The following question stood in the name of Mr Christopher de Souza \t–
1 To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs what did the present investigations reveal as the cause of the 8 December 2013 riot and when will the Commission of Inquiry be likely to issue its findings and conclusions.
2 Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs beyond the specific factors that contributed to the 8 December 2013 riot (a) what are the key and larger lessons learnt from public reaction to the eruption of violence and the likely causes, in particular the responses of Singaporeans, including comments in cyberspace, reaction by non-government organisations, and coverage by both local and international media; and (b) what are the challenges the Ministry faced in putting out accurate, comprehensive and timely information on the riot to the public and the media, and correcting factual errors and distortions.
3 Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs when will the findings and recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry into the Little India riot be completed and made public, and in the interim, what measures will be taken to prevent a recurrence yet without over-reacting to the incident.
4 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs regarding the Committee of Inquiry set up to inquire into the Little India riot on 8 December 2013 (a) when will it commence its formal hearings; (b) who will lead evidence in the inquiry; and (c) whether the proceedings will be conducted wholly in public or otherwise.
5 Mr Alex Yam asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the current personal safety and security measures provided for Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) rescuers against violence; (b) whether these measures are adequate; and (c) whether his Ministry will consider
\tPage: 13
improving the security provisions for such SCDF officers in light of the recent riot.
6 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs following the riot in Little India (a) whether law enforcement agencies have reviewed and adjusted their procedures and protocols to better deal with similar threats to public order in the future; and (b) if so, what are these adjustments.
7 Mr Seng Han Thong asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the considerations that prompted the Police to activate troops from the Special Operations Command (SOC) in the Little India riot; (b) what are the standard operating procedures to activate troops from SOC; and (c) whether the current strength of the SOC is adequate to cope with any emergency.
8 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs what evidence was relied upon to issue workers involved in the 8 December 2013 riot with (i) police advisories and (ii) repatriation orders.
9 Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs in the light of the fatal accident along Race Course Road that triggered the riot on 8 December 2013, whether the Ministry is considering additional measures to mitigate the risks posed by jay walkers, especially along roads where jay walking is a common sight.
10 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the criteria used to choose the four members of the Committee of Inquiry (COI) on the Little India riot; and (b) whether any member of the COI is familiar with migrant worker issues to be able to ask appropriate questions and assess the information collected, particularly with regard to grievances of migrant workers in Singapore.
11 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs with regard to the policing arrangements for Little India (a) what was the division of work among state police, auxiliary police and private security prior to the riot of 8 December 2013; and (b) pending the Committee of Inquiry's findings and recommendations, whether any interim changes have been or will be made to the arrangements.
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12 Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether he will consider developing and implementing a full slew of measures beyond the proposed restrictions on alcohol sale and consumption in areas with high potential risk of disamenities and public disorder by the consumers.
13 Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs when exactly will the rules on no-alcohol zones in public and residential areas be effected and how will enforcement and surveillance be carried out.
14 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) when will the finalisation and announcement of Government policies on alcohol consumption in public places throughout Singapore take place; and (b) what are the lessons drawn from the riot in Little India that can be applied to the treatment of problems arising from alcohol intoxication by any group and the maintenance of order in public places.
15 Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number and types of liquor licence holders affected by the series of Public Order (Preservation) (Little India) Proclamations; (b) what are the guidelines and considerations regulating the types and numbers of liquor licences issued by the Liquors Licensing Board; (c) whether the number of liquor licences in Little India is inordinately high given the longstanding record of disamenities in the area due to the excessive consumption of alcohol; and (d) what lessons can be learnt and what sustainable remedial measures can be put in place with regard to the issuance of liquor licences given their impact on public order.
16 Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs in each of the years from 2009 to 2012, how many public and beer house licences and \"takeaway\" alcohol licences have been issued in the recently proclaimed demarcated zone in Little India.
17 Mr Laurence Lien asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will tighten the liquors licensing process to ensure the accountability and responsibility of each licensee to prevent crime, disorder and public nuisance and to protect children from harm.
18 Mr R Dhinakaran asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) since the restrictions on alcohol sales and consumption have
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been imposed in Little India, how many violations of these regulations have been recorded; (b) what is the breakdown of these violations in terms of whether they are businesses or consumers, types of violations and actions that have been taken against them; and (c) whether the violators are locals or foreign nationals.
19 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether Singapore's core value of multiracialism continues to remain strong and that the 8 December 2013 riot has not dented this.
20 Mr Laurence Lien asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will consider putting in place a more transparent and objective process in deeming immigrants undesirable and cancelling their entry permit.
21 Mr R Dhinakaran asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether there are plans to curb alcohol sales in other areas frequented by foreign workers.
\tMr Hri Kumar Nair (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Question No 1.
\tMr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Mdm Speaker, I believe you said you were going to start with Question No 37.
Mdm Speaker: Yes, as a matter of procedure, we have to mention the questions before that.
\tThe Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Teo Chee Hean): Mdm Speaker, I will be making a Ministerial Statement following Question Time. May I have your permission to address the issues that Members have raised in Question Nos 1 to 21 during my Ministerial Statement?
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please, Deputy Prime Minister. Next, Ms Denise Phua, Question No 22?
\tMs Denise Phua Lay Peng (Moulmein-Kallang): Yes.
\tPage: 16
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Addressing Foreign Workforce Issues","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"22 Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Acting Minister for Manpower in light of the recent Little India riot, if he will ensure (i) the effective deployment of a high-level inter-agency team to resolve the root causes of public disorder and security risks in areas with higher concentration of transient workers; and (ii) that the key interests and needs of both Singaporeans and the workers are articulated and addressed.
23 Mr Alex Yam asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) where are the main areas where migrant workers congregate on their rest days; (b) whether the conditions and facilities in worker dormitories are sufficient for their social activities so that the need to congregate is reduced; (c) what plans does the Ministry have to engage migrant workers on issues related to their congregation; and (d) whether the Ministry will review future plans to congregate large number of workers in fixed locations.
24 Ms Mary Liew asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what are the current measures to manage areas where foreign workers congregate; (b) when and how are foreign workers formally informed of the criminal laws and penalties that they have to abide by during their employment in Singapore; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider intensifying support and efforts in partnership with Migrant Workers Centre to assimilate and educate foreign workers on basic employment, criminal regulations, culture and way of life in Singapore.
25 Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Acting Minister for Manpower how is the Ministry strengthening existing measures to ensure proper and acceptable housing of foreign workers, especially those who live in factories and commercial properties, near residential areas or even rent units in residential areas and live in overcrowded situations.
26 Mr Alex Yam asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry regulates security management at worker dormitories and, if so, what are the current requirements and whether they are sufficient; and (b) what further measures have been taken with regard to security management at worker dormitories and at areas with a high volume of migrant workers since the riot in Little India.
27 Ms Tan Su Shan asked the Acting Minister for Manpower whether he will consider setting industry standards for the management of foreign workers
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such as in the provision of amenities in foreign worker dormitories, management of facilities and conduct of awareness programmes, for firms which hire a significant number of low skilled foreign workers.
28 Mr Teo Siong Seng asked the Acting Minister for Manpower whether the Government can look into providing social and recreational facilities at the dormitories of migrant workers for their use after working hours and on rest days in addition to those provided by companies.
29 Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what are the measures taken to ensure that foreign workers have adequate access to public amenities and public spaces to socialise and gather; (b) whether the plan for dormitories to organise weekend activities for foreign workers so that they do not leave the dormitories is sustainable and effective; (c) whether the focus on foreign workers in approved dormitories is disproportionate and misplaced since the majority of foreign workers in Singapore do not reside in approved dormitories.
30 Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Acting Minister for Manpower given the significant increase in the number of foreign construction workers from 180,000\tin December 2007 to more than 300,000 in 2013 (a) whether the rate of growth is sustainable; (b) whether their numbers should be capped at an optimum number; and (c) whether the Ministry should conduct a comprehensive review of their recruitment and employment terms, living conditions and leisure issues, so that potential problems arising from a large number of foreign construction workers can be better anticipated.
31 Ms Janice Koh asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what is the duty of care owed to foreign workers who contribute to the economic development of Singapore; and (b) how may the approach and treatment of foreign workers be reframed such that it promotes greater respect, understanding and acceptance of their presence amongst Singapore residents.
32 Ms Tin Pei Ling asked the Acting Minister for Manpower if he will consider requiring and coordinating companies to have off-days on different days of the week for foreign workers so as to reduce the concentration of foreign workers on specific day(s) in certain areas.
33 Ms Tan Su Shan asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) if the Ministry will consider a review of employment practices with regard to foreign workers; and (b) whether more effort can be made to improve their working and
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living conditions and to better understand their needs and mindset in order to integrate them better.
34 Mr Teo Siong Seng asked the Acting Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry can consider specifying flexi-arrangements for migrant workers' rest days by allowing lighter work on weekends in order to ease congestion in Little India, Chinatown, Golden Mile and Orchard Road on weekends.
35 Mr R Dhinakaran asked the Acting Minister for Manpower whether the Little India riot will have any material impact on the Government's foreign manpower policies.
36 Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what course of action will be executed to enhance the safety and security in areas throughout Singapore where foreign workers congregate; and (b) if the Ministry will be working with the relevant agencies on further guidelines and code of conduct that are acceptable for such public congregation.
\tThe Acting Minister for Manpower (Mr Tan Chuan-Jin): Mdm Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 22 to 36 later, following the Ministerial Statement to be made by the Deputy Prime Minister?
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please. Mr Pritam Singh.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Impact of China's Declaration of Air Defence Identification Zone on Singapore","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"37 Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) whether Singapore's interests are affected by China's declaration of an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea in November 2013; and (b) what is the Ministry's assessment of the prospects of China establishing a similar ADIZ over the disputed Spratly Islands.
\tMr Pritam Singh: Madam, just a typo here in the Question. The first part of the Question should read as \"East China Sea\". My apologies to Members for the typo. Question No 37, please.
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Mdm Speaker: I take note of your amendment.
\tThe Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr K Shanmugam): Mdm Speaker, perhaps, then, could I ask Mr Singh to re-file the question because we had prepared the answer on the basis that it meant what it said, which is ADIZ over the South China Sea.
\tMr Pritam Singh: Noted, Minister. I will re-file the question.
Mdm Speaker: All right. Next, 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":"Singapore and ASEAN's Response to Help Victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"The following question stood in the name of Dr Lim Wee Kiak \t–
38 To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) what kind of assistance has the Government rendered to help the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan in its aftermath; and (b) what is the collective response of ASEAN to this natural disaster in our region.
\tMs Ellen Lee (Sembawang): Mdm Speaker, Question No 38, please.
\tThe Second Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien) (for the Minister for Foreign Affairs): Madam, Singapore was one of the first countries to render assistance on the ground to the Philippines in the immediate aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. MINDEF deployed two RSAF C-130 aircrafts to bring across and distribute a substantial amount of essential relief supplies like tents, blankets and medical supplies to communities devastated by the typhoon. At the Philippines' request, one C-130 remained behind to support the Philippine government's relief efforts, ferrying relief supplies and personnel between Tacloban, one of the worst-hit cities, and Manila. Our SCDF promptly deployed a two-man team to assist the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in emergency relief efforts in the affected areas.
The Singapore Government also donated S$200,000 to kick-start the Singapore Red Cross' (SRC) fundraising effort for the typhoon victims. The SRC
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has so far raised S$9.4 million, thanks to the outpouring of generosity from Singaporeans. This was complemented by the fund-raising and humanitarian efforts of Non-governmental Organisations like Mercy Relief, and local groups which organised charity concerts and sporting events. Many of these efforts are still ongoing, which is a testament to the solidarity and deep kinship that Singapore shares with the Philippines.
We also asked the Philippines what supplies they most urgently required so that we could send them these items directly. Less than a week after MINDEF's first deployment, the Singapore Government contributed several tonnes of potable water, and 90 boxes of medical supplies. These supplies were handed over to the Philippine Embassy in Singapore by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
On the regional front, the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) was proactive in assisting the Philippines. An emergency team was despatched to the Philippines one day before the typhoon made landfall to assess the situation and coordinate relief efforts on the ground.
ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh, in his capacity as the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator, also visited the disaster-hit areas and met with Philippine officials to discuss how ASEAN could further contribute to recovery efforts.
The Philippines is now embarking on the arduous task of reconstruction and rehabilitation. This will require support from ASEAN and the international community. We will continue to do what is within our means, both bilaterally and through ASEAN, to assist and support the Philippines in its recovery and reconstruction process.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Update on Traffic Conditions on Marina Coastal Expressway","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"The following question stood in the name of Mr Ang Wei Neng \t–
39 To ask the Minister for Transport (a) if the Ministry will provide an update on the peak hour traffic condition along the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) and the road network adjoining the MCE; and (b) what are the key lessons
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learned from the major traffic congestion arising from the opening of the MCE during its first few days of operations.
\tMr Ong Teng Koon (Sembawang): Question No 39, Mdm Speaker.
\tThe Minister for Transport (Mr Lui Tuck Yew): Mdm Speaker, 30 December 2013 was the first working day after the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) was opened. Except for that morning, peak hour traffic along the MCE tunnel and the adjoining road network has been good and smooth, even though traffic volumes have returned to the levels prior to the December school holidays. In fact, speeds along the MCE and downgraded East Coast Parkway (ECP) are now generally faster than they were on the old ECP.
Some observers had concluded, in the immediate aftermath of the jam, that there was a design flaw with the MCE. I think that was a premature conclusion; if there had been a design flaw, we would likely have seen congestion, not only for that particular morning, but in the number of mornings to follow and, perhaps, even in the evenings as well.
The congestion in the morning of 30 December was due to a number of other factors, including motorists who were driving on the MCE for the first time and were unfamiliar with the new road network, and therefore, were driving more carefully, or not taking the most appropriate route. For example, many motorists travelling east to west did not enter the MCE near Fort Road to connect to the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE), but instead continued along the ECP, and entered the MCE via Marina Boulevard.
All these factors played a part in causing the severe jam that morning, but I am glad to know that motorists soon adjusted and we saw in a very short time a much better flow of traffic. This is clear from the ERP traffic data that we have collected in the intervening days.
LTA responded immediately to improve the situation. It displayed more traffic advisories upstream, disseminated more real-time information through radio and social media, erected more signages at prominent places, and deployed more traffic marshals. LTA also increased the number of left turning lanes from two to four at the junction of Marina Station Road and Central Boulevard, converted a short stretch of Central Boulevard from two to four lanes towards Raffles Quay, and also adjusted traffic light timings in the area.
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As to the Member's question on the key lessons from this episode, I think that we could have done more to help motorists familiarise themselves with the new road network. We had opened the MCE on a Sunday during the December holidays when traffic volumes would be lower, as we felt it would be an easier time for motorists to adjust. LTA had also embarked on publicity efforts across various media platforms and directly briefed groups of affected stakeholders from November 2013. However, some motorists may have missed out on this publicity as it was during the school holiday period.
In retrospect, we could have stepped up the publicity closer to the opening date. We could also have provided even more signages along the MCE and adjoining roads, as well as further upstream, so that motorists can be more familiar with the signs and have earlier guidance on where they ought to go.
\tMr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah): Mdm Speaker, I am glad to hear from the Minister that the speed of the traffic at the MCE is now back to normal and has even exceeded the threshold speed of 65 km/h. I would like to ask the Minister, with the speed improving, would the Ministry now look at reviewing the ERP charges at that location.
\tMr Lui Tuck Yew: Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for that supplementary question. I am glad that the Member had caught on to this very important threshold speed of 65 km/h. Indeed, at various time belts, both in the mornings and evenings along the MCE and ECP, speeds have gone above 65 km/h. LTA is currently doing a review of the ERP charges for the coming quarter, which is from February to end April. I believe that they will announce the results in due course.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Exemption on Telemarketing Messages under Do Not Call Regime","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"The following question stood in the name of Mr Ang Wei Neng \t–
40 To ask the Minister for Communications and Information what is the rationale for exempting businesses from having to check the Do Not Call Registry when sending SMS and fax messages to existing customers.
41 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Communications and Information with regard to the exemption on the Do Not Call Registry which
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allows businesses to send SMS and fax messages to existing customers (a) what is the Ministry's definition of an \"ongoing relationship\"; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider changing the exemption to an \"opt in\" rather than an \"opt out\" approach for an existing customer who does not want to receive any marketing messages.
42 Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what are the reasons why a registration on the Do Not Call Registry is not a sufficient affirmation of no consent to receiving exempted telemarketing messages; (b) how the exemption adequately protects and balances the privacy rights of the consumers under the Personal Data Protection Act against business and commercial interests; and (c) whether greater clarity can be provided to the meaning and extent of the purpose of an exempt message to the subject of an on-going relationship between the sender and the recipient.
43 Ms Tan Su Shan asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what has been the initial response of business entities to the issuance of the Advisory Guidelines for the Do Not Call Provisions by the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC); (b) whether businesses have been able to understand the guidelines sufficiently in order to ensure compliance or have they found some of the new processes or systems required impractical or too costly to implement; and (c) whether the PDPC will take a more balanced approach in its enforcement procedures.
44 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Minister for Communications and Information what are the reasons for the reversal by the Personal Data Protection Commission to now allow businesses to send marketing messages to persons with whom they have an \"ongoing relationship\" without having to obtain their consent and notwithstanding their having registered their names in the Do Not Call Registry.
45 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Minister for Communications and Information what will the Ministry do to educate consumers and individuals of steps that they may take to stop receiving marketing messages from businesses, including those with whom they may have an \"ongoing relationship\".
\tMr Ong Teng Koon: Question No 40, please.
\tThe Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information (Mr Lawrence Wong) (for the Minister for Communications and
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Information): Mdm Speaker, with your permission, I would like to take Question Nos 40 to 45 together.
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please.
\tMr Lawrence Wong: If an individual signs up their fixed-line or mobile phone number on the Do Not Call, or DNC, Registry, it means that organisations cannot contact the individual for telemarketing purposes by voice, text or fax. Organisations must, therefore, check the DNC Registry before sending out any telemarketing messages via a phone call, text message or fax. An organisation can only contact the DNC-registered number, if that individual had given clear and unambiguous consent for that particular organisation to do so.
The framework for the DNC Registry, along with the Personal Data Protection Bill, was passed in Parliament in October 2012, after three rounds of public consultation before that, spanning September 2011 to April 2012. In one of these public consultations, some businesses had proposed that organisations do not need to check the DNC Registry if the number belonged to a customer with whom they have an existing business relationship. This would allow organisations to market any products or services that the organisation offers, to existing customers. However, this proposal was rejected then, as it would be too far-reaching.
After the Bill was passed, the Personal Data Protection Commission, or PDPC, conducted another two rounds of public consultation between February and April 2013, and May and June 2013 on a set of advisory guidelines and business rules relating to the DNC Registry respectively. These guidelines and business rules were published in September 2013. Subsequently, as organisations prepared to comply with the DNC provisions, the treatment of in-service telemarketing messages emerged as a new issue, during the preparation to comply with the guidelines. This particular issue of the treatment of in-service telemarketing messages was surfaced by consumers as well as businesses and non-profit organisations.
What is an in-service telemarketing message? An example of an in-service telemarketing message would be a telecom operator notifying a subscriber of his mobile prepaid card balance, and in the same message also provides information about discounted rates for IDD calls for prepaid card holders. Without the exemption on in-service telemarketing messages, the operator would only be able to inform a customer about his prepaid card balance. They
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would not be able to provide other messages to the customers.
PDPC has an Advisory Committee comprising eight members from consumer organisations, data protection legal experts and from industry. In consultation with the Advisory Committee, PDPC recognised that while some consumers are very clear that they do not want any telemarketing messages from businesses at all, there are others who would like to receive in-service telemarketing text messages from organisations with whom they have an on-going relationship.
Hence, on 26 December 2013, PDPC announced the issuance of an exemption that allows organisations that send in-service telemarketing SMS or fax messages, from having to check with the DNC Registry, if they meet a strict list of conditions. This exemption is much narrower in scope and application than the exemption that had originally been proposed by businesses.
What would the exemption mean for consumers and business organisations? Basically, for voice calls, there is no change -- organisations cannot make a telephone call to a consumer to convey in-service telemarketing messages. For text and fax messages, organisations can use the exemption to send in-service telemarketing messages in very narrow and limited circumstances.
First, the organisation must have an on-going relationship with the customer. Messages from businesses which a customer does not have any contact with are still disallowed. A one-off transaction is also insufficient to establish an on-going relationship. For example, if an individual had given the organisation his telephone number in the course of enquiring about a property listing, buying a television set, or other similar situations, this would not constitute an on-going relationship. An on-going relationship is defined as a relationship between an organisation and a subscriber or user that arises from the conduct of business or activity on an ongoing basis, for example, a subscription, membership or account.
Secondly, organisations can only send messages related to the subject of the relationship with the customer. Take, for example, someone with a 3G subscription with a telecom operator. Even with the exemption, the telecom operator may only send messages that are related to the 3G subscription, such as discounts for 3G subscribers to upgrade to 4G plans; the telecom operator cannot send messages that are unrelated to the 3G subscriptions, for example, sending a message on a standalone pay TV promotion that the same operator
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is having. So, that is the second condition.
Third condition is that organisations must provide an opt-out facility in the same message allowing the recipient to opt out of future messages through the same mode. So, if the recipient opts out, or has otherwise indicated to the organisation that he does not wish to receive telemarketing messages, the organisation cannot rely on the exemption to send any future in-service telemarketing message to that same telephone number, even if it is related to the subject of the on-going relationship. So, the exemption was permitted for text and fax messages, subject to these three conditions.
The intent behind the exemption is to try to meet the preferences of as many consumers as possible. Without the exemption, when individuals register on the Do Not Call Registry, it would be an \"all or nothing\" choice, either to block or receive all types of telemarketing messages.
The PDPC was guided by consumers' interest and what would be most useful and beneficial for consumers who registered on the DNC Registry. The exemption, with its limited scope, was assessed to be the best approach to try and benefit as many consumers as possible. Now, consumers have the flexibility to choose if they prefer to receive such in-service telemarketing messages, and opt out if they do not wish to receive these messages.
In the US, this issue of whether to exempt telemarketing calls from organisations with existing relationships with customers was one of the most contentious ones they have to deal with when they set up their DNC Registry. And, eventually, the decision taken was to allow them.
The PDPC did consider whether the exemption should be structured with an opt-in facility, as some had suggested. However, this approach would have required individuals with the opposite preference – in other words, those who prefer to continue receiving in-service telemarketing messages -- to take one additional step to opt in. And such a system would also have been very complicated for both consumers and organisations.
In reaching its decision, the PDPC had studied the jurisdictions with established DNC Registries. None had structured their Registries with an opt-in facility. In the UK, which has a similar design of the DNC Registry as ours, similar in-service telemarketing SMSes sent to existing customers would be allowed so long as there is an opt-out unsubscribe facility. In the US and Australia, where the system is slightly more liberal than ours, permitted SMSes
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are not limited to in-service telemarketing messages made to existing customers, and in fact, all unsolicited telemarketing SMSes that are allowed have to have an opt-out unsubscribe facility as well.
So, I would like to assure the House that the PDPC has put in place an extensive outreach and communications programme for both organisations and consumers. So far, the PDPC has reached out to about 55 industry associations whose members amount to more than 27,000 companies. More than 10,000 representatives from 1,600 companies have participated in the public briefings, workshops and seminars and almost all have found these to help in their understanding of the new requirements.
Consumer education on data protection and DNC-related issues has also been ramped up, with resources like videos on how to register with the DNC Registry, consumer handbooks and leaflets that are made available. The PDPC has also been working with partners, such as the Consumers Association of Singapore, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), the National Library Board and MOE, to conduct talks and road shows for consumers.
Organisations are, generally, aware of the Personal Data Protection Act and the DNC provisions. And since the DNC Registry provisions commenced on 2 January this year, about 600 organisations have checked a total of about 37 million telephone numbers against the three DNC registers. There are several cases of non-compliance that the PDPC is currently investigating and organisations will be given the opportunity to explain their actions before the PDPC decides on the appropriate enforcement approach.
None of the cases so far involves in-service telemarketing messages – so, none of the cases that have been raised so far involved the exemption that was granted in December. Regardless, PDPC will take enforcement action for abuses of the exemption given, or for any other breaches under the Act.
\tEr Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, I would think that the Do Not Call Registry is a good start. But I think a lot of people are looking into how enforcement is going to be carried out. Just recently, for example, I received an SMS from a tuition centre. I asked, \"Do I have an on-going business relationship with you?\" There was no reply. So, I would like to ask the Minister how does one report a case like this and what enforcement action is going to be taken.
\tMr Lawrence Wong: As I have mentioned earlier, any case of such unsolicited SMSes should be raised with the PDPC. The PDPC will investigate
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each and every inquiry or feedback that has been given to them. Enforcement is, indeed, an issue for something like this. It is not just unique to us. All countries that have set up DNC Registries face this issue and grapple with this issue. It is an important issue which we need to understand better. The PDPC is committed to following up on each and every complaint or feedback that it receives. It will do the investigation for each and every case and follow up with prosecution, if necessary. There are phone numbers and websites. These are all available for members of the public to follow up with.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Criteria for Registration under Broadcasting (Class Licence) Notification Framework","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"46 Mr Vikram Nair asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what are the factors which the Media Development Authority takes into account in deciding which websites are required to register under the Broadcasting (Class Licence) Notification; and (b) which websites have been asked to do so thus far.
The Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information (Mr Lawrence Wong) (for the Minister for Communications and Information): Mdm Speaker, MDA adopts a balanced and practical approach in its regulation of Internet Content Providers (ICPs). And these include any individual in Singapore who provides any programme, for business, political or religious purposes, or any corporation or group of individuals who provide any programme on the Internet.
There are three forms of licences for ICPs under MDA's licensing framework: (a) an individual licence; (b) an automatic class licence; and (c) an automatic class licence with the requirement to register with the MDA. Let me elaborate on these three categories.
First, the individual licences are issued to content providers which offer a television service through the Internet. Examples are MediaCorp's Toggle and xinMSN. And individual licences are also issued to news portals that report regularly on Singapore's news and current affairs and enjoy significant reach among Singaporeans. Ten online news licences have been issued since the scheme was implemented on 1 June 2013. That is the first category.
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The second category of licensing applies to the rest of the ICPs which are regulated under the Automatic Class licensing regime that has been in place since 1996. These licensees do not need to apply to MDA for individual licences, but they are automatically class-licensed once they operate their websites. This remains the primary route through which the vast majority of websites on the Internet are licensed.
By virtue of their class licence, the ICPs have to comply with the conditions under the Broadcasting (Class Licence) Notification and the content guidelines in the Internet Code of Practice. ICPs that fail to abide by the Code can be taken to task by MDA for having their class licences cancelled or suspended. Since 1996, MDA has not had to cancel or suspend any ICP, which also means that it has not had to prosecute any party.
Finally, the third category would apply to certain types of ICPs to which class licences are granted automatically, but with the condition that they register with the MDA. Paragraphs three to five of the Schedule of the Broadcasting (Class Licence) Notification spell out the types of ICPs that need to register with MDA. They include ICPs who are political parties registered in Singapore providing any programme through the Internet, and ICPs who are \"a body of persons engaged in the propagation, promotion or discussion of political or religious issues relating to Singapore through the Internet\".
MDA also reserves the right to require ICPs who are in the business of \"providing through the Internet an online newspaper for a subscription fee or other consideration\" or who are \"individuals providing any programme for the propagation, promotion or discussion of political or religious issues relating to Singapore through the Internet\" to register with it.
So, these are provisions already provided for and spelt out clearly in the Schedule. The need to move from automatic class licence to class licence by registration only occurs when an individual or body meets these criteria which are spelt out in the Schedule.
What does registration entail? It is fairly straightforward and would only require the applicant to provide relevant information, such as contact details, a brief description of the website, key personnel operating it and any information that might shed light on possible foreign funding. There are currently eight websites run by political parties, 39 websites involved in the \"propagation, promotion or discussion of religious issues relating to Singapore\" and four websites \"involved in the propagation, promotion or discussion of political
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issues relating to Singapore\" registered under this Notification.
As the regulator, MDA also exercises the discretion to invoke the clauses consistently. And if there are developments or trends suggesting a need to require registration on a new group or category of entities and to register them in a different form or manner, MDA will do so. It is in this context that I would like to elaborate a little bit on MDA's decision to register The Independent in July last year and most recently, The Breakfast Network.
As Members would be aware, in July last year, MDA asked The Independent to register under the Broadcasting (Class Licence) Notification. Although The Independent describes itself as a newspaper, it was also clear from its stated aim of bringing in-depth perspective and analysis on political issues in Singapore that it intended to engage in the propagation, promotion and discussion of political issues related to Singapore. Furthermore, the Government had received specific information which gave it cause for concern over foreign interest to fund The Independent. So, MDA asked the providers of The Independent to register, and as part of the registration, to sign an undertaking not to receive foreign funding.
It is a longstanding principle that foreign entities are not allowed to engage in Singapore politics. Foreign interests should also not be allowed to control or, worse, to manipulate our local media platforms which are prime vehicles for influence; and this principle is not in itself new.
All the 12 sites which MDA had previously registered for providing political content had already been gazetted as political associations under the Political Donations Act and, hence, are already prohibited from receiving foreign funding.
What is different in the case of The Independent is that, it had not been gazetted as a political association, and part of its business plan was to obtain subscriptions and advertising revenue. Therefore, MDA had required, as part of the registration, that it signs an undertaking not to receive foreign funding. It is also for this reason that MDA had revised the registration forms to include such an undertaking. The undertaking only requires that the organisation does not accept foreign funding, and is not a blanket prohibition on funding, which would render the site's intended business plan unworkable. So, that particular prohibition applies specifically to foreign funding.
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The case of The Independent revealed potential problems when sites which engage in the \"propagation, promotion or discussion of political or religious issues\" structure themselves as corporate entities to receive investments, including from foreign sources. In the case of newspapers operating under permits issued under the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act, there are clear provisions to allow newspapers to be subject to provisions controlling foreign influence. The Broadcasting Act, which ICPs are regulated under, also recognises this principle but the class licence does not contain specific provisions against this as this particular scenario of foreign funding was not recognised back in 1996 when the class licence was first designed.
Having noticed this, MDA decided that cases similar to The Independent, where sites operated by corporate entities that engage in the \"propagation, promotion or discussion of political or religious issues\" and which had a greater possibility of coming under foreign influence through foreign funding, would be dealt with in the same way. And that is why MDA asked The Breakfast Network to register.
MDA had earlier said that it will look into introducing more comprehensive safeguards within the Broadcasting Act to prevent foreign interests from influencing local politics through the Singaporean media, whether in print, broadcast or online. But it was necessary for MDA to act in the interim and to ensure that the providers of The Independent and The Breakfast Network are aware of the conditions from the outset, rather than for them to accept foreign investments into their corporate structure only to have to unwind this later. This would have caused them even more problems. The principle of not accepting foreign funding is something which responsible operators agree with. In fact, The Independent has stated that it accepts this principle.
In summary, the class licence with the requirement to register is not new. It has been part of the licensing framework under the Broadcasting Act since 1996. In the cases of The Independent and The Breakfast Network, these have not been gazetted under the Political Donations Act but they are running websites by corporate entities with the aim of \"engaging in the propagation, promotion or discussion of political issues relating to Singapore\". And MDA saw the need for them to sign an undertaking not to receive foreign funding as part of the registration. The class licence with registration is an integral part of our licensing framework and it has been used selectively, but consistently. And this is the regulatory approach that MDA will continue to undertake in the future.
\tMs Irene Ng Phek Hoong (Tampines): The Breakfast Network\tclaims that the registration forms are too onerous. I wonder whether the Minister
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would consider simplifying the forms while upholding the principle of not accepting foreign funding.
\tMr Lawrence Wong: I thank the Member for the feedback which they have, in fact, also given to MDA. But I would say that The Independent has actually submitted their forms. So, whether or not it is onerous, they have, in fact, applied and they have submitted all their forms, and that is being reviewed by MDA presently. We are very open to trying to see ways in which we can streamline the process of application.
\tMs Janice Koh (Nominated Member): Madam, I would just like to ask the Minister two questions. The first is, I understand that The Breakfast Network\twas also asked to take down their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Why were they asked to do so? And the second question is, if our newspapers are allowed to accept advertisements from foreign companies, is that not considered some kind of foreign funding as well?
\tMr Lawrence Wong: I will take the second question first with regard to foreign advertising or with respect to newspapers being subject to foreign influence, for example, foreign advertising. There are actually very clear provisions set out in the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act which give a lot more control over the newspapers, and that is why, in a way, that concern is addressed specifically with provisions under the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act.
The same concern with respect to foreign funding but there are more control levers, regulatory levers, there with respect to newspapers, but not so much with respect to the Internet providers. That had not been envisaged. The principle is there in the Broadcasting Act but the regulatory levers are not there in the class licence, and that is why the recent updates to the class licensing scheme and the registration provisions require some declaration of undertaking.
For the first question on the take-down of Facebook and Twitter, that, I think, only came after The Breakfast Network decided that it would not be able to comply with the registration. And I think that is something that when MDA looked at the decision that The Breakfast Network had come to, in deciding not to continue, it felt that then as a company, as a corporate entity, it will not have the licence to operate on the Internet whether on Facebook, Twitter or on the website. Therefore, the decision was to ask The Breakfast Network to take down these sites.
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\tMr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Non-Constituency Member): Madam, to follow up on the earlier question, will foreign funding include subscriptions from overseas as well as advertising from overseas? He mentioned that advertising restrictions do not apply for the traditional media because they are subject to other regulations. But would it apply to online media as well for both subscriptions and advertising?
\tMr Lawrence Wong: I understand the restrictions will apply more in terms of the actual receipt of funding by the corporate entity to run its business but there will be issues of advertising, because if you look at Internet advertising, it is growing. And then the question would be where do you get these sources of revenue from. So, that is something that MDA has been in discussion with The Independent, particularly in sorting out some of the implementation issues.
But the main concern with foreign funding would apply, firstly, to receipt of funding by the corporate entity itself to run its business which, I think, the undertaking by these entities would then address, because then they would undertake not to receive foreign funding. On advertising itself, I think that is something that we have to discuss the specifics, because it is more complicated in the Internet world where you may have difficulties in tracking the source of funding. But that is something that they are working through in discussion, the details, between MDA and The Independent.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Severe Bed Crunch at Hospitals","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"47 Dr Lam Pin Min asked the Minister for Health (a) if he can provide an update on the bed crunch situation in both the public and private sector hospitals; (b) what are the interim measures to alleviate the situation; and (c) what is the Ministry's assessment of the severity of the shortfall over the next few years.
\tThe Minister for Health (Mr Gan Kim Yong): Madam, a combination of factors contributed to the high Bed Occupancy Rate of 87.2% early this year, higher on some days and in some hospitals. With an ageing population, there are now more old and frail patients who need hospitalisation. The proportion of public sector admissions from patients aged 65 years and above has increased from 28.6% in 2006 to 33.4% in 2013. Older patients also tend to stay longer in hospitals because it takes longer for their conditions to stabilise and for them to be eligible for discharge. The Average Length Of Stay (ALOS) for patients aged 65 and above has lengthened from 7.8 days in 2010 to 8.2 in 2013.
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In comparison, younger patients' ALOS has actually shortened during this period. With shrinking family sizes and weaker family support, over time, family members may not be ready to take the patients home in a timely manner and this will also result in a longer stay in the hospital.
We address the capacity issue from both the short-term and the long-term perspectives. In the short term, we are actively managing the capacity in two ways. First, we are managing capacity in each hospital by facilitating timely discharge of patients to appropriate care settings, including community hospitals and nursing homes, as well as the patients' own homes.
To better support our patients and their families, our hospitals are going beyond the physical confines of the hospital to provide care. Hospitals, such as Changi General Hospital, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, have formed transitional care teams to support patients in their homes initially after discharge, if necessary. These multidisciplinary teams, comprising doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, will continue to support the patients and ensure that the caregivers are able to provide proper care for the patients. This helps to give the patients and their families greater assurance and facilitates timely discharge.
Families who need time to make permanent care arrangements at home are able to tap on the Interim Care-giver Scheme at Changi General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and several other hospitals and community hospitals. As of December 2013, about 300 patients have benefited from this scheme.
In view of the growing healthcare needs, we have added more than 300 beds in our public hospitals over the past six months. This was done by adding more beds into existing wards, re-commissioning beds at the Communicable Disease Centre, and converting office and other non-clinical space into bed space. In addition, close to 1,000 more nursing home beds were added last year, which helped to take over from the hospitals lower acuity patients who need longer term care.
Second, we are optimising national capacity by initiating transfers from acute hospitals with a tight bed situation to others with higher bed capacity. We are also tapping on spare capacity in the private sector. For example, public-private partnerships have been forged between Changi General Hospital and Parkway East Hospital; and also between National University Hospital and Westpoint Hospital. We now have almost 50 beds from these private hospitals.
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We are exploring further collaborations with the private hospitals.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with our hospitals on all fronts to ensure that patient safety and care are not compromised.
Over the medium term, the demand for acute care services is likely to continue to rise as our population ages. MOH has already put in place plans to build additional bed capacity across care settings under the Healthcare 2020 Masterplan. In 2014, 1,200 beds, including community hospitals and nursing homes beds, will be added to the healthcare sector, and 10,000 more beds will be added by the end of 2020. Besides the upcoming Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong Community Hospital which will open in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Yishun Community Hospital will open in 2016, Sengkang General Hospital and Community Hospital will open in 2018, and a new Community Hospital in Outram will open by 2020. In the intermediate and long-term care sector, we are building various eldercare facilities, including 12 new and replacement nursing homes by 2016.
Even as we add capacity, we need to also transform the model of care because a hospital-centric system is not the best in meeting the care needs of an ageing population. We need to help our senior population stay healthy and manage their chronic conditions better so that they do not need to be hospitalised frequently. We would also need to provide good support in the community to allow them to recuperate well after a hospitalisation episode.
An example of a care transformation programme is Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Virtual Hospital concept. This involves assigning a care manager to monitor frail patients who have a history of multiple admissions to hospital, and help them better manage their conditions, so that they can get better, stay healthy and not have to visit our hospitals often.
We also need to build up our primary care and intermediate and long-term care sectors and integrate them better with our acute hospitals. These transformation efforts, together with planned increases in bed capacity, will allow us to better manage our healthcare needs in the decade ahead.
\tDr Lam Pin Min (Sengkang West): I would like to thank the Minister for the very comprehensive answer. I would like to ask the Minister, while the admission rates and the duration of stays for the patients have increased in the current crunch situation, could these be also due to a relative paucity of
\tPage: 36
downstream services, such as the intermediate as well as the long-term care sector, because there may not be a right siting of patients within the medical institution? Some patients may only require some simple kind of monitoring in the long-term healthcare sector but as a result of the paucity, they may actually end up admitting into the acute hospitals causing the current bed crunch.
The other question I would like to ask the Minister is: while building more hospitals is necessary, are we just treating the symptoms and not the cause? I would like to ask the Minister to consider taking a more holistic and systematic approach to reviewing the healthcare system and also to provide the right siting – treating the right patient at the right place for the necessary condition – and also streamlining all the work processes to minimise inefficiency and to optimise the resources, such as working with the private sector —
Mdm Speaker: Dr Lam, please put your questions.
\tDr Lam Pin Min: These are my questions. Thank you.
\tMr Gan Kim Yong: Madam, I am glad that Dr Lam has actually spelt out quite a lot of things that the hospitals are already doing. Many of the suggestions that Dr Lam has put forward were outlined in the Healthcare 2020 Masterplan, including streamlining our processes, ensuring better care in the community and also right siting, as well as building up capacity of the downstream, intermediate and long-term care, so that patients who do not need the care of acute hospitals can receive the necessary treatment in the community, as well as the intermediate and long-term care without having to be hospitalised.
Dr Lam also asks whether we can take a holistic approach. I think that is very important. That is why I mentioned in my reply earlier that adding hospital beds alone will not be sufficient. We will need to look at how we can transform our care model, in particular. It is important for us to take a look at our primary care sector because many of the patients who are old and frail tend to suffer from chronic diseases. If we do not manage them well, these chronic diseases will deteriorate very fast and they will end up sending the patients to the hospitals. If we are able to manage them better in the community, we can slow down the progression of these conditions. If they can stay healthy, we can minimise the frequency of hospital visits or hospitalisation. This way, we will not only free the capacity for other more urgent and more acute patients but also allow the patients to recover better in a homely environment, in their own
\tPage: 37
home, in the community, with the support of their loved ones as well.
I want to thank Dr Lam for his many suggestions. I am not sure whether I have answered all his questions. But that is primarily the approach that the Ministry is taking and we are working very closely with the various hospitals, including the private hospitals, to look at the possibility of tapping on their expertise as well as their capacity.
\tMr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Non-Constituency Member): I have two supplementary questions. First, have the hospitals considered converting the A and B1 class wards to C class wards, especially in this period of bed crunch, so as to free up more space for the patients? And, secondly, are the public hospitals still marketing their international patient services to foreigners because these would naturally add to the bed crunch as well?
\tMr Gan Kim Yong: Madam, first, let me explain that for the wards in the hospitals, the conversion has to take into account the infrastructure design. It also needs to take into account the manpower capacity as well. Some of the wards in B1 may not be able to be converted into C class wards by simply adding beds because we need to ensure that the pipes are there, the wiring is there, and the system is capable of accommodating more than the number of beds that are currently in B1. But in the hospitals, what they have done is they have taken a very practical approach for patients when the bed capacity is tight. When they need more hospital beds to cater to the demand of the patients, they would allow the patients to be uplodged. Even if they are C class patients, we allow them to be uplodged to B2 or B1 wards. So, I think all the private wards are being used as a potential capacity to cater to the need of the patient when the bed demand is high.
On the second point of foreign patients, I think I have replied in one of the Parliamentary Questions (PQs) earlier. Foreign visitors form a very small component of our hospital beds. Some of them come for day surgeries, some of them are in the emergency and treated as outpatients and they go off. From my recollection, I remember that foreign visitors in our hospitals take up less than 2% of our hospital beds and these are sometimes urgent cases and some of them are already here in the emergency department. From the hospital's point of view, these foreign visitors do not pose a significant stress on our hospital beds. If you look at the historical trends, as I mentioned earlier, I think extension of the length of stay and the rising proportion of patients aged 65 and above are key drivers of hospital bed demand. Of course, hospital bed occupancy is also a very dynamic number. It varies from day to day as you can imagine. It also varies from hospital to hospital. It depends to a very large extent
\tPage: 38
on the number of emergency admissions and the number of discharges the hospital is able to undertake on each day. So, it depends on how many patients arrive at the A&E, how many patients we plan to discharge. On certain days, when we plan for a certain number of discharges, there could be a significant number of emergency cases that arrive at the emergency departments and we have to address them and we may have to hospitalise them.
If that situation happens, you tend to see a high bed occupancy rate for that particular day of that particular hospital. Once you admit a patient into a hospital ward, it is not just for one day. Sometimes, it takes two or three days. For an elderly, it may take a bit longer. So, even for that particular day, the occupancy rate is high because of high admissions. It will take a few days for the occupancy rate to come down even if you have low admissions because the patients will take up the bed for a couple of days, or three-four days, depending on the situation. So, it is not just a simple factor. That is why I explained in my answer that a combination of factors will contribute towards a high bed occupancy.
\tAssoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene (Nominated Member): Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister how real is the collaboration with the private sector. If I were to run a private sector hospital, I am happy to be the landlord but I would not be prepared to take on the manpower demands. I would also not want to take the medico-legal risks. As such, how real is private sector collaboration then?
\tMr Gan Kim Yong: It is as real as you can get because we do have running collaboration with the private hospitals, as I mentioned, between Changi General Hospital and Parkway East. They have already been running for a year or more. What Changi General Hospital does is that it has an agreement with the Parkway East to make use of the wards. Changi's doctors are there to look after the patients and they manage the patients. They also tap on the support services and the nurses. But the doctors come from Changi General Hospital, making use of the beds, that is one collaboration.
We are also discussing collaboration in a deeper way, including the use of emergency department, building up the capability of the private hospitals to make sure that they are able to respond to emergencies. For those patients who are sent to these private hospitals, they would then be treated as if they are in the public hospitals and they would be treated by doctors in the private hospitals. So, these are some of the collaborations that we are discussing.
\tPage: 39
What I mentioned were those that already have been in operation for some time. There are new models that we are looking at and some of these, because there are ongoing discussions with the private operators, he will understand that I will not be able to share with him more details.
There is also collaboration between NUH with Westpoint Hospital. Basically, NUH rented a ward from Westpoint and is making use of the supporting services at Westpoint Hospital. So, there are different models and we are exploring different possibilities. As the Member said, private operators may have different concerns and different considerations. But I think as far as medical risks are concerned, as a hospital, there are certain risks. The key is to ensure that we have a very strong and robust medical protocol to ensure that patients are given the necessary treatment and support. There will always be medical risks and I think, as doctors and hospitals, they accept that. We look forward to working together with some of the private operators and tap on their capacity with a win-win outcome.
\tDr Lam Pin Min: Can I just ask the Minister whether it is possible to bring forward the completion date of the Sengkang General Hospital because, currently, the targeted date is 2018 which is about four years from now? We can actually add in more resources to complete the hospital earlier. Exactly whether how many more General Hospitals does the Minister envisage will be necessary to meet the needs of Singaporeans, let us say, in 2030?
\tMr Gan Kim Yong: Madam, beyond Sengkang, we are looking at four more General Hospitals between 2020 and 2030. This is the current projection. But 2030 is still a very long way off. We will need to continue to monitor very closely and the plan will have to remain very dynamic. And if our demography shifts, our disease pattern shifts, and the healthcare landscape changes, we will have to evolve our care model. As I mentioned just now, we should not rely on building acute hospitals as the only solution. We need to look at the entire system, transform our care model to ensure that we are efficient and it is also a good way to ensure that we are cost-effective.
He asked about bringing forward the construction of Sengkang General Hospital. I have been asked this question several times. It is not just about the physical construction. We have broken ground on the Sengkang project. It will take a while for us to complete the project. The current schedule is 2018. Bringing forward the construction has several risks. We want to make sure that the project is well built because it is a very complex project. This morning, I was at the Ng Teng Fong Hospital's topping-out ceremony, and you can see that the hospital is taking shape. But it also reminds all of us it is a very complex and
\tPage: 40
big project. It is not just a physical infrastructure. It is also important, even as we build the infrastructure, to ensure we also develop the manpower capacity. For Ng Teng Fong Hospital, for example, currently we are building the capacity of manpower and they are operating in Alexandra Hospital, undergoing training and trying to build a team together so that when Ng Teng Fong Hospital is ready to open by the end of the year, the team is ready to move across. So, it involves building manpower as well.
The manpower development cannot be accelerated at will because we need time for people to train, and to acquire the necessary skills and experience. I would say this, we would try to build the Sengkang General Hospital as fast as practically possible, but I would not want to accelerate it beyond a point where it actually poses a risk to the project as well as to the patients.
\tMs Irene Ng Phek Hoong (Tampines): Madam, as the Minister pointed out, the bulk of the beds are taken up by elderly patients. Can I ask the Minister to have a laser light focus on the healthcare for the elderly and the entire ecosystem that supports them because many families tell me that they do not want their elderly parents to be discharged because they cannot have the care for them at home? Can I ask the Minister to look at the nursing home situation, into day-care for the elderly, into step-down care for the elderly, so that there is a support system for them, so that they can be discharged with peace of mind and also with subsidies that can support them?
\tMr Gan Kim Yong: Madam, I can empathise with the Member's concerns reflecting the concerns of many of our elderly. I met many elderly patients in my own constituency and I can understand their concerns. But it is also important for us to look at this issue of caring for the elderly in a more holistic way.
First, we want to find opportunities to reach out to them, to engage them, to encourage them to adopt a healthy lifestyle, to help them stay healthy. One important factor in helping the elderly stay healthy is to help them comply with their medication. I think many elderly, as you find out during your house visits, have a lot of medication to take because of multiple conditions. Sometimes, they forget to take the medication and, sometimes, because of side effects, they decide to stop their medication. And as a result, their conditions get worse. So, we would like to encourage them to stay on their medication. That will help manage their conditions and minimise the progression of their conditions and reduce the risks of having to be hospitalised.
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Some elderly are concerned about the cost of medication, and I would encourage Members to reach out to them and tell them they do not have to worry about the cost. If there is, indeed, a concern about financial affordability, let me know and I will take a look at them on a case-by-case basis.
This is the same for home care. If you have a need for financial support, do let us know. But I would hesitate to have a model where the bulk of the elderly are cared for in an institution, whether they are community hospitals, step-down care or a nursing home. Over the long term, we will find that it is better for our elderly to be supported and cared for by their family because the elderly themselves want to be with their family and want to stay at home. It is an environment that they are more familiar with and more conducive for their health and recovery. So, we should focus a lot more on developing home care and see what kind of support services that we can evolve over the next few years to support more elderly to be cared for at home.
We will be building a lot more day-care centres so that these elderly can come down from their flats during the day to be cared for by professionals and to do exercises to stay healthy, maybe even receive therapy. After that, at the end of the day, their family members can then come and pick them up and take them home. These senior day care centres are very important and we will be building them over the next few years. It is important for us to also develop home nursing so that for patients who need nursing care at home, we will have sufficient facilities to support them.
These are various initiatives we need to put in place as part of our Healthcare 2020 Master Plan. Each piece is linked to other pieces. We need to look at it in a holistic way.
\tMr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah): Madam, the Minister mentioned about home-nursing care. I just want to ask the Minister what more can the Government do to encourage more home nursing care, and whether the reason why there are fewer patients considering home nursing is because the expenses are not covered under the 3M framework. Therefore, there will be an immediate cashflow impact on these patients if they are discharged and then get into the homes. Would the Government consider allowing limited usage of the 3Ms for home nursing care so that patients may consider discharging earlier because they can offset their costs with the 3M subsidies?
\tMr Gan Kim Yong: Madam, I want to thank Mr Liang for his points. Indeed, we want to find different strategies to develop home nursing. Financing is one.
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MOH is reviewing the financing structure for home nursing so that the financial support that we give to patients, especially needy patients, should, by and large, be set in neutral so that it does not penalise them for staying at home. Instead, today they get a higher subsidy and lower cost, lower cash upfront, when they are hospitalised. This will not incentivise or encourage them to do home nursing. These are things that we will review over the next few months. We hope to be able to share with the House in time to come our ideas on how we can encourage and develop these home nursing centres.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Affordable Premiums for MediShield Plans","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"48 Mr Zainal Sapari asked the Minister for Health (a) over the last two years, what is the number of Singaporeans above 65 years old who downgraded from an integrated MediShield Plan to Basic MediShield; (b) whether the Ministry can review the Medisave withdrawal cap to allow for the premiums of the integrated MediShield plans to be fully paid by Medisave; and (c) whether a cap on the premium that can be charged for the lowest integrated plan can be introduced.
\tThe Senior Minister of State for Health (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) (for the Minister for Health): MediShield is a basic health insurance scheme designed to help Singaporeans with the cost of subsidised Class B2 and Class C bills at public hospitals. Integrated Shield plans, which are offered by private insurers, provide top-up coverage beyond MediShield for hospitalisation in higher ward classes, such as Class B1, A wards and private hospitals.
In 2011 and 2012, the number of Integrated Shield plan policyholders aged above 65 years old who downgraded to basic MediShield was 1,400 and 1,900 respectively. This is about 2% of the Integrated Shield plan policyholders aged above 65 years old each year.
Medisave is designed for basic healthcare expenses, such as basic health insurance coverage for subsidised wards, and contribution rates and withdrawal limits are thus set accordingly. In line with this principle, Medisave withdrawal limits are set to allow basic MediShield premiums to be fully paid for using Medisave, and are reviewed regularly.
As Medisave is meant for basic healthcare expenses, we have pegged the withdrawal limits to cover the premiums of the basic MediShield plan. Hence,
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Singaporeans who opt for Integrated Shield plans should consider carefully whether such plans are appropriate for them as they may need to pay for some part of their premium in cash. Nonetheless, to help Singaporeans reduce their out-of-pocket payments, we increased the Medisave withdrawal limits by $200 for those aged above 65 on 1 November 2013, to up to $1,400, which is adequate to cover a significant portion of the premiums for the more affordable Integrated Shield Plans.
My Ministry will continue to ensure that basic MediShield remains affordable and provides adequate coverage for Singaporeans. In conjunction with the introduction of MediShield Life, MOH will review the Integrated Shield Plans and how we can better help Singaporeans make informed decisions. As part of the ongoing public consultation process for MediShield Life, the MediShield Life Review Committee will also be consulting members of the public and key stakeholders, such as insurers, on their views concerning Integrated Shield Plans, and will surface recommendations for the Ministry's consideration.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Student Care Services in Primary Schools","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"49 Dr Lam Pin Min asked the Minister for Education (a) how is the capacity of student care facilities in single-session Primary schools determined; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider freeing up more spaces for student care services in Primary schools with a high demand for such services.
\tThe Senior Minister of State for Education (Ms Indranee Rajah) (for the Minister for Education): Mdm Speaker, school-based Student Care Centres (SCCs) provide an important support for students, especially those who can benefit from a structured and supportive environment in after-school care and, particularly, where parents are both working.
Over the last three years, we have been expanding the number of school-based student care centres steadily, from less than 50 to 80 today. The number of students enrolled in these centres has also risen sharply, from around 3,500 to more than 6,500.
The demand for school-based SCC places differs among the schools. Where there is high demand, MOE supports our school principals in setting up or expanding the capacity of school-based SCCs. The expansion depends on
\tPage: 44
the capacity of the various SCC operators in scaling up their operations. It is important that we continue to maintain quality even as we expand.
MOE understands that there is an increasing demand for SCC services, and is working with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and SCC operators to increase the number of SCC places, while maintaining quality and affordability.
\tDr Lam Pin Min (Sengkang West): Mdm Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for the answer. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State if schools with student care facilities can consider allowing students from schools without student care facilities to enrol into their programme. Right now, apparently, the schools do not allow that kind of arrangement. Would MOE be looking into regulating student care services to ensure that our service providers do meet certain minimum service standards?
\tMs Indranee Rajah: Mdm Speaker, with regard to the first question, the Member would like to know whether a school with an SCC can facilitate to look after students from a school without SCC. One of the primary conveniences about an SCC is that it is located in the school which the students attend. If a student is from another school which is a great distance away, then it could be quite inconvenient for the travelling. If the school is nearby, possibly it is something that can be considered. But we would have to look at it and to review, bearing in mind that each school has its own demand for its students. I think that the school would want to give priority to its own students before it could give places to students from another school. Ideally, one would hope that, where there is appropriate demand, the particular school in question would be able to provide an SCC for its own students. But that depends, as I have indicated, on the capacity of the school, the demand, as well as the operator's ability to ramp up.
The second question was whether MOE would regulate student care services. As I have indicated, MOE looks after the education part of it. It works with MSF where childcare and student care are concerned. In that respect, MOE will continue to work closely with MSF.
\tPage: 45
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Review of Enhancement for Active Seniors Scheme","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"50 Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar asked the Minister for National Development whether the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) scheme can be reviewed where Singaporean citizen households with at least one member aged 60 years old and above can automatically be eligible for the scheme.
\tThe Minister of State for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee) (for the Minister for National Development): Madam, currently, the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme is offered to residents in two ways.
First, EASE is offered as part of HDB's enhanced Home Improvement Programme (HIP). There is no age criterion for such a scheme.
Second, home owners whose blocks are not undergoing HIP but who wish to benefit from EASE may apply directly to HDB for it. To qualify, they must be citizen households with elderly who are 70 years old and above, or between 65 and 69 years old and require assistance for Activities of Daily Living (ADL).
The age criterion for direct application is in place to give priority to older residents. To date, more than 5,400 households who applied directly for EASE have benefited from the scheme. HDB is currently reviewing EASE, in consultation with the Ministry of Health. We thank the Member for her suggestions and will take them into consideration in the course of this review.
\tDr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio): Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister of State. While HDB is reviewing the scheme, may I also suggest a few things? We know that there are increasingly more senior citizen households in blocks which are less than 30 years old. That means they are not eligible for the Home Improvement Programme yet and it is still a few more years to go. May I suggest that EASE be expanded, for example, the anti-slip treatment for tiles to be extended to also the kitchen, and not just one bathroom but both bathrooms in the kitchen; and the bamboo pole support holders to be included as part of EASE rather than HIP? There have increasingly been more residents asking for that in particular.
\tMr Desmond Lee: I thank the Member for her suggestions. We will take all these into account in the course of the comprehensive review.
\tPage: 46
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Promotion of Bilingualism in Preschools","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"51 Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Minister for Education (a) whether there are adequate preschool educators available to promote bilingualism in preschools; and (b) what are the challenges the Ministry faces in uplifting the competency level of these mother tongue preschool educators to support the national bilingualism strategy.
\tThe Minister of State for Education (Ms Sim Ann) (for the Minister for Education): Madam, early childhood education is an important window of opportunity for establishing positive attitudes and a basic foundation in language learning. Having sufficient preschool teachers in the English Language (EL) and the Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) is key to achieving this.
While there are generally sufficient preschool teachers at the kindergarten levels certified to teach MTL, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has received feedback from some preschool centres that they have had some difficulties hiring MTL teachers.
To increase the overall number of preschool educators in the sector, ECDA is strengthening the training pipeline for the Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education at the polytechnics, supported by an enhanced Training Award launched last October. In addition, a Continuing Professional Development Masterplan that was recently launched will enhance the attractiveness of the profession and improve retention of preschool educators. This will provide structured training and professional development pathways for preschool educators and will also include courses on MTL teaching.
To support preschool teachers in the teaching and learning of MTLs, MOE launched the Nurturing Early Learners' (NEL) Framework for MTLs in November 2013. Copies will be distributed to preschool centres in the first quarter of 2014. This will be available in the various MTLs. In addition, the MTL teachers may refer to the available Nurturing Early Learners' Educators' Guide to strengthen their practice. ECDA will also be conducting workshops from July 2014 for MTL teachers to equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills to plan and implement a quality MTL curriculum.
MOE is also developing teaching and learning resources for the teaching of MTLs. These resources are currently being piloted in the MOE Kindergartens and will be shared with the preschool sector after review and refinement.
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In addition, the Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism further supports the teaching and learning of English Language and the MTLs, with a focus at the preschool level. To date, the Fund has sponsored 17 proposals from the community to develop more local resources and promotional events. Several of these have already been launched over the last few months.
\tMr Ang Hin Kee (Ang Mo Kio): I would like to thank the Minister of State for working very hard to get more comprehensive support, such as the training award as well as the continual professional development for teachers involved in Mother Tongue Languages. I am just wondering if there is a similar collaboration with WDA CET centres so that there is a broader base, beyond just what MOE can do and the facilities available under MOE, so that teachers who want to pursue other alternative courses under the CET programme can similarly take advantage of the schemes and proposals that the Minister of State mentioned earlier.
\tMs Sim Ann: I thank the Member for the supplementary question. My understanding is that the training and the further development of our preschool teachers, whether fresh from school or mid-career entrants, is something that we have been working with like-minded partners on. We would certainly be very open to broadening some of these training collaborations with partners such as WDA. There is already a range of programmes available but we will always be prepared to work with them to strengthen these.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Effectiveness of Six-year Integrated Programme in Schools","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"52 Dr Lam Pin Min asked the Minister for Education if he can provide an update on the Integrated Programme (IP) since its implementation in 2004 and whether the programme has achieved its original objective and desired outcomes.
\tThe Minister for Education (Mr Heng Swee Keat): Mdm Speaker, the Ministry of Education (MOE) started the Integrated Programme (IP) in 2004 as an alternative model of delivering a six-year Secondary and Junior College (JC) education.
The IP injects diversity into our education system so that we can better develop students according to their aptitude and interest. The IP caters to
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students who are academically-strong and can benefit from spending the time freed up from having to prepare for the \"O\" Level examinations to pursue broader learning experiences.
While the IP is beneficial for some students, the \"O\" Level track continues to provide an effective pathway for a large majority of our students. It helps them build a strong academic foundation for post-secondary education through a more structured programme.
The IP is offered in 18 schools, of which eight are dual-track schools that offer both the IP and \"O\" Level tracks. Dual track schools provide an environment where students from both tracks interact and learn from each other.
The first few batches of IP graduates have performed well. Feedback from IP students further indicates that they have enjoyed and benefited from the learning opportunities and have been engaged in various community projects. These are in line with the objectives and desired outcomes of the IP.
We will continue to monitor and review the IP to ensure that it serves the needs of our students.
\tDr Lam Pin Min (Sengkang West): Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister for the answer. I would like to ask two supplementary questions. First, how do the schools monitor the progress and suitability of existing students who are in the Integrated Programme? Secondly, how many students in an average cohort end up retaining for additional years, or even drop out of the programme totally?
\tMr Heng Swee Keat: The goal of our schools, essentially, is to help every student succeed. Indeed, the schools monitor the progress of students very closely. The vast majority of the students have no difficulty in the programme. For a small number which may have some difficulty, the schools will provide additional support to help them go through that initial period of difficulty. Those who are found not suitable for the programme – because this is educationally not appropriate for them – will be counselled and the schools will discuss the matter with their parents so that the students may pursue a more appropriate track. Bear in mind that the IP track is just one of the many tracks that the Ministry offers.
Dr Lam asked how many students did not complete the programme. Based on 2008 Secondary IP cohort, around 6% leave the IP prior to graduation for
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various reasons, including transferring to the \"O\" Level track, pursuing post-Secondary education via other pathways, or continuing their education abroad.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Impact of Growth of Moneylenders","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OA","content":"53 Ms Foo Mee Har asked \tthe Minister for Law (a) whether the rapid growth of legal moneylenders especially in the heartlands increases the risk of Singaporeans taking on more personal debt than they can reasonably service; (b) how may vulnerable borrowers be better protected from the temptation of easy credit from moneylenders; and (c) whether steps may be taken to reduce the aggressive marketing that the moneylenders undertake in the heartlands.
54 Ms Lee Li Lian asked \tthe Minister for Law (a) how are the effective interest rate caps of 13% and 20% for secured and unsecured loans for lower income earners determined; (b) whether the caps can be extended to loans for higher income earners; and (c) for each year in the last five years, what is the average interest rate charged by licensed moneylenders for secured and unsecured loans respectively to borrowers with annual income of less than $30,000 and to those with annual income of $30,000 or more.
55 Ms Lee Li Lian asked the Minister for Law (a) what is the number of places of business operated by licensed moneylenders as at 31 December of each year in the last five years; (b) whether a limit is set to the number of places of such businesses in each HDB town; and (c) what is the value of such moneylending loans as at 31 December of each year in the last five years.
56 Mr David Ong asked the Minister for Law whether there is a legal chargeable rate or cap for late payment charges when borrowing from legalised moneylenders and, if not, whether the Ministry will consider legislating such a rate or cap.
\t\tThe Senior Minister of State for Law (Ms Indranee Rajah) (for the Minister for Law): Mdm Speaker, with your permission, may I take Question Nos 53 to 56 together, as they are related?
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please.
Ms Indranee Rajah: The Members' concerns can be categorised into two broad themes. The first is a concern over the number of moneylenders in the
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heartlands. The second is whether the Government can do more to protect borrowers.
Let me set the context for our reply. Overall, the amount of loans disbursed by licensed moneylenders constitutes less than 1% of the consumer credit market. The number of licensed moneylenders increased from 173 in 2008 to 249 in 2011. In 2012, the Ministry imposed a moratorium on new licences, and no new licences have been granted since. The number of licensed moneylenders has since decreased to 209 in 2012.
The Government agrees with the concern about excessive borrowing and credit being too accessible to borrowers. However, if legal access to credit is completely cut off, the consequences will be worse. Borrowers will be driven to seek loans from unlicensed moneylenders or other illegal sources. If people need money, they will try and find a way to borrow. We are all aware of the exploitation and harassment that these borrowers are subject to once unlicensed moneylenders enter the picture.
Consequently, the Government's approach is to maintain a balance in allowing borrowers reasonable access to credit from licensed moneylenders, and providing them, especially those of lower income, with adequate protection.
We have enacted various safeguards that are aimed at achieving this balance.
First, moneylenders must meet several criteria before their licences are granted. These include ensuring that they are of good character to manage the business and the placement of a security deposit to ensure the proper conduct of the business. Moneylenders found to have committed offences will have their licences suspended, not renewed or revoked.
Second, moneylenders are required to explain the terms of a loan to borrowers before granting the loan. These include the Effective Interest Rate or \"EIR\", which makes clear the true cost of the loan.
Third, for borrowers with an annual income below $30,000, the EIR is capped at 13% for secured loans and 20% for unsecured loans. These correspond to the previous nominal interest rate caps of 12% and 18% respectively. There are also caps on the unsecured loan amounts for borrowers with annual income below $120,000.
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Fourth, moneylenders are required to explain all the contingent charges in the loan, such as late interest or late fees that are levied when a borrower is late in repayment. For borrowers with annual income below $30,000, moneylenders are prohibited from charging a late interest rate beyond the actual interest rate charged for the loan. As for late fees, these are currently not capped. However, moneylenders are required to disclose such fees before granting the loan so that any borrower who finds a particular fee objectionable can choose not to take up the loan. It ensures that the borrower will have the full facts before he decides to borrow. Nonetheless, fees charged on the loan is an issue which my Ministry is looking at, as the cost of borrowing is significantly affected by such fees.
Finally, there are also in place stringent advertising rules which prohibit moneylenders from advertising and promoting their business through unsolicited communications. Given these rules, borrowers will generally only see advertisements when they are actively searching for moneylenders.
In essence, the issue is this: you have borrowers who want to borrow. They cannot borrow from banks. Can you prevent them from borrowing by preventing them from going to licensed moneylenders?
I would like to assure Members that we are monitoring the moneylending industry closely, and where necessary, we will introduce further safeguards to protect borrowers. Aside from the issue of fees, my Ministry is considering measures to complement the Monetary Authority of Singapore's recently-introduced cap on unsecured borrowing from financial institutions and ensure that borrowers do not over-extend themselves. We are also reviewing whether interest rate caps should be extended to loans for higher income earners.
At present, we have not imposed any limits on the number of moneylenders in any geographical location; Singapore is not such a big country that travelling cost will effectively deter borrowing from moneylenders. However, we will also review this position.
\tMs Foo Mee Har (West Coast): Mdm Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for her very comprehensive answer, as well as some of the reviews that are in the pipeline. I would like to ask three supplementary questions. Hopefully, the Ministry could include these points as part of the review on the moneylenders' regime.
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First, I do feel there is a need to look at the number of moneylenders that operate in the heartlands. Overall, there may be one number for Singapore, but there should be a cap on the number allowed to operate in the heartlands.
Also, the age limit to be eligible to be borrowing from moneylenders should be increased from the current 18 years old, to at least 21 years old so that it is in line with banks' lending requirements on credit cards and personal loans.
Next, the Senior Minister of State talked about people over leveraging. That is precisely the key issue: whether Government as part of the review of the moneylending regime could look at what support can be given or that people can expect to get from the Government, to provide for a systematic process of deleveraging.
\tMs Indranee Rajah: Mdm Speaker, I can certainly assure Ms Foo that we will look into these matters in our review.
\tMr David Ong (Jurong): Mdm Speaker, I am seeing more cases in my Meet-the People Sessions (MPS), as more residents face problems arising from easy credit from licensed moneylenders. Some of their debts have snowballed to three times the principal amount, and all because of the uncapped late penalty charges. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State and the Ministry to look into instituting a cap on these penalty charges, because some can be very exorbitant. Their debts will be spiralling out of control.
\tMs Indranee Rajah: Mdm Speaker, as indicated earlier, that is something that we are currently reviewing.
\tMs Tan Su Shan (Nominated Member): Mdm Speaker, given that moneylenders are in the business of lending money, are there plans to have them regulated by the MAS?
\tMs Indranee Rajah: That is a matter that the MAS will have to decide whether or not it will accede to. Currently, for historical reasons, moneylenders fall under the Ministry of Law. The Ministry of Law would be more than happy to explore with the MAS if the MAS would like to take over this.
Mdm Speaker: Order. End of Question Time. Before I proceed to invite the Deputy Prime Minister to make his Ministerial Statement, I would like to just remind Members that if you want to amend your Parliamentary Questions,
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you have to do that before the Sitting date, and if the amendments to your Parliamentary Questions are very material, these will have to filed as new Parliamentary Questions and will have to comply with the Standing Orders. With that, I invite the Deputy Prime Minister to make the Ministerial Statement.
[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos 57, 60-62, 64-66, 68, 70-71, 74-75, 80 and 85-93 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix. Question Nos 58-59, 63, 67, 69, 72-73, 76-79 and 81-84 have been postponed to the sitting of Parliament on 21 January 2014.]
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Teo Chee Hean): Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to make this Statement. May I have your permission to display slides and ask the Clerk to distribute handouts to Members, which I will refer to during my Statement?
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please. [Handouts were distributed to hon Members. Please refer to Annex 1.]
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mdm Speaker, a riot took place in Little India on the night of 8 December 2013. The riot was the result of an unruly mob reacting to a fatal traffic accident. This was the worst public order disturbance in Singapore in more than four decades. Twenty three emergency response vehicles were damaged, of which five were burnt. Another seven private vehicles were damaged. Forty-nine Home Team officers sustained injuries.
The first responders found the deceased, Mr Sakthivel Kumaravelu, pinned under a private bus. By then, a crowd of about 100 persons had gathered. The bus driver and the bus service timekeeper were taking refuge in the bus, as they had been injured by the angry mob. As the crowd was unruly, the first responders immediately requested assistance. SCDF and Police reinforcements started to arrive from 9.38 pm. The Police ground commander also requested for support from Police Special Operations Command, or SOC, at 9.45 pm.
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Despite the mob pelting the bus with objects such as beer bottles, stones and drain covers, Police Officers created a cordon for SCDF officers to extricate the deceased. At 9.54 pm, SCDF officers extricated the body of the deceased from under the bus, shielded by Police Officers.
By this time, the crowd had swelled to about 400, and continued to be unruly and violent. The SOC was activated at 10.04 pm. The SOC officers are specially trained in the use of equipment and tactics to deal with large-scale riots and public order threats. At approximately 10.08 pm, the officers also evacuated the bus driver and timekeeper from the bus and shielded them to the ambulance. At approximately 10.27 pm, the bus driver and timekeeper were conveyed to hospital.
Meanwhile, other Police Officers arriving at the scene sought to contain the situation. They closed perimeter roads around the site to prevent innocent persons from venturing into the incident area. But there were still too few Police Officers present to prevent the rioters from overturning emergency response vehicles, and setting fire to several of them. The first vehicle was set on fire at about 10.30 pm.
While the rioters had the ability and the opportunity to cause grievous hurt, Police Officers present assessed that there was no immediate threat to lives, that is, no immediate jeopardy to lives. Based on Police doctrine, they assessed that the use of lethal force was not appropriate. It could have worsened the situation, or hurt innocent bystanders.
The first SOC troop of 29 officers arrived at 10.42 pm, which was about 40 minutes after their activation and about one hour after the ground commander had first requested for SOC support. The second troop arrived shortly thereafter. No more vehicles were overturned or set on fire after the SOC arrived.
After assessing the terrain, crowd size and mood, the ground commander directed the SOC troops to disperse the mob. The troops formed up at their assigned locations, and ordered the crowd to disperse in several languages, including Tamil. But instead of dispersing, persons in the crowd continued to pelt the SOC officers with various objects. The SOC troops then moved in to disperse the crowd. As they advanced, the crowd backed off, broke into smaller groups and began to disperse. This also facilitated the arrest of rioters by Police. The entire situation was brought under control within two hours of the start of the incident.
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Mr Alex Yam asked about personal safety and security measures for SCDF rescuers against violence. When SCDF rescuers face a threat of violence or danger, the protocol is for Police Officers to protect the SCDF officers so that they can carry out their rescue mission. And this is what happened in this incident, where the SCDF and Police Officers worked together to carry out their duties to save lives and maintain public order. However, the scale and intensity of this incident were beyond what the initial responding forces were equipped to deal with and to bring under control. Police and SCDF are reviewing the incident to see where improvements to equipment, training or protocols can be made.
After the riot, Police immediately commenced investigations that same night to identify those involved. They also checked on workers returning to their dorms to identify persons, and to maintain security in the dorms. Within two weeks, Police interviewed about 4,000 persons. More than 400 persons were called up for further investigations. Action has been taken against 295 persons who can be categorised into three groups.
The first group of 25 persons include instigators and those actively involved in egregious acts of violence. They had damaged property, defied Police orders or incited others to do so. They have been charged in Court.
The second group of 57 persons had knowingly joined or continued to participate in the riot, despite being ordered to disperse by Police. In doing so, they had impeded riot control and emergency rescue operations. These persons were given stern warnings by Police and repatriated. They will be banned from returning to Singapore.
The third group of 213 persons who were present but their involvement was assessed to be passive and incidental and they were issued formal Police advisories in the presence of their employers. They can continue to remain and work here. No further action will be taken against them as long as they abide by our laws.
Mr Christopher de Souza and Mr Laurence Lien asked about the process of investigation, and the basis for our action against the persons involved.
Mdm Speaker, I had stated earlier on 9 December that anyone who commits an offence will face the full weight of the law, and that we will deal with all the persons involved strictly, firmly, and fairly according to our laws. And this is exactly what we have done. Police relied on evidence from forensic examination,
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video footage, photographs as well as officer and witness accounts to determine the culpability of various individuals. Evidence against each person was reviewed by the Attorney-General's Chambers before decisions were made.
Members may recall that we had originally arrested and charged 35 persons, but charges against 10 persons were eventually withdrawn after the Attorney-General's Chambers reviewed further evidence – and this shows due process at work. All 25 persons facing a court trial have been offered pro-bono counsel under the Law Society's Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS). I understand that all the accused have engaged counsel, most of them pro-bono under the CLAS while several have hired their own lawyers.
Mdm Speaker, under our laws, foreigners do not have an inherent legal right to work and stay in Singapore. They can only do so with the permission of the state. In the last three years, on average, 13,000 foreigners were repatriated annually. Foreign workers must know that if they flout our rules, they do face repatriation. We need to be strict about this, to maintain the safety and security of our society.
In this case, our investigations showed that the 57 persons had continued to participate in the riot despite Police's orders to disperse. This is an offence under the Penal Code. The Attorney-General's Chambers reviewed the evidence in each case, and decided to administer a stern warning to each of the 57 persons. I, as the Minister for Home Affairs, then decided, based on the statutory powers vested in me under the Immigration Act, that they should be repatriated. Their visit passes were then cancelled by the Controller of Immigration and they were so repatriated.
The High Commissions of India and Bangladesh have been given full consular access to their nationals who were charged or served with repatriation orders.
Mdm Speaker, as for the fatal traffic accident that immediately preceded the riot, investigations are on-going. The Traffic Police has obtained cogent evidence of what happened. An independent expert has been engaged to reconstruct the accident, and to provide an opinion as to how the accident happened.
Mdm Speaker, Ms Irene Ng, Mr Christopher de Souza, Mr Gerald Giam and Ms Sylvia Lim asked about the Committee of Inquiry.
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The Committee of Inquiry (COI), which I appointed on 13 December 2013, five days after the riot, is chaired by former Judge of the Supreme Court, Mr G Pannir Selvam, and has three other members. The COI members are respected persons with many years of experience in the fields of law and security. They are familiar with worker issues, as well as relations between foreign workers and the local population. I refer Members to the terms of reference of the Committee which are shown on the screen and provided in page 4 of the handout.
Since the appointment of the COI, the members have met several times. Just five days after their appointment, on 18 and 20 December 2013, COI members visited the immigration depot, which held persons pending their repatriation. Twenty of the 57 persons who were repatriated agreed to be interviewed by the COI. The COI is supported by a team of experienced investigators from the Central Narcotics Bureau. These officers and the agency were not involved in this incident. State Counsel from the Attorney-General's Chambers will lead the evidence. The Chairman of the COI is empowered to decide whether any part of its hearings will be open to the public. The COI has asked interested parties to send in written submissions and intends to continue with its work with hearings from 19 February 2014. I have asked the Committee to complete its inquiry and submit its report within six months from its appointment in December 2013.
Ms Foo Mee Har and Mr Seng Han Thong asked if the frontline response was adequate and whether there will be any changes to procedures following the incident. Mdm Speaker, I have described the events that night and what the responders did. This is an area that the COI will look into. Hence, it is not appropriate for me to pre-empt the COI's conclusions. However, my Ministry, Police and the SCDF are in parallel looking into areas that can be improved and will proceed to make these improvements where we assess that it is necessary.
Following the riot on 8 December 2013, MHA together with other Government agencies took immediate measures to calm the ground and stabilise the situation. A designated part of Little India was proclaimed as an area in a state of danger to public order under the Public Order (Preservation) Act. Proclamations have been effected on weekends as well as on public holidays and the eves of public holidays, and when large-scale events are planned.
Let me elaborate on the measures taken. First, restrictions on alcohol. For the first weekend after the riot, Police imposed a total ban on the sale and public consumption of alcohol in the proclaimed area. Subsequent to this, Police have
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calibrated the measures. On days covered by the proclamation, the ban on consumption of alcohol in public areas remains. Alcohol can be sold at licensed retail outlets up to 8 pm. This is curtailed from the original licensing provisions of up to midnight, or later. The sale and consumption of alcohol within licensed premises is no longer banned and these premises can sell alcohol in accordance with their licensing conditions.
In answer to the question by Mr R Dhinakaran, since the imposition of these measures and as of 19 January 2014, Police have detected 38 incidents of violations involving 10 business operators and 57 individuals. Business operators will be investigated and prosecuted if the case is substantiated. Police will consider what further action to take against those who have been convicted, including the revocation of their liquor licences. For cases of individuals consuming alcohol in public areas, Police have issued advisories to the offenders. Where such offenders held work passes, the advisories were administered in the presence of their employers.
Second, transport. The Little India bus services are run by two private operators with a total of some 260 buses ferrying foreign workers between their dormitories and Little India on Sundays. These services were suspended on the first weekend following the riot. The bus services resumed operations at 50% capacity from 22 December 2013, and more buses were subsequently added. The drop-off and pick-up operations were also improved to maintain order.
Third, presence on the ground. Ms Sylvia Lim asked about policing arrangements, and whether there were changes post-riot. Prior to the riot, measures had already been put in place to improve the physical environment of the Little India area, such as the installation of back-lane lighting, additional railings along Serangoon Road to prevent spill-over of pedestrians onto the road and jaywalking, and the deployment of Auxiliary Police Officers to prevent anti-social behaviour and to address the concerns of local residents.
Following the incident, Police have stepped up presence. Police have deployed an additional 20 to 30 Police Officers, as well as SOC troops, in Little India, on weekends and on public holidays and their eves. This is supplemented by 81 existing Auxiliary Police Officers and private security officers who are engaged to help project a strong uniformed presence and mitigate social disamenities on weekends. This level of presence requires considerable resources. Police will continue to review the requirements, to balance the deployment level with sustainability. Police have also initiated other measures to improve security. It has installed more CCTV surveillance and is building
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stronger community partnership programmes.
Fourth, outreach to foreign workers. Three days after the riot, Minister Shanmugam and Minister Iswaran as well as Mr Vikram Nair and Mr Dhinakaran, commenced a series of visits on workers in their dormitories. They impressed upon the foreign workers that they must abide by the laws of Singapore, while reassuring them that those not involved in the riot need not worry. These visits were very helpful.
During these past weeks when restrictions have been in place in Little India, the operators of the recreation centres and foreign worker dormitories have been encouraged to organise more programmes such as movie marathons, bazaars and sports events for the workers.
Mdm Speaker, later today, I will be introducing a Bill which seeks to enact a temporary law to provide Police with powers to continue to take calibrated measures to maintain public order and calm in Little India post-riot. The new law will allow Police and other agencies to enforce the alcohol restrictions and regulate the movement of persons. This new law is scoped more tightly compared to the wide-ranging powers that come into effect when the Public Order (Preservation) Act is invoked, and provides only for the additional powers needed for the purposes I have stated earlier compared to the former. The Bill proposes that the law will be valid for one year. This will provide sufficient time for my Ministry to enact longer term legislation to take into account the findings and recommendations of the COI, and recommendations arising from public consultations on the review of the liquor licensing regime.
Ms Irene Ng asked about measures to prevent a recurrence of the riot. As the COI goes about its work, the Government has concurrently been looking into longer-term measures for managing foreign workers. My colleague Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin will speak about these later. For the security-related measures, Government agencies have installed additional CCTVs and enhanced the street lighting at Race Course Road and its immediate vicinity. We will be further expanding CCTV coverage in Little India.
LTA is planning to take measures to facilitate the Little India bus services. These include providing waiting areas in Hampshire Road and Tekka Lane, and providing queue heads and shelters. LTA will also regularly review the operating hours and capacity of the Little India Bus Services to support efforts to restore and maintain order in Little India following the riot.
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Mr Ang Wei Neng asked about further measures to mitigate jaywalking. We share the Member's concern. Better management of pedestrian and vehicular traffic in Little India is important to enhance road safety and improve orderliness. That is why LTA has in recent years made several improvements and installed barriers to discourage jaywalking and expand the space available for pedestrians. LTA will continue to enhance measures to ensure pedestrian safety. The Traffic Police will also continue to deploy enforcement resources to detect and deter jaywalking in Little India.
Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef, Ms Denise Phua, Assoc Prof Eugene Tan, Mr Png Eng Huat, Mr R Dhinakaran, Mr Laurence Lien and Ms Foo Mee Har asked about liquor licences in Little India, and if the Government will consider implementing similar measures to restrict sale and consumption of alcohol in other parts of Singapore. The number of liquor licences in Little India has remained stable in the last five years. This information is in page 5 of the handout.
Before the incident, MHA had already embarked on a comprehensive review of the liquor licensing regime in Singapore. Industry and public consultations on proposals to restrict sale and public consumption of alcohol commenced on 29 October 2013. We are also reviewing our regulatory levers and processes to tighten liquor control at specific places where we need to do so, for example, where there may be large congregations of foreign workers. In our review, we will draw on the experience with measures taken in Little India, and take in views of stakeholders, as well as any findings and recommendations from the COI. The full set of liquor control measures will be announced when they are ready and where laws are needed, of course, we will come to Parliament.
Ms Irene Ng asked about putting out accurate, comprehensive and timely information. The riot took place in the heart of a bustling community. Hence, personal accounts and footage of the incident were circulated quickly via social media and word of mouth. Police confirmed the incident officially via a press statement at 11.30 pm on the night of the riot. Shortly after, the same message was disseminated via Police Facebook and Twitter. There has been feedback that Police could have issued short alerts and updates earlier. I agree and have asked Police to review its information dissemination processes.
After visiting the incident site at 11.57 pm that night, I chaired a media conference with Minister Iswaran, the Commissioner of Police and the Deputy Commissioner of Police at 2.15 am on 9 December 2013. Thereafter, over the course of the subsequent days and weeks, regular media conferences were held
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and media releases were issued to put out information on the arrests, investigations and legal action taken, the appointment of the COI, as well as action taken by various Ministries and agencies to manage the post-riot situation.
Mdm Speaker, in any crisis, timely and accurate information needs to be disseminated. This is always a challenge as events unfold very quickly, and not all the facts may be immediately known to the authorities. It is also important that we separate fact from fiction and not contribute to undue speculation and alarm, for example, by spreading rumours that may not be true. This is why after the initial media statement from Police, we have provided regular updates to the local media.
Most reports in the international media have been factual and neutral. Where there has been misreporting in the foreign media, our overseas Missions have highlighted the erroneous points to the relevant media agencies. One example was Indian television station Sun TV which apologised for their misreporting and corrected its news bulletin. Unfortunately, not all foreign media outlets have done so or acted responsibly in spite of our efforts.
Mr Christopher de Souza asked if the incident has dented our core value of multiracialism. Based on what we know from Police investigations, this incident was not related to race. It is, however, a timely reminder that we should never take good order and our safety and security for granted.
Mdm Speaker, I have given an account of what happened that night, but it is also important for us to consider what did not happen that night.
The riot, though serious, did not spread to the surrounding neighbourhoods, or other parts of Singapore. It was contained within a particular area in Little India, the immediate vicinity of where the traffic accident took place. Foreign worker dormitories that night, and workplaces the next day, remained calm and peaceful. Not a single shot was fired that night, and there were no fatalities amongst the rioters, innocent bystanders, or our Home Team officers.
Police completed their intensive investigations at the incident area overnight, and by 6.45 am the next morning, Race Course Road was reopened to the public. All was calm at the Little India MRT train station, adjacent to the incident site too. In short, the riot did not spread in time or space; and was
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contained.
The riot on the night of 8 December was the first in several decades. Because we have enjoyed peace for so many years, almost none of our Home Team officers, especially our national servicemen, had experienced riots. Nonetheless, they performed their duties under difficult circumstances, contained a rapidly developing situation and restored order within two hours. Our officers then acted expeditiously to identify and deal with the persons involved, and worked closely with other agencies to put in place measures to maintain law and order and restore calm in Little India.
Mdm Speaker, Singaporeans did not expect a riot to disrupt their lives, but I am heartened that they responded rationally, when the unexpected happened. Several came forward to help. Business owners gave their support despite being affected by the restrictions imposed following the incident. Grassroots leaders in the Little India area stepped up to reassure residents, and helped the community to recover.
I am confident that we will draw useful lessons from this experience and emerge more prepared and stronger – as one Home Team, as one Singapore.
We can try to anticipate every eventuality, and plan and prepare for every one of them. But it is not possible to predict to the last detail what can happen, nor can we set aside dedicated resources for every single eventuality all of the time and all at the same time.
Instead, we must be resilient and adaptable so that when the unexpected happens, we are able to adapt and respond effectively. This is how our Home Team officers are trained and prepared, to ensure that they have the capabilities, resources and flexibility to deal with various contingencies. The same should be true for our community. We must be resilient and be able to deal with unexpected crises. We cannot be crisis-proof, but we can and must strive to be always crisis-prepared.
Mdm Speaker, the majority of Singaporeans recognise that foreign workers are generally law-abiding and do contribute to our society and economy. As many foreign workers told Minister Shanmugam, Minister Iswaran, Mr Dhinakaran and Mr Vikram Nair during their visits to the dormitories, they want to continue working here. They appreciate our rules and laws, and want to continue to live in peace and not be tarred with the same brush as the few who had done wrong. Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin will touch on
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our overall approach to manage foreign workers, after which, with Mdm Speaker's permission, we will both address any matters that Members may wish to raise.
Mdm Speaker: Acting Minister for Manpower will be making a related Ministerial Statement. I would allow Members to raise points of clarifications on both Statements after the Statement by the Acting Minister. Acting Minister Tan.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Foreign Worker Management","subTitle":"Statement by the Acting Minister for Manpower","sectionType":"OS","content":"The Acting Minister for Manpower (Mr Tan Chuan-Jin): Mdm Speaker, Deputy Prime Minister Teo gave an account of the 8 December riot, the measures taken in the aftermath, and the setting up of the Committee of Inquiry to look into the causes of the riot. A number of Members have also raised questions about the overall management of foreign workers (FWs) in Singapore. Let me provide an overview of our foreign worker landscape here in Singapore.
Our foreign workforce has always been a part of our economic landscape and foreign workers have contributed significantly to our progress and the well-being of all Singaporeans. The growth of the workforce accelerated towards the latter half of the 2000s. However, in line with the recommendations made by the Economic Strategies Committee in 2010, we began to moderate the growth of foreign workers to more sustainable levels, with a greater emphasis on productivity improvements. We also took deliberate and progressive steps to raise the quality profile of our foreign workforce and help businesses reduce their reliance on low-cost foreign labour. We will continue to do so in a targeted and adaptive manner, taking into consideration three things: (i) the growth rate of our foreign workforce; (ii) the productivity growth of our overall economy; and (iii) the real wage growth of Singaporeans at all levels. This is something that we are already doing anyway, and to Mr Dhinakaran's question, the riot will not have a material impact on these plans.
Indeed, we have progressively reduced foreign worker growth every year. At end of November 2013, we had about 1.1 million foreign workers, excluding
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foreign domestic workers. Of this pool, about 700,000 were work permit holders.
Ms Irene Ng asked whether the rate of growth of foreign construction workers is \"sustainable\" and whether there should be a \"cap\". Clearly, there is a delicate balance that we do need to strike. Many of us recognise and accept that foreign workers are needed to build infrastructure like roads, MRT networks, hospitals, housing and public facilities for Singaporeans. But we also recognise that the growth cannot be unabated. We will therefore continue to moderate the growth of foreign workers. As part of our restructuring, we should learn to do more with less. For example, construction is the biggest driver for foreign worker numbers. Hence, in June 2010, the Building Construction Authority (BCA) launched the $250 million Construction Productivity and Capability Fund to incentivise the construction industry to improve productivity and strengthen its capabilities. To require the adoption of more productive methods of construction, BCA has also raised the minimum \"Buildable Design\" and \"Constructability\" requirements for all new projects from 1 September 2013. These are important initiatives, especially for this sector. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and take further steps as needed to dampen the demand for foreign workers.
Let me now talk about how our foreign workforce is managed here in Singapore.
Ms Janice Koh asked about a study on issues facing foreign workers. Foreign workers in Singapore are, by and large, treated decently by their employers; and I would say, treated decently by Singaporeans. A 2011 survey commissioned by MOM and Migrant Workers' Centre, covering about 3,000 Work Permit holders and 500 S Pass holders, showed that more than 90% of these foreign workers were satisfied with their overall experience of working in Singapore; and more than 80% would wish to continue working here. MOM conducted another survey in November 2013 with departing foreign workers and the results were largely similar. Of the over 150 foreign construction workers interviewed at the airport, more than 90% did not have any employment issues and 80% were happy working in Singapore. A few who worked in other countries said Singapore was still the best as it provided a safe and good work environment for them.
Ms Tin Pei Ling asked how we compare with other countries. Let me put it this way: foreign workers choose to come to Singapore, and these days, with information being freely available – certainly online and elsewhere, they are not ignorant. If the situation here is chronic, bad news will spread. So, what is the
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reality?
Many consider Singapore to be an attractive destination country, and many foreigners at all levels continue to want to come here for work if they have the chance and opportunity to do so. Their rights and the help available are clearly listed. For example, before they arrive here, we make sure that workers know what their pay will be via the In-Principal Approval Letter that is issued to them. During the Work Permit card issuance process, workers are also informed of channels of assistance provided by both Government agencies and NGOs. Obviously, they always have recourse to their own Embassies or High Commissions as well.
Does it therefore appear that all or most foreign workers here are poorly treated? I believe that the situation is generally good, but it is not perfect. There is always room for improvement.
From January to November 2013, MOM assisted approximately 7,000 foreign workers with difficulties – about half of these cases were employment-related, covering things like salary and overtime claims. So, these ranged from minor issues to relatively major issues. This represents less than 1% of foreign Work Permit holders.
When we come across cases of errant employers who flout our laws – and they do exist – my Ministry takes a strong enforcement stance, and will continue to do so. To Mr Pritam Singh's question, MOM also regularly reviews our legislation to ensure that the protection accorded to workers remains adequate and appropriate. For example, under the recent changes to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, we doubled the maximum penalty for the contravention of any condition of the work pass, including the condition for employers to ensure that workers have acceptable accommodation. Other enhancements to the Employment Act, which will take effect this April, will see a new 25% sub-cap against excessive deductions. The penalties for employers who fail to pay workers' salaries will also increase.
To Ms Mary Liew's question, my Ministry works closely with NGO partners who refer cases of mistreatment they come across to MOM officers. And they do so regularly. For example, last year, there were about 640 of such NGO-referred cases. It covers about less than 0.1% of the Work Permit holders here in Singapore.
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I, therefore, find it puzzling as to how some individuals can so quickly conclude or criticise that there is widespread and systemic abuse of the foreign workforce; and that these were the reasons for the riot. In the same vein, some foreign media just echo these points but offer only scant evidence for their assertions. We do not think that there is a basis for these assertions, but we do look forward to the COI's perspective on the matter. We also believe that it is wrong for these individuals to portray Singaporeans and our employers in this light because that is not how things are, nor who we are as a people. During our visits to the dormitories after the riot, many foreign workers told us that they were actually ashamed by the conduct of those responsible. The Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, Ms Vijay Thaur Singh, also shared that there was no discontent discerned among the Indian community of foreign workers here in Singapore. Our various sources in the industry also do not indicate any perceptible disquiet.
Managing our foreign workforce well is important. Ms Denise Phua would be glad to know that since 2008, an inter-Ministerial Committee has been working towards better management of the foreign workers in Singapore, covering issues like housing, transport and security.
Let me talk about housing for our foreign workforce. Foreign Work Permit holders are currently accommodated in a variety of premises, including purpose built dormitories, workers' quarters on construction sites, converted industrial properties, HDB flats and private residential premises. Assoc Prof Eugene Tan may wish to note that the vast majority of these housing premises are well within existing regulatory norms.
Mr Alex Yam asked about the security requirements at foreign worker dormitories. Dormitory operators are required to comply with security requirements imposed by the Police. For example, they have to install CCTVs around the dormitories and draw Emergency Response Plans to deal with public order incidents. Since the riot, the Police has also advised dormitory operators to step up security and will also provide them with training. SPF reviews and calibrates these requirements regularly.
Ms Tan Su Shan and Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked how we can improve the living conditions of foreign workers in Singapore. Mr Alex Yam also asked about measures to manage areas where they congregate. Even before the riot, we had identified the need, and it is an important need, over the next two to three years, to speed up the construction of more dormitories so that more foreign workers can move to purpose-built accommodation. These dormitories must set aside adequate living space, and provide basic amenities and
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recreational facilities such as gymnasiums, canteens, television rooms and computer access. These help to ensure that the daily basic living needs of foreign workers are taken care of.
To supplement the basic facilities in dormitories and also to provide for those who are currently not in purpose-built facilities, the Government decided to establish dedicated recreation centres for foreign workers some time ago. The one at Soon Lee Road was launched in 2009. The others at Kaki Bukit, Woodlands and Penjuru were initiated thereafter and were fully operational by 2011 and 2012. These centres provide a wider range of amenities that individual dormitories may not be able to, such as remittance services, supermarkets, sports facilities and AXS machines. They are well-utilised by foreign workers, ranging in the thousands on weekends. The number of visitors is especially high when these centres host events such as sports competitions, cultural celebrations and movie screenings which are organised regularly. I have attended some of these and clearly, the response has been very positive amongst the foreign workers. The Government will launch more of such gathering spaces, to better cater to foreign workers' needs.
But while these recreation centres are important and they provide alternative options, the reality is that they can never totally replace popular spots like Little India, which have naturally evolved over time to cater to foreign workers' physical and, importantly, their emotional needs. Foreign workers need a place to come together to catch up with old friends, to catch up on news from the village, have a taste of food from home, and meet friends and relatives from across the island for a few precious hours that they have. This is actually really not that different from any Singaporean worker looking to relax and hang out with friends after a hard week at work. Recreation centres can try, but I do not believe that they can always meet these psychological and emotional needs.
But I also believe that actually Singaporeans do understand and appreciate the need for these shared spaces. Unlike the picture painted by the critics, I do believe that Singaporeans are generally big-hearted and accommodating. I think that this is in large part why many foreign workers are also comfortable coming to Singapore to work. On the part of the Government, we will continue to try to manage these areas well, so that we can exist harmoniously.
On that note, I would like to assure Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef and Mr Alex Yam that active steps are being taken to address the safety and security concerns in areas where foreign workers tend to congregate – some of which have already been listed by Deputy Prime Minister Teo. I also agree with Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Teo Siong Seng that the Government should continue to
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encourage businesses that are able to roster their off-days to do so.
Another strategy, obviously, is education. MOM works closely with NGO partners to educate foreign workers about Singapore's social norms and laws. And we do so through various avenues, such as during compulsory safety training courses and guidebooks in their native languages, which are issued to them when they collect their work passes. And we also conduct regular road shows in the dormitories, reaching out to many, many thousands of foreign workers as well.
Let me therefore end by reiterating that foreign workers contribute positively to all our well being; and the vast majority of them are hardworking and responsible. It would be wrong to make negative generalisations about the foreign workforce from this incident. Neither should we generalise about the chronic and poor treatment of these workers. The Government will continue to monitor closely the overall number of foreign workers and their impact on the communities they interact with. Importantly, we must also continue to enhance the management of their well-being.
Mr Alex Yam (Chua Chu Kang): Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister and the Acting Minister for Manpower for their comprehensive Ministerial Statements.
First, for Deputy Prime Minister, I have three supplementary questions and one for the Acting Minister for Manpower. I am firstly reassured that the SPF and the SCDF are reviewing the security provisions for our HomeTeam men and women on duty. I would like to enquire if there is a timeline for the said review to be completed. Secondly, on a more general note, if the Deputy Prime Minister could share with us his reading of the current morale of our men and women within the Home Team. And lastly, on a broader perspective of drinking in public areas, whether the review of the legislation would also consider similar open container laws that are already in place in countries like Canada, Finland, Hungary and I think most recently in Spain.
My supplementary question for the Acting Minister for Manpower is with regard to communicating information to our foreign workers. What are the main means of the communication at the moment and how do we ensure that all of them receive timely information as well as updates on laws or regulations?
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And last of all, as a point of note, I think it is appropriate for us to also put on record the recognition of our men and women in the Home Team for their bravery and their reaction to this very unfortunate incident during the riot
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Thank you, Mdm Speaker. First of all, on the open container laws, I am open to the idea. We will consider all the things that other countries have done and see whether they are practical and implementable here.
One of my concerns in implementing alcohol laws is that they have to be practical and enforceable. We can have very detailed laws but if they end up not being enforceable in a practical sense, and you require a linesman, or two linesmen, like in a tennis game to watch whether you are on this side of the line or that side of the line; you are doing this and you are not doing that; and you require that all over Singapore, I think it will be very intrusive on Singaporeans' everyday lives and it may turn out that even if we have those laws, they are not so easily enforced. So, that is one of the things I am very mindful of.
On security provisions for our Home Team officers, we have been looking at the equipment, the training, the protocols and so on. We are not going to wait, as soon as we have arrived at conclusions, we will implement them.
I would also like to thank Mr Alex Yam for his commendation for our officers – those who have done well. That is really very much appreciated.
He asked about the morale of our officers in the Home Team. I think they were disheartened when they hear criticisms, sometimes unfounded, of what they did or what they did not do. I spoke to many of the first responders, to understand what was going through their minds, and what kind of decisions they had to make on the spot to deal with the situation. And I spoke with the individual officers, not just with their commanders because I wanted to know what was going on in their minds, how they made their decisions.
My sense is that they knew what they were doing, acted responsibly, they were well aware of the weight of responsibility on their shoulders. The SCDF rescuers had to carry out the rescue operations even in the face of very difficult circumstances. And the Police Officers who responded, they weighed very carefully the actions that they would need to take, including the consequences of their actions such as use of lethal force and the use of firearms.
So, I would say that they were disheartened at some of the unfair comments that were made against them but they were also, at the same time,
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heartened by the many expressions of support from others in Singapore for the work that they did in bringing a very difficult situation under control within two hours. Once again, I like to thank Mr Yam for adding his words of encouragement.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Mdm Speaker, with regard to Mr Alex Yam's question about how we could better reach out to foreign workers, I will repeat what I shared in my reply. We work closely with our NGO partners and certainly we work very closely with the Embassies and High Commissions to reach out to the foreign workers. The main purpose is really to educate them about our social norms and laws. There are various avenues through which we do so. There are compulsory safety training courses that we conduct. Those are useful platforms to reach out to them. Guidebooks are also available so that we can communicate with them in their native languages. And also, when they collect their work passes – that is another contact point through which we can make sure that information is conveyed.
I thought it would be also useful to just give a very quick sense about the whole-of-Government education and outreach effort. Certainly, the outreach effort is not just by MOM alone. There is also NEA, SPF and we do need to make sure that the messages go out to foreign workers in a coordinated manner. We have collaborated to put out education notices on various channels which I have mentioned.
We augment this with about 20 to 30 dormitory road shows a year, reaching about 150,000 foreign workers. We publish a foreign worker newsletter three times a year, with 160,000 copies per issue. We also set up and update notice boards across 30 dormitories.
There is a wide range of things that we are doing and we will continue to be open to ideas. Working with NGOs partners makes a lot of difference. Working with dormitory operators also makes a lot of difference in terms of reaching out. So, that is something we will continue to work on.
Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Madam, I have two questions for the Deputy Prime Minister and two questions for the Acting Minister for Manpower.
Madam, we want to make sure that there is no recurrence of the riot and we need to take all steps to prevent a recurrence. Can I ask the Minister whether he agrees that there is probably a range of factors involved and it is important for the COI to examine in detail all the possible factors in its analysis and to be
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as open and transparent as possible in its final report? Can I ask the Minister to give an assurance so that the public can be confident that the COI will examine all possible factors?
For example, how much of the riot was fuelled by alcohol and adrenalin, much like some of the soccer riots that you see in the UK caused by hooligans who are high on alcohol? How much of it is due to their cultural map which they bring with them from their home countries, which informs the perception of how they behave towards uniform groups like the Police? Were there aggravating factors to do with festering grievances that may be related to their employment issues or social exclusion? All these factors are important and need to be looked at. I hope to hear an assurance from the Minister on this.
The second issue has to do with a debate that is now going on in society about the rights of our migrant workers. Some Singaporeans want to integrate them into our society within a broader social justice agenda, while some want to see more restrictions on foreign workers to keep them as separated as possible from Singaporeans, away from HDB blocks.
Can I ask for the Minister's views on this? And in this regard, I would like to express my concerns about the new regulations to regulate the movement of persons that Minister has mentioned about, with the new powers. Can I ask the Minister whether it is important to also guard against aggressive measures attempting to restrict every aspect of life upon migrant workers, including their leisure? And to also guard against subjecting them to what they may consider as Police intimidation and harassment, just because they are foreign workers and of low status, they may feel that they are being targeted unfairly? And such a perception, true or not, may build up resentment and frustration at the unfairness of it.
So, can I ask the Minister for the assurance that we will guard against over-reacting in situations even as we take bold, necessary short-term measures to soothe public fears?
For the Acting Minister for Manpower, I agree with him that it is important not to draw —
Mdm Speaker: Ms Irene Ng, please keep your clarifications short.
Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Simplistic explanations and I agree with the Acting Minister for Manpower that the report by The New York Times is quite
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damaging to Singapore as there is no evidence that the riot was caused by mistreatment of foreign workers. Can I ask the Acting Minister for Manpower, instead of dismissing it based on the knowledge that the Ministry has, to consider engaging the NGOs which has been putting out this line, to engage them on the issue and to try and address some of their concerns, which has been ongoing for some time, even if the Minister believes that this is not the reason for the riots?
Finally, can I ask the Acting Minister whether he agrees that 300,000 foreign construction workers in Singapore are, indeed, a huge number and it is inevitable that labour issues will arise because of the sheer numbers. Three hundred thousand is more than Tampines GRC which has only 180,000 residents, and it needs five Members to look after it.
Mdm Speaker: No speeches, please. Ms Ng, just ask your questions.
Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Can I ask the Acting Minister for Manpower whether he could look seriously into reviewing the numbers of foreign construction workers and how to manage them in a way that is effective?
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mdm Speaker, I had put up the terms of reference of the Committee of Inquiry on the screen just now and they are available in the factsheet that was distributed. The first term of reference is to establish the factors and circumstances that lead to the riot in Little India on 8 December 2013. The chairman of the Committee of Inquiry and the members are respected members and I think they know how to conduct a Committee of Inquiry. Therefore, I do not have to instruct them precisely what to do. But I would say that we should be careful not to speculate on various kinds of causes. I do not mean to be critical of Ms Ng, but which she is indulging in as well. Because she is suggesting a variety of causes – some of which may be true; some of which may not be true and I will leave it entirely to the COI to examine it under its first term of reference which is to establish the factors and circumstances that lead to the riot in Little India on 8 December 2013 rather than indulging in speculations on what the causes might be.
On the second question, on the rights of movement in Little India, the restriction on rights of movement is in order to make sure that the Police are able to maintain order and maintain calm in Little India over the period during which this temporary law will be in place. This is neutral, with regard to whether it is a foreign worker, foreigner or a Singaporean. So, I can assure Members that the Police will implement the law strictly, firmly and fairly, regardless of
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who the person is.
With regard to the regulation of foreign workers, perhaps, I would leave that to my colleague the Acting Minister for Manpower.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Mdm Speaker, Ms Irene Ng raised two main issues. One is with regard to the engagement of NGOs, which I will answer in a while. But first, the issue of numbers. Perhaps, a useful reference point would be to consider: should we, therefore, not build the MRT station at Tampines? These are the realities that we would need to deal with. There are many public infrastructure projects that we need to consider. We build roads, we build hospitals, we build polyclinics, we build schools. Many of these do depend on foreign workers and that is something that we all accept and understand. There are real needs that are coming up and we do need to address them. Does having a foreign construction workforce of 300,000 mean that inevitably, there will be problems – like these? I do not believe that.
When you have congregations of large groups, incidents will happen. Incidents are happening every week in Little India and elsewhere. There are skirmishes, there are fights, people get drunk, not just amongst the foreign workforce but even among Singaporeans. Do you, therefore, amplify these issues and say that they represent a chronic problem and, therefore, you need to take massive measures against it?
I would say that it is again a delicate balancing act. We do recognise that the foreign workforce will remain a significant part of our economy. But we also recognise, as I mentioned, that we do calibrate their growth – which is a step that we are taking. But if you go too far, you will have a serious impact on our companies and businesses and that in turn impacts the employment of Singaporeans. If you go too far, you also will have a serious impact on infrastructure programme that we have, to provide for the needs of Singaporeans.
We believe that the path that we are charting is the approach that we should take for now, and we will continue to review it.
Secondly, we are actively working with all NGO groups that are out there, even those who are critical. There are a lot of things that we do with them on a day-to-day basis that are not mentioned nor acknowledged but it does not matter. Our officers have close working relationships with them. They exchange information. A lot of issues are raised, discussed and resolved. There will be
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disagreements. I will be surprised if they agree on every single thing, but that is the nature of advocacy.
But does it therefore mean that when you amplify one particular story, two particular stories; and claim that it represents the entire landscape? It is not about dismissing editorials like The New York Times. I think it is about asking, \"On what basis, do we, therefore, say that there is a chronic problem in Singapore?\"
There are cases but when you look at the numbers that are surfaced by the NGOs – and this is from the entire domain space of all the various NGOs – the numbers amount to 600-over, 700 cases. That is less than 0.1% of the entire foreign workforce. Do we, therefore, then make statements like, \"Oh, foreign workers are being systematically abused and taken advantage of in Singapore\"?
In MOM, we handle a lot more cases than all the NGOs. Even when we put together all the different types of disputes and disagreements, it is about 7,000 and they are wide-ranging. There are serious ones and also minor ones. That is about 1% of the foreign workforce.
In my personal view, it is far-fetched to therefore use this brush to then tar not only employers but Singaporeans as well. Because the picture painted – and foreign media, some of them happily just echo it – would just give the impression that Singapore treats foreign workers poorly. I believe that there are egregious practices and we will endeavour to stamp it out and take actions accordingly. But I do not believe that that represents the scene here. But we will continue to work with all partners on this matter.
Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): Mdm Speaker, I have two clarifications for Deputy Prime Minister Teo. The first relates to the COI hearings. Earlier in his statement, he mentioned that the Committee would decide which parts of the Inquiry would be held in public or otherwise. My understanding of the Inquiries Act is that the Minister can also give directions to the Committee on whether parts of the Inquiry should be held in public or not. So, I would like to ask Deputy Prime Minister Teo whether he agrees that in this case it is highly desirable that the COI hearings be held as publicly as possible. In this respect, would he be directing or at least encouraging the Committee to look at this aspect.
The second clarification concerns policing arrangements which I asked about in Little India. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Teo mentioned that prior to 8 December, the task of dealing with anti-social behaviour as well as the
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concerns of local residents were dealt with by the Auxiliary Police. I like to clarify whether he meant that these roles have been outsourced to the Auxiliary Police or whether he could tell us more about what roles the Singapore Police Force retained in dealing with anti-social behaviour and the concerns of local residents in the area prior to the riot.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mdm Speaker, the laws on the COI provide for the Chairman to decide which parts of the hearing will be held in public and which parts should not be. But I do expect the hearings for the most part will be held in public unless there are strong reasons not to.
With regard to policing arrangements, in Little India and in several of the other congregation areas where we have foreign workers, what we are dealing with is social dis-amenities. As others have pointed out, we should try not to have a very heavy hand in managing the social dis-amenities. Ms Irene Ng, for example, pointed out that we should try and educate foreign workers on our social norms.
That is one of the reasons why we have used Auxiliary Police Officers and security officers because their main duty is to deal with some of the social disamenities that may occur. It is quite appropriate to use Auxiliary Police Officers and security officers to principally deal with these social dis-amenities. Where there are people who are defiant, and do not follow the direction or the advice or the guidance from Auxiliary Police Officers and security officers and they do require Police Officers to step in order to enforce the law which means then to take a stronger approach, then the Police are called in and they will deal with it. I think that is probably the most appropriate, calibrated and graduated approach to deal with such issues.
Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Mdm Speaker, can I just clarify on the earlier points on my position?
Mdm Speaker: Keep your clarification short.
Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: A very short clarification. One, I want to make clear that I do not believe that Singapore systematically mistreats its foreign workers. Nowhere in my questions did I state that. I did not say it is the key factor in causing the riots. But I did raise the question of whether the COI should consider it as a factor because it has been raised on the ground as a possible factor. Even if it is not a factor, COI could very well dismiss it after investigations that it is not a factor. But it does not mean that we should rule it out entirely for
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the COI to consider.
My second point is that I take exception to being accused of indulging in speculation. I am a Member of Parliament reflecting issues on the ground and the concerns on the ground and hoping that the Minister will assure me that these are factors that would be taken into account by the COI.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mdm Speaker, I do apologise if I mistook what Ms Irene Ng said for speculation. But as I explained, the terms of reference: (1) to establish the factors and circumstances that led to the riot in Little India on 8 December 2013; (2) give the COI the latitude to examine any factors that they find relevant to consider them as causal factors or to dismiss them.
Ms Janice Koh: I have three supplementary questions for Deputy Prime Minister Teo. The first is what were the specific incidents exactly that gave the Ministry reason to identify alcohol as one of the underlying causes of the riot?
Secondly, regarding the safety of foreign workers in Little India as a result of the death in the traffic accident, are there safe places for the drop-off and pick-up of foreign workers in the very high traffic areas around Little India? And how do we moving forward intend to manage the high pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic there?
Finally, what is the Ministry's view that it was largely the emergency vehicles and Police personnel who were the target of the rioters, and whether that is indicative of the attitudes of foreign workers towards these figures of authority and the state of their ongoing relationship?
Mr Teo Chee Hean: I will try and answer the last question first. I am sure this is one of the areas which the COI will look into. I would not want to indulge in speculation.
With regard to the alcohol issue, we do have indications that alcohol was a factor and that certain of the individuals who may have been directly involved in the incidents leading to the riot or in the riot were under the influence of alcohol to one extent or another. We do know that alcohol containers were used during the riot because our Home Team officers received quite a number of them. We think that alcohol was a contributory factor though probably not the only factor.
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The safety of foreign workers in high traffic areas: indeed, in 1997 already, there was an inter-agency working group to look at Little India to engage the stakeholders to look at some of the things that should be done. This again was looked at in detail in 2009. Some of the measures that were taken included putting up barriers along the road, in Serangoon Road, widening some of the footpaths, covering some of the drains to make sure that there is more space for pedestrians to move in that area and also the organisation of the Little India bus services to have timekeepers, persons who organise the queues and so on. These things are in place to make sure that the bus services, the traffic, the pedestrian traffic in Little India are kept in as orderly a manner as possible.
Of course, it is not possible to prevent every accident from taking place, and even accidents that can result in fatalities. And it does require also the responsibility on the part of individuals to take care of themselves. That requires a combination of measures and, by and large, we have been able to do so even with large numbers of people there, in a relatively safe and controlled way.
We will continue to look at what further measures are needed. As I mentioned, some of the measures that LTA is looking at include putting up more barriers where the buses are. And also establishing queue heads; so foreign workers know these are the places where they can queue for the buses and so on. So, these are some of the other measures that we are looking at.
Ms Tin Pei Ling (Marine Parade): Mdm Speaker, I have two supplementary questions for the Acting Minister of Manpower. First, to remedy the damage to the international reputation of Singapore as portrayed by the foreign media as well as to correct the unfair portrayal of Singapore and Singaporeans who are largely civil and gracious, may I ask what will the Ministry be doing to engage these foreign media, perhaps together with NGOs, so that they have a clearer understanding of how we treat our foreign workers in Singapore and, hopefully, to put the fact out there that Singapore remains a civil and gracious society even towards the foreign workers in Singapore? This is something that I am concerned about.
The second supplementary question is that the Acting Minister mentioned in his speech that MOM is looking into encouraging employers to schedule their days off on different days so as to reduce the concentration of foreign workers in certain popular areas. I presume that that is an acknowledgement that this is one possible way of addressing the issue. May I ask what will the Ministry be doing in concrete steps to coordinate and, perhaps, facilitate this?
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Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Mdm Speaker, if I may take the second question first. We are exploring the possibilities with companies to juggle the days off. Companies with a larger capacity will have more flexibility. Rather than rostering all their days off on the weekend, they could rotate it and work out some sort of a schedule. This is something that we are open to and will work with the industries to explore how best to do it.
What it does is it spreads out the numbers. At the end of it, foreign workers do need to go to places on their days off, whether it is the recreation centres, or Little India, or elsewhere. I think that is something that will continue to happen but there are various measures that we can take; and this is just one small measure that we believe we can work on with the industry.
With regard to the first question, well, there will be editorials and there will be newspapers that will quite happily carry these lines. I believe many of them choose to echo the perspectives shared by some Singaporeans. I would believe that the views of some of these individuals may not necessarily reflect the NGOs' views. I fully understand where the NGOs are coming from. If I am an NGO that looks out for foreign workers who are having problems: within my domain space, foreign workers who come to see me will all have problems, would I be frustrated and angry? Yes. But does this therefore mean that every single foreign worker is unhappy and being ill treated? No. I do not believe so.
We do watch that carefully because we are concerned. We do want to maintain harmonious industrial relations in Singapore. The statistics from what we can see, the numbers, the cases that we deal with, and our sense of the situation working close with the NGOs, do not indicate that there is a systemic problem.
We will continue to work with the NGOs. We will continue to put out our positions. How the foreign media choose to carry them depends on them. When there are occasions for us to speak to foreign media who might be keen to find out more, we will do so – as I have, for example, in my Bloomberg interview. I shared my perspective and what is left is for the international community to determine for themselves.
Inevitably, there are some negative perspectives. Do they therefore represent the realities on the ground? Unfortunately, amplification does have an impact. I am sure it will impact those who are less familiar with the scene in Singapore. It is important for us to continue to put out our positions, put out clarifications as best as we can. It is more important for Singaporeans to also
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have a perspective about the situation. I know that sometimes we do feel annoyed or angry when we read of cases of individuals, whether foreign or local, who are taken advantage of by their employers. We will try to deal with them as best as we can, but those cases, when amplified, do not necessarily represent the entire scene. It is important for us to understand that.
Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene (Nominated Member): Thank you, Mdm Speaker. I have two questions for the Deputy Prime Minister. The first relates to alcohol. The Prime Minister indicated that there were 374 liquor licences issued for 2013, of which 43 are inactive. But generally, the figures show an upward trend.
I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether 300 over liquor licences in a 1.1 square kilometre area – roughly – would that not be an excessive number of liquor licences? Perhaps, the Deputy Prime Minister could explain how the Liquor Licensing Board issues these liquor licences, given that alcohol has been fingered for a long time for the many social disamenities there.
The second question relates to the information dissemination by the Police, as well as by the mainstream media. The lack of information actually contributes more to public anxiety and panic. The Deputy Prime Minister mentioned that Police issued an advisory two hours after the accident. By then social media was already abuzz with information on this riot. A lot of inaccurate information was flying about. The Police needs to relook information dissemination. The lack of information contributes to greater public anxiety.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Yes, thank you. On the issue of public information, I do agree with the Member. The dilemma that agencies face in such a situation always is \"How much to say\", \"What to say\", particularly when the situation is not entirely clear to them. They usually want to go out and say something that is sensible and which is more informational, and when they have more information on the situation. This is something I have asked the Police to look into to see whether they can improve on the information flow and the speed of the information flow.
On the number of liquor licences in a proclaimed area of Little India, Assoc Prof Eugene Tan said there has been an increase, but when I looked at it, I do not see an increase. In fact, I see a stable situation in the last five years. I do not agree with the mathematical interpretation.
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We are looking at alcohol control measures as a whole in Singapore and to see whether there are things which we need to do, additional control measures that we need to put in place, not just in Little India but other places as well. That public consultation began on 29 October 2013 before this riot took place. In fact, quite coincidentally, one of the major newspaper items in The Straits Times on 9 December was a feature on the consultation on the alcohol control measures that we had been proposing to put in place. We will look at those measures to see what makes sense.
Mr R Dhinakaran (Nominated Member): Madam, on the COI, I see that the Chairman is a legal expert but there is one Police Officer, then there is a Unionist and there is a grassroots leader, but I see there is a missing link. Would it have been better to have a businessman from SBF or Chambers of Commerce who would understand the business needs, because all the other areas you are well covered but that one is a missing link. Deputy Prime Minister, would you like to comment on that?
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Yes, indeed. We did consider whether we should put in somebody from the Singapore Business Federation but we thought that for some of the issues related to the riot, people may feel that the employer may not be in the best position to look at these things from an objective point of view.
We have decided that we will choose four people; each with different types of expertise. Judge G Pannir Selvam is a well respected judge and he has also had experience, with an appointment by the Commonwealth, looking into issues in relation to another country in the Commonwealth. Judge G Pannir Selvam is a well respected judge.
We have a representative from the grassroots, Mr Andrew Chua Thiam Chwee, who has experience in working with the community and foreign workers who are living and working in the vicinity. He has experience working these relationships. Mr Tee Tua Ba, is a well respected former Police Commissioner. He understands these issues and has seen riots himself. He would have a perspective on this which I think would be very useful.
We also decided to have someone who has union experience. Most Members may not be aware but a number of our unions do have members who are foreign workers. These are workers in the shipyards, shipbuilding industry as well as in the construction industry. We felt that a unionist would also bring a useful perspective. If there are perspectives which the business community
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has, I am sure that the COI would be happy to look at them.
Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah): Mdm Speaker, to have quelled a riot without a shot fired and to contain it within the vicinity is certainly admirable. The Home Team has worked very swiftly and operationally effectively. My question ready for the Deputy Prime Minister is what if the riot actually turned into a more grave situation?
Operationally – and this goes probably beyond the scope of the COI – would MHA be considering whether they needed any further equipment or whether for personal protection of the SOC or any deterrent measures, or deterrent equipment that would be needed? So, arising from the riot, is there going to be an operational post-mortem on what more we need to beef up or assist our anti-riot Police Force.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: That is a very thoughtful question from Mr Christopher de Souza. In fact, these were things that were going through my mind and going through the minds of the Police commanders that night.
Before going to Little India, I was in the Police Command Post to get an assessment of the situation and to make sure that Police had put in place, not just measures to deal with the particular incident at that site, but they had enough resources to deal with incidents should there be a spread to other areas. Having reassured myself of that, I went to the site with the Deputy Commissioner of Police to have a look at what was happening on the ground and met the Commissioner of Police there.
A number of the things that we put in place that night included bringing on the alert the Gurkha contingent, because the Gurkha contingent does have some forces who are able to deal with public disorder situations. But in the event, although we put them on alert, we did not need to deploy them. They remained in the camp and were not required because the SOC forces were adequate to deal with the situation at hand.
Furthermore, the situation did not spread into other areas. I have pointed out what happened that night, but I think more importantly, what did not happen that night. And what did not happen that night was that it did not spread, for example, into the surrounding residential area. There were no running battles in the streets, the dormitories were calm. The Police were there at the dormitories to make sure that things were calm. There was no disorder the next day, and the workplaces were calm. So, there was no need for any additional
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forces to be deployed.
But, that night, we did consider and the Police commanders did tell me that this was one of the things that they were putting on standby in case they were needed and I concurred that that was a sensible thing to do.
There are various levels of contingencies available if things had got out of hand. As it stood, the SOC was well able to deal with it. There was no need for additional forces to deal with things which could have happened in other areas. We are looking at equipment and other factors – such as force levels – to make sure that they remain adequate.
Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast): I have two quick supplementary questions for Deputy Prime Minister Teo. I have noted Deputy Prime Minister Teo's comment earlier that he will consider no alcohol control laws. Given some of us who are handling areas where there are large congregations of foreign workers, I would like to ask Deputy Prime Minister Teo whether this study can be expedited so that we can quickly look at measures that are necessary to control alcohol intoxication and related problems in local areas.
The second supplementary question: Deputy Prime Minister mentioned that additional security measures have been put in place for Little India, for instance the number of Police Officers in the area. I would like to ask Deputy Prime Minister Teo whether similar security measures can also be put in place for areas like in Penjuru Road where there is a big cluster of dormitories, for the similar reasons as Little India.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: There are number of different views on alcohol. We have Ms Janice Koh asking just awhile ago whether indeed alcohol was a factor; and how do we know that alcohol was the factor. There are a number of different views and there are people who say that we should restrict alcohol consumption and not allow it in public areas. When I point out to them that if they go for a barbeque in the park with their family and they would like to have beer or a little bit of wine, then that will not be allowed. That is when they say, \"Oh! If that is the case, then maybe we need to calibrate it.\"
I was saying earlier, that the calibration is quite important. Also, we need something that is enforceable, otherwise we would have enforcement officers chasing around just enforcing alcohol laws all over Singapore. That is not necessarily the most productive use of their time, particularly if there had not
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been an issue.
With regard to measures in other areas, in 2013, in fact, a number of measures had been taken to improve security and the sense of safety and security of residents in a variety of areas. For example, in Teban Gardens and in the Koon Teck and Soon Lee area, 20 CCTV cameras were installed. I think the residents were quite happy with that. These facilities also complement the presence of APOs and the security officers and help us to give a sense of security and safety without having to use much more manpower because manpower is short everywhere in Singapore. We can also do it in a way which deters without actually having to have a very heavy physical presence.
Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied): Thank you, Mdm Speaker. I refer to the chronological events. Madam, at 9.45 pm, a request was made for assistance by Special Operations Command. The first SOC troop arrived at the scene at 10.42 pm, nearly one hour after the request was made. I would like to seek clarification from the Deputy Prime Minister whether he is satisfied with the response time of the SOC.
The second clarification is that it was recorded that at 10.30 pm, the first vehicle was set on fire. When the first SOC troop arrived at the scene, no more vehicles was overturned. So, I wonder if SOC had responded faster before 10.30 pm, the setting on fire of vehicles could have been averted.
And, Madam, I thought, perhaps, the bright side of the incident also shows that as a society, we have become a matured multi-racial society. The public was largely unaffected by the incident and they remained calm. Good race relationships in the society remain intact after the incident.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Certainly, a faster response is always better but the question is whether you can be everywhere, simultaneously, all the time. And, therefore, the deployment of the SOC is generally of two types. One, they rotate their on-the-ground presence over different areas where there may be large congregations of people just to project deterrence, be ready. Thus, you will see the SOC from time to time being deployed in various areas where there may be some threats, where they may be required. That provides some level of deterrence on the ground in these specific areas, and it also gives them ground familiarity with the locations. That is one mode of deployment of the SOC.
Another mode of deployment of the SOC is essentially as a Reaction and Reserve Force for the Police for major incidents. They are held centrally at their
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base to be deployed. While Singapore is not a very large island, it does take time to move from one place to another, even though the SOC when they are deployed in the base is on very, very high alert for deployment, within minutes if they have to. Even so, they do require time to get from one location to another.
When you have the SOC deployed in this manner, they cannot be everywhere all the time, so a certain response time is required. When the SOC is requested for, because it is an asset which the Police commanders had to decide whether to use it for this or not, there is some decision time required as well. If you deploy it for one thing, then you may not be able to deploy it for another thing and, therefore, some assessment has to be made on the seriousness and urgency. There is always a little time required.
When Mr Low asked if they were present earlier, could the burning of the vehicles have been prevented, I would say, \"Yes, perhaps so. They could have been.\" If, of course, they could have been earlier, and if their presence could have prevented it, that certainly is possible. But is it possible to deploy SOC forces everywhere all the time where incidents may occur, it is probably not possible. In fact, on that night of the incident, one of the troops of the SOC was deployed on the ground for precisely the kind of deterrence patrols, but in a different location. When the alert went out that they might be needed, they recollected themselves and then deployed. So, you have to balance between the two.
I certainly welcome Mr Low's comment that Singaporeans, by and large, responded in a rational and objective way.
Mr Nicholas Fang (Nominated Member): Mdm Speaker, three questions for the Deputy Prime Minister and one question for the Acting Minister for Manpower.
I understand that the COI still has work to do before the actual causes and situation around the riot are determined but in preliminary engagement that the Deputy Prime Minister mentioned by various Members of the House with the foreign worker community, has there been any feedback on the interaction with and the treatment by the Police Force of foreign workers in Singapore both before the riots on 8 December and in the aftermath.
Second question would be: has there been any indication that there is a need by the SOC to perhaps rebalance their emphasis on public order versus
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public security as their two key priorities currently?
On the point about evidence that there was alcohol at the cause of the riot, it is probably not required for the offences that the accused were arrested for but were breathalysers used for them in any way?
One question for the Acting Minister. The workers in the sectors that were involved in the riots, I believe the emphasis is on keeping this workforce a transient workforce instead of encouraging them to lay down roots in Singapore. But at the same time, there is, of course, as the Acting Minister has mentioned, a need to look out for social and emotional welfare of these foreign workers. How do we balance between these two concerns? Are there any guiding principles of framework that help us to balance these two efforts?
Mr Teo Chee Hean: I really am not in a position to comment on the treatment of foreign workers by enforcement officers. Perhaps that is a subject which COI can take up. Again, I do not want to indulge in speculation on what might be the reasons and so on.
On the SOC and its balance between public order and public security, there is a fine line between the two. The SOC has to operate and be ready to deal with both. What is public security and what is public order, they can morph from one to the other in a very short space of time.
In terms of alcohol and breathalysers, our sense is that alcohol was a contributory factor. It may not have been the main factor; it was a contributory factor. And because some of these are evidential, I think I will leave it to the evidence that is produced in court, when the persons involved are charged.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Mdm Speaker, this is not definitive and we will await the findings of the COI, but from the surveys that we have conducted with the foreign workers, one of the many reasons that they cite, for wanting to come to Singapore, is that this is a safe place. This is a place where they know they can be looked after and they can rely on the security, the laws, and so on. While that may not necessarily be indicative and a direct response to the Member's question and questions raised by others, it is indicative of how they view the society in which they are working in.
With regard to the Member's question about how to balance their needs, I would say that in the aftermath of this incident, we are very mindful that we do not generalise the entire foreign workforce as having the propensity to riot. We
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know that problem like this can happen. It is actually remarkable that no incident like this has happened previously. It is the first riot of this nature in a very long time.
What we need to recognise is that foreign workers, as with any worker in Singapore, do have needs. Their basic needs have to be met. Obviously, they do have needs that are slightly different. They need to remit money back home and one of the areas in which they are preoccupied with is how they contact home. Those facilities have to be provided. The infrastructure, the services: these things need to be provided. That is where recreation centres or even dormitories come in. Are we able to provide some of these infrastructures so that it is convenient for them?
As to where they gather, frankly, there is no particular limitation as to where they can gather. I do not believe that we should be moving towards a society where we segregate Singaporeans and foreign workers. Foreign workers are part of the landscape. But does it mean that we should not manage that space? I think we should manage that space, but in a sensible manner.
So, clearly, in the aftermath of this, we do need to manage shared spaces in order to minimise probability of these incidents happening and to continue the education process so that foreign workers do understand the norms here.
Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Thank you, Mdm Speaker. My question is directed to the Deputy Prime Minister. I attended the Thaipusam celebrations on Friday evening at the Dhoby Ghaut area as the procession made its way to the Tank Road temple. I had a chance to speak with some Indian Singaporeans who were rather unhappy about the imposition of the no-alcohol zone indefinitely. Their argument was quite simple – they are responsible drinkers. They are responsible drinkers who are Singaporeans or foreign workers. More importantly, alcohol has been available for years in the Little India area. So, their question —
Mdm Speaker: Mr Singh, please confine your clarifications to the point at hand.
Mr Pritam Singh: Yes, I am coming to it now. Their question was quite straightforward: when can the no-alcohol zone be expected to be lifted in Little India back to the pre-riot time?
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Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mdm Speaker, there is clearly a variety of opinions here with regard to whether alcohol is a factor or not a factor. And, obviously, Mr Pritam Singh feels that alcohol should be allowed back in Little India as before. There may be different opinions as to whether that is reasonable or sensible to do. As I said, we are looking at the various measures, not just in Little India but all over Singapore to see what is reasonable and what is suitable.
I should also say that on the first weekend, we had a total ban on alcohol sale and consumption. In fact, alcohol is available even on weekends in Little India today. What we have done is curtail the hours for sale or takeaway. This has been publicly stated in the newspapers. Mr Pritam Singh could have informed those particular persons who brought the matter to him that, in fact, there is no total ban on alcohol in Little India. And, in fact, the sale and consumption of alcohol within premises is allowed.
The only two things that are in place is the ban on consumption of alcohol in public areas during the specified times, and also the curtailment of the sale of alcohol in retail and wholesale outlets, basically, for takeaway purposes. There may be others who have views on whether the sale of alcohol should go back to where it was before.
Mdm Speaker: Last clarification, Ms Denise Phua.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Moulmein-Kallang): Perhaps, Mr Pritam would like to know that I did a house-to-house visit, and the residents of a block that is located just above a row of shops that sell alcohol of various kinds, with alcohol decked from floor to ceiling and wall to wall, and more than 80% of the residents say, \"Please do not stop the ban\". That is a data point for the Deputy Prime Minister.
I also want to thank the Home Team, especially for doing their best under the circumstances during the riot, and also, more importantly, on a daily basis, the Home Team members who have been helping to manage the disamenities issues that arise from the congregation of foreign workers. The Home Teams from Rochor Neighbourhood Police Post and Marina Bay as well. So, I want to register that record of thanks.
The second point is I would like to highlight to the Deputy Prime Minister the concerns of this special stakeholder group. We have lobby groups for the businesses and lobby groups for the foreign workers. But none for the special group, that is, the residents, especially those who are living in city areas which
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are very appealing to the foreign workers, and where there is high foreign worker congregation. Many of these residents are families with young children, elderly, daughters and wives and they are concerned with too many foreign workers congregating in their living spaces, below their flats.
I would like to seek the assurance of the Deputy Prime Minister for a whole-of-Government integrated approach to develop a series of differentiated and additional measures so that these residents will have more peace of mind; and so that they have more privacy where they live; and also, to return the use of the communal spaces that are meant for them – places like the playground, the pavilions, the elderly equipment areas and even the shops at the void decks. Can we return the use of those spaces to the residents?
I would like to ask for differentiated measures that are stricter for those zones that are closer to where residents live, especially in the public housing estates. For your consideration, please.
Mdm Speaker: Deputy Prime Minister Teo, you have indicated you wish to round up; you may want to do that as well.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Thank you, Mdm Speaker. First of all, I would like to thank Ms Denise Phua for speaking up for residents. And I would also like to thank her for her help and for the consideration of her residents as well over these many years and also during this particularly difficult period. I think they have been very constructive and very helpful in restoring calm and order in Little India.
Mdm Speaker, a number of points have been raised with regard to the COI: suggestions on what they should be looking at and so on. The terms of reference of the COI provide enough latitude for the COI to look into all the issues that are relevant. Among all the many issues, the COI will be able to come to some resolution of what were the factors that caused the riot in Little India that night.
Let me close by making a few points. We talked about what happened that night, and I spoke a little bit about what did not happen that night. One of the things that did not happen that night, and which I am grateful for, is this: consider what would have happened if we had woken up to headlines the next morning reporting that the Police had opened fire, resulting in serious injuries or fatalities. We would be having a very different kind of discussion in
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Parliament today.
We would not be discussing whether the Police's response was adequate, but we will be discussing whether they had used excessive force or had acted rashly, inadvertently escalating the situation.
We would not be discussing whether those involved in the riot were given due process under the law, but we will be discussing why they were shot at. That would be a very different kind of discussion.
Mdm Speaker, while we have discussed what happened that night and the chronology of what happened that night, I want to emphasise that the situation was evolving very quickly. Individual officers on the ground had to make critical decisions. The commanders on the ground also had to make very critical decisions.
It is very easy in hindsight to say they should have done this or that, they could have been faster, they could have done this, they should have done that, they should have had more of this, they should have had more of that. The commanders, the officers on the ground had to make decisions which could have turned events one way or another.
I have described what happened that night. I have also described what could have happened but did not happen. And I am grateful for that.
Mdm Speaker, let me close by reiterating two key lessons from the Little India riot. First, in a stable and peaceful society, serious incidents like these can happen. We are not able to anticipate everything, every detail; we cannot plan for everything, every detail. What is most important is that we are prepared and are able to deal with crises decisively, swiftly, flexibly, adaptively and appropriately when they do arise. As I said earlier, we cannot be crisis-proof. We cannot prevent everything from happening. But we can be resilient and we can be crisis-ready, both the Home Team as well as our population.
Secondly, we should never take peace for granted. We were able to bounce back quickly and recover from the effects of the riot because of a strong social compact, as well as trust and partnership between the Home Team and the community that have been built up over many years. The Home Team will continue to work hand-in-hand together with the community to preserve the safety and security levels that Singaporeans have been enjoying, and will
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continue to earn the trust of Singaporeans.
Mdm Speaker, we will learn from the Little India riot and take practical steps to prevent a recurrence. We will incorporate the learning points and public feedback regarding alcohol control measures, as well as management of foreign worker congregation areas, and see how they can be applied, not just in Little India, but elsewhere in Singapore.
We will also learn from the Committee of Inquiry's findings and recommendations when those are ready. I will bring that Report to Parliament when I receive it. I am confident that we will emerge more prepared, more ready and stronger from this incident. Thank you, Mdm Speaker [Applause].
Mr Pritam Singh: A clarification.
Mdm Speaker: Mr Singh, the clarifications are over.
Mr Pritam Singh: A very brief one, Mdm Speaker.
Mdm Speaker: Very briefly.
Mr Pritam Singh: I completely empathise with them, but that situation really was a licensing issue that could have been resolved earlier. Unfortunately, it took a riot to do so. More than that, the point I want to make is —
Mdm Speaker: Mr Singh, you are reopening the whole debate. So, make your last point.
Mr Pritam Singh: The last point – whatever the rules that the Government applies with regard to Little India in future and no alcohol zones, as long as they are applied across the board, I think I will be satisfied with that. Thank you.
Mdm Speaker: Deputy Prime Minister Teo.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mdm Speaker, I think it is quite unfortunate that Mr Pritam Singh is taking liberties with this very serious matter to make points in the very loose manner that he has done. First of all, I pointed out that when the matter was raised to him by members of the public, as a responsible Member of Parliament, he could have given them a very sensible reply, instead of echoing those sentiments here in Parliament. Second, now, he has stood up to
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support Ms Denise Phua when, in fact, he had stood up earlier to argue for the restoration of alcohol consumption and sale in Little India to where they were before. I really am very puzzled by the position that he is taking and quite disappointed [Applause].
Mdm Speaker: Order. I propose to take the break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 5.15 pm.
Sitting accordingly suspended
at 4.55 pm until 5.15 pm.
Sitting resumed at 5.15 pm
[Mdm Speaker in the Chair]
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\tPage: 93
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[(proc text) Order for Second Reading read. (proc text)]
The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M): Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, \"That the Bill be now read a Second time.\" With your permission, Mdm Speaker, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a handout?
Mdm Speaker: Yes, please [A handout was distributed to hon Members. Please refer to Annex 2.]
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Madam, this Bill amends the Prisons Act to introduce the Conditional Remission System and the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme. It also amends the Act to enhance the operational efficiency of the Singapore Prison Service.
The Prisons Act was last amended in 2004, to expand the Home Detention Scheme so that more inmates, especially first-time and minor offenders with short sentences, could benefit from it. In this scheme, eligible inmates, while remaining under Prisons' custody, are released with conditions towards the tail-end of their prison sentence with a view to rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society.
Since 2004, Prisons has increased its emphasis on throughcare. This comprises targeted and comprehensive rehabilitation programmes for inmates during the incare phase while they are incarcerated. This is to prepare inmates for release. Prisons has also strengthened its aftercare programmes to support
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the reintegration of ex-inmates into society. In addition, the Yellow Ribbon Project has engaged the community in accepting ex-offenders, and inspired community action to support ex-offenders and their families.
Declining crime rates and the strengthening of Prisons' throughcare approach have contributed to the decline in the prison population and improvements in the recidivism rate. The prison population has decreased from about 17,000 in the early 2000s to about 12,500 in 2013, while the recidivism rate has improved from about 35% to about 25% for the latest release cohort over the same period.
However, we cannot be complacent. Many inmates are repeat offenders. Last year, they made up more than 80% of the prison population. In addition, many repeat offenders have drug antecedents. Indeed, more than 80% of repeat offenders in prison last year were imprisoned for a drug offence or had a drug antecedent. Repeat offenders are also more likely to re-offend and spend a longer time behind bars.
This is why we are introducing the Conditional Remission System (CRS) and the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme (MAS). In the course of developing these initiatives, we consulted a wide range of stakeholders over a period of four months from July to October 2013. These included the public, Prisons' community partners, Prisons' Board of Visiting Justices and Board of Visitors, the Law Society and the Association of Criminal Lawyers. Their views were taken into account as we developed the initiatives. I am glad that our stakeholders support them.
Let me touch on the objective of the CRS. Our remission system has not changed since the mid-1950s when Singapore was a British colony. Currently, inmates are granted one-third remission for good conduct and behaviour in prison, that is, if they have not breached prison discipline. There are no conditions imposed upon their release. In contrast, many jurisdictions have moved away from their colonial precedents. The UK and its former colonies like Canada, New Zealand and Hong Kong have, over time, implemented parole or conditional release systems that impose conditions on inmates when they are released. This creates the incentive for good behaviour upon release. Drawing upon the best practices in other jurisdictions, Singapore will be introducing the CRS.
The CRS seeks to deter ex-inmates from re-offending by subjecting them to conditions upon their release. All inmates will be subject to the CRS upon
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release.
In addition, selected groups of ex-inmates who are at higher risk of re-offending or who will need more help in rehabilitating and reintegrating with society will not only be subject to the CRS but will also be emplaced on the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme. The MAS is a structured step-down programme that could include a halfway house stay, aftercare support, counselling, electronic monitoring and curfew hours, as well as case management, upon their release. While in prison, inmates undergo rehabilitation programmes and are closely supervised. However, the transition back to society, where there is little or no supervision, is difficult for many. This is especially so if they lack family support and cannot secure accommodation and stable employment.
Let me elaborate on the key provisions of the Amendment Bill. Clause 7 of the Bill inserts a new Part VB to introduce the Conditional Remission System (CRS). With the CRS, inmates will continue to be released from the two-third mark of their sentence, if they have not breached prison discipline. Upon release, inmates will be issued a Conditional Remission Order (CRO). The duration of the CRO will be from the day of their release till the end of their sentence. This is their \"remission period\". All inmates released from imprisonment will be issued CROs. Each year, about 7,000 inmates released from prison will be issued CROs upon release. Inmates sentenced to corrective training, reformative training or preventive detention will not be issued CROs, as they are not eligible for remission.
Division 4 of the new Part VB defines the basic condition in CROs. The basic condition is that persons issued CROs must not commit an offence during the remission period and be sentenced to imprisonment, corrective training, reformative training or preventive detention for that offence. If this occurs, they would have breached the basic condition.
When the basic condition is breached, the courts will impose a sentence for the new offence committed during the remission period, and may also impose an enhanced sentence on the individual for breaching the basic condition. The maximum length of the enhanced sentence is the remaining remission period when the new offence is committed. It will run consecutively to other sentences of imprisonment. Section 50T provides that, in deciding whether to impose an enhanced sentence and, if so, the length of the enhanced sentence, the courts shall consider the gravity of the new offence, whether the new offence is of a similar nature to the ex-inmate's previous offence, the amount of time the ex-inmate remained offence-free, and any other relevant aggravating or mitigating
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circumstances.
Madam, the basic condition in the CRS is meant to deter ex-inmates from re-offending. Individual responsibility is important. The longer the ex-inmate remains crime-free after his release, the shorter his potential enhanced sentence will be, should he re-offend.
Let me now explain the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme (MAS). While all inmates issued CROs will be subject to the basic condition upon their release, Division 5 of the new Part VB provides for a smaller group of inmates to be emplaced on the MAS, with additional conditions upon release. The MAS is a structured aftercare regime which provides enhanced community support, counselling and case management, as well as tighter supervision for ex-inmates who are at higher-risk of re-offending or who need more support in reintegration. These are drug offenders, property offenders with drug antecedents, serious crime offenders, inmates with sentences of more than 15 years, and inmates sentenced to life imprisonment, if released. The full list of offences is specified in the new First Schedule to the Prisons Act, which is inserted by clause 19. We estimate that, in the steady state, about 1,700 of the 7,000 inmates released with CROs each year will be emplaced on the MAS.
We are emplacing drug offenders and property offenders with drug antecedents on the MAS because they are more likely to re-offend. Overall recidivism rates have, on average, been about 25% in recent years. However, the recidivism rates for repeat drug abusers sentenced to long-term imprisonment are higher, at up to 40%, while the recidivism rates for property offenders with drug antecedents have been as high as 50%. As for those who have committed serious crimes or who have long sentences of more than 15 years, they will be emplaced on the MAS as they need more help reintegrating into society, given the long period spent in prison.
The MAS will be for a period of up to two years. It comprises three phases: a halfway house stay, home supervision and community reintegration. Prisons will make a holistic assessment for each individual based on factors, such as the nature of the offence, criminal antecedents, progress in prison, risk of re-offending and family support, in deciding which phases the individual goes through. Not all individuals will have to go through the three phases. Some may be placed on the halfway house phase while others may be placed directly on the home supervision phase. Prisons will inform inmates of their MAS conditions when they are about to be released.
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The MAS will provide structure and support to ex-inmates and help them better reintegrate into society. There will be consequences for those who breach their MAS conditions. The Director of Prisons, who is re-designated as the Commissioner of Prisons in clause 21, may administer punishments for minor breaches of MAS conditions, while the Courts may sentence ex-inmates to imprisonment for serious breaches of MAS conditions.
With the introduction of the CRS and MAS, we will also be making consequential amendments to the remission for inmates who are sentenced to life imprisonment, as well as inmates who have been incarcerated for 20 years or more. Currently, inmates sentenced to life imprisonment may be considered for release at the 20-year mark of their sentence and annually thereafter. Their release will be dependent on factors, such as their rehabilitation progress in prison, family support and risk of recidivism. They can also be subject to conditions upon release.
The Minister determines the release of such inmates, and is advised by an independent Advisory Committee, the Life Imprisonment Review Board. The remission period for an inmate sentenced to life imprisonment, who is subsequently released, will be for the rest of his natural life, because he was meant to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
In addition to inmates on life imprisonment, we will, for consistency, extend the system of annual reviews to inmates who have been incarcerated for 20 years or more. This is to encourage good behaviour in prison. The remission period for these inmates with long sentences will be from the point of release till the end of his sentence. If released, these two categories of inmates will be issued CROs and be subjected to the CRS and MAS.
The CRS and MAS will apply to persons who commit offences after the legislative amendments come into effect. Sentences for offences committed before the amendments come into effect will continue to be remitted unconditionally at the two-third mark, subject to any forfeiture for breach of discipline. The transitional provisions are drafted accordingly.
Mdm Speaker, I will now touch on the other proposed amendments. Clause 12 of the Bill introduces an External Placement Scheme, under which the Minister may place inmates in facilities outside of prison that are more suitable for their physical or mental conditions. The Minister will be advised by an independent Advisory Committee when making this decision. External Placement will be subject to very strict criteria and will be for a definite period
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of time. The placement can be cancelled at any time if it is no longer appropriate. While on External Placement, inmates remain in Prisons' legal custody and will be subject to conditions and restrictions. For a start, we will limit the Scheme to a very small number of inmates who have been certified by Prisons-appointed medical specialists as being at the end-stage of a terminal illness with a poor prognosis.
Clause 13 of the Bill amends section 66 of the Prisons Act to update the framework of unauthorised articles, communications and recordings in prison committed by any individual in a prison. The list of unauthorised articles will be revised to include any unauthorised electronic storage device, and the type of unauthorised communications will be revised to include any act of unauthorised recording in prison. The penalty for this offence will remain unchanged, which is a fine of up to $3,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.
Clause 13 also amends section 66 to criminalise activities by parties that prejudice the safe custody of prisoners, the safety of any person in a prison, the security of a prison, or prejudice the maintenance of good order and discipline in a prison. It allows us to take action against anyone who undermines institutional order, discipline or security in prison.
Finally, clause 14 amends section 67 of the Prisons Act, which currently states that inmates may be required to work. It will be amended to \"may be allowed to work\". In practice, inmates are given the opportunity to work in prison. There is no requirement to work. If an inmate indicates that he does not wish to work, prison officers will seek to understand his concerns, but will not compel him to work. The proposed amendment aligns the provision with existing practice. This will also remove any doubts about our conformity with the relevant provisions of the International Labour Organization Conventions.
Other miscellaneous amendments are also being made to the Prisons Act to allow for the better administration of prisons, and to other Acts, such as the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code, as consequential amendments.
Mdm Speaker, the introduction of the CRS and MAS marks a paradigm shift in our approach to aftercare, bringing us in line with practices in other jurisdictions. Inmates will no longer be released from prison without conditions attached. The CRS seeks to deter ex-inmates from re-offending and the MAS will strengthen Prisons' system of throughcare by providing structured arrangements for selected groups of ex-offenders in the period immediately
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after their release.
Both initiatives augment current programmes to reduce offending and re-offending and improve the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders into society. We will work closely with our community partners to implement these two new initiatives. However, at the end of the day, even with the additional support and aftercare provided to the ex-offender, it is, ultimately, the responsibility of the individual not to re-offend. If he does, he will be dealt with swiftly and strictly by the law. Mdm Speaker, I beg to move.
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
Mr Hri Kumar Nair (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Mdm Speaker, I rise to support the Bill. Many of us view \"crime and punishment\" in black and white terms. From a retributive standpoint, if a person has done the crime, he should do the time. However, it is far more complicated than that. \"Crime and punishment\" is also about rehabilitation – we want those sent to jail to put the past behind them, reintegrate and become useful members of society. It is also about protecting the public by removing criminal elements from society. All these objectives sometimes conflict, and the real challenge is to find the right balance between them in relation to each and every inmate. Because the circumstances of each crime and of each offender are never identical. But we must try, because how we seek to treat those who have done wrong is a marker of a mature society. And this Bill seeks to strike that balance.
Let me first begin by commending the Bill for its nuanced and well-calibrated approach. It is an approach that ensures that our criminal sentencing system marries an effective increase in deterrent value with a reasonable dose of compassion.
Under our current remission system, inmates are granted early release for good conduct. Even those serving life sentences may be released after 20 years. Notably, such inmates are granted remission without any conditions imposed. The Bill gives the law and home affairs agencies more teeth. The release of inmates will no longer be unconditional. Instead, ex-inmates will be issued with a Conditional Release Order valid until the end of the remission period. Should they re-offend, the Court is empowered to sentence them for a term up to the remaining portion of the remission period, in addition to the sentence for the new offence committed. This enhanced sentence should serve as a deterrent
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for ex-inmates and help keep them on the straight and narrow.
At the same time, the Bill recognises that those released from prison may find it difficult to journey and start a new life alone. If there is no support network after release, the prospects of returning to bad company and re-offending are higher. Recidivism is a real problem in many countries. In Singapore, more than 80% of Singapore's prison population are repeat offenders. The Bill reaffirms that ex-inmates are valuable members of society, and gives them a second chance by supporting their reintegration and rehabilitation. Under the Bill, ex-inmates falling into certain categories will be placed into Mandatory Aftercare Scheme. Through progressive step-down arrangements, supervision and counselling, they will be given structured and targeted assistance in their efforts to start anew. This Bill is a culmination of months of work and consultation with many stakeholders and it represents the Ministry's unwavering commitment to rehabilitating ex-inmates.
And I know that the Senior Minister of State has put in a lot of personal time and effort behind this particular Act. I would like to thank him for this. That being said, there are several points that I would like to raise today.
The first is a simple point of clarification. The proposed section 50E(2) states that \"prisoners committed for debt\" are precluded from Part VB regarding the remission of sentences. I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify the scope of offences contemplated by this phrase. Also, the proposed section 50G states that Division 2 does not apply to prisoners serving default sentences. I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify why this is so.
Second, the distinction between \"minor\" and \"serious\" breaches of mandatory aftercare conditions in sections 50X and 50Y is unclear. What is a \"serious\" breach, as opposed to a \"minor\" breach? The distinction is important as a person who commits a \"serious\" breach shall be guilty of an offence and, if convicted, shall be sent back to prison for a term not exceeding the remaining duration of the remission order. In short, mandatory imprisonment. Further, what is \"minor\" is determined by the Commissioner and what is \"serious\" is determined by the Court. It would be better for clarity and consistency for all breaches to be dealt with by the same body, with the gravity of the breach determining the consequence. If, however, this distinction is retained, the Bill should give some guidance on what constitutes each type of breach. An apposite example of the degree of clarity sought can be found in sections 72 and 73 of the Prisons Act. These two provisions prevent any ambiguity from arising by listing the types of offences that constitute minor and aggravated
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prison offences.
Thirdly, the First Schedule. Under the First Schedule, inmates convicted of the offences listed in the First Schedule will be placed on the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme. Broadly speaking, this includes (i) drug offences, (ii) property offences with drug antecedents, (iii) serious crimes and (iv) offences with sentences of more than 15 years. Given that the aim is to break the cycle of re-offending for ex-inmates, it is questionable if offences, for example, the Misuse of Drugs (Approved Institutions and Treatment and Rehabilitation) Regulations and the Misuse of Drugs (Controlled Equipment, Material and Substances) Regulations should be included in the First Schedule. These regulations are after all concerned with comparatively minor disciplinary issues. Furthermore, a breach of these regulations may not, by itself, suggest that the inmate needs special help reintegrating into society. Could the Senior Minister of State explain the reasoning behind their inclusion in the First Schedule?
Finally, I have some concerns on the practical implementation of the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme. With the institution of the Scheme, we can expect a surge in the number of inmates being placed in halfway houses and on home supervision. We can also expect a demand for counselling and case management services. To my knowledge, there are currently only eight halfway houses working with the Singapore Prisons, with a total housing capacity of about 450 ex-offenders. It is likely that more halfway houses will have to be established, and more counsellors trained. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State, what steps his Ministry has taken to meet this demand, or this increase in demand, and whether it is ready to implement the Scheme. Also, what steps will be taken to ensure that it will continue to have sufficient infrastructure and resources to meet its needs?
Mdm Speaker, in conclusion, in our endeavour to make Singapore a more inclusive and caring society, the importance of rehabilitating and reintegrating ex-inmates cannot be overemphasised. Hence, this Bill's incorporation of not only the tough, embodied by the Conditional Remission System, but also the tender, manifested in the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme, represents a positive step forward in our efforts to help ex-inmates break the cycle of re-offending. Ultimately, this will benefit both the individual and our society. With that, Mdm Speaker, I support the Bill.
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Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene (Nominated Member): Mdm Speaker, I support this Bill. Much as the recidivism rate of ex-offenders has seen a decline, as a society, we can always do more to reduce the likelihood of ex-offenders re-offending. As it stands, repeat offenders comprise in excess of 80% of the prison population, with drug offenders released from the Drug Rehabilitation Centres tending to show a higher susceptibility to re-offending.
Reducing re-offending and making it a core part of the imprisonment process has a dual benefit: (a) the rehabilitation of the offender; and (b) the protection of the public. The two are not mutually exclusive but are inherently inter-dependent. The less we are able to successfully rehabilitate the offenders, the less secure and safe will our society be.
That, of course, raises questions of what the Singaporean public expects from the Singapore Prison Service and what the Prison Service regards as its fundamental mission. The Prison Service's vision is that of being \"Captains of Lives\", with the aim of helping inmates \"rehabilitate, renew, restart\". These three broad principles guide the Prison Service in their noble aspiration to make a difference in the lives of inmates.
Is the prison, therefore, a place where inmates are simply imprisoned, albeit securely, as a just retribution for the crimes they committed? Or should we expect more from the incarceration process, given that significant resources are spent on the penal population?
I think the answer is that we do expect a custodial sentence to not only punish but also to rehabilitate and reform the inmate. If our penal system, in particular, the prison process, produces recalcitrant or hardened criminals, then we should question the resources placed and the system we have. Our prisons must aspire to provide a safe and controlled environment by which an inmate's behaviour and attitude can be challenged and, hopefully, reformed for his own good and that of our society.
The \"clang of the prison gates\" principle argues that if the utility of an immediate custodial sentence as an appropriate method of emphasising specific deterrence in the case of an offender of previous good character, the deterrent effect may be achieved by a short term of imprisonment. I would go further and add that the clang of the prison gates in our penal system must go further than mere deterrence, important as deterrence is, especially for inmates who have committed serious crimes.
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Madam, with those broad considerations, I would like now to specifically address the Conditional Remission System (CRS) and the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme (MAS), the two pillars of this Amendment Bill.
On the CRS, it is timely to close the \"loop hole\" in the longstanding practice of granting inmates a one-third remission of their prison terms for good conduct and behaviour in prison. In essence, remission is an incentive for good behaviour.
However, remission cannot be an end in itself for the inmate and our administration of criminal justice. Remission must also be a means for the inmate to recognise that he can conduct himself well even in the austere and demanding conditions of prison. If an inmate is only interested in remission to get out of custody early but not genuinely interested in turning over a new leaf, then the remission process becomes a mere game to secure early release. Remission would then be a transactionary discount on time that is needed to serve – a mere quid pro quo for good conduct but with little internal change on the part of the inmate.
Hence, I welcome the move to impose conditions upon early release. Divisions 1 to 4 of the proposed Part VB of the Bill will help to add proper form and needed substance to the remission process. The Conditional Remission Order issued upon remission for good conduct and behaviour must help encourage continued good conduct and behaviour, especially when ex-offenders are most vulnerable in the first few months of release from prison.
Madam, my reading of clause 7 of the Bill as they relate to the CRS gives me the impression that the Commissioner of Prisons shall be required, by default, to make a remission order at a specified time of a prisoner's imprisonment term. If so, does this amount to an automatic discount of the imprisonment term, barring the President directing that a remission order not be made in respect of a prisoner? Does this not devalue the meaning of good conduct and behaviour in prison since the basic condition attached to the remission order is not too high a bar for the majority of inmates?
I would like now to address the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme (MAS) provided for in the proposed Division 5 of Part V of the Prisons Act. I hope the MAS will significantly help reduce the recidivism rate.
Madam, a structured aftercare regime must play a critical role in the rehabilitation and reintegration of an ex-offender. We cannot assume that the
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imprisonment term and other punishments received by an offender would be sufficient to reform him.
Instead, we should \"hand hold\" the ex-offender by guiding and providing a structured environment to help him adapt to the post-imprisonment realities. The prison environment is very much a controlled environment, while the post-prison environment is very much an \"uncontrolled\" one where it can be all too easy to slip back to a criminal lifestyle, given the challenges of adapting to the \"ex-offender\" label.
The proposed throughcare system is necessary in this regard to help reintegrate an ex-offender into society through progressive step-down arrangements. To some, the MAS might be too interventionist on the part of the state. However, it is a big undertaking that the state is taking on. But for difficult ex-offenders or those who have committed serious offences, this could be a lifeline to help ensure that whatever progress made during the period of imprisonment will not go to waste. I hope the MAS will help these inmates avoid the revolving door back into prison.
Madam, many of the ex-offenders to whom the proposed MAS would apply are likely to have long-standing problems, such as drug and alcohol addiction, poor educational attainments, family dysfunctionality and a society still somewhat wary of ex-offenders' antecedents.
Offender management, therefore, requires the careful and customised assessment, planning and implementation of work with offenders in the community and, while the offender is in custody, to address the factors, such as his attitude, behaviour and lifestyle, that could contribute to the ex-offender re-offending.
The MAS seeks to enhance offender management. As such, the transition from a prison environment to a non-prison environment must be treated as an integral whole, a seamless one. In turn, this requires aftercare staff to be more involved and proactive in their work with offenders even while they are under imprisonment. At the same time, prison officers will also have to recognise the vital role they play in changing behaviours and attitudes of the offenders under their custody even as they need to maintain security and discipline in prison. For the MAS to succeed, behavioural and attitudinal change cannot be regarded as the function of the aftercare regime. It has to be integral even during the period of imprisonment.
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There must be the alignment of goals and processes of the custodial and the aftercare regimes if the MAS is to succeed. As such, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether the system is able to allow aftercare officers to work closely with prison officers while the offender is still serving his custodial sentence. Can the Senior Minister of State elaborate on how the Prison Service is gearing up for the MAS? The Bill before us provides a legislative framework but I also like to hear about the \"software\" that would be the operating system of the MAS.
Furthermore, if we are to reduce re-offending, great care has to be given to working with the offender to change his behaviour, attitude and lifestyle. In this regard, how does the Ministry ensure that privately-run aftercare establishments, while having the best of intentions in seeking to rehabilitate and reintegrate ex-offenders, are really up to the important task? Can the Ministry and the Prison Service do more to build up and enhance the capacity and competency of these important institutions in our community involved in the external placement scheme?
We should continue to embed \"co-production\" of aftercare as the proposed amendments recognise. The rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders may well be a life-long journey. Hence, a multi-stakeholder approach is necessary. Even after an ex-offender completes the MAS uneventfully, there is still the re-integration challenge.
Co-production in aftercare requires that we recognise that the effort to reduce recidivism will be successful through the ex-offenders' relationships with stakeholders, such as their families, employers, friends and the community. The ex-offender's relationship with the aftercare services, while important, is grossly inadequate. Other stakeholders can provide the conducive structure and setting to promote healthy relationships for an ex-offender. These are the ties that bind, and the MAS must seek to embrace the network of relationships for each and every offender. The Yellow Ribbon campaign has gained traction among Singaporeans and more can be done to ensure that the community truly gives ex-offenders a second chance at life, and to inspire concerted community action to support ex-offenders and their families.
Madam, ex-offenders often have multiple and complex needs, and re-offending often occurs in the first few months of an ex-offender's release from a custodial sentence. I hope that the MAS will not be seen as another sentence, albeit a less demanding one than incarceration.
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The MAS cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach as this risks fitting no one. Research has shown the growing importance of \"desistance\". This is the change process involved in the rehabilitation of offenders that results in their desistance from re-offending. Desistance is a lengthy process, not an event, and where reversals and relapses are common. Here, the literature demonstrates that the ex-offenders' thinking, as well as their circumstances, would influence whether they re-offend in future or not. In this regard, I would appreciate it if the Senior Minister of State could elaborate on the modalities of the MAS, in particular, the personalised case management.
Furthermore, the MAS cannot be just about surveillance, control and discipline – one imposed, post-release from custody, by an external party on an ex-offender. The MAS regime must address the criminogenic needs of the ex-offender. These are the dynamic risk factors that predict re-offending and include anti-social attitudes and problematic peer associations, the lack of self-control and self-confidence, often flowing from low self-esteem, the lack of self-management skills and a variety of addictions.
The MAS must have cognitive-behavioural therapies and programmes that are designed to deal with the different aspects of an ex-offender's behaviour. The endeavour to help an ex-offender change cannot be simply about eliminating or modifying the various risk factors. Too often, these risk factors are external and systemic and beyond the control of the aftercare services.
As such, the MAS must also develop resilience among ex-offenders. Otherwise, the MAS can result in dependency by an ex-offender, in particular, on the aftercare services. The ex-offender's lack of resilience also results in his susceptibility to re-offending. In this regard, a personalised MAS regime can re-set and shift the narrative from an ex-offender's criminogenic needs and other deficits to a community dimension in which the key consideration is what the offender can do to contribute to his family, community and society. In short, the MAS should not be one where the ex-offender is seen as a mere beneficiary or someone deserving of our assistance. This requires, of course, interventions in community settings co-produced with the community. This can also increase inclusion and develop social capital. What it all amounts to is for the ex-offender to fully realise that he does not walk alone in his journey to be a useful citizen. Would the Senior Minister of State elaborate on how the MAS can build resilience in ex-offenders?
Madam, I see the MAS as a new and concerted strategy to break the cycle of re-offending. The MAS, like the CRS, will apply to those who commit offences after these amendments before us today come into effect. May I ask the Senior
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Minister of State whether the Prison Service will be open to accepting ex-offenders who commit offences before these amendments take effect and who would voluntarily like to be on the MAS? There will be questions on the legal consequences for such an ex-offender if he were to commit a serious breach while on the scheme although the MAS does not technically apply to him. My larger point is whether the MAS framework can be offered to ex-offenders seeking to rebuild their lives even though the MAS does not apply to them.
Madam, the annual average number of penal releases for 2010 to 2012 was 14,137 while the annual average number of penal admissions was 13,612. Generally, the figures show slightly more releases than admissions between 2010 and 2012. The convicted penal inmate population stood at an annual average of 10,361 between 2010 and 2012. With more than 10,000 persons going through the prison system each year, the Prison Service have to go beyond managing custodial sentences and be given the material and non-material resources to succeed on the rehabilitation front. Madam, once again I reiterate my support for the Bill.
Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): Mdm Speaker, I support the main aims of the Bill. However, I wish to raise concerns about three areas. First, the expanded role of the Auxiliary Police; second, the provisions relating to remission of imprisonment; and thirdly, the external placement scheme.
First, expanded role of Auxiliary Police. Clauses 5 and 6 of the Bill make changes to the role of the Auxiliary Police in escorting and securing prisoners. While the current Act allows the Auxiliary Police to be deployed to escort prisoners while in transit to and from Prison, for example to Court, and while they are outside Prison, the Bill effectively expands their role to include safeguarding prisoners while they are within prison premises.
The handling of prisoners within prison is a delicate matter entrusted to prison officers. Could the Government explain why this task is being outsourced to the Auxiliary Police? Is this due to any shortage of prison officers? As we know, the training requirements and mindsets of prison officers and Auxiliary Police are also quite different. Prison officers are trained in Rehabilitation and are recruited to be \"Captains of Lives\", while Auxiliary Police are generally focused on safeguarding property and some law and order functions. Given this fundamental difference, what additional jobs are to be assigned to the Auxiliary Police to do within the prison premises? How suitably trained are they for their
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expanded roles?
Next, remission. One of the key features of the Bill relates to remission of jail terms. Clause 7 introduces Part VB which will remove the remission rules from the Prisons Regulations to the parent Act. The Bill generally preserves the current default position of granting prisoners a one-third discount off imprisonment for good behaviour. However, the purpose of granting remission is changed from \"facilitating reformative treatment\" as stated in the Prisons Regulations to the more holistic aim of \"facilitating the rehabilitation of prisoners and their reintegration into society\" as stated in the new section 50E. Release at the two-third mark will no longer be unconditional but be subject to a condition that while the remission order is in force, the person should not commit an offence and be sentenced to incarceration. If he breaches the condition, he may lose his remission in addition to being sentenced for the new offence.
Apart from remission at the two-third mark, the Bill introduces a new provision for discretionary remission before the two-third mark for prisoners who have already served at least 20 years' imprisonment. This is a good amendment, as the new section 50J will put such long-term prisoners on par with those serving life imprisonment, who already can have their cases reviewed after serving 20 years' jail. This will give both groups the chance to re-build what remains of their lives and to reconnect with society once again. I have one clarification concerning section 50J. It is not stated how the Minister will conduct his review of the case to decide if earlier remission should be given. In life imprisonment cases, the Prisons Regulations currently provide for a Life Imprisonment Review Board to be appointed to make recommendations to the Minister on whether remission is appropriate. Will another Review Board be set up to make recommendations to the Minister regarding earlier remission for prisoners serving long sentences?
As regards the procedure for reviewing such cases, I note that in Hong Kong, there is a Long-Term Prison Sentences Review Board to review long-term prisoners for sentence remission. Under their procedures, there are some features of transparency worth noting. For instance, what factors are taken into account in reviewing cases is publicly gazetted, for example, the nature of the offence, criminal history, age, behaviour in prison, rehabilitation and employment prospects, and others. Another feature is that when the Board rejects remission, the affected prisoner can ask the Board for its reasons, so that he can work on those areas to increase his chances in future reviews. I hope the Government will continually look at such best practices and see how the
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process can be improved.
Clause 7 of the Bill also introduces a Mandatory Aftercare Scheme for certain prisoners when released on remission. The new section 50U provides for the kinds of cases which qualify for Mandatory Aftercare. However, according to section 50V, mandatory aftercare is not an automatic condition once a prisoner qualifies but the Commissioner may make such an order. I would like to ask whether this means that mandatory aftercare will only be selectively imposed, or does the Government expect that most, if not all, qualifying cases will be subject to mandatory aftercare?
Madam, in relation to remission, I also wish to seek two clarifications regarding the cancellation, forfeiture and restoration of remission. The Bill makes changes to the Prisons Regulations, and there now appear to be two anomalies which require clarification.
The first concerns the powers of the President. Under the existing prison regulation 124, the President can take away a prisoner's right to remission if he commits a grave offence while serving sentence. Under the Bill, this power of the President is preserved under the new section 50 I (4). However, what is quite different is that under the current regulation 124, the President may also give \"remission without limit for special services\". This phrase is not found in section 50 I (4). Could Minister of State clarify whether we are indeed changing the authority being given to the President under the Act, to take away his right to grant remission without limit, and why this is being done?
The second clarification concerns clause 15 of the Bill. This relates to the Superintendent's powers when a prisoner has forfeited some of his remission due to disciplinary offences while in prison. Under the current Prisons Regulations, a prisoner's remission could be forfeited under the orders of three authorities – the Superintendent himself, who may forfeit up to 60 days of remission, or the Director of Prisons, who may forfeit up to 90 days, or by the Visiting Justices, who can forfeit up to 180 days. I assume that even after the Bill is passed, the Superintendent, the Commissioner of Prisons and the Visiting Justices will retain some powers to order forfeiture of remission.
In this regard, clause 15 appears to increase the powers of a Superintendent drastically. Under the existing Regulation 124, a Superintendent can only restore to the prisoner up to seven days of remission which was ordered by the Superintendent himself to be forfeited. However, under clause 15 of this Bill, the new section 77A will allow the Superintendent the \"discretion\" to restore to
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the prisoner the entire period of remission which had been forfeited by such prisoner. This power under section 77A is much wider than regulation 124. It appears to allow the Superintendent to change not only his own decisions about forfeiture of remission but also the decisions of his superior, namely, the Commissioner of Prisons, and even the Visiting Justices. Can this be a correct reading of what is intended? The effect of the new section 77A needs to be clarified.
Finally, Madam, External Placement Scheme. Clause 12 introduces the new Part VIA concerning an External Placement Scheme. This Scheme allows a prisoner to serve his sentence in a place other than a prison, if the Minister directs the Commissioner to make an external placement order. This order can be for periods of up to 12 months at a time.
Under what circumstances will a prisoner have the privilege of serving his time outside prison? According to the new section 59B, the Minister is reminded that prisoners should ordinarily serve their time in prison and that external placement may cause a public safety risk. However, the Minister can take into account the physical and mental condition of the prisoner, and \"any other relevant circumstances\" in considering whether the prisoner should be externally placed. Earlier, I believe the Senior Minister of State mentioned that the Minister would be advised by a committee.
Now, I assume that certain prisoners may not be physically or mentally fit for prison, perhaps due to old age or some illness. I can understand why it may make practical sense to house the prisoner instead in some specialised care facility or even a hospice. Earlier, the Senior Minister of State mentioned that the section would be used for terminally ill patients as certified by prison-appointed doctors. What I am concerned about is whether, over time, some prisoners may try to \"game\" the system by getting their own medical experts to advise that they need to serve time outside prison for one medical condition or another, and thereby get away with serving their jail terms in more comfortable environments or even in their own homes. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State to elaborate on what safeguards will be put in place to prevent such subversions.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Mdm Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak. It is heartening to know that there has been a reduction of about 17% in the rate of recidivism among our inmates in a 10-year
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period from year 2000 to 2010. This was communicated by the Ministry in their press statement dated 11 November 2013. In light of this, this amendment Bill, which seeks to enhance and strengthen aftercare support and improve the rehabilitation of ex-offenders into society, is, indeed, very encouraging.
In my speech today, I will touch on the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme (MAS) segment of this Bill.
According to the Ministry, under the MAS, ex-inmates, upon release from prisons, may be placed in a halfway home, followed by home supervision and, finally, community reintegration. During these phases, the ex-inmates will be provided with counselling and case management, apart from other community supports.
Madam, counselling and case management are two of the most vital and effective elements in facilitating ex-inmates to overcome challenges in their efforts to reintegrate themselves back into the society. Ex-inmates require consistent, continuous emotional and psychological support in their bid to build resilience and self-esteem while motivating themselves continually as they transit from prison life and return to the society-at-large. Thus, we must and should enhance on the quality and efficacy of the counselling and case management processes.
With this firmly as the context, I am proposing that it would be good to arrange for those ex-inmates who are undergoing the home supervision phase of the MAS to have their counselling and case management provided by the Family Service Centres (FSCs) or counselling centres managed by Voluntary Welfare Organisations in the proximity of their residential address.
Madam, there are several benefits to this arrangement. Foremost, counselling and case management would be made accessible, given the extensive geographical spread of FSCs and counselling centres across the island. This would certainly reduce the hassle for the ex-inmate. Secondly, through my experience working in the FSC, there is a fair number of the ex-inmates' next-of-kin or families who may have already been receiving assistance through the respective FSCs, and social workers in the FSCs are well acquainted with the family of the ex-inmate. This serves to provide a better knowledge of the larger context in which the ex-inmate and his family are situated in and this would definitely facilitate the process of preparing and assisting the ex-inmates in their desire to re-integrate themselves back into
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society.
Thirdly, there is no doubt that family support is crucial in the reintegration process, and my recommendations would enable the family to play a more active role. Thus, for ex-inmates whose families who are not known to any FSC, I would like to suggest that the Ministry consider encouraging family members or next-of-kin to be involved in the counselling and case management process. At the same time, the social worker assigned to the ex-inmate and the family would also be able to provide timely counselling to their clients.
Additionally, if this idea of having FSCs or counselling centres providing counselling and case management during the home supervision phase is implementable, I would like to suggest that the ex-inmates be given an option to have the presence of a resource person, namely, a spiritually learned person, for example, a pastor or an asatizah for their counselling and case management. The presence of spiritually learned persons can also serve as a point of reference and a guide for the ex-inmates in uplifting their personal well-being. This constitutes a continuation of the spiritual guidance that these ex-inmates have been receiving during the period of their incarceration and during their time spent in the halfway home. The option of providing a resource person should be an option which I hope the Ministry can consider in the counselling and case management process.
Madam, I hope the Ministry can seriously consider my recommendations and further enhance the benefits that this Bill can provide for fellow Singaporeans and bring us towards a more inclusive society. Madam, I support the Bill.
Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Mdm Speaker, I rise to support the Prisons Amendment Bill, but I have some concerns with the Conditional Remission System (CRS) and the Mandatory Aftercare Scheme (MAS) targeted at selected groups of inmates.
The original intent of allowing remission is not only to encourage good behaviour but also to reduce overcrowding in prisons in some countries. Under the new amendment, breaches in CRA or MAS may possibly lead to longer prison sentences. Does the Singapore Prison Service have the capacity in terms of physical structure, manpower and facilities to cope with the possibility of a
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higher prison population?
The MAS has the potential to help ex-offenders integrate into society. Thus, I would like to know whether enough resources would be devoted to improve and build the capacity of existing aftercare services specifically targeted at helping ex-convicts. The effectiveness of the MAS will largely depend on the quality of the aftercare services, which encompass halfway house stay, casework, counselling and many others. As such, I hope there is enough flexibility to allow the VWOs offering aftercare services to tailor their programmes to suit the various offenders, depending on their gender and religion.
Currently, there is a shortage of aftercare services for female ex-offenders and Malay/Muslim ex-offenders that are operated by Malay/Muslim voluntary welfare organisations. I hope there are plans to increase the capacity of aftercare services to look after the female ex-offender, and the aftercare programmes be allowed to have elements of religious education that have shown promising results in reducing recidivism.
Mdm Speaker, families and employers can be the support pillars to help ex-offenders reintegrate into society. I would like to suggest that the mandatory aftercare scheme should involve the families and potential employers of the ex-offenders by providing them with the necessary holistic support to help the ex-offenders. Many ex-offenders face multiple issues ranging from housing, accommodation, finance, employment, family relationship and many others. A holistic approach is required for the MAS to be effective.
The proposed amendments to introduce CRS and MAS are a step in the right direction. As we strive to be an inclusive society, let us help those amongst us that have strayed and help them feel that they do belong to our community and will always be welcome.
Mdm Speaker, please allow me to speak on the Bill in Malay.
(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I welcome the amendments to the Prisons Act which require ex-offenders to undergo rehabilitation to enable them to reintegrate into society.
I would like to urge MHA to ensure that the aftercare services that are run by the community organisations have high standards in terms of the staff and facilities and possess deep knowledge to help ex-offenders undergo
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rehabilitation.
I would also like MHA to allow aftercare services to receive financial provisions or subsidies even for the type of rehabilitation that is largely based on a religious approach.
I feel that it is important that we render assistance sincerely to enable these ex-offenders to begin a new life outside the prison walls.
I hope that the community, in general, and the Malays and the families of ex-offenders will work together to give support and cooperation to achieve the Government's initiative to create an inclusive and a more compassionate society.
","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 (Dr Ng Eng Hen): Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, \"That the debate be now adjourned.\"
[(proc text) Resolved, \"That the debate be now adjourned.\" – [Dr Ng Eng Hen]. (proc text)]
Mdm Speaker: Resumption of debate what day?
Dr Ng Eng Hen: Tomorrow, 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":"Employment and Employability of Seniors","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"OS","content":"The Leader of the House (Dr Ng Eng Hen): Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, \"That Parliament do now adjourn.\"
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
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Mr David Ong (Jurong): Mdm Speaker, Singapore is among the fastest-ageing populations in Asia, which is aggravated by a low fertility rate and longer life expectancy. By 2050, it is projected that almost a third of our people in Singapore will be 65 or over.
The changing demographic trends will require adjustments to be made by individuals and society at large. In particular, Government policies and attitudes of both employers and employees on retirement age, and employment of seniors need to be recalibrated to reflect the signs of our time.
A fast-ageing population, compounded by a tight labour market, means it makes business and economic sense to recruit and retain mature workers.
Thus, with changes in the labour employment landscape and the introduction of re-employment legislation, it is timely to review two co-related Singapore employment policies, namely, (a)\tthe statutory retirement age of 62 years, and (b) the reduction of employer's CPF contribution for workers turning 50 and above.
Singaporeans aged 65 today can expect to live for another 20-25 years, a third more than their contemporaries 25 years ago. It is important that workers remain employed longer as this will enable them to start dipping into their savings at a much later age, thus supporting financial self-sufficiency. However, remaining employed for longer is not just important for financial reasons, but also for health, fulfilment and personal well-being.
To many, work is an important part of active ageing. According to a 2013 Hong Kong Shanghai Bank study, 47% of Singaporeans aspired to continue working in some capacity in their retirement. This highlights the difficulty in drawing a line between when work stops and retirement starts. The retirement age should not become a barrier to active ageing.
I propose for the removal of the statutory retirement age in Singapore. Workers should be given the flexibility to choose how long they want to work or when they wish to retire. The important factor is the restoration of choice for
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our senior workers on retirement.
I want to emphasise that I am not suggesting that people should work to their graves, and I am certainly not suggesting that people should be made to work past an age if they want to stop. I hope to see workers being empowered with their own decision of retirement, rather than being subject to a legislative policy.
Enforced retirement is often a life-changing event. Complete retirement often precipitates rapid physical and psychological decline, especially if a person does not find ways to remain socially active. It was mentioned in a recent Straits Times' article that cab drivers who retire often feel grief and a sense of loss of their worker identity and their network of connections which they had built over the years.
Workers who have retired need to find new ways of generating income to meet their financial commitments. Those without financial burdens need to find ways of occupying their time, need to rebuild at least part of their social networks.
MOM reported an improvement of seniors being re-employed, but there are others who are unwillingly ushered into an earlier-than-planned retirement, are also denied promotion, or are offered re-employment with a recalibrated contract with lower pay and less benefits even though they are re-employed to do the same job. Many do not have the option of maintaining their current terms of employment. In effect, they become the \"oldest new employee\" in their organisation.
The statutory retirement age imposes the presumption in a merit-based remuneration system and perpetuates the impression that once a person hits that age, he or she really should stop working because they are deemed as \"old and less productive to their companies\" and \"should make way for new or younger employees\".
Let us take a look at our Civil Service. Although it has moved to a merit-based rather than a seniority-based remuneration system, retiring employees were given re-employment contracts with a \"downsized\" package. If even the Civil Service is taking this stance, what more the private sector? Under this scenario, it is highly possible for a mature worker who may be more experienced and productive than a younger colleague to earn less, which is a
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strange inequity in a modern workplace.
It may not be timely for us to examine whether the policy of re-employing retired staff on contracts with lower salaries or lesser benefits are justified, especially if the current reduction of CPF contribution is maintained. Our Civil Service should take the lead in instituting fair and equitable compensation upon re-employment. This would set an example for the private sector to accord our mature workers a remuneration based on merit and contribution to the company, rather than on perceptions of productivity based on age.
I would mention that the impact of legislation goes far beyond the actions they directly compel; laws can either encourage change in societal attitudes or entrench existing prejudices. A determined ageist employer will find ways to get rid of mature workers or be prejudiced against hiring them. Hence, the Government, by removing the statutory retirement age, will be sending a clear and strong message that there can be no room for institutionalised discrimination against mature workers in our society.
Our seniors today are able to work longer than the generation before. They remain mentally and physically able to perform their jobs effectively. I would like to point out that, with increased automation and job re-design in the modern workplace, jobs which were previously physically demanding are becoming less so, and do not require workers to be at their prime of fitness.
Senior employees in knowledge-based employment can be as mentally active and dexterous as their younger colleagues, plus the additional benefit of a wealth of experience behind them.
It is observed that there are now more employment opportunities for mature workers in Singapore. From the 2011 National Survey of Senior Citizens, more elderly employees are gainfully employed, even as they are near or past the retirement age. This is attributable to rising education levels, the need to supplement their retirement savings and Government policies aimed at enhancing elderly employment.
It has been two years since the amended Retirement and Re-employment Act came into effect. During this time, businesses and mature workers have adapted to the changes with largely positive responses. I believe it is now appropriate to further refine the re-employment legislation and to abolish the retirement age.
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Under the current legislation, once an employee is no longer eligible for re-employment at age 65, he or she may be dismissed on the basis of age alone. The employer may also dismiss an employee at the minimum retirement age of 62 by paying Employment Assistance Payment. Although many of these workers are still productive, the reality is that it will be virtually impossible for most to find suitable jobs after they have been retired.
Whilst the tripartite re-employment legislation provides the framework and flexibility for both employers and employees in re-employment, I would endeavour to seek an enhanced re-employment legislation where the re-employment age can be maintained or raised and do away with the statutory retirement age. Recourse for wrongful dismissal or inequitable compensation will be provided for under this legislation, regardless of age.
Hence, the removal of the statutory retirement age is, at its core, a symbolic but important step in changing the mindset and attitude of employers, to drive home the message that age is not a barrier to productive employment. The last thing that mature workers need is a statutory presumption that, by a certain age, they are ripe for retirement, as they are perceived by society to be less productive or effective, compared to their younger colleagues. What the Government should do is to remove this presumption and, instead, give incentives to employers to train and hire mature workers.
Mdm Speaker, let me now touch on CPF contribution rates for mature workers. CPF rates were reduced in response to the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s. Our mature workers were then told to bite the \"silver bullet\", take a pay cut and have their employer's CPF contributions reduced so that they could have a better chance of retaining their jobs and increasing the opportunity to be employed.
Whilst it was a reasonable response, it is also discriminatory. Today, our people are living longer and healthier. In the late 1980s, age 50 might be a sign of physical decline but, today, those in their 50s and, for that matter, 60s and 70s, are fitter, healthier and stronger. Yet, the truth is our Singaporean workers have to suffer a progressive reduction in their remuneration the moment he or she turns 50 but are working at the same pace and doing the same work.
I asked a Parliamentary Question last November whether MOM would consider restoring the employer's CPF contributions of our mature workers. Acting Minister Tan Chuan-Jin reassured that the tripartite partners remain committed to restoring the contribution rates of mature workers and this must
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be done, as he said, at a suitable time to moderate the impact of take-home pay for employees and business costs for employers.
Madam, I believe the suitable time is now for us to call on the Government to quicken the restoration of the employer CPF contribution rate for our mature workers, not just for those in the 50-55 age group, but right up to 65 years and beyond.
Our CPF system provides comfortable Income Replacement Rates for new entrants to the workforce. This does not cover older generations of workers, many of whom do not meet the CPF Minimum Sum. While this system ensures fiscal sustainability, it also exposes Singaporeans to various risks, including prolonged unemployment, inflation risk and longevity risk.
Undeniably, CPF savings are significant for our seniors as they will depend even more on them for their retirement and healthcare needs. However, cutting the CPF rate is intrinsically different from the other Government schemes on one key point, namely, it has the effect of reducing the retirement savings for our mature workers.
Rather than tinkering with the workers' retirement savings by using CPF as a calibrating tool to make them more affordable and employable, we can look at enhancing schemes like the Special Employment Credit or leveraging on the MediShield Life Scheme to encourage employers to hire mature workers.
Even though current financial incentives are given to employers to employ mature workers, these workers are still paid less than what they were getting before their retirement, thus under-valuing the contributions to the workplace which mature workers can bring. This seems to sit uncomfortably with the main reason why companies would be willing to hire or retain their mature employees, which is for the value of their loyalty, experience, reliability, maturity and familiarity with their jobs.
Indeed, employer CPF contribution rate for mature workers should be restored because:
(a) Employers already on a merit-based remuneration system would not need any further statutory cuts to the employee's pay;
(b) The CPF restoration would go towards contributing more resources to ensure that these mature workers, if they do stop work subsequently, can better
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sustain themselves with their CPF savings;
(c) One should look beyond CPF restoration as an \"additional cost\" to the employers' wage bill. Before the worker hits 50 years old, he or she would be an effective contributor to the workplace. I validly make this assumption, for if the worker was not contributing, he or she would have been asked to leave under a merit compensation system. For the employer to want to continue having this worker around, it would mean that this worker is of value to the company. There is no change to the worker's contribution but, because of age, employers are given a discount on the wage bill;
(d) The removal of this \"discount\" from wage reduction does not add significantly to any employer's wage budget, but would go a long way in removing the misconception that mature workers are less valued.
The employer CPF contribution rate for low-wage workers was fully restored at the start of this year. This is a good step forward and I believe more can be done for our low-skilled mature workers.
These workers have lower educational levels, and disproportionately occupy low-wage jobs. In June 2012, those 50 and above formed 68% of resident cleaners and labourers, and 59% of assembly line workers. Many of these lower-skilled mature workers belong to a class of the working poor in Singapore today.
Singapore's transformation from a labour-intensive to a knowledge-based economy, and the rapid rate of technological renewal have left many of our mature workers unprepared for today's economy. In their younger days, they worked hard to create progress for Singapore but, ironically, this progress has caused them to be left behind.
We have gradually increased the Workfare Income Supplement payout since 2007 and this is the way to go. We should also consider further increases of cash payouts to meet the present needs of the low-wage older workers.
I warmly welcome the recent news that our cleaners will be paid progressive wages, with the minimum entry level pay of $1,000 from the current median pay of $850. This shows the decisiveness of our Government in uplifting our low-wage workers. I do hope that this Statutory Progressive Wage Model will have a knock-on effect on wages of the low-skilled in other industries,
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benefitting many of our mature workers across the board.
The removal of the retirement age does not necessarily mean that jobs will be available for mature workers. We can extend the productive years of our elderly workers through appropriately re-designing jobs and workplaces. In fact, if companies are unable to adapt to an ageing employee profile, the economy will suffer from structural rigidities, ultimately leading to job losses for all. Support needs to be in place to facilitate this transition process, as our Government has, indeed, been trying to do.
Companies in other countries have trod down this path of workplace redesign. A BMW factory in Germany, conducted an experiment by creating a production line staffed entirely by mature workers. It was found that simple changes like instruction screens with larger letters and a magnifying glass, adjustable-height work benches and having part-time policies, resulted in a 7% increase in productivity in a year. Productivity was comparable to that of younger workers, but the quality of work was, in fact, higher. This shows that with suitable adjustments to the workplace environment, mature workers can be just as productive as the younger cohorts.
Redesigning jobs is not just about compensating but should be about making full use of the skills mature workers have gained through age.
Currently, our primary mechanism to encourage hiring of mature workers and job re-designing is through the WorkPro, which I believe has potential to achieve far greater outcomes. I hope the Ministry can proactively propagate this scheme to companies and employees and to ensure that requirements to qualify for these grants are not excessively onerous.
Mdm Speaker, age discrimination has no place in our society. Singaporeans have come together to categorically reject discrimination based on race, religion or social background, but, as yet, this has not extended to age discrimination.
I reiterate my call for the restoration of employers' CPF contribution rate for our workers who are 50 years and above and instituting fair and equitable compensation and re-employment based on performance and not age. The abolishment of the retirement age will restore choice for our mature workers so that workers can choose if they want to work or choose to retire. The retirement age has no bearing on one's productive capacity and denies many senior
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workers' aspirations for active ageing.
There must be a social mindset shift in the way we view our seniors and mature workers. Although the tight labour market provided the impetus, it is time to accord the respect and value to our mature workers so that it goes beyond looking at mature workers as a liability but as an asset. We must make every effort to eliminate ageism in the workplace and in our meritocratic society.
Mature workers should be seen for what they can bring to the table, instead of what they cannot. Senior workers have a part to play too, to ensure that they embrace healthy ageing and stay relevant through upgrading and job training.
Let us all come together to create an age-friendly, progressive and inclusive workplace for our grandparents, parents, friends, neighbours and, eventually, ourselves.
Mdm Speaker: Dr Amy Khor.
The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan): Mdm Speaker, I thank Mr David Ong for raising this topic and for his various suggestions. The challenges faced by our ageing workforce remain a top priority for my Ministry and our tripartite partners. I will highlight two key strategies we adopt which address some of the issues Mr Ong has raised.
Mr Ong proposes removing the retirement age and giving our older workers a choice to work longer. The current minimum statutory retirement age of 62, in fact, protects workers below the age of 62 from being dismissed on the grounds of age. It is not meant to, and it does not impede people from working beyond 62. In fact, there is no statutory age at which employers must retire a worker.
We did consider various options, including extending the statutory minimum retirement age or removing it all together. We also studied the approaches taken by other developed countries and concluded that re-employment is a better and more practical approach for us. Re-employment allows workers to work longer, which is what Mr Ong is calling for, while ensuring that employers have sufficient flexibility to manage their manpower needs. We should be mindful that requiring employers to continue employing
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their older workers without providing them the flexibility to manage their business needs would not be in the best interests of the workers.
We adapted the re-employment approach from Japan, which introduced re-employment in 2006. Today, Japan is one of the countries with the highest employment rates for older workers. We, therefore, enacted the Retirement and Re-employment Act, or RRA, in January 2012. Employers are required to offer re-employment to their workers from age 62 to 65.
The bar for re-employment is deliberately kept low. The employee needs to have satisfactory work performance and be medically fit. Employers have the flexibility to make some adjustments to their employment terms for these employees based on reasonable factors, such as employees' productivity, duties and responsibilities and the extent of seniority elements in the wage structure.
Overall, this allows older workers to work longer without affecting their employability. The implementation of the RRA has been smooth since it came into effect. In particular, re-employment rates have been high. Based on our 2012 survey, 98% of local employees who turned 62 in the year ending June 2012 were offered re-employment. This included 70% of retiring employees who were offered re-employment on existing contracts without any change in employment terms.
Among those who accepted re-employment on new contracts in the same job, three in four retained their basic wages. Including those who continued on existing contracts, 94% experience no change in their basic wages. Re-employment disputes have also been low, numbering two to three cases a month.
The RRA has been in effect for only two years. We should allow time to monitor its impact. The Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers continues to closely monitor the implementation of the RRA with the view to further extending the re-employment age, possibly to 67, at an appropriate time.
With regard to the re-employment policies in the Civil Service from 1 August 2013, Division III and IV Officers who typically perform clerical and frontline operational duties were offered re-employment at the same grade and salary. Division I and II Officers who are managers and executives will only experience an adjustment if their salaries are above a pre-determined maximum-minimum ratio that is reflective of the typical competencies, duties
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and responsibilities required of their jobs. Any adjustments will not be more than 15%.
I agree with Mr Ong that it is crucial to help employers redesign jobs and the work environment to adapt to the ageing workforce. We encourage employers to tap on the generous funding available under WorkPro to do so. Since WorkPro was launched in April 2013, more than 600 companies have received the Age Management Grant to implement age-friendly practices. We will continue to promote awareness of these schemes.
We also encourage older workers to continue to train and stay at work through the Workfare Income Supplement, or WIS scheme, and its enhancements. In 2013, we extended the WIS eligibility criteria and increased the maximum WIS quantum by 25% to $3,500. We also increased the cash proportion of WIS payouts to 40%. WIS payouts today can make up to a third of a worker's monthly income. To date, about 360,000 Singaporeans have received more than $400 million in WIS for work done in 2013.
Mr Ong suggested that older workers should enjoy similar CPF contribution rates as their younger counterparts to help them save more. While we do want to help older workers accumulate more CPF savings, we have to balance this with their continued employability. CPF contribution rates were lowered for older workers when the retirement age was raised in the past so as to address employers' cost concerns, because of the prevalence of seniority-based wages.
The tripartite partners have since made good progress in narrowing the wage scales. The employment rates of older residents aged 55 to 64 have also increased significantly from 47% in June 2004, to 65% in June 2013. In September 2012, we made a first step increase in CPF contribution rates for older workers aged 50 to 65. Concurrently, the Government enhanced the Special Employment Credit, or SEC, to mitigate the impact of the CPF increases on the employability of older workers above age 50.
Since 2011, about 107,000 employers who employed 470,000 older workers have benefited from more than $760 million of SEC. More than 90% of workers, whose employers received SEC in the first half of 2012, had remained employed one year later.
We agree that it is timely to review the CPF contribution rates for older workers. We announced in 2012, that we would equalise the contribution rates for workers aged 50 to 55, with younger workers aged 50 and below, and we
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remain committed to do so. However, we should approach this carefully and gradually so as not to adversely affect their employability. We are monitoring the employment situation of older workers and are consulting our tripartite partners on whether and when to take the next increase.
Our second strategy is to shape positive perceptions towards older workers. The key lies in changing social attitudes and dispelling prejudices against them. Schemes, such as WorkPro and SEC, are already in place to inculcate positive mindsets. We have also been working closely with employers and the unions for the adoption of fair, responsible and merit-based employment through the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices, or TAFEP. Employers are persuaded to not restrict recruitment opportunities to individuals of certain age groups and to base their selection on objective criteria, such as the candidate's ability to perform the job.
Mdm Speaker, addressing an ageing workforce is an ongoing task and Mr Ong is right to point out that this is an important one. I urge everyone to make every effort to stamp out ageist mindsets and treasure the cumulative knowledge and experience of our seniors. Meanwhile, as the labour market remains tight, we will continue to incentivise employers to tap on older workers. Over time, through a mix of promotion and legislation, we hope to nudge society as a whole, and employers in particular, to recognise older workers as a valuable asset in our workforce, rather than a liability.
[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]
[(proc text) Resolved, \"That Parliament do now adjourn.\" (proc text)]
Adjourned accordingly at 6.45 pm.
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","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":"Overseas Expansion by Local SMEs","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"57 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the current state of internationalisation by local SMEs; (b) what has been the number of companies that have sought assistance from IE's Global Company Partnership schemes; and (c) whether there is an increasing trend of SMEs off-shoring their operations to lower-cost locations overseas.
Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Based on the latest 2013 SME Development Survey, about half of local SMEs reported overseas revenue in 2013. Of these, about 60% generate at least a third of their revenue from abroad. Wholesale, transportation and storage, and manufacturing are the top three sectors where SMEs have internationalised. Malaysia is their biggest market, followed by China and Indonesia. Our SMEs are also starting to enter new markets, such as the Philippines, Myanmar and Brunei.
In 2013, close to 24,000 companies, mostly SMEs, approached IE Singapore for help in understanding overseas markets, connecting to the right business partners and developing capabilities. This was an increase of approximately 60%, compared to 2012, and reflected a strong and growing interest in internationalisation.
These companies received help under two key assistance frameworks – the Global Company Partnership (GCP) and the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA). The GCP is tailored for businesses with existing overseas presence and looking to deepen it, while the MRA is a broad-based framework for businesses new to internationalisation.
While IE Singapore tracks companies which establish overseas presence, it does not have comprehensive data on which parts of their operations are being moved offshore. However, we understand through feedback that many companies are considering regional production models. This enables them to benefit from lower-cost manufacturing locations, while retaining key management and business functions out of Singapore. The Government will continue to support the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Staff-Child Ratios in Childcare and Infant Care Centres","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"60 Ms Lee Li Lian asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the status of the review of staff-child ratios in childcare and infant care centres; and (b) what are the plans to reduce the current one staff-five children (1:5) ratio in these centres in light of the recent announcement to create 20,000 more childcare places by 2017.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: Staff-child ratios are one of several means to ensure the safety, well-being and development of children in childcare centres and kindergartens. The ratios range from one educarer to five infants, to one teacher to 25 kindergarten-age children. The ratios are lower for younger children as they require closer supervision.
In reviewing the staff-child ratios, we have to strike a balance between ensuring good quality care and education for our children, with the manpower needed to expand childcare capacity and the impact on fees that will be borne by parents.
In January 2012, we provided centres flexibility to lower their staff-child ratios further by employing trained para-personnel to assist the main teachers with routine care activities. This has allowed centres to raise capacity while lowering overall staff-child ratios. More recently, we also implemented measures to attract and retain manpower in the early childhood sector, such as strengthening the training pipeline for the Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education at the Polytechnics, as well as enhancing the ECDA Training Award and Scholarships.
Apart from staff-child ratios, the capability of early childhood personnel is equally important. The qualification requirements for teachers were raised in 2009. ECDA is also providing them with more opportunities to upgrade their skills, and be recognised for their competencies. This will be achieved through the Continuing Professional Development Masterplan that will be implemented later this year.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Homeless Families Who Camp by Beach","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"61 Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many families have been identified by the Ministry as homeless and camping by the beach annually between 2010 and 2012; and (b) whether there are any measures in place to assist these families, especially those with young children.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: MSF regularly patrols beaches and public areas to identify and provide assistance to persons who may be homeless. MSF also responds to calls to the ComCare hotline from members of the public who come into contact with Singaporeans who may be homeless.
Between 2011 to 2013, MSF provided support and shelter to 565 individuals and 404 families. About 80% are of low income and have weak social support. Three out of four were previous flat owners who had sold their flats for a variety of reasons, such as settling financial or debt problems, divorces, cashing out to make a profit and so on. After the sale of their flats, they find themselves not being able to afford to buy or rent another flat. Another one-quarter had fallen out with their families and friends whom they were living with, due to reasons, such as strained relationships, anti-social behaviour or addiction-related problems.
Government agencies do their best to help these individuals and families explore sustainable housing options, depending on their circumstances. They may purchase a flat within their means. In other instances, social workers help them to reunite and stay with their family members. For those with no options, HDB will assist them with rental flats under the Public Rental Scheme. For those who need temporary rental accommodation while they wait for or work out their longer-term housing option, HDB may refer them to interim rental housing.
Besides helping them with their housing issues, we also provide financial assistance and social support to enable the families to regain their independence. The support includes help in financial planning and budgeting, job training, employment assistance and relationship management. Efforts are taken to ensure the children continue to attend school and that the safety, welfare and interests of vulnerable family members are taken care of.
One example is a family found at the beach late last year. The couple had with them two daughters aged 18 and 12, and a 2-year-old granddaughter. A
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Family Service Centre helped place the family into a shelter. The family is progressing well with help from a social worker. The 18-year-old daughter has found employment as a food and beverage crew; her younger sister, who had dropped out for two years, has successfully enrolled back into school; food rations and financial assistance of $600 are being disbursed to the family on a monthly basis. This is an example where a family has made positive steps towards resolving their issues and regaining independence.
Unfortunately, we have also come across families who are not willing to work with Government officials or social workers. A number do not accept alternative accommodation offered to them. They are also unwilling to co-operate and work on their social and domestic issues, or make changes to their lifestyles. Some insist on getting special consideration for housing of their choice.
Homelessness is a complex problem. We want to provide help to families facing housing issues. But there will be little progress if families are unwilling to work with Government officials and social workers to resolve their problems. As much as Government and VWOs can reach out to this group and offer assistance, we need cooperation and positive action on the part of these families to improve their situations.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Effectiveness of Anti-smoking Programmes","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"62 Dr Janil Puthucheary asked the Minister for Health (a) over the last year, what is the number of (i) underage youths caught for buying cigarettes; and (ii) people who have joined quit-smoking initiatives, such as the \"I Quit 28-Day Countdown\" challenge; and (b) what is the effectiveness of these initiatives.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: The Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act prohibits the supply, purchase, possession and use of tobacco products among persons aged below 18 years. The number of underage youths caught buying tobacco has decreased from an annual average of 57 in 2010 and 2011 to an annual average of 25 in 2012 and 2013. The number of underage smoking offences has also decreased from an annual average of 6,500 in 2010 and 2011, to an annual average of 5,500 in 2012 and 2013. These decreases were observed notwithstanding the increased enforcement efforts by the Health Sciences
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Authority.
Legislation against underage smoking is one aspect of our multi-pronged, whole-of-society approach to tobacco control that comprises legislation, taxation, health promotion and education, and smoking cessation. Our aim is to de-normalise tobacco use in Singapore.
Education and awareness, with appropriate interventions, are critical in preventing smoking initiation among underage youths. Hence, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) has worked closely with MOE to incorporate anti-tobacco messages into the school curricula and co-curricular activities.
Helping smokers quit smoking is another important strategy to reduce tobacco consumption. The I Quit Programme reached out to more than 13,200 smokers in 2012 and intervenes broadly at the population level through telephonic services, such as QuitLine, which have been shown to achieve a quit rate of 30%. In 2012, over 200 youth smokers enrolled in HPB's school-based smoking cessation programmes, which achieved an average quit rate of about 40%. In addition, more than 80 companies have participated in smoking cessation activities since 2011, and among employees who received on-site quit counselling and Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), 30% achieved long-term cessation.
The \"Let's Quit The 28-Day Countdown\" challenge aimed to inspire smokers to make a personal pledge to quit smoking. Over 3,400 smokers enrolled in the challenge which took place between May and July 2013. Preliminary data showed one in 10 participants have persisted in staying smoke-free for 28 days.
Quitting smoking is not an easy task. The effectiveness of our smoking cessation programmes ranged between 10% and 40%, which is in line with what is observed internationally1. Hence, it is important to prevent our youth from experimenting and establishing a regular smoking habit in the first place. Smokers who have the support of their family, friends, and employers are more likely to quit smoking successfully.
My Ministry will continue to review and strengthen our smoking prevention and control efforts.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":["1 : Viswesvaran C and Schmidt F – A meta-analytic comparison of the effectiveness of smoking cessation methods. Journal of Applied Psychology. 1992; 77(4):554-561."],"footNoteQuestions":["62"],"questionNo":"62"},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Delays in Lift Upgrading Projects","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"64 Mr Zainal Sapari asked the Minister for National Development (a) since 2012, what is the number of lift upgrading projects that have not been completed on time; (b) what are the reasons for the delay in completion; and (c) what punitive actions have been taken against contractors who have been late in completing the works.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Of the 257 precincts with lift upgrading project (LUP) construction work in 2012, 18 precincts (7%) were completed after the Estimated Completion Date (ECD). Another 43 precincts (17%), where works are now on-going, are expected to be delayed past the ECD.
There are three main reasons for the delay. First, there were delays in the diversion of underground services such as water, electricity and telephone services. LUP works could only commence after the service providers completed these service diversions. Second, residents or the Working Committees in some precincts have requested for design changes, such as the widening of lift lobby landing and the provision or non-provision of privacy fins. These requests consequently required new consensus surveys from the residents, as well as the redesign and resubmission to the authorities. Third, poor planning or shortage of manpower by the contractor affected the progress of works.
HDB is mindful of the need to speed up the LUP works, so that residents can enjoy the benefits of direct lift access as soon as possible. Where the LUP works were delayed due to slow progress on the part of the contractor, HDB would impose liquidated damages on them.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Safeguarding Singapore's Cyber Infrastructure","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"65 Ms Tin Pei Ling asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the Ministry's assessment of the threat made by the international hacker group Anonymous to attack the Singapore Government; (b) what precautions has the Ministry taken to safeguard Singapore's key infrastructure against such hostile actions; and (c) what will the Ministry do to send a strong signal that actions undermining our key infrastructure and Singaporeans' interests cannot be condoned.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: In November 2013, our Police, with the help of their Malaysian counterparts, arrested a male Singaporean, James Raj s/o Ariokiasamy. He is believed to be the man behind a YouTube video which threatened our national security. The subject is currently facing charges under the Computer Misuse and Cyber Security Act (CMCA) and Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA). Police have also arrested and charged four other Singaporeans under the CMCA in connection with the unauthorised modification of the servers hosting the Istana and Prime Minister's Office websites. Police investigations found no indications to suggest that these activities were linked or organised. They were a disparate group of individuals. As the cases are now before the Court, I will not comment further on the details.
The Government takes a serious view of all threats to Singapore's cybersecurity. A trusted, secure and resilient information and communications (infocomm) infrastructure is critical to Singapore's national security and economic interests. The daily lives and well-being of Singaporeans will also be adversely affected if access to essential services is denied. The Singapore Infocomm Technology Security Authority (SITSA) under MHA, MCI and IDA work closely together to monitor and assess the state of our cybersecurity and strengthen it where necessary. Regular security scans and system patching are carried out on critical Government information infrastructure to detect and eliminate system vulnerabilities. In response to the possible threat to the Government's infocomm infrastructure, Government agencies have stepped up their vigilance and enhanced the security of their systems.
Following the November incidents, many Singaporeans have also voiced their disapproval and rejection of this form of criminal and anti-social behaviour. The Government will spare no effort to track down and bring to justice perpetrators of such criminal acts that undermine Singapore's infocomm
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infrastructure and our peace and security.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Disciplinary Action against Prison Officers in Death of Inmate Case","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"66 Mr Pritam Singh asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs what internal disciplinary action has been taken against the superintendent, supervisors and other officers involved in the death of prison inmate Dinesh Raman s/o Chinnaiah.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: As the death of prison inmate Dinesh Raman s/o Chinnaiah is the subject of an ongoing litigation, it would not be appropriate to answer the question at this point in time. If the Member re-files the question after the current court cases are concluded, we will provide an answer then.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Update on Fuel Equalisation Fund","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"68 Mr Seng Han Thong asked the Minister for Transport (a) if he can provide an update on the Fuel Equalisation Fund; (b) what is the size of the Fund built up since 1992; (c) what has been the utilisation of the Fund since 1992; and (d) how will this Fund fit into the fare review mechanism recommendations.
Mr Lui Tuck Yew: The Fuel Equalisation Fund (FEF) was set up to help the public transport operators manage the impact of fuel price fluctuations. Since the establishment of the Fund in 1992, about $25 million has been drawn down. The current balance in the Fund is about $60 million.
The Fare Review Mechanism Committee (FRMC) has recommended including a new Energy Index component in the fare formula, which has since been accepted by the Government. The FRMC has also noted in its report that the Public Transport Council (PTC) could review the need for the FEF, and I believe the PTC will follow up in due course to undertake such a review with inputs from the public transport operators.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Singaporeans who Keep their Overseas Properties","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"70 Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for National Development (a) in the past two years, what is the number of Singaporeans with non-citizen spouses who applied to keep their sole overseas property after they purchased their flat from HDB or the resale market; (b) what is the number of applicants who are granted exemption to keep their overseas properties; (c) what are the main reasons for granting such exemptions; and (d) what is the breakdown by nationality of those given such exemptions.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Over the last two years, HDB received 737 appeals from Singaporeans with non-Singaporean spouses to keep their overseas property in their purchase of HDB flats. Of these, 482 were approved. The main reasons for granting such exemptions were that the overseas properties were not of substantial value, and were housing extended family members of the couple. The nationality of the non-Singaporean spouse is not a consideration in HDB's evaluation of an appeal.
Among the couples granted exemption, 74% have Malaysian spouses, 10% are Chinese, 4% are Indians and the rest from several other countries.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"More 1-room Flats for Singles","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"71 Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for National Development whether HDB will consider building more 1-room rental flats so as to allow singles without family support to rent a flat by themselves.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: We do not plan to build rental flats for singles to stay on their own. The current arrangement of requiring two singles to pair up allows us to maximise the use of heavily subsidised rental flats. This enables us to help as many as possible, within our limited resources.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Awareness for Greater Cybersecurity","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"74 Mr Vikram Nair asked the Minister for Communications and Information whether the Government is taking any steps to raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity and what are the steps that individuals and businesses can take to protect themselves from cyber threats.
75 Mr David Ong asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what steps is the Government taking to harden its IT systems against cyber threats; and (b) how will the National Cybersecurity Masterplan 2018 help to improve the current situation.
Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: I would like to assure Members that the Singapore Government takes a serious view of security threats in cyber space, as they can have significant impact in the physical world. Cyber attacks have the potential to cause disruptions and financial losses with major impact to the economy and society. As we rely more on the Internet, we can expect cyber threats to increase in number and sophistication against governments and corporations globally. Furthermore, unlike physical threats, hackers can come from anywhere and attack any system in the world.
Security of Government IT systems has been an important priority of the Government, since the First Infocomm Security Masterplan was launched in 2005. We seek to put in place infocomm security measures that are multi-layered and constantly updated to meet the changes in technologies and risks. Cybersecurity defence is constructed in many layers. Firstly, blocking of malicious traffic from other countries before it reaches Singapore. Secondly, defending at the frontier when the traffic reaches our Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Thirdly, before it reaches Government servers. Finally, protection against malware such as computer viruses from entering the computing devices of employees.
At each layer, four strategies are employed Prevention, Detection, Response and Recovery. Let me start with \"Prevention\". Efforts are made to patch software vulnerabilities, to ensure sufficient capacity in our storage and transmission facilities, and other means to avoid being taken down in an attack. However, there is no 100% guarantee that any organisation will be able to prevent all cyber attacks. Threats evolve rapidly and systems have become increasingly complex to defend.
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Like other organisations, Government agencies must also rigorously test the compatibility of patches before they are deployed, to avoid a situation where e-services are inadvertently affected. There is thus a trade-off between security and the availability of services and agencies have to strike the right balance. In the current threat environment, websites may undergo more maintenance and downtime. We seek the public's understanding and patience as agencies seek to ensure systems are updated more frequently. If we cannot prevent every attack, it becomes important to \"Detect\" and \"Respond\" as soon as possible, for example, by identifying the threat and eliminating it. The fourth strategy is \"Recovery\", to bring the service, website or server back online as soon as possible, to minimise business disruption.
During the period in November 2013, when attempts were made to attack Government IT systems, many of the systems and capabilities that had been built up were activated to help defend our systems. While there were some instances where sites were subject to defacements or cross-site scripting attacks, these were detected and corrective actions applied in a timely fashion. The ongoing cybersecurity monitoring also helped detect a case where a list of contacts who subscribed to a museum e-newsletter was compromised. These cases were referred to the Police for investigation. We were also able to detect attempts to mount Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, which were successfully foiled. A DDoS attack is an attempt to take down a website and make the website inaccessible to intended users. In many instances, innocent parties, through poor security practices, have their systems unknowingly hijacked by perpetrators of DDoS to mount DDoS attacks globally. That is why an important priority for Government is education and awareness for businesses and individuals.
The Government is also working to foster better cybersecurity practices of businesses and individuals. Current outreach efforts include the annual Cybersecurity Awareness Day, the National Infocomm Security Competition, the national security awareness campaign titled \"Let's Stand Together\" that included a theme on cybersecurity which took place from October to December last year and featured interactive games for participants to learn more about the potential impact of cyber threats and the importance of staying vigilant, and the annual Infocomm Security Seminar which reaches out to Government agencies, the industry and businesses. In partnership with the private sector through the Cybersecurity Awareness Alliance, information on protecting oneself online has also been made available through the \"Go Safe Online\" website at www.gosafeonline.sg. Businesses and individuals can play an important part by adopting essential practices found in the \"Go Safe Online\" website that include securing confidential information, using strong passwords,
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making sure your computer software and anti-virus software are always updated, and regularly backing up important data. We believe that doing so will go a long way to help protect businesses’ intellectual property and the individuals’ personal data.
In July 2013, the Government announced a new National Cybersecurity Masterplan. The masterplan will enhance the Government's capability to deal with cyber threats not just within the Government, but at the national level as well. The masterplan focuses on three key areas.
Firstly, it aims to enhance the security and resilience of critical infocomm infrastructure. National cybersecurity exercises will continue to be conducted for critical industry sectors, with the addition of new cross-sector exercises. For the public sector, the existing Cyber Watch Centre and Threat Assessment Centre will be enhanced for improved detection and analytical capabilities.
Secondly, the masterplan aims to increase efforts to promote the adoption of appropriate infocomm security measures among individuals and businesses through collaborative efforts with the industry and trade associations.
Thirdly, the masterplan aims to grow Singapore's pool of infocomm security experts to boost cybersecurity capabilities. In October 2013, the Government had also announced the National Cybersecurity Research and Development Programme, which harnesses research and development efforts to improve the trustworthiness of cyber infrastructures to address a growing national challenge. These longer term programmes are intended to build tools, systems and expertise to deal with threats to a range of critical information infrastructure in Singapore.
The Government will reinforce current efforts and explore additional means to promote cybersecurity awareness. We hope that individuals and businesses will work with us, in striving towards a more secure and trusted infocomm environment for all in Singapore.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Placement Services at CaliberLink","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"80 Mr Vikram Nair asked the Acting Minister for Manpower how many people have approached WDA's CaliberLink for job assistance so far and how many of these people has CaliberLink successfully found employment for.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: The Workforce Development Agency (WDA) set up CaliberLink in December 2011 as a one-stop centre to provide training advisory and employment assistance for local Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs). The variety of services provided by CaliberLink include career coaching for PMEs, workshops to help them improve their job search skills, as well as recruitment and networking events to connect PMEs with hiring employers.
Since commencing operations, CaliberLink has assisted more than 5,000 PMEs. Of these, about 2,000 sought dedicated employment assistance in the form of career coaching services. More than one-third (or around 750 PMEs) have found employment through referrals by CaliberLink, or independently after CaliberLink's assistance2. The remaining 3,000 PMEs were helped through various events organised by CaliberLink to complement their job search, such as networking and recruitment events.
Although it is relatively new, public awareness of CaliberLink is still growing and these figures are encouraging. However, there is still much room for improvement, and we look forward to continued feedback on where we can do better, as we strive to build up CaliberLink into an even more effective platform to connect our local PMEs to the right training and employment opportunities.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":["2 : A total of 2,034 PMEs were provided with career coaching services. Of the 764 PMEs, 71 found jobs as a result of CaliberLink's direct referrals while 693 found jobs independently after receiving assistance."],"footNoteQuestions":["80"],"questionNo":"80"},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Female Representation on Boards of Listed Companies","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"85 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry has done any study to find out the causes of low female representation on the boards of public-listed companies in Singapore; and (b) whether the Ministry has looked into how to encourage companies to invite more women to serve on the board of directors.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: In late 2012, a Diversity Task Force was formed to examine the state of gender diversity on boards and senior management of listed companies in Singapore. The move was prompted by the concern that women continue to be under-represented despite making immense progress in education and employment.
The Task Force is chaired by Mrs Mildred Tan, who is the Managing Director of Ernst & Young and comprises business leaders from the private and people sectors. It receives advice from an Advisory Panel, which is chaired by Mr J Y Pillay and comprises industry leaders who are champions of board diversity. The Task Force conducted a survey in July 2013 with SGX-listed companies and statutory boards on gender diversity on boards and in senior management, and is currently analysing its findings and reviewing its recommendations. Its report is expected in mid 2014.
Besides the Task Force, the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations also has an initiative to raise awareness on the economic benefits of gender-balanced boards for businesses. Known as BoardAgender, the initiative encourages and enables more women to contribute their expertise in the boardroom and committees.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Accidents Involving Foreign and Permanent Resident Drivers","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"86 Mrs Lina Chiam asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) from 1997 to 2012, what is the breakdown of accidents involving foreigner and permanent resident drivers versus Singapore citizen drivers; and (b) whether the framework for a stricter standard for drivers who ferry workers in the course of their work has been reviewed and, if so, what are
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the changes made.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Between 2003 and 2012, there was an annual average of 4,022 fatal and injury accidents involving drivers where the Singapore Citizen driver was at least partially at fault. The corresponding figure for accidents involving foreign and permanent resident drivers was 596. Data before 2003 is not available as Traffic Police only started collecting data on the nationality of resident drivers from 2003 onwards.
MHA has been reviewing the framework for drivers of commercial light goods vehicles. As part of the review, we are studying measures to enhance the licensing regime, including the tightening of requirements for the conversion of foreign licences to Singapore licences. The review is in progress and we will provide a full update in due course.
Traffic Police and LTA have also put in place measures to improve the safety of passengers being ferried on light goods vehicles. For instance, Traffic Police has stepped up the deployment of enforcement resources along roads and expressways regularly plied by drivers of lorries and pick-ups. LTA has also implemented stricter regulatory requirements, such as higher side railings and canopies for light lorries, to improve the safety for the workers being ferried on such vehicles.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Heart Attacks at Workplaces","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"87 Ms Mary Liew asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) in the last five years, how many workers have suffered from cardiac arrests at their workplace; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider making it mandatory for workplaces to install Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and to provide training to designated personnel to operate AEDs, as measures to deal with workplace emergencies under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: On average, MOM records 260 cases per year involving workers who suffered a medical condition at their workplace. This includes an average of 25 fatal cardiovascular-related cases in the last three years. At the national level, SCDF's records show that they responded to an average of 74 work-related emergency cases per year3, some of which may
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have included cardiac arrest cases.
Under the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act, employers are required to develop and implement emergency response procedures. In addition, the WSH (First-aid) Regulations require all workplaces to appoint at least one first-aider for workplaces with more than 25 workers. Under the Regulations, first-aiders must also undergo an Occupational First-aid Course, which includes training in CPR and the use of AED. To date, there are more than 5,400 workers trained in the first-aid course.
Many employers are already providing AEDs at their workplaces without a need for a law to mandate it. The Singapore Heart Foundation, together with the National Resuscitation Council, has been actively promoting the use of AEDs. Today, there are more than 1,000 AEDs located at various workplaces in Singapore4.
MOM will continue to regularly review the measures in place to deal with workplace emergencies.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":["3 : Approximately 4.4% of an average of 1,638 cases a year from 2010-2013.","4 : Obtained from the Singapore Heart Foundation's AED Registry."],"footNoteQuestions":["87"],"questionNo":"87"},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Curbing Cyberbullying","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"88 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Law if he can provide an update of the multi-Ministry review to tighten the laws and civil measures to curb cyberbullying.
Mr K Shanmugam: Sections 13A to 13D of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act (\"MOA\") criminalise acts that constitute harassment. Acts of harassment may also be offences under other legislation such as the Penal Code, Women’s Charter, and Moneylenders Act.
In terms of civil remedies, it might be possible to make a claim based on the common law tort of harassment. The High Court's earlier decision in Malcomson Nicholas Hugh Bertram and another v Mehta Naresh Kumar [2001]
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3 SLR(R) 379 implied that there was such a cause of action. However, a recent High Court decision queried the existence of this tort in AXA Insurance Singapore Pte Ltd v Chandran s/o Natesan [2013] 4 SLR 545.
An inter-Ministry group has been reviewing the laws against harassment and related antisocial behaviour, including cyberbullying, because the trends are worrying. A recent Microsoft Study in 2012 on bullying among youth aged eight to 17 worldwide in which 25 countries were surveyed found that bullying was particularly pervasive in six countries, including Singapore. Eighty-six percent of those surveyed had experienced bullying online, offline or both. The survey also indicated that Singapore had the second highest rate of online bullying of youths (58%), behind only China (70%).
At a conference organised by the Institute of Policy Studies to discuss the problem of harassment in November 2013, proposals to strengthen our laws were discussed.
Based on the feedback, the Government's present thinking is to build on the existing legal framework to provide a ladder of remedies to tackle the broad spectrum of harassing acts and related anti-social behaviour. We will give more details in due course.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Plans for Eastern Region MRT Line","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"89 Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Transport if he can provide an update on the progress of the planning for the Eastern Region MRT Line and when the details of the MRT stations will be announced.
Mr Lui Tuck Yew: The proposed Eastern Region Line is currently in the detailed design phase. The gazetting of the alignment and location of MRT stations is targeted to take place in the second half of this year.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Fair Contract Terms for Taxi Drivers","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"90 Ms Mary Liew asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will review (i) the role of taxis in our overall transport system; (ii) the contracts between operators and taxi drivers to determine a fair taxi hire rate; and (iii) the feasibility of implementing a mandatory rent-free day each week so that taxi drivers are entitled to a rest day.
Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Taxis play an important role in our transport system as they provide personalised, point-to-point transport to complement mass public transport such as trains and buses. We regulate service levels and have recently introduced taxi availability standards to ensure that they better fulfil this role. We will continue to monitor and make further adjustments where necessary.
The taxi rental agreement is a private, commercial contract between the taxi driver and his or her taxi company. Rental rates vary across and within companies, as they take into consideration the cost of buying, operating and maintaining the taxis. Companies also offer different rental rates and terms and conditions to compete for hirers. Potential hirers can therefore choose to rent from the company that offers the most competitive terms, and which best suit his or her needs.
As for the Member's question on mandatory rest days, taxi drivers have different preferences for schedules and working hours. We should not be prescriptive in mandating the number of rest days or rent-free days. All the taxi companies currently provide rent-free days, ranging from two to 60 days per year, as part of their benefit packages for their hirers. There is also flexibility in the current system as taxi hirers can make arrangements with relief drivers, should they wish to have more rest days.
That said, I would like to encourage all taxi companies to consider how they can be more flexible with their contracts to improve the welfare of their drivers.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Tuition Grants for International Students","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"91 Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for Education in each of the years from 2010 to date (a) what is the number and percentage of international students who receive tuition grants in the 13 approved institutions, grouped by Polytechnics, Universities and others; (b) what is the total tuition grant given to international students; and (c) what is the number of international students who default on their agreement to work for Singapore-based companies for three years upon their graduation.
Mr Heng Swee Keat: The number of international students who receive tuition grant in each of the matriculation cohorts has decreased over the last few years from 2010. Currently, international students who receive tuition grant in each matriculation cohort comprise about 6% or 1,700 in the Polytechnics, down from 9% in 2010. In the publicly-funded Universities, they make up 13% or 2,200, compared to 18% in 2010.
International students in our tertiary institutions pay higher fees than Singaporean students. The tuition grants for international students total about $210 million per year, which is less than 10% of the total annual subsidies to our tertiary institutions.
International students who receive tuition grants are required to work in a Singapore-based company for three years upon graduation to supplement our labour force. Most of the grant recipients have been working and are contributing to our economy, while some did not start work immediately as they had deferred their bonds to pursue further studies. Actions will be taken against those who default on their obligations.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"School Fees for International Students with Singaporean Parent","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"92 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will review and reduce the school and tertiary institution fees payable by international students who have at least one parent who is a Singapore Citizen.
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Mr Heng Swee Keat: Students at mainstream schools, Institute of Technical Education (ITE), polytechnics and Autonomous Universities (AUs) pay fees based on their nationalities. There are a small number of international students with at least one parent who is a Singaporean citizen. They pay school fees at international rates.
For this group of students in mainstream schools and the ITE, MOE will assess their situation and exercise flexibility on a case-by-case basis if their parents experience difficulties in paying their fees.
In the Polytechnics and AUs, these students can take up the Tuition Grant Scheme and enjoy the lower subsidised fees in return for a service obligation. They can also apply for Government loan schemes, which provide loans to supplement the subsidised fees payable.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Reducing Car Parks and Increasing Parking Fees in Central Business District","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WANA","content":"93 Mrs Lina Chiam asked the Minister for Transport whether the Government will reduce car parks and increase parking fees in the central business district so as to control the private vehicle population.
Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Parking is indeed a useful tool to manage private car usage. Although the Government does not currently regulate parking fees, car parking requirements in the Central Business District (CBD) have been progressively lowered over time in line with the development of the public transport network. In 2002, LTA lowered parking requirements by about 20% for commercial buildings in the CBD. In 2005, LTA and URA allowed developments in the CBD to provide up to 20% fewer parking spaces than what the standards require. In 2008, URA allowed building owners to convert the surplus car park lots above the prevailing standards to other uses, such as offices. It will take some time for these provisions to take full effect, but we will continue to engage and facilitate building owners who are keen to convert their excess car park lots to other uses.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Breakdown of Crimes Committed by Singaporeans, PRs and Foreigners","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"1 Mrs Lina Chiam asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs from 2009-2013 what is the breakdown of crimes committed by (i) Singaporeans (ii) Permanent Residents and (iii) foreigners respectively.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: Between 2009 and 2013, more than 18,000 persons were arrested each year. Of these, about 20% were foreigners.
Between 2009 and 2013, the arrest rate for foreigners was 272 per 100,000 foreigners, while the arrest rate for residents, which include Singaporeans and Permanent Residents, was 385 per 100,000 residents.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Reported Cases of Drunkenness","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"2 Mr Yee Jenn Jong asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs over the past three years (a) how many incidents related to drunkenness have been reported to the police; (b) how many of these incidents involved foreign workers; (c) how many of these incidents were in the Little India vicinity; and (d) which were the three localities with the highest incidence of reported drunkenness.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: There are many types of incidents that may be related to alcohol. Police do not actively track if each reported incident is alcohol-induced. For the offence of drunkenness in public places under section 18 of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, the number of reported incidents in the past years are as follows:
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Police have not collated data on drunkenness by locality or nationality. The location of an incident of reported drunkenness may also not correspond with the origin of alcohol consumption.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Applications for Long Term Visit Pass-Plus (LTVP+)","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"3 Mr Baey Yam Keng asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs since the introduction of Long Term Visit Pass-Plus (LTVP+) (a) how many applicants have been successful; and (b) how many applicants are rejected even when they have at least one Singaporean child from their marriage.
Mr Teo Chee Hean: The Long-Term Visit Pass-Plus (LTVP+) was introduced on 1 April 2012. A total of about 7,500 foreign spouses of Singapore Citizens have been granted LTVP+ from 1 April 2012 to 30 November 2013.
There is no separate application process for LTVP+. Singaporeans can apply for LTVP/LTVP+ for their foreign spouses. Foreign spouses who meet the criteria for LTVP+ will be granted LTVP+. Those who do not meet the LTVP+ criteria but meet the LTVP criteria would be granted LTVP. Both the LTVP+ and LTVP would enable the foreign spouses to stay in Singapore. Foreign spouses with at least one Singaporean child from their marriage with a Singapore Citizen would generally be granted LTVP+ or LTVP. However, there is a small group that do not meet the LTVP+/LTVP criteria but may be granted short term visit passes until their family circumstances improve.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Regulatory Actions Taken under Spam Control Act","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"4 Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Minister for Communications and Information what has been the number and types of regulatory actions under the Spam Control Act annually since 2008.
Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: The Spam Control Act came into effect on 15 June 2007, after multiple rounds of review and consultation over a three-year period with the public, people and private sectors. The Act represents one
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out of four limbs under a multi-pronged approach adopted by the public and private sectors. This multi-pronged approach comprised public education, industry self-regulation, legislative measures and international cooperation and was assessed to be the most comprehensive way to handle issues of spam.
Like many other jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, the Act adopts a civil-based enforcement regime. This means that any aggrieved party can sue senders of spam in Court for an injunction, statutory damages or actual monetary damages suffered. This approach was adopted to provide anyone who suffers loss or damages or is sufficiently aggrieved with the right to legal redress. Therefore, enforcement under the Act does not involve any regulatory actions. A check with the Supreme and Subordinate Courts has shown that no one has yet brought a spam-related civil suit to the Singapore Courts.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"HDB's Lift Upgrading Programme in Potong Pasir Estate","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"5 Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked the Minister for National Development whether HDB’s Lift Upgrading Programme can be further extended to blocks 123 to 125,127 to 130, and block 132 in Potong Pasir estate.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: These are four-storey executive maisonette blocks, with only four units per block having no direct lift access. This has pushed the estimated cost of lift upgrading beyond our budget.
HDB will continue to look for new technology solutions to overcome the current technical and cost constraints. Meanwhile, residents there who require direct lift access due to their medical conditions can approach HDB for special assistance.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"HDB Rental Flats for Low-income Families","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"6 Ms Tin Pei Ling asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether HDB is on schedule to provide 60,000 rental units by 2017; and (b) whether more HDB blocks identified for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme can be set aside for rental by low-income families who have limited
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housing options.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: HDB is on track to increase the stock of public rental flats from the current level of 50,000 units to 60,000 units by 2017. New units will become available progressively as the projects are completed.
HDB blocks on the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) will be demolished once vacated as the land they occupy is earmarked for redevelopment. If redevelopment is not imminent, we can put the vacated blocks to interim use, such as under the Interim Rental Housing scheme.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Value of HDB Flats on 99-Year Leases and Flats Undergoing Redevelopment under SERS Programme","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"7 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many HDB blocks are more than 40 years into their 99-year lease; (b) what will be the value of an HDB flat once it reaches the end of its 99-year lease; (c) what is the average number of flats undergoing redevelopment under the Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) each year for the past 10 years; and (d) whether the pace of SERS is fast enough to redevelop all HDB blocks before they reach the end of their lease.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: The Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) is part of the Government’s estate renewal strategy for older estates. It allows intensification of land use and revitalises such estates through new developments. At the same time, it offers an opportunity for flat owners to buy a new replacement flat with a fresh 99-year lease.
In the last 10 years, SERS has benefited the owners of about 18,000 flats. As the name suggests, the identification of suitable precincts for SERS is selective. The selection of sites and pace of SERS will depend on factors such as their redevelopment potential, and the availability of replacement sites for rehousing and other resources.
Currently, there are about 300 HDB blocks with 31,000 flats which are more than 40 years into their 99-year flat leases.
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Like all leasehold properties, HDB flats will revert to HDB, the landowner, upon expiry of their leases. HDB will, in turn, surrender the land to the state.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Funding Formula for Government Grants to Gardens by the Bay","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"8 Mr Laurence Lien asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the Government's funding formula for Government grants to the Gardens by the Bay; and (b) whether the Government expects to reduce its funding to Gardens by the Bay in future years.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: The Gardens by the Bay is a national public garden to provide quality and accessible leisure options for Singaporeans and visitors in the new Marina Bay Downtown.
The development of the Gardens was funded by the Government. It currently funds 50% of the Gardens' annual operating expenses for the outdoor gardens. The remaining operating expenses, which include the full cost of the two Conservatories' operations, are recovered from admission collections, commercial leases, rental of event spaces, and sponsorships.
As the Gardens is still in its initial years of operation, the Government will continue to review the funding framework in enabling the Gardens to meet its objective as a national public garden and remain accessible to all Singaporeans.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Use of Camera Phones in SAF Camps","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"9 Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Minister for Defence (a) what has been the response since camera phones were permitted in the Green Zone of 29 selected Singapore Armed Forces camps from September 2012; and (b) what are the types of violations since the implementation and whether the Camp Commander will issue a warning instead of punishment for cases arising from a lack of clarity or understanding of the rules.
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Dr Ng Eng Hen: The security zoning system was introduced on 1 September 2012 to allow servicemen to carry camera equipped mobile phones into SAF camps. This facilitates the use of information technology, whilst protecting the security of sensitive information in SAF premises.
To date, a total of 29 SAF camps have been zoned. Under the security zoning system, camp complexes are divided into Red and Green zones. Within the Green Zones, our servicemen are allowed to bring in all models of camera-enabled mobile phones. No camera-enabled devices are allowed in the Red Zones. Unauthorised photography is prohibited in both zones.
Our servicemen are briefed on the importance of maintaining information security and the rules regarding the zoning system. They are regularly reminded on the security zone regulations through Routine Orders, Security Instructions, and physical signage in the camps. National servicemen on in-camp training are reminded of the rules and are aware that unauthorised photography is not allowed in SAF premises. Servicemen who are unclear about the rules have avenues to seek clarifications.
Our servicemen are warned that it is an offence to violate these rules. The severity of punishment is determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the extent of security breach and any mitigating factors. The punishments are typically heavier for repeat offenders and those whose violations result in security breaches. With the implementation of the zoning system, the number of servicemen who have been punished for unauthorised carriage of camera phones and unauthorised photography has decreased.
Information security is critical to Singapore's defence. The security zoning system has been well received by our servicemen, and they appreciate the convenience provided to them. We continue to welcome feedback from our servicemen on how to improve the implementation of the zoning system.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Affordability of Nursing Homes","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"10 Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked the Minister for Health whether the Ministry has any plans to increase the cost norms for nursing homes now to improve the affordability of nursing homes.
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Mr Gan Kim Yong: MOH regularly reviews the healthcare financing framework to ensure the affordability of healthcare services. In July 2012, MOH increased the funding rates for MOH-funded nursing homes. We also raised the qualifying per capita household income to extend Immediate and Long Term Care (ILTC) subsidies to more middle-income households and absorbed GST for all subsidised ILTC patients receiving care at GST-registered ILTC institutions.
From 1 July 2013, we also expanded the Community Silver Trust (CST) to cover long-term care providers' operating expenses. CST is a dollar-for-dollar donation matching grant provided by the Government to MOH-funded Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) in the ILTC sector. This additional source of funds helps VWO nursing homes defray operating costs to further improve the affordability of nursing home care.
MOH will continue to review funding rates to ensure that ILTC services, including nursing home care, remain cost-effective and affordable.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Access by Non-Singaporeans to Blood Bank and Organs Donated by Singaporeans under HOTA","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"11 Mrs Lina Chiam asked the Minister for Health whether non-Singaporeans have access to our blood bank and organs donated by Singaporeans under the Human Organ Transplant Act.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: The Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) allows Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PR) to donate their kidneys, livers, hearts and corneas in the event of death, for the purpose of transplantation to save lives.
In the situation where there are no suitable Singaporean or PR recipients, the organ will be offered to a foreign patient before the donated organs deteriorate. From 2004 to 2013, six foreign patients received HOTA corneas as there were no other suitable local recipients.
The key objective of Singapore's National Blood Programme is to ensure that all patients in Singapore, regardless of nationality and residential status, have access to a safe and sufficient blood supply when they need it. Blood
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transfusions are given and prioritised based on clinical indications. The physician in charge decides whether a patient needs a blood transfusion and how much blood is required.
The Health Sciences Authority and the Singapore Red Cross work in partnership to collect blood from altruistic donors on a voluntary, non-remunerated basis. Donors include Singaporeans, PRs and non-residents. This approach of altruistic donation and inclusive recruitment ensures that the transfusion needs of all patients in Singapore are adequately and safely met.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Waiting Time for Cancer Patients at Public Hospitals and National Cancer Centre","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"12 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Health what is the current waiting time for cancer patients seeking specialist outpatient appointments at public hospitals and the National Cancer Centre.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: Cancer patients seeking specialist outpatient care are seen by the Medical Oncology, Radiotherapy and Surgical Oncology specialties. The median waiting times for a new outpatient appointment for these services was eight days or less at the public institutions, including NCC, over the period of September to November 2013. Please see table below.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Waiting Time for Placement for Subsidised Stay in Nursing Homes","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"13 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Health what is the current waiting time for placement in a subsidised stay at nursing homes.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: There are over 60 nursing homes in Singapore providing some 9,800 beds today for the elderly with high care needs. The mean waiting time for a subsidised nursing home bed is about four months. Seniors awaiting nursing home placement are prioritised according to their care needs, and those with urgent needs will be allocated a nursing home bed earlier.
We are proactively ramping up our nursing home capacity to address the needs of Singapore's ageing population and aim to reach 15,600 nursing home beds by 2020. In 2013, MOH added almost 1,000 nursing home beds to the system. Another 3,500 nursing home beds will come on-stream by 2016 through the development of new nursing homes as well as the on-site expansion of existing nursing homes.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Roadworthiness and Safety Standards of Foreign-registered Vehicles Entering Singapore","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"14 Ms Mary Liew asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether the same roadworthiness and safety standards imposed on Singapore cars are applied to foreign-registered vehicles entering Singapore; and (b) what are the measures to prohibit the entry of foreign vehicles into Singapore that do not meet these permitted roadworthiness and safety standards.
Mr Lui Tuck Yew: The cross-border movement of vehicles is governed by the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic 1949. Singapore and some of our neighbouring countries, such as Malaysia and Thailand, are signatories to the Convention. Vehicles from these countries that meet the minimum standards on vehicle construction and functionality prescribed under the Convention are deemed to be safe and allowed to enter Singapore. Most ASEAN member countries have also formally agreed that goods and public service vehicles should be subject to periodic inspections, and that inspection regimes would be mutually recognised. For example, Singapore recognises the
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vehicle requirement and inspection regimes of Malaysia and Thailand, and vice versa, and enforcement is against the standards set by the country of registration.
Enforcement is usually carried out in the vicinity of the immigration checkpoints by the Land Transport Authority. Vehicles are inspected and fined or required to turn back if they do not meet the required standards.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Traffic Violations and Accidents and Measures to Manage Congestion in Little India","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"15 Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Minister for Transport (a) from 2005 to 2013, what is the annual number of road traffic violations by pedestrians and motorists, and of injuries and fatalities sustained due to traffic accidents in Little India; (b) what is the average number of foreign workers transported via the LTA-approved private bus charters into Little India every Sunday prior to 8 December 2013; and (c) what measures are in place prior to 8 December 2013 to manage the human and vehicular congestion on the roads in and around Little India.
Mr Lui Tuck Yew: There were about 1,500 traffic violations by pedestrians and motorists annually in Little India between 2009 and 2013. During the same period, there was an average of about 90 fatal or injury accidents each year.
Prior to 8 December 2013, the Little India Bus Services ferried about 23,000 foreign workers to and from Little India every Sunday.
To manage traffic congestion, LTA deploys enforcement officers and traffic wardens to detect and deter illegal parking along the roads in Little India. Traffic schemes, such as the one-way traffic on Hampshire Road between 6 pm to 11 pm, also helped to reduce the occurrence of traffic bottlenecks and ensure better traffic flow. For crowd control, the Singapore Police Force deploys Auxiliary Police Officers (APOs) and Security Officers to patrol areas where foreign workers congregate.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Bus Service Reliability Framework","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"16 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Transport with regard to the new Bus Service Reliability Framework (a) what evidence does the LTA rely on to determine that providing financial incentives rather than just penalties to public bus operators to arrive at bus stops on schedule will improve waiting times; and (b) whether the incentive amounts will be funded by taxpayers.
Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Bus operators have to incur additional costs to monitor and improve en-route reliability and regularity of the trial bus services under the Bus Service Reliability Framework (BSRF). For example, the operators need to hire and train more bus controllers to manage bus services more closely, instruct bus drivers to slow down and mobilise standby buses. The operators may also need to modify and enhance their operations control systems. Hence, there must be some net financial incentive in the design of this Framework.
We have also looked closely at overseas examples, in particular, the London system which has worked well and been carefully refined over many years. For a start, we have modelled our incentive-penalty structure for this BSRF pilot quite closely after the London system, but we will certainly review and improve along the way to make it cost-effective to benefit commuters who have consistently mentioned reliability of buses as a priority area for improvement.
The BSRF will be funded by the Government, as it is a trial to assess whether it can improve the reliability of our bus services.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Abolition of Publication of Student's Academic Position in Student's Report Book","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"17 Ms Ellen Lee asked the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider abolishing the practice of publishing a student's academic position (internal ranking) in the student's report book and, if so, what will be the effective date.
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Mr Heng Swee Keat: Schools currently have the autonomy to decide whether a student's academic ranking is printed in the report book. The only exception is at the Primary 1 level, where schools do not conduct examinations. At Primary 1, schools adopt bite-sized assessments to provide students and parents with information on the progress of learning and mastery, as well as feedback to improve learning.
At the higher levels, some schools publish academic ranking as parents find it useful to know their children's overall position.
Some schools, however, may not reflect academic ranking, but provide information on the highest, lowest and mean marks obtained for each examinable subject. At the upper Secondary levels, schools may also reflect the student’s aggregate based on the admission criteria for post-Secondary education institutions. These different approaches have, over the years, served the various stakeholders in our schools well, and our schools will continue to adopt the appropriate practices.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Criteria for Edusave Character Awards (ECHA)","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"18 Ms Ellen Lee asked the Minister for Education in respect of the Edusave Character Awards (ECHA) (a) what are the criteria, if any, to aid schools to decide on the top 2% of Singaporean students at each level; (b) how does the Ministry ensure that schools will apply these criteria fairly and equitably and if there is a mechanism for overseeing or reviewing the school's decision; (c) if the Ministry will create a similar ECHA for non-Singaporean students; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider removing the 2% quota and let schools have absolute discretion to award the ECHA to all deserving students regardless of nationality.
Mr Heng Swee Keat: The Edusave Character Award (ECHA) aims to recognise Singaporean students in each school who are exemplary in character and who can inspire others as role models. This is to send a clear and strong signal of the importance that MOE places on character and values, on par with achievements in the academic domain which are already recognised via various Edusave Awards. This is also aligned with MOE's focus on providing a broad and holistic education for all our students.
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ECHA recipients are selected based on school-based criteria which take into account the profile of students in each school. These criteria are based on guidelines provided by MOE HQ. Students are identified for consistently demonstrating civic responsibility, resilience, values and character traits that the school wishes to recognise and encourage. To provide clarity in the selection process, the school-based criteria are communicated to stakeholders, such as the School Advisory/Management Committees, staff, parents and students. The different stakeholders are also involved in the selection process to provide a diversity of perspectives and to enhance robustness of the process.
MOE has been collecting feedback from schools on the criteria and implementation of ECHA. Based on inputs from schools, the 2% quota is reasonable, as it ensures that only the most deserving students in each school are recognised. MOE will continue to monitor the implementation of ECHA, including the appropriateness of this quota.
ECHA, similar to other Edusave Awards, is intended to recognise and reward Singaporean students only.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Laws to Protect Rights of Persons with Disabilities","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"19 Mr Laurence Lien asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider strengthening existing laws to protect the rights of persons with disabilities.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: The Ministry shares Mr Lien's concern for persons with disabilities.
Through the Enabling Masterplan, we have made encouraging progress in improving the lives of persons with disabilities, including in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, adult care and accessibility. Singapore also ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities last year. This underscores our collective commitment to strive towards providing persons with disabilities with full opportunities to become equal and integral members of society.
Singapore has laws to protect its citizens, deter crime against adults and protect employees' rights, and these cover all persons including those with
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disabilities. We review our policies and laws from time to time to ensure that they remain relevant and adequate in meeting the needs of persons with disabilities. For example, the Children and Young Persons Act was amended in 2011 to provide for licensing of children homes to accord better protection of children in residential care. The regulation extends to homes for children with disabilities.
Where necessary, we have also introduced specific laws to support persons with disabilities. For example, the Mental Capacity Act enacted in 2010 safeguards the interest of those who lose their mental capacity, including persons with intellectual disability. The Central Provident Fund Act was amended in 2011 to provide for the implementation of the Special Needs Savings Scheme, which ensure that the financial needs of disabled children are taken care of through their deceased parents' CPF monies. BCA's Code on Accessibility 2013 mandates buildings to incorporate requirements to cater to people with different impairments.
Beyond enacting laws, encouraging change in wider public attitudes and mindsets towards persons with disabilities is equally important. In March last year, the National Council of Social Service launched the \"We are Able!\" campaign to raise awareness of the UN Convention, as well as to encourage Singaporeans to pledge achievable actions towards building a more inclusive society. We must continue with such efforts.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Students on Internship","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"20 Ms Mary Liew asked the Acting Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider (i) covering internship students under the Employment Act; and (ii) making it mandatory for employers providing internships to students to pay a minimum reasonable allowance for transportation and meals.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: The Employment Act covers employees who are engaged under a contract of service5. An employer is obliged to accord statutory benefits prescribed under the Act to an intern if he is performing work and has work arrangements similar to that of a regular employee in the organisation.
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There are internship programmes where the primary objective is to fulfil academic course requirements, and the intention is not to form an employer-employee relationship. Such forms of internships typically do not constitute contracts of service. The education institutions involved play a key role in determining the nature of the internship arrangement, including ensuring a safe learning environment for their students. They also monitor the students' welfare and learning development, and can provide assistance when interns face issues with their internship.
As there is a wide range of internship arrangements with different obligations and learning outcomes, it would not be practical to prescribe a minimum reasonable allowance that is applicable to interns in all forms of internship arrangements.
Any arrangement should be mutually agreed upon between the intern and company, in line with the guidelines set forth by the educational institutions where applicable. Beyond monetary compensation, the real value of such internships is to provide opportunities for interns to benefit from industry exposure and gain practical work experience.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":["5 : The Employment Act covers every employee (regardless of nationality) who is under a contract of service with an employer, except (a) any person employed in a managerial or executive position, (b) any seaman; (c) any domestic worker; and (d) any person employed by a Statutory Board or the Government."],"footNoteQuestions":["20"],"questionNo":"20"},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Allowing Long Term Visit Pass-Plus Holders to Register for SingPass Account","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"21 Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Acting Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider allowing Long Term Visit Pass-Plus holders to register for a SingPass account which will allow them to have more options to employment opportunities.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: There is an ongoing review to enhance public access for corporate transactions with the Government agencies, which may allow those without a SingPass, such as Long Term Visit Pass-Plus (LTVP+) holders,
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to conduct such transactions.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Independent Study to Examine Possible Social Tensions Faced by Foreign Workers","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"22 Ms Janice Koh asked the Acting Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider commissioning an independent study to examine possible social tensions, discrimination or any underlying employment-related grievances faced by foreign workers and make public the findings of such a study.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: MOM agrees that there is merit in collecting information to understand the issues that workers face, with a view to take appropriate interventions.
In 2011, MOM, in collaboration with a non-government organisation, the Migrant Workers Centre (MWC), commissioned an independent survey company to conduct face-to-face interviews with about 3,000 Work Permit Holders (WPHs) and 500 S Pass holders on their experiences of working in Singapore. This included questions on employment-related issues. The survey found that 90% of respondents were satisfied with their overall experience of working in Singapore and that 80% wished to continue working in Singapore with either their current employer or a new one. Seventy percent of respondents also said that they would recommend Singapore to their friends and family as a place for employment. The findings of this survey are available on the MOM website.
More recently in November 2013, MOM conducted an additional survey of over 150 foreign construction workers departing Singapore at the airport. More than 90% did not have any employment issues; and 80% were happy working in Singapore. A few who worked elsewhere found Singapore to be better as it was a safer environment. These results suggest that foreign workers generally feel well taken care of in Singapore.
MOM will continue to monitor the situation and conduct periodic surveys and studies, as necessary.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Labour Court Rulings on Basic Rate of Pay and Overtime under Employment Act","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"23 Mr Pritam Singh asked the Acting Minister for Manpower in how many instances over the past 10 years has the Labour Court ruled that the basic rate of pay as provided under the Employment Act covers overtime hours.
Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Under the Employment Act, the basic rate of pay does not include overtime payments. Any work performed by an employee, at the request of the employer, beyond the hours stipulated in the Employment Act is considered overtime work and is payable at 1.5 times the basic hourly rate of pay. Hence, the Commissioner for Labour has consistently ruled that overtime work is payable at this rate as provided in the law.
","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null},{"startPgNo":0,"endPgNo":0,"title":"Development Plans for Mid-sized Theatres","subTitle":null,"sectionType":"WA","content":"24 Ms Janice Koh asked the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth what are the plans for the development of the two mid-sized theatres originally proposed as part of the Esplanade \t– Theatres on the Bay and how does the Ministry aim to address the rising demand for mid-sized performing venues especially in the central arts district.
Mr Lawrence Wong: The original plans for mid-sized theatres in the Esplanade remain on the table. We are working out the detailed specifications for this project, which will have impact on the costs, the funding model, as well as timing. These are issues which MCCY is presently studying.
In the meantime, the reopening of Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall, targeted for August 2014, will help alleviate the demand for mid-sized performing venues in the city. The theatre will have around 600 seats and the concert hall, around 670 seats.
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","clarificationText":null,"clarificationTitle":null,"clarificationSubTitle":null,"reportType":null,"questionCount":null,"footNotes":null,"footNoteQuestions":null,"questionNo":null}],"writtenAnswersVOList":[],"writtenAnsNAVOList":[],"annexureList":[{"annexureID":1081,"sittingDate":null,"annexureTitle":"Annex 1","filePath":"d:/apps/reports/solr_files/20140120/annex-Annex to Ministerial Statement by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minsiter for Home Affairs (Handouts).pdf","fileName":"Annex to Ministerial Statement by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minsiter for Home Affairs (Handouts).pdf","sectionType":"OS","file":null},{"annexureID":1082,"sittingDate":null,"annexureTitle":"Annex 2","filePath":"d:/apps/reports/solr_files/20140120/annex-Annex to Speech by the Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs _Handout_.pdf","fileName":"Annex to Speech by the Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs _Handout_.pdf","sectionType":"BP","file":null}],"vernacularList":[{"vernacularID":1911,"sittingDate":null,"vernacularTitle":"Vernacular Speech by Mr Zainal Sapari","filePath":"d:/apps/reports/solr_files/20140120/vernacular-Zainal Sapari(1).pdf","fileName":"Zainal Sapari(1).pdf"}],"onlinePDFFileName":""}