The Leader of the House (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien): Mdm Speaker, our paralympians are here and present in the Chamber and I wish to seek the House's agreement to have the Motion on Paralympic Achievements be taken now before Question Time.
Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, \"That, under Standing Order 10(2), the Motion on Paralympic Achievements be taken as the first item of business at this day's Sitting.\"
[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Resolved, \"That, under Standing Order 10(2), the Motion on Paralympic Achievements be taken as the first item of business at this day's Sitting.\" – [Ms Grace Fu] (proc text)]
Mdm Speaker:\tMinister for Culture, Community and Youth.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Paralympic Achievements","subTitle":"Motion","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien): Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, \"That this House congratulates the Team Singapore Paralympians on their achievements at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.\"
I would like to acknowledge the presence of our Team Singapore Paralympians, as well as former Chairman of the Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC) Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang, who are here with us in the Chamber today. The House is gathered here to acknowledge the achievements of Team Singapore at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Our Paralympians, with their incredible feats in Rio, have uplifted the nation. Adding to an already impressive haul of one Gold, two Silvers and three Bronzes from past Games, our Paralympians brought home another two Gold and one Bronze medals. This year, we had 13 athletes qualifying and representing Singapore across six sports and 21 events, almost double the contingent of eight athletes at the 2012 Paralympic Games. My heartiest congratulations to all of you. [Applause.]
Beyond medals, each Paralympian has shown us what it means to be a champion – to be counted among the world's best and fly our flag high at the world's biggest stage for para sports.
These 13 extraordinary athletes have shown us that with hard work and sacrifice, we can realise our dreams. Their achievements also exemplify how a nation as small as ours can punch above its weight.
I am honoured to have witnessed some of their amazing and inspiring performances in Rio. Mdm Speaker, allow me to speak about our talented Paralympians.
Let me start with our Boccia athletes, Nurulasyiqah Taha and Toh Sze Ning, who put in a formidable performance and finished fourth in the BC3 Mixed Pairs event. They were in impressive form at the Games and beat the teams from Greece and Portugal, the gold and silver medallists respectively, from the 2012 Paralympic Games. While Nurul and Sze Ning were disappointed they could not bring back a Paralympic medal this time, I believe that they will grow stronger from this experience and do better in future.
Nur Syahidah Alim was a double gold medallist at the ASEAN Para Games and became our first archer ever to compete at the Paralympics. In the lead-up to the Paralympics, Syahidah trained six hours per day, six times a week. Her result in the Women's Individual Compound event was testament to her hard work and determination. Her round of 16 match pitted her against an athlete ranked fourth in the Ranking Round. Despite some problems with her stool which affected her stability, she held her nerves and went on to beat her opponent. She also put up a tremendous fight in the quarter-final match. Facing the eventual bronze medallist in unpredictable wind conditions, she lost the match by just two points, that is, 135 versus 137. She displayed great sportsmanship, always having a smile on her face and was a crowd favourite.
The Equestrian team of Laurentia Tan, Maximillian Tan and Gemma Rose Foo had to contend with serious injury setbacks in the months leading up to the Paralympics. Laurentia injured her spine, Maximillian hurt his hip joint, while Gemma ruptured a spleen. But that did not deter our riders, who continued to train hard, sometimes in pain, to represent Singapore in Rio. Their courage, determination and fighting spirit certainly filled us all with pride. They showed us the importance of perseverance in the things we are passionate about, and that a positive attitude is often the best medicine for unexpected setbacks.
At 39 years young and a Paralympic Games debutant, Norsilawati Sa'at is an inspiration to us all. She has shown us that age is certainly not a barrier to sports and excellence. Despite taking a break from wheelchair racing in 2011 and returning only last year, Sila made tremendous progress to qualify for the Paralympics. Besides her pet event, the 100-metre T52, she was also extended an invitation to participate in the Women's 400-metre T52 Finals so that the race could proceed with the minimum of five competitors. She graciously accepted the invitation, gave it her all, and finished with a personal best time.
Our long-jumper, Suhairi Suhani, is the baby of the team at just 19 years old. Known by those around him to be a model athlete, Suhairi never complained and only wanted to learn and keep improving. With his discipline and positive attitude, he achieved a personal best in the Men's Long Jump T20 Final in his Paralympics debut.
After winning a gold medal at the China Open Athletics Championships earlier this year, Diroy Noordin made his Paralympics debut in the Men's Javelin and Shot Put events. I am certain that Diroy will continue to inspire other persons with disabilities to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams. We look forward to stronger performances from Suhairi and Diroy at future events.
Our Sailors, Jovin Tan and Yap Qian Yin, had to contend with not just the world-class competitors, but harsh weather and rough seas. After a commendable showing in the earlier races, our sailors, unfortunately, had to be withdrawn for safety reasons towards the end of the competition although they steadfastly wanted to soldier on. I would like to commend them for their determination and fighting spirit, for trying as hard as they did and not giving up.
Last, but not least, we have our Swimmers. Theresa Goh is one of our most experienced Paralympians. This is her fourth Paralympics. After more than a decade of sweat and tears, months spent training and competing overseas, and hour after hour spent in the pool, she finally won her first Paralympic medal. It was a long and hard journey, but I think she would agree that it was all worth it. To us all, Theresa is a symbol of commitment, resolve and dedication.
Her good friend and team-mate, Yip Pin Xiu, achieved the extraordinary feat of clinching two Gold medals. She even broke the world record in the Women's 100-metre S2 Final. These were unforgettable moments as the Singapore flag was hoisted and Majulah Singapura was played in the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio. Pin Xiu now has three Paralympic Golds, making her the most decorated Team Singapore athlete at the Olympics and Paralympics. Despite her achievements, she is always humble, grounded and appreciative of the support from her friends and family. To all our aspiring athletes, Theresa and Pin Xiu are perfect role models. To Singaporeans, they represent the sporting heroes that we all look up to.
My warmest congratulations to all the athletes again! [Applause.]
Our Paralympians' achievements would not be possible without the \"Team behind the Team\". I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the caregivers, coaches, family and friends of our Paralympians, as well as officials from the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) and SNPC. I would like to commend Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang, former President of SDSC and former Chairman of SNPC, for her tireless contribution over the years in developing disability sports in Singapore and for nurturing a strong contingent of para-athletes who have done us proud at several major Games leading up to the Rio Paralympics.
I would also like to acknowledge Mr Ho Cheng Kwee, Chef-de-Mission of our Paralympic contingent, for his leadership and commitment in ensuring the athletes' well-being at the Games.
Special recognition and thanks must also go to the team at the Singapore Sports Institute, who work tirelessly to provide our athletes with the best system of support. This includes access to sports medicine, sports science and physiotherapy services, so that our Paralympians can train and compete with peace of mind and in the best possible conditions.
It was heartening to also see the outpouring of pride and appreciation from Singaporeans from all walks of life. We saw a large crowd at Changi Airport cheering and welcoming our Paralympians as they touched down from Rio. We saw even more lining the streets during the celebratory parade. Among them was nine-year-old Teo Choon Khang, who has been taking swimming lessons since he was three, even though he has cerebral palsy. After watching his idol Theresa Goh clinch the bronze medal, he is now filled with hope that, one day, he, too, can swim in the Paralympics. Mdm Lim Sook Wei, her husband and her 10-year-old son Hugh Lee, who has autism, travelled all the way from Jurong to Sengkang to meet Pin Xiu. Mdm Lim said, \"We are so glad to meet her, and my heart is still pumping. We hope that our son is inspired [by Pin Xiu's achievements] and learns that nothing is impossible.\" Our Paralympians have certainly become our nation's sporting heroes, and I believe they will continue to inspire many more Singaporeans in time to come.
Pin Xiu said after her win that, \"Nothing is impossible as long as you set your mind to it. It might not be the goal that you will eventually hope to get but, along the way, through the process, you will learn many things about yourself [and about] other things that will [help you]. It's better than not having tried at all.\"
Indeed, we are proud of our Paralympians' achievements, but we are even prouder of the fact that they have taken the plunge, sacrificed so much, and done so with such courage and tenacity. They are not constrained by their limitations but are instead driven towards what is possible. Thank you for your excellent performance. Thank you for your inspiration. Thank you all to our Team Singapore athletes. Congratulations once more. [Applause.] Mdm Speaker, I beg to move.
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
Mdm Speaker: Minister Tan Chuan-Jin.
The Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Tan Chuan-Jin): Mdm Speaker, we are all just simply elated to be here today to congratulate all of you, our Team Singapore athletes, on your achievements. In my many years watching and supporting sports, I have never seen such levels of interest and support for our para-athletes. It is amazing. Not only will this be the new norm, I believe that the support will grow from strength to strength. Last year's ASEAN Para Games was instrumental. Not only did you compete and flew our flag with pride, you opened our eyes to show us what a \"never-say-die\" attitude is all about, both in the arena and outside of it. This year, 13 of you represented us at the recent Rio Paralympic Games. This is our largest contingent ever.
What more can I say about Pin Xiu, Theresa, Syahidah, Norsilawati, Suhairi, Diroy, Nurul, Sze Ning, Laurentia, Max, Gemma, Jovin and Qian Yin that has not been said. You have been outstanding ambassadors for Singapore. Many of us were not able to be there in Rio to support you, but I hope you heard us cheering you on thousands of miles away, where many of us watched you intently on the screens and followed your exploits via social media. You united us as one people regardless of where we were in the world.
I remember each one of your beaming faces as you arrived back home in Singapore at Changi Airport, starting with Suhairi who surely has the most infectious smile ever. Your Rio journey was clearly uplifting but, perhaps even more significantly, you created something special for all of us.
How many of us have the privilege and honour to wear our national colours and to fly our flag at competitions? How many of us can display the sheer grit and determination that can inspire so many? How many of us can galvanise a community and pull people together?
You are, first and foremost, our Team Singapore athletes. You enabled us to see the true you – the person behind the physical being. You have been our role models, demonstrating resilience and an indomitable spirit, showing us what is possible through dedication and hard work.
For many of you, it is not just about your quest for personal achievement. It goes beyond medals. It is about our community of persons with disabilities. Pin Xiu shared that she would not have continued this journey if she was doing it for herself. What made her persevere is the desire to inspire other Singaporeans facing similar challenges through her actions and achievements. She has grown from a child who did not know much about para-sports to eventually becoming a world record holder with three gold medals to her name.
She wants to share this message with all Singaporeans: that you can get there if you want it bad enough. The same goes for all our para-athletes who want to show that anything is possible if you try and work towards it and, most importantly, to believe in yourself.
There is another group of champions whom I want to recognise – the family and friends of our Paralympians. You have shown great support and are clearly the number one fans of our para-athletes. Your love and sacrifice have enabled them to realise their dreams. You are always there to cheer them on and are their pillars of support through ups and downs.
Theresa's parents, Mr Bernard Goh and Mdm Rose Mok, firmly believe in the value of sports, and that every child, able-bodied or disabled, has his or her unique strengths. They believe that sports brought more opportunities for their children to make friends and to form a support group which helped them develop and become stronger socially, emotionally and mentally.
Sze Ning's mother, Mdm Tan Ngoek Moi, shared in two interviews – I gathered her various comments and put them together. And she shared this about Sze Ning when she was young: \"Everyone said to me, ‘Why don't you just abandon her? Don't be so hard on yourself.\" But she said later, \"I'm happy and proud to see her all grown up. She already did her best and came in fourth overall. We have to use our sincerity to motivate them because they are our children and we understand them. And we, as parents, we have to help them. If we don't, no one else will.\"
For our para-athletes and their families, it is not just in the competitions that they have to strive hard. It is also in the race of life that they cross seemingly insurmountable hurdles, dealing with the simplest of tasks that so many of us just take for granted.
Thank you for showing us how deep and wide our love for our family can and should be. Thank you for reminding us that family matters.
All of you, not just our athletes, but all our Singaporeans with disabilities and special needs, you have changed us. While we have made some progress towards a more inclusive society, we are definitely not there yet. We want to be a people who see the person first before the disability. We want to be able to care, to be compassionate and to love. You have all certainly played an instrumental part in our journey to become a better people and a better society.
I call on all Singaporeans to play an active role in this inclusive journey. In big and small ways, never under-estimate the difference that we can make, whether as family members, classmates, employers, neighbours or simply as members of the public. All it takes is consideration in the buildings that we build, in the workplaces that we establish, in the community that we live in and in our everyday lives. Just simple actions, like giving way while on the MRT, providing assistance to board the bus, not parking in accessible lots meant for persons with disabilities. And most importantly, it is in our hearts and minds that we need to just embrace our fellow Singaporeans of any ability for who they are. It can be done. It just starts with you and me.
Let me end by congratulating once again all our Paralympians and to thank you. Because by being who you are and championing the way forward, you help us all become better selves and perhaps, in turn, to begin to build a better Singapore. [Applause.]
Mdm Speaker: Mr Christopher de Souza.
Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah): Madam, just to get to the start line at Rio 2016, our Paralympians overcame immense demands of physical training – weights in the gym, cardiovascular priming on the track or in the pool, honing skills drill after drill, set-piece after set-piece. They must have also persevered through muscle fatigue, injuries as they built up physical and mental stamina among the team. All these in preparation for the ultimate sporting experience that the Paralympic Games gives.
It was already a victory that our Paralympians got to their start lines. Why? Because each Paralympian converted adversity into a will to excel and, in so doing, made Singaporeans very proud. Your sturdy will in Archery, Athletics, Boccia, Equestrian, Sailing, Swimming is what we are celebrating today. What you did out there at the Paralympic Games also spoke of the value of participation and training hard to better one's own personal best. Yes, you had excelled to get to the start line. Yes, you were already joyful in achieving that. Yet, not quite satisfied, you pushed yourself further and further to improve. That extra push was, in and of itself, remarkable, perhaps arising from a divine discontent. Yet, you the Paralympians displayed the personal integrity imbedded in the very meaning of sportsmanship: to strive to outdo one's own limits for a cause greater than oneself.
I learnt that meaning of sportsmanship from Chaoyang School students about 20 years ago. The school, which provides education for children with special needs, required assistance with its sports programmes. I was playing Hockey at the time and the school asked if I could help coach its Hockey team made up of young students between eight and 12 years old. That team was preparing for its own tournament amongst special needs students. Some of the children found it difficult to run. For some, it was not easy to hold a stick, yet they played their hearts out, learnt from one another, improved their skills and celebrated whenever a teammate scored because it meant Chaoyang School was doing well.
That group of young Singaporean students reflected the very spirit our Paralympians displayed on the world stage at Rio 2016: the value of participation, the value of outdoing one's own limits and the value of doing so for a cause greater than oneself. There is much we can learn from that, especially in education, especially in our schools where achievements should be celebrated when the child has done that child's best.
In fact, double-gold medallist Yip Pin Xiu shared how doing one's best and pushing beyond their limits is key and should be celebrated. Before Rio 2016, Pin Xiu shared, \"I decided that I should really excel as much as possible when my body still allows me, by pushing myself to the limits for Singapore\". How inspirational. You were already victorious at your start line.
After Rio 2016, you shared your reflections with Singaporeans, \"We athletes have doubts sometimes. We don't know if today is a good day for our bodies. It was really just a lot of mental strength to go at my fastest ever, and to compete against myself and my previous times\". Rejoicing in accomplishments already achieved, yet not quite satisfied, and so, wanting to push for a cause beyond oneself. Thank you, Pin Xiu, for showing us that iron-willed determination.
Theresa Goh, bronze medallist, also from the pool, described how she felt in Rio. She said, \"I had a lot of moments where I thought of giving up. But it took a lot of mental skills and encouragement from people telling me that I could do it and to be positive. I had to convince myself, talk to myself and remind myself that I had done a lot of hard work. It is not just my work, I have a big team behind me and if I had a list of people to thank, I would not be able to finish it. It is truly amazing\".
I conclude, Madam, with firm support for the Motion standing in the name of Minister Grace Fu.
From the Rio 2016 Paralympics Team, we have not one but two medallists, not two but three medals, an Olympic record and two World records. But we are not only celebrating those achievements. What we are also celebrating are the sporting values of participation; perseverance through adversity; and the personal integrity to better one self for a greater cause.
To all the Paralympians, you and the sturdy will you possess are miracles personified. Thank you for showing Singaporeans what is possible. We are very proud of you. [Applause.]
Mdm Speaker: Mr Seah Kian Peng.
Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade): Mdm Speaker, I join our Government and Members of this House in congratulating our Singapore Paralympics Team for their outstanding results at this year's Paralympic Games in Brazil.
We sent our largest ever contingent to the Paralympic Games with 13 athletes taking part in a record number of six sports, and our athletes were brilliant out there. Our Paralympians gave us so many memories – from swimmers Theresa Goh winning the bronze medal to Yip Pin Xiu clinching two gold medals and smashing a world record in the process.
Thank you to every athlete for bringing the rest of Singapore to a euphoric high with your energy, faithful and dedicated practices and final amazing performances! All of us who have watched or read about you in action, are moved and inspired by your never-say-die attitude to overcoming difficulties in life to follow your dreams through sheer grit and perseverance. For Theresa Goh, this has been a 17-year journey and continuing.
The Paralympian effort is single-minded in a way that few of us will ever understand – the sacrifices and struggles, the zero-compromise commitment you all have put in to prepare for the Games. These are lessons for us all – that we should not give up on our goals come what may, and that hard work and resilience pay.
I would like to commend the Singapore National Paralympics and the SDSC for supporting our athletes at the Games, as well as to record our thanks and recognition of the efforts of the coaches, behind-the-scenes support staff and, especially the incredible families, whose love and support played such a huge role in our athletes' achievements.
Pin Xiu is a resident of mine and I have known her and her parents for a number of years. Her parents are active participants in one of my community groups. As we have seen in the case of Joseph Schooling and many other sportsmen and sportswomen, parents and family are the key to motivating our athletes, and we should do what we can to also acknowledge, recognise and support these parents.
Last year, NTUC FairPrice launched a campaign featuring four local personalities to reveal their unsung heroes who have contributed to their personal development. Pin Xiu was among those featured. She shared the story of her mother in a video, and she said this of her mother:
\"You have given me the strength to be who I am. You have taught me what it's like to love a family. You've shown me that all this hard work you've done is not only for yourself but for everyone around you. And I want to do the same.\"
And with this, my heartiest congratulations again to all our Paralympians, our ambassadors on the world stage and all the families and support staff behind the scenes. You have brought joy and pride to all Singaporeans and also taught us many important lessons. Thank you, Team Singapore Paralympians.
Mdm Speaker: Ms Denise Phua
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar): Madam, we are here to celebrate the abilities of some of the most special athletes from our land. Thank you for the privilege of honouring the stellar achievements of all 13 Paralympians who represented Singapore in the 2016 Rio Games. The Paralympic Games is the highest-level global competition for our athletes. I also wish to honour other athletes who trained hard but, for some reason, did not make it to Rio.
When Theresa Goh won her bronze in Rio, her good friend and fellow medallist, Yip Pin Xiu, embraced and told her that nobody will know what they have gone through these 17 years. Indeed, many of us can only read about it but never really know the terrain of the arduous road to Rio – the gruelling trainings and the sacrifices behind a sporting career on the world stage. Take the feat of Norsilawati who trained six times a week while working as a freelance web designer; who entered the Rio games at the age of 39, undaunted. Or archery athlete Nur Syahidah, born with cerebral palsy, who similarly trained six days a week and spent most of her non-working days on practice. These stories are not uncommon amongst the rest of the athletes: Nurul, Sze Ning, Suhairi, Muhammad Diroy, Maximillian, Laurentia, Gemma, Jovin, Qian Yin, Pin Xiu and Theresa.
Hence, to the Paralympians, thank you for showing us the power of the human spirit. Like the proverbial bumblebee which aerodynamically is not supposed to be able to fly, but it flies anyway. You are not disabled athletes. You are our very own Singaporean athletes with disabilities – disabilities which, instead of tripping you, have helped the rest of Singapore, open their eyes and see your true and powerful abilities. You face greater challenges than typical athletes and deserve recognition similar to or even beyond them. We salute all of you. From you, we learnt the lessons of mental toughness, true grit, optimism and self-control.
I pray that you will guard sacredly this privileged leadership position or space that you occupy. I know that many of you do not want to be defined by your disability and want to be seen, first, as athletes. But it is the unique identity, the package that you come in, abilities and disabilities combined, that enrich, humble and inspire the rest of us Singaporeans. If you can do it, then perhaps the rest of us can rise above our daily ailments, grievances and complaints and take on life the way you do, against the odds; making lemonades of the lemons we are handed in life.
So, Paralympians, I urge you to be the evangelists for a better world – encourage others to do sports on a daily level; tell them how not to let what you cannot do prevent you from what you can; and how not to let failures deter you for longer than they should.
Next, to the usually unsung heroes behind our athletes. I believe in the life-view that, in life, that everything we achieve in life, somebody helped us. It is thus also my privilege to congratulate and thank the people who have been supporting the Paralympians.
First, the family members who had raised these young people and cheered them on in life, medals or not. I believe that no child with special needs, comes to a family by accident – no child anyway. It takes a special kind of human spirit to embrace a child with special needs in the family, give him space to pursue his passion whilst worrying about his future. Families of our special athletes, too, deserve a medal, in my book.
Next, lest we forget, the supporting teams from the SNPC – the then Chairman Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang; Mr Ho Cheng Kwee, who is not able to come today, Chef-de-Mission of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, the SDSC, the Singapore National Olympic Council, Sports Singapore and the Singapore Sports Institute. Many are the unsung heroes who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the road to Rio possible. Thank you all.
To the rest of Singapore, I ask you to continue to look beyond the disabilities and celebrate the abilities of our Paralympians and other athletes and the rest of the special needs community. Last weekend, despite the rain, we had about 10,000 Singaporean residents from all abilities, all walks of life, join us in the city district to support inclusion and celebrate abilities in a movement known as The Purple Parade – a ground-up movement that gained the support of many, including our country's top leaders.
But beyond the carnival and celebrations, what the organisers deeply yearn for is a transformed society that truly embraces persons with special needs in every aspect of Singapore life. Is there enough support, beyond awareness, to cause a change in our behaviours towards those who are different? Do we know persons with special needs only when they become celebrated Paralympians? Do we, in our social network, have any true friends with special needs? Do we, at our workplace, treat those with special needs with dignity and not pity?
In many ways, people with special needs are like you and I, with similar needs and aspirations. Theresa told me she is a Spice Girls' Club fan. She and Pin Xiu just travelled to Europe, London, Burmingham, on their own, public transport, without any special help from the state. Many of them simply want to have access to opportunities in life, like the rest of us. So, let us go beyond compassion and adjust our lenses and behaviours to create schools, workplaces, public places of interest where persons with special needs are not just talked about, but seen, heard and their presence felt daily.
On that note, I want to salute again the Paralympians and all those who stood and are still standing behind you. You are some of our most important torchbearers for a better world. Congratulations!
Mdm Speaker: Ms Chia Yong Yong.
Ms Chia Yong Yong (Nominated Member): Mdm Speaker, I am honoured to have this opportunity to congratulate Team Singapore Paralympians. Much earlier, after Pin Xiu won the 2008 Paralympic Gold medal, you moved us when you said, \"This is my favourite medal, because it is Singapore's first Paralympic gold medal and, with it, I did Singapore proud\". You did Singapore proud, all of you did and we are all very, very proud of you.
I also thank and congratulate the greater Team Singapore of caregivers, loved ones, officials, trainers, coaches, friends, teammates, sponsors and supporters. Thank you for believing in the Paralympians. Thank you for sharing your love, resources, expertise, to make our Paralympians who they are. Thank you for your sacrifices.
We have come far since we first participated in the 1988 Summer Paralympics. We did not win medals then. But we continued to send our athletes to the Summer Paralympics. Twenty years later, at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, we sent six athletes and they brought home four medals. Twenty-eight years on, from our first participation, we now have nine Paralympic medals.
But it has been a long road. Over the years, we have come to recognise the value of sports in achieving our national priorities in developing healthy and resilient people, forging strong united communities, retaining core values, sharing memories, strengthening friendships and building a dynamic society and a dynamic economy.
We did not do enough for our athletes and para-athletes in our earlier years. It is my hope that with Vision 2030, with the Disability Sports Master Plan and the new National Outdoor Adventure Education Masterplan, sports will become more inclusive.
And as we continue to conceptualise and implement, it must always be a work in progress. We should be open to learn from other countries, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, known to provide good support for their athletes with disabilities.
It has taken us a long time to associate sports and disability, or should I say, sports and medical conditions.
The SDSC was set up in 1973 by the then Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and eight organisations for persons with disabilities. In 1974, due to a shortage of funds, it selected only two para-athletes, Messrs Robert Tan and Frankie Thanapal, to represent Singapore at the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Dunedin, New Zealand. Frankie returned with a bronze medal and Robert did us proud in his placings. In 1975, the duo represented Singapore again and, this time, they won gold and bronze medals.
Why am I sharing this? We did not just start winning sports medals on the international scene. Through the years, our para-athletes have been doing us proud. It is just that we did not know that much about them. And we are, slowly, gaining national consciousness on this issue, thanks to everyone who persevered – all of our para-athletes and their loved ones, and their officials. And to the younger ones in this Chamber today, our Paralympians – as you enjoy the recognition and the challenges that are ahead of you, remember all those who went before you, who gave of their best despite having a lot less. Remember that they paved the way for you as well.
And as you remember those who went before you, we will also remember the lessons that we have learnt from you. You have brought us glory. You put us in the international limelight in the world of Paralympics – tiny Singapore.
Your achievements made us sit up and realise that persons with disabilities, even from tiny Singapore, can make their mark in the sports world. By your medal wins, you gave Singaporeans a chance to be inspired; inspired by your grit to endure physical pain, by your intelligence, your determination to push the limits, to succeed. But even then, for all the interviews that you gave, for all the inspirational talks that you gave, we can never imagine all the pain, tears, frustrations and sacrifices that you had to make. We can never imagine the pain of the injuries, what sacrifices you made in your education, your career, your social activities, what sacrifices your parents made for you, what financial burdens you had to bear and what opportunities you lost.
You have inspired us and you have made me very, very proud of you, not just because you won medals, but because all of you trained and sacrificed, and even if you never got to the Games, even if competed but you did not win, you never give up.
I am proud of you because you are not afraid of your weak bodies. I am inspired by you because you have strong minds and stout hearts. And I am humbled by the lessons that I learn from you.
Theresa says of her disabilities, \"I'm fine with it. I wouldn't be swimming or where I am today if I weren't disabled.\" I believe you spoke not just for yourself, but for all your colleagues. Paralympians, you turned your disability into opportunity, and made your disability your success. I believe that as we salute you for your medals, many more would, like us, salute you for rising above all your failures.
Muhammad Diroy – he also happens to be SPD's Youth Aspiration Award 2015 winner. He was initially not selected to represent Singapore at the Paralympics. But he did not despair. He continued and he stuck to his regime of training three times a week to keep improving, to do his best for other upcoming competitions. And then he landed a surprise. He became a last-minute addition to the Singapore contingent.
Jovin Tan, our para-sailor, said this, \"Life is always about trying and not giving up. Even if you are the last boat, you should try to think of possible ways to climb one or two more positions up\". Even if you are the last boat.
Laurentia says, \"Our glorious moments are not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall\".
Ultimately, it is not about giving up. It is about not giving up. It is about not allowing setbacks to set us back. And it is about doing our best no matter what. Unfortunately, that is not glamorous but that will outlast the shine on your medals.
So, let Singapore be there for you.
When Paralympians won medals, the public debated greater rewards for medallists, greater support for para-athletes. You rose above monetary rewards and you said you did not do it for the money. Indeed, I firmly believe that our athletes did not do it for the money. You did not train and compete for that. But the prize money is important: whether we like it or not, it is a reflection of how society values the contributions that you have made and the lessons that you are sharing with us. Aside from the reward, on a very practical basis, the prize money will help a para-athlete pay for transport, living expenses, the higher medical expenses, higher therapy fees, higher coaching fees, pay for your studies, pay for your other needs.
More than cash payment, it is also about inclusion. In my letter to The Straits Times on 17 September 2008, I argued, and I reiterate now, that if we persist in having two different standards of treatment between athletes and para-athletes, we reinforce the erroneous perception that people with disabilities are not able and strengthen the barriers against building an inclusive society. We cannot build a gracious inclusive society if we continue to deny the achievements of those perceived to be different and less able than we.
I am happy for the Motion that has been placed before the House today, but there is more to be done than just congratulating our Paralympians.
So, what is my role? Fellow Singaporeans, what is our role? The best of Government schemes will not be good enough if we do not play our part to support our para-athletes. Yes, a great part of that has got to do with funds, more sponsorship, but how do we get sponsors if there are no spectators? Spectators draw advertisers, advertisers draw sponsors. Here is one opportunity for us to just be a spectator. By that, we cheer our athletes. We give them hope, we let them know that there are people behind them when times are tough. By that, we also tell the corporate entities that there is value in sponsoring our athletes.
Get out of the living room. Get to the stadium, the swimming pools, wherever the events are held. Can we be, if nothing else, a spectator?
It has been a long journey and it will continue to be. As Pin Xiu said to Theresa when the latter won her bronze medal at the Paralympics, \"Nobody knows our journey like us, and I am so incredibly proud of you.\"
And now, I say this, and I am sure my colleagues here in this House will join me in saying this: indeed, nobody knows your journey like you, but you know what? We are so incredibly proud of you.
And with that, Madam, I support the Motion. [Applause.]
Mdm Speaker: Ms Sylvia Lim.
Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): Mdm Speaker, the Workers' Party joins the Minister and all Members in congratulating our Paralympians on their inspiring achievements at Rio. Indeed, there is much for Singaporeans to celebrate this year in international sporting competitions, with Team Singapore's successes at the most prestigious international competitions – the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Truth be told, most of us do not know much about the Paralympic Games. We muddle over how para-athletes are classified by disability and find it puzzling that there are so many similar events. Indeed, it is impossible for able-bodied persons to get into the mind of a disabled person, let alone one who dares to put himself or herself out there in the arena in front of the whole world.
From the para-athletes' perspective, Ms Yip Pin Xiu was most generous when she said, \"We put in the same amount of effort to get to where we are and it is not easier being in Para-sports.\" Despite what life has dealt them, para-athletes are experts at turning adversity into strength. As Ms Theresa Goh once said, \"I wouldn't be swimming or where I am today if I weren't disabled.\"
Madam, there are many inspiring stories all over the world about how individuals overcame disability through sports. A few days ago, I heard over the radio about a Canadian teenager named Trent Seymour, a very promising softball pitcher and catcher, who was paralysed in a hunting accident two years ago at age 16. After weeks in the intensive care unit and months of rehabilitation, he decided that he wanted to return to the game he loved, even though he was now a paraplegic. He signed up for umpire training and passed the required tests and soon, he was the first ever Umpire on Wheels. The sight of him on softball pitches surprised and inspired many fans worldwide.
Madam, during the recent Paralympic Games, friends of mine who had children with disabilities were abuzz. Their children were glued to their television sets every day and night, rooting for our Paralympic athletes. Some of these parents had introduced sports to their children as therapy. Now, their children were seeing before their very own eyes that, through sporting competition, they, too, could, one day, don the national colours and bring glory to Singapore.
It goes without saying that cultivating our para-athletes to sporting excellence takes a whole village and the Government as well. As a country with one of the highest in terms of gross domestic product per capita in the world, we would be poor if our citizens with disabilities were not able to have big dreams or realise their full potential.
Madam, our para-athletes have taken Singapore a giant leap forward in our journey towards a truly inclusive society. We thank those who have loved and supported them through their unique journeys. We must continue to press on to make Singapore a home where no one is left behind. [Applause.]
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Madam, I think the speakers before us have made a unanimous message of congratulating the achievements of our Team Singapore Paralympians. So, I would like to move the Motion.
[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Resolved, \"That this House congratulates the Team Singapore Paralympians on their achievements at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.\" (proc text)]
[(proc text) Thereupon, hon Members stood to their feet and applauded. (proc text)]
Mdm Speaker: Leader.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Mdm Speaker, if we can just give the athletes a few minutes to move out of the Chamber.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Rearrangement of Business","subTitle":"Message from President","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Leader of the House (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien): Mdm Speaker, I understand that a Message from the President addressed to Parliament is to be read to the House. As the Message is on a matter which the House will be considering at the Second Reading of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, I seek the House's agreement for the Message to be read at the time when the Constitution (Amendment) Bill is to be taken.
Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, \"That, under Standing Order 10(2), the Message from the President conveying his views on the Constitutional Amendments be taken at the commencement of the Second Reading of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill.\"
[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Resolved, \"That, under Standing Order 10(2), the Message from the President conveying his views on the Constitutional Amendments be taken at the commencement of the Second Reading of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill.\" – [Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien] (proc text)]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Revision of Question Time","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"The Leader of the House (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien):\tMdm Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move a Motion to allow the duration of Question Time to be one and a half hours from its commencement.
Mdm Speaker: I give my consent. Does the Leader of the House have the general assent of hon Members present to so move?
Hon Members indicated assent.
[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Resolved, \"That, notwithstanding Standing Order No 22(1), Question Time may continue for up to one and a half hours from its commencement.\" (proc text)]
Mdm Speaker: Order. Questions for Oral Answer. Dr Lim Wee Kiak.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Retention of Qualified Teachers in Schools","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"1 Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked\tthe Minister for Education (Schools) (a) what is the current cost of training a teacher; (b) what is the average number of years that a qualified teacher stays in the teaching service; (c) what are the three main reasons for teachers leaving the profession; and (d) what is being done to motivate teachers to stay and make teaching their lifetime career.
2 Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked\tthe Minister for Education (Schools) (a) whether the annual resignation rate of teachers over the last five years compared to a decade ago from 2% to 3% is a cause for concern; (b) what is the resignation rate of new teachers within five years of teaching in 2015 compared to a decade ago; and (c) whether the non-teaching workload is a significant factor in teachers' resignations nowadays.
3 Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked\tthe Minister for Education (Schools) (a) in each year over the past 10 years, how many teachers have left the teaching force after their teaching bond ended, with a breakdown by teachers on the Postgraduate Diploma in Education, Diploma in Education, and BA/BSc (Education) tracks; and (b) of these, how many are (i) MOE scholars, (ii) having teaching as their first career and (iii) are mid-career switches to teaching.
\tThe Minister of State for Education (Dr Janil Puthucheary) (for the Minister for Education (Schools)):\tMdm Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 1, 2 and 3 together, please?
Mdm Speaker:\tYes, please.
\tDr Janil Puthucheary: Madam, the cost of training a teacher on the 12-month Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) at the National Institute of Education (NIE) is around $23,000. Salaries are also paid to trainee teachers during their NIE training.
On average, our teachers have been in service for 11 years.
The overall resignation rate for the entire teacher population has remained low at around 2% to 3% a year over the past decade. Over the first five years of service, we see a slightly higher overall resignation rate of around 3% to 4% a year, on average. Typically, there would be an uptick in the resignation rate to about 5% for teachers when their bond ends.
The main reasons for resignations range from family considerations, such as childcare, to a desire for a change of job. Workload is not commonly cited as a reason for teachers leaving the service.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) recognises that teaching as a profession is demanding and requires significant commitment and deep skills. Many teachers have decided to make teaching their lifetime career and contribute to the development of our next generation. We have consistently paid close attention to our teachers in ensuring that they are fairly remunerated, provided with developmental opportunities to grow in their careers and being taken care of in terms of their well-being.
First, teacher remuneration is regularly reviewed to ensure it remains market-competitive. The last two salary reviews were in September 2012 and October 2015, and eligible teachers had a monthly salary increase of 8% in 2012, and 4% to 9% in 2015, respectively.
Second, we provide our teachers with many career and professional opportunities. They can develop their careers by taking up leadership positions in schools and MOE Headquarters, becoming teacher leaders or taking up senior specialist roles.
The Ministry also provides strong support for the professional development of teachers. The Academy of Singapore Teachers, professional academies and language centres, put together many programmes and courses that help our teachers develop professionally. We also have various financial and leave provisions to support teachers who wish to deepen their professional mastery.
Third, the well-being of our teachers is important to us. MOE is mindful of the high expectations of teachers. To address this, we have put in place measures to support and guide schools in work allocation. Schools also regularly review work areas that can be stopped if they are no longer relevant or meaningful, simplified to reduce duplication and optimise efforts, as well as share good practices to improve work management.
\tMdm Speaker: Dr Lim Wee Kiak.
\tDr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang):\tMdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of State, with 5% attrition or resignation rate after the bond ends, whether in analysing all these cases, is there any way that we can improve our selection process to make sure that at least the candidates that we choose to be admitted to this career are the ones that will truly stay on. Are there any ways, after you have analysed data from those who are leaving at the end of five years, whether we can improve the selection process?
\tDr Janil Puthucheary: Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for that question. The potential teachers coming into NIE have a significant amount of orientation and counselling as to the demands of the job.
But the reality is that the person that they are at the point of enrolment is going to be significantly different after perhaps another seven to eight years of their life. They may want to start a family; they may have different aspirations. The reality is that it has to be possible and acceptable for people to change careers as their aspirations change, as the needs of their family change, what they want to do with their life changes. So, to have zero resignations and zero people moving on to a different career would not be tenable or possible.
We want to have as good a matching as possible and the key point would be to ensure that people who choose a career in teaching have a good understanding of what it involves, and that we provide them the professional development necessary so that they can cope with the rigours of the job, which are demanding.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Faisal Manap.
\tMr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied):\tMadam, I would like to thank the Minister of State for his reply. I may have missed it, but I believe that he has not answered the whole of my question. Can I have the Minister of State to address my question, please?
\tDr Janil Puthucheary:\tMadam, I beg your pardon. The Member had asked about the percentage who had left after the expiration of their bond. There was a slight uptick of 5% immediately after the bond had expired. I think I had addressed that in my initial statement. I am sorry. Was there another particular point that the Member wanted to ask?
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Faisal Manap.
\tMr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap:\tI had asked for a breakdown based on the teachers on the PGDE and BA/BSc (Education) tracks, as well as how many MOE scholars have been teaching as their first career and how many are on mid-career switches to teaching. I believe that the Minister of State has not addressed these issues.
\tDr Janil Puthucheary:\tThe Member is correct. My apologies. Mdm Speaker, I can get those numbers and get back to the Member. My apologies to the House for this delay. [Please refer to \"Clarification by Minister of State for Education\", Official Report, 7 November 2016, Vol 94, Issue No 26.]
\tMdm Speaker: Dr Intan Mokhtar.
\tDr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio):\tI was in the teaching service for about five years. I contributed to that 2%-3%. Even though my ex-colleagues and I would frequently complain about workload, about students, but that really was not the impetus for any one of us to leave the teaching service. Most of my colleagues who complain a lot are still there teaching.
Nonetheless, I would like to ask if the Ministry would look into the employment and deployment of more teaching assistants, teacher aides or allied educators to assist our full-time classroom teachers to help them better manage the demands of teaching, particularly in terms of carrying out administrative duties, providing student learning support and even in classroom management.
\tDr Janil Puthucheary:\tMadam, I thank the Member for the comment. Indeed, MOE is looking at increasing the number of allied educators for learning and behavioural support, and providing a variety of means to provide skills outside of just the teaching profession to allow the teachers to concentrate on the most important aspects of their profession.
\tMdm Speaker: Assoc Prof Daniel Goh.
\tAssoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member):\tMdm Speaker, there is a teacher satisfaction survey that is done every year. May I ask the Minister of State what are the main points of dissatisfaction from teachers and whether these concern the workload?
\tDr Janil Puthucheary: Some of the teachers are particularly concerned about the workload and it is not unreasonable to be concerned, given that there are demands on their time. There are concerns with respect to the amount of administrative overheads and MOE is trying to put in place some information technology solutions that should be able to address some of those needs.
The concerns of teachers also include the opportunity to have regular ongoing professional development and that is something that we do have a significant amount of work going into ensuring that every teacher has at least 100 hours of professional development every year.
Other concerns: one of the striking points in the survey was actually the perception of how they are valued and respected within society, and there was, interestingly, a big group of teachers within the survey who recorded that they felt that the value and respect that they were accorded were decreasing and yet this would not stop them from continuing with the teaching profession as they found this a very meaningful profession. Those were some of the deeper analyses that we found.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Teaching Students Effects of Problem Gambling","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"4 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked\tthe Minister for Education (Schools) (a) how has the Ministry incorporated educational material on the effects of problem gambling into the school syllabus; and (b) whether educators are equipped with the necessary training to counsel students who may encounter problem gambling in their homes.
\tThe Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Education (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim) (for the Minister for Education (Schools)): Madam, our Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) and Cyber Wellness lessons teach our students the dangers of online gambling and other addictive behaviours. Students learn to exercise self-control and to turn away from distractions and temptations. They learn how to lead balanced lives and explore outdoor and healthy leisure activities. They also learn how to support their peers who may need extra help.
Teachers who are aware of students facing problem gambling personally or at home will refer them to the school counsellors. Our school counsellors are trained by the National Addictions Management Service which is supported by the Ministry of Health. They are equipped with the skills and knowledge to work with parents to provide appropriate intervention and support for their children in managing addictive behaviour. For more complex cases, schools will refer the students to mental health professionals from the Institute of Mental Health. The school counsellors will also work with the students on coping strategies if any of their family members have problem gambling issues.
Our schools also benefit from outreach programmes and roadshows mounted by external agencies, such as the National Council on Problem Gambling and Touch Cyber Wellness, provided to promote awareness of problem gambling.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Dennis Tan.
\tMr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Non-Constituency Member): I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his answers. Just a few supplementary questions. I was just wondering, with the recent exemption of remote gambling, how will the current Ministry of Education (MOE) syllabus be adapted to include the higher risks and warnings against remote gambling?
My second question is: in 2012, the then-Minister for Education said that MOE was developing a core CCE syllabus where key elements of problem gambling awareness and prevention programmes would be given due emphasis in the new syllabus. So, I would just like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary: how will this core CCE syllabus be effective in combating problem gambling in their homes, especially with online gambling?
Finally, I believe that teachers are already overloaded with their various responsibilities and work burdens. What are the Ministry's plans for additional help for teachers to ensure that due assistance is rendered to students with problem gambling in their homes?
\tAssoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for the question. As I mentioned in my answer earlier, the CCE programme, as well as the Cyber Wellness programme, has been able to reach out to our students not only about gambling or online gambling, but also in other aspects of addictive behaviour. The Member is right to say that we have enhanced our CCE over the years. We have been able to reach out to students not only via one module but different modules at different stages. It is important for us to ensure that it is not only limited to the modules that we offer in school, but also to the society via the external organisations.
In essence, we are providing holistic engagement of our students in school. At the same time, we want to ensure that this whole system is embedded not only as the responsibility of the teachers but also their peers, as well as the whole society.
So, when the Member mentioned about teachers already having a heavy workload, it is not being undertaken by the teachers alone, but also by the school counsellors. Nevertheless, the whole society is responsible to ensure that our children have a balanced life. And it is important for us to have protection for all the different aspects of our life.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Public Speeches and Writings by Senior Officials","subTitle":"Distinguishing between private and official roles","sectionType":"OA","content":"5 Mr Leon Perera asked\tthe Minister for Foreign Affairs what are the guidelines applicable to (i) permissible public speeches and writings undertaken by senior officials, including accredited ambassadors and ambassadors-at-large of Singapore (ii) distinguishing between speeches and writings done in a private capacity and in an official capacity by such individuals and (iii) addressing situations where speeches and writings by such individuals may negatively affect Singapore's national interest.
\tThe Minister for Foreign Affairs (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): Diplomacy is a very labour-intensive exercise. Even in this era of emails and video-conferencing, there is still a need for human beings to meet, to assess the warmth of the handshake and sincerity in their eyes. However, in the case of Singapore, because we are so small and the limits of our talent pool, we have found the need to induct talent from both within and outside the Civil Service.
Consequently, we supplement our pool by appointing outstanding persons with relevant skills from society at large, including successful businessmen, senior executives and retired senior civil servants, and they may serve as our Non-Resident Ambassadors, Ambassadors-at-Large or Special Envoys. In fact, we also have distinguished foreign businessmen, non-citizens of Singapore, who have volunteered to be our Honorary Consuls General in a number of countries and these gentlemen or ladies will provide assistance to Singaporeans who are travelling overseas in countries where we do not have a Mission. All these individuals, that means, the Non-Resident Ambassadors, Ambassadors-at-Large, Special Envoys or Honorary Consuls General are all expected to discharge their duties of safeguarding and advancing Singapore's national interests, explaining and defending Singapore's policies, as well as upholding the integrity and reputation of Singapore at all times.
However, I want to make this very important differentiation. Non-Resident Ambassadors, Ambassadors-at-Large and Special Envoys are not civil servants. They are engaged for a specific role only. Beyond their specific Ministry of Foreign Affairs commitments and role, we do not restrict their private engagements and this includes giving speeches or contributing articles in their personal capacities.
Nevertheless, all of them are expected to exercise good judgement and to do their best to uphold and promote Singapore's national interests and I believe all of them do so in good faith, honourably and diligently.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Leon Perera.
\tMr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): I thank the Minister for his reply. I just have a few supplementary questions. I would like to clarify that in the case of Non-Resident Ambassadors who are technically not civil servants, in the event that they make statements about the internal politics of other countries that may or may not be prejudicial to Singapore's national interests, would that be viewed as permissible by the Ministry or would that be discouraged and action taken in such cases?
Specifically ‒ I think the Minister is well aware ‒ there was an instance last year when one particular Ambassador-at-Large did actually make a statement about the internal politics of another country. My aim is not to highlight the case of that individual, but more of a general point. Would that sort of intervention ‒ even if it is made in a different capacity, not in the person's ambassadorial capacity ‒ be considered permissible and, if so, how then would the Ministry manage the reaction or the impact to Singapore's diplomacy which might result, because I think in that particular case, politicians in another country did actually respond in a hostile fashion to that particular Ambassador-at-Large's intervention?
\tDr Vivian Balakrishnan:\tWould the Member like to be more specific as to which particular case and which Ambassador-at-Large he is referring to?
\tMr Leon Perera:\tI was referring to Ambassador-at-Large Mr Bilahari Kausikan and his comments on Malaysian politics, which I believe were made in October last year.
\tDr Vivian Balakrishnan: Let us go back to the basics. He is not a civil servant. He is a retired civil servant. He is not our ambassador to Malaysia or to any other specific country. And as I have explained just now, his speeches, his essays are not cleared by me, they do not reflect or represent nor does he even attempt to say that they are the positions of the Singapore Government. He is free to speak and to comment, in the same way you are free to speak and comment as a private citizen.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Leon Perera.
\tMr Leon Perera:\tA supplementary question for the Minister: notwithstanding that in general, a particular individual may not be a civil servant and he may not be the ambassador to that country, and he may be speaking in his private capacity or another different capacity, would the Minister not recognise that there could be an impact on Singapore's diplomatic relations with a foreign country if someone who holds the title of an ambassador, makes a statement that interferes in the politics of another country? There could be that impact and it would appear that there was some degree of impact in the particular case I cited. What is the Ministry's strategy for dealing with such a case, should it happen?
\tDr Vivian Balakrishnan:\tMdm Speaker, the person here that the hon Member refers to is not a member of this House and is not a civil servant. I am not going to defend his positions or his speeches or articles. If the Member has a question on Government policy, I will answer it. Otherwise, the Member can have a discussion with the person in question outside this House.
As far as Government policy is concerned, we have designated ambassadors to conduct diplomacy with the respective countries that we need to engage and if there are any messages that need to be transmitted or any negotiations that need to be conducted, they will be done through proper channels. I do not want to open up this House into an avenue for any Member, regardless of which party you are from, to discuss the writings and the speeches of other citizens, private citizens of Singapore.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Retrenchment Numbers and Trends","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"6 Mr Seah Kian Peng asked\tthe Minister for Manpower what are the projected retrenchment numbers for this year and how does this compare with that of 2015.
7 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how does the Ministry address occurrences of \"disguised retrenchments\" by employers to avoid paying retrenchment benefits; (b) what measures will the Ministry put in place to monitor and deter such practices; and (c) how will the Government continue to ensure that public sector agencies abide by human resource best practices and do not engage in \"disguised retrenchments\".
\tThe Minister for Manpower (Mr Lim Swee Say):\tMdm Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 6 and 7 together, please?
Mdm Speaker:\tYes, please.
\tMr Lim Swee Say: Mdm Speaker, for the first three quarters of this year, 11,890 workers were retrenched, compared to 8,590 in the same period last year. In total, 13,440 workers were retrenched last year. We expect the number this year to be higher due to ongoing business restructuring and slowing economic growth. There is no clear evidence that irresponsible retrenchment is on the rise.
Under the Employment Act, an employee who has served less than two years is not entitled to retrenchment benefits. For those who have served more than two years, payment of retrenchment benefits is mandatory if it is specified in their individual employment contracts or in the collective agreements negotiated by their unions.
Even so, based on the last survey conducted in 2013, nine out of 10 companies with at least 25 employees did pay retrenchment benefits. The prevailing norm at that time was two weeks to one month of salary for each year of service. We are now conducting another survey and the findings will be ready by end of the year. Workers who feel that they have been treated unfairly during any retrenchment exercise can report to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for investigation.
In 2015, MOM received 94 cases from employees with retrenchment-related issues, out of which 15 appeals were from employees who were dismissed but felt they were retrenched and thereby deprived of retrenchment benefits. In the first three quarters of this year, out of 63 retrenchment-related cases, the number of appeals is 14. So, on the whole, these cases account for a small proportion of the total number of local employees retrenched in 2015 and 2016 so far.
In 28 out of these 29 appeals – 15 in 2015 and 14 in 2016 so far – the workers were either not entitled to retrenchment benefits as they have less than two years of service or there were no retrenchment benefits specified in their contracts or collective agreements. For the one remaining appeal, MOM is helping the workers to resolve the issues.
The public sector is committed to progressive human resource practices. Public sector agencies have signed the Employers' Pledge of Fair Employment Practices since 2007. They will continue to abide by tripartite guidelines to carry out restructuring responsibly and in consultation with public sector unions.
Madam, under the Adapt and Grow initiative, MOM and its tripartite partners have stepped up our support for retrenched workers through job matching and career services. To enable us to reach more retrenched workers and offer more timely assistance to them, MOM is now in consultation with unions and employers to strengthen our framework for retrenchment reporting. We are aware of the different positions of the unions and employers on this, but MOM believes that we can find a way forward for the interests of the retrenched workers.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Seah Kian Peng.
\tMr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade):\tI thank the Minister for the answer. I would just like to seek a few clarifications. First, based on the first three quarters, we already see an almost 33% increase in retrenchment numbers. Based on this rate, I think we can expect for the last quarter, probably over 2,000 more retrenchments. So, my first supplementary question is: is the rate of retrenchment on the increase? And are we concerned about these numbers? What steps should we take going forward and, in anticipation of the worsening economic climate, what steps can we take to preserve more jobs for Singaporeans?
\tMr Lim Swee Say: Mdm Speaker, the Member asked whether the rate of retrenchment is on the increase. For the first three quarters of this year, compared to the same period last year, certainly the number is higher and will be higher for the whole of this year. MOM does not make any attempt to forecast. There is no formula for forecasting retrenchments. But what we do is to track the number. As the Member mentioned, based on the first three quarters of this year, it is higher than last year. For the whole of this year, we believe it will be higher than the whole of last year.
What can we do? At the last Sitting, the Minister for Trade and Industry had already stated his position that, if need be, when the time comes, we will provide support assistance either at the sectoral level or broad-based level. But we are monitoring the situation.
For MOM and its tripartite partners, we accept that retrenchment will continue to happen because in Singapore, we have always believed in continuous restructuring. In good times or in bad, retrenchment has always been there. Therefore, ongoing restructuring is not necessarily bad. In fact, it is good for our economy and good for the workers as well, so that they can continue to, hopefully, take on better jobs.
Having said so, we recognise that retrenchment will be a very difficult experience for our retrenched workers. This is the reason why the tripartite partners have put in place a special task force since early this year. As and when there is a retrenchment exercise, our task force will engage the employer, engage the workers and, together with the union, we will ensure that the retrenchment is carried out in a fair manner. For example, if it is a unionised company, we will ensure that the union will negotiate for the retrenchment benefits. For companies that are not unionised, we will try to do mediation as well.
But more importantly is that having gone through the retrenchment exercise, we will collate information on the profile of the workers affected by retrenchment, in terms of their skills and education profile as well as their job preference. In some cases, with the support of the employers and the union, we are even able to conduct career fairs onsite with the company for the retrenched workers. In cases where they do not have a critical mass, we organise off-site job fairs for them.
In the first nine months of this year, we have assisted more than 3,000 retrenched workers under this special arrangement. So, the moment they are retrenched, we move in, work with the companies to help the workers. We assisted about 3,300 of them. Of the 3,300, we were able to help close to 2,000 secure new jobs and new employment. So, I would say that, on the whole, let us support the retrenched workers the best that we can.
Our main objective is to ensure that the retrenched workers will be able to go back to work as quickly as possible. Because the longer they stay out of a job, the harder it would be for them to come back to work. And that is the reason why MOM is now exploring with the unions and the employers to strengthen the retrenchment reporting framework. Because we believe that with more timely reporting, we will be able to reach out to these retrenched workers earlier so that we can help them even more.
\tMdm Speaker: Dr Tan Wu Meng.
\tDr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong): I thank the Minister for his answer and I was wondering if the Minister could reassure us that as part of the ongoing labour market study, whether MOM will continue looking at changing employment norms, especially with new trends, such as the \"gig economy\"?
\tMr Lim Swee Say:\tMdm Speaker, yes. We are now doing a survey on the changes in the employment landscape. We are going to gather more employment information regarding workers – either self-employed or as part of the gig economy – because we believe that there will be implications for the workers. Within the gig economy, the relationship between employer and employee has changed. And what we are concerned about would be, if we see more workers becoming portfolio workers without the employer-employee relationship, then how would their welfare, their well-being, be taken care of, including skills upgrading, employability, retirement planning and so on? MOM is conducting a survey now. Based on the survey findings, we will then decide on the next step.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Part-time Work for Work Permit Holders","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"8 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked\tthe Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider allowing Work Permit holders to engage in part-time work, considering Singapore's current labour shortage.
\tThe Minister of State for Manpower (Mr Teo Ser Luck) (for the Minister for Manpower): Mdm Speaker, we do not allow foreign Work Permit holders to engage in part-time work for several reasons.
First, we expect employers to bring in Work Permit holders for specific, full-time jobs. Work Permit holders should not have the time to engage in part-time work on top of the work for their primary employer.
Second, allowing part-time work may put Work Permit holders at risk of exploitation, especially if employers offer their Work Permit holders to do part-time work for other firms.
Third, allowing part-time work may increase the overall demand for Work Permit holders, which would run counter to the national effort to restructure the economy and prevent over-reliance on foreign manpower. Firms should address their manpower needs by becoming more manpower-lean, or by redesigning jobs to be more attractive to locals, rather than by relying more on foreign workers.
Finally, allowing Work Permit holders to do part-time work is likely to increase competition with locals for freelance jobs or part-time work.
We offer support for companies through the Lean Enterprise Development (LED) scheme to transform and achieve manpower-lean growth. Many progressive companies have come forward to take up the LED scheme and we encourage more to do so.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Louis Ng.
\tMr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I have asked whether we can consider allowing Work Permit holders to do part-time work but I understand this might already be happening on the ground, but under the radar. The reality is that workers want to work; companies need the workers. These are jobs that they cannot find Singaporeans to work in, especially at that particular shift. So, rather than ban, can we consider regulating, so that we can protect the workers?
As the Minister of State mentioned, if they are doing the part-time work under the radar, they might be exploited. So, if we are worried about opening the floodgates, then could I ask the Minister of State if they can consider opening up on a smaller scale, at perhaps a few industries or just one industry to start with, and study whether it works before deciding to ban or open it?
\tMr Teo Ser Luck: The fundamental consideration is, firstly, to protect the interests of our local workers. That is the first and foremost. Secondly is that we also want to protect the interests of the foreign workers, the risks of them being exploited. For some industries, we do actually offer some flexibility. For example, in the services industry, within the same company, we do allow them to redeploy their Work Permit holders across different departments within the same business, within the same company. That is possible.
\t Mdm Speaker: Minister of State Janil Puthucheary, I understand that you wish to make a clarification?
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Clarification by Minister of State for Education","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"The Minister of State for Education (Dr Janil Puthucheary): Thank you, Madam, and my apologies to you and the Member for having to take up a bit more time. The Member had asked about the breakdown for teacher resignations for two dimensions. One was the teaching training programme that teachers were on, and the second was at which point in their career they had decided to become teachers ‒ if I understand the questions correctly. [Please refer to \"Retention of Qualified Teachers in Schools\", Official Report, 7 November 2016, Vol 94, Issue No 26, Oral Answers to Questions section.]
The overall rate is between 4% and 5%, and there is no significant difference in the resignation rates of those who have teaching as their first career and those who are in teaching as a mid-career switch. There is no difference when we analysed the data.
If we look at the teacher training programme that teachers who resigned were on, there is a slight difference. The Member had asked about the Diploma in Education, Teaching Award holders, those on the BA/BSc programme and for scholars. Those who are on the Diploma in Education and Teaching Award holders have a slightly higher resignation rate, and those who are on the BA/BSc programme and scholars have a slightly lower resignation rate. But the overall resignation rate remains about 4% to 5%. I hope that clarifies. My apologies for having to come back to the Member on this.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Benefits and Allowances for Grassroots Leaders and Advisers","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"9 Mr Png Eng Huat asked\tthe Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what are the qualifying criteria for grassroots leaders (GRLs) to apply for BTO flats and ECs under the special HDB scheme; (b) how many GRLs benefited from this scheme from 2006 to 2015; and (c) what does the HDB scheme entail.
\tThe Minister, Prime Minister's Office (Mr Chan Chun Sing) (for the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth): Mdm Speaker, information on the Ministry of National Development (MND) Grassroots Organisation (GRO) scheme is available online and has been provided during previous Parliamentary Sittings. Under this scheme, eligible grassroots leaders (GRLs) can apply for Housing and Development Board (HDB) Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and Executive Condominiums (ECs) in constituencies within the Town Council boundary which they serve. GRLs are eligible after performing three years of continuous and active service at their GROs.
In the last 10 years, an average of 28 GRLs, or less than 0.1% of all GRLs, have utilised this scheme each year.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Png Eng Huat.
\tMr Png Eng Huat (Hougang):\tMadam, just a couple of supplementary questions. Are GRLs given priority in balloting for a flat, that is, are they given a higher queue number to select a flat of their choice? Two, are they allowed to buy direct from HDB more than twice? And the last question is: are they also allowed to take a loan from HDB more than twice?
\tMr Chan Chun Sing:\tMdm Speaker, the answers to all the questions that Mr Png asked are as follows: one, the priority balloting goes with all other priority schemes and they all go into the computer and the computer will churn out the results; two, whether they can buy more than one, take up more than one loan, they adhere to all existing schemes available to all Singaporeans.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Png Eng Huat.
\tMr Png Eng Huat:\tThe reason why I filed this question is because the Minister mentioned earlier that this a special scheme. So, if everything is the same, what is so special about the scheme then?
\tMr Chan Chun Sing: Mdm Speaker, there are various priority schemes under the MND schemes. It is just like school volunteers. They all have various reasons for the various GRLs to be recognised. But once they have applied for it, the whole process is computerised. What they are eligible for is also similar to all the other schemes.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Inspections of HDB Buildings for Structural Integrity and Design","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"10 Mr Christopher de Souza asked\tthe Minister for National Development whether there are periodic inspections of HDB buildings to ensure structural integrity, especially in mature estates.
11 Miss Cheng Li Hui asked\tthe Minister for National Development (a) what are the findings on the concrete sunbreaker in Tampines which gave way; (b) how many of such sunbreakers are there in Tampines and island-wide; (c) how many have been built by the same contractor and are of a similar age; (d) what is the method of inspection to ensure their structural integrity over the years; and (e) what will be the safety action to be taken by the Ministry going forward.
12 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked\tthe Minister for National Development in light of the collapsed sun shield in Tampines (a) whether HDB buildings in mature estates are monitored for structural integrity; (b) whether the designs and materials of older HDB buildings are routinely re-evaluated in light of contemporary data so as to provide an updated risk assessment for (i) internal structural failure and (ii) external facade structural failure; and (c) what other measures will HDB put in place to ensure safety of residents against similar incidents.
13 Ms Tin Pei Ling asked\tthe Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry will conduct an assessment on facade features and external structures of HDB blocks, such as those in Circuit Road, that were built in the 1960s and were part of the first batch of blocks under the Main Upgrading Programme implemented two decades ago; (b) how does the Ministry ascertain if the structural integrity of a housing block remains good and safe for residents; (c) how frequent are such checks done; and (d) whether the Ministry will offer upgrading for the blocks in Circuit Road.
\tThe Minister for National Development (Mr Lawrence Wong):\tMdm Speaker, with your permission, I will take Question Nos 10 to 13 together.
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please.
\tMr Lawrence Wong: Madam, I understand and share the concerns raised by Members over the safety of the residents in light of the Tampines sunbreaker and the Circuit Road cladding incidents. Investigations into the incidents are ongoing and we await the appointed Professional Engineers' (PEs') full investigation reports which would be ready in due course. So, I would not comment on the specifics of these cases.
But more generally, the safety of buildings is of paramount importance. And this includes not just structural safety, but also other building features, such as facade fittings.
Under the Building Control Act, we have the Periodic Structural Inspection (PSI). This PSI regime is in place to check on buildings' structural safety, covering elements, such as beams and columns. The PSI regime ensures that buildings are regularly checked for structural defects, so that these can be rectified early to keep the buildings structurally safe for continued occupation.
Building owners have to engage PEs to conduct the PSI every 10 years for residential buildings and every five years for other building types. During these inspections, the PEs are required to carry out checks and assessments on the building condition and recommend rectifications if there are any structural defects detected.
For Housing and Development Board (HDB) buildings, the maintenance of building facades comes under the responsibility and purview of the Town Councils. What Town Councils are required to do is to conduct regular visual inspections on the building facades. For example, they can do this at the same time as when they do their repainting works every seven years or so. Where necessary, the Town Councils should engage a Qualified Person to follow up on the repairs.
For older blocks, HDB will also step in to support and supplement the work of the Town Councils. HDB will step in on its own to do more stringent inspections and checks of structural integrity and also audit inspections of external building facades. I must emphasise that this is on top of the regulatory requirements that are imposed on the Town Councils. So, HDB will do additional checks for the older HDB buildings.
The Ministry of National Development (MND) will continue to review and update our policies on building safety, especially in the area of building facades and inspection checks on external facades. In our updates or review, we will benchmark ourselves against other high-rise high-density cities to identify areas for improvement. Even as we do this, we would like to highlight that everyone has a role to play in ensuring a safe living environment. And, in this regard, we encourage residents to report any defects or potential issues to the relevant authorities.
Ms Tin Pei Ling separately asked if MND would offer upgrading for the blocks at Circuit Road where the falling cladding incident happened. The blocks in this precinct have already benefited from the Main Upgrading Programme (MUP).
But aside from upgrading schemes, HDB has implemented a co-payment scheme for Facade Finishes Repair with Town Councils. Under this co-payment scheme, HDB will pay 50% of the repair cost incurred by Town Councils to repair external facade finishes of HDB buildings. The Town Councils, in fact, all Town Councils, can make use of this scheme for their facade works.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Christopher de Souza.
\tMr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah):\tI thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. My question really has to do with the structural integrity of high-rise protrusions. In the cyclical review, would there be a prioritisation for high-rise protrusions, for example, like balcony ledges and their structural integrity?
\tMr Lawrence Wong:\tMadam, the Member has highlighted what I think is a very relevant point. There are two different issues. One is structural integrity of the building, meaning the key components within the building to ensure the building is safe. And the integrity of external facades which particularly could have the risk of being dislodged and these may fall. It may not impact on the integrity and safety of the building, but it may have a risk on people who are walking at the street level.
So, this is a separate matter which, as I mentioned earlier, we are looking at the inspection regime to see if more focus and emphasis need to be placed on facade inspection and facade checks, particularly with building facades and areas where safety may be at risk.
\tMdm Speaker: Ms Tin Pei Ling.
\tMs Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): Madam, I thank the Minister for the reply. I have clarifications to make. May I clarify what would be the frequency for the additional checks that the Minister has articulated earlier that will be done by HDB? Secondly, for older blocks, there will be greater priority as well as greater frequency in terms of the checks, given that since they are older, I would naturally assume that they will also suffer the effects of ageing as well.
\tMr Lawrence Wong:Madam, as I mentioned earlier, the PSI, which is a regulatory requirement, is required once every 10 years. On top of that, HDB will do its own checks for older blocks, and this is voluntary because HDB is a good developer. If you buy a condominium, the developer, I assure you, is not going to do this for you. The Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) has to bear the responsibility.
But HDB, being a good developer, will do its own checks. So, for older blocks, HDB will do five-year checks on top of what the Town Council is supposed to do. And HDB will also selectively do annual inspections for the older blocks for building facades. So, these are the additional checks that HDB does currently.
On a separate matter, as I have mentioned earlier, we are reviewing the regulatory regime. And as we review and update the regulatory regime, we may want to require all building owners to step up their inspection checks on building facades as well.
\tMdm Speaker: Miss Cheng Li Hui.
\tMiss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines):\tI thank the Minister. My supplementary question is: will the Ministry also check the buildings built by the same contractor and of similar age? And considering that the dislodged structure could weigh up to one tonne, are there insurance policies in place for public liability, hospitalisation and other compensation?
\tMr Lawrence Wong:\tMadam, as I mentioned earlier, I would not want to comment on the specifics of the cases that were highlighted because these are still under investigation. I would just say that in the investigation that is ongoing by the PEs, they are looking not only at the impacted building but they have also given priority to checking on similar buildings of similar design done by the same contractor to make sure that these are safe. So, they have given that priority, even as they look at the specific cause of the incident building.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Low Thia Khiang.
\tMr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied): Madam, the Minister said that the HDB is a good developer. I would like to ask whether HDB is also a good designer. In designing building facades, what are the guidelines that HDB has? And whether or not they take into consideration the safety of the design of certain building facades and whether it is just for design's sake and whether the materials used are durable enough and the structural integrity of the facade is taken into consideration.
For instance, brickwall facades, when you use brickwalls to clad a building, whether enough details and specifications have gone into making sure that they are properly adhered to and do not crack and fall off over time and for sunshades as well. So, my question is: what are the guidelines, whether there are guides for materials used, that the material will be lasting, and the construction details to make sure that facade features will not fall off the building?
\tMr Lawrence Wong: Madam, part of the requirements of being a good developer is to be a good designer, too. So, HDB, of course, will always try its best. I would not say that we are perfect, and some of these buildings were done many, many years ago but, continuously, year after year, HDB will always look at improving its design, its guidelines, the way it builds and make sure that it uses quality materials and building methods that are reliable and safe. And if you look at the way this has been done progressively over the years, I can say for sure that the methods have improved and the materials are more reliable and our buildings are safer than before.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Pritam Singh.
\tMr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister for his replies to earlier questions. The Minister referred to older blocks. Can the Minister clarify what is the cut-off age before a block is defined as an \"older block\"?
The second question is: with regard to the 50-50 cost sharing scheme with regard to facade repair, in view of the fact that there will be some Town Councils which host a larger number of older blocks, as a result of which the prospect of facade repair may be more frequent than blocks that are not as old, would MND consider increasing the quantum of its contribution to the cost-sharing scheme with regard to facade repair?
\tMr Lawrence Wong: Madam, on the cut-off age, I would say that I do not want to stipulate a specific cut-off because that is not the basis on which we look at older blocks. HDB will look at risks and materials in that particular building, how they were used, and the materials have changed over the years. In the past, we did not use precast concrete, now we do and, so, if you look at older blocks, generally, say, those built in the 1980s, 1970s, certainly, the materials used then, not just by HDB, by any developer then, are very different from the materials used today.
So, rather than have a specific year and say everything before that qualifies, everything after that does not qualify, we will look at the building materials and the conditions and, naturally, we would give greater focus to the older blocks, as I think all Town Councils should, within their own risk-based assessment and inspection. HDB does this and, as I mentioned earlier, Town Councils should also bear the responsibility for external facade checks and they should take that same risk-based approach.
On payments, I understand that Town Councils would certainly like to have higher co-payments from HDB, particularly if you have a greater proportion of older blocks. But we would, first of all, encourage the Town Councils to do what they need to do first: look at how much they have set aside within their sinking funds, provisions that they need to do, and the responsibility that the Town Council needs to bear.
The scheme has been in place for some time. We are always prepared to review and update our schemes and our upgrading programmes. We do that periodically and we do that from time to time. But with this, with lifts, with many other maintenance issues, first and foremost, we would ask all Town Councils to abide by their requirements and their responsibilities and make sure that adequate provisions are put in place to maintain their estates well.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Rationale for Stopping Park and Ride Scheme","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"14 Mr Ang Wei Neng asked\t the Minister for Transport (a) whether the termination of the Park and Ride Scheme runs contrary to encouraging Singaporeans to take public transport; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider encouraging and incentivising motorists to park their cars at the Sports Hub and Kallang surface car parks during days with no major events and take train rides to the CBD.
15 Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked\tthe Minister for Transport if he can explain the rationale for stopping the Park and Ride Scheme and what are the alternatives available to motorists using this scheme.
\tThe Minister for Transport (Mr Khaw Boon Wan):\tMadam, can I take Question Nos 14 and 15 together, please?
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please.
\tMr Khaw Boon Wan: The objective of the Park and Ride scheme is to reduce traffic congestion in the central business district (CBD) by encouraging motorists to switch to public transport just before entering the CBD. It was introduced long ago in 1975, before our Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system was built, and when the public transport network was also much less extensive. Today, many commuters are able to take the MRT and buses directly to the city from their homes which, therefore, makes the Park and Ride Scheme much less useful.
Indeed, over the past few years, the take-up rate for the scheme has been consistently low, very low. There are fewer than 2,000 regular users, most of whom do not take public transport after parking their cars. This suggests that a good number of motorists are using the Park and Ride scheme as cheap, subsidised destination parking. This defeats the purpose of the scheme.
Motorists who wish to drive for a part of their journey before switching to public transport can still park their cars at any car park near public transport. It will still be cheaper than parking in the CBD, even without the subsidy from the Park and Ride scheme. Motorists who park at the Sports Hub or at Kallang, for example, and take public transport, could see savings of up to a few hundred dollars monthly, as they do not have to pay the much more expensive season parking in the CBD nor Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges. There is no need for taxpayers to provide further subsidies.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Ang Wei Neng.
\tMr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong): I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. I noted that half of the regular users of the Park and Ride scheme do not take public transport after parking their cars. But there still remains about a thousand users who will still park their cars and take public transport. Is it easier to maybe enforce the action against abusers rather than you let another thousand people lose their benefits?
On top of that, we also noted that, as the Minister said, Kallang carpark and the Sports Hub have many parking lots and are very much under-utilised. Could we not have a more aggressive scheme to encourage people to park their cars there and take public transport to the CBD area, or is the Public-Private Partnership arrangement with the Sports Hub hindering such an arrangement to encourage more people to park their cars at the Kallang carpark?
\tMr Khaw Boon Wan:\tI think the number of actual users of the scheme, numbers by the hundreds, should be seen against the daily commuter traffic of more than two million, and whether Kallang or whichever car parks, where motorists can still park and ride. Many motorists that I know of, including myself, do park and ride, except that we park and we pay for the car park, without having to ask for more subsidies because there are already significant savings, as I said, of a few hundred dollars per month by parking at the fringe rather than going into the CBD and trying to look for a car park.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Non-payment of Taxi Fare","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"16 Assoc Prof Randolph Tan asked\tthe Minister for Transport (a) how often are taxi fare evasions reported involving cases where the fare evader is not identified; and (b) whether the existing process by which taxi companies refer taxi fare evasion cases to PTC/LTA for investigations handles such cases.
17 Assoc Prof Randolph Tan asked\tthe Minister for Transport whether the rate of recovery of unpaid fares in taxi fare evasion cases referred to PTC/LTA for investigations is satisfactory.
\tThe Minister for Transport (Mr Khaw Boon Wan):\tMadam, can I take Question Nos 16 and 17 together, please?
Mdm Speaker:\tYes, please.
\tMr Khaw Boon Wan: The number of taxi fare evasion cases is about 150 every month, out of about 700,000 taxi trips. Sixty-five percent of fare evasion cases involved unidentified fare evaders, which are very challenging to resolve. So, that is about two-thirds, that means about 100 such cases per month. Because they are not identified, we do not know the identity of these evaders.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) was able to recover fares for about half of all cases referred to it for investigation. These include both identified as well as unidentified evaders and we were able to help resolve about half of them, bearing in mind that among all fare evasion cases, two-thirds are without identity.
To further deter fare evasion, we introduced higher penalties for fare evaders in May this year. If found guilty, fare evaders are liable to a fine of up to $1,000 for first-timers, while subsequent offenders may be fined up to $2,000, or jailed up to six months, or both. It is also mandatory for offenders to make restitution payment to taxi drivers.
\tMdm Speaker: Assoc Prof Randolph Tan.
\tAssoc Prof Randolph Tan (Nominated Member):\tMadam, I thank the Minister for sharing those statistics. The concern that I have is that, for taxi drivers, unlike other forms of public transport, they do not have as large an infrastructure to support them in a situation like this.
The Minister mentioned a very important point about the increase in penalties for fare evaders. But given that a large number of fare evasion cases involved unidentified fare evaders, is it possible for the Public Transport Council (PTC) and LTA to consider maybe helping the taxi drivers who actually suffer from such fare evasion cases directly, so that it reduces the risk that they face in the course of providing a very important public service?
\tMr Khaw Boon Wan: Madam, we are most sympathetic to the taxi drivers who experience such incidents. But if the taxi driver could not tell us the identity of the person, other than saying that the person is of a particular race or gender, it is very hard for us to track down the person. So, I think commonsense requires the taxi drivers, when they encounter such an incident, to get as much information as they can from the fare evader basic information like name, address and so on. There are instances we know of where they could not get the information, they will try to report to the Police, fetched the passenger all the way to the Police station and let the Police step in.
The primary duty or responsibility of helping the taxi drivers resides with the taxi operator, and the operator should be the first to help out, which must also include sharing with their taxi drivers tips on how to reduce such incidents and, as I said, some of which are commonsense, which is that you must get the basic information.
I think taxi operators can also take a look at how some of the new players in this field, for example, Uber and Grab, how they handle such cases. And there are obviously good best practices which they can pick up from these new players. But my message to commuters who cheat on taxi drivers is this: taxi driving is tough work and they need the money, the revenue, to feed their family. Please do not cheat on them.
\tMdm Speaker: Ms Chia Yong Yong.
\tMs Chia Yong Yong (Nominated Member): Clarification, Madam. I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider in-vehicle cameras to identify passengers which would also help protect taxi drivers.
\tMr Khaw Boon Wan: Madam, as I said, the primary duty or responsibility lies with the taxi operator. Certainly, ideas like this are things that they should consider and, I think, some already do. But sometimes if you just get the image but without much other information and the fellow just runs away, it is not easy to track down.
Where the identity is known, our success rate in tracking down and getting the money back for the taxi driver is pretty good. Where it requires us to go all the way to the Court, the success rate is about 85%. But we do need to know the identity.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Cash-for-credit Scams Related to SkillsFuture","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"18 Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked\tthe Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) how many training organisations have been investigated and prosecuted for SkillsFuture scams which have exchanged credits for cash or vouchers; (b) how much credits have been lost through such scams; and (c) whether the credits have been recovered from the organisations and returned to Singaporeans who have been cheated.
\tThe Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Education (Ms Low Yen Ling) (for the Minister for Education (Higher Education)): Mdm Speaker, SkillsFuture Singapore, SSG in short, regularly audits training organisations that receive SSG funding, including those offering courses supported by the SkillsFuture Credit. During its audit, SSG scrutinises all applications and claim submissions.
Since the launch of the SkillsFuture Credit in January 2016, there have been reports on the misuse of this credit by some training organisations. There are nine suspected cases under investigations. These organisations have been suspended and all their claims are being withheld. Due to ongoing investigations, I am unable to disclose more details about these cases and the amount of SkillsFuture Credit claims affected. Nonetheless, I assure Members that SSG will spare no efforts in recovering the disbursed monies and will reinstate the credit if misuse is established and if Singaporeans have been cheated of their SkillsFuture Credit.
I also want to assure all hon Members that SSG will remain vigilant to deter and prevent any fraudulent or opportunistic behaviour. SSG will also continue to conduct audits on training organisations through a risk-based approach. Members of the public who come across or even suspect such fraudulent activity or behaviour should alert SSG immediately and we will take swift actions accordingly.
\tMdm Speaker: Assoc Prof Daniel Goh.
\tAssoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member):\tI want to thank the Parliamentary Secretary. I understand that there is an approval process for the courses and also an approval process for the matching of the SkillsFuture users and the courses. During these approval processes, are there audit checks on whether there are scams and whether these processes could be improved, especially for senior citizens who are applying for some of these online courses?
\tMs Low Yen Ling: I thank the Member for his questions. I want to assure the Member that as far as the criteria for training organisations which want to provide courses supported by SkillsFuture Credit, we have a very rigorous process to implement such a monitoring system.
As we look at these nine cases, as I mentioned earlier, due to ongoing investigations, we are not at liberty to go into the details of these nine cases. But suffice to say, as I have mentioned earlier, that the nine training organisations have been suspended with immediate effect once we know that there is a possible misuse of SkillsFuture Credit. At the same time, their claim submissions have been withheld. So, we will let the investigation process proceed and, other than that, we are also looking at how such learnings from these cases would help us to strengthen our enforcement measures and also strengthen our criteria as far as SkillsFuture Credit is concerned.
Allow me, again, to reassure all Members that SSG maintains a very hard stance against any individual or organisation which is attempting to defraud the Government of the Government's funding. We would not hesitate to take tough actions against such individuals or organisations, especially if they are also trying to defraud elderly citizens who may not really understand the criteria and the use of the credit. In fact, misusing the SkillsFuture Credit may result in criminal penalties. For instance, under section 58 of the SkillsFuture Singapore Act, any person who provides false or misleading information to SSG when claiming the SkillsFuture Credit is liable to a fine of up to S$10,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.
Besides just the criminal penalties, the Member asked whether they can be listed on the SkillsFuture Credit directory and so on. SSG, if they establish that, indeed, there is misuse, we will recover the disbursed monies from the training organisation that has abused the SkillsFuture Credit and we will also withdraw SSG funding support, as well as delisting them from the SkillsFuture Credit directory. Any Singaporean, if it is established that because of the misuse of the SkillsFuture Credit they are cheated of the credit, we will look at reinstating their SkillsFuture credit.
So, in addition to all these rigorous processes to check and deter against any fraud, we will also alert and educate the general public to be wary of such activities. In the last few months, we have put out a few advisories to advise members of the public what to look out for and we encourage members of the public if they suspect any fraudulent behaviour or activity, to please alert SSG and we will certainly take actions accordingly.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Anxiety amongst Students Delayed by Train Breakdowns on Major Examination Days ","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"19 Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked\tthe Minister for Education (Schools) in light of PSLE students who are affected by train breakdowns (a) whether the Ministry will moderate their examination results to take into account the anxiety faced by them which may impact their performance; (b) how many students have been affected by the recent train disruptions; and (c) what contingency plans are there to help these students cope with their anxiety of turning up late for examinations.
\tThe Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Education (Ms Low Yen Ling) (for the Minister for Education (Schools)): Mdm Speaker, there were no Primary School Leaving Examination candidates late for their Science paper in the recent train service disruption on the Downtown Line on 4 October 2016.
That being said, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) has contingency plans to deal with events that may disrupt the conduct of National Examinations. This is to ensure that examination candidates are not disadvantaged due to major train service disruptions.
Candidates have been briefed by their schools on the contingency plans to manage and cope with major train service disruptions during national examinations if they have them.
On the examination personnel ‒ that means invigilator front ‒ they have also been briefed on the procedures to manage candidates who are late for examinations due to major train service disruptions. For instance, candidates would be allowed time to rest and to calm down before they take their papers. Only when they are given time to calm down would the papers then be given to the candidates. I want to assure the Member that the candidates would receive the full duration of time allotted for the examination.
There are also existing processes in place to ensure fair assessment of the candidates who may be affected by adverse situations. SEAB will review the performance of these candidates on a case-by-case basis, taking into account: (a) the circumstances under which they took the examination; (b) their past years' performance in school examinations; and (c) their schools' recommendations.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Regulation of Managed Care and Third Party Administrator Companies","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"20 Mr Desmond Choo asked\tthe Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will consider regulating managed care and Third Party Administrator (TPA) companies as healthcare entities; and (b) how can transparency on the fee arrangements between doctors, TPAs and insurers be improved.
\tThe Minister of State for Health (Mr Chee Hong Tat) (for the Minister for Health): Mdm Speaker, the Ministry of Health (MOH) had earlier received feedback from medical professionals on their concerns with the charging practices adopted by some Third Party Administrator (TPA) companies. In doing the review, MOH has consulted professional bodies, such as the Singapore Medical Council (SMC), the Singapore Medical Association, the Academy of Medicine Singapore and the College of Family Physicians Singapore, as well as industry associations like the Life Insurance Association (LIA). There is agreement amongst stakeholders that the charging practices must not compromise patient safety and well-being and should not lead to escalation of healthcare costs.
Managed care companies (MCCs) and TPAs provide a wide range of intermediary services, including management of employer medical benefits and claims administration. Those that provide healthcare services directly to patients will be regulated under the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act (PHMCA).
To provide clarity on how doctors should engage MCCs and TPAs, the SMC has recently revised its Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines (ECEG) to state that doctors must not allow financial arrangements to lead to any compromise in the care of patients. Any charges which doctors pay to MCCs or TPAs should be commensurate with the actual administrative work done by these intermediaries in processing the cases, and not based primarily on the fees charged to patients. The revised guidelines will take effect from 1 January 2017.
To enhance transparency of TPA fee arrangements, the revised ECEG indicates that doctors should disclose any such arrangement and referral fees to their patients, if these fees are passed on to the patients. MOH is assessing if these disclosure requirements should be further reinforced through our regulations. We are also working with LIA and the Integrated Shield Plan (IP) insurers to ensure that their appointed TPAs do not have any conflict of interest. In addition, the insurers should disclose to their policyholders any financial arrangements they have with the doctors.
MOH will monitor the situation and, where necessary, we will not hesitate to take further steps to protect the interests and well-being of patients and safeguard the integrity of our healthcare system.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Desmond Choo.
\tMr Desmond Choo (Tampines):\tI thank the Minister of State for his reply. There are two points of clarification. One, is there a need for MOH to regulate the practice of percentage-based fee arrangements? Two, how do we mitigate against TPAs from resulting in undue medical fee increases for patients; and three, has there been any breach of the disclosure requirements by MOH?
\tMr Chee Hong Tat:\tCan I clarify the last point? Any breach of disclosure requirements by MOH?
\tMr Desmond Choo:\tThe Minister of State clarified earlier that there will be timing requirements for the insurers to disclose to improve transparency of fee arrangements. I would like to ask if there has been breaches of such disclosure arrangements previously and, going ahead, how would we tackle the disclosure arrangements.
\tMr Chee Hong Tat:\tMdm Speaker, I thank the Member for his supplementary questions and the clarification as well.
First, as I explained in my answer, we need to regulate such fee arrangements to protect the well-being of patients and to prevent conflict of interest. We do not want the TPAs to end up driving up healthcare costs and affecting patient care. These are the primary considerations for MOH and SMC when the SMC issues its guidelines.
On the breach of disclosure requirements, I do not think there is currently a breach because the requirements have not taken effect. After the requirements have taken effect, we would certainly monitor the compliance and make sure that TPAs which have such arrangements, and doctors who are in such arrangements with TPAs, the information would be disclosed appropriately to patients.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Additional Help for Costly Medical Tests","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"21 Mr Ong Teng Koon asked\tthe Minister for Health whether there are ways to help families who are unable to qualify for additional Government subsidies to pay for outpatient medical fees that may cost thousands of dollars even after basic Government subsidies, such as that for MRIs, CT scans and blood tests.
\tThe Minister of State for Health (Mr Chee Hong Tat) (for the Minister for Health): Mdm Speaker, Singaporeans enjoy subsidies of up to 70% for outpatient medical services and diagnostics at Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOCs) and up to 75% at polyclinics. Pioneers enjoy a further 50% off the subsidised bill. These subsidies apply to outpatient diagnostic services needed for treatment, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs), computed tomography (CT) scans and blood tests.
With Government subsidies, the cost of these treatments is typically lower than \"thousands of dollars\". Based on 2015 data, the median post-subsidy bill size for MRI was $260 while the 90th percentile bill size was $560. So, the median was $260; the 90th percentile bill size was $560. For CT scans, the median and 90th percentile post-subsidy bill sizes were $140 and $440 respectively.
Besides Government subsidies, Singaporeans can use MediSave for outpatient scans, with a withdrawal limit of $300 per year for non-cancer scans and $600 per year for cancer scans. In 2015, more than eight in 10 patients who used MediSave for outpatient scans did not fully utilise their withdrawal limits. Elderly Singaporeans who are 65 years old and above also have the flexibility to use up to $200 of MediSave every year to pay for their outpatient treatments at public healthcare institutions and participating Community Health Assist Scheme general practitioner clinics. This $200 is on top of the MediSave limits for non-cancer scans and cancer scans.
In addition, MediShield Life provides coverage for outpatient chemotherapy, radiotherapy and renal dialysis, which are more expensive. For example, Singaporeans can claim up to $3,000 of MediShield Life, and withdraw up to $1,200 MediSave per month for their chemotherapy treatment, including diagnostic scans and investigations.
Beyond Government subsidies, MediSave and MediShield Life, low-income Singaporeans who require further financial support can approach medical social workers at our public healthcare institutions to apply for MediFund. Together, these schemes ensure that Singaporeans from all socio-economic backgrounds will have access to essential medical care when they fall ill.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Reducing Misuse of MediShield Claims by Allowing Claims for Some Outpatient Treatment","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"22 Mr Ong Teng Koon asked\tthe Minister for Health whether there are ways to help families who are unable to qualify for additional Government subsidies to pay for outpatient medical fees that may cost thousands of dollars even after basic Government subsidies, such as that for MRIs, CT scans, and blood tests.
\tThe Minister of State for Health (Mr Chee Hong Tat) (for the Minister for Health): Mdm Speaker, right-siting and providing appropriate care are important priorities for the healthcare system to deliver value for our patients and ensure longer-term sustainability. These include initiatives to focus on health promotion and disease prevention, as well as efforts to improve productivity and develop our primary care and intermediate and long-term care facilities in the community.
Over the past few years, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has enhanced Government subsidies for outpatient services and drugs. Patients can receive up to 70% subsidy at Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOCs) and up to 75% subsidy for drugs and medication. Additional support is provided for Pioneer Generation (PG) patients who receive a further 50% off their subsidised outpatient bills.
We have also expanded MediSave use for outpatient treatments, including outpatient scans and chronic disease treatment. Singaporeans who are 65 years and above also have the flexibility to use up to $200 of MediSave every year to pay for their outpatient treatments at public healthcare institutions and participating Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) and general practitioner clinics.
MediShield Life currently covers a number of costly outpatient treatments, such as kidney dialysis and chemotherapy treatment for cancer. Day surgery is also covered by MediShield Life and MediSave. Beyond Government subsidies, MediShield Life and MediSave, MediFund assistance is also available for low-income Singaporeans who require further financial support to pay for their outpatient bills.
MOH will regularly review the scope of MediShield Life's coverage, but the focus should remain on protecting Singaporeans against large hospital bills. It is important to bear in mind that expansions in MediShield Life coverage will lead to higher premiums for all policyholders. And with an ageing population, we need to carefully consider the trade-offs to ensure that the schemes remain affordable and sustainable.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Ong Teng Koon.
\tMr Ong Teng Koon (Marsiling-Yew Tee): Madam, I thank the Minister for the reply. I would like to ask the Minister if it is true that there are some more vulnerable families or poorer families who simply cannot afford outpatient services and who have no choice but to ask their doctors to admit them into hospitals so that they will have a bed and can then claim their inpatient insurance.
If this happens, does it lead to a misallocation of beds? And is it something that the Ministry is looking at and thinking of ways to solve the problem?
\tMr Chee Hong Tat: Madam, I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. As explained in my answer, right-siting is an important priority for our healthcare system, because we do want to make sure that patients receive appropriate care at the appropriate location that is most suitable for their medical condition. So, if the patient requires inpatient services, then he or she rightly should be hospitalised. But if the patient does not require that, then outpatient treatment would be more appropriate.
We do need to look at our financing scheme – how the incentives are being set to ensure that we are able to support right-siting, which is a key part of ensuring a more sustainable healthcare system. For the low-income families that Mr Ong Teng Koon spoke about, the best way to help them is really to make sure that there is a safety net, and this is what we provide through MediFund.
So, for low-income families, after the Government subsidy has been applied, and after MediShield Life and their own MediSave, if that is still not enough and they need further assistance, they can apply for MediFund through the medical social workers. That is something that we have at the hospitals and polyclinics, whether it is for inpatient or for outpatient treatment.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Criminalisation of Suicides","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"The following question stood in the name of Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin –
23 To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) why does Singapore support the criminalisation of suicide and oppose its decriminalisation; (b) what is the psychological support provided after the Police arrests a person for attempting suicide, especially those who appear mentally unstable; (c) whether the cuffing of suicide attempters is beneficial to the psychological state of suicide attempters; and (d) what is the rehabilitation framework of admission, deterrence, treatment and aftercare phases available for those charged with and imprisoned for attempted suicide.
\tMr Azmoon Ahmad (Nominated Member):\tOn behalf of Ms Kuik, Question No 23.
\tThe Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Mr Desmond Lee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Madam, it has been a criminal offence to attempt suicide. It was thought to be important that society should signal through the law that it opposes people taking their own lives but, in practice, prosecutions are rare.
Police officers try to respond to cases of attempted suicide with sensitivity and compassion. Persons who attempt suicide are emotionally and psychologically distressed. They are literally at the brink. When responding to such cases, the priority of the Police is to ensure the person's safety. Police Officers try to look out for signs of suicidal tendencies and take this into consideration in their response.
As regards arrests, Police arrest persons for cases of attempted suicide, usually to prevent them from doing harm, either to themselves or to others. When it is assessed that there is no such risk, they may not be arrested.
When an arrest is made, Police Officers use handcuffs when the assessment is that there is a need to ensure the safety of the person, prevent the person from further self-harm, prevent the person from causing harm to escorting officers or members of the public in the vicinity, or to prevent the person from absconding.
For all cases of attempted suicide, the Police will recommend the appropriate follow-up. The Police may refer the person to the Samaritans of Singapore for counselling or engage the next-of-kin to assist in supporting and caring for the person. If there are clear signs indicating possible mental instability, the Police may refer the person to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for an assessment of the person's mental state. If deemed necessary by medical professionals, the person may subsequently be warded at IMH for care and treatment.
As I said earlier, prosecutions are rare. In 2015, two persons were prosecuted for attempting suicide, out of 1,096 reported cases of attempted suicide. Imprisonments are even rarer. In the five years over 2011 to 2015, five persons who were charged for attempted suicide were imprisoned.
Prison inmates who are observed to exhibit suicidal tendencies will be referred to a psychiatrist for assessment. A multidisciplinary approach is adopted and psychologists or counsellors may be involved in the management and care of the inmate.
Government agencies, such as the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Ministry of Health (MOH), work closely with partners in the social services sector on programmes for public education, suicide prevention and support.
Madam, everyone has a part to play in paying attention to warning signs of suicidal tendencies of the people around us, especially family and friends. We should not hesitate to refer those who need support to the services that are available.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Louis Ng.
\tMr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Madam, I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. Can I check whether this policy is cast in stone or whether the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will consider reviewing it with the view of decriminalising attempted suicide?
\tMr Desmond Lee: Madam, the Ministry is prepared to review the position, but in so doing, we must recognise that this is not a straightforward exercise. We need to make sure that we do not inadvertently send the signal that we no longer believe that it is wrong to take one's own life.
We also do not want a situation where law enforcement agencies and emergency services which respond to a crisis situation where a person is attempting to take his life, in that very delicate situation, you want to make sure that those emergency services have the power and the ability to respond and to intervene. And subsequently, to have the appropriate powers to provide support to make the necessary referrals of the individual to the various help and medical services available.
\tMdm Speaker: Mr Desmond Choo.
\tMr Desmond Choo (Tampines): One point of clarification. Can I check if MHA provides specialist training for its officers when it comes to managing such offenders at the point of arrest, and at subsequent investigations?
\tMr Desmond Lee:\tSorry, can the Member repeat the question? I was lost as I was walking —
\tMr Desmond Choo: I just wanted to check with the Senior Minister of State whether MHA provides its officers with specialist training to manage such offenders at the point of arrest and at subsequent investigations.
\tMr Desmond Lee: Madam, Police Officers are trained to respond to cases of attempted suicide in a sensitive manner. They are given training, as part of their basic training, to look out for signs of suicidal tendencies, as well as the \"do's\" and \"don'ts\" in dealing with persons with such tendencies. But we recognise that when officers respond to the scene, they do not have full information of what is going on. We train them to be able to assess that this is a case of attempted suicide and to be able to handle this delicately.
But the response to suicide risks and suicide attempts is, from the Government's perspective, one that involves a multi-prong strategy. Suicide prevention and early detection and intervention by the family, community and by health agencies, whether Government, voluntary welfare organisations or non-government organisations, are critical. Different Ministries, such as MSF, the Ministry of Education and MOH, work closely with stakeholders in the social services sector on suicide prevention initiatives. These programmes try to build greater resilience in the population, develop targeted intervention for high-risk individuals, and increase public awareness on mental health issues. The social services sector has an important role to play.
A couple of months ago, a couple of officers and I visited the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS). It undertakes regular public education efforts —
Mdm Speaker: Senior Minister of State, can you keep your reply short. We are running out of time.
\tMr Desmond Lee: Yes, Madam. It undertakes regular public education efforts to raise public understanding of suicides and available avenues for help. It also runs a 24-hour crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline. So, all in, it is a whole-of-community, whole-of-Government effort.
Mdm Speaker: Order. End of Question Time.
[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), provided that Members had not asked for questions standing in their names to be postponed to a later Sitting day or withdrawn, written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix.]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"BI","content":"[(proc text) \"to amend the Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289 of the 2006 Revised Edition) and to make consequential and related amendments to certain other Acts\", (proc text)]
[(proc text) presented by the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and Second Minister for Defence (Mr Ong Ye Kung); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Retirement and Re-employment (Amendment) Bill","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"BI","content":"[(proc text) \"to amend the Retirement and Re-employment Act (Chapter 274A of the 2012 Revised Edition)\", (proc text)]
[(proc text) presented by the Minister of State for Manpower (Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Mediation Bill","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"BI","content":"[(proc text) \"to promote, encourage and facilitate the resolution of disputes by mediation and for connected purposes, and to make consequential and related amendments to certain other Acts\", (proc text)]
[(proc text) presented by the Senior Minister of State for Law (Ms Indranee Rajah); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Civil Law (Amendment) Bill","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"BI","content":"[(proc text) \"to amend the Civil Law Act (Chapter 43 of the 1999 Revised Edition) and to make a related amendment to the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 161 of the 2009 Revised Edition)\", (proc text)]
[(proc text) presented by the Senior Minister of State for Law (Ms Indranee Rajah); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"The Kwong-Wai-Shiu Free Hospital (Transfer of Undertaking and Dissolution) Bill","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"BI","content":"[(proc text) \"to provide for the transfer of the assets, rights and liabilities of The Kwong-Wai-Shiu Free Hospital to its successor company, and for the consequent dissolution of The Kwong-Wai-Shiu Free Hospital and for all matters connected therewith, and to make a consequential amendment to the Income Tax Act (Chapter 134 of the 2014 Revised Edition)\", (proc text)]
[(proc text) presented by the Minister for Health (Mr Gan Kim Yong); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]
Mdm Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 4.20 pm.
Sitting accordingly suspended
at 4.00 pm until 4.20 pm.
Sitting resumed at 4.20 pm
[Mdm 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":"Message from the President","subTitle":"Views on the Constitutional Amendments related to the White Paper on the Review of Specific Aspects of the Elected Presidency","sectionType":"OS","content":"Mdm Speaker: Order. Before we proceed to the Second Reading of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill, I wish to inform Members that I have on 2 November 2016, received a message from the President addressed to Parliament. Pursuant to Standing Order 16(1), I will now read the message to hon Members.
\"Hon Members, the Constitutional Commission tasked to review specific aspects of the Elected Presidency recently concluded its study. It was a landmark review drawing on 25 years of operating an important and unique institution in Singapore. The objectives of the review are clear – to ensure that the institution of the Elected Presidency stays relevant with time and our local context, and that the Singapore Constitution as a living document is aptly refreshed. The Commission, comprising nine eminent and well-respected leaders in both the private and public sectors, took a consultative and inclusive approach in gathering ideas for its review. Many of these views of Singaporeans were thoughtful and constructive, and the Commission took them on board when it submitted its final report to the Government.
During this Sitting, Parliament will be debating the Constitutional amendments to give effect to those changes accepted by the Government. To date, I have refrained from commenting publicly about the Commission's report or the Government's White Paper. There is no legal necessity for me to present my views on the proposals, nor is it in the Constitutional powers of the President to endorse or oppose any specific recommendations pertaining to the Elected Presidency. These are decisions for the Government to make. But the Government has made it a practice to seek and consider the President's views when amending the Constitutional provisions which affect the President's discretionary powers and to make known these views to Parliament when moving the Constitutional amendments.
In this case, my five years as President have given me a personal perspective on the role of the Elected Presidency and how the Elected President serves the nation and all Singaporeans. I have therefore agreed with the Prime Minister that I should send this message to Parliament to share my views on the proposals that are being debated.
Prior to 1991, Presidents were appointed by Parliament to perform ceremonial functions, usually associated with the Head of State of a Westminster system of government. The President represents the State in engaging other statesmen overseas. Metaphorically, the President is the flag-bearer of Singapore. Based on how he carries himself or engages his counterparts, other countries will form a view on Singapore's position in the global community. Often, this requires the President to be well-read, strategic in views and sensitive to geopolitical developments.
The symbolic role of the President also extends domestically, with the President engaging the different communities and segments of Singaporeans. In my five years in office, it has been my personal mission to rally Singaporeans towards building a caring, cohesive and inclusive society. In Singapore, an important dimension of this role is working with the different ethnic groups that make up our multiracial composition.
It was not a coincidence that Singapore's first four appointed Presidents – Mr Yusof Ishak, Dr Benjamin Sheares, Mr Devan Nair and Dr Wee Kim Wee – represented, in turn, the Malay, Eurasian, Indian and Chinese communities respectively. As the President remains a symbol of the nation's unity, it is important that the Office of the Presidency upholds multiracialism, a core value of Singapore that underpins the social cohesion and harmony we have enjoyed thus far.
Of course, our long-term aspiration should be for minorities to be elected into the Office without the need for any intervention. But we also need to recognise the current realities. After the Elected Presidency was instituted, all but one of the Elected Presidents have been Chinese, including myself. The role of the President as a titular Head of State representing our multiracial society is important and we should have a system that not only allows but facilitates persons of all ethnic groups to be President from time to time.
The Government has accepted the Commission's recommendation for a mechanism of reserving a Presidential election for a specific ethnic group if a member of that group has not held the office of the Elected Presidency after five terms. I agree that this is a balanced approach. The mechanism ensures that Singapore is assured of a minority Elected President from time to time, but does not kick in if one is elected in an open election.
Another key role of the Elected President today is his custodial functions over two key assets built up by generations of Singaporeans – our national Reserves and the integrity of our public servants. Constitutional amendments in 1991 enable the President to play a custodial role in safeguarding Singapore's Reserves and the appointment of key public officers. Through elections, the President is vested with the democratic legitimacy to disagree, if need be, with the Government on these matters.
Because of this important custodial role, a decision was also made by the Government in 1991 to include competency requirements for Presidential candidates. The aim was to ensure that only persons with the necessary attributes be considered for the Office of Elected President. Having made that decision, the requirements should be updated and finetuned over time.
In recommending the enhancement of eligibility criteria for Presidential candidates, the Commission has cited many pieces of data, including the growth of Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) and size of official foreign Reserves since 1991. Indeed, from my own experience, the scope and complexity of the Presidential oversight on Singapore's key assets have increased significantly, even in the span of five years of my term. My finance background was useful in helping me understand the technicalities of the Government's proposals, but the decisions often also require good policy acumen and a sound judgement on what is right for Singapore. I am, therefore, of the view that the Government's acceptance of the Commission's recommendations is in the right direction.
I have spoken at length about the custodial role of the Elected Presidency. While the custodial role is important, we need to distinguish between the President acting as a custodian and the President acting in opposition to the Government. The two are not the same. The Elected Presidency cannot be a second centre of power. He must act in accordance with the roles prescribed in the Constitution, and not hold back the Elected Government of the day from performing its executive role.
The Council of Presidential Advisers was, therefore, set up to provide expert advice to the President and to moderate the President's custodial powers. While it is clear that the President has the right to accept or reject the Council's recommendations, a mechanism to allow for Parliamentary override ensures that the President does not make arbitrary decisions. In practice, up till today, the Presidents and the Council have worked well together. There has not been any need to subject any decision to the Parliamentary override mechanism, because decisions have been well considered for the long-term good of Singapore. And in line with its stature and the principle of collective responsibility, the Council of Presidential Advisers, as a non-elected body, has remained above any political fray. We should maintain that.
Nevertheless, while the President should not be unbridled in the exercise of his Constitutional duties, it is not practical to remove all possible scenarios of gridlock and yet expect the Elected President to remain an effective custodian. We cannot hamstring the Elected Presidency just to guard against a worst case scenario of a populist or power-hungry President. We must rely upon the wisdom of our electorate to elect a President who is able to work with the Government of the day for the proper and effective governance of Singapore.
As President, my working relationship with the Government has been harmonious. The Government keeps me informed of all its major decisions. On a regular basis, the Prime Minister and I meet over lunch and, on other occasions, for him to brief me on his preoccupations and intentions, and to exchange views on the strategic direction in which Singapore is heading. Our relationship is built on mutual trust and respect. This, to me, is key to the effective functioning of our system.
Hon Members, the Rio Olympics and Paralympics have just concluded. Team Singapore did extremely well, with Joseph Schooling winning Singapore's first Olympic gold medal, Yip Pin Xiu bagging two gold medals at the Paralympics and Theresa Goh being duly rewarded with a bronze medal after decades of hard work. Let me, therefore, use a sporting analogy to conclude.
The President has previously been described in this House as a goalkeeper. Indeed, if he fails to do the job well, no matter how good our strikers are, more goals will be scored against us and Team Singapore will be set back. We need a capable goalkeeper who works with the other players. Only then will Team Singapore continue to do well in the global league, against competitors who may be bigger, stronger and more intimidating.
Constitutional changes should never be undertaken lightly. For half a century, our Constitution has served us well, with periodic adjustments to bring it up to date and keep Singapore on course. The institution of the Elected Presidency was one such adjustment. I encourage all Members of this House to consider the current proposed changes to it with an eye on the next half century and beyond.\"
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Time Limit for Deputy Prime Minister's Speech","subTitle":"Suspension of Standing Orders","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Leader of the House (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien):\tMdm Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order 48(8) to remove the time limit in respect of Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean's speech.
Mdm Speaker: I give my consent. Does the Leader of the House have the general assent of hon Members present to so move?
[(proc text) Hon Members indicated assent. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Resolved, \"That the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order 48(8) to remove the time limit in respect of Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean's speech.\" (proc text)]
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"BP","content":"[(proc text) Order for Second Reading read. (proc text)]
The Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security (Mr Teo Chee Hean): Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, \"That the Bill be now read a Second time\".
Before I begin, on behalf of the Government, I would like to thank the President for his considered and lucid statement, setting out the issues based on his experience.
Madam, the Constitutional Commission submitted its report to the Prime Minister on 17 August 2016. The Government studied the report and responded by presenting a White Paper to Parliament on 15 September 2016. The proposed constitutional amendments were introduced at the First Reading of the Bill on 10 October 2016. The amendments seek to do two things to enhance the President's important roles.
First, as a symbol and unifier of a diverse and multi-racial Singapore. Second, as a custodian of our nation's past Reserves and the integrity of our public services. Both are integral aspects of our multiracial national identity and the foundations of our success.
Let me begin with a brief history of our Presidency. When colonial Singapore attained self-government in 1959, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara was the Head of State. He represented the British Crown in Singapore. Upon Independence in 1965, his constitutional title was changed to the \"President\". Encik Yusof bin Ishak was our last Yang di-Pertuan Negara and our first President.
Like the British Monarch, the President was the ceremonial Head of State. He had no executive role, and acted on the advice of Cabinet, save in respect of several historical constitutional functions, such as appointing the Prime Minister and dissolving Parliament. His \"central and defining\" role was to be a symbol of national unity and a personification of the state, representing all Singaporeans, regardless of race, language or religion.
The Elected Presidency was first conceptualised in the 1980s, to guard against the risk of a profligate government squandering the nation's Reserves. We must understand this risk in the particular context of the Westminster system of government that we had inherited.
English constitutional commentator Walter Bagehot observed that the strength of this system is the \"[near] complete fusion, of the executive and legislative powers\". This promotes efficient governance and allows the country to move quickly and effectively, with clear direction and purpose.
The Westminster system may be contrasted with systems of government that strictly separate their constituent branches. The price, however, of strict separation is inefficiency, and, sometimes, even paralysis or deadlock.
The United States (US), for example, experienced this very recently in 2013. Political fights over healthcare laws led to a budget impasse that resulted in a 16-day shutdown of the US government. During this time, about 800,000 federal employees were indefinitely furloughed and another 1.3 million were required to work without known payment dates.
Every system of government has its own strengths and weaknesses. The system we inherited permits swift and effective decision-making, but it also means that, if a government chooses to act irresponsibly, there are very few restraints on it, and things can go very wrong, and very quickly.
As then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew cautioned at his 1984 National Day Rally, \"… all the Reserves are available. The larder is wide open, you can raid it\".
Any government, including a temporary coalition, would have complete access to all levers of power and decision-making, with \"untrammelled power\" to abuse the Reserves and public services. Irresponsible governments may use Singaporeans' savings to buy short-term popularity or appoint friends to high places to exploit these for personal gains rather than for the public good. A single five-year \"spending spree\" could bankrupt us and dismantle everything that we have built.
We, therefore, carefully studied and debated various options to guard against the risk of this occurring in the future. Parliament decided that the most effective solution for Singapore was to establish an Elected Presidency with specific veto powers.
As before, the President would have no power to initiate action and no policy-making role. The right and responsibility to govern the country would remain with Parliament and the Cabinet. However, he would have additional non-executive custodial powers over two important areas: the spending of past Reserves and key appointments to the public services.
In order to effectively disagree with an elected Government in these areas, the President himself had to be elected with direct mandate from Singaporeans.
The symbolic role of the Presidency as a unifier and symbol of our nation would remain unchanged and undiminished.
At the time the Elected Presidency was proposed, and still today, many, including Opposition Parliamentarians, agreed with the need to protect our key assets. However, some argue that the best protection comes from within Parliament itself. We need to consider this matter carefully.
The Parliamentary framework itself may not provide sufficient protection for our Reserves. If a majority government decides to indulge in populist spending of the Reserves, there is really little or no incentive for any other Parliamentarian to resist it. Indeed, the call, from both sides of the House, will often be to do more.
Thus far, our Government has exercised financial prudence and great restraint in spending the Reserves. But this is not the norm elsewhere. We see cautionary tales of elections descending into auctions, with political parties competing with one another to promise greater largesse from the nation's coffers.
Take Greece, for example, where political parties engaged in a \"disastrous competition\" to offer patronage, cronyism, nepotism and welfare populism. Once the populist policies were set in place, it was difficult to turn back as it would be \"political suicide\" for any party to do so. The end result was economic and political bankruptcy and a younger generation that finds that its future has been mortgaged.
Australia is another example. They have tightly contested elections in rapid three-year electoral cycles. One party comes up with a programme, the other offers more, each trying to outbid the other. This has led successive governments to continue spending accumulated surpluses from a resource boom, which are, by now, gone.
The Elected Presidency plays an important custodial role in safeguarding our key assets, in a way a purely Parliamentary process cannot. It is a unique institution, separate from Parliament, that has the electoral mandate to veto the Government in the two key areas. It also deters political parties from making wild promises at pParliamentary elections. They know that even if they come to power, they cannot splurge our past Reserves on populist measures.
For the past 25 years, the Elected Presidency has helped to strengthen Singapore's governance, by keeping watch over our nation's savings and enabling their use appropriately in times of crisis.
We saw the system at work in the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Faced with crippling circumstances, the Government sought the approval of the then-President, the late Mr SR Nathan, to use nearly $5 billion of past Reserves to save businesses and jobs, and to guarantee about $150 billion of bank deposits to keep confidence in Singapore. President Nathan meticulously examined the proposals, consulted the Council of Presidential Advisors (CPA) and ultimately gave his approval. When our economy recovered, the sum drawn down was returned by the Government to the past Reserves by 2011.
Mdm Speaker, over the past 25 years, refinements have been made to the Elected Presidency from the experience gained from operating the system. However, there remained certain fundamental aspects of the Office that had not been reviewed. The Government, therefore, appointed an independent Constitutional Commission earlier this year to review:
(a) the qualifying process for Presidential candidacy;
(b) the safeguarding of minority representation in the Presidency; and
(c) the framework governing the President's custodial powers.
The Commission was chaired by the Chief Justice and included eight other distinguished members from the public and private sectors. It conducted extensive consultations, including public hearings. It received more than 100 written submissions from many sectors of society and invited 20 contributors to make oral representations across four public hearings. Nineteen of the 20 contributors invited did so, while the Workers' Party indicated that it would make its points at this debate instead.
The public hearings were widely reported in the media and there were many discussions on the issues. The Commission studied all these representations, then published a detailed report of more than 150 pages, setting out its recommendations.
After considering the report, the Government presented a White Paper to this House explaining our position and the details of the proposed constitutional amendments which are the subject of this Bill.
Mdm Speaker, I will now turn to the Bill and, with your permission, Mdm Speaker, may I ask the Clerk to distribute the first handout?
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please. [A handout was distributed to hon Members. Please refer to Annex 1.]
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Thank you. I will discuss the proposed amendments in the following order. First, the eligibility criteria and the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC). Second, multiracial representation in the Presidency. Third, the framework governing the Elected Presidency's custodial powers, including the role of the CPA; and fourth, the entrenchment framework.
First, eligibility and the PEC. When the system of Parliament appointing the President was replaced by direct elections in 1991, a prequalification approach was established to ensure that \"voters are given qualified and suitable candidates to choose from\". This was necessary because the Elected President had to be a person who \"fulfil[s] exacting standards of competence, experience and rectitude\". In his custodial role, he can prevent access to past Reserves and veto Budgets, transactions and key appointments. He cannot simply rubber-stamp the Government's proposal or pass off the CPA's recommendation as his own. He must make his own decision in the exercise of his discretion.
That means he must have knowledge, competence and discernment to assess whether proposals are in the national interest. He must have the courage, conviction and confidence to disagree, where necessary, with the CPA and the elected Government. If he does not perform his role well, he may allow hard-earned money – the hard-earned money of all Singaporeans – to be frittered away needlessly, or prevent the Government from acting in a time of need to avert a crisis.
Several contributors to the Constitutional Commission argued against the imposition of stringent eligibility criteria by comparing the Presidential eligibility criteria with the apparently less exacting eligibility criteria prescribed for the Prime Minister. However, as many of these contributors subsequently conceded, this is a false comparison.
A person only becomes a Prime Minister after passing through \"many stringent tests of leadership\". He must be elected as a Member of Parliament in the general elections. He will generally lead and be endorsed by the political party which wins a majority of Parliamentary seats. He must command the support of a majority of elected Members of Parliament. These Members of Parliament would have had the opportunity to scrutinise his abilities and values closely. These requirements mean that there is a multi-layered filtering process where a person's abilities are tested before he is likely to become Prime Minister.
The President comes into office by a different route. He is elected into office directly by the public. There needs to be eligibility criteria that set a baseline for the experience and qualities which a candidate ought to possess.
If eligibility criteria are necessary for the Presidency, then the question is whether the current criteria serve as effective thresholds for Presidential candidature. Some clearly require updating because they are out of date.
The economic environment we live in is very different from when the Elected Presidency was introduced in 1991. Our gross domestic product (GDP), Official Foreign Reserves and Central Provident Fund balances have grown by approximately six, seven and eight times, respectively.
Just consider the eligibility criteria for private sector candidates. In 1993, there were only 158 companies, or about 0.2% of Singapore-incorporated companies then, which met the $100 million paid-up capital requirement. Today, there is a much larger base of Singapore companies, and the smallest of the top 0.2% has a paid-up capital of approximately $431 million, and if you go back to the 158th largest Singapore-incorporated company today, it has a paid-up capital of approximately S$1.6 billion. There is, therefore, a need to update and refine the eligibility criteria. Clause 7 of the Bill amends Article 19 for this purpose. With your permission, Mdm Speaker, may I ask the Clerk to distribute the second handout?
Mdm Speaker:\tYes, please. [A handout was distributed to hon Members. Please refer to Annex 2.]
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Currently, a person can qualify for Presidential office by having held for three years a position in any of the four limbs of the existing Article 19(2)(g). The first three limbs, which have been referred to as the \"automatic track\", give automatic qualification to any candidate who satisfies their requirements.
Limb (i) admits holders of certain key public offices. Limb (ii) admits Chairmen or Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Fifth Schedule Statutory Boards. Limb (iii) admits Chairmen or CEOs of companies with a paid-up capital of at least $100 million. Limb (iv) has been called the \"deliberative track\". Qualification is not automatic, and an applicant has to satisfy the PEC that he has held a position that has given him experience and ability comparable to those under the first three limbs.
These four limbs still exist under the revised framework. However, a new presentation is adopted in the new Article 19(2)(g)(i). The current limbs (i) and (ii) are housed under the public sector service requirement found in the new Article 19(3). The current limb (iii) is housed under the private sector service requirement found in the new Article 19(4). As for the current limb (iv), each of the \"public sector\" and \"private sector\" routes will have its own \"deliberative\" track for qualification. Please refer to Handout 2.
The Bill retains the three-year qualifying tenure, but introduces, in Article 19(2)(g)(ii), a \"look-back\" or currency period that applies to all qualifying routes. Any period of service a candidate relies on must fall partly or wholly within the 20 years that immediately precede the date of the Writ of Election. This ensures that each candidate's experience and ability is reasonably current.
In light of this revised presentation, the existing Article 19(3) and (4), which relates to disabilities of the President, are deleted and re-enacted by clause 8 of the Bill as the new Article 19A.
I will now elaborate on the public and private sector service requirements.
The public sector service requirement may be satisfied in four alternative ways. The first way is by holding the key public offices set out in Article 19(3)(a). And this list remains identical to the existing limb (i). It is a \"tightly drawn\" list of senior officeholders who have handled \"complex matters with a wide-reaching public dimension\". There is no current need to modify the list because the demands of these offices are self-adjusting over the years. The scope and complexity of these officeholders' responsibilities will increase alongside the development of our country.
The second way to satisfy the public sector service requirement is by serving as the chief executive of a Fifth Schedule entity, as provided for by Article 19(3)(b). As compared to the existing limb (ii), Article 19(3)(b) narrows the qualifying offices to only the \"chief executive\" of the Fifth Schedule entity. \"Chief executive\" is defined in Article 19(10) as \"the most senior executive who is principally responsible for the management and conduct of the entity's business and operations\".
This change ensures that candidates who automatically qualify have sufficient experience in exercising authority, managing large organisations and taking responsibility for making critical and major decisions with wide-ranging and long-term consequences.
Article 19(3)(b) also expands the qualifying entities beyond the Fifth Schedule Statutory Boards to also include Fifth Schedule Government companies, such as GIC Private Limited and Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited. These companies are key institutions that manage significant amounts of the national Reserves. Indeed, they are so important to the national interest that the appointment of their chief executives and their annual budgets are subject to Presidential oversight. To ensure that Fifth Schedule entities are of sufficient size, clauses 13(b) and 14(b) of the Bill update the qualifying threshold for adding entities to the Fifth Schedule, from $100 million to $500 million. Clause 34 of the Bill removes Ministry of National Development (MND) Holdings from the Fifth Schedule, as it is now defunct.
The third way to qualify under the public sector route is through Article 19(3)(c), which provides the public sector \"deliberative\" track. It applies to a person who has served for three or more years in an office in the public sector, for which the PEC must be satisfied that, having regard to the nature of the office and his performance in that office, he has experience and ability comparable to a person who has held a qualifying key public office or has been the chief executive of a Fifth Schedule entity. The PEC must also be satisfied that he has the experience and ability to effectively carry out the Presidential functions and duties.
Examples of persons who may persuade the PEC that they qualify under this track include, for instance, ambassadors of international stature with deep diplomatic experience who have played key roles in negotiations for complex international agreements requiring political and financial acumen and judgement. A person with extensive experience helming a major international organisation may also qualify.
The fourth way to qualify under the public sector route is through Article 19(3)(d), which allows for aggregation of two separate terms of qualifying public sector office for the purpose of satisfying the three-year requirement. Each of these terms must be at least one year in length. For example, a person who has served as a Chief Executive of a Fifth Schedule entity for two years and as a Permanent Secretary for one year will qualify, provided that each of those terms falls wholly or partly within the 20-year window.
The private sector requirement may be satisfied in three alternative ways. The first way is by serving as chief executive of a company that meets the criteria provided by Article 19(4)(a). As with Fifth Schedule entities, only holders of the most senior executive position will qualify.
Four other substantive criteria must be met.
First, Article 19(4)(a)(i) requires that the person's most recent period of service as the chief executive of that company, ignoring any period of service less than a year, must be at least three years.
Second, Article 19(4)(a)(ii) read with 19(7) sets a size requirement for the company. The company must have, on average, at least $500 million shareholders' equity during the person's most recent three-year period of service as chief executive.
As explained in the White Paper, the assessment metric is changed from paid-up capital to shareholders' equity, because shareholders' equity is a better indicator of a company's size and complexity. The updated quantitative threshold of $500 million reflects the vastly different economic climate today, compared to 25 years ago. While the increase in the quantitative threshold may sound large, significantly more companies fulfil the updated size requirement today than companies which fulfilled the existing criteria in 1993.
Third, Article 19(4)(a)(iii) requires that the company must have, on average, made profit after tax for the entire period during which the applicant served as the chief executive. This includes discontinuous periods of service, and also periods of service falling outside the 20-year look-back period.
Fourth, Article 19(4)(a)(iv) introduces a solvency requirement. This applies to candidates who have ceased serving as chief executive of the company before the date of the writ of election. The company must not have been subject to any insolvency event within three years of the applicant's last day of service as the chief executive, or until the date of the writ of election, whichever is earlier.
Under Article 19(5)(a), candidates may only rely on their most recent period of service in a given company, and the size requirement for that company must be met during that period. This prevents candidates from cherry-picking terms of office for qualification purposes.
Take, for instance, a candidate who was a company CEO for six years. For the first three years, the company had an average shareholders' equity of $500 million. But for the most recent three years, the average was below $500 million. The candidate cannot rely on the first three \"successful\" years of service to qualify for Presidential office, as that was not his most recent period of service as chief executive of the company.
Article 19(6) empowers the Legislature to specify how the PEC is to determine shareholders' equity and profits after tax, as well as what constitutes an insolvency event. The detailed definition of these concepts may change along with accounting standards and insolvency law.
Article 19(7), (8) and (9) introduces an updating mechanism to permit increases to the minimum required amount of shareholders' equity.
The amount can be increased if a committee, consisting of all PEC members: one, recommends an increase; and two, Parliament, by resolution, either agrees to the full increase or chooses to increase it by less than the recommended amount.
The committee must review the amount at least once every 12 years, but may do so more frequently if it chooses. Parliament cannot raise the threshold when the office of President is vacant, or in the last six months before the expiry of the incumbent President's term. The updating mechanism cannot be used to decrease the minimum amount. That can only be done via constitutional amendment.
The second way to qualify under the private sector route is through Article 19(4)(b), which provides for the private sector \"deliberative\" track. It applies to a person who has served for three or more years in an office in a private sector organisation. The PEC must be satisfied that the person has experience and ability comparable to a person who has served as a chief executive of a typical private company with $500 million in shareholders' equity. As with the public sector deliberative track, the PEC must also be satisfied that he has the experience and ability for Presidential office.
Examples of persons who may persuade the PEC that they qualify under this track include, for instance, chief executives of companies limited by guarantee; managing partners of large partnerships; and chief operating officers (COOs) or chief financial officers (CFOs) of exceptionally large or complex companies.
The third way to qualify under the private sector route is through the aggregation of terms under Article 19(4)(c). This operates similarly to aggregation of public sector terms, save that the private sector candidate may only rely on his most recent term in each company. He is not entitled to cherry-pick his terms, as explained earlier.
Clause 16 of the Bill introduces amendments relating to vacation of and removal from the Presidential office. The new Article 22L(1)(aa) provides that a President vacates his office if he ceases to be a citizen of Singapore.
The new Article 22L(3)(e) provides that the President can be removed if, in demonstrating his eligibility to the PEC, he intentionally or knowingly makes: (a) a materially false or misleading statement of fact; or (b) fails to state a material fact. Similar amendments will be made, in due course, to the grounds for rendering an election void under the Presidential Elections Act.
Clause 6 of the Bill repeals and re-enacts Article 18 to strengthen the PEC.
With the changes to the eligibility criteria, the PEC members will have additional responsibilities, such as (a) assessing if an applicant held the most senior executive position in a Fifth Schedule entity or private company; (b) assessing if a private company fulfilled the size, profitability and solvency requirements; (c) or determining whether the various eligibility criteria are fulfilled in situations involving aggregation of terms. They also have to sit on a committee to periodically review the minimum shareholders' equity threshold.
Article 18(2) augments the PEC with three additional members, so as to expand the PEC's expertise to deal with these additional responsibilities.
Currently, the PEC comprises three members: the Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC), who is the PEC Chairman; the Chairman of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA); and a member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights (PCMR), nominated by the PCMR Chairman.
Article 18(2) adds: (a) a past or current CPA member appointed by the CPA Chairman; (b) a person who must be qualified to be, or have been, a Judge of the Supreme Court, appointed by the Chief Justice; and (c) a person who has private sector expertise and experience that is relevant to the functions of the PEC, appointed by the Prime Minister.
The PEC will remain a standing institution. Article 18(3) stipulates that appointed PEC members will hold six-year terms and may be re-appointed.
Article 18(4) provides the grounds on which a PEC member's office may be vacated. Two of these bear elaboration. First, Article 18(4)(c) provides that PEC members who are appointed to the PEC by an appointing authority can have their membership revoked by their appointers. This mirrors the existing approach for the PCMR member who sits on the PEC.
However, Article 18(6) specifies that an appointment cannot be revoked from the time a writ for a Presidential election is issued to the time a person is declared to be elected as President. This avoids changes to the PEC composition during an election period, which could lead to confusion and also to possible claims of influencing the elections.
Second, Article 18(4)(e) stipulates that the CPA member who sits on the PEC will vacate his PEC office under certain conditions.
Article 18(5) and (7) provides for situations where a PEC member's office falls vacant or where a PEC member is unable to discharge his functions. Article 18(8), (9) and (10) deal with the PEC's internal procedures.
I turn next to the issue of multiracial representation in the Presidency.
Mdm Speaker, Singapore has progressed well as a multi-racial society. A recent survey by CNA and the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) shows that Singaporeans strongly believe in meritocracy and that a high proportion report living out multicultural ideals.
However, there is a need to ensure multiracial representation in the Presidency, given its historical and principal role as the symbol of our multiracial nation. This unique role distinguishes the Presidency from all other public offices.
Prior to 1991, Parliament had appointed Presidents who collectively represented all the different racial groups.
As the President noted in his message earlier today, it was no coincidence that our first four appointed Presidents were Malay, Eurasian, Indian and Chinese respectively.
As then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew emphasised, this rotation was \"important to remind Singaporeans that [our] country was multiracial\", and the Elected Presidency had to continue to be \"a symbol of a multiracial community, and an expression of our national identity\".
We are not alone in recognising the importance of multiracial representation in the office of the Head of State. In Switzerland, Canada and New Zealand, the office is rotated among ethnic groups, or periodically held by racial minorities.
Since the Elected Presidency was introduced, much public attention has been focused on the \"technocratic\" aspects of the President's custodial function. The symbolic role of the Presidency has sometimes been overlooked.
But the symbolic role remains of vital importance. It is necessary to continue emphasising this role, particularly because once we have direct elections, it is difficult to ensure that the Presidents will continue to collectively represent the different racial groups. This is a real concern – that members of minority groups may not be elected to the Presidency for long periods of time. This will undermine the President's vital role as the symbol of our multiracial nation.
Views have been publicly expressed, including before the Constitutional Commission, that special arrangements to ensure multiracial representation in the Presidency detract from meritocracy. The argument is that a President must be elected on the basis of merit, and that race should be irrelevant to this determination.
But multiracial representation can be achieved while ensuring that meritocracy is not compromised. As noted in both the Commission's Report and the White Paper, meritocracy-related concerns lose force if the eligibility criteria apply to candidates of all ethnic groups.
Furthermore, as the Commission put it, \"the most meritorious candidate may not always be the most electable\", because race \"has an impact on at least a portion of the electorate\". Indeed, the CNA-IPS survey I referred to earlier showed that a significant proportion of respondents were not willing to accept a President from a race other than their own. Therefore, a candidate's race may work against him in some situations and may have a decisive impact in moderately close elections.
In trying to ensure multiracial representation in the Presidency, we must carefully balance a number of considerations: the need for multiracialism with our meritocratic ideals; helping, and not impeding, our progress towards our long-term goal of greater multiracialism; and having direct elections while ensuring that Presidents from minority groups are elected from time to time.
After considering many different models, the Constitutional Commission recommended a \"five-term hiatus\" model, which the Government has accepted.
It seeks to balance all the factors mentioned earlier. It involves minimal intervention and will come into play only if open elections fail to periodically return Presidents from different races.
We also agree that a hiatus of five terms strikes a good balance. If the hiatus is too long, the system may not meaningfully ensure that the Presidency is accessible to the various racial communities. Conversely, if it is too short, the system comes close to designating successive elections for different races, which might not be appropriate in a system of direct elections.
Clause 9 of the Bill inserts the new Article 19B to establish the \"five-term hiatus\" model.
Elections will generally be open to candidates from all races. However, if a particular racial group has not held the Presidency for the most recent five consecutive terms, Article 19B(1) reserves the next election for candidates from that group. The usual eligibility requirements continue to apply. If, during a reserved election, no eligible candidate from the relevant racial group comes forward, the election becomes an open election.
There may be situations where two or three racial groups have not held the Presidency for five or more consecutive terms. Article 19B(2)(b) and (c) deals with such situations. The general principle is that an election will first be reserved for the racial group which has had a longer hiatus from office. If no eligible candidates come forward, then the election becomes reserved for the racial group with the next longest hiatus, and so on. This continues until the election eventually becomes an open election.
Article 19B(6) defines the three racial groups that reserved elections can apply to:
(a) the Chinese community;
(b) the Malay community; and
(c) a composite group comprising the Indian community and other minority communities in Singapore.
If a person does not fall within any of the three stipulated groups, he can still contest in open elections like any other Singaporean who meets all the usual requirements.
The definitions for the Malay, Indian and other minority communities are identical to those adopted in the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) context.
It is useful to note that the \"other minority communities\" refers to groups that have some degree of history, permanence and established presence in Singapore, such as the Eurasian community. A similar definition will be introduced for the purposes of determining whether a Presidential candidate belongs to the Chinese community. These racial community definitions have two aspects – an applicant must consider himself a member of the relevant community, and must also be generally accepted by that community as a member.
In the GRC context, this approach has proven to be capable of handling situations involving persons of mixed heritage. The establishment of the committees and procedures to decide whether a person belongs to one of the three racial groups will be provided for by way of legislation subsequently.
I turn now to the framework of the President's custodial powers, which the CPA is an important part of. The CPA is an independent expert advisory body with varied and deep expertise. It helps to ensure that the President's decisions are well-informed and provides a stabilising effect so that the President's important custodial function does not depend solely on the judgement of a single person acting alone. As the President said in his message, the CPA helps to \"moderate\" the President's custodial powers.
The CPA also plays a role in resolving disagreements that may arise between the President and the Government, as I will explain later.
Overall, we want the framework to facilitate wise and prompt decisions, with suitable mechanisms to resolve impasses. With your permission, Mdm Speaker, may I ask the Clerk to distribute the third handout?
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please. \t[A handout was distributed to hon Members. Please refer to Annex 3.]
Mr Teo Chee Hean: The Bill improves the framework by making changes to the following areas: (a) first, the President's obligation to consult the CPA; (b) second, the Parliamentary overruling framework; (c) third, time limits for the exercise of President's veto; (d) fourth, disclosure of the President's and CPA's reasons; and (e) fifth, strengthening the CPA. Other consequential amendments will also be made.
First, the President's obligation to consult the CPA. The President is currently required to consult the CPA prior to exercising the discretionary powers listed in the existing Article 21(3). However, this requirement applies in relation to some, but not all, of his fiscal and appointment-related powers.
The obligation to consult the CPA should apply uniformly to all such matters. Clause 22 of the Bill introduces the new Article 37IA, which adopts this uniform approach. As a matter of legislative drafting, unlike the existing Article 21(3) which sets out a list of discretionary powers, Article 37IA(1) imposes a general duty on the President to consult the CPA before exercising any discretionary power conferred on him by the Constitution.
Article 37IA(2) introduces three categories of exceptions to the general duty, for which the President may, but need not, consult the CPA. First, the President's additional protective functions relating to restraining orders under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA), detention orders under the Internal Security Act (ISA), as well as investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). Second, the President's discretionary powers concerning the CPA under Part VA of the Constitution. Third, the traditional discretionary powers that pre-date the Elected Presidency.
Second, the Parliamentary overruling framework. When the President consults the CPA, the CPA will deliberate the matter and provide its recommendations. Where the President and the Government agree with each other, the CPA's views will not have any legal weight. However, where the President exercises his veto, a veto supported by the CPA should have greater finality than a veto exercised contrary to the CPA's recommendations.
Where the President's advisory council agrees with the Government instead of the President, the issue may warrant a \"second look\" by Parliament.
This approach currently applies already, only in two areas, namely: (a) Supply Bills; and (b) key appointments to the Public Service and Fifth Schedule entities.
In these areas: The President's veto is final if he acts with the CPA's support. However, where he exercises his veto contrary to the CPA's recommendation, a two-third Parliamentary majority may overrule his veto.
Whether, and when, to trigger an overruling is the Government's prerogative, but the President's veto stands unless it is successfully overruled.
The new Article 37IF(1), (2)(a) and (c), and (3) extends the overruling mechanism uniformly to all fiscal and appointment-related matters subject to a Presidential veto.
On a related note, I will later move an amendment to refine the overruling mechanism in relation to Fifth Schedule entities. Under the amended approach, a President's veto of a Fifth Schedule budget or transaction can be overruled only where the relevant entity has requested for an overruling resolution to be moved and the Government decides to trigger the overruling mechanism. The entity's board or management oversees its operations. They are responsible for the budgets and its transactions. They have the necessary information and context to assess whether to seek to overrule the veto. If the Fifth Schedule entity decides to accept the veto, that should be the end of the matter.
Article 37IF(4) stipulates two areas in which the Article 37IF overruling mechanism does not apply. First, it does not apply to the entrenchment framework, which has its own overruling mechanism. Second, it does not apply to Article 22H, which allows a President to withhold assent from the passing of ordinary legislation if he is of the opinion that the legislation circumvents or curtails his constitutional discretionary powers.
Third, time limits for the exercise of the President's veto. Where the President does not expressly exercise his veto, but instead chooses to remain silent, there could be ambiguity about whether the Government may proceed.
There are currently a few areas, such as Supply Bills, in which the President's failure to exercise his veto within a stipulated time limit will result in him being deemed to not have exercised his veto. Such a deeming mechanism ensures that the President's silence does not result in any ambiguity. It should thus generally be applied to Presidential vetoes.
Clause 11 of the Bill inserts the new Article 21A to introduce the deeming mechanism and stipulate time limits for the President's exercise of his veto powers.
Article 21A(2)(a) provides that a 30-day time limit applies for certain time-sensitive matters, namely: (i) Supply Bills, Supplementary Supply Bills and Final Supply Bills; (ii) the President's additional protective functions relating to ISA detentions, MRHA restraining orders and CPIB investigations; and (iii) amendments relating to entrenched provisions, when the entrenchment framework is brought into operation.
For all other matters, Article 21A(2)(b) imposes a six-week time limit.
Article 21A(3)(a) provides that where the Prime Minister certifies that a matter is urgent, the default time limit can be reduced to a minimum of 15 days.
Article 21A(3)(b) provides that the President and Cabinet may extend time limits by mutual agreement.
Article 21A(4) applies where a Bill is referred to a constitutional tribunal for determination.
The time from the reference to when the tribunal pronounces its opinion is not counted towards the President's time limit.
Corresponding time limits will be set for the CPA to provide recommendations to the President. This facilitates a good working understanding and also ensures that the President has sufficient time to study the CPA's recommendation.
The new Article 37IB requires the President to immediately refer to the CPA any fiscal or appointment-related matter over which the President may exercise a veto power. This is when the CPA's time starts running under the new Article 37IC(1).
If the President has a 30-day time limit, the CPA must make its recommendation within 15 days. If the President has a six-week time limit, the CPA must make its recommendation within three weeks.
Article 37IC(2) allows abridgment of time limits where a certificate of urgency has been issued. The President may extend the CPA's time limit under Article 37IC(3). In all cases, notwithstanding any extensions granted, the CPA must give its recommendation at least five days before the President's time limit for signifying his decision.
If the CPA fails to give its recommendation within the stipulated time limit, it is deemed by Article 37IC(4) to have recommended against the exercise of a Presidential veto.
Fourth, disclosure of President's and CPA's reasons. We agree with the Constitutional Commission that the framework for disclosure ought to be refined. However, as explained in the White Paper, we have adopted a different approach on some points. The revised framework, as set out by the new Articles 37ID, 37IE and 37IF, seeks to permit disclosure where necessary, while still protecting sensitive or confidential information. For simplicity, it may be thought of as a three-stage process. Members may want to refer to the handout.
The first stage applies in all situations where the President is required to refer his decision to the CPA. Under Article 37ID, the CPA's recommendation will be provided only to the President and will include the number of votes for and against the recommendation; and the grounds for the recommendation. The President must then decide whether to exercise his veto.
The second stage applies if the President exercises his veto. Under Article 37IE(2)(a) and (c), he must disclose his grounds and the CPA's recommendation to the Prime Minister. For vetoes relating to the Budget or proposed transaction of a Fifth Schedule entity, the President must additionally make these disclosures to the Chairman of the entity. This will allow the Government and the Fifth Schedule entity to learn of the reasons for the veto and, where overruling is possible, to make an informed decision on whether to initiate the overruling mechanism.
The third stage applies if the Government wishes to initiate the overruling mechanism. Under Article 37IF(2)(b), the Government must, before moving an overruling resolution, cause the President's grounds to be published in the Gazette and send the CPA's recommendation to the Speaker, for presentation to Parliament.
The three-stage approach applies generally to all Presidential vetoes that are subject to Parliamentary overruling.
A slightly different approach is taken for Supply Bills. A Presidential veto of a Supply Bill has considerable public signature, whether or not the Government seeks to overrule the President's veto. The Government either has to return with a fresh Supply Bill, or have its spending confined to the Budget approved for the previous year.
In such cases, Article 37IE(2)(b) provides that, should the President exercise his veto, he must additionally publish his grounds in the Gazette and send the CPA's recommendation to the Speaker for presentation to Parliament.
Fifth, the CPA will be strengthened in three ways. This is necessary because of the enlarged role it now plays.
First, clause 17 of the Bill amends Article 37B to introduce two additional CPA members, one appointed by the President and another appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The CPA will, therefore, have eight members in all: three appointed by the President in his own discretion; three appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister; and one each appointed on the advice of the Chief Justice and the PSC Chairman.
The President appoints one member to be the CPA Chairman.
The new Article 37IG introduces rules relating to the CPA's internal processes. The CPA has a quorum of five members, including the Chairman. The CPA's recommendation must be made by a majority of members present and voting. The CPA Chairman has a casting vote in the event of a tie.
Clause 23(c) of the Bill amends Article 37J(3) to give the CPA autonomy over its internal procedure, subject to any constitutional provisions.
CPA members act independently in advising the President and not at the behest of their appointing authorities. However, a careful balance has been built into the CPA's composition and processes as a safeguard. Let us assume that the President appoints one of his three appointees as the CPA Chairman. If the President's three appointees are unanimous on a particular recommendation, they will only need the agreement of one other CPA member in order for their recommendation to prevail by virtue of the Chairman's casting vote. Conversely, their recommendation may not prevail if they do not have a unanimous view or do not have the support of any other CPA member.
Second, Article 37B(2) staggers the terms of CPA members to ensure continuity and to enhance the CPA's independence. CPA membership is drawn into three divisions. Each division has one member appointed by the President in his discretion and one member appointed on the Prime Minister's advice. In addition, the first division has a member appointed on the Chief Justice's advice, and the second division has a member appointed on the PSC Chairman's advice. Each member's appointment expires every sixth year. The three divisions are staggered so that every two years, all seats in a division will expire together. If a seat is prematurely vacated, Article 37B(3) provides that the term of the replacement member is subject to the expiry date of the member he replaces, so as to preserve the staggering.
Clause 33 of the Bill inserts a new Article 165 to make transitional arrangements.
Third, clause 19 of the Bill inserts a new Article 37D(2) that requires appointing authorities to consider whether a potential appointee (a) is of integrity, good character and reputation; and (b) has expertise and experience relevant to the matters on which the CPA may have to advise the President on.
Clauses 10, 12, 13(a), 14(a), 15, 18, 20, 23(a) and (b), 24, 27, 28, 29 and 31 of the Bill make consequential amendments in light of the changes to the framework governing the Elected President's custodial powers.
I come lastly to entrenchment. The entrenchment framework introduces additional safeguards, over and above the existing requirement of a two-third Parliamentary majority for constitutional amendments, to further entrench certain specific constitutional provisions.
The concept of entrenchment surfaced in the 1988 and 1990 White Papers. When first mooted, entrenchment covered only the Elected Presidency and the core custodial powers of the office. The rationale was to protect the office and powers from easy removal or circumvention by an irresponsible government.
The 1990 Select Committee subsequently recommended extending the entrenchment framework to other provisions, including some that were unrelated to the Elected Presidency.
The entrenched provisions were protected by a national referendum requirement. If the President disagreed with a proposed amendment to an entrenched provision, the amendment – however minor or process-related – may be made only with the support of a two-third national referendum majority. In making his decision, the President was not required to consult the CPA. The entrenchment framework was not brought into operation because the Government felt that it needed more time and experience to refine and adjust the provisions governing the Elected Presidency, which is a unique institution.
Over the years, several revisions have had to be made to improve the working mechanisms for the new powers of the Presidency. Had the provisions been entrenched, it would have been very difficult to improve the system. As the Constitutional Commission observed, the entrenchment framework – if brought into force – renders it \"virtually impossible\" to amend any aspect of the entrenched provisions.
The fact that today – 25 years on – the Constitutional Commission has had to examine certain fundamental aspects of the Elected Presidency, culminating in this Bill, demonstrates the need for the institution to evolve over time.
As the system continues to evolve, we must revise the entrenchment framework to seek a better balance between rigidity and adaptability. A case study of the US presents a striking example of the need for such a balance.
Numerous US Presidents have emphasised the need for a constitution to be a living document. Yet, scholars have observed that it is \"almost impossible\" to amend the US Constitution. Amendments must receive a two-third vote in both Houses of Congress – the House of Representatives and the Senate – and be ratified by 38 of the 50 states. If just 13 states reject a constitutional amendment, the amendment fails. In other words, an amendment supported by more than 95% of Americans can still fail. Historically, of nearly 12,000 proposals introduced to amend the US Constitution, only 27 had been successful.
This may explain the greater role that the US courts play in \"interpreting\" the constitutional text so that it keeps up with the times.
This approach has been criticised for being anti-democratic. It results in constitutional law-making by unelected and politically unaccountable judges, and politicises the Judiciary. Nonetheless, the US example illustrates an important point: the Constitution must, in one way or another, continue to evolve over time.
In our context, this means that we must seek a suitable balance in entrenchment, between rigidity and flexibility. Finding this balance is, ultimately, a matter of judgement. In the White Paper, we approached this by considering three questions. First, which provisions should be entrenched? Second, should the referendum requirement be revised? Third, should the CPA's views be given legal weight in the entrenchment context?
On the first consideration, I mentioned earlier that most of the entrenched provisions relate to the Elected Presidency, but some are entirely unrelated to it. At the same time, provisions relating to other critically important institutions, like the Judiciary and this Parliament, are not specifically entrenched in the same way.
The Commission observed that since these other important institutions are not similarly entrenched, this may support the contention that entrenchment of the Elected Presidency should also be severely done away with.
We think that it remains critical to have an entrenchment framework for the Elected Presidency. The Elected Presidency serves as an additional check on a government in the two key areas. There is a risk that a government bent on raiding the Reserves or compromising the Public Services could remove the Elected Presidency to get rid of that check. This was the initial rationale for entrenchment: to protect the Elected Presidency and its core custodial powers against easy removal. By contrast, it would be much more difficult to remove well-established institutions, such as this Parliament or the Judiciary.
We will, therefore, streamline the entrenchment framework to cover only the provisions establishing the Elected Presidency and its core custodial powers. This approach will also make the framework conceptually more coherent, since it is founded on the unique need to protect the Elected Presidency and its powers from easy removal.
Other provisions which do not relate to these areas will remain protected in the same way as the rest of the Constitution, that is, through the need for a two-third majority in Parliament to amend these provisions. So, they are not unprotected, but continue to be protected by a two-third majority requirement in this Parliament.
The second consideration is whether the referendum requirement should be revised. Referendums serve a purpose on clear-cut strategic decisions, which are so important that it is best that the people decide them directly in a national vote.
However, referendums do have inherent limitations. They generally lead to binary outcomes, even though the issues that underlie the vote may be complex. Communicating these complexities to voters to make an informed decision is often not easy. Emotions and misinformation can have a big influence. For example, studies on the Brexit referendum show that a significant percentage of people who voted to \"leave\", subsequently regretted their vote.
More recently, in Colombia, the President signed a peace deal with the country's largest rebel group to end a 52-year-old war that cost the lives of 220,000 people and displaced another five million. For this he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. However, the deal had to be ratified at a national referendum. Early polls suggested that it would be comfortably ratified, but a vocal anti-ratification campaign, led by a former Colombian President, engendered a shock result: 50.2% of voters voted against the deal.
Referendums should, therefore, be used in a circumspect way. Perhaps at this point, we should distribute the next handout.
Mdm Speaker: Please proceed. [A handout was distributed to hon Members. Please refer to Annex 4.]
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Currently, the existing entrenchment framework applies the same referendum requirement bluntly to all entrenched provisions. The Bill replaces this framework with one that categorises the entrenched provisions into two tiers.
The first tier contains provisions fundamental to the existence of the Elected Presidency and the entrenchment framework itself. The electorate should have a direct say should the Government want to proceed with amendments to these provisions when the President, with the CPA's support, disagrees with the Government.
The second tier comprises provisions relating to more operational aspects of the Elected Presidency and its custodial powers. It may not be necessary to put such issues to a national referendum.
The required referendum threshold will also be revised from a two-third majority to a simple majority. The referendum threshold should be commensurate with the gravity of the decision in question. A two-third referendum majority requirement should thus be reserved only for provisions relating to the surrender of Singapore's sovereignty and relinquishment of our Police and Armed Forces, or amendments to those provisions, as currently already provided under our Constitution. These are the only circumstances under which a two-third referendum majority requirement applies other than those which were for the Elected Presidency.
The third consideration is whether the CPA's views should be given legal weight within the entrenchment framework. Under the existing framework, there is no legal difference whether the President acts with the CPA's support or against its advice.
The CPA's recommendations should be given weight so that it can serve as a counterbalance, as it already does in other areas relating to Presidential vetoes. This is so particularly since the entrenched provisions concerned areas where disagreements between the President and the Government might be sharp and intractable.
I turn now to the precise changes being made. Please refer to the handout.
I will first explain the changes being made to Article 17, which contains several key entrenched provisions. Clause 4 of the Bill amends Article 17 to set out the key functions and certain discretionary powers of the Elected President, and their relation to each other.
The principal Head of State function remains in Article 17(1). The new Article 17(2) is a statement of principle of the President's non-executive custodial function of safeguarding our Reserves and the integrity of our Public Service. The actual custodial powers arising from the functions mentioned in Article 17(2) are defined in the new Article 17(3). The new Article 17(4) provides that the President may exercise other powers and perform other functions according to the Constitution and any other written law.
The existing Article 17(3) and (4), which relate to the election of the President and the timing of polls, are deleted and re-enacted by clause 5 of the Bill as the new Article 17A.
I will now touch on the revised entrenchment framework itself.
Clause 3 of the Bill introduces the new Articles 5A, 5B and 5C, which establish the revised two-tiered framework.
Clauses 2, 30 and 35 of the Bill introduce consequential amendments and remove the existing entrenchment framework.
The new Article 5A applies to a Bill seeking to make textual amendments to Tier 1 provisions. Tier 1 provisions are listed in Article 5A(7). These include Article 17(1) and (2), which establish the President's function as the Head of State and the principle of his custodial function, as well as other provisions establishing the Presidential office.
The entire entrenchment framework, comprising Articles 5A, 5B and 5C, is also protected under Tier 1. This is with the exception of Article 5B(9), which sets out the Tier 2 provisions and, therefore, is protected under Tier 2.
A Bill to which Article 5A applies can only be introduced in Parliament under the routes set out in Article 5A(1) and (2). First, where the President concurs with the introduction of the Bill, or the President withholds concurrence contrary to the CPA's recommendation; or second, where the Bill is supported by a simple majority at a national referendum.
Of course, the Government can submit the Bill to a referendum at any time, regardless of whether the President's concurrence has been sought.
Under Article 5A(5), regardless of how the Bill is introduced, the Bill must still subsequently be passed by a two-third Parliamentary majority.
Article 5A(6) provides that a Bill introduced under the referendum route can be amended if the Speaker takes the view that the amendment is of a minor or purely drafting character, or that it does not affect the substance of the Bill.
The new Article 5B applies to a Bill seeking to make textual amendments to Tier 2 provisions. Tier 2 provisions are listed in Article 5B(9).
The new Article 17(3), which sets out the discretionary powers relating to the President's custodial role over our Reserves and key appointments, is protected in Tier 2. Only the specific discretion-conferring provisions of the Articles listed in Article 17(3), and not the entire Articles, are protected. The Explanatory Statement in the Bill gives a clear example. Article 142 falls within Article 17(3).
However, only Article 142(1A)(a) – the discretion-conferring provision – is entrenched in Tier 2. The other provisions, for instance, Article 142(1A)(b), are not similarly entrenched.
Tier 2 includes other provisions relating to the Presidency and the Election Judge. Article 5B(9) also falls within Tier 2, as explained earlier.
There are three routes for introducing a Bill to which Article 5B applies. That is in the handout. The first two routes mirror those available under Article 5A. These are set out in Article 5B(1), (2) and (5).
The third route is set out in Article 5B(7). A Bill to which Article 5B applies may be introduced in the ordinary way like other constitutional amendment Bills. However, it can subsequently be passed only by a three-quarter Parliamentary majority.
The new Article 5C applies to a constitutional amendment Bill that circumvents or curtails any discretionary power of the President that is conferred by a Tier 2 provision. Under Article 5C(1), the President may withhold assent to such a Bill.
The Article 5C mechanism is necessary because circumvention or curtailment of powers can occur without textual amendments being made to the power-conferring provision. Let me illustrate this with an example.
The Government's spending limit depends on the expected long-term real rates of return (ELTRROR) on the \"relevant assets\" pool. Under Article 142(1A)(a), the President's concurrence must be obtained for the ELTRROR proposed by the Finance Minister. In this way, the President has a say over the Government's spending limit.
Assume that a Bill purports to remove certain assets from the definition of \"relevant assets\". Article 5B does not catch this amendment because the power-conferring provision – Article 142(1A)(a) – is not textually amended. However, the President's custodial power over the ELTRROR and the Government's spending limit is diminished by such a change. This may, therefore, amount to a circumvention or curtailment that will be caught by Article 5C.
I should emphasise that this is only a hypothetical illustration. Whether there is any circumvention or curtailment is, ultimately, a question of law on the facts of every case.
Article 5C(4) stipulates the circumstances under which the President's withholding of assent may be overruled. Where he withholds assent with CPA's support, he may be overruled if the Bill is supported by a simple majority at a referendum, or a three-quarter Parliamentary majority affirms the Bill. Where he withholds assent contrary to the CPA's recommendation, a two-third Parliamentary majority may affirm the Bill.
Under Article 5C(2), on Cabinet's advice, a Bill may be referred to a constitutional tribunal for a decision on whether Article 5C applies to it. If the tribunal rules that Article 5C does not apply to the Bill, the President will be deemed to have assented to the Bill. But if the tribunal rules that Article 5C applies, then the President has basis to withhold assent. In this situation, the same Article 5C(4) overruling mechanism applies.
In all situations under Articles 5A, 5B and 5C, where the President has refused to concur or assent, the Government must make public the President's reasons and the CPA's recommendations before it can submit the Bill to a referendum or move a resolution to affirm a Bill. This is stipulated in Articles 5A(3) and (4), 5B(3), (4) and (8), and 5C(5) and (6).
The revised entrenchment framework seeks to achieve a more workable balance between preserving the adaptability of the entrenched provisions, and preventing easy removal or amendments to the Elected Presidency. We will consider bringing the framework into force after observing how the wide-ranging amendments in this Bill operate in practice.
Mdm Speaker, before concluding, I will just mention the amendments relating to Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs). The reasons for and the extent of these amendments have been explained by the Prime Minister in the debate on the President's Address at the Opening of Parliament earlier this year.
Clause 25 of the Bill, therefore, amends Article 39 to increase the maximum number of NCMPs from nine to 12, and to give them the same voting rights as Members of Parliament. Other amendments consequential upon these changes are made as well.
Mdm Speaker, let me draw to a conclusion. Prior to the establishment of the Elected Presidency, the system for appointing the President by this House allowed Parliament to take into account a fine balance of considerations in appointing a President to office. It allowed for consideration of qualities, such as profound learning, good character, high reputation and strong moral fibre. The ethnicity of a candidate was also important, given our multiracial composition.
The outcome was that the Presidency was appointed from among the major racial groups, providing for them to be represented in the Presidency from time to time.
The inception of the Elected Presidency in 1991 did not change the President's foremost symbolic and unifying role. However, it overlaid onto the office an additional custodial role and transformed it into an elected office.
Today, it is no longer this House that balances all the considerations when appointing a President to perform the President's unifying and symbolic role. We, therefore, need another framework to achieve and maintain this fine balance. The proposed five-term hiatus mechanism helps, where necessary, to facilitate the periodic election of members of different racial groups to the Presidency. This ensures that even though Presidents are now directly elected, they will, over time, continue to collectively embody the multiracialism that symbolises us as a people and as a country.
We must also ensure that the eligibility criteria stay updated, to maintain a measure of assurance that Presidential candidates have the necessary experience and expertise for the custodial role.
These add to our continuing efforts to improve the Elected Presidency so that the President's custodial powers are exercised in a timely manner, and with sufficient weight given to the collective advice of the CPA. This will provide stability to our system and also help to avoid gridlock in situations where the President and the Government do not agree.
Mdm Speaker, in January this year, the Prime Minister spoke of the need to ensure that our country does not get \"swept off course by a transient public mood, or an erratic government\". The Government needs to be able to respond to the mood, but not go too far and \"capsize the boat\".
I identify with this analogy at a very personal level. I devoted many years of my life serving in our Navy. In that time, I experienced navigating through both calm waters and rough seas. We learnt never to underestimate the power of the seas. We could not control the environment around us, but we sailed with confidence in the knowledge that – even in the face of a challenging environment where the unexpected might occur – we had built into our vessels various systems to maintain their stability and integrity.
One of these is to provide sufficient ballast. In rough seas, this helps to prevent the ship from pitching and rolling uncontrollably and capsizing. Yet, if there is too much ballast, the vessel's speed, agility and responsiveness will suffer.
Our nation, like a ship, needs an optimal amount of ballast – enough to keep us stable, but not so much as to render us sluggish and unresponsive to change.
Our Presidency has always served as our flag – our maritime flag – a symbol of our identity at sea. We want to make sure that the Presidency remains a symbol Singaporeans from all communities will continue to identify with.
But since 1991, it has also become an important part of our ballast system, stabilising our ship by safeguarding the two key areas – our Reserves and key appointments.
The proposed amendments seek to enhance the ability of the Presidency to play both these important roles, to help keep our people united and our country stable. Madam, I beg to move.
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
Mdm Speaker: Ms Tin Pei Ling.
Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): Mdm Speaker, the constitutional amendment Bill that we begin debating on today needs to be seen in the context of strengthening our system and our country. From a Third-World country that suffered from a weak economy and racial strife in the 1960s to the First-World nation that we are so proud to declare as our home wherever we go today, it is our incorruptibility, meritocracy and multiracialism that saw us through.
These values would be nothing but mere words if we only expounded them in forums or paper, but it was through Singaporeans' support, continuous social improvements and conscientious system and policy design that we could truly embrace them. Therefore, any amendment must be made in the spirit of further entrenching our values of incorruptibility, meritocracy and multiracialism within Singapore, so that we can continue to ensure continued peace and progress for our nation.
When studying the amendments set out in this Bill, there are two key components that stand out to me and which I would like to talk about in this debate.
Firstly, Elected Presidency is necessary. We had introduced in 1991 an Elected Presidency with reserve powers to safeguard our Reserves. However, there have been calls to revert the Presidential system to the appointed system from the current elected one.
Some are concerned about Singapore becoming inevitably fragmented as segments of the population take sides. Some were concerned that candidates will make unrealistic but populist promises that are not provided for in the Constitution and, therefore, cast ridicule on the system. Some Members of the Opposition have even argued for an abolishment of the Elected Presidency, reverting back to the former system of Appointed Presidency, as they say that an elected President, whom they assumed as the Ruling Party's nominee, may abet in squandering away our Reserves together with the Government! But I have different views. Allow me to share.
First and foremost, and the most important, the custodial role of the President is to safeguard our Reserves should the Government of the day go rogue and, hence, the metaphor of the President as holding a \"second key\". And because the Government of the day is formed by the Party that had won Singaporeans' mandate, it would be almost impossible for the President to challenge the Government if the President has no electoral mandate to back him.
Our founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, articulated this point very clearly in 1984. He said, and I quote, \"[If] President were to block the spending of any Reserve which the government in office has not itself accumulated, the newly elected Prime Minister will be furious to be thwarted. Therefore, it may be better for the President to be elected by the electorate, instead of Parliament, so that he can have the moral authority to intervene, preferably with the agreement of a Presidential Committee for the protection of Reserves.\"
Second, the argument that an appointed President is better than an elected President in preventing a rogue Government from squandering away Singapore's Reserves is unconvincing. Assuming Party X won the mandate and forms the government, but it turns rogue and, since it is in power, decides to reward its political allies through high value contracts without tender and when the finances go south, decides to draw on the Reserves to fill the fiscal hole. And now, let us assume the President is an appointed one – appointed by moving a Motion in Parliament by the Prime Minister, who would be from Party X. Clearly, with Party X's members forming the majority of the House, the candidate favoured by Party X will become President. Such a President is in no position, and may have no intention, to block any unwarranted draw on the Reserves.
In contrast, with an Elected Presidency system, eligible candidates who have no political leaning and truly have a heart to serve Singapore can contest against the so-called establishment candidate. Singaporeans might regret electing Party X into government, but they sure can make the right decision through an Elected President.
Third, the Presidential Election is unlike a General Election. The roles of a President, what can or cannot be done, are clearly set out in the Constitution. There should not be a contest of different political directions and values, which can be divisive. The Presidential Election will instead focus on choosing the candidate best suited to assume the custodial role and in representing Singapore.
Finally, if the candidate does not understand what can or cannot be done as a President and makes wonderful election promises that cannot be fulfilled under the Constitution, then this candidate's wisdom and abilities are in question. With the enhanced eligibility criteria, I believe the qualifying candidates will not have such an issue.
Therefore, I am supportive of having an Elected President because he or she must have the moral authority to stand against a government that has gone rogue. He or she must be able to safeguard our Reserves, which are sacrosanct to Singapore's long-term survival as an economy and as a nation.
Second, multiracialism is key to Singapore. Prior to today's debate, I was part of a panel discussion organised by Zaobao in September. During the discussion, Cultural Medallion holder Mr Han Lao Da, also known as Mr Han Yong Yuan, shared an anecdote that particularly resonated with me.
All our Singapore dollar notes, if one notices, bear the portrait of our very first President Mr Yusof Ishak. Our currency is not only used within Singapore by Singaporeans or foreign visitors; some of it also gets circulated overseas, reaching the hands of many foreign friends. The message subtly conveyed through our currency's design is the emphasis on multiracialism in Singapore.
Seventy-five percent of Singapore's population is ethnic Chinese. It is easy to mistake us as a Chinese society and this is not a figment of our imagination. In the not-so-distant past, many people in the West had either not heard of Singapore or often mistook Singapore as part of China. Even today, after years of hard work in fostering multiracialism and positioning ourselves as a multiracial society, Singapore is still nicknamed as \"坡县\" amongst some groups of People's Republic of China (PRC) nationals, referring us to being a county, not even a province, of China. Whether it is a term of affection or not, it is clear that Singapore, in some quarters, is seen as a Chinese society and a distant county of a larger China.
China is an old friend of Singapore. We should, and we must, continue strengthening the Sino-Singapore relationship. But perceiving Singapore as a Chinese county undermines our independence and standing as a sovereign nation.
Drawing our lens closer, look at our neighbours and one can easily observe how Singapore's population makeup is unnatural in this part of the Southeast Asia region.
That the majority of our population is ethnic Chinese is a fact. But we must make sure that our Head of State – an important national symbol – reflects our multiracialism. The imperative of doing so goes beyond fulfilling our ideal of a multiracial society, even though this is absolutely desirable. There is a need for us to assert our independence and multiracial complexion because of the geopolitical realities we face. Non-Chinese Singaporeans are not a \"by the way\"; we are all an integral part of Singapore.
Therefore, what if we do not have a President of a particular race for a prolonged period of time? What if it is not because the candidate of a particular race is less capable or less experienced or has less stature, but because voters simply prefer someone they feel they identify with more?
Some argued that by having a reserved election, we will be sacrificing meritocracy for multiracialism. I disagree. Both are equally important and this amendment Bill helps to ensure this. I will set out my reasons as follows.
Firstly, the eligibility criteria, which really is the first filter, will ensure that all candidates have the required competency and experience, regardless of whether it is a normal Presidential Election or a reserved one. With the amendment to the candidates' eligibility, most would agree that it is a highly stringent set of criteria. Under the updated criteria, far less than 1% of the total number of registered companies in Singapore will have shareholder equity of $500 million. At this level, I believe their CEOs would have the competence, experience, credibility and stature needed to stand as the Head of State of Singapore.
Second, prejudices are real. The IPS Study on Race and Religion in Singapore by Dr Matthew Matthews released in 2014 revealed that racial prejudice continues to be present in modern Singapore. And 62.8% of respondents think there is about the same or more racial prejudice in Singapore today compared to five years ago. Non-Chinese are four times more likely to feel racially discriminated against regarding a job or job promotion, compared to Chinese. And even though 95% of respondents feel that Singapore is important to their sense of identity, still 88.7% also feel that race is integral to their sense of identity as well. And if we really walked the ground, one would know that within certain segments of our population, there is a racial preference for President and in a specific order.
My point is that having preferences is a human tendency and, even if we studiously tried to be race-blind, race preferences can still manifest unconsciously. The person having these preferences may not even be aware of it. Therefore, if a talented individual fails to be elected because of his or her race, it would truly be very sad.
Third, the President must personify our Singaporean character and values. Before the current elected Presidential system, the convention in the appointment system had been to appoint Presidents from different races. In this amendment that we are debating today, the reserved election ensures that a particular race, defined as \"community\" in the Bill, will not be neglected over an extended period of time. And this applies to all races, not just the so-called minority races. Meaning, even though the Chinese form the majority of our population, but if for some reason, there is no Chinese President for five terms, the sixth term will be reserved for the Chinese. Therefore, I do not see this as a discriminatory rule, since it applies to all races. Madam, allow me to continue in Mandarin.
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] In Singapore, the President is the Head of State and our \"second key\". The President represents all Singaporeans. Be it domestically or internationally, our President must have certain powers and dignity so as to personify our Singapore spirit.
At today's debate, I would like to talk about the importance of the attributes of the Presidential candidates and the importance of maintaining a multiracial society.
Firstly, the quality of the candidates must be high. Hence, it is necessary to raise the criteria. Times have changed. In the 1990s, there are less than 200 qualified companies in Singapore. Today, qualified companies based on the same criteria have increased to more than 2,000, more than 10 times as many. If we do not raise the criteria to reflect our current situation, how can we ensure that the candidates are truly capable and thus his words carry weight and will not be looked down upon?
Moreover, the candidates selected based on these more stringent criteria, whoever he or she may be, we can be assured that he or she has the capability and confidence to control the \"second key\" and that our Reserves will not be squandered away.
If we look at this issue from another angle, raising the qualifying criteria can avoid certain situations, say, there are several Presidential candidates and one of them does not possess the relevant experience and capability. However, he is a charismatic speaker and even promises things that he cannot possibly deliver. He managed to persuade the people and is eventually elected. After the election, we then realise that he actually does not have the relevant knowledge and cannot discharge the Presidential duties well. To make things worse, he does not possess sufficient knowledge and holds a different view from the Government, yet he insists on doing things in his own way. This will result in a gridlock. Such a situation will definitely lead to more problems than benefits. Hence, it is necessary to raise the qualifying criteria to make sure that every candidate is competent.
Secondly, to maintain a multiracial society should not only be limited to our attitudes and words and how we treat our compatriots. It must be seen to be so.
Earlier in my English speech, I talked about the sensitivity of our geographical politics. It is not difficult to see that this \"little red dot\" with a dominant Chinese majority is rather unnatural in this region and among our neighbours. On the other hand, some Chinese netizens refer to Singapore as \"Singapore county\" which seems to regard Singapore as part of China. Although some people think that this is an endearing term and shows that Singapore and China are old friends, it will inadvertently affect Singapore's international image and undermine its independence.
Multiracialism is the foundation of our country and it is the secret of our success. It cannot be taken for granted. Even though Chinese make up the majority of the population, every citizen is an integral part of the Singapore Family. Therefore, the President who represents us should exemplify the spirit of multiracialism. By having Presidents from different races from time to time will reflect our diversity and will surely benefit Singapore.
Some people are concerned that a hiatus-triggered reserve election will weaken meritocracy, an equally important founding principle. I believe that meritocracy and multiracialism are equally important and a reserved election does not mean that we have to compromise one or the other.
Firstly, to meet the more stringent qualifying criteria is the foremost criterion and the first filter. Be it normal Presidential election or reserved election, all the candidates must meet the same stringent qualifying criteria. There is no preferential treatment. They all have to prove that they have what it takes to be a President.
Secondly, when a member from any racial group has not occupied the President's Office after 30 years, namely, five continuous terms, the sixth Presidential Election will be reserved for a candidate from that racial group to ensure that all races are treated equally.
Basically, I hope that we will never have to have a reserve election. It is merely a preventive measure.
We all understand and agree that the Singapore President shoulders the responsibility to safeguard our Reserves. The President is our \"second key\". He or she symbolises our Singapore spirit.
As Chinese, our community accounts for three-quarters of the Singapore population. We are influential. If we sincerely believe in the value of multiracialism, we, as the majority race, should take our stand and act upon what we believe to support this Bill.
The reform of the Elected Presidency is carried out after much deliberation at the Government's end. The adjustment was made after public consultation and after the Constitutional Commission has studied this matter thoroughly. I believe that the reason behind all these efforts is because the Government hopes to enhance the mechanisms in Singapore and to lay a stronger foundation for Singapore's future.
We are all very proud of Singapore. Our \"little red dot\" has accomplished remarkable achievement in the international arena. Wherever we are, at any international occasion, we are able to hold our heads high. Singapore is our home. This is where our heart belongs. Here, in Singapore, neighbours come from various walks of life and have different backgrounds. We have many shared memories and experiences. We have also created countless miracles together. Hence, we must continue to work hard and forge ahead with the same nation-founding philosophy.
(In English): Madam, I support the Bill.
Mdm Speaker: Minister Yaacob Ibrahim.
The Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Mdm Speaker, I agree with the key changes to the Elected Presidency.
I agree on the need to change the qualifying criteria so that the potential candidate has the experience to deal with how our sizeable financial resources should be managed.
I also agree that given the complexity of the issues facing our Government, that the strengthened CPA and the closer working relationship in the CPA and Elected Presidency will ensure the best decisions for the sake of our nation.
Finally, the need to ensure that every community has the chance to see one of its own becoming the Elected President underscores the very nature of our multiracial society. It very specifically endorses the view that this multiracial character of our society must also be represented in the highest office of the land.
Personally, I would like to see this multiracial character of our society be a lived reality in all aspects of our society. Achieving this is an ongoing effort but which we must never let up. For now, I shall focus on how we seek to achieve this in the Elected Presidency.
Madam, one of the stated aims of the new Elected Presidency changes is to ensure that every community has a chance to see one of its own becoming the Elected President. Yet, the real challenge is to ensure minority representation in an electorate where the Chinese community dominates.
Surveys and statistics have shown how, despite all our efforts at forging a common Singaporean identity, the current reality in Singapore is that the tribal tendency remains a factor. People still tend to drift towards their own kind. These findings have caused some discomfort to some Singaporeans. I myself did not find it pleasant reading it.
It is also my sincere wish that, one day, race will no longer matter. But for now, we cannot ignore the facts and trust that the better angels of our nature will surely prevail especially on a matter as critical as the Elected Presidency.
We had recognised such tribal tendencies in some of our policies, such as the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) in public housing. When that policy was implemented in 1989, there was some unease amongst Singaporeans, including the minorities. The policy seemed heavy-handed. Yet, over the distance of time, the policy has served the national interest well by preventing ghettos in our public housing and enabling integration to take place.
I myself struggled with this policy in my younger days. But I have to recognise that we need such policies to avoid the pitfalls of other societies that have ignored the human tendency to behave in tribal ways and insisted on seeing the world as they sincerely believe it to be. These societies have suffered for it. The integration of different communities into a cohesive and united Singapore society requires deliberate policy tweaks and constant work.
We are now introducing a similar policy tweak. While being presented euphemistically as a circuit breaker in successive elections of the Elected President, it is a tweak that guarantees a chance for a person from the minority to become the Elected President. In typical Singapore fashion, if this works, we will see, over a sufficiently long time, representation from the various communities as Elected Presidents, reflecting the racial breakdown of our society.
The support for this proposed policy tweak has not been unanimous. Some argue that Singaporeans are mature enough to know whom to elect in order to maintain a harmonious society. Then there are also some who feel that such a move goes against the strain of meritocracy as they believe in, and, in fact, is really another example of doing too much in helping the minorities in Singapore. Where do ordinary Singaporeans lie in this spectrum of views?
The recent study by CNA-IPS found that, given a choice, most Singaporeans prefer someone of the same race as President. More than 80% of respondents of Malays and Indians said that they would accept a Singaporean Chinese as President. However, less than 70% of Chinese respondents found a Singaporean Malay or Indian to be acceptable as President.
Furthermore, according to a Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) survey, when asked if they think we should have a minority as an Elected President, the vast majority, including the Chinese, agreed wholeheartedly. However, when presented with the circuit breaker option, the majority baulked. Why is this so? We can only guess. But these studies confirmed the concerns I had when this idea was first mooted.
I was concerned because it was putting the minority communities, including my community, in the spotlight again. To understand this is to put yourself in the shoes of the minority community, especially the Malays, and see it from our perspective over the 50-year trajectory of nation-building. We have frequently been in the spotlight for the last 50 years. After separation from Malaysia, there were difficult questions for all communities, and more so for the Malay community, in this new nation.
At the same time, we faced socio-economic challenges. We lagged behind in education. Higher divorce rates, higher crime rates and, more recently, Islam has been associated with the terrorism threat. The situation, of course, has been improving because of the hard work by the community and the Government's support, and we must continue to forge ahead. But it has not been all smooth sailing.
Against this backdrop, I was worried that this move, to ensure that there will be a Malay president, will be seen as the Government going out of its way to help a minority community that has lagged behind. I was worried that a Malay candidate may not be able to command the respect of all Singaporeans.
So, I will be the first to say that we must never compromise on the qualifying criteria. If we are to carry out the proposed tweak to ensure minority representation, we must do so because it is good for Singapore and Singaporeans, and not just for the minority communities, and, certainly, not for the Malay community. The candidate, minority or otherwise, must meet the same exacting requirements and, therefore, be seen to be good for all Singaporeans.
Let me also recognise that this desire to see a president from one of our own, especially for the Malays, is an emotive one. Among the older Malays, having lived under a Malay president, it is understandable that they yearn for one after a very long time. We have not had a Malay president for 46 years. Our first President, the late Mr Yusof Ishak died in office on 23 November 1970. An entire generation of Malays has grown up without ever having a Malay president. Furthermore, the younger generation has grown up with meritocracy as the basis of how our society is organised. And, hence, among younger Malays, there seem to be a bit of reluctance to have the circuit breaker. Yet, in closed door discussions, many would raise their hands in wanting to see a Malay president. But very few would say this publicly.
Some would argue that the race of the candidate should not matter; that the most important thing is whether that person can do the job and do it well. But to have a qualified Malay to do the job speaks to a long-held desire among the community to see one of us serving in the highest office in the land. It is about our place in this nation that we call home.
Malays, more so than other communities, look forward to seeing one of their own recognised for excellence and leadership. So, when Natasha Nabila topped the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) in 2007, and, in fact, broke the record for the highest PSLE scores till then, the community was overjoyed. In previous years, a Chinese student may have topped the PSLE and yet we did not see fireworks or celebrations in the Chinese community.
For me, it speaks to a personal experience. In 1968, we had our first Malay President's Scholar, Mr Mohd Ismail Ibrahim, my eldest brother. That same year, my brother's school mate from Raffles Institution, Mr Christopher Catherasoo, was also a winner of the President's Scholarship.
The celebration by both communities could not have been more stark. When we sent my brother off at the airport ‒ and this was Paya Lebar Airport ‒ my entire clan turned up and some had even camped overnight at our place. Christopher, on the other hand, was accompanied by only his immediate family. The airport was swamped by Malays! It was a moment of celebration.
The truth is that we do not have many Malays in key positions of power and leadership. Having one being a President is not just nice but timely. But this cannot, and must not, be the reason why we should have a Malay President. The Malay candidate must meet the same exacting standards as demanded of candidates from the other communities. My reason for raising these examples is for the other communities to better understand the psyche of the Malay community and the historical burden that we have carried when we have been perceived as an underachieving community.
I now come to my final point, which is about the quality of the candidates. There are two equally important roles of the Elected President – ceremonial and custodial. I fully support both roles, especially that of a unifying figure representing all Singaporeans. In this regard, it is the character of the candidate that I most worry about. After all, we have seen very successful businessmen who are also crooks. To have stayed honest is too low a bar.
How do we guarantee that that candidate will make decisions in the best interest of all Singaporeans? Indeed, what makes a good president for all Singaporeans? While we have debated much about the qualifying criteria, especially the candidates' experience in managing large organisations, equally important are the values and ethos of the candidates. Madam, allow me to continue in Malay.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, I agree with the changes to the Elected Presidency.
I agree that we should change the qualifying criteria so that candidates have sufficient experience to manage the country's finances effectively.
I agree with the additional powers for the CPA considering that the issues faced by the Government are increasingly complex. Closer cooperation between the CPA and the Elected Presidency will ensure that the best decision can be made for the country.
Efforts to ensure that every ethnic community has a chance to see its community representative as an Elected Presidency, the highest role in the land, is a reality of our plural society. Personally, I would like to see Singapore's multi-racial character emphasised across the whole of society. These efforts must continue. For the moment, my focus is on how this can be achieved in the Elected Presidency system.
Mdm Speaker, as I have explained earlier, many efforts have been made to create a single Singaporean identity. But the reality is that every community has the tendency to choose its own people.
Some Singaporeans are uncomfortable with this fact, including myself. For example, when it was introduced in 1989, I was unsure of a number of Government policies, such as the EIP in public housing. However, it was successful in achieving the Government's objective of ensuring that our housing estates do not turn into ghettos where only minorities live. In fact, it gave an opportunity for people to integrate. Clearly, we need such policies so that we do not make the mistakes of countries that ignore the tendency of people to divide themselves into ethnic groups. The integration that we see today in Singapore is the result of such policies that are created intentionally. It will also require a continuous effort to ensure harmony among the different communities.
The changes proposed to the Elected Presidency will ensure the minority communities will have the chance to become an Elected President. In the long term, it will become a reflection of the plural society in Singapore.
The results of a study by CNA-IPS show that, if given the opportunity, a large majority of Singaporeans will tend to choose a candidate from their own community as President.
Meanwhile, an MCI study showed that, when asked whether Singapore needs a minority as an Elected President, the majority of respondents, including Chinese respondents, agreed. However, when asked about the review of the Elected Presidency system that will ensure minority representation, they did not agree. Why? These studies confirmed my concerns when this idea was first introduced.
I was concerned that, once again, the minorities are in the spotlight, especially the Malay community. Over the last 50 years, the Malay community has continually been in the spotlight. After Singapore separated from Malaysia, the question was raised about the position of all communities, especially the Malays, in a new Singapore. At the same time, we faced socio-economic challenges, including education, high divorce and crime rates and, recently, the threat of terrorism. This situation has changed as a result of concerted efforts by the people and with the support of the Government. The reality is that we have gone through difficult times, but we have to continue with our efforts.
With this background, I am concerned that the move to ensure Malay representation will be seen as a Government effort to help the minority group which has been left behind. I am concerned that the Malay candidate will not have the full support of other Singaporeans.
So, I firmly state that we should not change the strict criteria that was established. If the change is done to ensure a minority representation, it must be done because it is good for Singapore and all Singaporeans, and not just for the minority groups. The Elected Presidency candidate, whether it is from the minority group or not, must fulfil the qualifying criteria and he must be good for all Singaporeans.
I agree that the desire to see a President from our own community, especially among the Malays, is an emotive matter. For older members of the community who have seen a Malay President, their yearning for another Malay candidate once again after 46 years can be understood. However, for the younger generation of Malays, who have grown up in a system of meritocracy and have never had a Malay President, they seem rather reluctant to accept this review. But in closed meetings, many wish to see a Malay President. Nonetheless, not many may want to admit this fact openly.
More than other communities, the Malay community has a strong desire to see one of its own being recognised for their achievement or leadership. So, when Natasha Nabila became the top PSLE student, breaking the record for the highest aggregate score in Singapore in 2007, the whole Malay community also shared her joy. It is different when a Chinese student becomes the top PSLE student. We do not see the Chinese community going into such celebrations.
The same thing happened to my own family in 1968, when my eldest brother, Mohd Ismail Ibrahim, became the first Malay recipient of the President's Scholarship. In the same year, his classmate from Raffles Institution, Christopher Catherasoo, also won the President's Scholarship.
But the celebrations from the two communities were vastly different. When we sent my brother to Paya Lebar Airport, my whole clan went together. Some even spent the night in my house. But Christopher was only sent by his close family members. The whole airport was filled with Malays! It was a moment to be celebrated together as a community.
Ultimately, when we have a President, even if he is a Malay, the candidate must meet the established criteria. We want the candidate to be respected and to have the full support of all Singaporeans.
(In English): Mdm Speaker, we must look for good, honest, hardworking, selfless individuals who are prepared to do what is right for Singapore. To be a president is no mere job. It is a calling to serve all Singaporeans. It demands integrity, selflessness and the desire to always promote the common good. So, regardless of the candidate's race, they must all be held to the same high standards of character and values. We must never compromise on standards. We do not want, and we cannot accept, tokenism. We want a president to command the respect of all Singaporeans.
I, therefore, stand by the proposed enhancements to the Elected Presidency framework because, first and foremost, these enhancements serve to ensure that the best qualified person who reflects the values and ethos of our nation will be elected to the highest office of our land. [Applause.]
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Mdm Speaker: Dr Tan Wu Meng.
Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong): Mdm Speaker, once upon a time, 60 years ago, our Founding Generation of leaders led by Mr Lee Kuan Yew – they had a dream. A dream of a multi-racial nation. A dream full of audacity and hope. It was the era of post-World War II, of decolonisation. Communal forces in newborn nations. The American Civil Rights movement had not even run its course.
Today, looking around the world, in so many nations, that dream is still very far from reality. We see the lessons of Ferguson, Missouri – deep divides between races, a tinderbox set alight in the burning violence that followed. We see the lessons of the banlieues in France, where children can grow up isolated, seeing a ceiling above them almost from the time they are born, wondering if they will ever have a place in the broader society. We see the lessons from countries much closer to home. Because all too often, when societies are left to natural workings alone, human imperfection can lead a society to a less than perfect outcome.
Economists know this. This is why the laissez-faire approach is now moderated to recognise the human externalities within ourselves. Last year's Human Development Report by The World Bank spoke of behavioural science – the art of understanding human strength and weakness.
So, in an imperfect, often fallen world, how do we aspire to a better future? Do we start by blinding ourselves? Or do we start by strengthening our society by seeing better, understanding better, so that we may see beyond our differences?
In France, the 1958 Constitution, the French Constitution's Article One states that there shall be equality for all French citizens, no matter their \"origin, race or religion\". Yet, the New York Times reported in a 2009 study that of the 555 deputies elected to the National Assembly in metropolitan France, just three – three out of 555 – were from minority backgrounds.
To put this in perspective, depending on which study you look at, between 10% and 20% of the French people have foreign origins, represented that year by three out of more than 500 deputies in the French National Assembly.
In France and other societies, we have seen that a statement of aspiration is not enough. The natural workings of society are not enough. Good intentions are not enough. And today, many of these countries face deep, deep divides.
Even in the United Kingdom, in its higher education and academia, amidst the idealism of dreaming spires, there was imperfection. I spent some time there as a student, lived as a minority for a while, got involved with student politics. Not part of the official curriculum, but it was still an education.
At the Cambridge Union Society, if an Asian candidate went up against a White British candidate, it was clear that race would be part of the equation. You might not hear it at the hustings. It is not something that is ever put into writing. But word gets around, you hear of it.
That is the reality of human nature. We are all imperfect human beings. We must be humble enough to recognise that as human beings, we have human flaws. We must be vigilant to guard against the arrogance which whispers that human nature no longer matters.
And when we have imperfect human beings taking part in a closely contested election with racial differences, the outcome can be less than perfect. Candidates face the same finish line, but some will have had to walk further, longer and harder just to get to the starting line.
This is why we have GRCs today. They were controversial at the beginning but, today, we see their value as a safety check, to avoid a freak election result where every elected Member of Parliament is of the majority race.
Likewise, there is value in having reserved elections as a safety valve for the Elected Presidency, so that every generation has a chance to see a President elected from their own community.
But improving the process of the Elected Presidency is just one step. It is just one step. Because the arc of history does not bend just because of legislation. The arc of history does not bend just because of what we say or do in this House. It bends when all of us, Singaporeans from all walks of life, put our hands upon it, and move as one.
We all can play a part to strengthen our multiracialism, so that someday, these provisions of a reserved election will never need to be triggered, when we have become a more perfectly united people. It starts with all of us, in our daily lives. It starts with how we connect with fellow Singaporeans of different races, languages and religions and how we set an example for our children and grandchildren.
It matters, whether we recognise that in any democracy or social order, being with the majority will always carry a special responsibility. Even as we promote and take pride in the use of our mother tongues, it matters whether we communicate and transact in a shared language, such as English, in the presence of colleagues, teammates and friends of other races.
It matters, whether our children spend time in shared, common spaces, building friendships from young, across all colours, tongues and faiths, because values are caught, not taught.
And the Government has a role and a responsibility to keep on building these shared common spaces, making sure that our common spaces will always remain open to, always remain accessible to Singaporeans of different backgrounds.
It matters, whether we learn about one another's languages and cultures. You do not have to be an expert, and it should not be about sitting for an exam or having a curriculum item prescribed by the Education Ministry. What matters is learning with an open heart, so we can communicate with, connect with, learn from one another. Because to see through the eyes of a fellow Singaporean is to see further, closer and better.
Mdm Speaker, in July, we hosted a Bulan Bahasa or Malay Language Month event at Clementi Community Centre in Jurong GRC. In September, many of us attended the national Bulan Bahasa Launch together with Malay friends and Minister Ng Chee Meng, Education Minister for Schools.
More recently, we had our Jurong GRC Bulan Bahasa celebration at the IMM Mall, attended by residents of all races. Listening to the performances, even though I only know a little bit of Bahasa Melayu – \"sedikit-sedikit\", a little bit by little bit – it was very meaningful, very educational.
At last year's Deepavali celebration in Clementi, young friends of all races enjoyed the cultural performances. And throughout the year, we attend different festivities and gatherings with our Indian community. Sometimes, there is even audience participation. Some of us have been invited to dance the Bhangra – or, in my case, trying very hard, and still trying to dance.
Mdm Speaker, in each of these journeys, we see, we learn, we grow closer together. And we must keep on trying to do better – whether it is the big gatherings, the small get-togethers or the friendships we build. So that the light of multiracialism will keep growing brighter – many lights, shining together. So that the song of the Singapore Story, our many tongues, will speak to a deeper harmony. So that under our sky, our little red dot can be a beacon to the world.
We must continue seeing, learning, growing closer together. Mdm Speaker, if I may say a few words in Malay.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] In Singapore, we have many races, languages, religions. If we learn other languages, if we have friends from other races, we will be one united people and one nation. Mdm Speaker, I would like to speak in Mandarin, please.
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Singapore in all the world is a unique little red dot. We are little, but within us is a great ideal – a Singapore united regardless of race, language or religion.
It is said that \"everyone is responsible for the fate of the nation\". Maintaining racial harmony is not just the responsibility of the Government or national leaders, it is everyone's responsibility, too. And this is not limited to our thoughts and attitudes. We must show it in our actions and deeds.
In Singapore, we promote the importance of mother tongue from young. I am sure we all agree that mother tongue helps us understand our own community's history, culture, thinking and traditions. Likewise, we should encourage our children to – through communication and interaction – learn about other communities' languages and cultures. This is because mutual understanding can overcome gaps and deepen understanding, thereby strengthening our nation's social cohesion.
Please allow me to conclude in English.
(In English): Mdm Speaker, there is imperfection within all of us, but also the opportunity to find our better selves. That is the paradox, it will always be the paradox, and the story of building a multiracial nation and a more perfect union amidst our diversity.
This never-ending mission was once the work of our Pioneers, our Pioneer Generation Singaporeans. That responsibility now falls on us, our generation of Singaporeans.
It is up to all of us, from every walk of life, to keep that dream burning bright. It is up to all of us to live the values of multiracialism, to live those values as best we can in what we do. It is up to all of us to try and build a better Singapore for our children and grandchildren, regardless of race, language or religion. I stand in support of the Bill. [Applause.]
Mdm Speaker: Mr Murali Pillai.
Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok): Mdm Speaker, I rise in support of the Government's Bill to amend the Constitution.
In my speech, I will focus on the proposed Article 19B which provides for a reserved election for a community that has not held the office of the President for five or more consecutive terms. In effect, this provision, if passed, would ensure that the office of the President, from time to time, would be held by persons drawn from the minority communities. This is done without compromising the rigour of the eligibility criteria spelt out in the proposed Article 19.
To me, the proposed amendments have a direct impact on what it means to be Singaporean and how we signal to all communities in Singapore the importance of ensuring we always remain an inclusive society. Let me explain.
Before Independence, when Singapore was part of the Federation of Malaysia, it was the Malay/Muslim community, the indigenous people of Singapore, who were the majority community in the Federation. Independence was thrust onto Singapore as her leaders advocated for a Malaysian Malaysia which entailed equal treatment of all races in Malaysia. This was roundly rejected by the Federal Government of Malaysia.
After Independence, the Malay community in Singapore found themselves a minority in Singapore. They remained, knowing Singapore's declared commitment to meritocracy, equality and multiracial and multi-religious pluralism.
This was a brave move on the part of the Malay community. No one could have then foreseen how the different communities in Singapore would manage race relationships among them. Indeed, only a year before, there were race riots in Singapore, resulting in loss of lives. But the Malay community placed full trust and worked with the Government which, on its part, also ensured that the community's interests are always protected, in recognition of their commitment to the country.
This may be a good time to remind ourselves that this is why Article 152 of our Constitution was enacted. It is provided in our Constitution that the Government has a responsibility to constantly care for the interests of the racial and religious minorities in Singapore and, in particular, those of the Malay community as the indigenous people of Singapore.
Over the past five decades, significant progress has been made by all communities in Independent Singapore, including the Malay community, not just in terms of economic wealth but with respect to integration as one nation. Minister Yaacob Ibrahim outlined the journey of the Malay community in his speech. Having learnt Malay in Singapore, having had many Malay friends and being involved in community work for a good number of years, I have seen first-hand and am very proud to note the progress my Malay friends have made in the educational, skills development and socio-economic spheres.
It is this progress by all communities that addresses a potential existential issue about securing Singapore's future. The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew said as follows in his first National Day rally speech in 1966:
\"It is important that we should understand what is it we are after in the long run, and if we are after a permanent and secure future for ourselves, then this must be done; to build a society which, as it progresses, improves, flourishes and gives an equally satisfying life to one and all. If groups are left behind …and if with these groups, the line of division coincides with the line of race, then we will not succeed in our long-term objective of a secure future\".
These words, in my mind, continue to be the guiding principle of the People's Action Party and the successive governments it has formed.
We cannot assume that we have arrived as a nation, with all intercommunal issues having been resolved forever. The pressures around us, globally, evolve yearly. There continues to be issues each community faces and we must ensure we continue, as a country, to help each family and each individual that may struggle, be it financially or socially.
The recent events occurring this year alone suggest that societies are vulnerable along ethnic lines, and what we have achieved in terms of multiracial peace and harmony can be easily unwound. We have seen an increase in violent confrontations among people of different races and ethnic groups all over the world, even in our region. There is growing racial intolerance, rising religiosity and extremism. All these factors are pulling many societies apart. As a country, we are not immune to what is happening outside our borders. Deputy Prime Minister Teo, in his speech, gave an analogy about sailing in the high seas, with all its attendant perils.
Even in Singapore, we still see sensitive and potentially divisive issues being raised periodically; for example, issues, such as holding religious foot processions and wearing of tudung by Muslim women who are frontline Public Service officers.
Whilst, thus far, these issues have been dealt with constructively and responsibly and against the broader context of ensuring that our communities progress as a whole, we cannot take for granted that this will always be the case.
It is against this background that we should view the proposed Article 19B. This issue, as I see it, is much more than the narrow issue of whether a member from a minority community stands a fair chance to be elected by the Singapore electorate in an unrestricted election.
This amendment represents an important signal to all communities within Singapore that she must always remain an inclusive society. This is, in my view, as important an overture as the decision on the part of the Malay community in August 1965 to be fully subscribed to the meritocratic and multiracial ideals of an emerging Singapore.
This does not mean that the Singapore electorate is, therefore, being encouraged to vote on racial lines for the Elected President on the basis that there is a guarantee of a minority candidate being fielded from time to time. If that happens, that is a retrograde step. Rather, I see Article 19B as a signal and a safeguard. Singaporeans should continue to vote for the Presidency on the basis of who they feel is the best person for the job, regardless of race, language or religion. Should, however, there be a situation where 30 years have elapsed without a President drawn from the minority community, then, for the sake of ensuring we always remain an inclusive society, the inclusion provision will kick in. Mdm Speaker, I would like to continue in Malay, please.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] In my English speech, I felt that it was important to highlight the historical context about the decision of Malay Singaporeans after Independence to remain here has a minority that believes in the ideals of meritocracy and multiracial and multi-religious harmony.
This decision helped us to build a nation that is more inclusive. I have also viewed Article 19B as an important way to ensure that we remain as one country. With Article 19B, we ensure that we will have a member of the minority community becoming the President of Singapore, the highest office in the land, from time to time. With this, we will not lose our perspectives as we face and manage difficult and sensitive issues like the tudung. Article 19B will allow us to have the gotong-royong spirit in our Constitution.
(In English): Mdm Speaker, Article 19B really strikes at what it means to be a Singaporean. It weaves into our constitutional DNA that all Singaporeans now and generations to come, regardless of race, are part of and are important to the Singapore story founded on inclusiveness. I support the Bill.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Adjournment of Debate","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"The Leader of the House (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien): Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, \"That the debate be now adjourned.\"
[(proc text) Resolved, \"That the debate be now adjourned.\" (proc text)]
Mdm Speaker: Resumption of debate, what day?
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien:\tTomorrow, Madam.
Mdm 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":"Preventing the Scourge of Online Gambling in Singapore","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"The Leader of the House (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien): Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, \"That Parliament do now adjourn.\"
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Mdm Speaker, I am speaking on this Adjournment Motion as a result of the debate that took place during the Second Reading of the Remote Gambling Bill in 2014. I noted in my speech then that terrestrial and online gambling are two very different realms that would require different approaches to address the problems associated with gambling in general.
To this end, I would like to refer to a section of the speech made by the then Minister for Social and Family Development, Mr Chan Chun Sing, on online gambling, and I quote: \"This is an evolving challenge. It is a difficult challenge. We need to stay vigilant to stay ahead of the threat and the challenges. We need to stay ahead and be prepared to strengthen our safeguards as necessary proactively and creatively. And we need concerted efforts by all – individuals, family and society – to keep our eyes on this issue. And we need to make sure that our measures are multi-pronged – upstream, midstream and downstream.\"
During the last session of Parliament, I directed some supplementary questions at the current Minister for Social and Family Development about these multi-pronged measures that the Government had sought to introduce to check online gambling. The answers did not suggest any specific initiatives introduced by the Government since the debate on the Remote Gambling Bill in 2014 to tackle the online gambling realm any differently from terrestrial gambling, even though the Government has acknowledged that its methods of outreach between terrestrial and online gambling have to be different.
So, I would like to ask the Minister again, what new upstream, midstream and downstream measures has the Government instituted to prevent the scourge of online gambling since the passage of this Bill in 2014. One would have thought that it ought to have been imperative for the Government to go public with these new initiatives well before granting exemptions to Singapore Pools and the Turf Club to offer online gambling services starting from October 2016.
Mdm Speaker, the choice of the usage of the word \"scourge\" in my speech fulfils a specific purpose. Why do I call online gambling a scourge?
The American Psychiatric Association places pathological gambling in the same category as drug dependency and alcoholism in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). It says that gambling \"activate(s) the brain reward system with effects similar to those of drugs of abuse\" and that \"gambling disorder symptoms resemble substance use disorders to a certain extent.\"
Numerous academic studies have found that online gambling is more addictive than other types of gambling and that online gamblers have higher rates of gambling addiction than traditional gamblers. The Internet has greatly increased the accessibility of gambling. A 2015 study in Spain found a significant increase in pathological gamblers two years after the legalisation of online gambling in that country. The problem was found to be especially serious among young people – online gambling has become the main form of pathological gambling among people below 26 years old in Spain. These results are unsurprising, since Millennials are more comfortable using Internet technologies than their older counterparts.
Online gambling has another dark side. Problem and pathological gamblers can place bets using their smart phones without their friends and family members even noticing, unlike when they visit the casinos or go to the Turf Club. This removes a very important informal safeguard against problem gambling.
An important part of addiction treatment is for the problem gambler to avoid putting himself in situations which could tempt him to lapse back to his bad habit, for example, by avoiding casinos, jackpot rooms or other physical locations where gambling is available. However, it would be impractical to expect a problem gambler to refrain from using his mobile phone or computer as these are needed for modern day work and personal communication.
A longitudinal study of gambling and problem gambling in the US between 1999 and 2013 found that problem gambling affects the poor more than the rich. The prevalence of frequent gambling is highest in the poorest one-third of respondents and those in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and it declines dramatically as socio-economic status increases. This could be because some in the lower-income group are motivated to gamble so as to improve their financial situation and status.
The most common reaction I have heard from Singaporeans to the news of the issuing of exempt operator licences is that the Government just wants to \"make more money\". While I am sure the Minister will refute this accusation vigorously, the fact remains that a large part of legalised gambling revenue goes into the state's coffers. Is providing for exempt operators a way to redirect gambling spending away from illegal overseas operators to local operators, which are owned by the Tote Board? If so, this only fuels public speculation that the Government simply wants a piece of the huge global Internet gambling pie and that this is a revenue-raising exercise done at the expense of Singaporeans and their welfare.
Some have argued that the Tote Board gives money to many charities which help the vulnerable in our society. This is a morally questionable argument that is akin to saying that it is okay to harm some people in order to help others. Since problem gambling disproportionately affects the poor, collecting revenues from online gambling is, in effect, a regressive tax on the most vulnerable in our society.
The Minister said that the Government looked at similar exempt operator regimes in Hong Kong and Norway and found that the problem gambling situation did not worsen. I am not sure what these studies or what the exact findings were. I hope the Minister will be able to share the details of these studies for Singaporeans to examine.
Did these studies prove that having an exempt operator regime reduces gambling harm more than a complete prohibition of online gambling? If not, was the Government too eager to rush to exempt operators before more conclusive results are found?
Mdm Speaker, we should not be gambling with the lives of Singaporean families. In the aftermath of the National Council of Churches of Singapore's (NCCS's) dialogue with the Government, it was reported the carve-out created for exempt operators to legally provide online gambling facilities was based on studies relating to the social impact of gambling that the Government had documented, and its assessment of possible scenarios with and without the \"valve\" of controlled exempt operator. NCCS noted that the research on this area is still new. To this extent at the very least, the Government should publish its research in this area, especially since the Government will reportedly be meeting up with NCCS leaders in three to six months' time.
The Minister has argued that exempt operators provide an \"outlet\" for gamblers and allow the Government to manage crime associated with gambling. The assumption behind this argument is that gamblers who were gambling on illegal overseas gambling websites will switch over to the exempt operators' websites or apps.
Has the Government found any studies to show that people will actually switch over to exempt operators? More likely, local gambling apps that have a stamp of approval by the Government will attract people who have previously never gambled online. It may include many young people who may not relish queuing up at Toto outlets or going to the races at the Turf Club but may experiment with gambling for the first time from the privacy of their phones. The legalisation of online gambling will thus expand the gambling market, rather than provide a safe outlet for existing gamblers. Once started, online gambling, like soft drugs, could be a gateway to more serious gambling addictions.
In its meeting with NCCS, it was reported that the Government told NCCS that it was not sending conflicting signals with the partial lifting of the ban on online gambling because the exemptions had already been written into the Bill in 2014.
It would appear these exemptions were written specifically with Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club in mind. A quick review of the timeline of events is as follows:
October 2014: Remote Gambling Bill passed.
July 2015: Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club (STC) applied for exemptions.
July 2015: Straits Times reported that Singapore Pools had hired OpenBet to replace its website with one that can offer sports betting, and the contract is estimated to be worth $10 million.
15 September 2016: Singapore Pools and STC were reported to be running final tests on their new online betting websites.
29 September 2016: The Government granted exemptions to Singapore Pools and STC.
25 October 2016: Singapore Pools launched new online betting website, although this was not widely reported in the mainstream media.
Ten million dollars is no small sum. It would be a huge gamble to sink $10 million into a contract without knowing whether it would pay off. Yet, more than one year before the exemptions were granted, Singapore Pools appeared to have done exactly that. In the eyes of the public, it would seem that the year-long evaluation of the applications was conducted with one outcome in mind – to find a way for Singapore Pools and the Turf Club to carry out online gambling operations. Was the process meant to determine whether or not the applications should be approved, or to determine how they could be approved?
To this end, will the Minister inform this House under what circumstances the Government will review the exemptions granted currently to Singapore Pools and the Turf Club and how it plans to review them in an ongoing manner?
During the 2014 debate, I asked the Minister to put the Bill before a Select Committee so as to scrutinise the exemption clauses. This request was turned down as the House was told that the Government had already engaged in consultations. However, in its recent meeting with NCCS, the Government cited its consultations with social service leaders and religious representatives as justification for the exemptions. Was NCCS part of the \"religious representatives\" consulted in drafting the Bill? Did they agree to the exemptions? If so, why have they changed their position and, if not, why were they not consulted before?
While feedback through the Government channels, any Government channel, should not be discouraged and, in fact, encouraged, we should remember that they are not subject to the same degree of Parliamentary scrutiny in terms of the range of opinions consulted and the extent of public scrutiny. On Bills that provoke as much controversy as this one, should we not take the extra step to establish relevant Select Committees to go over the implementation and provisions with a fine-tooth comb? In exchange for a bit more time, we gain the opportunity to deepen public engagement and generate greater support for our laws.
The Government says that there are safeguards in place to prevent gambling addicts from harming themselves and their families. These include self-exclusion and third party exclusion. However, self-exclusion is only practical for those who recognise that they have a problem. As for third party exclusion, a family member has to cross several difficult hurdles to get his or her loved one placed on the exclusion list. This includes being interviewed by a panel and having to show proof of the family member's gambling addiction. The surreptitious nature of online gambling addiction means that such proof will be hard to obtain.
International studies have found that each problem gambler negatively impacts an average eight to 10 family members, colleagues and friends. Also, most problem gamblers do not seek help until they hit rock bottom, for example, if they have wiped out all their family savings. These suggest that the numbers affected by problem gambling are much higher than official statistics may show.
Unlike other vices like alcoholism and drug abuse, the costs associated with problem gambling are borne almost entirely by family members, who often end up paying off the debts of the gambler. The embarrassment associated with problem gambling means that the gamblers and their families rarely talk about their problems in public. Because of this, there is a tendency for policymakers to overlook the real social impact of problem gambling.
As part of its ongoing review of the exemptions, the Government should look into implementing more stringent \"circuit breakers\", for example, tying expenditure and daily funding limits on online gambling to an individual's salary or a scale of that salary, and to deliberately set as a low percentage of one's salary or removing the user-defined funding and expenditure limits.
Separately, Singapore Pools and the Turf Club should be required to collect detailed statistics so that the Government and the public can better study the trends of online gambling.
Anecdotally, many cases of loan sparking \"runners\" are linked to problem gambling. There should be better statistics gathered on such tragedies to better establish the extent of their links to problem gambling. This will enable a proper assessment of the impact of the exemptions on the rates of gambling and problem gambling.
We need to look further downstream to prevent gambling habits from taking root. Particular focus should be on young people. It would appear that many young men are introduced to the habit during their National Service days through army mates, or at their workplaces. More targeted public education is needed, especially among young people, if we are to prevent the scourge of gambling, especially online gambling, from spreading in our society.
The best safeguard is to lessen the avenues for Singaporeans to get introduced to gambling. Legalising online gambling is a step in the wrong direction.
To conclude, Mdm Speaker, there has been a glaring lack of clarity as to how the Government is making preparations to address the scourge of online gambling downstream, midstream and upstream in a directed and committed way. This is in spite of the Government's open admission that online gambling is, I quote, a \"difficult challenge\". It would logically follow that the issue would demand significant attention from the authorities.
However, one cannot help but get the feeling that it is business as usual, and that online gambling is just another game to gamble on, or just another sport for the public to take a bet on. I am concerned that it is much more ominous than that.
Mdm Speaker: Senior Minister of State Desmond Lee.
The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Mr Desmond Lee): Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for raising concerns about the exempt operator regime that was discussed and debated in 2014, in which the Member and many of his colleagues from the Workers' Party actively participated, as did a number of them in the last Parliamentary session in October.
The Member has raised numerous questions and made rather serious allegations about motivations of the Government, whether it consulted certain parties, whether this is the Government trivialising the risks posed to Singaporeans by online gambling.
All in all, I am rather disturbed by the picture the Member has painted, notwithstanding all that we have put up, public statements and all the things that the Government has put in place to tackle precisely what he has said about the scourge of gambling and scourge of online gambling.
Madam, we could spend a lot of this evening and more looking at each of the reports and studies that we have highlighted in the previous sessions, last month and previously in the 2014 debate and before; comparing and contrasting, picking through the data and methodology, both in relation to precedents that we have looked at as well as local data.
This is by no means an unimportant task. The Member is calling for transparency, but I think it is better suited to written replies to Parliamentary Questions, which the Member can file. In fact, I understand that Mr Leon Perera had filed some questions about the experience in both Hong Kong and Norway, which were meant for today. And in the interest of ensuring that everything comes out today, if the Member is prepared to allow it to come out, we have a comprehensive reply for him.
I propose we use the remaining time to keep our eyes focused on the big picture, precisely what the Member is concerned about. Both the Government and the Opposition agree that online gambling addiction poses serious concerns that we are all concerned about, notwithstanding the Member's assertion that the Government is completely unconcerned and is trying to make money out of this; the most disturbing thing I have heard this evening.
Madam, individuals can be seriously addicted and has caused harm to themselves, their family and society. Members from across the aisle have also spoken about the harm. I think Members like Ms Denise Phua would be very concerned if the impression is given that she and other Members are not concerned.
From a law and order perspective, illegal online gambling has links and associations with syndicates and organised crime, including transnational organised crime. In November 2015, the South China Morning Post reported that Chinese police had busted a multinational online gambling syndicate which allegedly generated more than US$78 billion in bets and served nearly a million registered members in China alone. Mind you, this is a multinational syndicate.
So, how big is this problem? Let us run through some of the key points again, as we had raised them previously. First, there is a large global market for online gambling, estimated at some US$40 billion in 2015, growing annually at 6% to 8% over the last five years. And if this carries on, it will double in a matter of years.
With Singapore's high Internet and smartphone penetration rate and tech savvy population, I do not think we will be spared from this global trend. Since 2015, for example, the Police have arrested more than 120 people for illegal online gambling in Singapore. I think the Member would have heard this data last month.
After the Remote Gambling Act was brought into force, Singapore now has one of the most extensive and proactive set of measures in the world against online gambling – blocking of sites, blocking payments, blocking advertisements, criminalising users who go onto online websites.
Yet, as the Member also accepts, in 2014, with virtual private network (VPN) and other technology, with new sites popping up every day, illicit online gambling still exists in Singapore. I mentioned the South China Morning Post report. That syndicate is alleged to have operated more than 500 sites at the point of investigation.
Some analysts estimates that in Singapore in 2015, online gambling amounted to as large as S$461 million. The Ministry of Home Affairs continues to see Internet traffic from Singapore to blocked sites and new sites. The Police have observed the trend over recent years of organised crime syndicates in Singapore moving from the terrestrial gambling sphere to online gambling. So, they are moving their modus operandi. And arrests continue to be made for illegal gambling, both syndicates and punters alike.
In 2015, 90% of those who were arrested for illegal football betting were involved in online football gambling. And more than one-third of those arrested for illegal lotteries were involved in online remote lotteries. So, I do not think the Member is right to suggest that we are unaware of the risks of online gambling. In fact, all that has been in place since 2014 is to deal with this scourge of online gambling that envelopes the work.
To make things worse, online gambling sites are attracting younger Singaporeans, as the Member also accepts. A study prior to the passage of the Remote Gambling Act found that about two-thirds of respondents who had participated in remote gambling were between 25 and 44 years old.
Our assessment, Madam, is that this problem will still grow in Singapore and a total ban on its own will not be sufficient to deal with this problem, however much we may believe that to be so.
So, we do need to ask Mr Singh and his colleagues from the Workers' Party: do you accept that the global trend of illicit online gambling is growing worldwide? Do you accept that given how open and wired Singapore is, we will not be spared from the problem? Do you accept that, even with extensive blocking systems as is the case now, illicit online gambling is still present in Singapore, and the problem can still grow?
If the answer is \"yes\", and I am not sure what the Member's answer will be, then the question is what the solution ought to be. The Government's view is that a comprehensive system is needed to tackle this dimension, as the Member says – upstream, downstream, midstream – which has both a law and order dimension, as well as a social dimension, and we have to tackle both.
So, what we have put in place is a broad and extensive prohibition against online gambling, and an exempt operator valve that comes with social safeguards and an exclusion system set amidst public education and outreach and counselling.
Madam, with your permission, may I ask the Clerk to distribute a one-sheet summary of some of our education and outreach efforts, including some of the new efforts that have been put in place to tackle online gambling?
Mdm Speaker:\tYes, please. [Copies of the handout were distributed to hon Members.]
Mr Desmond Lee: Madam, our concern is that a total prohibition will only drive the problem further underground – harder to detect, problems surfacing too late. Trends and observations show that. This broadly mirrors the approach that we have taken for terrestrial gambling. So, we need a valve – legal, run by non-profit organisations where people have to sign up so we know who they are, with mechanisms to promote responsible gaming for us to intervene early before the problem gets out of hand.
We also intend to work with the exempt operators to study the impact: whether there is displacement; what is the online gambling prevalence after the scheme is put in place; and then whether further tweaks, adjustments and changes to policy need to be undertaken.
What has been the Workers' Party's proposals on the online gambling problem thus far? In 2014, during the Second Reading of the Remote Gambling Bill, many Members of the Workers' Party in this House spoke and opposed the exemption regime but did not offer many details of alternative solutions to eradicate social ills caused by online gambling.
Mr Pritam Singh, in particular, pushed for a total ban on online gambling and he does not believe it will push the problem underground.
Mr Yee Jenn Jong made suggestions on how the exempt operator regime could be tightened if it was implemented.
In the 2015 manifesto, the Workers' Party had one line or a couple of lines on online gambling – prohibit all online gambling; no exceptions, and its aim was, I quote, \"to eradicate the social ills caused by online and remote gambling\". So, we presume, in 2015, the Workers' Party's objective and proposal to Singaporeans was to drive online gambling in Singapore to zero, through a total ban. In its 27 September 2016 press release, the Workers' Party opposed the granting of exemption to any organisation but did not offer a solution to eradicate the social ills caused by online gambling.
Madam, the Workers' Party says a complete and total ban is the best. No need for a valve with social safeguards. They say that these safeguards generate money. We should not tax. We should not put it to good use. We should not allow it. We should not get involved in having any safety valves, any social safeguards. But, Madam, their position is not clear for a number of reasons which I shall submit.
First, they do not cite any precedent or any country in the world where a complete ban has solved this growing problem of online gambling addiction.
Second, they do not explain why Singapore's approach, and those, such as in Norway and Hong Kong, which have adapted from our system, and which have valves, are inferior.
Third, the Workers' Party's rationale is problematic. During the Second Reading of the Bill in 2014, Mr Singh said that a total ban will not drive online gambling underground, whereas Mr Png Eng Huat contradicted him in the very same debate where he said categorically that a ban will drive the problem underground, and I quote, \"It is the law of nature.\"
So, Madam, what is the Workers' Party's true position on this matter? Even after this evening, even after the allegations have been made about the Government's intentions, I do not think we are any wiser.
Mr Singh's explanation, Madam, is that, with a total ban, most gamblers, he says, would just go to the existing land-based outlets, such as authorised 4-D or Toto shops, which are completely legal and regulated. But this is not the view of the professionals, the Police, who have seen the problem go underground and who say that this will happen, and it is happening.
So, it is imperative, as Minister Iswaran has said in 2014, for Mr Singh making these assertions, flying in the face of what the Police, the professionals, have observed and said it is happening, to provide evidence instead that a total ban will not drive illegal activities underground but will instead drive it to the land-based Toto shops.
Fourth, apart from what we have just talked about, there are no details in their manifesto, media releases and speeches on how their proposal of a total and complete ban will solve this real problem inflicted on many Singaporeans, some of whom we have met at Meet-the-People Sessions. And this after two years of debate since the Act was enacted in 2014.
First, we invite the Workers' Party to make clear what its position is. Is it an objection in principle, against all gambling? If it is a matter of principle, then state that it is so, both land and terrestrial. But if it is against online gambling, then it is an assessment of where the risks lie. And as I have said earlier, we have the views of the Police and the professionals.
In such a case, it would be good if the Workers' Party can put on the table specific suggestions on how it would enact a total ban to solve the problem and make it drive the problem from online to the land-based terrestrial outlets that Mr Singh had categorically said in 2014. For example, does Mr Singh support a complete ban on VPN and technology that skirts around blocking measures?
Second, we know, Madam, that law, as a deterrence, is not just about the law and deterrence, but the likelihood of getting caught. Are they proposing to have apps or tracking devices uploaded on computers or smartphones to monitor people and further detect that they are going onto illicit sites and, perhaps, after that, do you propose to make it mandatory for counselling? Or are you proposing to increase penalties and up prosecution rates and to ask for deterrent sentences? If so, what do you suggest? How will you make the prohibition and the enforcement of the prohibition, such as to promote the flow of people from the illicit sites online to the Toto and Singapore Pool sites on land? Or are you proposing to expand outreach and education and mandatory counselling and, if so, do you believe that it will solve the problem?
Madam, we have circulated that flyer with some of the things that we have been doing and, perhaps, the Member can suggest how those can concretely be further improved.
Madam, the Government is not able to solve complex social problems through making speeches alone, nor by lamenting a problem. We know it is a problem.
Mdm Speaker:\tSenior Minister of State Lee, you only have one minute left.
Mr Desmond Lee: We are expected to put forward workable solutions for consultation and debate, and we have to implement a solution for Singaporeans. It has to be practical. It may not always be popular but we have to try to solve the problem pragmatically and, most importantly, be prepared to adjust our solution along the way, based on experience and our findings.
Mdm Speaker, in conclusion, online gambling is a global phenomenon. It grows at a very fast rate. It is not a problem outside Singapore. It is right here on our shores, in our homes, in people's pockets when they walk around, when they work, when they are at home. It poses law and order and social problems, like I said before.
And online gambling is associated with syndicates and organised crime. Banning it will help slow the pace of growth. On its own, it is inadequate, because the problem will go deeper and we will simply be burying our heads in the sand. A valve may allow people who intend to gamble online to do so in an environment with some social safeguards, and we can track the size and shape of the problem and implement further policies.
Mdm Speaker:\tSenior Minister of State Lee, you have to conclude. Time is up.
Mr Desmond Lee:\tMdm Speaker, in conclusion, for those who do not want their loved ones to even visit these regulated sites, speak to them, put them onto the exclusion list. For those of us in this House and outside who have moral objections to gambling, including some of us who are speaking, do not visit, discourage your friends and family, and help the National Council on Problem Gambling and voluntary welfare organisations who work hard day after day to tackle these social aspects and the scourge of the problem.
Mdm Speaker:\t Please end your speech, Senior Minister of State.
Mr Desmond Lee:\tYes. Thank you, Madam.
Mdm Speaker: Order. The time allowed for the proceedings has expired.
[(proc text) The Question having been proposed at 7.08 pm and the Debate having continued for half an hour, Mdm Speaker adjourned the House without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order. (proc text)]
Adjourned accordingly at 7.38 pm.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":"Matter Raised On Adjournment Motion","questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Trends and Penalties for Jaywalking","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"24 Ms Chia Yong Yong asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Government has studied the trends in increased jaywalking; (b) what are the numbers of jaywalkers over the last five years; (c) how many of them have been warned or penalised for jaywalking; and (d) what are the Government's plans to penalise jaywalking and ensure that jaywalking will be brought under control.
Mr K Shanmugam: To get a sense of the jaywalking situation, the Police monitor two indicators: the numbers of fatal and injury accidents involving pedestrians who jaywalked. In 2011, there were 25 fatal accidents and 292 injury accidents involving jaywalkers. In comparison, in 2015, there were 22 fatal accidents and 208 injury accidents involving jaywalkers.
While the numbers of fatal and injury accidents involving jaywalkers have fallen, nevertheless, jaywalking remains an issue we are concerned about.
We need both enforcement and education to tackle this issue. The Traffic Police (TP) deploys officers at jaywalking hotspots to enforce against jaywalking and educate pedestrians on safe road use. On average, in the last five years, TP issued about 7,400 warnings or summonses for jaywalking each year.
TP regularly engages pedestrians on road safety and good road-use practices, especially the young and elderly, who are more vulnerable. Last year, TP partnered Shell to organise the 35th Shell Traffic Games to educate primary school students on road safety. TP also partnered the Singapore Road Safety Council, Tote Board and Singapore Pools to organise the Road Safety Concert for the Golden Age to educate elderly pedestrians about safe road-use.
TP will also be launching another road safety campaign targeting the elderly later this year. The campaign will provide an easy self-test kit for elderly pedestrians to learn more about their visual, hearing and reflex capabilities, and help them better understand themselves and the risks of jaywalking.
The Government will continue to implement road safety features for pedestrians. For example, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has installed metal barriers along the road or centre divider to discourage jaywalking. LTA will also build more pedestrian crossings to facilitate safe crossing. TP works closely with LTA on the \"Silver Zone\" initiative, which brings senior-friendly road safety features to mature estates with high concentrations of elderly folks. LTA will expand the Green Man Plus Scheme, which allows seniors extra time to cross the road by tapping their senior citizen EZ-Link cards.
It is also the pedestrians’ individual responsibility to ensure that they practise good road safety habits, including not jaywalking. We would like to remind pedestrians to always use proper pedestrian crossings, for example, traffic light junctions, zebra crossings, overhead bridges and underpasses. All road users have a part to play in keeping our roads safe. Other road users, including motorists and cyclists, also need to look out for pedestrians.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Fund Allocation to Agencies Based on Qualitative Indicators","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"30 Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin asked the Minister for Finance (a) whether the Ministry has explored using qualitative indicators versus quantitative performance indicators to determine how funding is allocated for different agencies; and (b) how has the Ministry worked with the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Education to measure social and cultural impact.
Mr Heng Swee Keat: The Government strives to ensure that public monies are well spent to achieve their intended outcomes. In our evaluation of programmes for funding, we are open to considering all forms of performance indicators that help provide a more holistic assessment of their impact. This includes both qualitative as well as quantitative indicators.
While current performance indicators tend to be quantitative in nature, we complement these with qualitative indicators. For example, when looking at public housing, we use both quantitative data, which include home ownership rates and debt servicing ratio for applicants for new flats, and qualitative indicators which include regular surveys of residents on factors, such as satisfaction with the living environment. Both quantitative and qualitative indicators are considered to refine our housing policies and programmes, improve town designs and guide how we allocate resources for public housing.
Each Ministry is accountable for its respective outcomes. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) supports each Ministry's work in their development of performance indicators that balance between helping to capture their impact, while not being too onerous to track. These are regularly reported for each Ministry as part of the annual Revenue and Expenditure Estimates released during Budget. In addition, every two years, MOF works with agencies to publish the Singapore Public Sector Outcomes Review, which takes stock of Government programmes. This includes social and cultural impact, which is measured through a wide range of indicators, such as healthcare affordability, the resilience of families and the incidence of volunteerism.
For instance, to track efforts in strengthening families, the Ministry of Social and Family Development monitors indicators, such as social attitudes towards family life from periodic surveys. The Ministry of Education tracks indicators, such as the number of students who progress to secondary and post-secondary education, and the international ranking of our education system. The Ministry of Health tracks indicators on waiting times, bed occupancy rates and public satisfaction with public hospitals and polyclinics. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth monitors volunteerism rates but also qualitative indicators, such as the attitudes of youths to helping the less fortunate and contributing to society.
We are mindful that not every policy outcome can be tracked by a single set of numbers. While quantitative indicators provide a measurable and comparable basis for evaluation of an agency's programmes, qualitative indicators can provide further insight into outcomes that are difficult to measure. We will continue to seek assessing programmes from multiple dimensions.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Adoption of WHO Suicide Prevention Strategy","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"33 Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry is adopting the suicide prevention strategy recommended by WHO and, if so, how has it been adapted for our context; (b) what measures have been taken to reduce the stigma about help-seeking for suicide attempts; and (c) how does the Ministry work with the Police to ensure that those arrested for attempting suicide are provided sufficient psychological support, especially those who appear mentally unstable.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: Singapore adopts a multi-pronged approach to prevent suicide, in line with the recommendations under the World Health Organization (WHO) Public Health Action for the Prevention of Suicide Framework. Government agencies and stakeholders in the social sectors work together to prevent suicides by promoting upstream prevention, encouraging help seeking, providing support to at-risk groups and offering crisis support.
First, in the area of prevention, we seek to build mental resilience in our population and increase public awareness of the importance of good mental well-being. Students in our schools are taught socio-emotional skills and coping strategies, as well as how to look out for one another and to seek help from trusted adults if necessary. In the community and at workplaces, Health Promotion Board (HPB) offers programmes to promote mental health literacy. It also conducts workshops to provide our elderly tips on mental well-being and resilience.
Second, we have various programmes to reduce the stigma about seeking help for mental issues. Voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs), such as the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), have been active in promoting public awareness on suicide prevention. Silver Ribbon (Singapore) is another organisation that has been combating stigma about mental illness. It reaches out to persons who need help in building mental wellness and encourages them to seek early treatment. In addition, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) also conducts public education programmes in schools and in the community.
Third, we have put in place services and programmes to provide support to those identified to be at higher risk. For instance, students identified to be depressed or are at risk of suicide are typically referred to school counsellors, or the Child Guidance Clinic in IMH for more challenging cases. For young persons between 16 and 30 years old, the Community Health Assessment Team (CHAT), located at *SCAPE Youth Park, provides a one-stop centre (CHAT Hub) for mental health help and resources. Within the community, Family Service Centres (FSCs) provide counselling and support services to families and individuals with social and emotional difficulties. Senior Activity Centres organise befriending programmes to reach out to elderly persons who live alone in rental flats so as to prevent social isolation and depression.
Schools, FSCs and VWOs are, in turn, supported by the Response, Early Intervention, Assessment in Community mental Health, or REACH, teams set up by IMH. These are multidisciplinary teams that provide training and support to partners so as to strengthen their ability to identify and manage at-risk youths and children and to make appropriate referrals.
Fourth, we have services in place for individuals in crisis who need urgent help. SOS operates a 24-hour hotline to counsel persons in distress. IMH also operates a 24-hour Mental Health Helpline manned by counsellors who are trained to de-escalate situations, assess and triage cases, and activate home visit teams quickly if necessary.
For cases of attempted suicide, the Police may refer the person to SOS for counselling or engage the next-of-kin to assist in supporting and caring for the person. If there are clear signs indicating possible mental instability, the Police may refer the person to IMH for an assessment. The person may be warded at IMH for care and treatment if necessary.
The reasons for suicides are often complex and multidimensional. Each suicide is one too many. We will continue to improve our interagency and multi-pronged suicide prevention efforts.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Wage Differential of Ex-offender Placed in a Job through SCORE","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"34 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Home Affairs in the last five years (a) what is the average wage differential of an ex-offender who secures employment through the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) compared to the median industry wage in the relevant industries; and (b) what is the number of white-collar or office-based jobs that SCORE has matched ex-offenders to.
Mr K Shanmugam: Based on the employment facilitated by the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) in 2015, the median salary of ex-offenders was on average about 10% lower than the median salary for similar occupations in the market.
Of the 2,157 inmates assisted by SCORE in 2015, 1% (or 30) were matched to white-collar jobs. This figure has been fairly consistent over the last five years.
Employers' support for the acceptance and fair employment of ex-offenders is key in helping them rebuild their lives. As ex-offenders make the effort to turn over a new leaf, we hope that society, including employers and the community, will stand ready to support them.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Unsolved Hit-and-Run Traffic Accidents","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"35 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) to date, how many hit-and-run traffic cases remain unsolved; (b) whether the Ministry has an information network which includes workshops to report on suspicious damaged vehicles, and immigration officers to do the same for vehicles leaving Singapore; and (c) what other measures are in place to apprehend drivers on the run.
Mr K Shanmugam: Since 2015, there were a total of 233 hit-and-run accidents involving injuries and seven involving fatalities. About one-third of those involving injuries, which comprise the bulk of such accidents, have been solved. Of the seven fatal hit-and-run accidents, all but one have been solved.
As part of investigations into such accidents, the Traffic Police (TP) will examine all available forensic evidence as well as camera footage from the accident scene and its vicinity. TP will also appeal for witnesses through multiple platforms, such as displaying witness appeal signs at the accident location and broadcasting appeal notices via mainstream and social media. Once the identity of the offender or vehicle is established, TP will spare no effort to bring the offender to task.
TP also work through various partners like the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, the insurance and motor workshop industries to locate the vehicles. TP obtain accident information, including the damage to the vehicles, from the General Insurance Association. TP will also engage motor workshops as part of its investigations.
We take a tough stance against motorists who flee from an accident scene. All motorists must stop when they are involved in an accident and render aid to the victim. Severe penalties are meted out to hit-and-run offenders to deter motorists from fleeing from the accident scene. Offenders can be fined up to $3,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to a year. The offender will also be disqualified from driving for at least a year. These charges are in addition to charges under the Penal Code, if death or hurt is caused in the accident.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Mandatory Insurance Coverage for Contract Workers","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"38 Ms Chia Yong Yong asked the Minister for Manpower whether there are any plans to protect contract workers with mandatory insurance cover to be purchased by companies contracting their services, particularly health, personal accident and life insurance.
Mr Lim Swee Say: Contract workers can be under \"contracts of service\" or \"contracts for service\". A contract of service is defined by an agreement between an employer and an employee which includes the terms and conditions of employment. In a contract for service, an independent contractor, such as a self-employed person or a freelancer, is engaged for a fee to carry out an assignment or project.
All local employees who are under contracts of service are entitled to have medical benefits through mandatory employer and employee MediSave contributions. Employees can use these MediSave contributions to pay for MediShield Life and Integrated Shield Plans premiums. In addition, all employees are also eligible under the Work Injury Compensation Act for work injury compensation if they are injured at work or if they contract an occupational disease.
Companies which contract services from self-employed individuals under contracts for service are not required to buy insurance for these individuals. This is because there is no employer-employee relationship between them. Nonetheless, self-employed persons are required to contribute to their CPF MediSave accounts if they earn an annual net trade income of more than $6,000. These contributions can likewise be used to pay premiums for MediShield Life and Integrated Shield Plans.
Contract workers who are under contracts of service can contact the Ministry of Manpower for assistance if they are not provided with statutory benefits that they are entitled to.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Tighter Regulation of Home Renovation Contractors","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"40 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether there are plans for greater regulation of home renovation contractors to have a minimum entry level for such contractors; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider requiring such companies to post a bond before they are allowed registration with HDB or BCA.
Mr Lawrence Wong: The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) regulates construction works to ensure the structural safety of buildings under the Building Control Act. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) requires renovation contractors to be registered under the Registered Renovation Contractors Scheme (RRCS) to ensure that renovation works in HDB flats do not affect the structural integrity of the building.
Under HDB's RRCS, renovation contractors must: (a) have a minimum paid-up capital of $30,000 if they are a private-limited company; (b) be registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority; (c) should have at least three years of experience in renovation works; and (d) attend the training course on \"Renovation for Public Housing\" so that they are familiar with the rules and regulations in renovating HDB flats.
However, both BCA and HDB do not regulate the quality and schedule of renovation works. These are contractual issues between the contractor and their client. Home owners should consider engaging renovation contractors who are accredited under the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) and/or renovation contractors' associations. One such example is the joint accreditation scheme between CASE and the Singapore Renovation Contractors and Material Suppliers Association. Contractors accredited under this scheme are required to post a performance bond to cover disputes arising from non-performance of the renovation contractor.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Encouraging Residents and Volunteers to Help Curb High-rise Littering","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"44 Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources instead of increasing deployment of cameras and enforcement staff to curb high-rise littering, whether the Ministry will consider enhancing ground enforcement by allowing residents on patrol or designated volunteers to submit evidence of the offence and enable NEA to take immediate action against the offenders.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: High-rise littering is an anti-social act and can be a serious offence which poses safety and hygiene problems to the public. However, due to the nature of the offence and our densely built-up housing estates, high-rise litterbugs can be difficult to identify and apprehend.
When feedback on high-rise littering is received, the National Environment Agency (NEA) will work with the Town Councils and grassroots organisations to conduct outreach efforts to educate residents not to commit high-rise littering. The offences would usually cease after such outreach efforts. Where there are cases of persistent high-rise littering despite such efforts, NEA would deploy surveillance cameras at suitable vantage points to identify and apprehend the high-rise litterbugs.
Between August 2012 and June 2016, NEA conducted more than 3,400 camera deployments and took more than 2,800 enforcement actions against high-rise litterbugs. The camera deployments have helped to increase the number of enforcement actions 90-fold since 2011 when surveillance cameras were first introduced. Today, officers are only stationed on the ground in a small number of cases where the deployment of cameras is not possible.
We welcome the suggestion from Member Cheryl Chan and encourage members of the public, including residents on patrol or designated volunteers, to provide any information or evidence of high-rise littering offences, including video footage, which can help NEA to conduct investigations to establish the identity of the offender and take appropriate enforcement action.
Beyond enforcement efforts, it is important to involve the community and educate our young to take ownership of the environment. To this end, NEA, together with the Public Hygiene Council and partners of the Keep Singapore Clean Movement, has been working closely with the Ministry of Education to inculcate in students the habit of keeping their homes, school compounds and common areas in the neighbourhood clean.
We will also continue to work with the community to ensure that our enforcement and outreach efforts are effective in discouraging such inconsiderate and potentially criminal behaviour so that everyone can live in a clean and safe environment.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Action against Errant Renovation Contractors","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"45 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) how many errant interior renovation contractors have been taken to Court over renovation disputes in the past three years; and (b) what regulations are in place to prevent errant contractors from setting up a new company to continue their misdeeds.
Mr S Iswaran: Renovation disputes may pertain to unfair practices. The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA) protects consumers against unfair practices by retailers of goods and services, including renovation contractors. The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received consumer feedback on about 400 renovation contractors annually from 2013 to September 2016, or about 6% of renovation businesses in Singapore. CASE successfully helped the majority of these consumers to resolve the disputes through negotiation and mediation. CASE did not file any injunction application with the Courts against renovation contractors over disputes related to unfair practices under CPFTA. Separately, about 160 consumer cases filed with the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT) each year were disputes on renovations.
CASE has worked with the Singapore Renovation Contractors and Material Suppliers Association (RCMA) on the CaseTrust-RCMA accreditation scheme. Renovation contractors who are CaseTrust-RCMA-accredited provide prepayment protection and offer consumers a CaseTrust standard renovation contract which provides consumers with cost transparency and accountability on deliverables.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry regularly reviews CPFTA to ensure that it remains relevant and offers appropriate protection for consumers. The CPFTA Bill was passed in Parliament on 13 September 2016. The amendments strengthen the measures that may be taken against errant retailers, including renovation contractors, who persist in unfair practices. These include appointing SPRING Singapore (SPRING) as the administering agency with investigation and enforcement powers, and additional measures that the Courts may impose on errant retailers, such as requiring them to publicise injunction orders and notify SPRING of changes to their employment status and business entities.
This enables SPRING to monitor businesses and individuals who are under injunction orders to ensure that they comply with the orders and SPRING will take timely action against them if they do not. The changes will come into effect by end 2016.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Parallel Road to KPE as Additional Route for Motorists Travelling between Hougang and Ubi","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"48 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Transport whether LTA will consider (i) building another road parallel to the KPE as an additional route for motorists travelling between Hougang and Ubi and (ii) increasing the speed limit to 90 kilometres per hour along the stretch of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) between Buangkok Drive and Defu flyover.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Building more roads to improve traffic speeds is not a sustainable option in land-scarce Singapore. Furthermore, studies based on the experiences of other cities have shown that building more roads only relieves congestion temporarily. Soon, more motorists will be attracted to use the additional roads, making them congested as well.
The more sustainable approach is to encourage motorists to switch to public transport, manage traffic demand, and continue to tighten the growth of the vehicle population. We have recently added 15 new trains to increase the capacity of the North-East Line. We will introduce two additional bus services by the end of this year to bring residents living in the Northeast from their homes directly to the city centre. We are also monitoring traffic speeds to see whether there is a need to introduce Electronic Road Pricing on the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE). We reduced the vehicle growth rate to 0.25% from 2015, and will consider whether to bring it to zero at the next review.
For safety reasons, we cannot increase the speed limit of the KPE between Buangkok Drive and Defu flyover. The assessment is that this stretch of the KPE does not have sufficient sight distance for motorists to react to traffic or obstacles ahead if they are travelling above 80 kilometres per hour.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Conditions for Granting Exemptions for Mother Tongue","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"50 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Education (Schools) (a) what constitutes \"exceptional circumstances\" in which Mother Tongue (MT) exemptions are granted to schoolchildren with diagnosed special education needs (SEN); and (b) how does the Ministry assess SEN children who are able to compensate for their learning disabilities currently by relying on memory or rote learning instead of comprehension and assimilation of MT but who will face pronounced difficulties in learning MT in the future.
Mr Ng Chee Meng: A student with special education needs may be considered for exemption from Mother Tongue Language (MTL) if he or she has certified Special Educational Needs (SEN) that severely affect his or her ability to cope with learning MTL and with overall learning.
In the assessment of severe learning disabilities, one key consideration is how well the child responds to instructions given by the teacher. Regardless of the compensatory approach used, the child’s rate of response to instruction is an important indicator of possible learning disabilities. Children with more severe learning disabilities have been observed to show a relatively poor rate of response to instructions, and to have persistent difficulties in learning despite receiving appropriate teaching and intervention.
The MTL exemption is given to students with SEN who are not coping well with their overall studies. This is to help reduce their total academic load so that they can cope better with the learning of other subjects. When reviewing applications for MTL exemption from students with SEN, the consideration is not just whether they have diagnosed special needs, but also how they are coping with their overall learning.
Students with SEN who are coping with their overall studies but have difficulty with the Standard MTL curriculum, should consider the option of taking MTL at Foundation level, which is less demanding, instead of seeking MTL exemption. The Foundation MTL curriculum at Primary 5 and 6, and the MTL \"B\" curriculum at secondary and junior college levels are focused on the development of oral and listening skills and have a much reduced demand on writing skills.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Police Action in Hostage Case Involving Two-year-old Child in Sembawang","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"53 Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Minister for Home Affairs with regard to the recent hostage incident where a two-year-old child was held in a 17-hour standoff in Sembawang (a) why did the Police not storm into the flat earlier and rescue the child; and (b) what were the considerations before the Police decided to act.
Mr K Shanmugam: The priority of the Police in a hostage situation is to ensure the safety of the hostage and the people in and around the incident location, such as the public and Home Team officers. Where possible, the Police will seek to resolve the incident without any person coming to harm. The tactics employed to achieve this objective would vary according to the incident.
I cannot go into the specific operational details for this case. In general, the Police will engage the hostage-taker to seek a peaceful resolution, even if it could lead to a prolonged stand-off, such as in this case. There are risks involved for the hostage and people in and around the incident, when a storming operation is carried out. The Police did not storm into the flat earlier as it was assessed that the hostage-taker did not pose any immediate danger to the child if he was not provoked. As a result, the ground decision was taken to de-escalate the situation by deploying the Crisis Negotiation Unit to talk to the hostage-taker to persuade him to surrender.
When negotiations were not successful, the Police had to assess the right timing to break into the flat without putting the child at risk. The Police eventually succeeded in rescuing the child, unharmed, and apprehended the hostage-taker. No one was injured in the operation.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Possibility of Dual Citizenship for Singaporeans","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"54 Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai asked the Minister for Home Affairs what are the reasons for not allowing Singaporean Citizens to hold dual citizenships and whether the time is now right to review the relevant rules.
Mr K Shanmugam: Singapore does not allow dual citizenship. We are a small and young nation and it is important that our citizens have a long-term commitment to building a future together.
Singaporeans enjoy rights and privileges as citizens and are expected to uphold the duties and responsibilities that come with citizenship. Allowing Singaporeans to retain or acquire a second citizenship is unlikely to enhance that commitment, but could instead dilute it.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Publicity of Workplace Safety Practices by Premises Owners","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"55 Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Minister for Manpower what are the efforts undertaken to ensure that (i) premise owners publicise safe workplace practices or make adequate provisions to ensure that independent contractors operating in their premises are protected from workplace incidents; (ii) service buyers play an active role in safety discussions with independent contractors that they engage so that the incidents can be avoided; and (iii) greater publicity, training and educational efforts are channelled to creating safer workplaces for independent contractors.
Mr Lim Swee Say: Under the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act, premises owners have to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure that their premises are safe for workers, including independent contractors. As required by the Act, premises owners need to conduct risk assessment to eliminate or mitigate any foreseeable risks before work activity can commence.
Service buyers also play an important role in ensuring the safety and health of independent contractors. For instance, service buyers are encouraged to adopt the bizSAFE programme, introduced by the WSH Council, to build in-house WSH capabilities in risk management. They can even go a step further to procure services only from bizSAFE certified contractors.
WSH is everyone's responsibility. Independent contractors can take steps to enhance their WSH capabilities. They can enrol in safety and health courses offered by accredited training providers. They can access the wide range of free WSH information and toolkits, customised to suit different industry trades, on the WSH Council website. The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has set up the Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit (FSEU) to reach out to self-employed and independent contractors. FSEU can work with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the WSH Council to enhance WSH awareness and competency of freelancers and independent contractors.
On a broader front, MOM and the WSH Council have stepped up WSH awareness activities all year round, including organising engagement forums in collaboration with industry partners. A WSH Campaign highlighting seven common causes of workplace safety incidents in hotspots, such as working at heights and safe lifting operations, was launched since June this year. The campaign educates workers, including independent contractors, on simple and practical measures to prevent injuries at work through pictograms. These are disseminated through the mass media, television commercials, radio advertisements and outdoor media.
WSH is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders. Independent contractors, too, should play their part and ensure that they carry out work in a safe manner. MOM and the WSH Council will continue to work closely with our tripartite partners to create safer workplaces for all workers, including independent contractors.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Affordability of Childcare Services since 2008 Review","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"58 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how has the affordability of childcare services changed since the last review in 2008; and (b) whether the Ministry will review the basic subsidy of $300 for working mothers.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Providing affordable and quality childcare services for parents is a key priority for the Government. In the last few years, we have increased the provision of these services through our Anchor Operator (AOP) and Partner Operator (POP) schemes, which now make up almost half of the childcare market.
Operators under the AOP and POP schemes are subject to fee caps of $720 and $800 (before GST) respectively, and controls over fee increases. Singaporean children enrolled in POP centres also benefited from a one-off reduction in fees when the scheme was rolled out in January this year. With these schemes in place, the industry median fee was lowered for the first time in at least a decade, from $900 to $856.
In addition, the Government provides childcare subsidies to help defray the fees borne by parents. On top of the basic subsidy of $300 per month for working mothers, lower- and middle-income families who require more help have been offered additional subsidies of up to $440 per month since 2013. For example, a low-income family with a child enrolled in an AOP centre charging $720 (with GST) will only pay the minimum co-payment amount of $3 a month.
More recently, the Child Development Account (CDA) First Step grant was introduced this year. CDA funds can also be used to pay for education and healthcare needs of the child, including childcare fees.
The multi-pronged approach of providing quality and affordable services through Anchor and Partner operators, complemented by Government support through the CDA and our childcare subsidy framework, has made childcare more affordable. We will continue to review our policies, including our childcare subsidies, to ensure that quality childcare remains affordable for families.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Freezing or Reducing Land Rent for JTC Land as Measure to Help SMEs","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"61 Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) whether the Ministry will consider freezing or reducing the land rent component of the JTC Land Rental Scheme to assist our SMEs in view of the slowing economy and difficult business conditions ahead.
Mr Lim Hng Kiang: JTC benchmarks its land rents internationally to ensure that they are competitive. It also adjusts the rents based on local market conditions. Over the past year, JTC has reduced its land rents by between 8% and 17%, in line with market movements. It will continue to ensure that the rents remain affordable for our industrialists, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Apart from this, JTC has been supporting SMEs in other ways. For example, JTC has released more land through the Industrial Government Land Sales programme in the past five years. This has increased the supply of industrial space in the market. Market space rents have correspondingly moderated. From now till the end of 2017, about three million square metres (sqm) of industrial space is estimated to come on-stream, which is higher than the average annual supply and demand in the last three years, of around 1.9 million sqm and 1.2 million sqm respectively. This is likely to exert further pressure on market rents.
JTC has also improved market transparency by publishing more granular price and rental information on its website. In addition, JTC has developed, and will continue to develop innovative multiple-user ready-built facilities to strengthen the competitiveness of SMEs. These developments cluster companies and facilitate industry collaboration. They also contain shared facilities and services that help companies reduce their upfront capital investment and operating costs.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Competition between Local Retailer and Offshore Online Retail Shops","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"62 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) (a) how does the Government ensure a level playing field between our local retailers and online shops operated offshore in terms of the goods and services tax due; (b) how does the Ministry regulate such operators and enforce fair trading practices and protection of personal data; and (c) how many cases of online retail fraud have been reported in the past five years.
Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Goods and services tax (GST) is levied on the import of goods into Singapore. All local businesses and individuals, including consumers making purchases from online shops located offshore, are required to pay GST when the goods are imported into Singapore. The only exception is where the goods are imported via air or post and the value of the goods fall below $400. The concession is given in recognition that the compliance cost could outweigh the GST collection if every import, regardless of value, is subject to GST.
The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, or CPFTA, provides the same protection to consumers who make purchases from online retailers or brick-and-mortar shops. This means that actions can be taken against errant online retailers under CPFTA. SPRING Singapore, as the administering agency for CPFTA, is empowered with investigation and enforcement powers to take action against errant retailers who persist in unfair practices. The collection, use and disclosure of personal data in Singapore comes under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), which is enforced by the Info-Communications Media Development Authority. PDPA is a baseline law that is applicable to all organisations that engage in the collection and processing of personal data in Singapore, regardless of whether they have a physical or online presence.
Enforcement of Singapore legislation against online retailers located offshore with no presence in Singapore is challenging. This is a practical jurisdictional issue which is not unique to Singapore. Hence, consumers need to be aware of the risks of purchasing from online retailers located offshore and take extra steps to protect themselves before making their purchases. This could include checking reviews on the reputation of websites and retailers, refund policy and mechanisms, and conditions regarding the use of consumers' data.
In the past five years, the Police have handled an average of 1,000 cases per annum involving online fraud. These usually involve advance payments made to online retailers which subsequently do not deliver the goods.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Update on Completion of Terminal 4 at Changi Airport","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"63 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether Changi Airport Terminal 4 will be completed and open for use ahead of schedule; and (b) what is the expected number of visitors that Terminal 4 will handle in its first three years of operation.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Construction of Changi Airport Terminal 4 is progressing well and is on schedule to be completed by the end of this year. This will be followed by operational trials and testing. We expect the terminal to commence operations in the second half of 2017.
Terminal 4 is expected to handle between eight and 10 million passengers annually in the first three years of operation.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Reasons for Higher Bills for Patients with Integrated Shield Plan Riders","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"65 Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for Health concerning the Health Insurance Task Force report (a) whether the Ministry will (i) study whether it is overconsumption by patients, over-servicing or overcharging by healthcare providers, or poor oversight by private insurers that have led to higher bills for patients with Integrated Shield Plan riders covering the entire bill and (ii) determine the causes before making co-payments by patients with Integrated Shield Plans compulsory.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: The objective of the Health Insurance Task Force (HITF) is to achieve more efficient and sustainable outcomes for patients, healthcare providers and insurers. This is an important priority as we face an ageing population in Singapore.
We are currently studying the HITF's recommendations. As the Task Force highlighted in its report, the issue is multifaceted and there are many factors that contribute to the increase in health insurance claims costs. Examples include the longer life expectancies for our ageing population, better access to healthcare services, advancements in healthcare technology and drugs, over-servicing or over-consumption of healthcare, as well as the design of some health insurance products.
All stakeholders have a role to play in managing healthcare costs and insurance claims. Healthcare providers should ensure that treatments provided are appropriate for the patient's needs; patients need to make informed decisions on their choice of healthcare services; and insurers should ensure that their products are designed to encourage appropriate care.
Over the years, the Government has taken steps to enhance fee transparency to help patients and healthcare providers make informed choices. We have also designed our healthcare financing system to include co-payment, to encourage prudence and appropriate care. Our shared objective is to achieve a more sustainable and affordable healthcare system and deliver greater value and better outcomes for our patients.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Singaporean Co-workers Acting as Guarantors for Foreign Nurses","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"66 Ms K Thanaletchimi asked the Minister for Health (a) whether Singaporean colleagues of foreign nurses are allowed to be guarantors for them instead of confining this to only their family members before the healthcare institutions grant these foreign nurses sponsorship for further studies; (b) how many cases have there been where the sponsored nurses are unable to complete their studies or become uncontactable after their studies without fulfilling their bond; (c) how much liquidated damages have been paid by guarantors and how many of the affected guarantors are Singaporeans; (d) what level of responsibility should employers bear and what measures are in place to prevent the number of defaults or failures in their course of study; and (e) whether the Ministry will continue its effort and resources to sponsor foreigners to study nursing in Singapore and to what extent.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: A Singaporean colleague of a foreign nurse is allowed to be a guarantor for a foreign nurse pursuing further studies under a sponsorship in the public healthcare sector.
Such sponsorships are awarded based on the candidates’ merit, including their performance, potential and commitment to serve in our public healthcare sector. Over the past five years, our public healthcare institutions awarded over 3,600 nursing sponsorships. Four hundred and forty-eight of these sponsorships were awarded to non-Singaporean nurses. Of these, four nurses were unable to complete their studies. Two of them paid liquidated damages and another compensated by serving a bond. Our public healthcare institution is following up on the remaining nurse. Over the past five years, no guarantor was required to pay liquidated damages.
Our public healthcare institutions closely monitor the academic performance of all sponsorship recipients. Those who have difficulties meeting the minimum course grades will be given closer supervision. Those who have non-academic issues affecting their training will be provided support and counselling.
With an ageing population, we will need more nurses to support our growing healthcare needs. Our priority is to continue growing the number of local nurses, and we have stepped up efforts to attract more locals to join nursing. Over the last five years, the total number of local nurses has grown by about 2,700 to about 26,000 in 2015. However, we will still need foreign nurses to supplement our local manpower. Foreign students who are sponsored to undergo nurse training are required to serve a bond in our public healthcare sector upon graduation. We will continue to offer such sponsorships in order to meet our national needs.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Verification of Foreign Nurses' Qualifications","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"67 Ms K Thanaletchimi asked the Minister for Health (a) how are foreign nurses' qualifications being verified; (b) how are they tested for competency and emplaced in our healthcare system to ensure patient safety; (c) how are the foreign nurses treated if they fail to pass their probation; (d) whether these nurses can be retained by allowing them to work in the step-down care sector or nursing homes; and (e) whether the Ministry can help in this transfer effort when foreign nurses from various healthcare institutions do not meet the mark.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: Foreign nurses need to meet the requirements set by the Singapore Nursing Board (SNB) before they can practise in Singapore. Those who wish to be registered with SNB have to fulfil four requirements.
First, they must be found suitable and offered employment by our local healthcare institutions.
Second, they are required to sit for and pass the SNB’s Licensure Examination conducted in English for either Enrolled Nurse (EN) or Registered Nurse (RN).
Third, they must meet the minimum standards in English language proficiency, demonstrated through passing recruitment interviews and the SNB's Licensure Examinations.
Finally, foreign RNs will be assessed on the job during the probation period of six to twelve months before they are \"confirmed\".
SNB conducts direct source verification of the professional qualifications of overseas-trained foreign nurses. This is done by requiring the foreign nursing educational transcript to be sent directly from the foreign educational institution to SNB.
Foreign nurses who do not meet SNB's standards to be registered as RNs may be considered for enrolment as ENs, but they need to work under the supervision of RNs. Those who are not able to meet SNB's requirements to be RNs or ENs can be hired as support care staff.
RNs, ENs or support care staff can work in different care settings, including step-down care facilities and nursing homes. However, regardless of the settings, they need to meet the respective job requirements to ensure appropriate patient care and safety. The decisions on employment and transfer of care staff are made by the respective healthcare institutions as they are in the best position to assess their suitability.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Measures to Deter Social Media from Sowing Discord among Racial and Religious Groups","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"68 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Home Affairs what are the measures and penalties to deter social media posts or online publications from sowing discord among different racial and religious groups.
Mr K Shanmugam: Racial and religious harmony is fundamental to Singapore’s peace and prosperity as a nation. Our laws against the incitement of hatred and disharmony between racial and religious groups are contained in the Penal Code, Sedition Act and Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act. The Telecommunications Act also includes a provision that criminalises the sending of false messages. Offences under these laws are subject to imprisonment or a fine, or both, for a first offence.
For example, section 298A of the Penal Code criminalises the promotion of enmity among different groups on grounds of religion or race, or any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony among different religious and racial groups. The offence under section 298A is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine, or both.
Under the Sedition Act, it is an offence to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility among different races or classes of the population of Singapore, which is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to $5,000, or both, for a first offence. Subsequent offences are dealt with more severely.
There have been prosecutions for transgressions. We should have no tolerance for those who seek to undermine Singapore’s racial and religious harmony. The Government will continue to take a tough stand against those who seek to do so.
We will review our legislation to ensure that they remain relevant.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ensuring Quality of Elder-friendly Features in Studio Apartments","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"69 Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for National Development (a) how does HDB ensure the safety and elder-friendly features of HDB's studio apartments in new housing developments are built according to specifications before allowing elderly residents to move in; and (b) who is responsible for fixing such inherent defects if they are detected after the defects liability period.
Mr Lawrence Wong: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) complies with the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA's) Code on Accessibility in the Built Environment 2013 for the design of safety and elder-friendly features of studio apartments. HDB engages a team of consultants to manage the construction of safety and elder-friendly features to ensure that they are built according to the specifications. As part of HDB's quality management system, HDB supervises, tests, audits and inspects flats throughout the construction process, to ensure the quality of flats delivered to home buyers. Where there are defects, HDB will require contractors to rectify them to HDB's satisfaction before allowing residents to move in.
After residents have moved into the flats, HDB will continue to assist residents who report defects to HDB. If defects are reported during the one-year defects liability period (DLP), HDB will arrange for the contractor to carry out the repairs. If any defects are reported after the DLP, HDB will investigate accordingly and arrange for repairs for cases where there are safety concerns due to the product design or installation.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Regulations for Motorcyclists Riding in HDB Void Decks and other Public Spaces","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"70 Mr Darryl David asked the Minister for National Development what laws or regulations are in place governing those who (i) ride motorcycles and other similar vehicles in HDB void decks, pedestrian pathways and parks and (ii) use these areas as convenient shortcuts from HDB car parks to public roads.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Town Councils manage and maintain common areas in the Housing and Development Board estates. They enforce by-laws that prohibit unauthorised off-road riding of motorcycles and other motorised devices on common areas, such as void decks, footpaths and neighbourhood parks. Town Councils can impose penalties against individuals who contravene the by-laws.
In addition, the Police may step in to investigate and take action against errant motorists where there are any reported incidents involving rash acts that endanger the safety of others.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Motor Vehicle Accidents Involving Injury or Death of Elderly","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"71 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Transport over the past three years (a) what proportion of motor vehicle accidents involving elderly pedestrians resulted in (i) serious injuries or (ii) fatalities; and (b) what plans will the Ministry put in place to further enhance the safety of road crossings and reduce the incidence of such accidents.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: From January 2013 to August 2016, 4% of motor vehicle accidents involving elderly pedestrians resulted in serious injuries and 11% in fatality.
To enhance road safety for pedestrians, especially seniors, the Land Transport Authority introduced the Silver Zone programme in 2014. In the nine locations where Silver Zones have been implemented, so far, only one accident involving seniors has occurred, compared to more than 40 accidents in the five-year period preceding Silver Zones. We plan to expand to 50 locations in total by 2023. We have also introduced and are expanding other road safety features for seniors, such as the Green Man Plus programme, and road dividers at pedestrian crossings which allow seniors to pause safely in the middle of the road before resuming their crossing.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Operating Cost Considerations in Transport Fare Reviews","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"72 Assoc Prof Randolph Tan asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether in decisions on fare reviews, the Public Transport Council balances considerations of the operating cost structure of public transport operators with ratings by commuters of the quality of their service; and (b) if it does not, what are the reasons for not doing so.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: The Public Transport Council's (PTC's) decisions on fare reviews are guided by the fare formula, which was last reviewed by the Fare Review Mechanism Committee in 2013. The decision then was to address the issue of service quality outside of the formula, so that the Government can regulate and work with the operators independently to improve service levels. This approach keeps the fare formula relatively straightforward, without the complication of differentiating fare adjustments on account of service quality.
More importantly, it does not hinder our efforts to raise service levels. Since 2013, the rail network has been expanded by 20 kilometres and the train fleet for the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL), North East Line (NEL) and Circle Line (CCL) has increased by about 25%, significantly alleviating train crowding. As part of the Bus Service Enhancement Programme implemented from 2012, 820 of the 1,000 buses planned for have been deployed on the roads. In line with these service level improvements, the percentage of commuters expressing satisfaction with our public transport services rose from 88.5% in 2013 to 91.8% in 2015.
With the transition to the Bus Contracting Model and the New Rail Financing Framework, we expect service levels to improve further. However, the cost of improving service levels, and the corresponding extent of Government subsidies for public transport, will also increase. For instance, under bus contracting, the Government will be subsidising about $3.5 billion to $4 billion in the next five years. Similarly, on the rail side, due to the Government taking over ownership of the operating assets under the New Rail Financing Framework, the Government expects to spend over $4 billion on renewing, upgrading and expanding operating assets over the next five years. These will be on top of the $20 billion that the Government has committed to spend on building new rail lines in the same period. We are also requiring the rail operators to invest more heavily in maintenance to raise our rail reliability substantially.
Realistically, it is neither possible nor sustainable to improve service standards without having fares keep pace with the rising costs. The current fare formula is valid for five years including for the 2017 fare exercise. The PTC will review the formula before its expiry next year, and take into context the changes to the public transport landscape. A fine balance is necessary to ensure that our public transport system remains financially and operationally viable while fares remain affordable.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Actions against Foreign Entities that Undermine Singapore's Racial or Religious Harmony","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"73 Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether the laws of Singapore can be strengthened to ensure that our social and racial harmony will not be adversely affected by malicious lies published by foreign entities and which may have the effect of undermining racial or religious harmony.
Mr K Shanmugam: Racial and religious harmony is fundamental to Singapore’s peace and prosperity as a nation. Our laws against the incitement of hatred and disharmony among racial and religious groups are contained in the Penal Code, Sedition Act and Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act. The Telecommunications Act also includes a provision that criminalises the sending of false messages. Offences under these laws are subject to imprisonment or a fine, or both, for a first offence.
For example, section 298A of the Penal Code criminalises the promotion of enmity among different groups on grounds of religion or race, or any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony among different religious and racial groups. The offence under section 298A is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine, or both. Under the Sedition Act, it is an offence to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility among different races or classes of the population of Singapore, which is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to $5,000 or both, for a first offence. Subsequent offences are dealt with more severely.
There have been prosecutions for transgressions. We should have no tolerance for those who seek to undermine Singapore’s racial and religious harmony. The Government will continue to take a tough stand against those who seek to do so.
We will review our legislation to ensure that they remain relevant.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Evidence that Legal Online Gambling Reduces Illegal Online Gambling and Would Not Result in Overall Increase in Gambler Numbers","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"74 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether, to what extent and by what evidence the experience of Hong Kong and Norway (or that of any other countries studied by the Ministry) demonstrates that allowing some legal online gambling will (i) cause a significant switch of current illegal gamblers to legal gambling and (ii) not cause a significant expansion in the total population of gamblers for both legal and illegal gamblers.
Mr K Shanmugam: Similar to Singapore, Hong Kong and Norway have also allowed authorised operators to complement a general prohibition of remote gambling. These authorised operators run remote gambling services in a highly regulated environment.
The nature of remote gambling, especially underground illegal gambling, is such that it is hard to get accurate details of the extent or the exact number of people who are gambling. There may be a range of estimates and this applies to any jurisdiction.
There are some studies and analyst reports on the experiences of Hong Kong and Norway. They suggest that an exempt operator regime can mitigate the extent of unauthorised remote gambling.
Hong Kong’s authorised operator, Hong Kong Jockey Club, launched its online betting service in 2001, and its mobile app-based betting in 2011. A report from H2GC consultancy estimates that the share of the remote gambling market in Hong Kong attributed to unauthorised offshore operators halved between 2003 and 2015.
Norway’s authorised operator, Norsk Tipping, launched online casino games in 2014. Gambling prevalence studies commissioned by the Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority indicate that the percentage of Norwegians who played illegal online casino games decreased by about one-fifth between 2013 and 2015.
Hong Kong and Norway's experience also suggest that allowing for authorised operators has not resulted in higher gambling participation rates.
Studies commissioned by the Home Affairs Bureau in Hong Kong indicate that the share of the Hong Kong population that participated in gambling decreased from about 78% in 2001 to 62% in 2011.
Studies commissioned by the Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority indicate that the share of the Norwegian population that participated in gambling decreased from about 70% in 2007 to 58% in 2015.
Even as we take into account the experiences of other jurisdictions, we need to be careful about drawing strict parallels with them. Notably, the social context and the regulatory environment differ from one jurisdiction to another.
So while we learn from their experiences, we will continue to closely monitor the situation in Singapore and make adjustments, if necessary, to ensure that our exempt operator regime achieves its objective of mitigating law and order and social concerns arising from unauthorised gambling.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Inclusion of Slightly Older Lifts in Lift Enhancement Programme","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"75 Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will exercise flexibility in the qualifying criteria for the Lift Enhancement Programme and allow lifts that are marginally older than the 18-year threshold to qualify for the programme.
Mr Lawrence Wong: The Lift Enhancement Programme (LEP) is a significant effort by the Government to help the Town Councils to modernise their existing lifts. It is estimated to cost around $450 million, and will have to be implemented over a number of years.
As a guide, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) intends to implement the LEP for lifts that have been in operation for 18 years or less, as it makes more sense for the older lifts to be fully replaced by the Town Councils themselves. But HDB is still working out the implementation details of the LEP, including the detailed eligibility criteria, and will inform the Town Councils of the details in a few months' time.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Quality Control for Lift Installation and Maintenance","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"78 Ms Tin Pei Ling asked the Minister for National Development (a) what are the quality control measures in place for new public housing developments; (b) what will qualify newly-installed lifts as \"lemons\"; (c) whether \"lemon lifts\" should be accepted; (d) whether the Ministry will require the lift company to replace the \"lemon lifts\"; and (e) whether the Ministry will require the lift company to replace the lifts at Block 17B Circuit Road that have been persistently faulty since key collection.
79 Ms Sun Xueling asked the Minister for National Development where the Town Council has done its duty to require lift contractors to conduct maintenance works, engaged specialised cleaners to clean lifts of debris and enforced policing of errant renovation contractors and yet lifts still break down in new estates like Punggol (a) what enforcement action can HDB take against lift manufacturers to protect residents affected by lift malfunctions; and (b) whether HDB requires lift manufacturers to replace lifts that have shown a systemic record of malfunctioning.
80 Ms Sun Xueling asked the Minister for National Development where a lift contractor has systematically shown an inability to rectify lift faults and the Town Council is stuck with the lift contractor as the sole proprietor of its technology and cannot go to other maintenance contractors, what recourse is available in the procurement contract between HDB and the lift contractor that can be relied upon to protect the interests of residents.
81 Ms Sun Xueling asked the Minister for National Development whether HDB will consider (i) making a change in the design and use of lifts to stipulate that only one lift in a HDB block can be used for renovation and moving purposes so that the other lift in the HDB block can be dedicated to resident's daily use; and (ii) pre-installing CCTV cameras in lifts so as to monitor the behaviour of HDB licensed contractors and ensure the safety of residents during the renovation and moving-in period.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Lifts are an integral part of our urbanised, high-rise living environment. With some 24,000 lifts located in public housing estates, all of which are used on a high-frequency and daily basis, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) takes a serious view of lift safety and reliability. This starts from the beginning at the lift procurement and commissioning stages, where HDB has in place a system of stringent quality control measures.
First, HDB has a two-stage lift procurement process which takes into account the quality and reliability of lift contractors. At the first stage, lift contractors must meet a minimum criteria set by HDB, including the performance and track record of their proposed brand of lift. At the second stage, proposals are evaluated further with the Price-Quality Method (PQM), in which attributes, such as the lift contractor's performance, safety performance, and again, lift performance are taken into consideration.
Second, before a lift is commissioned and turned on for operation, it is put under a series of checks and tests that are supervised by a third party Authorised Examiner. This is a regulatory requirement. To better ascertain the quality of lift installation and performance, HDB also conducts (a) an independent audit of key safety features; and (b) a stress test of 1,000 start-stop operations. These additional tests are over and above existing regulatory requirements.
Third, after the lift is commissioned, HDB's term contracts provide for a one-year Defects Liability Period (DLP), during which HDB imposes a requirement of not more than one lift breakdown per 10 lifts per month. Lift contractors that fail to meet this will be restricted from tendering for future HDB tenders unless they show improvements. Other penalties include imposing liquidated damages on the contractor or debarment from all public sector works.
These are the quality control measures in place from procurement up to the one-year DLP. Beyond the DLP, Town Councils enter into a separate maintenance agreement with their chosen lift contractors, be it the Original Equipment Manufacturer or a third-party lift contractor. Town Councils will have to specify their desired lift performance standards in their maintenance agreements.
On Ms Sun Xueling's concern about proprietary lift parts, I agree that it is important to ensure that third-party lift maintenance contractors have access to essential lift spare parts. This is so that Town Councils can choose the best contractor to do the job. The Competition Commission of Singapore has been investigating potentially anti-competitive behaviour in the lift industry.
Ms Tin Pei Ling and Ms Sun have asked whether HDB requires lift companies responsible for lift installation to replace lifts which are persistently faulty. In addressing lift faults, HDB takes a targeted approach to address the root causes of the issue. In the case of Block 17B Circuit Road, the high number of door-related faults in its new lifts abated after the lift company made adjustments such that the door is less susceptible to misalignment caused by lift users.
Typically, lifts in new blocks experience such problems due to damage caused by renovation contractors and furniture movers who use objects to jam doors or leave debris on door sills. A replacement of the lift would not have addressed the issue. It may also incur more lift downtime and inconvenience to residents.
Ms Sun has also suggested for HDB to consider designating one lift in each HDB block for renovation or moving purposes. HDB had previously conducted a pilot by designating a passenger lift in HDB blocks as a \"service lift\". However, due to unbalanced usage patterns, the average waiting time for lift users increased significantly. This may bring about more frustration and inconvenience for residents.
On Ms Sun's other suggestion to pre-install closed-circuit television cameras in lifts, HDB has started installing a Lift Surveillance System in all new HDB blocks from 1 July this year.
To sum up, HDB has in place a set of comprehensive quality control measures for the procurement of lifts. Nonetheless, all of us – the HDB, residents and also the Town Councils for lift maintenance – will have to work together to ensure that lifts remain well-functioning and safe for everyday use. We will continue to see how we can tighten our processes and standards to ensure that our lifts are reliable and perform as intended.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Contingency when Lift Companies Exit Singapore's Market","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"82 Ms Tin Pei Ling asked the Minister for National Development (a) what will be the impact if a lift company folds or withdraws from Singapore; and (b) what is the Ministry's contingency plan when such an event occurs.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Singapore has an open and competitive market for lift installation and maintenance works. Lift owners can choose from a list of more than 100 lift contractors registered with the Building and Construction Authority. This includes Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and third-party contractors. Given this range, if any lift contractor were to fold up or withdraw from Singapore, there would be other contractors for lift owners to engage.
There may be concern about the ability to procure proprietary lift parts if an OEM were to fold or withdraw from Singapore. But this can be addressed. For instance, contractors can source parts from the OEM if it is still operating outside of Singapore. They can also look for compatible parts from other local suppliers. Yet another option is for contractors to consider modifying the lifts to use other types of parts that are available.
For cases involving lifts in public housing estates, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will work with the relevant Town Councils to ensure a smooth transition by bringing on board another lift company that provides interim support and maintenance of the lifts. This will cover residents until a fresh tender for the maintenance contract is called and awarded by the Town Council. Where necessary, HDB will also work with the Town Council to assist in looking for appropriate replacement parts for the lifts.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Service Standards for HDB's Replies to Residents","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"84 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Minister for National Development what service standards and operating procedures does HDB apply when replying to residents on their feedback, complaints and requests for rectification of defects.
Mr Lawrence Wong: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will rectify defects for new HDB flats covered under the one-year Defects Liability Period. In addition, HDB provides new flat owners with extended warranty coverage for three major defect types: five years for ceiling leakages and external seepage, and 10 years for spalling concrete.
During the one-year Defects Liability Period, HDB sets up a Building Service Centre (BSC) within the precinct to facilitate the defects reporting and rectification process for residents. When flat owners report defects directly at the BSC, they get to choose a date on the spot for joint inspection with HDB's contractor, to verify the defects.
For flat owners who send in their feedback via email or letters, the BSC will contact them within three working days to schedule the joint inspection.
HDB aims to complete the rectification works within 14 working days. In exceptional or complicated cases where more time is required, flat owners will be informed of the expected completion date. Upon completion of rectification works, another joint inspection with the flat owner will be carried out to ensure that rectification works are carried out satisfactorily.
For issues that may arise beyond the one-year Defects Liability Period, HDB will contact the flat owners within three working days of receiving the feedback and advise flat owners accordingly. The appropriate follow-up action will depend on the nature and complexity of the defects. This is because such defects may be caused by a variety of reasons, such as the workmanship of HDB's building contractors or the flat owners’ own actions.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Extent of HDB's Authority in Water Leakage Repair Incidents where Homeowners are Uncooperative","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"85 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Minister for National Development to what extent is HDB empowered to act in cases where water leakage occurs between floors and one of the parties refuses to cooperate to resolve the issue.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Flat owners are responsible to maintain the interior of their flats. In the case of ceiling leaks, both the upper and lower floor flat owners are jointly responsible, as provided for under the Housing and Development Board (HDB) Lease. Since 2001, HDB has provided assistance through the Goodwill Repair Assistance (GRA) scheme by arranging for the repair works and co-paying 50% of the cost. The upper- and lower-floor flat owners share the remaining 50% equally.
While the GRA scheme has helped many flat owners, HDB has encountered some upper-floor flat owners who do not cooperate and delay the repair unnecessarily.
For such cases, HDB will engage the upper floor flat owners to seek their cooperation to carry out the repairs. Grassroots leaders may also step in to persuade them to cooperate. If all these efforts fail, HDB may apply for a Court Order to compel the upper-floor flat owner to carry out the repairs. If the owner refuses to comply with the Court Order, the owner may be found in contempt of Court, which could result in a fine or jail term.
As a last resort, section 26A of the Housing and Development (Amendments) Act 2015 grants HDB the power to enter a flat with a warrant to carry out urgent repairs. This will help to address urgent and serious cases of ceiling leaks which can be a source of distress or even potential danger to residents if not resolved in a timely manner. HDB will only use these powers sparingly, after exhausting all other avenues to get the owner's cooperation.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Safety Measures for Rides at Fun Fairs, Carnivals and Theme Parks","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"86 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for National Development what measures are in place to ensure the safety of amusement rides, including those at fun fairs, carnivals and theme parks, and how often are safety enforcement and spot checks by qualified inspectors performed.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Amusement rides in Singapore are regulated under the Amusement Rides Safety Act administered by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). Under this regulatory framework, permits are required for the installation, modification and operation of amusement rides. Regular maintenance and inspections are also required. This framework ensures that rides are designed, maintained and operated according to internationally recognised safety codes and standards.
For the installation of new rides and for major modifications to existing rides, a Qualified Person has to be appointed to review and certify the plans and safety assessments based on the technical codes. The Qualified Person must be a Specialist Professional Engineer registered with the Professional Engineers Board in the discipline of Amusement Rides Engineering.
The ride operator oversees the safety of ride operations. Among other requirements, the ride operator needs to appoint a Ride Manager to manage and supervise the daily operation and routine maintenance of the ride. For example, the Ride Manager needs to ensure a thorough inspection before opening the ride for public use each day and that only persons trained to operate the ride can do so.
In addition, amusement rides are required to undergo annual inspections and certifications by a Qualified Person. For major rides, the Qualified Person carrying out the inspection will need to be advised by a Conformity Assessor – a third-party technical expert in assessing amusement rides.
BCA also conducts inspections on the operation and maintenance of the rides. In 2015, BCA conducted about 300 inspections on the 110 rides in Singapore. If safety issues are detected, BCA will take enforcement action, such as suspending the operations.
We will continue to work closely with the industry to ensure that our amusement rides are designed, maintained and operated according to prescribed safety standards. Ride users can also play a part in creating a safe and fun experience for themselves by adhering to the ride safety guidelines.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Temporary Centre for Hawkers Affected by Fire at Jurong West Market and Coffeeshop","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"87 Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Minister for National Development with regard to the Jurong West market and coffee shop which have been affected by a recent fire, whether HDB can consider funding, fully or partially, the building of a temporary market/hawker centre while waiting for the completion of the permanent building.
Mr Lawrence Wong: In the event of a fire to Housing and Development Board (HDB) markets and eating houses which renders the premises unfit for use, HDB’s priority is to rebuild the replacement premises as soon as possible. This is to minimise the impact on the affected stallholders, and facilitate the return to normalcy for their business operations as soon as possible. HDB will bear the full cost of building the replacement premises.
In the interim, HDB and other Government agencies have provided immediate assistance and coordinated for help to be extended to the affected stallholders of Jurong West market. For instance, HDB has waived the rental for the operator of the market during the interim period when the replacement premises are being built. The Temporary Occupation Licence fees for the State Land on which the temporary market will be built will also be waived.
In addition, the National Environment Agency has offered the affected stallholders available market and food stalls where they can conduct their businesses in the interim. More recently, the People’s Association and the Employment and Employability Institute have held a job fair to assist the stallholders in finding alternative employment.
These measures complement the commendable efforts of the Adviser, grassroots leaders and community in raising funds for the construction of the temporary market. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide further assistance to the stallholders where needed.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Ramps for HDB Flats with Steps at Entrances","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"88 Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the number of HDB flats that have multiple steps at the flats' entrance; (b) whether HDB has plans to install ramps for such flats at a subsidised cost to residents who need it for easier accessibility; and (c) when will be the estimated earliest time that ramps can be installed for such flats in view of the ageing population.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Some older Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats built in the 1970s and 1980s were designed with multi-step entrances to offer more privacy and added security for occupants of the flats. HDB estimates that there are more than 100,000 such units. With an ageing population, elderly residents and wheelchair users living in these flats may now face difficulties negotiating the steps. HDB has been carefully studying this issue.
There are challenges in implementing a common solution across blocks of different configurations. Any solution will likely have to be customised to the flat configuration, corridor space availability and the residents' needs, without posing maintenance issues or obstructing the fire escape route.
When we have developed the appropriate solutions, we could implement them as an expansion of the Enhancement for Active Seniors scheme or through other programmes. HDB is also exploring with other agencies the options for financial assistance that could be provided for low-income families who may need such ramps or platforms.
Meanwhile, residents who wish to engage a private vendor to install customised ramps today can approach the HDB branches. HDB is working towards offering a one-stop application service for residents by coordinating the application with the relevant regulatory agencies. This will make it easier for residents to install such ramps. Residents who need financial help for the ramp installation may also approach voluntary welfare organisations or their Advisers for assistance.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Lifts for Private Buildings More than Three Storeys in Height","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"89 Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the number of private buildings above three storeys that do not have lifts installed; and (b) whether there are plans to ensure or encourage owners of such private buildings to install lifts for easier accessibility by the elderly and less able-bodied.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Currently, our Building Control Regulations require buildings of five storeys or more to be provided with passenger lifts. Lift provision is not mandatory for buildings under five storeys. Hence, about 370 existing low-rise commercial and institutional buildings do not have lifts installed.
To nudge private building owners to voluntarily upgrade their buildings, the Building and Construction Authority provides incentives via the $40-million Accessibility Fund. The Fund co-pays up to 80% of the construction costs for lift provision, capped at $300,000 per development. To date, the Fund has supported lift installations in 79 developments. We have recently extended the availability of the Fund until March 2022.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Causes for Dislodged Platform Door at Sixth Avenue Downtown Line Station","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"1 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Transport whether he can provide an update on the causes for the dislodged platform door at Sixth Avenue Downtown Line station on 4 October 2016 and whether any related issues affecting safety have been resolved.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: The Land Transport Authority and SBS Transit issued a joint press release on 18 October 2016 on this incident. Investigations found that a bolt on the fastener, which secures the platform screen door to the guide rail, had loosened and caused the door to be misaligned. The door was dislodged after coming into contact with the side of a train. No commuters were hurt. The contractors are enhancing the fasteners throughout the Downtown Line to prevent a recurrence.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Measures to Limit Noise Caused by MRT Trains to Central Grove Condominium Residents","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"2 Ms Tin Pei Ling asked the Minister for Transport what will be done to improve the quality of life of residents in Central Grove condominium who have been adversely affected by the loud and consistent noise of passing trains on the MRT track that is adjacent to the condominium.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: The noise level as measured at Central Grove Condominium is lower than the National Environment Agency's noise threshold of 67 decibels averaged over an hour. We will continue to monitor the situation, while also implementing system-wide measures to mitigate railway noise. These include fitting trains with noise-dampening wheels, using ballast and concrete sleepers on elevated tracks which absorb vibrations from trains better, and servicing train wheels and tracks even more frequently.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Government Assistance to Help Micro, Small and Medium Businesses Venture Overseas","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"3 Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) (a) what has been the performance of Singapore's trade in services compared to trade in goods, especially in the context of the weak performance of the latter; and (b) how can the Government further help SMEs to export their services.
4 Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) how can the Government better help the micro and small SMEs to venture overseas to tap a bigger market so that they can continue to grow.
Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Growth in Singapore’s services trade has outpaced that of goods in recent years. Between 2010 and 2015, services exports grew by a robust compound annual growth rate of 6.9%, compared to a 0.1% decline in goods exports. While services export growth has moderated since 2015, this was in line with the weakening global trade environment and largely attributable to the slowdown in segments supporting goods trade, such as freight services. Growth remained resilient in segments, such as insurance services, telecommunications, computer and information services, which continue to see regional demand.
Singapore has a broad network of free trade agreements and regional initiatives that help companies tap into external demand for our goods and services. For example, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) allows our services exporters greater market access to the ASEAN region with restrictions lowered in more than 80 services sectors. The AEC’s continuing efforts to facilitate, protect and liberalise cross-border investments enable our companies to venture into the region at lower costs and with greater assurance.
Singapore also has a suite of assistance schemes that help small and medium enterprises internationalise and trade with overseas markets. These include the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) and the Global Company Partnership (GCP) schemes administered by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore. The MRA provides broad-based assistance to companies that are starting to internationalise, while the GCP provides targeted assistance to companies with a more established overseas presence. The GCP covers capability and manpower development, market access and financing. Over 80% of the beneficiaries of these assistance measures are SMEs.
The Government is also collaborating with trade associations and chambers to help SMEs prepare themselves for overseas opportunities. The IE-Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Singapore Enterprise Centre (ISSEC) in Shanghai which is a joint initiative between IE Singapore and SCCCI is an example of such collaboration. Over the past three years, ISSEC has served more than 5,000 companies through outreach and advisory assistance, and provided research on emerging market opportunities in China. The companies assisted by ISSEC are predominantly SMEs and micro enterprises. ISSEC will be going beyond Shanghai to help such firms build up market expertise and capabilities in other parts of China.
IE Singapore also has an extensive network of Overseas Centres internationally that provides targeted assistance for companies in both developed and emerging markets. This includes helping them generate new business leads in Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia and Myanmar, gaining entry as first movers in emerging markets such as Africa and Latin America, and identifying opportunities to enhance technology capabilities in developed markets such as the United Kingdom and United States.
Companies need the right talent to embark on internationalisation plans – people who have global mindsets, exposure to international business environments, in-depth understanding of industries, and the ability to navigate markets. To build a pipeline of global-ready Singaporeans for international roles, manpower development programmes are also in place. For example, IE Singapore's Young Talent Programme exposes students from universities, polytechnics and the Institutes of Technical Education to internship opportunities in overseas markets, and equips them with foundational skills needed for international careers. SkillsFuture Study Awards for International Business are also given out to prepare professionals, managers and executives for international roles through various courses, market attachments and customised overseas immersion programmes.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Recourse for Employers of Errant Foreign Domestic Workers","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"5 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Manpower what recourse does an employer of a foreign domestic worker have where the worker has abandoned her work agreement and owes sums to her employer.
Mr Lim Swee Say: Personal loans are usually extended by an employer to the foreign domestic worker (FDW) to help the FDW pay placement fees to the local employment agency (EA). Our EA Licence Conditions require EAs to state their refund policies in their contracts with employers, including refunds for loans given by employers for the placement fee. Therefore, if the FDW terminates her employment prematurely, employers should check the contract they signed with their EA. The contract will lay out whether and under what circumstances they can get a full or partial refund.
There are also EAs which do not require employers to extend personal loans to the FDWs; so, the issue of a refund does not even arise. Employers who prefer such an arrangement can approach these EAs.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Government Assistance to Small and Micro Businesses on Staff Hire","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"6 Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng asked the Minister for Manpower how can the Government better help SMEs, particularly the small and micro SMEs, to hire the staff they need as they attempt to transform and upgrade their businesses.
Mr Lim Swee Say: Taking a whole-of-Government approach to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) transform and upgrade, Government agencies, including SPRING, Workforce Singapore (WSG), the Infocomm Media Development Authority, Building and Construction Authority, Singapore Tourism Board and Economic Development Board, together with the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), offer a one-stop service under the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme (LEDS). The main scope of support covers the development of new capability, new capacity and new markets. It also helps SMEs to meet their manpower needs by becoming more manpower-lean and improving human resource practices. SMEs on LEDS may also receive transitional manpower support to keep existing processes running while they transit to new, manpower-lean methods of production or service.
SMEs, particularly the micro and small SMEs, can also receive help from WSG to recruit professionals, managers, executives and technicians through programmes, such as P-Max and Career Support Programme. The e2i has also developed Place-and-Train programmes for various sectors to help SMEs hire, train and retain workers. To attract younger talent, SMEs can tap on the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme to recruit local graduates from the polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education. SPRING's SME Talent Programme further supports SMEs' talent attraction efforts through quality internships.
In addition, WSG helps companies, including SMEs, in their recruitment through career fairs.
As our economy makes the transition to become more manpower-lean, we encourage SMEs to make full use of the support offered by LEDS and various agencies. They may approach any of the 12 SME Centres for assistance.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Mental Health Declaration for Job Applications","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"7 Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for Manpower what is the Government's position on employers requiring prospective employees to declare if they have a history of mental illness and whether the Government should lead by example by removing such declarations from Public Service employment application forms for non-sensitive positions.
Mr Lim Swee Say: The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices emphasise the importance of recruiting and selecting employees on the basis of merit regardless of age, race, gender, religion, disability or family status. Job application forms should only ask for information that is relevant to assessing an applicant’s suitability for the job.
The Government requires candidates to fill in a short application form that assesses their suitability for the job. Declaration of any existing medical conditions, including mental illness, does not disqualify a candidate from being considered for a position in the Public Service. Public agencies will select the candidate with the best overall fit for the job, taking into account his skills and qualifications, relevant work experience and personal attributes.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Access to Government Digital Infrastructure by Micro and Small Businesses","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"8 Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng asked the Minister for Communications and Information how can the Government better help the micro and small SMEs to take advantage of the digital infrastructure of the Government to benefit their businesses.
Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: It is increasingly crucial for companies to leverage infocomm technology (ICT) to be competitive and remain relevant in a digital economy.
The Government recognises that micro and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) may require additional assistance in adopting ICT and have introduced programmes that meet their different needs. Under the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA's) i-SPRINT scheme, SMEs enjoy subsidies when they tap on a range of prequalified and proven ICT solutions to boost their productivity and growth, or when they adopt more advanced ICT solutions that are tailor-made to their business processes. To date, over 8,000 SMEs have benefited from i-SPRINT. In addition, SPRING's Capability Development Grant and Innovation and Capability Voucher provide other forms of support for SMEs to adopt ICT in improving business efficiency.
While using ICT enables new possibilities for companies, it also raises the risk of cybersecurity breaches that would impact the business and reputation of these companies. The Government is mindful that many SMEs may not know what to do to secure their ICT systems. To help SMEs, the Cyber Security Agency and the National Security Coordination Secretariat have worked with the Singapore Business Federation to develop an Employee Cyber Security Kit. The toolkit is a useful resource to enable SMEs to assess their own cyber security readiness and guide SMEs in developing a cyber security education programme for their employees.
Additionally, the Government offers several digital services that help all companies, including micro and small SMEs, with their business processes. The Business Grants Portal is an accessible one-stop-shop to easily apply for Government grants, while LicenceOne plays a similar role in the application and payment of Government licences. We are also in the process of rolling out CorpPass, which provides a corporate digital identity for businesses to conduct secure online transactions with the Government.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Minimum Attendance to Proceed with Public Forum","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"9 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) how many people registered for the REACH Public Forum on the Elected Presidency on 29 September 2016; (b) what was the intended attendance and how was it derived; (c) what is the threshold for attendance below which it is deemed necessary to cancel such forums; and (d) who made the final decision on cancelling that particular event.
Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: The target number of participants for the feedback unit's Reaching Everyone for Active Citizenry @ Home (REACH) Public Forum on the Elected Presidency on 29 September was 320. Only 80 signed up as at 27 September. As 30% of sign-ups typically do not turn up for REACH events, REACH decided to cancel the forum due to the poor attendance. All registered participants were informed of the cancellation and are welcomed to attend another of REACH’s dialogues or provide their feedback through the REACH website.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Recidivism Rate for Long Term Imprisonment 1 (LT1) and Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) Inmates Released from 2010 to 2013","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"10 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Home Affairs what is the recidivism rate for Long Term Imprisonment 1 (LT1) and Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) inmates who are released from 2010 to 2013.
Mr K Shanmugam: The two-year recidivism rates for persons released from the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) and Long-Term Imprisonment 1 (LT1) from 2010 to 2013 are as shown in the table below.
The recidivism rates of drug inmates have come down significantly from 60%-70% in the 1990s. The improvement was a result of rehabilitation programmes, as well as tough enforcement measures.
Singapore Prison Service (SPS) has been continuing to enhance its rehabilitation programmes. For example, under the enhanced Drug Rehabilitation Regime introduced in 2014, inmates are placed on programmes tailored to their drug addiction issues and re-offending risks.
SPS also introduced the Enhanced Supervision Scheme in 2012 to provide more intensive care for high-risk LT inmates. The aftercare enhancements include mandatory casework, individual counselling and community supervision.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Rehabilitation Programmes for Different Risk Profiles under Enhanced Drug Rehabilitation Regime","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"11 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Home Affairs what are the differences in rehabilitation programmes for the different risk profiles in the enhanced Drug Rehabilitation Regime implemented in 2014 and how is the effectiveness of the outcome of the rehabilitation regime for the respective risk profiles measured.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) introduced the enhanced Drug Rehabilitation Regime in the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) in 2014.
Under the enhanced regime, SPS officers will assess the inmates’ risks of re-offending and severity of drug use upon admission.
For higher-risk inmates, SPS will assign Correctional Rehabilitation Specialists to conduct high-intensity counselling programmes for them. The counselling programmes address multiple risks and needs, such as criminal thinking and drug addiction issues.
Lower-risk inmates will go through lower-intensity intervention programmes where they learn about the consequences of drug use and pick up skills to prevent relapse.
All DRC inmates also undergo general programmes which help them in their reintegration journey. These include family support programmes, employability skills training and religious services.
SPS will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the enhanced Drug Rehabilitation Regime. As for the enhanced regime that was only implemented in 2014, the evaluation is still ongoing.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Actions against Persons for Attempted Suicides in 2015","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"12 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Home Affairs of the 837 persons taken into custody for attempted suicide in 2015 (a) what have been the specific measures used to arrest them; (b) how many have been placed in lock-up and for how long on average; (c) whether any investigations have been conducted to look into the actual impact of these measures on their well-being; and (d) how many of these persons have been referred to Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) and Institute of Mental Health (IMH) respectively.
Mr K Shanmugam: Police Officers are trained to respond to cases of attempted suicide with sensitivity and compassion. Persons who attempt suicide are emotionally and psychologically distressed. When responding to such cases, the Police's priority is to ensure the person's safety. Police Officers will look out for signs of suicidal tendencies, and what actions to take. The Police usually arrest persons for attempting suicide in order to prevent them from doing harm, either to themselves or to others. In these cases, the Police Officers will make an assessment and apply handcuffs when there is a need to ensure the safety of the person, the escorting officers or members of the public in the vicinity, or to prevent the person from absconding.
For persons taken into custody, depending on their condition, they may be taken to the Police station for investigation, sent to the hospitals directly for medical treatment, referred to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for psychiatric treatment, or to the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) for counselling. The Police do not maintain data on the number of persons referred to IMH or SOS.
However, only two out of 1,096 cases of attempted suicide reported in 2015 were eventually prosecuted. The purpose of arrest is primarily to ensure that the person receives the appropriate help, and not to bring charges. For persons who are brought back to the Police station, the Police will not detain them longer than is necessary to investigate the case and to process the necessary referrals. The actual duration of detention depends on the circumstances of each case.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Response to Ransom Threats on Internet","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"13 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether payment of ransom is legal and how corporations and consumers should respond to ransom threats on the Internet.
Mr K Shanmugam: In some situations, payment of ransom, for kidnapping, could be an offence under the Kidnapping Act. Beyond that, payment of ransom, for example, to be free from some other threat, is generally not an offence.
There is a trend on the Internet, termed as \"ransomware\", where a cybercriminal locks the victim’s files, computer system or mobile device and restricts its access, until a ransom is paid.
While it is generally not an offence to pay ransom to a cybercriminal who deploys ransomware on the victim’s computer or device, victims are, nevertheless, advised not to pay the perpetrator. There is no guarantee that their files can be recovered even if they have paid a ransom. There have been instances where users were unable to access their files again. Instead, victims of ransomware should lodge a Police report as soon as possible.
Prevention is key to avoid falling prey to ransomware and other cybercrime. Individuals should be careful when dealing with emails from unfamiliar sources or when interacting with strangers on the Internet, and not to download suspicious files or open attachments in emails from these unfamiliar senders. The public and corporations should also protect their computers or devices with firewalls, spam filters and up-to-date anti-virus software. They should also back up their data regularly.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Considerations for Review of Fire Code after Jurong West Market and Coffee Shop Fire","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"14 Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the cause and origin of the Jurong West market and coffee shop fire; (b) how did the fire spread quickly and widely; (c) whether the presence of automatic sprinkler systems at the market and coffee shop would have slowed or stopped the fire from spreading; and (d) whether the risks of fire spreading and requirements to minimise the risks for markets and coffee shops should be reviewed for the Fire Code.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Police believe that the Jurong West market fire on 11 October 2016 was caused by arson. The Police have arrested a male Chinese. He has been charged. Investigations at the incident site revealed that fire was set to several styrofoam and cardboard boxes at two different stalls. As a result, the fire spread quickly from these two areas to the other parts of the market. The fire was set probably at about 2.30 am in the morning. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received multiple 995 calls about the fire at 2.42 am and arrived within six minutes. By 4.26 am, the fire was fully extinguished. The property damage was extensive and three residents who had breathing difficulties were conveyed to hospital.
SCDF adopts a risk-based approach in prescribing mandatory fire safety requirements for building premises. Automatic fire sprinklers have not been a requirement for all buildings. Such systems are useful in controlling fire spread in higher-risk premises, such as those with a large open floor area of more than 4,000 square metres, high-rise enclosed buildings of more than 24 metres in height, or enclosed basements. It has not been mandatory for wet markets like the Jurong West market, which are not enclosed and are designed to be well-ventilated.
The deliberate act here is more appropriately dealt with as a criminal act. SCDF's assessment is that there is no need for additional Fire Code requirements on all wet markets.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Licensing of Jackpot Outlets from 2006 to 2015","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"15 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many jackpot licences have been issued thus far; (b) of these, how many have been issued after 2010; (c) how many licensed jackpot outlets are there currently; and (d) how much revenue have been generated from licensed jackpot outlets in each of the years from 2006 to 2015.
Mr K Shanmugam: Private lotteries clubs (PLCs) are issued permits under the Private Lotteries Act to operate jackpot machines.
There are currently 84 PLCs in operation, compared to 97 in 2010.
Since 2010, the Police have issued seven new PLC permits, while 20 PLCs have ceased operations.
The private lotteries' duties from jackpot machines operated by PLCs between financial year (FY) 2006 and FY2015 are listed in the table below.
16 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number of officers assigned to the Serious Sexual Crimes Branch of the CID; (b) what is the rationale for the staffing numbers at the Serious Sexual Crimes Branch; (c) what is the annual number of cases investigated by the Serious Sexual Crimes Branch since its establishment; and (d) what are the criteria for referring cases to the Serious Sexual Crimes unit.
Mr K Shanmugam: Sexual crime investigations are generally led by specialist units in the Singapore Police Force. The Serious Sexual Crimes Branch (SSCB) in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) leads investigations into serious sexual crimes, such as rape and aggravated cases of sexual assault by penetration (SAP). Specialist teams in the Police Land Divisions lead investigations in other sexual crimes, such as outrage of modesty cases, sexual penetration of minors and SAP cases that do not involve aggravating factors.
The investigation officers in SSCB and the Police Divisions are supported by other Police resources, including in the fields of intelligence and forensics. Depending on the volume of cases, the Police also scale up SSCB's resources where necessary, by leveraging other investigation teams.
As the Member will note, the Police resources used for investigations will vary according to the needs of a case, and because investigations may cover a broad area, not everything needs to be done by SSCB. The investigation will be led by SSCB and the total investigative resources could come from a larger pool of officers.
In the last three years, SSCB investigated, on average, about 170 cases of rape and sexual assault by penetration each year. Nearly all these cases were solved.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Psychological or Psychiatric Issues Related to Problem Gambling","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"17 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Minister for Health (a) how many people have been identified with psychological or psychiatric issues related to problem gambling in each year from 2006 to 2015; and (b) of these, what are the most common psychological or psychiatric issues identified.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: Between financial year (FY) 2008 and FY2015, the number of patients seen by the National Addictions Management Service (NAMS) for suspected gambling disorder each year varies between 168 and 526, averaging 407 over the last five years.
Among patients with pathological gambling treated at NAMS, the top associated psychiatric conditions were adjustment disorders, depression and substance abuse.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Coordinated and Holistic Help for SMEs to Transform","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"18 Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) how can Government agencies be more coordinated and holistic when helping our SMEs to transform in an environment where many SMEs may have immediate concerns of survival.
Mr S Iswaran: Singapore is facing a period of slow growth. Some sectors have been more adversely affected, such as wholesale trade and marine and offshore engineering. We are also seeing weakness in industries like food services and real estate, though there remain bright spots, such as in the information and communications, education and health and social services sectors.
Against this backdrop, the Government is committed to supporting our small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in their growth and restructuring efforts. Our agencies have been working closely with industry partners, such as our trade associations and chambers (TACs), Centres of Innovation, SME Centres and financial institutions to reach out and provide assistance to our SMEs. Our agencies have coordinated their efforts to address needs at the industry and firm level.
At the industry level, we have embarked on a $4.5 billion Industry Transformation Programme where Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) are being developed for more than 20 key industries. This involves a coordinated whole-of-Government effort in partnership with key industry partners and multipliers. Each ITM will be tailored to the needs of the industry.
In developing the ITMs, the Government will examine the industry landscape, the future trends and needs to set out a suite of initiatives to systematically raise productivity, develop skills, drive innovation and promote internationalisation, so as to catalyse transformation and achieve the stated vision of each industry. The ITMs are focused on providing more integrated assistance for companies across domains to ensure our industries can stay competitive in the medium term and our workers get to secure and retain good jobs.
At the firm level, our agencies work closely together on initiatives to better support our SMEs to address their immediate needs, such as in financing, as well as capability development and internationalisation, to position them for growth. In Budget 2016, we launched the SME Working Capital Loan (WCL) to help local enterprises access unsecured working capital financing during this period of slower economic growth. Under the WCL, enterprises can access a loan quantum of up to $300,000 for their daily operations. There has been a strong take-up for the WCL, and over $400 million in loans have been given to SMEs to date.
The 12 SME Centres provide first-stop assistance through one-to-one advice and guidance to SMEs, spanning immediate needs as well as business plans for the medium term. From 2016 onwards, the SME Centres will focus on enhancing business capabilities and driving the adoption of solutions to ensure that the assistance provided translates to tangible business outcomes for the SMEs. Through the SME Centres, SMEs have access to support schemes across Government agencies. These include support for capability development and internationalisation. To help more companies with capability development, SPRING introduced a simplified Capability Development Grant (CDG) application process for grants below $30,000 in 2015 to encourage more companies to take the first step to upgrade their capabilities in areas, such as productivity, financial management and human capital development. The response to this move has been positive. As of October 2016, more than 2,000 CDG projects have been approved.
Our TACs also play an important role as partners in providing assistance to SMEs. For example, through the TAC-led Collaborative Industry Projects, TACs will identify and drive the adoption of solutions to address common industry-specific needs. Since the launch of the programme in 2016, five TACs have embarked on projects which are expected to benefit 600 SMEs.
More recently, we have taken steps to make our grants more accessible through the Business Grant Portal (BGP). This is an online application platform for businesses to apply for grants across different Government agencies. Through the BGP, businesses can easily find the relevant grants to support their business needs, without the need to approach multiple agencies. The beta version of BGP was launched on 3 May 2016 with International Enterprise Singapore's Market Readiness Assistance grant and subsequently the Building and Construction Authority's Building Information Modelling grant, and over 900 applications have been received thus far. The BGP will be launched soon and businesses can expect more grants to be introduced onto the BGP progressively.
As we navigate the challenges ahead, the Government will need to work collectively with our companies, workers, unions and industry associations for successful economic transformation. It is critical that SMEs stand ready to embrace new technologies and business models and, on its part, the Government will remain firmly committed in supporting our companies through this phase.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Special Audits by Auditor-General on Government-related Bodies","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"19 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Finance (a) in the past 20 years, how many Government-related bodies have undergone a special audit by the Auditor-General outside of the regular annual audit exercises by the Auditor-General; and (b) what are the details and rationale of each case.
Mr Heng Swee Keat: The Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) annually conducts audits of the Government Financial Statements which cover the accounts of the Ministries, Departments and Organs of State. In addition, it also carries out selective audits on a selection of public agencies which involve checks on their compliance with rules and procedures.
Besides these audits, AGO had carried out two special audits over the past 20 years.
One, the Healthcare Subsidy Audit in 1996. Following a Parliamentary resolution to verify the fees charged and healthcare subsidy provided by Government polyclinics and public hospitals, including a claim made in Parliament that \"healthcare costs are hardly subsidised at all\", the Select Committee on Verification of Health Care Subsidy of Government Polyclinics and Public Hospitals was formed and AGO was requested to carry out an audit to verify the Government's healthcare figures, such as fees charged, subsidy level provided.
The Government's healthcare figures were independently verified by AGO and confirmed to be free from material errors and the details of AGO's findings were tabled and debated in Parliament on 30 September 1996 and 10 October 1996 respectively.
Two, the Audit of Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) in 2014. AGO was directed to carry out an audit of AHPETC's financial year (FY) 2012 accounts following repeated and serious concerns raised by AHPETC's auditors. AHPETC's auditor submitted a disclaimer of opinion on AHPETC's financial statements for FY2011 and FY2012. The auditor also issued a qualified opinion on AHPETC's other legal and regulatory requirements, stating that AHPETC has not complied with the provisions of the Town Councils Act and Financial Rules in various respects.
AGO submitted its report on 6 February 2015 and the details of its findings were debated in Parliament on 12 and 13 February 2015.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Betting and Sweepstakes Duty Collections from Exempted Remote Gambling Operators","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"20 Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for Finance (a) what is the estimated betting and sweepstakes duty that will be collected from the exempted remote gambling operators; and (b) what is the financial effect of exempting Singapore Pools and the Singapore Turf Club on the total collection of betting and sweepstakes duty.
Mr Heng Swee Keat: The certificate of exemption made under section 26 of the Remote Gambling Act does not confer exemption from the payment of betting and sweepstakes duty. The collections received through terrestrial or remote gambling channels are both subject to the following betting duties1:
(a) Totalisator and sports betting: 25% of gross profits, that is, gross bets less winnings paid out; and
(b) Lotteries, that is, 4D, Singapore Sweep, TOTO: 30% of gross bets.
Singapore Pools launched its remote gambling channel on 25 October 2016, and Singapore Turf Club is scheduled to do so on 15 November 2016. As such, it is premature to ascertain any financial impact of remote gambling on the operators or betting duties.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":["1 : Information is publicly available on the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore's website."],"footNoteQuestions":["20"],"questionNo":"20"},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Support for Small and Medium-sized Kindergartens and Childcare Operators","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"21 Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many small and medium-sized kindergartens and childcare operators have ceased operations since 2015; and (b) how does the Ministry support small and medium-sized operators to remain viable.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Fewer than 30 preschools, constituting about 2% of the 1,700 preschools in Singapore, ceased operations in 2015. While some of these were standalone preschools, there were also those which were part of a larger group.
The Government’s priority is to provide good quality, accessible and affordable early childhood services, so as to ensure a good start for every child. To achieve this, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has implemented a range of initiatives to support operators of different sizes.
First, we have the Anchor Operator and Partner Operator schemes to support selected larger and smaller preschool operators respectively. Besides keeping their fees to the specified caps, these operators are also supported to improve the quality of their preschools. We have also seen smaller operators coming together to achieve greater economies of scale and tap on Government support under the Partner Operator Scheme.
Second, we have a number of broad-based initiatives to help all operators develop and attract more educators to the sector. These include the new Skills Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education, the Professional Development Programme, and ECDA's Scholarships and Training Awards. In addition, the Government also provides funding support for operators to adopt smart solutions, such as for attendance-taking and temperature-taking, to support educators in their work and to raise sector productivity.
Third, support schemes are available to help operators defray costs and keep their fees affordable. These include the Community and Sports Facilities Scheme under the Urban Redevelopment Authority, as well as the Portable Rental Subsidies and the Workplace Child Care Centre Scheme under ECDA. Operators can receive centre development grants, furnishing and equipment grants, or rental cost subsidies if they meet affordability and quality requirements.
Finally, small and medium-sized operators can also tap on the Capability Development Grant, Innovation and Capability Voucher and other programmes offered by SPRING Singapore. Operators can make use of these schemes to build capabilities via staff training, technology adoption or by defraying the cost of consultancy projects in the areas of human resources, financial management, innovation and productivity.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Average Annual Spending by Problem Gamblers from 2006 to 2015","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"22 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year from 2006 to 2015 (a) what has been the average spending by problem gamblers; and (b) what has been the respective percentage of the aggregate number of problem gamblers according to their household income deciles.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: The National Council on Problem Gambling commissions the Survey on Participation in Gambling Activities among Singapore Residents every three years. The survey includes screening questions to detect probable pathological gamblers, based on diagnostic criteria in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders developed by the American Psychiatric Association. The same diagnostic criteria have been used in similar studies in Hong Kong, Macau and the United States.
As the survey is conducted via face-to-face interviews, the screening questions only capture the respondents’ self-professed behaviour and do not represent a clinical assessment of actual gambling disorders.
Based on the latest survey in 2014, the proportion of respondents classified as probable pathological gamblers is 0.2%, compared to 2.1% in 2005, 1.2% in 2008 and 1.4% in 2011.
The average monthly betting amount among probable pathological gamblers was $313 in 2014. This has decreased from the average monthly betting amount of $637 in 2005, $619 in 2008 and $1,713 in 2011.
The surveys collected information on monthly personal income by income brackets, instead of the monthly household income. The probable pathological gambling rate by monthly personal income brackets is shown in Table A below.
While the probable pathological gambling rate has dropped in 2014, we cannot be complacent and will continue to monitor the trends in future runs of the survey.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Status of Proposed Integrated Development at Open Field next to Buangkok MRT Station","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"23 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for National Development what is the progress in the development of the proposed integrated development at the open field next to Buangkok MRT station.
Mr Lawrence Wong: The site is intended to house a residential development, which will be integrated with a bus interchange and Buangkok Mass Rapid Transit station. There are also plans to include community facilities and commercial amenities.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority is working closely together with other agencies on this effort, to ensure that the various uses are properly planned and integrated in the future development, bearing in mind that each of these uses has its own space and layout requirements.
More details on the future development will be provided once the plans are finalised.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Planning Process for Installation of Mobile Phone Base Stations","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"24 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will review the planning process for the installation of mobile phone base stations to enable such stations to be built during a building's construction stage and make mobile coverage a mandatory compliance for that building's Temporary Occupation Permit.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Adequate mobile coverage should be provided to new buildings in a timely manner. Currently, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) install mobile base stations on the rooftops of selected new Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks to ensure that the area will have good mobile coverage when the residents move in. However, there could be operational delays, such as construction delays to blocks selected for base station installation.
HDB has been working with all stakeholders, including Town Councils, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and MNOs, to study how to expedite the installation of such base stations. For example, HDB and IDA are looking into the possibility of expediting approval procedures between MNOs and Town Councils. HDB and IDA are also exploring the possibility of incorporating MNOs’ infrastructure and engineering requirements during the pre-tender planning phase of new HDB developments, so that the subsequent physical base station installation works could be accelerated.
Finally, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and IDA are considering amendments to the Telecommunications Act to facilitate the use of rooftop space of one building to provide mobile coverage in another building. If implemented, it will be easier for MNOs to deploy their equipment on the rooftops of adjacent buildings to improve mobile coverage of a particular area.
Given these ongoing efforts, there may not be a need to mandate mobile coverage as a Temporary Occupation Permit condition for each new building. Ultimately, it is more important to ensure close and effective cooperation among all the relevant stakeholders, which go beyond the developer of the building project.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Commission to Handle Issues Related to Animal Welfare","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"25 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider setting up a dedicated commission to handle all issues related to animal welfare that is similar to the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) either by expanding the scope of the current Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Committee for Animal Welfare or setting up a new committee comprising animal welfare groups, businesses in the pet industry, veterinarians, grassroots community leaders and other relevant stakeholders.
Mr Lawrence Wong: There are currently no plans to set up a dedicated commission to handle issues related to animal welfare.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) already works closely with multi-stakeholder committees to enhance animal welfare. This approach has led to positive results. For example, AVA had close working relations with the Animal Welfare Legislative Review Committee (AWLRC), a group made up of Members of Parliament, grassroots leaders, animal welfare groups, the pet industry and the veterinary profession. AVA worked with AWLRC in a review of Singapore’s animal welfare legislation in 2012. AVA also supported the AWLRC’s recommendations to enhance stakeholders’ collaboration in animal welfare.
In addition, AVA has close working relations with the Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Committee (MSCC), which comprises representatives from animal welfare groups, the pet industry, the veterinary profession and the community at large. AVA worked with them on the recently issued Code of Animal Welfare for the pet industry. AVA continues to engage with MSCC on issues relating to training for the pet industry, as well as on outreach initiatives to promote awareness about animal welfare.
AVA will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders to further the cause of animal welfare in Singapore.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Provision of Parking Lots in Proposed BTO Development in Kaki Bukit","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"26 Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the number of parking lots available for the newly proposed Build-To-Order (BTO) HDB development in Kaki Bukit launching in November 2016; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider constructing more parking lots to supplement the shortage of parking lots at car parks B45 and B48 of Bedok North Street 3.
Mr Lawrence Wong: The proposed Housing and Development Board (HDB) Build-To-Order development in Kaki Bukit located along Bedok North Avenue 1 will be provided with 66 car park lots and 34 motorcycle lots.
As for car parks B45 and B48 at Bedok North Street 3, there are currently sufficient parking lots for residents' season parking needs. However, as these car parks also serve local amenities, such as the hawker centre and market, short-term parking demand may be high. Due to site constraints, HDB is unable to construct more parking lots at these two car parks. Nevertheless, to help ease the short-term congestion, HDB will reconfigure B45 to provide additional loading and unloading bays in the car park. This will help to address the short-term congestion caused by goods vehicles carrying out loading and unloading activities at B45.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Provision of Mandatory Changing Facilities for Babies in Male and Female Restrooms in Public Buildings","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"27 Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will look into making it a requirement to have changing facilities for babies in both male and female restrooms in public buildings.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Since 2014, the Code on Accessibility already requires the provision of diaper changing facilities in both male and female restrooms. This requirement applies to buildings that are frequented by families with young children, including shopping centres, transport nodes, community centres and sports complexes. Building owners also have the alternative of providing diaper changing facilities in individual unisex family restrooms, in lieu of having to provide them in both male and female restrooms.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Programmes to Help Schools Handle Sexual Assault and Harassment","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"28 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Minister for Education (Schools) what are the programmes to help (i) schools handle sexual assault and harassment in schools and (ii) students, teachers and staff understand their rights in cases of sexual assault and harassment.
Mr Ng Chee Meng: Students learn about personal safety and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse in the Ministry of Education's (MOE's) Sexuality Education curriculum. They are taught how to recognise sexual abuse and harassment, acquire skills to protect themselves both in real life and online, and understand the laws in Singapore that protect them. They also learn that they have the right to safety and protection and to seek help from trusted adults, such as their parents, teachers and school counsellors.
Teachers look out for signs of distress in students and refer them to the school counsellor or other professional support where necessary. Suspected cases of sexual abuse are managed sensitively. Guidelines are provided by Child Protection Services, Ministry of Social and Family Development, for reporting such cases, and MOE and schools work closely with Child Protection Services to support affected students.
For teachers and staff who experienced harassment or abuse at work, they are advised to seek the support and guidance of their school leaders. Those who are psychologically or emotionally affected will be supported by professional counsellors. MOE takes a serious view of any inappropriate conduct that is committed against our teachers and staff and will investigate and take the appropriate action in each and every case.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Review of Courses Subsidised by WDA and SkillsFuture","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"29 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) whether the Ministry will expand the courses subsidised by WDA and SkillsFuture credits to include more professional qualifications, such as Certified Internal Auditor courses or Certified Information System Auditor courses; and (b) how frequently does WDA review the relevance of its courses to keep its offerings updated.
Mr Ong Ye Kung: SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) has been taking an inclusive approach to build up the list of courses eligible for the SkillsFuture Credit. The key consideration is relevance to work. However, we will need the cooperation of training providers as there will be administrative tasks at their end in order for their courses to be included.
SSG has reached out to training providers of preparatory courses and assessments for professional certifications under the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Information System Auditor to invite them to come on board the SkillsFuture Credit. So far, SSG has included the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants-CIA Challenge Exam Prep Course, delivered by the Institute of Internal Auditors, in the SkillsFuture Credit directory. SSG will continue to work with training providers to include more of such professional courses and assessments for the SkillsFuture Credit. I thank the Member for her feedback.
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