Arts Design and Media has launched programmes to nurture creative media professionals. South Seas Film and Television School from New Zealand is also setting up a campus here. This will provide many opportunities for classrooms to become media hubs for media talent in the making.
However, it has been observed that the local market for made-in-Singapore media content is small, making it imperative to create an enabling media environment. What are our general plans to develop/grow the media industry domestically and are there plans to support local media firms overseas?
The Chairman: Minister Iswaran.
The Minister for Communications and Information (Mr S Iswaran): Mr Chairman, may I first seek your permission to display some slides in the course of my speech?
The Chairman: Yes, please. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]
Mr S Iswaran: Sir, this is my first COS since joining MCI last May. I would like to thank all Members for their support of the work of MCI and also for the diverse plurality of views that Members have shared with us on the work of the Ministry.
In my response, I would outline MCI's plans to secure Singapore's future in a digital age, as part of the Ministry's broader mission to connect our people to opportunities, communities and the Government. Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary will address cybersecurity and digital readiness, while\tSenior Minister of State Sim Ann will do so for the media sector and Government communications. And I will conclude with our plans for the libraries and archives.
Sir, our vision is for Singapore to have a thriving Digital Economy where every business is digitally-empowered, every worker is digitally-skilled, and every citizen is digitally-connected. Every enterprise, regardless of size or stage of development, can use technology to innovate and grow. Every worker, regardless of industry or education level, can use technology to be more effective and productive. And every citizen, regardless of age or background, can use technology confidently and enrich their lives.
This vision is already being realised, sometimes in quite unlikely quarters of our economy and society. Small enterprises in traditional sectors are harnessing technologies to grow. I recently met Mr Selvam, he was a former commando, who now owns Anushia Flower Shop in Little India, a testament to the diverse capabilities of our Singapore Armed Forces officers. He has used e-commerce to reach corporate clients and new customers, to increase his revenue by 50%.
Young and old are embracing technology. At the opening of library@harbourfront in January, I saw seniors effortlessly reading e-newspapers and learning enthusiastically to use the different apps on their smartphones. Children were enjoying themselves in the Immersive Storytelling Room and adults were using the NLB Mobile App.
We want to build on this momentum by nurturing a vibrant ICM industry, comprising businesses with deep capabilities, workers who are highly skilled and a world-class digital infrastructure.
We start with efforts to raise the digital capabilities of our broad base of enterprises, especially our SMEs. Mr Cedric Foo and Mr Douglas Foo have asked how we are helping businesses benefit from digital technologies, and Mr Teo Ser Luck asked about the outcomes of our efforts. Two years ago, we launched the SMEs Go Digital programme and the results have been encouraging. To date, about 4,000 SMEs have benefited from this programme, which provides access to step-by-step guides to go digital. Proven digital solutions are provided, and consultancy and project management services are also available.
We have been adapting the SMEs Go Digital programme to the changing needs of businesses. For instance, working with banks and telco partners, we launched the Start Digital Pack in January this year, so that digital solutions can be adopted by companies from the moment they are established. This way, businesses benefit from the very beginning, and they can also build on these digital foundations as they scale.
We are also expanding the SMEs Go Digital to meet the more complex needs of businesses as they scale. UNAG Logistics is an example. Rhyce and Gary Chng are brothers who own this local logistics and transportation company. They use a pre-approved cloud-based AI solution to optimise delivery routes and dynamically reassign drivers to new routes based on the capacity and locations of available vehicles. This has enabled them to increase their deliveries by 20% and revenue by 15%. And they are now extending the platform to fellow SMEs as well. By 2020, we will roll out AI- and cloud-based solutions to every sector so that more businesses can benefit.
Beyond the enterprises, we have also embarked on digital initiatives at the systems-level so that we can derive broader benefits. The nationwide e-invoicing network is one such initiative which IMDA launched in January this year. Invoicing is a key business function, but manual processes can be tedious and error-prone. With e-invoicing, businesses can streamline processes, increase accuracy and improve cash flow. The Government, on its part, is fully committed to this initiative and will prepare our system to receive e-invoices by this year. And I want to encourage all our businesses to use this nationwide network to improve their efficiency and reduce their costs.
Another example is a system-level initiative is TradeTrust, which aims to streamline and digitalise our trade processes. A common challenge in the trade and logistics sectors is the inefficiency of manual cross-border trade processes. TradeTrust is an initiative to develop a set of standards to help businesses securely exchange digital trade documents. It will enhance our attractiveness as a business hub and improve the efficiency of our trading and logistics sectors. IMDA and other Government agencies are now working with industry partners to conduct proof-of-concept trials, and we will provide more details later.
The digitalisation of our businesses can succeed only if our workers, too, are equipped to effectively use digital technology. Many Members – Mr Cedric Foo, Mr Teo Ser Luck, Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Douglas Foo – have asked how we are preparing workers and growing our talent for the digital economy. And I agree with Mr Teo Ser Luck it is a challenge. It is a challenge, both of changing mindsets and developing the will to make the change happen.
In 2016, we launched the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) programme to meet the growing demand for digitally-skilled professionals. Since then, over 61,000 training places have been taken up or committed, which accounts for about a third, slightly more, of our total ICT workforce. These courses provide opportunities for non-ICT workers to switch into a tech career, as well as for current ICT workers to take on deeper tech roles.
Mr Xie Zhaoyan is one of our graduates from TeSA's Tech Immersion and Placement Programme, which helps non-ICT workers move into the field. Through the programme, he acquired software development skills which helped him make the transition from being an engineer in the oil and gas industry, to a data engineer at Amaris AI where he develops applications for clients.
TeSA also has a Company Led Training (CLT) programme where, as the name suggests, companies take the lead to train ICT workers.
I recently visited Tunity Technologies, a local radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions provider. The SME has helped train and hire six workers through the programme, including Ms Yeo Wan Ru. Through the programme, Wan Ru learnt skills in the Internet-of Things (IoT) domain and is now an IoT Engineer.
So, we have seen good results from these programmes and I would like to inform Ms Tin Pei Ling that 90% of the beneficiaries continue to be in ICT roles. Many of them also stay with the same company they were placed in. We also conduct periodic reviews and work closely with key hirers of ICT professionals to assess the outcomes of our programmes.
Tech companies, like Tunity, play an important role in the training and growth of our ICT workers. Through our local partners, Kaplan and Trent Global, we will also create more upskilling opportunities for our workers by bringing in renowned training curriculum by METIS for data science from the US, and Code Institute for software development from Ireland. These will help more workers and companies seize opportunities arising from the digital economy.
And as every worker has different digital training needs, we will also roll out the Digital Learning Guide. It will enable employers to plan for their workers' digital training needs using a step-by-step guide. We will start with the retail and logistics sectors and progressively extend it to others.
We also want to harness the talent of the many Singaporeans who are working overseas in key tech areas and who are eager to contribute to Singapore's digital transformation. To encourage such tech talent flows, I am pleased to inform Members of the launch of the Overseas Singaporeans in Tech (OST)-LinkedIn community, which is a partnership between the industry and key Government agencies. It will connect overseas Singaporean tech talent with our local tech community and keep them informed of the latest developments back home. Since the group was formed in January this year, it has managed to get in touch with over 500 Singaporeans.
Investment in research and development (R&D) is also an essential part of our efforts to help industries innovate and stay competitive, even as the technology landscape is rapidly evolving.
Our R&D investments in the Services and Digital Economy (SDE) domain of the RIE2020 Plan have helped us build capabilities in frontier tech areas and address our national priorities. For example, through AI Singapore's Grand Challenges, we are working with academia and industry to solve major problems faced in the key sectors, such as healthcare. We must sustain this research and innovation momentum that underpins our Digital Economy strategies. I am, therefore, pleased to announce and share with Members that we will allocate a further $300 million for research in the SDE domain, almost doubling it from the current budget. This increase is part of the next phase of the National Research Foundation's RIE2020 plan, which will be announced soon.
We are also establishing Digital Services Labs to unlock value from our R&D investments. This programme will work with technology providers, research and industry partners to co-develop cutting-edge technology to address business challenges.
Effective regulations that keep abreast of change and innovation and world-class digital infrastructure underpin our Digital Economy vision.
In that regard, we are reviewing our Electronic Transactions Act to cater for new business models, new technologies and national projects. We are also reviewing PDPA so that it continues to safeguard consumer interests while enabling the innovative use of data.
To Ms Sylvia Lim's query, in 2018, the PDPC processed 1,669 complaints on data protection issues and 1,236 on Do Not Call issues. PDPC has the expertise and resources to investigate different types of data protection breaches and, where necessary, works with external parties on investigations. Because it is cited within IMDA, the agency is also able to ride on IMDA's broader infrastructure and overheads and focus its resources on investigations and some of the core areas of work. We will continue to ensure that PDPC is adequately resourced and fit-for-purpose.
I had also explained in Parliament on 12 February why public agencies are not covered by PDPA. I want to inform Ms Sylvia Lim that the reasons have not changed in the next past weeks. The data protection standards in PDPA and the Public Sector Governance Act (PSGA) are broadly aligned. Public agencies are subject to the same, if not higher standards, than the private sector. They are covered not only by PSGA but also other specific legislation and the Government Instruction Manual, which Ms Sylvia Lim has also acknowledged. When necessary, PDPC helps to link individuals with the organisation and its data protection officers to address specific data protection concerns that have been raised. PDPC can also refer parties to mediation.
Mr Mohamed Irshad asked about recourse available for individuals affected by data breaches. Individuals who suffer loss can seek legal advice on available recourse, including seeking compensation directly from the organisation or by taking private action against the organisation. Individuals may also resolve data protection disputes through mediation by the Consumers Association of Singapore or the Singapore Mediation Centre.
We are also preparing for new technologies like AI. Mr Vikram Nair asked about AI ethics, which is an area we are focused on, given the pervasive potential of AI technology. And to this end, I recently launched Singapore's Model AI Governance Framework to guide private organisations, in particular, to deploy AI solutions safely and ethically. We have also established an Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of AI and Data and launched a research programme to advance discourse on legal and ethical AI issues. Prof Lim Sun Sun will be happy to note that we are engaging partners like the Advisory Council, sector regulators and TACs to promote the adoption of the Framework. Our efforts in AI governance and ethics have also received international recognition as a World Summit on the Information Society Prizes 2019 Champion. So, this is an acknowledgment at an international fora of the work that we are doing, but we are pressing ahead because the landscape is evolving.
To Mr Ong Teng Koon's query on infrastructure, we aim to ensure that we have future-ready and globally competitive digital infrastructure which is the bedrock of our digital economy.
So, we plan to commence the rollout of fifth generation mobile networks, or what is more commonly known as 5G, by 2020 to maintain Singapore's competitive edge in connectivity. With 5G, businesses and citizens can experience peak data rates of up to 100 times faster than 4G, with up to 25 times lower latency, and the ability to support up to 1,000 times more devices per square kilometre. And 5G has the potential to fundamentally transform our businesses and the way they operate, given its capacity to handle many high-demand applications simultaneously, such as the connectivity of autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, the deployment of IoT and nationwide sensor networks. IMDA will launch a public consultation shortly to help us develop the right regulatory framework and policies for 5G, including the allocation of spectrum.
On Mr Cedric Foo's point, we are strong advocates for open cross-border data flows, which is essential if we are to fully harness the potential of technologies like AI.
At the regional level, we have helped set baseline data protection principles in the region by contributing to the ASEAN Framework on Digital Data Governance. We also participate in multilateral certification mechanisms like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Cross-Border Privacy Rules and Privacy Recognition for Processors systems. We have included commitments to promote data flows in free trade agreements, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. And, collectively, these initiatives will enable businesses to transfer data across borders seamlessly and securely and seize new digital opportunities.
But these opportunities can only be meaningfully realised within a safe and secure cyberspace. I agree with Mr Teo Ser Luck and Assoc Prof Daniel Goh that besides helping SMEs benefit from digitalisation, we must help them protect their businesses from cyber threats. So, CSA and IMDA will expand the range of pre-approved solutions to include cybersecurity solutions later this year. This will give SMEs some guidance into the kind of solutions they can adopt and strengthen their cybersecurity measures.
Dr Teo Ho Pin asked how we are protecting our CIIs. Last year, we passed the Cybersecurity Act. It empowers CSA to effectively combat cyberattacks and investigate cyber incidents. All CIIs have been designated by the end of 2018. Our 11 CII sectors provide essential services, such as transport, energy and water supply, and all CII owners must adhere to the Cybersecurity Code of Practice. Regular penetration tests are also conducted to identify and rectify vulnerabilities. In addition, we have in place measures to enhance resilience, including contingency and incident response plans in the event that a cyberattack causes the disruption of essential services.
We launched Digital Defence as the sixth pillar of Total Defence last month. It was in recognition of the fact that each and every citizen, business and organisation has a role to play in helping us develop robust defences against threats from cyberspace. To paraphrase the old saying, we are only as strong as the weakest cyber link. Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary will be sharing more details on our cybersecurity efforts.
Finally, we believe that every Singaporean can be a digitally connected and engaged citizen. Building digital readiness is a national effort involving the Government, businesses, communities and individuals. This is why we are launching the Digital Participation Pledge which allows organisations to commit to one or more actionable items that help Singaporeans acquire skills and adopt technology. So far, more than 270 organisations have pledged to do their part, and we hope to see more organisations sign up so that, together, we can build a more digitally ready Singapore.
I am heartened by the many volunteers and corporate partners who have come forward to volunteer at our Digital Clinics to assist citizens in using mobile devices. Standard Chartered Bank is a corporate partner with more than 200 of their staff members volunteering. One of the volunteers, Ms Audrey Poh, shared with me that she was inspired by the participants' enthusiasm to learn as she taught them to use different apps. Our Digital Clinics have reached more than 4,000 individuals since 2017. And this was only possible with the support of 20 corporate partners and 1,000 volunteers like Ms Poh.
To support many more Singaporeans like Ms Poh who are passionate about helping others, we will launch Our Singapore Fund, which will support community efforts that promote digital readiness. This is in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), and Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary will be elaborating on these initiatives.
Mr Chairman, I have spoken at length on our broad range of efforts to help our enterprises and people benefit from the opportunities presented by the digital economy. This is not an easy task nor is it the sole responsibility of the Government. Indeed, ultimately, every business, every worker and every citizen has to step up, overcome the challenges, and take ownership of their learning and digital transformation. Chairman, if I may have your permission to show this video which aptly captures the challenge that we are dealing with?
The Chairman: Yes, please. [A video was shown to hon Members.]
Mr S Iswaran: Thank you. This is what my younger colleagues in the Ministry called a \"bold\" or \"edgy\" video.
Mr Chairman, if I may conclude, the building of a vibrant digital economy in Singapore is a shared endeavour. And the video we have just seen highlights that there are challenges, whether we are individuals, workers or smaller enterprises. In different ways, we are dealing with these challenges. And it also shows how we can collaborate and succeed. So, let us work together, as digitally-empowered businesses, digitally-skilled workers and digitally-connected citizens to realise that vision.
The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary.
The Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information (Dr Janil Puthucheary): Mr Chairman, as technology becomes part of our lives, we need to strengthen our digital readiness and our cybersecurity. We must ensure that all Singaporeans have access to the tools and knowledge to benefit from technology, and that workers and businesses will thrive in a cybersecure environment.
Several Members have expressed concerns about segments of our society that may be slower or less likely to benefit from the digital transformation journey that Singapore is undergoing.
We must ensure that the benefits of digitalisation are enjoyed by all. Digital readiness is a whole-of-nation effort. It requires the combined efforts of the Government, businesses and the community.
Last year, we launched the Digital Readiness Blueprint and set up a Digital Readiness Council. This Council will provide strategic direction, guide the implementation of our digital readiness initiatives, and examine the needs of the community in terms of digital inclusion, literacy and participation. Importantly, and very hearteningly, as Minister noted, we have received significant support from the wider community and businesses to serve on the Council and its working committees.
Our efforts can be categorised into these three areas: digital participation, digital inclusion and digital literacy.
For Digital Participation, we will launch two new initiatives to mobilise organisations from the private, people and public sectors to drive our digital readiness efforts and bring more citizens on board the digital readiness movement.
The Digital Participation Pledge, which the Minister announced, is a voluntary, online pledge, to encourage organisations to promote digital participation and inclusion. The primary focus is businesses. And already, 270 organisations from a wide range of industries – not just the tech industry, not just the online industry, but any industry that can make use of these digital technologies – have done so and pledged their commitment to expand their digital readiness efforts. Our target is to have 3,000 organisations on board this Pledge by 2021.
In another realm – also for digital participation but focusing on the community – we have partnered MCCY to create Our Singapore Fund for Digital Readiness. This encourages community efforts to promote digital readiness and enlarge the social commons by the non-profit sector around digital readiness. Projects can receive up to $20,000 of funding, to support up to 80% of project costs.
Moving on to Digital Inclusion, and to answer Mr Cedric Foo, Ms Tin Pei Ling and Ms Rahayu Mahzam about how we are helping everyone benefit from technology, digital inclusion requires access to technology, as well as the skills and knowledge to use it safely and confidently.
We have organised over 90 Digital Clinics since 2017. These Digital Clinics were by appointment, or irregular, ad hoc and often organised together with events. To provide this as a permanent service to residents, we launched the Tech Connect service, starting at eight community centres last November. This service provides residents with personal assistance in a language they are comfortable with on how to use digital devices and applications like Facebook and WhatsApp, so that they can connect with friends and family, build stronger social networks and use technology in everyday aspects of their lives. They can also seek help for very practical issues, like how to reset a password. This service will be rolled out to all community centres progressively as a permanent service.
We are encouraged by the large number of seniors who have picked up basic digital skills through our Silver Infocomm Initiatives. Collectively, our Silver Infocomm Initiatives have reached over 270,000 seniors.
To Mr Ong Teng Koon's query on how we are ensuring that digital connectivity remains affordable, the Home Access Programme and the NEU PC Plus programme provide subsidised infocomm devices and Internet access to low-income households. To date, more than 70,000 households have benefited from these programmes. This type of effort is not new. These sort of programmes have existed as public sector programmes since 1999 for more than 20 years trying to find ways to make sure that vulnerable, lower-income households that will benefit from that type of connectivity will have access to connectivity, as well as the devices to make use of that connectivity. We have different programmes, depending on whether there are school-going children in the household.
In addition, MCI is working with IMDA and the People's Association (PA) to run a pilot programme for elderly residents in MacPherson and Radin Mas constituencies. We plan to provide 200 residents who do not have mobile devices or Internet connectivity with data-equipped smartphones. Grassroots volunteers will provide guidance to help residents build skills and confidence in using this technology. This is part of a study – an experiment, a pilot – to find out how we can encourage and support the adoption of digital technology, among the digitally less ready.
Prof Lim Sun Sun has asked how we can help individuals acquire the necessary skills, and ascertain what competencies are needed to function effectively in the digital economy. Her questions address the third component of digital readiness, after Participation and Inclusion, which is Digital Literacy. IMDA has developed a Basic Digital Skills Curriculum to ensure that citizens can pick up these skills in a structured manner.
The skills identified in the curriculum correspond to everyday activities, with an emphasis on prevailing technology trends, such as the use of e-payments and mobile applications. The curriculum is being offered as a one-day course. Those who are keen to pick up Basic Digital Skills at their own pace can also do so online at the IM Silver portal. We will periodically refresh the curriculum and curate relevant content for seniors, taking into account emerging trends and feedback from stakeholders.
In the longer term, we are also developing an information and media literacy framework that pools together relevant information, media and cyber literacy skills that Singaporeans need to use social media and digital technology responsibly and safely. This framework will spell out a set of desired outcomes and include content guidelines for programme owners to reference. We aim to roll it out later this year and to refresh it regularly.
Mr Vikram Nair, Mr Darryl David and Ms Rahayu Mahzam asked how Singaporeans can navigate an increasingly complex cyberspace and given the threat of deliberate online falsehoods, cybercrime and cyberattacks. Technology offers us greater convenience and greater connectivity. But it can be stressful to navigate the complex web of websites, applications and services. Online threats worsen anxiety, reduce trust and undermine public confidence in institutions. This threatens national security. We have seen this happen in other countries, and Singapore is not immune.
A well-informed and discerning public is Singapore’s first and most important line of defence against online threats. The Government is improving public education to tackle the serious and pervasive problem of deliberate online falsehoods. For example, NLB's \"Source. Understand. Research. Evaluate\" (SURE) programme, raises awareness of the dangers and how to discern fake news. The Ministry of Education's (MOE’s) New Media Literacies toolkit supports teachers’ efforts to help students navigate the digital environment. This includes learning how to detect falsehoods on social media, and how to interact responsibly with others online. Over the past two years, organisations like the Media Literacy Council have also supported ground-up projects to help the public become better-informed consumers through its Better Internet x Youth Call-for-Proposals.
To educate citizens and businesses on good cyber hygiene, CSA launched a cybersecurity awareness campaign in May 2018, called \"Cyber Tips 4 You\". It reaches out to businesses on good cybersecurity practices through a variety of channels, such as talks, conferences and an online portal called \"GoSafeOnline\". CSA and IMDA are also working with schools to help students pick up essential cybersecurity knowledge and learn to effectively protect themselves from an early age.
We have launched Digital Defence as the sixth pillar of Total Defence. Like our battle against terrorism, we need everyone to play their part. This means being secure, alert and responsible online.
There are five things we can all do, including Members of this House, to make vigilance against deliberate online falsehoods and good cyber hygiene a matter of personal responsibility. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all, first, to please not post or forward dubious information, without checking; secondly, use a strong password and two-factor authentication; third, install, use and update your antivirus software; fourth, update all your software as soon as possible; and fifth, watch out for signs of phishing. These five practices go a long way to help all of us guard against fake news, and stay safe online.
Mr Vikram Nair asked how we assess the cybersecurity of our Government systems. A safe and trusted cyberspace is essential for Smart Nation. This includes strengthening partnerships between the Government and industry, to achieve a higher level of collective cybersecurity. We will need the combined efforts of our stakeholders, that is, industry, academia and the community to achieve this.
One of the many ways that we do this is through the Government Bug Bounty Programme. From December last year to January, 400 \"white hat\" hackers – \"white hat\" hackers are people who have hacking skills and use them for good, as compared to \"black hat\" hackers who do so for criminal reasons – took part in the Government Bug Bounty Programme organised by Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and CSA. They have “stress-tested” the defences of five Internet-facing Government systems and identified 26 vulnerabilities, all of which have been remediated.
This process raised our cybersecurity standards. We gained insights into potential attack vectors, better secured our web applications, and improved our mechanisms for patching vulnerabilities effectively and comprehensively. Seven out of the top 10 awarded bounty participants were from Singapore. I am happy to see our local cybersecurity community contributing to improving the security of our systems. We will conduct more of such programmes in the future. I hope some of the participants apply for jobs at CSA.
Mr Teo Ser Luck asked about our targeted efforts to seize new opportunities in the digital economy. Cybersecurity is an area of economic opportunity that complements Singapore’s existing strengths – strong connectivity, a digitally savvy workforce, and a reputation for trust and transparency. A strong cybersecurity ecosystem will provide expertise and solutions that contribute to a more resilient digital infrastructure.
We are helping cybersecurity startups scale and establish their credentials through the Innovation Cybersecurity Ecosystem at Block71 (ICE71), which brings together a community of entrepreneurs, investors and corporate partners. The community has done well since its launch last year, reaching out to more than 50,000 people through various events. We are starting to see a growth of local cybersecurity startups.
One such company is The Cyber Assembly, a homegrown startup that connects people to cyber skills through an active learning cyber range, bootcamp programmes, and even a mobile game called “What the Hack”. ICE71’s Scale programme provided opportunities for Mr Ng Pan Yong, the company’s founder, to connect with the right audience and grow his business.
In September 2018, CSA launched an Industry Call for Innovation to catalyse the development and adoption of innovative cybersecurity solutions. CSA received more than 70 proposals to develop solutions for 10 cybersecurity challenge statements. In 2019, the Government will expand the Call for Innovation into the Cyber Security Innovation and Growth Programme to support local cybersecurity companies to create innovative and relevant cybersecurity solutions and to meet the changing needs of the industry.
Mr Low Thia Khiang asked how we are meeting Singapore's cybersecurity manpower needs. Building a strong cybersecurity workforce is important not only for the development of our cybersecurity industry, but also for our national security.
As our world becomes more connected and new cyber threats emerge, demand for cybersecurity talent has grown exponentially. Across the public and private sectors, the total number of jobs for cybersecurity professionals tripled from 2012 to 2017, to 5,300. At the same time, the actual number of cybersecurity professionals in employment quadrupled to 4,900, which is about 3% of the ICT workforce. We expect the strong demand for cybersecurity professionals to continue.
Our agencies are working closely with one another on the cybersecurity ecosystem to strengthen the pipeline of cybersecurity professionals, deepen their skills and technical expertise, and improve the career progression and recognition for the profession.
To meet industry needs, IMDA and CSA drive targeted efforts under the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative. These include the Cyber Security Associates and Technologists Programme which develops and upskills fresh and mid-career professionals for cybersecurity jobs through on-the-job training. Eight companies have committed to develop more than 900 professionals by 2021. In addition, over 3,000 individuals have benefited from 50 cybersecurity courses supported under TeSA's Critical Information Technology Resource Programme.
To attract, develop and retain cybersecurity practitioners in the public sector, CSA works closely with GovTech and other agencies to build a core of cybersecurity specialists who will be deployed across agencies to support the Government's cybersecurity needs.
Mr Douglas Foo asked how we are developing products that contribute towards a safe and trusted cyberspace for Singapore. As part of MCI's work to ensure our standards and regulations support the growth of the digital economy, we have made progress in building a strong cybersecurity standards regime in Singapore.
I am pleased to announce that this has resulted in Singapore attaining the status of a Common Criteria Certificate Authorising Nation as of January 2019. This Common Criteria Certificate is the de facto standard for cybersecurity product certification around the world. Today, 30 nations, including Singapore, are part of the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) for the mutual recognition of certifications. But not all the countries are Authorising Nations where you can produce the product. There is an ecosystem of 30 countries that recognise this, but we have now attained the status of an Authorising Nation, to produce the products and extend it globally. This will allow local companies to develop globally recognised products within Singapore, with estimated cost and time savings, because you do not have to send your product overseas for evaluation, nor bring the testers and evaluators here to Singapore. We can do it all within our economy. It is a step towards becoming a regional hub for product evaluation and certification. We are attracting global evaluation laboratories to anchor their operations in Singapore. These developments will accelerate Singapore’s exports of world-class cybersecurity products and create good jobs for Singaporeans.
To encourage SMEs to build more secure products and adopt this Common Criteria certification, we have a new SecureTech track under the Accreditation@SG Digital programme. The Accreditation@SG Digital programme helps local SMEs to improve their business practices, engage with the local community, and be considered by Government agencies for the procurement of their products. So, this new SecureTech Track will apply the same thinking towards cybersecurity SMEs and cybersecurity products for their growth, scale and their consideration by Government agencies for the procurement of cybersecurity products.
Mr Chairman, digital transformation is not only about hardware or software. It is about our citizens, workers and businesses who innovate, utilise and benefit from these technologies.
Our efforts span digital readiness and cybersecurity and will help these important stakeholders, so that we can embrace the potential of a common digital future together.
The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Sim Ann.
The Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information (Ms Sim Ann): Mr Chairman, Minister Iswaran and Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary have shared the exciting opportunities in a digital future and what we are doing to help every Singaporean reap the digital dividend.
Digital transformation is also the key theme of enhancements to our libraries, media and Government communications, where our focus is in supporting Singaporeans in reading and learning, and in being well-informed.
Let me start with our libraries. As Members would know, the transformation of our libraries is among the most thorough and dramatic ever experienced by our public sector agencies in their drive to serve Singaporeans better.
We remain committed to this transformation journey. Beyond better collections, more comfortable surroundings and more efficient customer service, we continue to site, design and refresh libraries in a manner that keeps pace with Singaporeans' urban lifestyles. Our goal is to stay ahead of changing preferences, and to continually delight library users. We site where footfall is high, and we put extra effort into space and programme design. Let me illustrate this with library@harbourfront, which opened in January this year.
During my visit, I was heartened by the scene of students, children, working adults and grandparents reading and learning under the same roof. Parents were guiding their children through hands-on activities based on Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) concepts at the children's makerspace. Just a few steps away, the programme zone was bustling with seniors chatting and enjoying one another's company while picking up tips on cybersecurity. Offerings like these, combined with the library's innovative design and panoramic view of Sentosa and our port, make for a delightful visit and all-round experience for every user.
Our libraries of the future have been well-received by Singaporeans. They have generated 50% higher loans and an increase of around 65% in visitorship, compared with their non-revamped counterparts. This is in spite of the downward trend in visitorship and loans observed in the libraries of many other countries.
Over the years, we have also transformed our library collections, going beyond providing purely \"books\", to a vast array of learning resources. A major push on this front has been going digital, which has redefined convenience and the reading experience for all library users.
Members of the public have written in to express their appreciation of the NLB Mobile App, launched in 2016. Mr Jeffery Sung discovered that within minutes of downloading the app, he was able to read newspapers from around the world and browse the bestselling books in town. Essentially, the App has placed the library within our pockets. Our eBook loans have more than doubled since 2017. To meet the rising demand for eBooks, NLB had raised the eBook loan quota from eight to 16. Singaporeans who have yet to try eBooks and audiobooks can sample them outside the library at our eReads kiosks. NLB will roll out eight to 10 more of these kiosks across the island this year.
For many years, NLB has doubled the loan quota of physical items to coincide with the school holidays. Each time we run this, we consistently get great feedback from our users, who take advantage of the promotion to read and borrow more. I am pleased to announce that users need no longer wait for the school holidays. From 1 April, we will be doubling the physical loan quota from eight to 16 items permanently. In effect, library users will be able to borrow 32 physical and electronic items at any one time.
Another branch in the evolution of the libraries’ collections has been expanding our local content. Reading is a great way to deepen our love for our mother tongues and ethnic cultures. NLB will grow its collection of localised children's books in Chinese, Malay and Tamil. It is currently shortlisting titles that Singaporean children up to the age of 12 can enjoy and relate to, for translation into vernacular languages.
As Members are aware, we face a fast-changing future. In this fluctuating environment, our libraries can serve as every Singaporean’s personal learning retreat, where you can retool and enhance your personal and work life.
I recently met Ms Noorjahan bte Kamaruddin, an avid learner and volunteer who inspired me in more ways than one. To achieve her lifelong dream of publishing a recipe book, Ms Noorjahan set out to acquire skills on electronic publishing, copyright, privacy and cybersecurity matters at the \"Silver Digital Creators\" Workshop organised by NLB and IMDA. She continued working on the project after the course, and is now the proud author of the eBook \"Noor's Just Right Recipes\". But Ms Noorjahan did not stop there. With the knowledge she gained, she has begun training others. Noor's story demonstrates how collaborative learning has enriched her life and the lives of others. It also shows how technology can be harnessed by Singaporeans to achieve great things.
Dr Teo Ho Pin asked how our libraries can play a more proactive role in supporting SkillsFuture and lifelong learning. The answer is that NLB champions continuous, self-directed learning in many ways. We are making it easy for adults to take advantage of the library’s learning resources. For example, NLB's Digital Business Library offers more than 4,000 e-book titles condensed into 10-minute, bite-sized reads for busy adults. I would also like to thank Dr Teo Ho Pin for his suggestion on how NLB could work more closely with SkillsFuture Singapore.
NLB is actively partnering industries, SkillsFuture Singapore, Workforce Singapore and the Council for Third Age to deliver a comprehensive slate of job and skills-related programmes for Singaporeans. For instance, \"SkillsFuture Advice\" helps Singaporeans understand the importance of career planning and skills upgrading. Learning today is no longer confined to information gathering, but also actively practising in a guided environment, under the tutelage of mentors. Singaporeans who are keen to tap the brains and insights of industry gamechangers, such as the founders of Carousell and ShopBack, can do so through the \"Breakthrough: Conversations with Entrepreneurs and Innovators\" series. NLB will do even more. Over the next five years, we target to run 1,500 workshops benefiting more than 50,000 participants.
Mr Darryl David asked how libraries can continue to serve as inclusive social spaces for Singaporeans of all ages. I am pleased to say that for all the transformation our libraries have undergone, certain principles remain constant. Libraries bring people of diverse backgrounds together. In the words of 29-year-old Karimah Samsudin, \"The library allows you to expose yourself to different ideas, so you do not just stay in your own box or cocoon and get to know different kinds of people\". Another regular patron, Ms Leo Yih Nah, shared that book clubs were good social events that would help to lower the risk of dementia for seniors like her in the long run.
NLB goes one step further in its aim to cultivate inclusive social spaces. It is committed to extending the multitude of opportunities I have elaborated on to all, especially learners amongst us who could use an added boost. One of our hallmark nationwide programmes is KidsREAD, which promotes early reading for less privileged children and which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. To bring the library even closer to them, WondeRead was launched in 2018. Similar to a subscription box delivery service, WondeRead delivers pre-loved library books quarterly to children who are not able to visit libraries on their own. WondeRead is accomplished with partner organisations, who either sponsored items in the box, or whose staff personally selected and packed books for each child. Many of the WondeRead beneficiaries look forward eagerly to their next box delivery.
To enable job creation for persons with special needs, NLB will be extending its employment partnership with the Autism Resource Centre (ARC) in 2019. ARC clients were trained on collection arrangement work in late 2018 and, since January 2019, they have been employed by NLB to support the operations of the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library. Mr Chairman, in Mandarin, please.
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: Our libraries are favourite go-to places for Singaporeans. They love to read books and newspapers in the library and nourish their mind in a cool and quiet environment. This is a delightful activity to complement our fast-paced urban lifestyles. Moving into the digital era, NLB will strive to provide better services for our readers, who have been very supportive of our libraries.
In the digital era, the definition of books has changed and has expanded from physical and paper books to include e-books. People can read countless books on a small mobile phone or tablet personal computer.
In 2018, NLB increased the loan quota for e-books from eight to 16, and this was well-received by the public. From April this year, NLB will increase the loan quota for physical books to 16 as well. So, avid readers need not fret about not being able to borrow as many books as they want. The question is whether they can finish reading them all.
Secondly, NLB and Government departments in charge of promoting Continuing Education and Training (CET) and IT literacy will collaborate to develop libraries as entry level classrooms for Singaporeans to learn new skills. Some of these courses are suitable for seniors and will be conducted in their mother tongue. For example, the Bedok Library, Toa Payoh Library and the new Harbourfront Library at Vivo City will provide these classes. I hope members of the public will give them a try.
Thirdly, to encourage children to learn their mother tongue and increase their Mother Tongue Language (MTL) reading materials, NLB will select good quality children’s books in English featuring local content, and translate them into Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
(In English): Our media have an important role in helping Singaporeans stay well-informed and, through shared discourse, fostering a sense of togetherness and identity. Most Singaporeans would be able to recall growing up with their favourite local drama series, or tuning into news and current affairs programmes to follow the unfolding of national events.
Mr Darryl David asked how PSB is evolving in response to increasing competition for eyeballs from online and foreign platforms. Indeed, PSB must keep pace with changing consumption habits so that it is integral to the lives of viewers. Our national broadcaster is engaging Singaporeans across a wide range of platforms so that viewers can easily discover and enjoy local content. Let me illustrate with the example of Channel 8's \"SPOP Sing!\", a nationwide competition which discovers and celebrates young singing talents. Instead of the traditional approach of airing the show exclusively on television (TV), Mediacorp released content on an array of platforms. Its efforts had borne fruit. On top of the 1.7 million viewers who tuned in on Free-to-Air TV, more than 850,000 watched it on Toggle. Performance tracks were streamed more than 150,000 times on major digital music platforms, such as Spotify, and social media and on-ground outreach events extended engagement further still.
Another important priority of ours is to strengthen the reach of local vernacular content.
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: In order to help the public access more information in Chinese and expand their audience base in the digital era, Mediacorp has pooled resources in TV and radio to create a new portal that includes news, entertainment and lifestyle information, and this is set to be launched in the middle of the year.
(In English): Suria will continue to partner with community organisations in large-scale events, such as the opening of Wisma Geylang Serai. In the same vein, Vasantham is partnering the Tamil Language Council and Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee for community events like the annual Tamil Language Festival. Through ground events and engagement, Suria and Vasantham are able to connect with their communities and celebrate culture and values, while increasing social media outreach and the visibility of their content and artistes.
From listening to citizens’ views and concerns, to explaining Government policies and schemes, the Ministry builds clear channels for communication that foster a well-informed and engaged nation.
Ms Tin Pei Ling asked how we can improve communications of Government policies across age groups and communities. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, we customise the content, platforms and languages for different groups of Singaporeans. For our millennials, we produced a web series Ah Boys – Hidden Warfare, that covered topics of concern to them, like jobs and economy, and marriage and parenthood. For older audiences, there was the Getai Challenge, where we adapted the skits and music performances of a familiar local tradition to share useful information with our seniors, such as housing, social support measures and diabetes awareness.
Age is not the only diversity we cater for. Our communications are also tailored for various communities. For example, we rode on the festive cheer of the Deepavali and Chinese New Year seasons to share timely and informative content with our Indian and Chinese communities. Topics included financial planning and healthy eating. Similarly, we customised programmes, such as Abang Teksi, which highlighted different forms of Government assistance to help Singaporeans tide through disruptions, including Adapt and Grow initiatives. Our post-campaign research showed about eight in 10 respondents were keener to sign up for Adapt and Grow initiatives after watching the programme, suggesting its effectiveness.
Mr Leon Perera asked about public opinion surveys conducted by the Government. Government agencies use a variety of means to better understand ground issues and concerns. These include outreach activities conducted by REACH, house visits and surveys which help our agencies assess public sentiment on issues, and public awareness of, and response to, Government policies and programmes.
For example, after the Pioneer Generation Package was introduced in 2014, we conducted surveys to ascertain how well understood the package was by the target audience, that is, the Pioneers themselves. As a result of these studies, we decided to use Chinese dialects to communicate the package to our Pioneers who are less comfortable with English or Mandarin. We will undertake a similar process in planning our communications on the Merdeka Generation Package.\tMost surveys that MCI and other agencies conduct are for internal reference, like the ones I have described.
The Government does not compile statistics on the surveys conducted by various agencies, or which among them are published. In MCI, REACH periodically releases survey data on a range of issues. In recent years, REACH has released surveys of public perceptions on the annual Budget and the National Day Rally Speech, Central Provident Fund changes, public transport and the public's awareness of financial assistance schemes, among other subjects. These survey findings may also be found on REACH's website.
The Government does not make policy decisions or decide communication strategies solely on the basis of surveys. But they help ensure that service delivery and policy implementation are satisfactory. The Government releases surveys that may be of interest to the public. For example, REACH has released surveys of public perception on the Annual Budget and the National Day Rally speech, fake news and public transport. Another example would be the study of social capital commissioned by MCCY. Other surveys released include studies of youth, national security awareness as well as attitudes towards water conservation.
As for coordination, agencies need the operational flexibility to conduct their own surveys on issues of concern within their purview. Some questions may be common across different surveys because they are cross-cutting in nature. Our agencies coordinate such efforts when it is operationally feasible to do so.
Mr Darryl David asked how we can improve civic discussion in schools and beyond to encourage the plurality of views among Singaporeans. Through public consultations, Singaporeans have a say in shaping public policies. More than 36,000 Singaporeans have provided feedback on issues like the cost of living, jobs, transport and fake news, at more than 250 REACH Listening Points and dialogues between 2017 and 2018. REACH regularly engages students on national issues at dedicated Listening Points and dialogues held at our IHLs as well. Among them was university student, Mr Alif Mohammad Hafidz, who gave his suggestions to this year's Budget and shared that the session motivated him to find out more about the Budget process. We will continue to consult the public on issues of importance to our nation’s future and invite Singaporeans to lend their voices to the ongoing dialogue.
Mr Chairman, I have described how my Ministry plans to help Singaporeans stay connected and engaged, through reading, learning and being well-informed, and how digital transformation will play a key role in these plans.
The Chairman: Minister Iswaran.
Mr S Iswaran: Mr Chairman, Sir, many Members have spoken in this COS debate about the need to bring Singaporeans closer together as we take Singapore forward. We agree wholeheartedly with them.
Let me now share with Members how MCI is fulfilling our vision of an engaged and connected Singapore. Through the media sector, we will engage Singaporeans with shared stories of our home and nation. Through our National Library and Archives, we will cultivate a shared appreciation of our past, so that we can move into the future with confidence and a strong sense of our identity.
Let me begin with the media. The digital age offers great promise for our media sector to grow. The global entertainment and media industry is expected to grow by 4.4% from 2017 to 2022. Within Southeast Asia, the media sector is likely to grow by more than 7%. There is a discernible shift towards Asia and Asian content.
We are well-positioned to seize these opportunities. We are at the confluence of the East and the West. We have talented storytellers and world-class digital infrastructure. We must leverage these strengths to develop promising young talent, deepen the skills of our media workforce and prime our industry to ride the wave of growth in the global media ecosystem.
Mr Darryl David has asked about our plans to develop the local media industry. We are doing so through manpower development plans like our Skills Framework for Media, which maps out career pathways and skills to help media professionals stay ahead of the competition. We will enhance this Framework to meet the industry's needs for writing and storytelling skills, as well as the demand for professionals with digital skills like data analytics and social media management.
First, we will extend the iPrep scheme to media students in tertiary schools so that they can be better prepared for the rigours of the media industry when they graduate. iPrep will provide up to $8,500 per student to cover the costs of attending industry courses, overseas internships or immersion programmes.
Next, we will strengthen on-the-job training to familiarise fresh media professionals with the latest trends and tools of the trade. IMDA will launch a Story Lab Apprenticeship this year to help young media professionals gain customised training and experience in key media companies. I am glad that companies like Mediacorp, mm2 Entertainment, HBO Asia and Turner Asia Pacific have already expressed interest to come on board. IMDA will announce more details by the third quarter of this year.
We will also help media professionals master digital skills to compete and thrive in today's landscape. Our CET courses have been very useful to media professionals like 37-year-old Ms Nusaibah Abdul Rahim, who is creative director of a media production company. Last December, Ms Nusaibah attended a data-driven content development workshop organised by the Singapore Media Academy and learned how to analyse data from audience insights to drive creative decision-making. IMDA will curate more of such CET courses.
Mr Darryl David asked about our plans to help local media companies go global. I would like to give two examples. Firstly, IMDA's Public Service Media Digital Partnership Fund will help local media companies partner international players to co-produce digital-first public service content for our audiences. In other words, content, but it is digital first. IMDA's funding call for proposals will close by the end of this month, and I strongly encourage local companies to make use of this resource.
Secondly, the Singapore Media Festival will continue to be our main platform to showcase our most promising talent and companies to the world. Last December, the Festival attracted over 23,000 media professionals and industry thought leaders and facilitated more than US$313 million worth of deals. We will expand the Singapore Media Festival to seize the opportunities created by the growing convergence of the tech and media industries and strengthen Singapore's thought leadership in the region. IMDA will share more details in the second quarter of this year.
Our efforts to develop the media industry will help us tell our stories better to our fellow Singaporeans and to the rest of the world. And there is, indeed, no better story one could argue than the story of Singapore. This year’s Bicentennial commemoration will help us to understand our early history, how Raffles' landing in 1819 set us on a path to where we are today, and reflect on the attributes we will need to succeed in the future.
The National Library and Archives will play an important and meaningful role in this Bicentennial commemoration.
NLB will roll out a series of activities to increase engagement with Singaporeans. For example, NLB's librarians will play host and present the National Library's rare material collection with 25 specially produced videos. Some highlights of this valuable treasure trove of Singapore's early history include Munajathu Thiratuu, the oldest Tamil book on Islamic religious poetry held by the National Library, or Hikayat Abdullah, one of the most important records of the sociopolitical landscape in Singapore, Malacca and the southern Malay kingdoms at the turn of the 19th century.
These videos will be released every fortnight from April on NLB's social media channels. We have also brought a special preview of the NLB's archives to Parliament. I invite all Members to visit the Reception Hall of Parliament House to view exhibits that showcase our multicultural roots and life in early Singapore.
NLB has also worked with community groups to digitise valuable historical content. Last month, Senior Minister of State Sim Ann launched the Singapore Biographical Database of Chinese Personalities to remember Pioneers who contributed significantly to Singapore in its early days. NLB and the Tamil Digital Heritage Group are already hard at work collecting historical materials on Indian dance in Singapore for a new Digital Archive of Singapore's Tamil Dance. Theatre practitioners from the Malay community will partner NLB to create a Digital Archive of Singapore Malay Theatre. These new databases will be a rich resource of our arts and cultural heritage, and they will be publicly available from December this year.
Our National Archives also have much to offer. The National Archives Singapore (NAS) celebrated their Golden Jubilee last year, and their birthday wish is to encourage every Singaporean to play a part in preserving our collective memories. Our Community Oral History Committees, representing the Malay, Chinese, Indian and Eurasian communities in Singapore, have had more than 100 volunteers document over 160 hours of interviews for our national oral history collection. One such volunteer interviewer is 31-year-old Ms Sushma Somasekharan, an auditor and classical Indian vocalist who recently interviewed her first music teacher, the accomplished Carnatic singer Dr Bhagya Murthy. Thanks to Ms Sushma's interview, we gained valuable insight into the Indian classical music scene in the 1980s and how it evolved with a uniquely Singaporean twist because, in those days, Dr Murthy apparently had to learn to sing in Malay and Mandarin to cater to a multiracial audience as well.
When the revamped National Archives Building at Canning Rise opens next month, I hope Ms Sushma and many other potential archivists will make good use of its new facilities, such as the three new oral history recording studios in the building. The Oldham Theatre in the National Archives of Singapore (NAS) building will become accessible to members of the public, featuring regular screenings of curated films by the Asian Films Archive. NAS will also launch an online system that allows members of the public to request digital images of Singapore in its early days.
I hope these commemorative events will ignite the interest and passion among Singaporeans to discover more about our past and ourselves.
Mr Chairman, the NLB and NAS have done tremendous work as custodians of Singapore's heritage and memories. With your permission, I would like to play a video to showcase their good work.
The Chairman: Yes, please. [A video was shown to hon Members.]
Mr S Iswaran: I hope that Members felt more than a tinge of nostalgia watching those images. Mr Chairman, my Ministry will continue to create opportunities for all Singaporeans in a digital economy and help Singaporeans of all ages embrace technology. We will endeavour to keep our cyberspace safe and secure and enhance Government communications to foster an engaged Singapore. Through the efforts of the National Library and Archives, we will foster a deep understanding of our shared journey from the past to the present and aspire to build a better Singapore, our home, in the next 200 years and beyond. We look forward to working closely with all Singaporeans as MCI perseveres in its mission to connect Singaporeans to one another and to a better and brighter future.
The Chairman: Clarifications, please. Ms Tin Pei Ling.
Ms Tin Pei Ling: (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: \tI would like to thank the Minister for the reply. I would like to ask two questions.
First, Singapore is determined to realise the vision of a Smart Nation. However, amongst Singaporeans, there is still a generation of senior citizens who need our help to pick up digital technology. I would like to ask the Government if a targeted strategy can be implemented, whereby assistance rendered is customised according to the challenges and difficulties faced by the target community, so as to help them embrace the digital era. This is my first question.
My second question is that communicating policies is an art, and the Minister had earlier shared with us that policies are being communicated to our people through multimedia and television programmes. For senior citizens, television programmes may just be a one-off event, and they may miss out on some of the important explanations and information. I suggest that we repeat these important messages and spread them to all corners of the community so that our citizens, particularly our senior citizens, will understand the policymaking process and considerations behind these policies. In this way, Singaporeans will have a better understanding of the thought process behind the Government’s decisions and may give stronger support to our policies. I hope the Senior Minister of State can elaborate on that.
Ms Sim Ann: (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.]: I thank the Member for her clarification. She asked about how we can help senior citizens embrace digital technology. Indeed, it is our hope that all senior citizens in Singapore will be able to ride the wave of the digital era and become savvy in digital technology. In terms of courses and training, there are two important points to note for seniors. Firstly, we noticed that many of them are still more comfortable learning in their mother tongue, so many of our courses are conducted in Mandarin, Malay or Tamil. Another point is that the programmes must be tailored for beginners and the pace must not be too fast. We take note of these two important points.
Here, I would like to take the opportunity to introduce a few specific training courses and programmes, such as IMDA's Silver Info-comm Junction.
These have been set up at more than 30 locations, many of them are in our community centres and some are in the libraries. They offer opportunities for our senior citizens to learn digital and ICT in a relaxing and comfortable environment.
At the same time, IMDA also provides a Basic Digital Skills Curriculum working with partners. We have also set up mobile digital clinics to provide one-on-one instruction for senior citizens at different locations and time slots. This takes into account the fact that many of our senior citizens prefer to learn from instructors on a one-to-one basis.
In addition, there are technology touchpoints available at eight community clubs, where our PA counter staff provide one-to-one assistance to residents and help them learn to use electronic devices and services. The libraries have also introduced a new Seniors Tech and Read programme to teach senior citizens to borrow electronic books and access the Internet. So, we hope that our senior citizens will also be able to enjoy the convenience of e-books.
We have been working hard on the communication of our policies and engagement of the public. We would like to take this opportunity to encourage our Parliamentary colleagues to make good use of all the budget-related information provided by the Ministry of Finance (MOF). Nowadays, there are more and more information available in the four official languages with richer content. We hope that beyond textual information, the Powerpoint slide shows with voice-over explanations made available by MOF will help our people better understand various policies. This is an example of how ongoing communication efforts can complement one-off television or radio programmes to reinforce Singaporeans’ impression of important policies.
The Chairman: Mr Darryl David.
Mr Darryl David: Mr Chairman, I have two points of clarification. The first point I believe should be for Senior Minister of State Sim Ann because it pertains to the library and digital books. I just wanted to ask the Senior Minister of State if she could update on some trends on e-books or digital book borrowing. And does she see a trend in e-book or digital book perhaps even outstripping conventional publications of books in the long run?
Second point of clarification is for, I believe, could be for the Minister. I did attend the National Archive Exhibition. And I really have to commend the National Archives team on the wonderful job that was done. I was wondering if the National Archives could perhaps engage other Government agencies, say, MOE, for example, to ensure that all the excellent work that has been done could also be shared with our students in primary and secondary schools. In the past, this would involve an excursion to the National Archives building and I believe that might be the case for some materials. But I believe much of what I saw as digitalised can be brought onto screens and into the schools. So, is that something that perhaps the Minister could consider, in terms of exposing more of our younger Singaporeans to all of this rich history?
Ms Sim Ann: I thank Mr Darryl David for his questions on e-books. Indeed, we have seen very rapid growth in the use of e-books amongst our library users. From 2017 to 2018, the digital loans have almost quadrupled from 1.5 million such loans to 5.8 million loans in 2018. However, this remains a fraction when compared to the physical loans, which in 2018, stood at about 33 million. So, I think it is a situation in which e-books and e-loans are growing rapidly. But I would say that physical books are still very dominant. As to whether one will outstrip the other, that remains to be seen. But what is clear is that NLB very much should be with the e-books trend to ensure that while they take care of readers who prefer physical books, at the same time, we have to ensure that our collections of e-books and newspapers and magazines continue to be enriched.
The Chairman: Minister Iswaran.
Mr S Iswaran: Mr Chairman, I think it is a very useful insight from Senior Minister of State Sim Ann's earlier reply. In fact, the digital platforms are very effective in reaching certain demographics. And the growth in e-books and the borrowings are largely being driven by a younger demographic. But I think, in general, as Senior Minister of State Sim Ann says, borrowings in physical books also continues to hold its own. So, I think we are in a good situation and we want to encourage the reading habit through whichever channels in order to broaden the reach.
In that vein, the Member's second question about the National Archives, we agree with him fully. In fact, the Archives have a very rich treasure trove of information. And one of the things that we are doing in the course of this year, as I highlighted, is digitalising the content and then finding ways to propagate it with the larger population. So, videos, which will be put out by NLB through its platforms, are going to be one important channel. In fact, much of the Archives' material is already available digitally. We will certainly pursue the option of seeing how we can go in in a more targeted way, for example, to schools. But at the same time, I would just urge all Members to also propagate the message. I am sure all Members have downloaded the NLB app and are using it actively. And I hope then that you will also continue to share that experience with all your constituents and others you are interacting with.
The Chairman: Mr Leon Perera.
Mr Leon Perera: Sir, just one point of clarification for the Senior Minister of State Sim Ann, and I thank the Senior Minister of State for her detailed response to my speech on publishing opinion polls. From the Senior Minister of State's reply, she cited some examples of opinion polls that had been released. I assume that some of these Government opinion polls are for internal reference and are not released. So, my point of clarification would be what would be the concern or impediment or issue with making it a more general rule to release the results of all such surveys, unless there are strong reasons not to, such as national security, such as sensitive issues of sorts, to release that information to the public domain for stakeholders to use?
Ms Sim Ann: I thank Mr Leon Perera for his question. As I have mentioned just now in the speech, the Government releases results of surveys that may be of interest to the public. As for the kind of reasons that the Member has shared earlier, indeed, these are some concerns because some of the surveys may touch on issues with regard to security or it may affect market sentiments on specific sectors. So, these would be some of the reasons, for instance, why not all survey results would be released to the public.
The Chairman: Ms Rahayu Mahzam.
Ms Rahayu Mahzam: Chairman, I have a question for Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary. He had earlier given a very descriptive plan of the cybersecurity state of affairs in Singapore and I wanted to just understand a little bit more about how we are assessing or measuring the savviness of our people in dealings in cyberspace because it would be useful to actually understand where some of the weak points are. The Senior Minister of State mentioned earlier about issues with regard to using lax passwords, phishing and all that. Clearly, there are some areas where we could improve on and I appreciate the efforts by the Media Literacy Council as well as the NLB with SURE. But are there some areas that we could look at on how we can measure and assess and target some of the efforts so that we can improve cybersecurity in Singapore?
Dr Janil Puthucheary: Mr Chairman, I thank Ms Rahayu Mahzam for the question. She asked about how we assess the savviness with respect to cybersecurity. It is a very difficult thing to measure because the technology is moving quite rapidly and the kinds of products and services that are being developed are also not thought of today. People are imagining new business models. We do not really know what would catch fire.
In a way, we try to, by looking to see when things go wrong, such as scams, cyber breaches or theft of information, and so on and so forth. So, we can measure when things go wrong. But that is not necessarily a good example of how savvy we are, which is the word that the Member used.
Internationally, people have tried to develop these measures around knowledge. So, how if you take a poll, for example, whether it is secondary school students or early adults or across the population segment, what do people know about it? Then, you can perhaps also look and see, for example, what are the products and services that businesses would use, either knowledge within the business community or the use of protective technologies within the various communities. And people have tried to come up with these types of measures. And on these types of measures, we come up very well, but that is not something to pat ourselves on the back and assume that there will be no problem. Actually, we do have to keep reminding ourselves.
The key issues are really human behaviour and the social factors. In a way, technology is the easier thing to measure. So, we can do, for example, penetration testing, we can do audits on the use of technology, audits about processes with respect to, for example, thumb drives and locking down systems and Internet surfing separation. But the much harder thing to measure and assess and change is human behaviour – do not share your passwords, do not download suspicious materials – which is why I took the opportunity to remind Members of these few things that we should do. It is something where, like crime, like real-world safety, like road safety, it is sometimes useful to remind and repeat, and remind and repeat, and use learning opportunities to reinforce good behaviour. And I think we have to just keep going down that path.
The Chairman: Ms Sylvia Lim.
Ms Sylvia Lim: Chairman, I have one clarification for the Minister on the issue of personal data protection. One of the points which I raised was about the work of PDPC in helping to achieve outcomes for complainants. And I believe that, in his response, the Minister did say that cases could be referred to mediation. We know that is provided under the Act. It is also provided that the PDPC could direct resolution of a complaint in a way that it considers fit. So, I would like to ask the Minister if he can confirm whether there have been any cases where these alternate dispute resolution methods have actually resulted in compensation or in a payment of some settlement sum to the complainants, whether he is aware if there have been such cases.
Mr S Iswaran: Mr Chairman. I am not aware of such cases.
The Chairman: Dr Teo Ho Pin.
Dr Teo Ho Pin: Sir, I am pleased to learn from Senior Minister of State Sim Ann that the library is planning to build eight to 10 learning pods. I am just wondering whether there is any plan to build a learning pod in Bukit Panjang library.
Ms Sim Ann: I thank Dr Teo Ho Pin for being such a strong supporter of learning pods. We will consider putting one in the Bukit Panjang Library.
The Chairman: Mr Cedric Foo, would you like to withdraw the amendment?
Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng: Chairman, Sir, whilst there are many challenges that this House discussed as Singapore embarks on our digital transformation, the potential benefits are massive and, all of us, as the Minister pointed out, would like every stakeholder, be they Government agencies, businesses, workers and our citizens, to join in this very exciting journey. With that, Chairman, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $987,540,000 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $54,080,000 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Committee of Supply – Head K (Ministry of Education)","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"The Chairman: Head K, Ministry of Education. Ms Denise Phua.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar): Chairman, I beg to move, \"That the total sum to be allocated for Head K of the Estimates be reduced by $100\".
Chairman, I applaud the Ministry of Education (MOE) for the many changes it has made to better our education system. For such a time as this, when disruptions come fast and furious, we have no time to waste to ensure that our education system will, indeed, deliver the self-directed, self-motivated lifelong learners we need for not just a good economy, but also for a caring and inclusive society.
What would our education system look like if we were designing it from scratch? What are the sacred cows that should be examined, modified or slain, if no longer relevant?
I wish to talk about five cows today, namely, Streaming, Gifted Education Programme, Competitions, the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and Tuition.
First one, on Streaming. Jack Neo, in his 2002 movie, \"I Not Stupid\", one of the highest-grossing local films, revolved around the lives of three students in the then EM3 academic stream, showing the ill-effects of labelling. Then, the negative effects of streaming were affirmed again by a 2018 social experiment video \"Regardless of Class\" hosted by Senior Minister of State, Dr Janil Puthucheary. In it, youths from the Integrated Programme, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) streams shared frankly, sometimes painfully, how they perceived each other due to the labelling.
[Deputy Speaker (Mr Lim Biow Chuan) in the Chair]
Sir, doing away with streaming does not equate to putting everyone in the same class for every subject, ignoring the need for each to learn at their own pace and own method. Far from it. One good solution is Subject-based Banding (SBB) and MOE has done it and shown good results from it.
This is not the first time that MOE has done away with streaming and labelling. In 2004, MOE decided to merge the EM1 and EM2 steams and, in 2008, announced that the EM3 academic stream will be scrapped. I, therefore, recommend that streaming be abolished and replaced by SBB for both academic and non-academic subjects.
Next, the second sacred cow – Gifted Education Programme (GEP). I think it should be scrapped if SBB can be introduced. What is the point if academically gifted children only mix amongst themselves or with the academically strongest? Why do we not provide natural settings to let them interact and appreciate one another and other people unlike themselves? GEP should be abolished and students who excel in specific subjects or learn differently can be clustered in subject-banded academic programmes that suit them. For other subjects, such as Physical Education, Co-Curricular Activities (CCA), let the GEP candidates mix with their peers. It will make them better leaders and better human beings.
The third sacred cow I ask for examination is the MOE's \"best teacher/best student/best school\" Competitions. In the spirit of raising and celebrating as much excellence as possible, MOE should review the underlying principles and workings of the \"Best Teacher\", \"Best School\" and \"Best Student\" type of recognition schemes. If we are aiming for every school, indeed, to be a good school in its own right and for as many excellent educators as possible, then these schemes should be reviewed. For instance, there are so many great educators out there – more than 30,000 of them – and selecting one or a few of them as the best is not only a challenging task. It does not do justice to the good work of MOE. So, let us take reference from models, such as the Malcolm-Baldridge Quality Assuarance Schemes, which does not put a cap to the number of winners, but is a system that welcomes as many as possible who can meet the bar of excellence.
Next, on PSLE, the fourth sacred cow, which was delivered in 1960. PSLE has been around since 1960. Sir, views even amongst educators, including school leaders, continue to be split over whether it should remain. Even with the latest removal of exams in Primary 1 and Primary 2 and some transitional years, parents and others in society are not blind to the fact that there is still a high-stakes exam at the end of six years of the primary school education. So, there are good reasons why we should seriously pilot a 10-year through train system from Primary 1 and slay the PSLE sacred cow: (a) it removes the unnecessary step of prematurely sorting children through a high-stakes exam at the age of 12, many of whom are still developing; and (b) removing PSLE frees up substantive PSLE preparation time which are often hot-housing time to crunch a few selected academic subjects, such as English, Mathematics and Science, which do not reflect a holistic education.
Abolishing PSLE will provide real space to provide students to become the curious, agile and more self-directed learners that the future economy needs. Removing PSLE will also release some of the self-inflicted pressure and stress in students, families and teachers who have to choose between educating, learning or teaching to the test. Removing PSLE will also remove a reason to feed the ever-growing tuition industry.
Sir, I disagree with Ministry's stand that PSLE is important to \"gauge how students have done\". There are other ways of conducting formative and summative assessments at any age, in any interval. The Government can carry out the change in a safe manner by allowing for a cluster of pilot schools with an opt-in option for those who believe that it is time for an alternate system. We can refer to the best, such as the Yun-Ku school set up by Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
Finally, on Tuition. MOE should not ignore this elephant in the room and be resigned to this shadow $1 billion education industry. The tuition industry is more nimble and responsive to the needs of its customer base and MOE can learn from them. MOE has started its own online learning platform to increase the access of good learning resources to all. But new online on-demand tutoring platforms have already started in the tuition industry. I believe that if MOE puts its heart to it, it can find ways by which it can take on the tuition industry and remove the excesses of the over-reliance on tuition, especially for students who do not need it.
The Chairman: Ms Denise Phua, can you round up your speech?
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: I, therefore, seek the Ministry's consideration to examine, diagnose and consider slaying the five sacred cows I have mentioned today – Streaming, GEP, Competitions, PSLE and Tuition.
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
Mr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong): Thirty years ago, when I was an undergraduate, I worked as a relief teacher at Bukit Batok Secondary School. Ms Belinda Charles was the principal then. I taught students from both the Normal and Express Streams and the students from both Express and Normal Streams were using the same textbook. However, certain segments of the textbook were not meant for the Normal stream students.
As a young and idealistic teacher at that time, I tried to interest the students in Science, no matter which streams they were from. Even when certain sections were not supposed to be taught to the Normal Stream students, I continued to teach them because I wanted to interest them. However, the Normal Stream students were quick to dismiss most of what was in their textbooks. They said, \"We are taking the reduced syllabus, so no need to learn.\" There was a sense of resigned acceptance and defeat. That left a deep impression on me.
After the lesson, one Normal Stream student came to see me for advice. She told me she had a deep interest in Chinese and she would like to study Chinese at the level that was the same as the Express Stream student. I snapped at her and told her to work hard to get herself into the Express Stream. Otherwise, she would not have the chance to learn Chinese at the higher level. She left very disappointed. That left another deep impression on me.
Streaming has been a part of our education system since 1980. It was introduced with good intentions, to allow every student to learn at a pace suited to their abilities. However, the biggest drawback is labelling. Students in the Normal Stream often feel defeated and that limits their potential.
To address that, SBB was introduced, and it was very good. Students doing SBB had done well and, clearly, SBB has shown that, sometimes, we pigeonhole and stream our young too early. They have potential which can be unleashed through avenues like SBB. Thus, I would like to suggest that MOE seriously consider expanding SBB further to blur the distinction between the Normal and Express Stream students.
Mr Charles Chong (Punggol East): Mr Chairman, streaming of students into groups and bands has its advantages, both for students as well as for teachers. Students can learn at a pace with others who are at the same stage of learning while teachers have to worry less about going too quickly for some students while going too slowly for others.
However, streaming can have a negative impact and create a class-divide between those whom our education system deems to be academically able and those who are less so.
Over the years, we have seen the impact of streaming on students' self-esteem. Some students in the Normal Stream lose motivation over time, thinking that the label \"Normal\" means that they cannot excel or even improve. That is plainly wrong! We must recognise that our students' abilities, readiness and motivation can be developed and strengthened over time, and not everyone is cut out to excel at academic learning even if they are excellent in other non-academic areas. Just because someone is not so good in class in certain subjects, it should not define them or lead to a loss of self-esteem.
In primary school, SBB has replaced the old EM1, EM2 and EM3 Streams since the mid 2000s. And it has proven to be effective. SBB now allows secondary school students from the Normal Stream to take certain subjects at a higher academic level. Is it time for us to take the next step? Would the Minister consider replacing the Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) Streams for our secondary schools with an alternative which recognises a wider range of abilities to better cater for the unique strengths and interests of students and help build our students' confidence and develop an intrinsic motivation to learn for life?
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Sir, in my Budget speech, I shared my concerns about streaming and how it might lead to social stratification. I spoke about the immobility in our education system where a student who enters the Normal (Technical) Stream has little chance of leaving this stream. I spoke about how streaming can discourage some students. How is MOE addressing the concerns of social stratification due to streaming? Will MOE consider abolishing streaming in secondary schools and focus solely on SBB, which is what we are doing in the primary schools?
The Chairman: Dr Intan Mokhtar, you have two cuts. Can you take both together?
Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio): Thank you, Chairman. Academic streaming was first introduced in our mainstream primary schools in 1979 and in our mainstream secondary schools in 1980 under the then New Education System as a result of the Report on MOE published in 1978, or what is popularly known as the Goh Report.
It has been 40 years since we started streaming our students in schools according to their academic abilities – into Normal Bilingual, Extended Bilingual or Monolingual Streams in primary school, and the Gifted, Special/Express, Normal (Academic) (NA) or Normal (Technical) (NT) streams in secondary school. Some of us may argue that streaming is necessary and helps to ensure that teaching can be pitched appropriately to students' learning aptitudes and at a pace suited to their academic abilities.
As an academic, I can attest to that utilitarian purpose of academic streaming. However, as a former secondary school teacher who taught students across the Express, N(A) and N(T) streams, I must also attest to the undesirable effects of academic streaming.
I was a form teacher and a Mathematics teacher of a Secondary 3 to 4 Normal (T) class in 1999-2000. I faced difficulty in getting my students to take an interest in Algebra or Trigonometry. Between my cajoling and scolding, one of my students said to me in exasperation, \"Cher, we cannot do Maths. We're Normal Tech\". That broke my heart. Not because they really could not do Mathematics, but because they believed they could not. To this day, those words are still so vivid.
I have spoken about academic streaming many times before in this Chamber and, each time, I have called for us to abolish academic streaming. It has been 40 years. It has served its purpose but it is time for us to move on and recognise that academic streaming places self-limiting beliefs on students who think they are only as good as the stream they are in.
The reality is that each of us has abilities and intelligences in different areas and to different extents. Some of us excel in languages, others excel in Mathematics or the Sciences, while others excel in Sports or the Arts. However, there are still parents, employers and members of the public who believe that certain academic streams are inferior and will treat students from those streams with lower expectations, typical of what academics term the Pygmalion or Rosenthal Effect.
With our recognition of the multiple pathways to the different peaks of excellence, and with the implementation of SBB for differentiated teaching and learning, and ability-based pedagogies, it is time to reconsider academic streaming and look at ways in which we can remove the academic streams and, more importantly, remove these labels that lead to self-limiting beliefs and self-fulfilling prophecies. SBB already allows students to take different subjects according to their level of competency, and this is more than sufficient, without the unnecessary labelling.
I hope to see the day when a student's examination transcript and graduation certificate no longer indicate the academic stream that they were in, or if the student took the GCE \"O\" or \"N\" level examination. Instead, it will indicate the student took English and Mother Tongue languages at the Higher Level, Mathematics and Science at the Standard Level, or Humanities and the Arts at the Foundation Level, as an example.
I hope to see a student's examination transcript showing that the student has a diverse range of abilities in different subjects as well as their strengths in specific ones, and where you can, in no way, discriminate one student from another because of perceptions of their potential based on past abilities in high stakes examinations.
On a related note, I would like to once again implore the Ministry to reconsider the Express stream academic requirement for students admitted into the Specialised Independent Schools, the Sports School and School of the Arts (SOTA). There are students who excel in Sports or the Arts but who may not excel in their academic studies because they do qualify for the Express Stream. They are unable to gain admission into the Sports School or SOTA.
With multiple options beyond secondary school, students who qualify for the Normal Stream should be allowed to be admitted to the Sports School or SOTA where they can still carry on their educational pursuits in the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), polytechnics or through other SkillsFuture (SSG)-related pathways thereafter. We cannot judge or limit a student's abilities in one area based solely on their abilities in another area because of current limitations in our admission criteria.
Our current high-stakes examinations, such as the PSLE and the GCE \"N\", \"O\" and \"A\" level examinations, have led to an obsession with grades and scores, and the mistaken extrapolation of attainment to mean achievement and capabilities. As a result, there seems to be an over-reliance on tuition, sometimes guised as enrichment classes.
Some tuition centres implement rote learning and drill-and-practice methods to ensure their students can ace examinations, while other tuition centres have pre-admission tests to ensure only the most academically able students are admitted into their tuition programmes, further embellishing their tuition centre's track record.
As a result, these tuition centres continue to charge premium fees for their apparent ability to produce examination top scorers. What is of concern is that students from less affluent families will not be able to afford to learn some of these examination-acing techniques and will seemingly fall behind when examination results are used as a benchmark for achievement and capabilities.
For the Ministry, this is a difficult matter to address. MOE cannot ban tuition or eradicate similar practices in the private sector, which is driven by consumer demand. But what the MOE can do is to realign the focus on achievement and personal development rather than attainment alone.
Admission requirements to our schools and IHLs need to continue to be reviewed and expanded to look beyond the results of high stakes examinations alone. Admission to secondary schools can incorporate student portfolios in addition to their PSLE results, while admission to IHLs should continue to look at the applicants’ community contribution, prior work experience, co-curricular involvement or leadership skills, beyond their GCE or other similar high-stakes examination results.
Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, our students are growing up in a world that will be very different from the one my generation grew up in. The low-hanging fruits of economic growth would have mostly been picked by the time they are grown up.
Productivity-driven growth would be key. And what drives that? Innovation, yes, but what lies behind innovation is experimentation, trial and error, the discipline to reflect on our experience to learn and to do better, and better and better.
As Aldous Huxley said, \"Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you\". That would be our young students' – and our country's – journey as adults.
In that journey, failure is a friend and teacher, not something that should be avoided at all costs. Lionising only success or people who are only successful may deter risk-taking.
Right now, in schools, published class rankings have been dropped, there are awards for most improved students, and participation in activities like competitions is recorded even if it did not lead to victory.
Can we do more on two fronts to stoke the flames of resilience among our youths?
Firstly, recognise students who did not just bounce back from failure, but also those who did reasonably well in spite of far greater odds that most students face. Such stories do surface in the media from time to time, and some schools have been known to highlight students who have this profile. But can we not entrench the showcasing of such examples of students as a regular practice in the cultural DNA of all schools?
Secondly, in primary school social studies and secondary school history, can we highlight more examples of inspiring figures – both globally and locally – who bounced back from failure, who did some good in spite of great odds and who were late bloomers in life? Not only big global and national heroes but \"everyday heroes\".
Sir, never underestimate the power of stories. They can feed the rich tapestry of our children's imagination and give them hope to rise up from failures one day in their lives. They can help them learn that people may put you down today. And tomorrow. But each of us should not only rise up from that but learn from that to become stronger, better people.
Mr Ang Wei Neng: Chairman, when junior colleges (JCs) are merged, one campus is picked over another as the site for the new merged college. The rationale for some of these selections has been quite puzzling.
When Yishun and Innova JCs were merged in 2019, the chosen site was Yishun JC, which is older with aged facilities. So, why not Innova?
When Jurong and Pioneer JCs were merged in 2019, the chosen site was Pioneer JC. However, the site of the old Jurong JC will be near to a new Mass Rapid Transit station when the Jurong Regional Line opens in 2026 which, in that case, would improve the connectivity for the students who are studying at the site of old Jurong JC. Would not the old Jurong JC site be a better site? I hope the Minister can explain the rationale.
Also, many of the current JC buildings are old and dated. Does MOE have plans to upgrade the JCs which are more than 20 or 30 years old?
Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok): Sir, the first JC in Singapore started in 1969. This introduced a lecture and tutorial system, akin to the university model, for students pursuing a two-year GCE \"A\" level course to gain entry into universities.
Fifty years later, this remains one of the most direct routes to universities. Since then, more JCs were built. Today, the bulk of our JCs are more 30 years old. Over this period, the JC curriculum has been reviewed and enhanced. For example, in 2002, it was reported in this House that the curriculum was broadened to include Project Work to develop flexible thinking and a creative bent amongst our students.
This may be an opportune time to consider whether the older JCs have adequate facilities to deal with the expanded curriculum requirements and desired educational outcomes for the future. What are the development plans that MOE has to ensure that older JC campuses are adequately resourced and conducive for their students and teachers?
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: Mr Chairman, Sir, one of MOE’s biggest achievements, in my book, is the enhanced support of students with special educational needs (SEN) in the mainstream schools and IHLs, through the Allied Educator (AED) Scheme and the setting up of SEN support offices in IHLs.
As a volunteer, I have met many SEN professionals from primary to higher education. Many are very dedicated and put their hearts into helping their students with SEN. They are critical to ensure that our education system is an inclusive one. There are, however, challenges faced in this relatively new education support space.
First, on the challenges in the mainstream primary and secondary schools.
Student outcomes. As much of the focus in mainstream schools is on completing the academic curriculum, important non-academic life skills required for students with SEN, like social relationship skills and daily independent living skills, are either not covered or placed as low priority. When these foundations are not set, deficits in such skills are highly likely to present themselves as problems in higher education or at work.
The capacity of AEDs is also a challenge. The number of AEDs is grossly insufficient, with an average of one to two in all primary schools. Many secondary schools do not even have any AED.
Besides capacity, there is a need to systematically raise the capability and the skills of AEDs as the range of needs is diverse covering various forms of disabilities requiring varying types and degree of support.
Capability of educators in general, the teachers, is also a challenge. These teachers might generally have an awareness of special needs education but usually not skilled enough in mainstream schools to handle such cases. Although a whole-school approach for SEN support is said to be adopted in the mainstream schools, the implementation leaves much room for improvement.
The access to Specialist Support is also quite limited.
Next, challenges in SEN support in IHLs. The challenges I shared in primary schools and secondary schools are multiplied in the higher institutions as the SEN support system is relatively new, and the IHLs tend to be more autonomous. Not all of them view SEN to be of priority. Some may even view it to be not integral to their mission. Unless the Government, the key funder of education, insists that SEN support is an important fundamental feature of a progressive educational system, Singapore may belong to the first-world economically but its IHLs, in this aspect, will be perceived as less than first-world.
My observations in the IHLs are these.
There are now inconsistent support levels in different IHLs, with different processes depending on the vision, commitment and diligence of school leaders, faculty members and SEN officers. Many of the faculty members see making a curriculum accessible as \"additional work\". There is also the risk of low rate of disclosure for fear of stigmatisation by the students or being bypassed in course offerings, internships or employment. There is also inconsistent structured support across these institutions in course selection, project work, internships and career guidance.
There are eight recommendations I would like to make for the schools and IHLs.
First, adopt a system that ensures a structured whole-school, whole-institution approach with ownership and responsibility from school leaders to all educators, and faculty members to AEDs and Special Needs Officers (SNOs), to parents and students. Make it clear.
Raise the capacity and recruit more AEDs and SNOs in each education institution.
Raise capability by ensuring a skills-based training roadmap for all target groups to deepen their needed capabilities.
Increase availability and access to more specialist support from MOE and disability voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs).
And, especially for the IHLs, set up a support function at the MOE level to ensure the proper resourcing and support of these students. This function should look at the sharing of resources and best practices across all the institutions.
And most important of all, MOE should actively seek out schools and institutions which are inclusive and doing good work in this area. Recognise and reward them generously —
The Chairman: Ms Denise Phua, I am afraid you have to convey the rest of the points to the Minister of Education directly.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: — and encourage more people to join this league.
Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: Mr Chairman, our mainstream schools are generally inclusive and made up of students with diverse abilities and backgrounds. However, we still have some mainstream schools that are specially catered for specific groups. Examples include schools meant for students who qualify for the Special Stream or Normal (T) Stream only, and schools meant for students who are gifted in sports or the arts, all with Government funding.
While we understand the need for differentiated teaching and learning and ability-based pedagogies, we must strive to provide a more diverse and inclusive environment for our students to better reflect society at large.
Students with special needs are usually enrolled in Special Education (SPED) schools. While our mainstream schools have made strides in admitting students with mild special needs, these numbers are still relatively low.
Will MOE be able to provide more funding support and the provision of more trained teaching and support personnel, such as AEDs or subject teachers trained in Special Needs Teaching, in our mainstream schools so that they can be more inclusive towards students with mild special needs?
Can classrooms in our mainstream schools be made more friendly for students with special needs, such as having barrier-free access as well as more teaching tools and resources, to support students with visual or auditory challenges?
Can our curriculum also be revamped to allow for more hands-on learning and less pen-and-paper or drill-and-practice exercises, and with more outdoor learning incorporated in the main curriculum?
Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Sir, as an inclusive society, we want to give our SEN children and youths, regardless of abilities, every opportunity to help them maximise their potential. What this requires is for us to look at all our educational institutions, including ITEs, polytechnics and universities, particularly the ITEs, to see how we can get this group of students to integrate into the curriculum and develop themselves along the way. The teachers would need to understand the learning disabilities of the students and how they are to be taught differently, or these students may need some additional tools to enhance their learning environment. The point is not everyone learns in the same way.
I would like to ask the Minister how we are preparing ourselves to provide this group with the educational needs they require, particularly in the ITEs? Are our educational institutions, such as ITEs, sufficiently prepared, not only from the infrastructure point, but equally important with the IHL and ITE teachers who are trained to engage these students? How many teachers do we have who are trained to cope with the learning needs of these ITE students? How are our IHLs being prepared to take in these students, and do we ensure that internship for SEN students in the ITEs, for example, are sufficiently appropriate, so that they would not be disadvantaged when they go out into the market to seek opportunities?
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Chairman, last year, I met a resident whose son has SEN. The young man had strong support from counsellors and teachers in his primary and secondary schools and did well to graduate to a polytechnic.
However, the transition to the polytechnic was too drastic. The same understanding and support from lecturers and administrators were lacking. It seems that SEN support has improved in primary and secondary schools, but there is a big jump when graduates go on to tertiary educational institutes. Unfortunately, the young man withdrew from the polytechnic because of the escalation of an incident.
The Ministry should look into increasing the capabilities and authority of SEN support officers at polytechnics. The SEN Support Office should be tasked to train and advise specific lecturers and staff members when there is an individual student with SEN enrolled in the department, so that support can be customised.
The SEN Support Office should also be consulted when there are incidents involving students with SEN.
The Chairman: Ms Denise Phua, you can continue with your eight points.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: Mr Chairman, SSG, the movement to transform Singaporeans to become self-directed lifelong learners is growing from strength to strength. However, unlike the vibrant SSG scene for the typical workforce, the lifelong learning outlook for persons with SEN is bleak. The prognosis of students exiting from the SPED pathway is not optimistic.
Official school years for SPED students now end at age 18 or 21. However, the reality is that the education of these students is not complete at the age of 18 or 21. Many of these students need to be schooled in literacy and numeracy or the mainstream academics that we know. But they also need time throughout life to learn a host of skills that are often picked up more naturally by their typical peers – skills, such as self-management, home and community living, sexuality education and skills on how to navigate in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world that is rapidly changing.
If we address this lifelong learning need well in a systematic and systemic manner, more of these students will take on regular or part-time employment to address the challenges of the shrinking local workforce. Even if they do not work, they can lead better quality lives requiring lesser support from others.
I have three recommendations for MOE.
One, set up a Skills Council for Persons with SEN. This council should comprise MOE's SSG and SPED units, SG Enable, Workforce Singapore (WSG), the Employment and Employability Institute and the top VWOs representing the major disability groups. It should develop a Lifelong Continuing Education and Training (CET) System for Persons with Special Needs that will be regularly updated and extend the curriculum framework currently used during the SPED school years with a good balance of academic, vocational and lifeskills. Skills Council.
Second, appoint promising special schools with track records to set up training centres in their locations to provide the identified training solutions for SPED graduands in the major disability groups. Tap on the special schools’ existing information and communications technology (ICT) and classroom facilities and teaching workforce to facilitate the required trainings with partners from the community and industries. Start with regular part-time courses on a weekly basis. Make these CET centres financially viable through a revenue mix of Government grants, donations and fees.
Third, start small with SPED school alumni members. For a start, target alumni of special schools and their family caregivers, including domestic helpers, who can help reinforce learnings after training.
In conclusion, the lifelong education of every Singaporean is critical, and even more so for persons with special needs who otherwise will definitely be left behind. The cost of not training this population is going to be far higher than equipping them. Let us continue to train and equip them for life. I seek MOE’s favourable response.
The Chairman: Well done, Ms Phua!
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Mr Chairman, the MOE Kindergarten (MK) Programme seeks to provide affordable preschool education and pilot teaching and learning resources focusing on holistic development. Recently, a resident shared the concerns of sending her son to kindergarten as he suffered asthma and severe eczema. As the boy had difficulties attending kindergarten daily, she sought an alternative for the son to attend kindergarten a couple of days a week. For the rest of the week, she wanted to home-school her son using the materials that she hoped the kindergarten would share with her. I helped her to contact the MKs which were very helpful and open to discussing with the mother the options. In the end, the resident decided to look for other options due to the distance to the nearest MK. Nevertheless, this points to a need. Would MOE consider piloting a hybrid programme to cater to parents who wish to home-school their children part of the week? MKs can provide resources for home-schooling as well as dedicated teacher's support. This will make early childhood education accessible to all.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio): Sir, it has often been said that it takes a village to raise a child. Indeed, while the main responsibility of bringing up a child belongs to the parents, our schools and the community play important roles as well.
So far, the partnership between homes, schools and communities had been informal and not so structured. Hence, I am pleased to note that the Ministry had recently launched a set of Guidelines for School-Home Partnership which suggest actions that parents and schools can take to help our children develop their self-management skills.
Parenthood does not come with introduction manuals and I am sure parents will find the systematic approach helpful. I understand that these guidelines have been well-received so far.
The Guidelines for School-Home Partnership are not just for parents. It is a guiding principle for schools, the community and other stakeholders as well. I am curious to know under this framework how collaborative partnerships between the community and the school will help them learn to be responsible and active citizens while building confidence in themselves.
Would the Minister share details and examples of how the joint effort nurture character, impart core values and help them acquire skills outside the curriculum? At the same time, how do these projects and programmes serve and meet the needs of the community?
Ms Anthea Ong (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, there was one to two suicides a month in 2016 among those aged 10 to 19. The number of young Singaporeans seeking help for mental health issues jumped by 190% in 2018. Depression affects up to 18% of youths in Singapore. Almost half of the teenagers polled in a local research attached negative labels to people with mental health issues. Fifty percent of mental health conditions develop in children aged 14 or below, according to global studies.
The Minister agrees in his response to my recent Parliamentary Question (PQ) that \"mental health is an issue to be taken seriously\". Stigma poses a huge barrier to seeking help. With greater awareness, more people are stepping forward to seek help. Encouragingly, the 2016 Singapore Mental Health Study found a narrowing in the treatment gap, noting a decrease in the percentage of those not seeking help from 82.1% in 2010 to 78.4% in 2016.
Mental health education plays a big role in re-scripting public narrative and understanding of mental health. Our current vocabulary of mental health is heavily influenced by the medical model which can pathologise human experiences. Increasingly, we have been moving towards a recovery-oriented culture. This demands a new language to be taught. The recovery language and one anchored upon strengths and resilience must be learnt and permeate our vernacular.
Mental health literacy is not a frivolity but a necessity, in the absence of which, we find rampant misconceptions that mental illness is “contagious,” “weakness”, and unfairly engage in victim-blaming. With greater understanding and support, help-seeking need not be shrouded in secrecy or looked upon as being shameful.
We can do more beyond the occasional assembly talks on mental health, optional enrichment classes on wellness and offers of counselling as interventions for behaviour modification, often construed as punishment by students. We can teach the recovery language and encourage dialogue to dissolve stigma. Our children and youths can be the mental health first-aiders of every household.
Mandating mental health education in our schools and IHLs is the surest signal to normalise mental health, together with providing support structures for parents and families to be equipped with emotional management skills, coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills to help our children and youths better navigate stress.
Partnering social service agencies and mental health professionals in the curriculum curation and provision of mental health education in all schools must be the way forward. How does the Ministry plan to make mental health education accessible for all, whether students, teachers, administrators, parents and caregivers?
Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] \tSingapore is an ethnically diverse country, and bilingualism has been a cornerstone of our education system. From 200 years ago to Independence, our forefathers had settled and rooted here and brought with them their cultural heritage. Today, youths are immersed in our highly connected, cosmopolitan city. It is inevitable that they become estranged from their own cultural heritage. Therefore, having a strong command of our mother tongue is the key to better understand our culture and fortify our sense of identity.
With the rapid development of Asia, the ability to communicate in our mother tongue gives us competitive advantage and opens up new opportunities. As the Chief Executive of Business China, I have seen that many of our companies are able to seize business opportunities because our people are effectively bilingual and bicultural. This is reflected in a popular saying amongst my Business China colleagues, \"Bilingualism offers boundless opportunities.\"
It is important that we continue in our efforts to cultivate bilingual and bicultural talents. I would like to ask the Minister for Education: how will MOE collaborate with parents and the community to complement the efforts of our schools? What else is MOE doing to ensure that our students develop an appreciation of our mother tongue languages?
Mr Chen Show Mao (Aljunied): Sir, this Budget speaks of strategic plans for building a strong and united Singapore. It is important because a united Singapore is not only important to our future, but also to our sense of ourselves, of who we are and how we make our way in the world.
Can we take the opportunity to complement these efforts with an increased focus in our schools on teaching Bahasa Melayu to all our schoolchildren? It is our National Language and a language of the region in which we are rooted. Can we help all our students attain some basic level of proficiency in our National Language?
Sir, last year, I gave the same speech when the Budget spoke of plans for economic development that focus on regional cooperation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This year, again, the Budget speaks of strategic plans for building a strong and united Singapore. Year after year – and this is because teaching all our schoolchildren Bahasa Melayu speaks to many of our enduring values and hopes that Budgets try to address.
Learning Malay will be good for the cognitive and intellectual development of our children who learn it as a third language. It will also protect and preserve our multiculturalism and promote national integration and a sense of identity.
I understand we currently have conversational third language programmes for Malay at the primary school level as Enrichment but not as part of the regular curriculum. As learning languages is best done when young, could the Ministry look into making the conversational third language programme part of the syllabus for all our primary school students who do not otherwise learn Malay in school? Perhaps, included as part of the regular curriculum for every primary school student, but without the pressure of exams.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Sir, the Regional Studies Programme (RSP) and scholarship was introduced in 2008. In the Ministry's reply to my PQ on this programme in September 2018, I quote, \"The objective of the programme is to nurture a segment of non-Malays in each generation who are comfortably conversant in the Malay Language and able to engage with regional countries effectively.\"
Under the current setting, only Malay and Bahasa Indonesia are offered as a Third Language. It was also said by the Ministry that apart from learning languages, I quote \"students also have the opportunity to experience school-based enrichment modules on understanding Southeast Asia and participate in learning journeys as well as take part in cultural camps and immersion trips to Southeast Asian countries.\"
Sir, in Minister Heng Swee Keat's Budget speech, he shared that the 10 economies of ASEAN are projected to become the fourth largest in the world by 2030 and that working together with ASEAN nations can maximise our potential. Sir, as mentioned earlier, the objective of RSP is to nurture our students with the knowledge of our ASEAN counterparts, cultures and practices so that they are able to engage regional countries effectively.
Heading towards 2030 where ASEAN is projected to be the fourth largest economy in the world, I believe the inclusion of other ASEAN languages in the RSP will be timely and a step in the right direction.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: Sir, co-curricular activities (CCAs) are an integral part of our students' holistic education and play an important role in reducing social stratification. As MOE has stated, \"CCAs also promote friendships among students from diverse backgrounds as they learn, play and grow together.\"
Students can choose the CCA of their choice, but I understand that for \"Physical Sports\" and \"Visual and Performing Arts Group\" CCAs, places are often limited and given to those who do well in those areas and can represent the school.
My concern here is that this again might lead to social stratification if only students who do well in certain areas can pursue those CCAs. A student who loves basketball and wants to pursue this interest should be allowed to, rather than be told that he or she is not good enough and should choose another interest to pursue.
Can Minister share what plans the Ministry has to ensure that places for CCAs are available to all students and not just those who represent the school in competitions?
The Chairman: Miss Cheng Li Hui, you have two cuts of four minutes. Please take both together.
Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines): Sir, for many of us, some of the best memories from our schooling days involve our CCAs. CCAs allow our students to learn new skills, pursue their interests and passion. They also make like‐minded friends from diverse backgrounds as they learn, play and grow together.
I recently met two boys who did Wushu in primary school. And a big factor behind their choice of their secondary school was that it offered Wushu as a CCA. However, upon their enrolment, the school decided to stop offering Wushu. One of the boys then tried to transfer to another school and also asked other schools in the neighbourhood who offer Wushu to allow him to join their Wushu CCA. Such was his passion.
I also sometimes hear from students that they did not get into a particular CCA because they did not have the prior background from their primary school days. Other primary school students shared with me that their parents chose a less time-consuming CCA on their behalf so they can focus on their studies. If they decide that they have an interest in a sport later on in secondary school, they may not qualify without experience.
I believe there is scope for more flexibility in the organising of CCAs for our students. Can MOE consider organising certain CCAs at the division, Group Representation Constituency or even district level? In this way, we can use the expertise and resources of national-level sporting bodies and associations to conduct these CCAs.
The combination of students within the geography will also allow for more social mixing. Some students participate in activities outside of school on their own time, for example, football activities or training organised by the local grassroots Community Sports Clubs. Can MOE recognise this involvement as their official CCA?
Students who take their interest seriously often find that they do not know where to continue their interest after they graduate from secondary school. Having CCAs outside of school gives them a chance to continue their interest in community sports organisations. I hope MOE can work with the People's Association and Sport SG to develop some CCAs that can be pursued at the post‐secondary level.
Sir, I fully support CCAs as they play an integral role in providing our students with a holistic education. I urge MOE to look into my suggestions so that we can help students enjoy a more enriching CCA experience.
Singapore is proud to be a clean and green city. This concept extends beyond merely planting trees to being environmentally friendly, with many green initiatives ranging from green buildings to the 4Rs of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Refuse. Despite the various steps that have been taken so far, I believe that more can be done, especially on the part of individuals.
Our schools, especially, can play a big role by educating our students on the importance of green initiatives and the perils of global warming. Make it part of compulsory curriculum as early as possible. Teach them what is recyclable, what is the correct way to recycle. Educate them on the Semakau landfills and incinerators.
Schools can teach our children to make green actions a habit and lifestyle. Take the lead in reducing the use of single-use plastics, such as straws and plastic bags. Reuse textbooks by handing them down when students leave school.
Today's Straits Times also carries an article on water conservation camp. Schools can organise camps, talks and activities on eco practices that involve parents and family members, so that such green habits can be extended beyond the school. There are so many potential ideas that can be brainstormed.
But most importantly, let our young understand what is happening to our planet, the perils of global warming, how our future generation will suffer the consequences more than the current generation, and allow them to explore and decide how they can all be a part of the solution. May I ask the Minister for Education if he will support such initiatives?
Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang): Mr Chairman, the Early Admission Exercise (EAE) was introduced as part of our efforts to reduce the emphasis on grades and focus on a more rounded education. It was extended to the ITE last year, with no limits on the number of admissions by EAE. For polytechnics, the limit for intake was increased from 2.5% to 12.5% due to overwhelming response. It seems that students look on the EAE favourably. However, I would like to ask what is the MOE's experience with EAE? Has it really been effective in helping students in finding their niches and in realising their aspirations? Are EAE students able to cope with the demands of the course work? By this, I do not just mean academically, but do they find themselves enjoying it and wanting to learn more? Are there statistics on the number of EAE students who drop out or switch courses midway?
The other concern is that aptitude testing usually produces outcomes that are not as clear as an examination script. With exams, a grade is a grade. But with aptitude testing, things like interviews, portfolios can be quite subjective. And students will find more reasons to appeal against unsuccessful applications.
In fact, according to a report last year, with EAE, polytechnic principals have been receiving more appeals from students and parents than before. Has MOE done any survey on the challenges of implementing EAE? How can the fairness of EAE testing procedures and outcomes be ensured? What more can be done to recognise the students' interests and aspirations during admissions? Perhaps, one day, we can see aptitude testing replacing grade-based admission for our schools.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: Mr Chairman, Sir, over the years, we have done well to upgrade the standards of graduates from our ITEs. Today, they are taking their place of pride in our workforce, and a good number are even making their presence in our other IHLs. The success is, in many ways, due to the way we brand the ITE and, of course, the level of competence of the graduates.
The question I would like to raise is the opening of applications for ITE graduates. Currently they apply to the polytechnics after the GCE \"O\" level students have applied. ITE applicants can apply after the Joint Admissions Exercise for polytechnic and JC applicants. Under the Joint Polytechnic Admissions Exercise (JPAE), the ITE graduates are seen as, or at least that is the public perception, that they are given admission only after any remaining vacancies. We need to address this and tweak the system so that ITE graduates are not only treated as equals but also seen to be treated as equals under the admissions exercise. Can MOE clarify on the JPAE and consider tweaking the process?
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira (Nominated Member): Chairman, I declare my interest as a faculty member at an autonomous university (AU). Sir, our six AUs compete to offer high quality education and research to Singapore and the world. Because higher education is now accessible to all, we must ensure that every AU is a good AU.
There are significant differences among AUs in prestige and resources. AU endowments range from about $400 million for the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) to about $4 billion dollars for the National University of Singapore (NUS). On a per undergraduate basis, this ranges from about $28,000 at SUSS to more than $400,000 at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). These differences mean the more well-resourced AUs are able to spend more on faculty, teaching and research, even if they get the same Ministry tuition grants. While this estimate includes non-student spending, annual expenditure per undergraduate ranges from about $38,000 at SIT to about $100,000 at NUS and SUTD.
Sir, does this affect graduate outcomes? Consider Accountancy, which all AUs except SUTD offer. The Graduate Employment Survey shows median gross earnings were similar across AUs at about $3,000 a month. However, Accountancy graduates of the more established AUs earn much more at the high end. The 75th percentile ranged from $3,000 for SUSS to about $4,000 for NUS.
We cannot conclude from differences in earnings that the more established AUs provide greater advantages, because AUs differ in how they select students. Nonetheless, we should understand why the more resourced AUs are associated with higher earnings.
Sir, I am not asking to take from the rich and give to the poor. But greater cooperation and resource-sharing could improve efficiency and equality of opportunity.
First, I suggest greater sharing of library resources across AUs. Because knowledge is now so specialised, there is a ‘long tail’ of books, journals and databases needed for teaching and research. It is wasteful for all AUs to stock the same materials and the less-resourced AUs will not stock them at all. We should study establishing a common tertiary electronic library and seamless interlibrary loan system. This can follow the model of the University of California (UC), which operates one library system across 10 UC campuses.
Second, I suggest the AUs offer greater flexibility for students to take courses across the different AUs, to make better use of our national experts and increase the breadth of course offerings. This is very important for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, because the right expertise may only be found in a few professors in Singapore. This will also help make education more stackable and flexible.
What can we do to ensure \"Every AU is a Good AU\"?
Mr Ang Wei Neng: Chairman, I understand that the ITE Work-Learn Technical Diploma has been popular. I would like to declare my interest as I am part of the senior management team in ComfortDelGro.
The ITE Work-Learn Technical Diploma is successful mainly because of its partnership with the industry players providing structured on-the-job training. Thus, I would like to enquire whether MOE has any plan to expand the programme.
Secondly, I would like to ask MOE to provide an update on the status of IHLs providing more short courses covering emerging technologies, such as Digital Marketing, Big Data Analytics and so on.
Thirdly, I would like to ask if SSG and WSG are prepared to partner private companies to train their workers at their workplace. Many established companies have training wings to train their own workers. How could SSG and WSG partner these companies to not only train workers for their respective companies but also to train workers for the entire industry? In this way, the two Statutory Boards can tap on the training resources of the private sector to reach out to more workers. At the same time, it also allows the private companies to upgrade their training capabilities to better align with the common goal of lifelong learning.
Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast): Chairman, Sir, I would like to declare my interest as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Wealth Management Institute, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), a CET provider.
An amount of $3.6 billion has been set aside over the next three years to help workers adapt to changes and acquire new skills. This is not a small sum. If deployed well, it can offer meaningful support to workers to build deep capabilities that are relevant to their fast-evolving jobs and meet their career aspirations, including transition to a more attractive job or a different industry.
Since launching SSG five years ago, there is now significant awareness on the need for lifelong learning amongst our citizens. Based on my own experience and observations of other countries’ efforts in CET, there are best practices that can be adopted to accelerate the impact of SSG even further, in order to turn it into a real competitive advantage for Singapore.
Sir, there are over 30,000 courses funded by SSG offering generous subsidies of up to 70% of course fees. Based on the latest figures from SSG, 465,000 Singaporeans from 12,000 enterprises have benefited from training subsidies. A recent survey of 3,500 trainees indicated that 80% of them found the training helpful. Even as we are cheered by this finding, the measurement of training outcomes remains difficult, as acknowledged by the CEO of SSG.
Hundreds of relatively small training providers, with uneven quality, have been accredited under SSG. This makes it difficult to select the right training partner. It is not clear how trainers are qualified, nor how training content is curated to meet industry and job market developments. It is also unclear how training is linked to the attainment of distinct quantifiable skills, career advancement and wage growth. I often hear the frustration of residents, particularly those who have been retrenched, that their efforts to attend training courses are not commensurate with the recognition accorded by prospective employers. Many would say to me, \"I already go for many training courses but still cannot find a job\".
Employers themselves have shared their own frustrations. Many are at a loss as to how to structure their training programmes so that the courses will have a meaningful impact on their business. Many smaller employers lack inhouse Learning and Development support and do not know where to begin to identify those training programmes best suited for their employees from amongst the very long, long list of SSG courses.
Sir, I would like to offer some suggestions for a CET framework for the Education Minister to consider.
First, perhaps the Minister can consider developing a structured partnership model to determine key training roadmaps by industry sector, perhaps clustered along the 23 Industry Transformation Maps. This partnership should consist of key stakeholders within that industry, including the lead Government agency, union, trade associations and chambers (TACs), and representative companies and workers. They could form an SSG Industry Committee (SIC) and be the authority to chart the skills and competencies required for current and future needs of the sector, including a certification framework that lays out systematic skills ladder for that sector. Certification level against the skills ladder can serve to guide career progression in the sector.
Second, appoint a Lead Training Provider (LTP) to partner SIC in developing the skills and certification framework and practice-based training programmes, highly customised to meet the skills and competencies required in the sector. The LTP’s appointment will be based on their depth of knowledge of the industry and their capability to develop and deliver very specific industry programmes, to be evaluated by SIC. LTPs can either be a Singapore IHL or private training provider and be selected through a competitive tender process. To help the LTP develop strong capabilities and scale to serve its sector over the long term, they will have access to programme development grants to support the curation of customised programmes for the sector, according to a set of quality and price criteria.
Third, support the LTP to develop scale, perhaps through preferential programme funding, to support their investment in deep training expertise and capabilities to deliver best-in-class training programmes. The LTPs should serve as the respective industries' centre of excellence for training and education, so that training may be concentrated amongst a few high-quality LTPs, whose capabilities and delivery are subject to close scrutiny by SIC and SSG.
Perhaps, their mandate as LTP is subject to review, say, every five years, to keep the sector dynamic.
Sir, I believe the above LTP framework will help nurture a core of highly specialised and quality CET providers, which is absolutely necessary to support impactful lifelong learning.
The Chairman: Mr Zainal Sapari, you have two cuts. Can you take both together?
Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, our Government has been very supportive in encouraging companies to adopt technology. There are many technologies available that can improve productivity by helping workers to do things cheaper, better and faster, but they also demand fundamental changes in the way that work is done in organisations. Companies need to change their business processes and workers need to learn new skillsets.
It is important that support must be given to companies and workers in this new environment. With the need to reskill constantly to keep up with the demands of the job as companies undergo structural and business transformation, there will be a higher demand for CET opportunities in our polytechnics.
Hence, MOE must facilitate the direct admission of adult learners into our polytechnics. Could MOE share on the efforts to increase the provision of CET opportunities and, at the same time, recognising the skills and knowledge that adult learners have gained in their workplace?
SSG is a national movement to provide Singaporeans with the opportunities to develop their fullest potential throughout life, regardless of their starting points. It hopes to inculcate a mindset of continually striving towards greater excellence through knowledge, application and experience.
Regardless of which stage you are in life, a variety of resources has been developed and made available to help you attain mastery of skills. Could MOE provide an update on efforts to help employers deepen workplace training capabilities and promote lifelong learning among workers to sustain the momentum of the SSG movement?
Prof Lim Sun Sun (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, I declare my interest as a Professor at SUTD. The SSG programme has systematically introduced adult learning into our education landscape and implanted the idea of lifelong learning in the minds of Singaporeans. Given the considerable investment in SSG at both the national and individual levels, we must seek to better understand how effective SSG courses have been for individuals with a genuine motivation to upgrade themselves.
The hon Member for Tanjong Pagar, Mr Melvin Yong, spoke last week about the issues of relevance and scope of courses, the often considerable costs involved and time investment needed that workers may be unable to spare. I, too, have heard similar feedback from my former students and professional acquaintances. I would, therefore, like to ask, how MOE measures the efficacy of SSG provisions in terms of meeting changing industry needs.
In addition, what processes have we put in place to review the content and quality of courses and instructors in general but also to ensure that industry perspectives are taken into account?
The Chairman: Dr Intan Mokhtar, you have two cuts. Can you take them both together?
Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: Thank you, Chairman. It has been four years since SSG was first announced and implemented. Since then, many programmes and initiatives have been introduced to help Singaporeans hone their work-related skills as well as lifeskills that help them stay active, relevant and carry on learning for life. Our private education providers – whether it is the Private Education Institutions (PEIs) or other private organisations – have also come on board the SSG national movement and offer a slew of creative and interesting courses, both formal programmes and CET. However, several cases of fraud by private organisations and some PEIs with regard to SSG training provision have marred the perception of PEIs and other private organisations that provide SSG training or certification.
Can the Ministry share updates on the SSG movement that provide options for lifelong learning, as well as updates on the measures to streamline systems and regulatory processes for PEIs and other private organisations that form part of the overall SSG movement?
While we recognise the central role of the family in ensuring that our young grow up well with desirable values, and that our old can age well and live a meaningful life in their golden years, we cannot underestimate the effect of inadequate support that underprivileged or low-income families receive. This becomes more pronounced when children from underprivileged or low-income families do not have adequate family or social support and do not receive the necessary attention or love to help establish their sense of self-esteem, self-worth and the ability to trust others.
Where the family is not able to step up, the community has to step in. Within our mainstream schools, our after-school care provision and programmes and collaboration with community partners are some examples of how the community has to step in and help underprivileged or low-income families of our students.
However, all these need to be well-coordinated with extensive interagency support. What are some plans in supporting underprivileged or low-income families of our students? How will these plans help in minimising the gap with students from more affluent or privileged families?
Mr Charles Chong: Sir, like the speaker before me, I would like to address the concern of ensuring that the needs of children from disadvantaged background are properly understood and what we can do to help. Sir, in October last year, the Government announced that they were setting up an interagency task force, that is, the Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families (UPLIFT) Taskforce, to help understand and address the difficulties faced by such children. As a Member of Parliament, I have seen firsthand how education has the power to change families and I think it is extremely timely that this task force has been set up to ensure that we understand what keeps some students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds from benefiting from our education system.
We have a world-class education system which is accessible to all Singaporeans and it is, therefore, vital to ensure that all our children, even those from poorer backgrounds, have a good start in life so that they can go on to maximise their potential and lead meaningful lives. This would ultimately benefit not only the students themselves but also their families, the community and Singapore. It will provide a springboard for the next generation of Singaporeans to build on, but we must start somewhere.
I would like to ask the Minister about the work and the progress of the UPLIFT task force since it was set up and if some preliminary findings could be shared. In particular, has the task force identified the main issues faced by the disadvantaged students? And are there any strategies that we can pursue to better support these students? If any of these areas have already been identified, perhaps we can work on it immediately and not have to wait until the task force has completed its work and submitted its report.
Mr Murali Pillai: Sir, Singapore's meritocratic system has served us well. Over generations, our families have moved up the social ladder through their children's pursuit of education.
Minister Heng Swee Keat, in his Budget round-up speech last week made the point that, currently, nine in 10 persons have completed post-secondary education. This compares to two in 10 for the Merdeka Generation and one in 10 for the Pioneer Generation.
Notwithstanding our achievements, I think we all can agree that there is still a need to address why some of our children are underperforming and how we can help them. With the rapid rate of transformation of our world, if these children do not equip themselves with skills for the jobs of the future, their own future is likely to be bleak.
Each of these children, even though they, cumulatively, do not represent a big number, are not mere statistical digits that can be ignored. Each one of them, if they are provided with adequate motivation and support to overcome challenges and uplift themselves, they will be, as Mr Charles Chong just said, add value to themselves, their families as well as Singapore and be part of our success story. This must be our aim since we are focused on building an inclusive society.
This task, however, would not be easy, as generations of families have already taken advantage of our meritocratic system to forge ahead, leaving behind families which have more serious issues. It is in this context that I had welcomed the Government’s announcement in November last year that it has set up UPLIFT, headed by the hon Minister Indranee Rajah, to find meaningful ways to support children from disadvantaged homes who are underperforming.
I have gathered that in some of these cases, it is, ironically, the parents who do not provide support for their children's education. These parents, by reason of their personal circumstances, may not have the requisite parenting skills or motivation to look after their children's needs. There could also be situations where the children’s homes are not conducive for learning.
I made the point previously that the current statutory levers do not provide for interventions where parents do not give their children reasonable support for their educational pursuits. I would like to seek an update from the hon Minister on the task force’s work and, in addition, how she proposes that UPLIFT deal with the challenges that I have identified.
Mr Leon Perera: Mr Chairman, Sir, early intervention programmes like KidSTART may flounder on the rocks of parental non-cooperation, an issue I have raised in this Chamber before. How do we deal with this? My parents were teachers in neighbourhood primary schools. I remember my mother’s stories about how some students would not turn up to school for days or weeks and how she would go to their homes to follow up. She would tell us the stories of some of the families she met on those trips, who faced multiple challenges, usually linked to poverty.
In Singapore, a 2015 media report, cited in Karyawan in June 2018, the magazine of the Association of Muslim Professionals, cited concern about the high absenteeism rates among students from low-income families. Absenteeism can snowball and lead to a vicious cycle of disengagement, lack of confidence and worsening educational performance downstream.
One media report said that in 2017, 7.5 secondary school students out of every 1,000 were absent for 60 days or more without a valid reason. But this data does not appear to be published on a regular basis.
I suggest, echoing the call made in the Karyawan article, that we compile and regularly publish statistics on long-term and chronic absenteeism in schools so that, as a society, we can debate what more can be done to move the needle.
Well over 1,000 students are affected by chronic absenteeism in secondary schools alone, not counting primary school and preschool. Clearly, there is a need for coordinated social work interventions to address this problem among all levels of students, one that involves MOE and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) working with schools and preschool centres as well as VWOs and non-governmental organisations. We should not leave these kids behind.
The Chairman: Miss Cheng Li Hui, you have two cuts. Can you take both together?
Miss Cheng Li Hui: Sir, a few years ago, during a house visit, I asked a 14-year-old resident where he was studying. He said he had quit school and was looking for a job. He asked me if he could go to Singapore Hotel Association Training and Education Centre (SHATEC) as he always wanted to be a chef. We appealed but was not successful. SHATEC said they required 10 years of formal education, which he did not have. Last year, I visited again and learnt the boy was now working at a handphone accessories shop. I told him we will follow up again when he is older and see if we can find a tradesman to teach him a skill. He is the only child of a blue-collar couple.
I had thought that was a one-off case until I met another resident, a girl who did not attend the first month of her new secondary school posting. She was afraid to as none of her classmates got posted to the same school. Her father said that unless we could get her into the school of her choice, she would not have to attend school. \"She is a girl. She can just get married\", he said.
From my earlier experience with the boy, I was worried that she, too, would drop out of school as well. We contacted both the primary and secondary school principals and managed to find the schoolmates that she knew and got her back to school in mid-February. Even then, we were worried she could not cope after missing the first month of school. After all, it could be quite intimidating to jump from four to eight subjects. Thankfully, the school helped her to settle in.
Sir, thereafter, I filed a Parliamentary Question on making secondary school education compulsory. I was told the number of dropouts was small. I believe it is so important to keep our young ones in school for them to continue learning, participate in new activities, mature in their thinking and explore their passion and interests. Secondary education is an important stepping-stone for students in our education system as it positions them for their future. It is an important transition period from childhood to young adulthood.
While secondary education is not compulsory, it is crucial that we really counsel and help the students who want to drop out or have high absenteeism. I would like to ask the Minister, what are the long‐term absenteeism and dropout numbers, and whether MOE has a formal system in place to counsel students who want to drop out of secondary school education.
Sir, last year, I also raised a cut on preschool absenteeism as the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme only requires them to attend one day of class per month for them to qualify for the subsidy. I would also like to ask if MOE intends to make preschool education compulsory.
Sir, I appreciate what MOE is doing to better support the needs of children from lower-income families. Schemes, such as the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme and the School Meals Programme, help to ease some of the financial burden faced by these children. However, I believe that more can be done to ensure that all our children are given a good start in life. I would like to bring up two points – after-school programmes for secondary school students and the handing-over of students from primary to secondary school.
When I first went to Tampines, I regularly noticed primary and secondary students loitering at void decks, even after 10.00 pm. The problem got worse during school holidays. Therefore, right after the General Elections, I started a free bowling clinic for Financial Assistance Scheme students during the school holidays to keep them engaged, pick up a new skill and interact with students from other schools. Today, the programme is going strong with seven Tampines primary schools participating in it. Each session has over 100 children, including children with special needs.
Through the programme, I met a girl, Jess, not her real name, who is active, popular and bright but she was one of the 10 students in her school who had a tendency to self‐inflict harm. When I asked her principal what was the handing-over process of such cases to secondary school, she said they would inform the principal of the secondary school and they would try to engage the students. However, soon after, in Secondary 1, Jess was found smoking at the void deck by my volunteers and, despite our attempts to reach out to her and invite her back, she refused.
In my interactions with young people, they begin to discover their freedom and independence in secondary school and feel that they have grown up. But they may still be naïve and gullible. I feel that more can be done to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds not fall into bad company at such a young age.
Children from such backgrounds face a variety of challenges growing up. Their parents might also have to work shifts, long hours, or take on multiple jobs in order to meet the needs of the family. In such cases, the children have to spend most of their after‐school hours without adult supervision. They might not have the support they need to help them study effectively.
For such children who face difficult circumstances at home, after‐school care becomes even more critical. A structured care environment outside of schooling hours is an important form of support which will enable children to develop good habits and routines from young.
For many of these children, the challenging circumstances they face persist as they become teenagers. It is thus important that we continue supporting them as they make the transition from primary to secondary school. Some of our secondary schools have begun running after‐school programmes to engage students from disadvantaged backgrounds. I would like to ask the Minister for Education what are the outcomes of these programmes, and whether MOE has any plans to scale up such programmes across more schools. Furthermore, how does MOE ensure that there is a proper handover of these students like Jess from primary to secondary school?
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap: There are several reasons that are attributed to a student's grade performance in his or her studies, such as learning ability and situational factors, to name a few. Some of these attributes are beyond one's control, whereas there are some which can be managed and enhanced.
One such attribute is learning style. Learning styles refer to differences in how people learn based on their preferences, strengths and weaknesses. The differences may pertain to various elements of the learning process, such as taking in, comprehending, memorising and recounting information. Many observations suggest that the learning process is most effective when it is in line with our learning style preferences.
Sir, studies have shown that everyone has a mix of learning styles. Some people may find that they have a dominant style of learning with far less use of the other styles. Others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances. There are also studies that suggest a person's learning style is correlated to his or her personality.
Sir, I would like to suggest that the Ministry conduct a feasibility study in implementing what I term as a person-centric learning support programme. This programme can be conducted after school hours, maybe during remedial classes, for students who have not been performing well. Psychometric tests, such as Myers Briggs Type Indicator or C-Vat, for those non-performing students to find out their dominant learning styles. Through this identification process, students who have similar or near similar dominant styles of learning can be grouped together and be supported with remedial lessons using appropriate teaching methods that can fit their dominant learning styles. I believe such targeted approach will be able to produce a more positive outcome in assisting our weak performing students.
Mr Ang Wei Neng: Saranya is a student at Yuhua Secondary School, staying in a 3-room flat in Jurong West. She is the youngest in the family. Her mother is ill and cannot work. Her father is the sole breadwinner in the family and is earning less than $1,000 a month. So, the family is receiving financial assistance from various Government agencies and she used to have low self-esteem.
I met Saranya during one of the events in the Jurong Community Club when she narrated her situation to me. We invited her to join the Jurong Central Student Assistance Scheme where we provided her with $50 vouchers every month as pocket money. On top of that, we arranged for her to attend free tuition as her school results were not very good. Our volunteers run a monthly mentorship programme with the youths based on learning theme focus, such as building character, leadership, ownership, serving with heart and to excel. The volunteers also brought her along with other students in the same scheme for outings, such as Kidzania, River Hongbao and so on. Her self-esteem grew and she passed her Mathematics test for the first time after joining the scheme. Eventually, she did well enough in her GCE \"N\" level examinations and is now studying for her GCE \"O\" level examinations.
It used to take a village to raise a child in the past, but now it takes a division to raise a child. Saranya is one of the 50 students that have benefited from the Jurong Central Student Assistance Scheme (JCSAS). JCSAS is one of the two programmes that we help children from challenging families in Jurong. Over the years, we realised that it is not enough to provide financial assistance to children from low-income families. We need to dive deep and provide one-to-one mentorship, to monitor, guide and encourage the children to try harder. We are fortunate that a few kind souls have donated $250,000 over five years to fund JCSAS so that the scheme can be sustainable. We are also blessed to have a team of dedicated volunteers who care for the students.
However, we cannot do all these in isolation. We need to collaborate with the schools. For the schools in Jurong Central, they are supportive and provide us with information on how the students are performing in school. This is because our grassroots leaders are sitting in the respective School Advisory Committees. For schools that are not in Jurong Central, it is a challenge for us to obtain such information. They often cite the Personal Data Protection Act as a reason.
I would like to suggest that MOE make an effort to recognise the labours by the community to help students from challenging families as part of the larger ecosystem of support for these children. This will enable the schools to open up to us, sharing information about the students and have a more targeted and holistic approach to assist the students. At the same time, we can reduce duplicated efforts and make the best use of our limited resources.
The Chairman: Mr Zainal Sapari. You have three cuts. Can you take all three together?
Mr Zainal Sapari: Sir, Workfare is a permanent feature of our social security system and has been in place since 2007. It is our Government’s approach that to help vulnerable workers in a sustainable manner is by encouraging work, levelling up skills, and raising productivity and wages of lower-wage workers. This is based on the core premise that having a job is still the best welfare, and full employment is still the best protection for our workers.
Currently, Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) not only provides income supplement to boost take-home pay but also channels funds towards Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings for retirement adequacy. One of its objectives is also to incentivise older workers to join the workforce. The WIS payout that an eligible person receives depends on his age and income. In general, older employees or those with lower income receive higher payouts than younger employees or those with higher income.
While I welcome the increase in the WIS income criteria and WIS annual payout, I am still of the view that we should do away with the differentiation of the payout by age. Currently, the maximum WIS payout is for a worker aged 60 and above and earning $1,200. WIS can supplement a person’s income, it may not be necessary for the payout quantum to be differentiated based on age to encourage the older workers to work.
Alternatively, the Government can consider increasing the cash payout to 80% without affecting the budget allocated. This would then help the workers to have a higher disposable income for their living expenses. Given that the scheme was implemented since 2007, could the Government also share how has the WIS scheme helped to raise incomes of our lower-wage workers? How can we encourage lower-wage workers to stay employed?
I applaud the Government for working closely with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to help low-wage workers. Measures to help low-wage workers must be seen in totality. I sincerely welcome the enhanced WIS that would put more cash in the hands of these workers and help build up their CPF savings. Our Government has also been generous in providing subsidies under the Workfare Training Support to enable low-wage workers to upskill and pick up knowledge relevant to their work that could enhance their productivity and perhaps wages.
Many low-wage workers are also being helped through the Progressive Wage Model (PWM). It is my fervent hope to see more industry associations coming forward to work together with NTUC as a tripartite initiative to develop a PWM for the industry.
Apart from improving wages, we should, as a society, aspire for our workers, including low-wage workers, to have jobs not only with decent wages, but also decent working conditions. The Government’s support to make changes to the Employment Act and issuance of the various Tripartite Standard has also helped to make the working environment better for the low-wage workers. Requirements for every worker to be issued with payslips and employment contracts, guidelines on term contract workers and others have ensured our low-wage workers can be better protected from unscrupulous employers.
Everyone in society has a role to play. Employers and building owners should provide reasonable working conditions, especially proper rest areas, for their workers. You and I can also play our part to treat our lower-wage workers with dignity, such as helping cleaners by returning our own trays and treating them with respect. I would also like to know what other plans the Ministry has to further improve working conditions for our low-wage workers.
The Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) is a national credential system that trains, develops, assesses and certifies skills and competencies for the workforce. Training programmes developed under WSQ are based on skills and competencies validated by employers, unions and professional bodies.
Under the mandatory PWM in cleaning, security and landscape, workers are expected to complete certain WSQ modules. However, it is left to the discretion of the employers to choose which WSQ modules for the workers to take. Most employers would then choose the WSQ modules which could be completed in the shortest possible time, which may not necessarily be the best module to equip workers with the relevant skills and competencies.
I would like to propose that a review be made to the WSQ modules for the mandatory PWM sectors to specify compulsory modules the workers must take that will equip them with the relevant skills and competencies to increase their productivity.
Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: There have been several initiatives and programmes to help our lower-wage workers, such as PWM and WIS. I am heartened that in this year’s Budget, an enhanced WIS is introduced where more of our lower-wage workers will benefit, including receiving higher maximum annual payouts.
While I am heartened by the introduction of the enhanced WIS, I wonder if PWM has scope to be extended to more sectors to benefit more lower-wage workers to have better wages and better career prospects. Apart from improving wages, as a society, we should aspire for our lower-wage workers to have jobs not only with decent wages, but also decent working conditions. One example of decent working condition is the provision of proper rest areas for lower-wage and outsourced workers, such as cleaners, security officers, food and beverage service staff, and dispatch riders. Some may feel that requiring proper rest areas is a trivial request. But it is not so, not when you work mostly on your feet and the only time you get to sit and rest is during your lunch or tea breaks.
The irony is that because these workers are mostly on their feet, it is somehow overlooked that they also need a place to sit and rest and experience some sense of well-being while at work. I would like to request for the Ministry of Manpower to explore if proper rest areas can be mandated for lower-wage and outsourced workers as I have shared earlier. These rest areas should be well-ventilated, well-lit and have proper tables and seats for the workers to have their meals and to rest. Other than rest areas, there must be proper lockers where personal belongings can be stored safely while they work.
All in all, beyond decent wages and decent working conditions, every one of us has a role to play, including employers, in providing decent and more pleasant working conditions for our lower-wage workers. For instance, as fellow human beings, we can treat our lower-wage workers with dignity and respect and not treat them as invisible beings. We can also help make their lives a little bit easier with small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, such as cleaning up after ourselves, disposing of our litter and not leaving our litter behind, or by returning our own trays at hawker centres or food courts. As the saying by John Ruskin goes, \"A little thought and a little kindness are worth more than a great deal of money.\"
Mr Ong Teng Koon (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Sir, home ownership remains a cornerstone of our policies, but there are segments of society that, through no fault of their own, may struggle to get up the property ladder. It was heartening to see that the Fresh Start Housing Scheme was introduced in 2016. This was designed to help second-time families to own a home. Applicants include those who have been divorced or widowed, for example. These homes were more affordable because they were on 45- to 65-year leases.
With the recent debate around the residual value of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats at the end of the leasehold period, could the Ministry share more information about the take-up rate of this Fresh Start Housing Scheme? There were a number of conditions which were imposed on applicants. For example, one of the applicants must have been in stable employment for 12 months.
Will the Ministry be reviewing the scheme to allow more people to qualify for it? And beyond the Fresh Start, what measures is the Ministry exploring to better support public rental households towards home ownership?
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: Sir, some residents have lived in rental flats for years, sometimes, for more than a decade. I know that some young residents have lived in a rental flat since they were a baby, grew up in the flat and until they get to secondary school, they still do not have a place to call home.
It is quite concerning that some of these families appear to be stuck in a perpetual cycle of poverty, so much so that they cannot afford a home under the Fresh Start Housing Scheme, which is specifically designed to help families living in public rental flat. My heart also goes out to the elderly sick, who seem destined to spend their twilight years in a rental flat.
What are the reasons for these households to fail to break out of their current circumstances? I note that one of the requirements to qualify for the Fresh Start Housing Scheme is to not accumulate three or more months of rental arrears in the preceding 12 months that they have occupied the rental flat. Is keeping up with rent a challenge faced by long-time occupants of rental flats? What more is the Ministry doing to support rental households towards home ownership?
Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, some years ago, a resident approached me at a hawker centre seeking help for employment. He lives in a rental flat with his daughter, and he was sharing about how difficult it is to get employment. But his daughter is doing well in school. So, we managed to get him employment and started him off somewhere.
We kept in touch. A few years on, he is still living in a rental flat, but the good thing is that his daughter is doing well in school and will probably graduate soon. He has told me that he is trying to have a proper home for her daughter and probably own a home of their own. I suppose his way out of rental and, in this situation, will all depend on his daughter, through her education and through his daughter doing well in school.
But there are many who may not be in the same situation as him, where the children can be independent and make good through education. Many of them are from dysfunctional families. Owning a home provides security and assurance which are so important to keep the family intact, giving them peace of mind to focus on their future. It provides hope and creates dreams. So, what are the plans of the Ministry to help public rental tenants progress to own their own homes eventually?
Mr Zainal Sapari: Sir, last year, HDB shared that 3,000 rental flat tenants bought their first homes over the last five years. These flat tenants could do so because they were aided by substantial housing grants.
Given that we have more than 56,000 rental units, the number of those who progressed onto home ownership is still relatively small. All of us know that owning a home is important. A home is an asset and paying a mortgage is akin to investing in your asset, which is better than paying rent, which is basically an expenditure with no returns. How does the Ministry of National Development (MND) help public rental tenants to eventually own their own homes?
The Chairman: Mr Seah Kian Peng. You have six minutes.
Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade): Mr Chairman, today, I would like to make a specific point – what are the Government's plans to support Singaporeans from the low-income groups, particularly those with little or no family support?
One of our key pillars for Singapore's welfare model is family as the first line of support. But for one reason or another, family members may not be able to care for one another. If we do a rough typology of family and care, we have two lines – able and willing – and we see that they fall into four categories.
Able and willing – no problem and no business of the Government. Another group – unable and unwilling – is also beyond policy consideration. A third group \"able but unwilling\", has traditionally been the concern for social policymaking. This group has been subjected to a wide range of interventions, including counselling, means-testing for public service and, at the very last resort, legislation against neglect, such as the Maintenance of Parents' Act. We have seen over the years how, even when they are able, some children do not care for their parents.
Today, I would like to consider the fourth group – willing but unable. How can we better support this group who want to do more but have little? This House recently debated over the Motion of CareShield Life. As we do so, I am reminded of the case of one of my residents, a man I would call \"S\" and his younger brother. As their parents have passed away, \"S\" is left to care for his brother who suffers from cerebral palsy and is also wheelchair-bound. The expenses for the two of them is about $2,000 a month. The family is receiving help from the Social Service Office (SSO) and also from other help schemes each month, but there is still a deficit of about $800 a month.
Mr \"S\" has problems looking for a full-time job as he also has to look after his brother. The domestic helpers that he manages to employ tend to leave after a couple of months. Caregiving challenges, coupled with financial challenges, are such that the case management for Mr \"S\" and his brother requires a customised and personalised case management which the current policy does not appear to address adequately.
So much of caregiving currently also rests on domestic helpers. We talk about respite for caregivers, but these are mainly for family members and relatives. Yet, much of the heavy lifting – quite literally, in the case of Mr S, because they would have to carry and bathe these elderly or immobile patients – and this is borne by domestic helpers.
This is especially true in light of our ageing population. Within the span of 17 years, the proportion of individuals aged above 65 grew from 7% in 2000 to 13% in 2017. And by 2030, we all know that one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above. As of 2004, there were already more than 210,000 caregivers in Singapore tending to the disabled, elderly, and physically and mentally ill.
Currently, within Singapore, there are support groups, community programmes and services within the social service sector that are providing help and assistance to caregivers in tending to their beloved ones. Given the rising need for caregiving in Singapore, the Government has, in recent year, mobilised action to provide greater infrastructural and services support to caregivers. The Government has planned for increases in daycare and homecare spaces from 5,000 and 8,000, to 6,200 and 10,000 respectively in 2020.
However, we have a dilemma of long-term care in Singapore. For instance, while there is a demand for institutions and services to support long-term care, money and space for such institutions are both limited. We need, therefore, to provide greater support for this \"willing but unable group\" to allow as many Singaporeans as possible to be cared for and housed by their own families. This includes domestic helpers who live in the same house.
What can be done to ensure the same respite and welfare for these helpers? For example, when we go to the Homes to visit some of these patients, we should also find time to speak with and interview the domestic helper. Another way is to touch base with them during their medical checkups. We now have a compulsory medical examination for helpers. Can we also include a psychological examination for those who are caring for the elderly or the physically challenged?
Many helpers may not be given their days off, with family citing that they pay them in lieu. But money does not compensate for a day off from the day grind.
Another group of Singaporeans facing challenges are those who stay in rental flats. MSF had earlier announced the plan to set up social service hubs in and around rental precincts. How will this initiative better support families living in rental flats, and how can the community play a part?
Finally, Prime Minister Lee, at his post-National Day Rally dialogue, said that Singapore must not allow social stratification to harden. To do so, will, of course, require us to start at MOE. But we need also to remember that MSF has a large part to do, to ensure that Singaporeans who are less fortunate, people like my resident \"S\" and his brother are not left behind.
Of this latter group, I urge the Minister to give greater attention to the group of \"willing but unable\". This is a special group which holds a resource that no state intervention can substitute – the genuine love and care of a family member.
Mr Mohamed Irshad (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, Sir, in the past year, we have seen much debate on the topic of inequality, sparked in large part by the publication of Teo You Yenn's book \"This is What Inequality Looks Like\". The book and subsequent commentaries suggest that the system today is a major contributor to why poor families cannot break out of poverty.
There seems to be widespread acknowledgement and acceptance that social inequality, including but not limited to income inequality, is a serious issue that we need to address as a society. But there does not seem to be agreement on the root cause and what policies, or actions, will actually maximise the chances to reducing income inequality. And overall, there seems to be a dearth of robust discussion on this. Many views are advocated without strong basis or justification. The book itself is a compelling read and has helped raise awareness of the poor in Singapore. It also advocates universal welfare as a solution to the problem but did not discuss the tradeoffs and alternative approaches.
The Government, too, does not seem to have directly responded to much of the discussion or the positions proposed. Much of the ensuing debate, save a few thoughtful pieces, has seemed to have consisted of different views being presented but without much substantiation. For instance, some forum letters in the Straits Times said that, indeed, the problem must be the system and prevailing policies. Others have said that the problem must be the low-earning individual or family itself. Two opposing views that cannot be reconciled in the absence of constructive dialogue and discussion.
In July 2018, there was a symposium on the interim housing project for low-income families. Speakers included Minister Desmond Lee, Senior Minister of State Maliki Osman, and the Executive Director of Promoting Alternatives to Violence (PAVE), Sudha Nair. I understand PAVE was the organisation that worked directly with the families in the interim housing project. In November, a book entitled \"How Working Together Matters\" and edited by Prof David Chan was published.
This book seemed to suggest that the system is not in itself the problem and that individuals themselves can be deciders of their own fates. In fact, in his book, Prof David Chan seems to warn against reading without discernment, \"Therefore, be careful and calm when you do all kinds of survey studies, when you read articles in social media or in the mainstream media poll reports, and even scientific surveys or ethnographic interviews. Sometimes, the data, findings, interpretations and conclusions are not as reliable or rigorous as they claim or appear to be.\"
We have in the course of one year two books with two different positions, with many resounding expressions of support on both sides, and not much of a response from the Government, at least thus far, on a topic that is critical and important to us as a nation and society now and in the years ahead.
Would like to ask the Minister what his views are on this matter and how we should interpret the differences in views and, more crucially, what it all means in terms of what we should actually do and how we should move forward as individuals in a collective society?
Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar): Sir, I want to continue the conversation on the topic of inequality and poverty in our society. One of the best ways to mitigate this issue is giving more support to Singaporeans facing challenges. An integrated case management approach focused on development of the human capital, which I suggested in 2008 in this House, is even more relevant today.
Prime Minister Lee said that Singapore must not allow social stratification to harden. As my Parliamentary colleague Mr Seah Kian Peng said, \"I wish to repeat my call for a comprehensive assistance package for low-income families, focused on human capital investment.\" The package includes employment-upgrading opportunities for parents, new employment opportunities for unemployed spouses and continued assistance and handholding for these parents. Helping needy families with jobs, upgrading them and encouraging them to stay in employment will assist them to support their family members, especially their children, better.
We need to address holistically the many complex and intertwining problems that many such families face. These are: financial difficulty, balancing low-paying jobs with family responsibilities, childcare facilities, housing and healthcare needs and so on.
These problems are compounded in single-parent or foreign spouse households. We have to tweak our policies to favour Singaporean children, regardless of the residency status of their parents. One example is to allow foreign mothers to place their Singaporean children at childcare with full subsidies and to allow these foreign mothers to find employment.
Children from such families face a greater challenge participating in the education process. Thus, we should assist in childcare, kindergarten, after-school care placement for them, as well as individual handholding approach and follow-up for those with more educational needs. Many of these children, especially the youths, may be at risk of falling into bad company. How can MSF intervene early and better support these children and youths so that they can seize opportunities and achieve success?
Improvement of delivering assistance to those in need is core to helping this group. Unless we have this good outreach, the intention and whatever good schemes there are, will be wasted. We need to identify and reach out to those in need, even if it means incurring expenses in manpower to do so. We can tap this information of those in need from data with SSOs, grassroots and VWO referrals, house-to-house visits and so on. There are many schemes available to help those in need, but they are mostly incomprehensible and untapped by this group. In order to reap the desired outcome, MSF can coordinate and facilitate those in need to apply and to tap from the various schemes at a \"one-stop service centre\". This will ensure that such families will not fall through the cracks. This would, in turn, contribute to our goal of pursuing a sustainable approach in helping lower-income Singaporeans becoming more upwardly mobile.
What are MSF’s plans to support Singaporeans from the low-income groups, to help individuals and families improve their circumstances? MSF had earlier announced the plan to set up social service hubs in and around rental precincts. How will this initiative better support families living in rental flats and how can the community play a part?
The Chairman: Second Minister Indranee Rajah.
The Second Minister for Education (Ms Indranee Rajah): Mr Chairman, I thank members who spoke on MOE Kindergartens (MKs) and students with SEN for their encouragement, as we continue with our efforts to support these students.
Let me first address Assoc Prof Daniel Goh’s suggestion for MKs to support partial home-schooling. MKs offer a coherent curriculum through a daily four-hour programme. The MK curriculum resources are developed by MOE for trained MK educators to plan and carry out specific learning activities. The curriculum nurtures children holistically, in a social setting, so that they are confident, demonstrate strong social skills and have a good foundation in literacy and numeracy. Partial use would not be optimal for the child. As such, we would strongly encourage parents to send their child to the MKs daily.
Miss Cheng Li Hui asked if we intend to make preschool education compulsory. Today, almost all Singaporean children aged five to six are enrolled in preschool. To further make preschool education compulsory for the early years may not cater to the different developmental needs of young children. Instead, we are taking a more targeted approach through KidSTART and other outreach efforts to reach out to the more disadvantaged groups and level up opportunities for all.
Let me now share about what we are doing to promote inclusivity and support students with SEN throughout their educational journey and entry into the workforce.
MOE is committed to ensuring that children with SEN receive a proper education. It is in this spirit that children with moderate-to-severe SEN are now included under the Compulsory Education framework.
Where possible, we encourage students with SEN to attend mainstream schools. However, for students who require intensive specialised assistance, they will be better supported in SPED schools.
To encourage inclusivity, understanding and empathy between students with SEN and their peers, SPED schools have forged close partnerships with mainstream schools and organised activities to promote closer interaction and integration among their students. For instance, Assumption English School, Assumption Pathway School, Fajar, Greenridge, Jurong and Zhenghua secondary schools, together with Rainbow Centre, a SPED school, have come together for a Visual Arts Collaboration programme. Last year, the students created a 3D artwork from recycled materials titled \"Skyline of our Community\". The students bonded over their shared love of Art and the collaboration enriched them in many ways.
Within mainstream schools, students have opportunities for inclusive interactions. Students have shared that they learn useful life lessons from their peers with SEN, such as resilience to overcome daily challenges. They also realised that it is important to be there for one another.
This was echoed by Benjamin Loh, a Primary 4 student from Nanyang Primary, who was assigned as a buddy to a classmate with SEN. Benjamin said, \"By being a buddy to a friend with special needs, I’ve learnt how to take care of people better than I used to. I’ve also learnt that he can't do some things, but he's really good at other things. He is really good at Art and draws very well. My advice to other kids who might be worried about having a classmate with special needs is, don’t worry! They are very nice. When they are frustrated or sad, tell them you’ll help them.\" For Benjamin and his classmates, learning together in the same classroom environment is beneficial in fostering healthy, inclusive interactions with one another, whatever their perceived differences.
Ms Denise Phua, Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar, Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Assoc Prof Daniel Goh asked about the quality and accessibility of resources for students with SEN in mainstream schools and IHLs.
As our education system develops to cater to a wider spectrum of students, the support and resources we provide have been improving in tandem. Our mainstream schools have introduced infrastructure accommodations and teaching tools to support students with SEN. For example, assistive learning devices are provided at no cost to students with hearing loss, visual impairment and physical impairment. These devices include Frequency Modulation equipment, Braille notebooks, computer systems with specialised features, talking calculators, voice synthesizers, customised furniture and specialised software.
More importantly, we have a strong network of support to guide students with SEN in their educational journey, from enrolment to graduation. Across mainstream schools and IHLs, our staff provide an ecosystem of support for students with SEN. For instance, they work with parents and the previous school to better understand the student’s needs and facilitate smoother transitions in their educational journey.
In mainstream schools, we have our Allied Educators (Learning and Behavioural Support), or the AED(LBS), who have all undergone a customised National Institute of Education (NIE) Diploma programme in SPED. They can also attend a range of in-service professional development modules and conferences to strengthen their knowledge of special needs support. Over the last five years, we have grown the number of AED(LBS) by over 40%.
In addition, a core group of teachers in all primary and secondary schools are equipped with deeper knowledge and skills in supporting students with special needs, through a Certificate level training in Special Needs at NIE. These are known as Teachers Trained in Special Needs. While we will continue to recruit and train these school personnel with deeper experience and skills, one of their key roles is to equip all their colleagues to better support students with SEN and their families. This creates a network of support for our students.
About two-thirds of the academic staff in our polytechnics and ITEs have undergone basic training to attain awareness and basic skills to support students with SEN. All our IHLs have a SEN Support Office on campus which employs full-time staff professionally trained to support students with SEN. For example, the Learning Support Specialists in ITE have at least a Diploma in SPED.
What happens next for students with SEN, after graduating from school? To prepare them for transition into the workforce, the IHLs work on building up their confidence and independence while still in school. This helps them develop strong coping and management skills for life and to take charge of their own learning needs.
Education and Career Guidance Counsellors and teachers work with the students to help them identify their strengths and find work-related opportunities that interest and suit them. Likewise, the IHLs collaborate closely with SG Enable and other VWOs to support persons with special needs through internship and mentoring programmes.
The benefit of strong collaboration between schools and workplaces can be seen from the example of Rachael, a former student from Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School. She is hemiplegic and has weaker functions on the right side of her body. Despite her special needs, Rachael is confident, hardworking and has a passion for helping others. These traits positioned Rachael for success, when she started her community-based work experience while at school. Rachael was partnered with potential employers for month-long work attachments at various businesses, such as a supermarket, a laundry factory and a cafe. Her teachers and job coaches taught her to travel independently from her home to the various work locations.
She was also supported with customised, on-the-job training opportunities. For example, Foreword Coffee, one of her employers, provided visuals and labels to help her remember steps to take for certain tasks. To accommodate her reduced motor skills, they provided Rachael with an electric whisk to stir drinks. Rachael completed a further six-month internship with Foreword Coffee and, after graduating, she now works there as a part-time service crew member, whipping up spiced chai latte, hot chocolate and the like.
We acknowledge the significant challenges that persons with special needs face in adult life, and the need for them to receive timely and relevant vocational and life skills training.
Today, MOE already has various incentives to enhance lifelong learning for persons with special needs, beyond the regular CET subsidies and support available to all Singaporeans. For example, we have launched the SSG Study Awards for persons with special needs, to enhance employability by developing and deepening relevant competencies and skillsets.
We will continue to partner community stakeholders to support lifelong learning for persons with special needs, including those from SPED schools.
Over the years, our education system has evolved to provide greater support for students with SEN and equip them for work and life upon graduation. MOE will continue to work closely with students, parents, community partners, Government agencies and employers to help students with SEN realise their full potential.
However, being truly inclusive goes beyond what MOE or the Government can do. It also requires society at large – employers, peers and the community – to be part of this.
I would like to encourage employers to be open to employing persons with special needs and to design workplaces and processes to accommodate them. Workplace colleagues also have a role to play in creating an environment that is welcoming and supportive of persons with special needs.
Most importantly, I would like to encourage all to look beyond disabilities and think more in terms of what their strengths and talents are. See them as people who – just like everyone else – have hopes, dreams and aspirations. We should accept them as they are, and include them. Only then can we be truly inclusive.
The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat.
The Senior Minister of State for Education (Mr Chee Hong Tat): Mr Chairman, the SSG movement seeks to build a nation of lifelong learners. To do so, we are working in partnership with IHLs, private training providers, employers and TACs, as well as workers and unions. I would like to give an update on SSG, the outcomes we have achieved and our future plans.
First, on increasing quality and industry-relevant training courses through IHLs and private training providers; second, on enabling business transformation through skills upgrading for workers; and third, on supporting individuals for lifelong learning.
Let me start with the IHLs. I agree with Prof Lim Sun Sun that IHLs must continue to focus on teaching quality and ensure their courses are relevant to the industry. Besides getting feedback from students, IHLs work with business leaders to review course offerings and content and collaborate with industry partners on research and student projects.
With CET now forming part of their expanded mission, IHLs have significantly increased the range of high-quality CET programmes.
The number of work-learn programmes has increased from 15 in 2015 to 123 in 2018, benefiting over 3,500 individuals. We will introduce more work-learn programmes with different modalities. The IHLs have also provided more SSG Series courses. Today, we have about 1,300 courses across eight emerging and priority areas.
Sir, the IHLs have made good progress in ramping up their CET offerings. This is a challenging task, involving changes to the way they organise and conduct their courses. I want to place on record my appreciation to the staff and management of the IHLs for their hard work and perseverance. The changes will benefit many Singaporeans.
We have also been working with our training providers to develop industry standards and expand overseas. Existing adult educator training requirements for WSQ courses will be extended to SSG-funded, non-WSQ certifiable courses. These requirements will take effect by 1 January 2021.
SSG and Enterprise Singapore supported a pilot initiative by the Strategic Association of Professional Training-Consulting Organisation (SAPTCO) to develop and export training programmes referenced to WSQ standards, starting with India and Vietnam. This will help our training providers to export their services to overseas markets. You do not have to be a member of SAPTCO to participate in the pilot. I encourage interested training providers to get in touch with SSG.
Dr Intan Mokhtar asked about streamlining of regulations for PEIs and other private training providers. We want our regulations to be pro-business while maintaining quality training standards. SSG is reviewing our rules to reduce compliance costs and make it more convenient for private training providers seeking different types of regulatory approvals and will be making some changes later this year.
First, to reduce the number of fees for PEIs from nine to three, with annual cost savings ranging from $380 to $640 per provider.
Next, to harmonise requirements and streamline processes for training providers offering WSQ and private education programmes. This will simplify the licensing process for providers offering both types of courses. A risk-based performance management system will replace the current Continuous Improvement Review process for WSQ-Approved Training Organisations.
Third, to reduce the cost incurred by WSQ training providers to issue e-certificates. This has been an ongoing effort since 2014. So far, we have reduced the certificate fee from $2.60 to $1.20. SSG is trying to further reduce this fee through regulatory streamlining and process review, so that training providers can enjoy more cost savings. Of course, I hope they pass this through to the students.
Mr Baey Yam Keng and Mr Lee Yi Shyan spoke about the need for pro-business regulations during the Ministry of Trade and Industry's (MTI's) Committee of Supply (COS) segment earlier today. We believe that smart regulation is an important enabler for supporting innovation and entrepreneurship and will help our training companies to grow and export their services overseas. It can be one of Singapore's competitive advantages. But we must not assume that smart regulation will automatically happen. I agree with Mr Ang Wei Neng that Government agencies must be open to feedback and listen to feedback from the industry, listen to proposals from the industry.
Mr Zainal Sapari asked about involving employers in worker training, and promoting lifelong learning amongst workers.
As companies restructure and transform with technology, they should also build capabilities in their workers to help them move up the value chain. Transformation must be \"technology-driven, people-led\". Using technology alone is not adequate if the workers are not trained to optimise these tools. If we do it well, enterprise transformation should result in higher profits for the company and higher pay for our workers – a win-win outcome.
During MTI’s COS, I announced enhancements to the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG). Companies that qualify for PSG can apply for additional training subsidies, which will cover 70% out-of-pocket training expenses up to $10,000. The training subsidy will be provided via a PSG (SSG Training Subsidy). This is additional funding, above the existing training subsidies of up to 90%, to provide extra support for companies. We also want to reinforce the message that worker training and skills upgrading are critical elements for business transformation.
Companies can use the training subsidy for training that is aligned with their industry's Skills Framework, to support business transformation and meet their training needs. I have asked MTI and MOE colleagues to keep the application process simple, so that more companies can benefit from PSG and the training subsidy.
Mr Zainal Sapari and Mr Ang Wei Neng asked about efforts to deepen workplace learning. Companies can work with the National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning (NACE) to develop structured training plans for workplace learning.
Gardenia, a company that makes bread, is one such company. Its workers operate on 24/7 shifts, 365 days a year. This makes it challenging for them to attend external training. By working with NACE to develop a workplace learning blueprint, Gardenia is looking to bring training to its workers within the factories. It has also implemented structured workplace training for production coordinators under work-learn programmes.
Besides Gardenia, 26 other companies have successfully implemented basic workplace learning systems with the help of NACE. Many of them are small and medium enterprises, with more companies in the pipeline. We will continue to work with TACs and the companies, including ongoing collaborations to train workers for the wider industry, a point that Mr Ang Wei Neng made in his speech.
Ms Foo Mee Har made a key point that while employees upskill themselves, employers need to recognise these skills. I urge employers to recognise and support skills-based hiring. SSG has rolled out 27 Skills Frameworks and engaged over 2,500 enterprises so far. These Frameworks are jointly developed by employers, industry associations, unions, Government agencies and training institutions. Employers can use these Frameworks to develop career maps, articulate job requirements, design training programmes and recognise skills for hiring and career progression.
Ms Foo Mee Har also suggested appointing lead training providers. SSG has started doing this through our CET Centres. There are currently 36 CET Centres, including the IHLs and a good spread of private training providers. We will take on board Ms Foo Mee Har’s additional suggestions as we study ways to further enhance the services provided by these centres.
To sustain a strong ecosystem of CETs, lifelong learning needs to be part of our cultural DNA. We have made encouraging progress, with SSG benefiting about 465,000 Singaporeans through a wide range of programmes in 2018. For example, 96% of approved SSG Credit claims are for work-related courses.
Prof Lim Sun Sun asked about the efficacy of SSG programmes. We have been tracking the progress of SSG since its launch in 2015. Training participation rates have increased from 35% in 2015 to 48% in 2018.
We are also encouraged to see positive training outcomes. From a survey of 3,500 learners who attended work-related training in 2018, more than 80% said they were able to perform better at work six months after the training.
We do additional longitudinal studies to supplement these surveys as we know surveys do have their limitations. A recent study by MTI found that for individuals who were not in employment, WSQ training increased their likelihood of securing employment by up to 3.5 percentage points in the year after training. The same study showed that employed individuals who attended WSQ training enjoyed a real wage premium of up to 5.8%, on average, in the year after training.
Sir, please allow me to share a story in Mandarin about Mr Jeremy Fong, who is Managing Director of Fong’s Engineering and Manufacturing and the past-Chairman of the Singapore Precision Engineering and Technology Association.
The Chairman: Please go ahead.
Mr Chee Hong Tat: Thank you, Sir.
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] \tMr Jeremy Fong is a literature and history student, but he also chose to pursue a Diploma in Business Management and take modular courses on mechanical engineering at ITE and PEIs.
With developments in technology and markets, Fong's Engineering and Manufacturing Pte Ltd has gradually transformed its business. Just as how Mr Fong has taken it upon himself to reskill, remain relevant and lead transformation in his business, he also applies the same philosophy to his employees. He believes that transformation and training need to take place together in order to achieve the best outcome.
Mr Fong retained all his workers after he transformed and automated his processes, and redeployed them to other areas of work within the company. Over the past three years, his company also participated in the SSG Earn-and-Learn Programme, providing polytechnic and ITE graduates with internship opportunities at the workplace.
It is heartening to see employers like Mr Fong taking ownership of skills development and using skills to support company transformation. He is a good role model.
(In English): To conclude, Sir, SSG is a journey that we must take together with our partners and all Singaporeans. SSG is essential to our economic transformation, but it is more than a programme or an initiative. It is a movement to encourage lifelong learning and continuing education. It is to nurture a passion for deepening skills and a curiosity for new knowledge. What we want to achieve is for lifelong learning to spark a lifetime of joy in our people.
The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat, it is almost 7.15 pm. Would you like to report on progress?
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Committee of Supply Reporting Progress","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"Mr Chee Hong Tat: Mr Chairman, may I seek your consent to move that progress be reported now and leave be asked to sit again tomorrow?
The Chairman: I give my consent.
[(proc text) Resolved, \"That progress be reported now and leave be asked to sit again tomorrow.\" – [Mr Chee Hong Tat]. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Thereupon Mr Deputy Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House. (proc text)]
Mr Chee Hong Tat: Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2019/2020, and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.
Mr Deputy Speaker: So be it.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Adjournment","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"[(proc text) Resolved, \"That Parliament do now adjourn.\" – [Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien]. (proc text)]
Adjourned accordingly at 7.15 pm.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Incorporating Counselling of Victims and Witnesses of Traumatic Events in Psychological Preparedness and Training in Community Emergency Exercises","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"1 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will consider incorporating psychological preparedness and training in the counselling of victims and witnesses of traumatic events in its community emergency preparedness exercises.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been looking into the psychological preparedness of the community, such as in the aftermath of a terror attack.
In 2017, we launched the Human Emergency Assistance Response Team (HEART). Each HEART Team comprises psychologists and community mental health practitioners from MHA, the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Institute of Mental Health.
MHA and the HEART Teams have been working closely with the People's Association to incorporate psychological preparedness as part of our community emergency preparedness. We have been training grassroots leaders and community responders from the Community Emergency Response Team on psychological first aid through the use of skills-based role playing.
A total of 1,116 community responders from all the constituencies, as well as an additional 350 Public Service officers, have been trained in psychological first aid. Several HEART Team exercises have been held as part of Community Crisis Response Exercises.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Response to Government Support for Professional Conversion Programme, Career Support Programme and Special Employment Credit","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"2 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current number of companies which have tapped Government support for the Professional Conversion Programme, Career Support Programme and Special Employment Credit respectively; (b) what are the details of these companies that have benefited from the respective schemes; and (c) what needs to be done to onboard more companies to participate in these schemes.
Mrs Josephine Teo: Since the launch of Adapt and Grow (A&G) initiative in 2016, more than 2,000 companies have partnered Workforce Singapore (WSG) to offer Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs). These PCPs provide training and salary support to employers who hire and reskill mid-career jobseekers for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) jobs. About eight in 10 of these companies are small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The three sectors with the most participating companies are Education, Financial Services and General Manufacturing. There are currently over 100 PCPs in about 30 sectors, and new PCPs will be introduced for jobs, such as blockchain professionals and embedded software developers.
To date, close to 2,000 companies have tapped on the Career Support Programme (CSP) since the programme was introduced in October 2015. CSP provides salary support to encourage employers to hire long-term unemployed jobseekers or mature retrenched jobseekers in PMET jobs. About seven in 10 of these companies are SMEs. The three sectors with the most participating companies are Infocomm and Media, Professional Services and Wholesale Trade.
The success of A&G programmes, such as PCPs and the CSP, depends on the willingness of employers to give opportunities to mid-career Singaporean workers, including those who may not have the full set of skills and experience preferred for the job, but have the potential to do the job with some effort in training or after a period of adjustment. We will press on with efforts to raise awareness among employers and work closely with the tripartite partners and economic agencies to engage companies to participate in A&G programmes.
To support the employment of older workers, the Special Employment Credit (SEC) provides wage offsets of up to 11% to employers that hire older workers aged 55 and above and earning up to $4,000 per month. The wage offsets are automatically disbursed to employers based on their CPF contributions for eligible employees. From 2017 to June 2018, SEC has benefited about 108,000 employers hiring close to 423,000 older workers. The top three sectors with the most employers receiving SEC are Food Services, Wholesale Trade, and Retail Trade.
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