Amrin Amin
Singapore
“The Police have taken this very seriously and have taken stern measures. The law is quite strict on this and I think it is adequate deterrence for those who persist in such conduct. We have, in addition to the law, also taken complementary measures such as advisories and various other measures.”
“The Police take a serious view of all reports of falsehoods regarding the COVID-19 situation, including those that claim “partial lockdown”, as these may cause public alarm. The Police will investigate such cases and take firm action against the culprits.”
“The offences under the Miscellaneous Offences Act and POFMA while similar, involve different elements which the prosecution is required to prove. Every case of communication of false message is assessed based on the findings rising from investigations and the Public Prosecutor exercises his discretion on the most appropriate charge.”
“Police operational deployments are confidential and are driven by an assessment of the law and order situation. The Police deploy a significant number of Auxiliary Police Officers and Security Officers to patrol Little India during peak periods such as weekend nights, eve of Public Holidays and Public Holidays.”
“The Government has announced legislation that will allow entities, including societies, to adopt prescribed alternative arrangements so that meetings can be conducted in a manner compliant with the safe distancing measures announced on 24 March 2020.”
“Patrol deployment plans are calibrated based on the crime trends as well as the crowd footfall. We note the Member's feedback but just to let the Member know, the patrol team does patrol common areas as well as specific areas of concern.”
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“We will add more spaces and opportunities for our Malay community to exercise or engage in physical activities. For example, I launched the "Get Fit for Umrah" initiative, which encourages pilgrims to build up their fitness before performing their umrah (minor pilgrimage). This is done with the support of TM Fouzy Travel and Tours last year. We will scale up this programme so that more umrah and haj pilgrims can benefit from it. HPB will be working with the Association of Muslim Travel Agents Singapore (AMTAS) to include more Muslim travel agencies that can also offer this initiative. In addition to having a good reputation as disciplined pilgrims in Mecca and Medina, our Singapore pilgrims will also be known as healthy and fit pilgrims! I am happy with the strong support from the community. They participated in the four health conversation sessions "Awak Ok?" ("Are You OK?") at Geylang, Jurong, Tampines and Woodlands; they worked out together, for example, at the Zumba sessions at Tampines Hub; and they also rolled up their sleeves – like the doctors, nurses and partners from Muslim Healthcare Professional Association (MHPA). So, let us work together to build a community that is active, fit and healthy! (In English): Community organisations like the Hindu Endowments Board and the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) are actively promoting healthy living to the Indian community. We want to complement and build on these efforts in three ways. One, we will intensify health outreach to the Indian community through places of worship, Indian F&B outlets and Indian media to promote healthy eating, regular physical activity and regular screening and follow-up.”
“Let me share three areas of cooperation. Step One – Towards a Healthy Diet. We have taken steps to collaborate with caterers to slowly change the way we eat at the community level. For instance, we are working with the Singapore Halal Culinary Federation (SHCF) and caterers, such as Eternally Yours and Jamil Catering, so that they can provide healthier halal food choices. Through this effort, it is hoped that the community can gradually grow to like healthy food that can still taste delicious. Step Two – Towards Mosques as Health Movers. Taking care of our health is part of our religious obligations. We worked with the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) and, as a result, the Jaga Kesihatan, Jaga Ummah (Taking Care of Health, Taking Care of the Community) programme was born, whereby HPB collaborates with mosques to organise healthy lifestyle activities. And another outcome is that 15 mosques have now joined this health initiative. We hope that this initiative will grow and reach 20 mosques by the end of this year. Hence, what will be done at these mosques? The mosques will provide services to help diabetes sufferers manage their condition, undergo health screening, and conduct physical activities. We are heartened to see more mosques joining this initiative. For instance, Al-Mawaddah Mosque sent their canteen staff to attend culinary training organised by HPB so that healthier dishes can be served at the mosque. Our hope is that healthy yet delicious food is served at all mosques, be it for gatherings, breaking of fast, Hari Raya celebrations and so on. The mosques should be the health movers of the Muslim community. Step Three – Towards a Community That Loves Exercising.”
“The Patient Empowerment for Self-Care Framework aims to help Singaporeans with diabetes initiate and sustain lifestyle changes. Under the Framework, we will develop a national curriculum to equip persons with diabetes with knowledge and life skills to manage their condition. We will take on the good suggestions by Ms Joan Pereira and will review the information on diabetes management and diet of our elderly patients and their caregivers. On health promotion among ethnic minorities, we are seeing greater awareness among Malay and Indian communities on health matters but there is more to do. Sir, allow me to share in Malay some of initiatives for the Malay community. The key thing is that "healthier choice" is decided based on whether that category of food is lower in terms of sugar or other not too healthy things. Is it healthier for that food band or for that food category? (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Last August, I visited popular comedian Alias Kadir. Alias had to undergo a surgery to amputate his lower leg due to diabetes. He already had diabetes when he was in his 40s, but he did not seek treatment. As a result, he experienced complications. Unfortunately, it was already too late. His leg could no longer be saved. After the surgery, however, Alias was determined to change. He also wanted all of us to learn from his experience – that we must always take care before something goes wrong with us. And if something does go wrong, we must not underestimate the importance of taking medications and watching what we eat, as well as remembering to go for follow-ups with doctors to manage diabetes. Staying healthy is a lifelong commitment. We are working with many community partners to help the Malay community stay healthy at each stage of life.”
“On active lifestyle, we have made strides in the first two seasons of the National Steps Challenge. HPB has rolled out the third season in October last year. More than 650,000 people have signed up and clocked more than 260 billion steps. This is equivalent to 200 million kilometres (km) or more than 5,000 times around the Equator! We are working with SportSG to organise more fun social physical activities for all ages so that Singaporeans can have access to them at various community and workplace settings. On the second area of health promotion efforts for seniors and minorities, on seniors, I agree with Miss Cheryl Chan that we need sustainable preventive health efforts to address the needs of an ageing population and we have stepped up efforts to improve healthy living in this aspect. Through the Community Network for Seniors (CNS), HPB, with support from Silver Generation Ambassadors, has implemented several active ageing programmes. Let me share some highlights. Over 24,000 seniors have attended the Seniors' Health Curriculum, a series of workshops to improve seniors’ physical, mental and functional health. Community Health Posts, located in the neighbourhoods, offer health screenings, regular health coaching and lifestyle follow-up for seniors to help manage chronic conditions better. As of December 2017, over 3,400 senior Singaporeans have benefited from these health coaching sessions. Thirdly, we have started senior-centric exercise programmes, such as Zumba Gold and FIT+, and mass workout sessions under the Community Physical Activity Programmes (CPAP). Over 159,000 older residents have participated. Ms Joan Pereira suggested that the Ministry review information on diabetes management and diet for elderly patients and their caregivers.”
“The UK and France have implemented colour-coded front-of-pack labels for food and drinks. The UK uses traffic light colours to tell consumers whether a food item has high, medium or low amounts of nutrients, such as sugar and saturated fats. France has Nutri-score which scores the nutrient content of food and drinks. Some countries have implemented a tax on SSBs to encourage manufacturers to reformulate their drinks and reduce the sugar content. In March 2016, the UK announced a 2-tiered levy on pre-packaged beverages. The purpose is not to raise revenue but to encourage product reformulation. Although the levy only takes effect in April 2018, the UK authorities have shared with us that more than 40% of affected products have been reformulated. MOH will carefully review this and other measures to encourage product reformulation and conduct a public consultation before deciding our next steps. Moving on to screening, if discovered early, interventions, such as diet and exercise, can prevent pre-diabetes from worsening. Younger Singaporeans are advised to go for diabetes screening if they are at higher risk of having diabetes. Risk factors include a family history of Type 2 diabetes, overweight or high blood pressure. 6.45 pm We are helping Singaporeans between 18 and 39 to assess their risk for diabetes through the Diabetes Risk Assessment (DRA) on HPB's HealthHub app. To date, the DRA tool has been used about 116,000 times by younger Singaporeans. Those identified as high-risk for diabetes should go for medical screening. For those above 40, they should go for regular diabetes screening once every three years and they can benefit from subsidies under the Screen for Life initiative. Moving on to stepping up to the challenge of an active lifestyle.”
“With support from HIDS, Mr Desmond Goh from People Bee Hoon invested in R&D, marketing and trade promotion of new wholegrain healthier bee hoon. Sales of Chili Brand wholegrain bee hoon doubled over the past months. This means that more families are buying, cooking and eating healthier bee hoon. We will be further extending the HIDS grant to include sugar-sweetened beverages, desserts and sauces. Such food products contribute to about 90% of total sugar intake in our diet. I am happy to announce that HPB will be providing an additional $15 million on top of the current $20 million grant to support innovation in healthier food categories. This is a potential game changer, benefiting Singaporean families and could contribute to reducing sugar in Singaporeans’ diet by 25% by 2020. We are working with MTI, through the Economic Development Board (EDB) and SPRING Singapore, to align our industry efforts, including through the ITM for food processing. Together, we will spur businesses to innovate and market new healthier food products. Ms Tin Pei Ling asked about the efforts to promote lower consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and to help young children develop healthier dietary habits. Current efforts, such as the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) and the Healthy Meals in Preschools Programme, have shown encouraging results. The market share of lower sugar beverages marked with the HCS symbol has grown from 30% in 2012 to 43% in 2017. Under the NurtureSG initiative, we have partnered the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) to ensure all preschools only serve drinks with the HCS symbols from 1 January 2018. We are studying sugar-reduction measures from other countries, such as the UK and France.”
“We are encouraging greater personal responsibility for healthy living, and community partnerships to make healthy living more accessible and sustainable for Singaporeans. I will touch on three key areas – the War on Diabetes (WoD), health promotion efforts for all, particularly seniors and ethnic minorities, and tobacco control. Mr Chen Show Mao and Mr Baey Yam Keng asked for updates on WoD. Miss Cheryl Chan spoke about helping Singaporeans lead a healthy lifestyle. We will continue to support all Singaporeans, regardless of economic and socioeconomic backgrounds, to eat healthily, be screened and exercise as part of our WoD. HPB’s Healthier Dining Programme offers more affordable, delicious and nutritious food options. In addition to food courts and restaurants, we have extended the Healthier Dining Programme to coffee shops and hawker centres in December 2016. More than 3,000 stalls in coffee shops and hawker centres, as well as over 2,000 food and beverage (F&B) places are under this programme. We now have healthier mee soto, chapatti and carrot cake, just to name a few. So, yes, you can have your cake – just make sure that it is a healthier cake – and eat it, too. Eating healthy and well is possible. Mr Chen Show Mao asked for an update on plans to develop low-sugar food and drinks locally. In July 2017, HPB launched the Healthier Ingredients Development Scheme (HIDS) to build our food sector’s capabilities to innovate and produce new healthier food products, like healthier oils, rice and noodles. As of December 2017, we now have 14 partners offering 37 healthier products, supplied to over 2,000 F&B stalls. Let me share one success story.”
“To make a difference to children not just academically but also emotionally and socially, our children deserve to have access to good education and resources that will provide the foundation on which they can pursue their dreams and passion in life. To enable every child to have a good start in life, the standards of preschool and preschool education have to be raised. The passion and the skills of our preschool teachers will make a critical difference. What are the Ministry's plans to develop the early childhood profession? Childcare Centres will Nudge the Total Fertility Rate”
“Parliament recently discussed mitigating income inequality, ensuring social mobility and enhancing social integration. Concerns were raised following a nationwide survey conducted by IPS released last December which found that class boundaries tend to be more salient than gender, racial and religious boundaries. The Prime Minister had explained that there is a concerted and coordinated effort among Government Ministries and agencies to tackle these challenges together in various fora. Specific to the social service sector, how is MSF tackling these critical issues? 1.30 pm Homelessness”
“The Government has introduced many assistance schemes and programmes and they are calibrated to meet the varying needs of different segments of society, from the elderly to couples with children and those with disabilities. However, the various schemes and programmes across all Government agencies can be difficult to navigate. Many could find it difficult to understand which scheme or programme best meets their needs or which schemes they qualify for. How can MSF further improve the delivery of social assistance so that the less fortunate can receive the holistic help they need? Social Service Office (SSO)”
“I thank the Member for the question. On the first point about family programmes, not all family programmes are unsupervised or free in the sense that they do not have barriers. It varies. We have had some programmes recently, there was a Children's Day event, where the families can get together and meet and talk. But not all programmes are like that and we work with various family centres to provide the family structured programmes. On the second question on whether the talks by ex-offenders are offered during the initial phases, the initial phases have got a different set of programmes. SPS focuses on getting the inmates used to prison life. And so, during that stage of orientation, a different set of programme is being offered to them. SPS collaborates with various community partners to engage ex-offenders and we will endeavour to make it a monthly motivational talk. And we will have more programmes that are available for inmates across the different incarceration periods.”
“On the question by the Member on behavioural insights, the answer is yes. Our efforts to combat drug abuse are shaped by insights gleaned from in-depth studies of youth perception of drug-related issues. The Minister mentioned about the Youth Perception Survey conducted by the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA). In this survey, it was found that youths displayed a more liberal attitude towards drugs, compared to two years ago, with the majority citing social media as their source of information on drugs. And, hence, we have ramped up our social media presence against drugs. The survey also found that parental influence was key in deterring drug abuse. Over 92% of secondary school and junior college respondents whom we spoke with, said that their parents played a very important part and they spoke to their parents when they have questions about drugs. As a result, we have introduced an information handbook for parents and we are constantly reviewing or pursuing research efforts to see how else we can better reach out to our youths.”
“Our Prison School has, at its entrance, a lighthouse mural. This symbolises our efforts to shine light towards a bright path, a path that leads the way from the darkness of drugs, a path that guides those who have strayed, to a fulfilling life towards a brighter future. Keeping Singapore safe and secure is a whole-of-Singapore effort. From our Home Team officers to our community partners, volunteers and citizens, each of us plays an important part in making Singapore our Safe and Secure Home.”
“Employment is another key in breaking the offending cycle. Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Mr Edwin Tong asked for an update on plans to enhance the employability of ex-offenders. SCORE provides skills training, job placement, job coaching and job retention support to help ex-offenders reintegrate into the workforce. Over 5,500 employers have supported SCORE. With their support, 97% of inmates who were referred to SCORE last year secured a job before their release. This year, SCORE will be launching several initiatives to enhance the employability of inmates. Firstly, SCORE will introduce a job profiling tool to assess and coach inmates more effectively. Secondly, SCORE will extend job retention support from six to 12 months. In other words, inmates can have a job coach for a year after their release. Thirdly, SCORE will offer WSQ Advanced Training under the WSQ Culinary Skills framework. This will equip inmates with vocational skills in demand by potential food and beverage (F&B) employers. And we will explore having WSQ Advanced Training in other sectors. Mr Chairman, supporting offenders in their rehabilitation journey is not easy. For some, it takes more than one attempt. We are with them each step of the way. I first met Lina after her release from prison in 2016. She had found a new job through SCORE and I thought she was coping well. But months later, I met her again when I visited our Prison School for a National Youth Achievement Award Ceremony. Lina had gone back to drugs. She saw me and she said, "I am sorry, I have let you down." I said to her, “We have not given up on you.” And that, Mr Chairman, is also what our officers do. We do not give up. We are tough on drugs and crime. But we also believe very strongly in rehabilitating and reintegrating inmates.”
“45 pm (In English): Let me now turn to the second area of focus: supporting the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders. Mr Christopher de Souza asked if MHA can consider quashing criminal records of drug offenders who stay free from drugs for three to four years to facilitate their reintegration into society. Today, drug offenders who are placed on programmes, such as community rehabilitation centre and drug rehabilitation centre, will not receive criminal records. We will consider how else we can support the reintegration of drug offenders. Mr Louis Ng spoke about the importance of programmes in prison, and family and social support. He asked if SPS will be extending family programmes to more inmates. SPS works with community partners, like Focus on the Family, The Salvation Army and Singapore Children's Society, to conduct bonding programmes for inmates and their families. We have structured family programmes run by agencies, such as Fei Yue Community Services and Lakeside Family Services, to strengthen family relationships. More than 4,000 inmates benefited from this last year. SPS aims to extend family programmes to more inmates. Another factor that can reduce re-offending is social support. SPS has established a Befriending Programme for trained volunteers to befriend inmates and support them upon release. Since 2010, over 900 inmates have benefited from this. Mr Louis Ng asked if SPS would consider having more programmes featuring ex-offenders. We agree that sharing by ex-offenders can be very impactful. SPS collaborates with community partners to engage ex-offenders to give monthly motivational talks. In addition to face-to-face talks, the talks are also uploaded on shared tablets which are being piloted for inmates to engage in self-learning.”
“About 200 motorcycle enthusiasts also helped to mobilise their network to spread the message of “Drugs Are Forbidden in Islam” to places frequented by youths and hawker-centres around Singapore. I joined their public outreach efforts from Bedok to Arab Street, then we stopped by Bukit Batok, then to Jurong and onwards to Woodlands and many other places to spread awareness about the drug menace. This is certainly a true community effort – an effort by youths for youths – a truly noble effort. I salute their willingness to help out. The riders include Mr Ramle Ismail and also Mr Azri Zulfarhan Kamsin, a 30-year-old Institute of Technical Education (ITE) lecturer. They deployed the motorcycle group networks to reach out to youths every month, by going to youth hangouts and eating establishments. Apart from them, a group of Malay/Muslim undergraduates led by the Malay Language Society from the National University of Singapore (NUS) also chipped in to help out in anti-drug efforts. All these are wonderful developments. This is our pledge: we will continue to strongly support the community’s efforts in the "Drugs Are Forbidden in Islam" campaign. We will continue to work closely with Malay/Muslim organisations, like Jamiyah, Pertapis, the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP), Muhammadiyah, and the Singapore Muslim Women’s Association, in order to enhance efforts to free our community from prohibited drugs. We are truly determined to ensure that our children, whom we love, are protected from the drug menace. We dream of a community that is free from prohibited drugs that destroy our youths. I am confident that, when we keep working hand in hand, we will surely achieve this dream. 2.”
“More than 4,300 anti-drug pledges were collected. Our community is with us in this fight against drugs. Our United Against Drugs Coalition partners include Pastamania and Singapore Post, just to name a few, and they have helped to distribute 50,000 "DrugFreeSG" keychains to the public during our Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign last year. Online retailer Reebonz distributed 5,000 anti-drug message cards in their parcels during Christmas last year. Ms Rahayu Mahzam spoke about engaging the community, especially the Malay Muslim community. Mr Chairman, please allow me to speak in Malay on this. (In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The good news is that we received strong support from the Malay/Muslim community in various efforts to combat the drug menace. Last April, six Malay/Muslim organisations led by the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (PERGAS) launched a campaign called Drugs are Forbidden in Islam. This was an initiative by the community leaders in order to increase awareness about Islam’s prohibition on drugs. Over 250 shops supported this effort. These include 50 barber shops that have a reach of 10,000 customers per week. These "big brother barbers" and "barber uncles" are helping to spread the anti-drug message by displaying stickers stating "Drugs are Forbidden in Islam" at their shops’ entrances and mirrors. The results are encouraging. Last month, I had a haircut in Woodlands North Plaza. The barber, in fact, asked for more stickers from the Drugs Are Forbidden in Islam campaign. So, I asked him, why? He replied, many of his customers saw the sticker and asked if they can have the sticker for themselves. This is an encouraging development.”
“To keep Singapore drug-free, all Singaporeans must know that drugs are harmful and stay away from them. Mr Edwin Tong and Miss Cheng Li Hui asked how we can better engage youths and tackle the high proportion of new and young drug abusers. In 2017, two out of five abusers arrested were new abusers. Close to two-thirds, or 64%, of new abusers arrested were under 30 years old. This is very worrying and there are foreign celebrities who glamourise drug use and they falsely advocate drugs as harmless and "cool". Our youths must not be fooled. The Minister earlier mentioned about the Portuguese campaign "Say no to second-hand syringes". In Singapore, we have a different campaign. We promote a drug-free life. We advocate a life free from addiction and we encourage our youths to enjoy life to the fullest and make the best of life's opportunities. Be yourself. Hashtag. Be drug-free – these are taglines that are trending here in Singapore. This is the narrative: we reject drugs and we reject the notion that drugs are harmless or "cool". They destroy life, health and family; and drug abuse is not a victimless crime. We have ramped up our preventive drug education efforts in the last year, both on the ground and on social media. Besides school programmes and roadshows, CNB collaborated with education institutions and young local filmmakers to produce a series of videos showing the destructive effect of drugs. Eighteen short films were posted on CNB's Instagram and Facebook with the handle #FilmFriday, racking up close to two million views in total. To reach out to more youths, CNB also set up a makeshift club called “GURD Club” outside Cathay Cineplex. “GURD Club” featured lights and sounds which simulated the disorientating and distressing effects of drugs.”
“Mr Chairman, I will focus on two areas: first, keeping Singapore drug-free; and second, supporting the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders. Members spoke about the fight against drugs. Mr Christopher de Souza spoke about stemming the supply and demand of drugs. Keeping Singapore drug-free is a key priority for MHA. This requires a combination of tough laws, effective enforcement and preventive education. CNB has kept up enforcement efforts. Last year, CNB dismantled 23 drug syndicates, and conducted 19 islandwide operations targeting drug traffickers and abusers. CNB also conducted 12 joint operations with our foreign counterparts to cut out drug supplies from overseas. Just last week, CNB had a joint operation with their Malaysian counterparts to smash a regional drug syndicate. Mr Christopher de Souza and Mr Baey Yam Keng spoke about emerging drug threats, such as the purchase of drugs online and new psychoactive substances. These are, indeed, areas of concern. There are people in Singapore who have tried to buy drugs online. They thought they could get away with it. They were wrong. Last year, CNB worked with courier companies to detect more than 350 parcels with drugs or drug-related products. CNB’s follow-up investigations led to the arrest of 177 individuals. We will continue to clamp down on the online drug trade. New psychoactive substances (NPS) are a global challenge that many countries are grappling with. So far, the NPS situation in Singapore is contained. This is because we keep a close watch for any new substances, and list them in MDA. Regular reviews of our legislative and operational strategies are conducted to combat NPS abuse. Enforcement alone is not enough.”
“We are proud of our multiracial, multi-religious global society here in Singapore. We may worship different gods and practise different cultures and traditions, but we live in peace and harmony in this compact Little Red Dot. Our status as a global hub has helped grow our economy and added to the vibrancy of our nation. However, we are also aware that we cannot take all these for granted. If we look overseas, we can see how race, religion and immigration issues can affect not only society and politics but also result in terrorism and violence. In Southeast Asia, the return of ISIS foreign fighters to their homeland has resulted in the persistent threat of radicalisation in our region. These terrorists will use race and religion as a “socio-weapon” to tear people apart. In Singapore, we are not immune to the threat of terrorism, and we know that there are people in recent years that have been self-radicalised. In Europe and the US, we have witnessed the manifestations of globalisation backlash in US politics, Brexit and the rise of anti-immigration parties in Europe. As these threats exploit the fault lines in our increasingly diverse society to divide our people, what can we, as Singaporeans, do as part of Total Defence to strengthen social cohesiveness and affirm multiculturalism to fortify our defences against the scourge of terrorism and in the face of other external pressures? Fake News”
“Given the brewing rhetoric of a strategic rivalry between the US and China and in view of our good relations with both the US and China, we have a stake in ensuring good, stable US-China relations. What is MFA's view on the state of US-China relations? As both countries are strategically important for Singapore, how will Singapore be affected by any fluctuations in US-China relations and how can we mitigate such an impact? Relations with US”
“Mr Chairman, China's growth has been impressive since the country opened up to the rest of the world. It is expected to register 6.4% growth in 2018. China’s growth, affluence and rising middle class represent opportunities for Singaporeans and Singaporean firms. Already, many Singapore companies are invested in China. Singapore has always strongly believed in China’s growth prospects. Singapore is China's largest foreign investor since 2013 and one of China’s top trading partners in ASEAN. Singapore was also the first Asian country to sign a comprehensive FTA with China which paved the way for the subsequent ASEAN-China FTA. Last year, Singapore and China agreed to work together on the B&R Initiative. 6.00 pm China's prosperity and growth have brought about greater confidence among the people of China about their country. China is widely seen as a rising power and becoming more prominent in the international arena. Given our stake in China's growth, Singaporeans have an interest in our engagement with China and the state of our bilateral relationship. Could MFA provide an update on the Singapore-China relationship? US-China Relations A key force shaping the geopolitical environment is US-China relations. China's rise has fuelled speculations of a fundamental change in world order. Projects like the B&R Initiative signal China's increasing global influence. Such trends have contributed to a broader concern of a tussle between the US and China in the near future, as both sides may jostle for strategic space and influence. For Singapore, both the US and China are important partners. We have close cooperation with both countries, extensive trade and investment links and many people-to-people exchanges.”
“Places where outrage of modesty occurs include on public transport, at workplaces and various places. We are reviewing the Penal Code and one of these sections that we are looking at is that particular section. So, we will review it holistically and see what we need to strengthen.”
“Sexual harassment and insults of modesty are offences under the Protection from Harassment Act and section 509 of the Penal Code respectively. The Police do not track how many such cases involved technology specifically. However, from 2013 to 2017, an average of about 100 Police reports were filed annually for upskirting, with the use of mobile phones or other image capturing devices. In the same period, an average of about 20 Police reports were filed annually involving harassment or insults of modesty occurring at the workplace. Around 97% of these reports were made by females.”
“I thank the Member for the question. The Home Team works together with owners of security-sensitive locations to regularly review their adequacy of security measures based on the prevailing threat assessment. This includes threats from unmanned aircraft which are prohibited from flying over security-sensitive locations without a permit under the Air Navigation Act. Law enforcement officers can end the flight or assume control of an unmanned aircraft if it poses a risk to the public or is flown in a way that contravenes regulations under the Air Navigation Act. Enforcement agencies have also been building up their capability to counter safety and security threats posed by unmanned aircraft. This includes the ability to detect and identify the unmanned aircraft, to locate its operator or take down the aircraft safely.”
“Over the past five years, an average of about 580 cases of trespass were reported to the Police annually. This includes cases of unauthorised access to private properties and restricted areas. Of these, an average of 30 cases each year involved acts which caused some damage to properties, that is, mischief and vandalism. Police do not track trespass cases by whether they involve death and injuries. Each year, over the past five years, there was an average of about 700 persons arrested for trespassing and about 12% were youths under the age of 16 years old. Police's experience suggests that cases of trespass committed by youths were often due to peer influence or a desire to seek thrill in their free time. These youths would trespass into unoccupied schools, rooftops and other places. Individuals may also have trespassed into private land and state land for various other reasons, including illicit activities, such as vice, or less malicious reasons, such as to access fishing sites at the beaches or to pick durians. Where appropriate, Police work with stakeholders to enhance the security of sites to prevent and deter trespass. For example, there are signs in restricted areas, such as military installations and training grounds, as well as SLA's state lands, to warn the public against trespassing. Police have also put up Crime Alert signages at areas where there have been incidents, and work with Town Councils to ensure that HDB rooftops are secured to prevent unauthorised access.”
“We have made significant progress in our outreach efforts. As of December 2017, some 300,000 households have been successfully engaged through house visits where residents are briefed on the terror threat and SGSecure messages. The aim is to have at least one prepared citizen in every household. This means that in every home, there is at least one person who knows how to recognise and report suspicious behaviour and items, protect themselves and their loved ones, keep calm and reach out to others in times of crises. As for EP Days, a total of 55 such EP Days have been held to date, and we will continue to roll out EP Days to the rest of the neighbourhoods in Singapore. We will continue to intensify these public outreach efforts.”
“We use a variety of platforms, including broadcast, print and social media, to raise awareness about emergency preparedness and encourage members of the public to pick up life-saving skills. We regularly publicise events, such as Emergency Preparedness (EP) Days, in our neighbourhoods and workplaces to generate public interest in picking up life-saving skills and knowledge. Together with the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), we worked with Mediacorp to introduce EP and SGSecure messages into radio programmes, such as on Capital 95.8FM, and television (TV) programmes, such as Happy Can Already or "欢喜就好", Eat Already or "吃饱没" and Tanglin, to reach out to different segments of the population. More recently, MCI, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) worked with Mediacorp to produce a five-part series titled "It Will Never Happen Here". The series explores five different national security threats and discusses what the public can do to prepare themselves against these threats. We have also rolled out feature stories in print media, such as Lianhe Wanbao and Berita Harian, to profile Singaporeans from different sectors who have played a crucial role in promoting and building EP. Stories of community first responders stepping forward to render assistance during emergencies are regularly publicised. We have also been actively highlighting the importance of EP through social media platforms, for example, videos on SGSecure advisories like "Run, Hide, Tell" and "Press, Tie, Tell". We will continue with our efforts to reach out to even more members of our population.”
“I think it is sufficient to say that audits are conducted on a regular basis. We have strict protocols on this. I am not at liberty to discuss exactly how the Police conduct their internal operations, but it would suffice to say that audits are done on a very regular basis. Checks are also conducted as and when there is a need, for example, when there are irregularities. I hope that answers the Member's question.”
“The Police plan to install 11,000 cameras at 2,500 locations island-wide under the PolCam 2.0 programme and this will be done over the next few years. As I have mentioned just now, we have installed about 5,000 cameras. So, we have about 6,000 more to go, under PolCam 2.0.”
“On how soon the data is wiped out, I am not able to reveal that because of operational considerations. As for the audit and the regularity of audit and the other question on whether the regime is more restricted, we already have a very strict regime. The whole point is to ensure that we maintain public trust and confidence, and audit is something that we do very regularly. We have strict protocols and we ensure that, as I have mentioned, access is restricted and tightly controlled. Any persons found using the footages or accessing the information for unauthorised purposes will be severely dealt with.”
“The footage is securely stored, and only authorised persons are allowed to access them. Any officer found accessing the footage for unauthorised purposes will be severely dealt with.”
“As of 2017, the Police have installed about 5,000 cameras under the Police Camera (PolCam) 2.0 project, in town centres, neighbourhood centres, hawker centres and linkways leading to transportation nodes, such as the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations and bus interchanges. PolCam 2.0 includes cameras which are designed to detect some anomalous events. These include public order situations like persons fighting and sudden congregation or dispersal of crowd. The system will then alert the Police operators, and Police resources can be dispatched, if necessary. The system can also identify suspects and allow officers to quickly search for images to facilitate investigations. The technology continues to be refined. Polcams, including the versions before PolCam 2.0, in general, have proven to be very useful in helping the Police deter and solve crimes, including unlicensed moneylending, theft and outrage of modesty. As at the end of 2017, video footage from Polcams have helped the Police solve more than 2,300 cases. The deployment of cameras is crucial in deterring and dealing with crime and any terrorist activity. The Police will continue to install more cameras. Our approach has broad support from the public and has resulted in people feeling safe. Public confidence and trust in the Police Force remains high. In a perception survey conducted in 2016 by the Police, about 95% of respondents feel safe in their neighbourhoods and trust the Singapore Police Force (SPF) as an organisation. Among the survey respondents who felt safer than before, the installation of Polcams in the estates was one of the top factors contributing to their perception that the neighbourhood is safer. SPF has data protection safeguards and controls on the use of Polcam footage.”
“Thank you very much. We note the Member's interest. We intend to identify four constituencies jointly with the PA for this pilot, and these constituencies will be spread across the island. From these constituencies, we will need to identify suitable condominiums to be part of the pilot. We would need to look at, for example, the location and condominiums where the AEDs can be installed at publicly accessible security posts. These are factors that will be taken into account. We will also need to see the type of management and how receptive they are, and we would encourage condominiums to also maintain their AEDs and equip some of their residents with CPR/AED skills. We will work closely, as I mentioned, with the grassroots advisers, neighbourhood committees and the management corporation strata titles. This is a whole-of-community effort. We look forward to Members' support.”
“It is in all our interests to ensure that this programmes succeeds. So, the message is for all residents to open their doors to our Home Team officers to ensure that they are able to receive the CPR/AED training.”
“On the first question, emergency preparedness is an ongoing and whole-of-society effort. We do not specifically track the emergency preparedness of condominiums. However, surveys, such as the national security awareness survey, have found that our residents are generally aware of the different emergency scenarios that they might encounter, and our residents have also been taking practical steps to prepare themselves to respond to an emergency situation, such as by having a first-aid kit at home. A vast majority, over 90%, also believe that everyone has a role to play in ensuring our nation's safety and security and are willing to help during emergencies. These are encouraging findings, but we can always do more to raise the level of preparedness. That is why the Home Team is working with the People's Association (PA) to identify condominiums to ensure that the message gets to them. On the second question on what part the community can play, the installation of more AEDs, be it in HDB or private estates, will only be effective if residents know how to use it, are able to use it and respond in emergency situations. Our grassroots volunteers are an important group of people who are not only the community first responders, but they can also help to encourage other residents to pick up CPR/AED skills through programmes, such as the Emergency Preparedness Day. For programmes like our pilots to install AEDs in condominiums, we will work closely with the relevant grassroots advisers, neighbourhood committees and condominium management corporation strata titles to reach out to residents. This is very important because the survival rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Singapore is low at around 5%. This is a 2015 figure.”
“SGSecure programmes are accessible to everyone, whether they stay in public or private housing. An example is the Emergency Preparedness (EP) Day event held at various locations across the island. EP Days are conducted at public areas with high human traffic and all are welcome to attend. Other outreach activities include school assembly talks and counter-terrorism seminars and exercises in workplaces and religious organisations. To reach out to more members of the public, Home Team officers are also conducting house visits. These visits are currently focused on Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates, but we will progressively include private estates and condominiums. We are also planning a pilot programme to install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in selected condominiums. This is an extension of our Save-A-Life initiative, introduced in 2015 to enhance community response to cardiac arrest cases. So far, more than 2,000 AEDs have been installed in HDB blocks in 36 out of 89 constituencies. We are in the midst of identifying suitable condominiums to be part of this pilot. The installation of the AEDs will be packaged together with SGSecure and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)/AED training.”
“On when the permit is or when the permit is not required is clearly set out in the Act provisions. As I mentioned, the Police will generally act on information received and conduct investigations before deciding on what actions to take. If there are specific cases – the Member mentioned about the issue of the Sungei Road Flea Market – it is best that he files a separate PQ so that we can look into the incident and give him a comprehensive response.”
“I think in those cases, it is fact-sensitive. It depends. If there are particular incidents which the Member would like clarification on, it is best to file a separate Parliamentary Question (PQ) on this, so that we can look deeply into the issue and give a comprehensive response.”
“Such events can be held at the Speakers' Corner. And those who wish to hold such events outside the Speakers’ Corner will have to apply for a permit. A Police permit is not required for public assemblies at the Speakers' Corner which meets the conditions set out in the Public Order (Unrestricted Area) Order 2016.”
“I do not have the answer now. Maybe the Member could file a separate Parliamentary Question.”
“The materials are very comprehensive in the Health Booklets Children Safety Checklist. It provides guidelines and it also includes advice on preparing water for child's bath, as well as ensuring that hot drinks are out of reach of children, and ensuring that electrical outlets are not within children's reach. In short, the answer to the Member's question is, yes, it is very focused on places where such burn incidents happen, and that includes kitchen, living room and other places.”
“The Ministry of Health (MOH) monitors the number of young children with burn injuries through the National Trauma Registry. The incidence of notified cases of burns in children below the age of 16 years between 2011 and 2015, averaged 70 cases per 100,000 population. This adds to 580 cases per year, on average. Approximately half of the cases occurred among children under three years old and more than three-quarters of the cases occurred at home. Of the cases occurring at home, half happened in the kitchens. Information on burns prevention are included in the child safety checklist in the Health Promotion Board (HPB)'s Child Health Booklet, which is issued to every child born in Singapore. In addition, burns prevention and first aid tips for caregivers are available at HPB’s Health Hub. Hospitals also conduct community education programmes to raise awareness of burns and scalds, which include talks to childcare teachers on child safety, information pamphlets to parents, as well as educational videos which are hosted on their websites and played at hospital clinics. Parents and caregivers play an important role and they have to take the necessary precautions to protect their children from burns. Most critically, parents should avoid allowing young children in kitchens where the risk of getting burns or scalds are high, due to the presence of hot objects.”
“I thank the Member for the question. MOH's current plans are to ensure our public hospital capacity is able to cater to such incidents but, from time to time, when the need arises, we do tap on the resources of the private sector and involve them in consultations and our engagements. With regards to studying other countries, the short answer is, yes, we do. We visit countries. Just last year, I was in London to study some of the practices as well as in Israel. So, yes, we do.”
“The Government has a national inter-agency response plan for mass casualty incidents. Under this national response plan, the Ministry of Health (MOH) oversees and coordinates the management of casualties at the incident site, and at public hospitals and polyclinics. Our national response plan is similar to the French national emergency response plan. It involves the deployment of command and field medical teams to the incident site as well as management of resources and capacity at our healthcare institutions to attend to casualties. We conduct regular training, exercises and reviews within the healthcare family as well as with other agencies to prepare for such incidents. For instance, in October 2017, MOH participated in Exercise Northstar, a multi-agency exercise.”
“With regard to the three studies, I have explained in my response the counter studies or criticisms of the studies that were made and this is the Cochrane Review, as well as the Royal Physicians Report, that were cited. So, that has been dealt with. But, in any case, the door is still open for them to submit their evidence to be considered under our Health Products Act. And if they qualify as a smoking cessation therapy, it will be exempted from the Tobacco Act. The examples cited in various countries from the UK, Canada, have shown that the prevalence, once you introduce e-cigarettes to the community, there is an increase in the number of e-cigarette users, especially among young people. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Amrin Amin]. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”
“We estimate the numbers to be around 4,000 per birth cohort. But that is something that we need to take into account. It is not just a numbers issue. It is also to allow them some time to phase in because, as I have mentioned, smoking is an addiction. So, we are phasing in to allow them time to adjust.”
“Our tobacco control strategy aims to reduce the prevalence of tobacco use significantly over time and, in the longer term, we do not rule out banning tobacco completely when tobacco use is at very low levels. Mr Speaker, Sir, cigarette use had become so entrenched that millions world-wide are addicted and exposed to the harm. We should not make the same mistake with ENDS. We do not need nor want another addictive and harmful product to take root here in Singapore. This is why we are strengthening our regulatory measures against ENDS. With the increase in MLA, we aim to reduce opportunities for youths to be tempted to take up smoking. Our aim is to ultimately denormalise tobacco use and protect our young from being lured into a lifetime of nicotine addiction. I believe I have responded to the main concerns of Members. We are grateful for the support of the public received during consultations and the support from this House.”
“This is an average decrease of about 3% per year. We encourage retailers to diversify their businesses to reduce their dependence on profits from sale of tobacco products. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Mr Yee Chia Hsing have spoken up strongly against second-hand smoke and asked if there is more that we can do to minimise their effects in housing estates. I empathise with their residents' frustrations. MOH works with MEWR to minimise exposure to second-hand smoke in the community. MOH's measures are aimed at reducing the number of smokers over time, while smoking prohibitions in public areas will protect non-smokers from the immediate harm of second-hand smoke. We urge smokers to be socially responsible and considerate when smoking in private spaces so that their neighbours will not be affected. Residents who are affected should approach their neighbours to resolve the matter amicably in the spirit of neighbourliness. Residents can also approach the Community Mediation Centre for assistance. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah made some suggestions to enhance the enforcement of the smoking ban in public spaces. I agree that we should work more closely with members of the public to tackle errant smokers. I will refer her suggestions to my MEWR colleagues for their consideration. Ultimately, by discouraging those below the age of 21 from smoking, this Bill helps to reduce the number of adult smokers in the population in the long run and will help reduce second-hand smoke. Mr Alex Yam asked if we should ban tobacco completely since it is a major public health scourge. Cigarettes are entrenched in Singapore and globally.”
“Mr Gan Thiam Poh suggested enlisting the help of volunteers to carry out public education and enforcement. Currently, we do not deploy volunteers for enforcement. However, we have volunteers for public education efforts, such as our "I Quit" Ambassadors. But we will study the suggestion. Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar has expressed concern that the number of Malay smokers remains high. We are similarly concerned. HPB holds over 200 roadshows in the community island-wide every year. Specific to the Malay community, HPB is partnering with Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) and mosques to help Malay/Muslim smokers to quit. The response to the "I Quit" Ramadan roadshows, held since 2012, has been encouraging. This year, we have over 5,700 sign-ups. We are studying ways to expand outreach and public education efforts to all segments of the population all year round. I thank Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar for highlighting a potential problem of roll-your-own tobacco cigarettes among youths. Although Ang Hoon and other loose tobacco leaf products make up less than 2% of all tobacco imported in 2016, MOH will continue to monitor their use among youths and act accordingly. The MLA also applies to these products. MHA monitors the trend of the sale and abuse of controlled drugs, including those mixed with tobacco, and will take the necessary enforcement action against traffickers and abusers. In response to Ms Joan Pereira's question on reducing the number of tobacco licences, we regulate where tobacco should not be sold. These places include healthcare institutions, educational institutions and places which may disproportionately attract the young, such as gaming arcades. The number of tobacco retailers has declined from 5,555 in 2012 to 4,663 as at 30 September 2017.”