Ang Wei Neng
Singapore
“Thank you, Speaker, and I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. Can I just ask for clarification on the three incidents of Singtel disruption? It was reported by the press that they were totally unrelated. What was the preliminary investigation based on the finding of IMDA?”
“Chairman, I have two clarifications. Firstly, we are glad that the Minister has assured us that MOT is working to establish clearer criteria for distinguishing between Cat A and Cat B COE. In the meantime, I would like to seek clarification on the reduction in the supply of Category A COE.”
“I would like to seek a clarification regarding the Lift Access Housing Grant. Could the qualifying criteria be relaxed for occupants aged 70 and above, without the need for medical certification?”
“Such an outcome would run contrary to the original intent of maintaining distinct categories within the passenger car segment. As MOT has previously stated, the primary objective of Cat A COE is to preserve a portion of the vehicle quota for mass-market cars, thereby ensuring greater accessibility and affordability for the average Singapo…”
“Under NParks' pigeon management plan, efforts remain largely focused on pigeons. I urge NParks, within MND's broader human-wildlife management framework, to evolve towards a comprehensive Pest Bird Management approach, one that also addresses other urban-adapted species, such as mynas and crows, where they cause persistent disamenities to…”
“Thank you, Chair. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I would like to ask Senior Minister of State Sim Ann, how would she describe Singapore's current relationship with China against the backdrop of Sino-US geopolitical tensions.”
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“While the low oil prices spell good news for the Singapore economy in general, could I ask the Minister whether the low oil prices will slow down our drive towards cleaner and renewable energy?”
“Thank you, Minister, for the comprehensive reply. Many Singaporeans are very proud of the various ITE where campuses are with air-conditioning. The reality is that some SME jobs do not provide an air-conditioned environment, including those in the oil and gas industry, construction industry and even repair and maintenance of MRT trains and tracks. So, ITE graduates working in the oil and gas industry also need to get used to the smell of the gasoline. As a result, quite a number of ITE graduates in the technical field refuse to work in a non-air-conditioned environment and they choose to work in the IR, for example. I have these supplementary questions. How could MOE provide a realistic environment in the beautiful ITE campuses so that the graduates would not react in shock when they attend a workplace which is non-air-conditioned? And does MOE track the number of ITE graduates in the technical field who do not remain in this field?”
“But those are the three options that someone who would like to purchase a vehicle would be able to do. In addition to ETS, commercial vehicles also have the benefits of lower vehicle taxes, compared to other types of vehicles. The Additional Registration Fee, for example, is about 5% compared to at least 100% for cars.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for the reply. I would also like to congratulate the success of ETS since its enhancement. But I also note that ETS in the market may not directly benefit the vehicle owners, but rather the agents. Perhaps the Parliamentary Secretary can give us the figure on how many of the commercial vehicles that had been scrapped under ETS had actually changed hands before scrapping. This figure would give us an indication whether the ETS benefited the car dealers Page: 19 as compared to the vehicle owners. The second question is: I understand ETS has reduced the number of COEs in Cat C, but the Parliamentary Secretary is saying that it also takes demand out of the system. But this has a disadvantage for those companies that buy new commercial vehicles, without the old vehicles to take advantage ETS. At the same time, we know that 15% of the COEs that are recycled from the deregistration of commercial vehicles are channelled towards the Open Category. Will the Ministry of Transport consider reducing the proportion of COEs that can contribute to the Open Category? Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for the supplementary question. ETS gives more options for current and would-be- vehicle owners to obtain a new vehicle: firstly, to renew their existing COE under ETS; secondly, to buy over a vehicle which is ETS-eligible, which then allows them to take advantage of ETS to register a new vehicle; and thirdly, of course, to bid for a new COE. This, in my view, provides more opportunity for those who would like to purchase vehicles, whether ETS-eligible or not. I do not have the figure of whether the vehicle is scrapped and is taken over by the dealers at this point in time.”
“If the Minister, indeed, grants exemption to Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club in the near future, I hope these two companies can maintain their current online and phone betting services and not rush into dishing out additional remote gambling services. We need some time to observe the impact of the Remote Gambling Act on our residents. When we legalise more gambling channels, more Singaporeans will likely start to gamble, resulting in more gambling addicts. In order to stem the growth of gambling addicts, we need to nip the problem at its source. One of the ways is to limit the betting amount each resident could place. For that matter, I hope MHA can consider issuing a special player card which is linked to the gambler's bank account that the gambler uses to gamble via the legal channels. We can set up an upper limit on the amount of bet one can place each day, similar to the personalised player card used in Norway and Sweden. Particularly in Norway, the government stipulates that no one can transfer more than US$80 per day or US$440 per month into the player card. With this kind of player card, we can better control the social problems brought about by legal gambling. Thus, I urge the Minister to study the feasibility Page: 73 of using a player card system to control gambling.”
“However, I do not understand the need for section 40, which empowers the Minister to allow some persons, or a group of persons, to enjoy exemptions and not be constrained by other sections of the Bill. The Minister has just said that the purpose of section 40 is to allow some charity organisations to conduct online lucky draws. However, the scope of section 40 is very wide. Does it mean that the Minister is considering to allow some rich local residents to gamble online freely? Or is the Minister considering to exempt the current Integrated Resort operators so that they could provide online gambling services? I hope the answer is no, but I would like the Minister to clarify the intention of section 40. Meanwhile, I hope the Minister can strengthen the control over exempted companies and do not hesitate to exercise the regulating powers strictly. I understand that when the exempted companies fail to comply with the authority's regulations, they could be fined up to $1 million. However, is $1 million a sufficiently strong deterrent? Many people may not know that Singapore Pools has been offering remote gambling services and punters can place bets using their mobile phones. Thus, it is highly likely that Singapore Pools will apply for exemption to provide remote gambling services. Last year, their revenue was more than $6.3 billion with about $600 million profits. Hence, is a $1 million fine a sufficient deterrence to them? Perhaps, the Minister can consider raising the fines quantum but capping it at 10% of their revenue, similar to fines imposed on telcos and casino operators.”
“[Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to participate in the debate on remote gambling. I have mentioned many times in Parliament that we need to strengthen our control measures on gambling to limit the escalation of gambling ills. Thus, I rise in support of the Remote Gambling Bill. However, I hope MHA will address the following concerns and suggestions pertaining to remote gambling. First and foremost, I would like to urge the Government to establish an anti-cybercrime agency to tackle cybercrimes, including unathourised remote gambling. When I requested Senior Minister of State Mr Masagos in Parliament to establish the said agency last month, he was not specific in his reply. With the rapid development of technology and Internet space, we need to train a group of online experts to effectively tackle the various forms of online betting. Even if the Government can block all the existing gambling sites, new ones will continue to pop up. It is like the Chinese saying "new grass will grow again as long as we do not remove the roots". We need the online experts to continuously identify and block these illegal online betting sites, rather than relying on public complaints to identify new illegal sites. Page: 72 Next, I would like to move on to the most controversial part of the Bill, which is Part 5. I can understand why MHA needs to add sections 26 and 30 to allow Singapore-based non-profit gambling companies to apply for exemptions and provide remote gambling services. The intention is to provide an outlet for Singaporeans to use their phone apps or websites to gamble in a limited way. It is like a safety valve to prevent Singaporeans from resorting to excessive illegal online gambling.”
“I thank Deputy Prime Minister Teo for the comprehensive reply. I understand that the Minister for Foreign Affairs has just returned from the United Nations Assembly and the topic of ISIS was also discussed. Could the Deputy Prime Minister share with the House if Singapore or any of the ASEAN members had been invited to join the US-led military actions against the ISIS? If Singapore was invited, would the Government consider sending military personnel to assist?”
“The Civil Service, as the biggest employer, needs to take the lead in walking the talk if we want to tell Singaporeans that there are other routes besides the University degree route to get ahead in one's career. In summary, I applaud the effort to change the mindset that "obtaining a degree is the only ticket to a better career". However, we need to be mindful that the change process takes time and MOE needs to do more to improve the quality of the courses offered by the private universities in Singapore. Last but not least, the Civil Service needs to take the lead to even the playing field for officers with different qualifications. 6.26 pm”
“When I started my career in the Police Force more than 20 years ago, I realised that there was a clear demarcation of career paths for diploma holders, normal graduates and overseas scholars. Their career paths hardly crossed. For example, non-graduates started off as Junior Police Officers and it would take years or even decades for them to be promoted to the rank of Inspector, the lowest of the rank of senior officers. Returned overseas scholars receive higher pay even if they are of the same rank as the local graduates, regardless of their performance. I must say that most overseas scholars generally perform much better than the other graduates. However, there are some who do not perform as well and that sours the feelings of the majority of the Police officers. I understand that similar situations occur in the Army and many other Government departments. It is probably a lot better off Page: 99 today as compared to two decades ago but there is still room for improvement, particularly to allow civil servants with different qualifications to compete on a more even ground. It does not take too long for a non-graduate officer to see where the goal post lies after the annual promotion exercise. On the ground, people use the term "farmer" to indicate civil servants who do not have a degree or scholarship. For ASPIRE's recommendations to be effectively implemented, the perception that "once a farmer always a farmer" in the Civil Service has to be demolished; otherwise, many will remain skeptical about ASPIRE's good intention. I am, therefore, heartened to hear Prime Minister Lee announcing a review on the human resource policy within the Civil Service.”
“Thirty Universities for a population of five million people in Singapore, it works out to be about six Universities for every one million people, not too far away from Korea and Taiwan. Certainly, we have to count the enrolment figures for each of the Universities so as to make a fair comparison across the different countries, but the number of Universities could still serve as a good proxy. Is having too many private Universities a problem? At least Taiwan admitted so. The unemployment rate among the Taiwan graduates is high. One in five recent young graduates in Taiwan could not find a job within one year of graduation. Thus, Taiwan is taking steps to reduce the number of universities from 160 to about 110. Similarly, in Singapore, we need to guard against the mushrooming of private Universities resulting in the mass proliferation of University graduates, compromising the quality of the graduates' training and lowering the value of the degree. This is especially so as we extend the university space in the public Universities. While we wait for the recommendations of ASPIRE to take effect, I urge MOE to take stock of our private Universities, tighten the academic standard, enhance the system to differentiate the better ones so that Singaporeans could obtain better value from these private Universities. We need to persuade Singaporeans not to spend excessive money to obtain a degree that does not add much value, and this is why the ASPIRE's report is timely. However, what is even more important is how the ASPIRE's recommendations are implemented. As indicated by many speakers before me, the Civil Service needs to take a lead in making the changes.”
“Mdm Speaker, I speak in support of the Motion. When Prime Minister spoke about the recommendations of ASPIRE and played down the importance of getting a degree during this year's National Day Rally, it was met with strong support as well as scepticism. Strong support because many of us know that getting a degree is not an end all and be all approach to improving one's career prospects. During one of my weekly house visits, I met a couple in their 50s. There was a huge family portrait on the wall showing three of their children wearing mortarboards. I commented that it was great for their children to be graduates. The mother of three replied, "文凭不值钱" or "the degrees are no more valuable". I asked them why and they explained that their children's salary did not improve significantly after obtaining their degrees from the private Universities. This is similar to the story narrated by Mr Heng earlier on. Singaporeans, as with their counterparts in other Asian societies, would not hesitate to invest heavily in education. In the struggle to be educated, the pinnacle is the attainment of a University degree. That is why in Taiwan, with a population of slightly more than 23 million Page: 98 people, there are 163 universities. That is seven universities for every one million people. In South Korea, with a population of about 50 million, there are 411 universities or eight universities per million people. How about Singapore? When I check a website for the list of Universities in Singapore, I am surprised to learn that there are 30 Universities. Besides the six public Universities, the rest are mainly private Universities, and many of which I come across for the first time.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. We understand that the purpose of the VEP is to curb vehicle congestion during the peak hours and typically during the week days. Foreign-registered vehicles entering Singapore are given 10 VEP-free days per calendar year, besides not having to pay VEP during Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. If the Malaysian authorities had decided to go ahead with their own VEP, would MOT consider negotiating with them so as to provide the same kind of number of fee-free days? My second supplementary question is about the higher toll charges imposed by Malaysia at the Causeway since 1 August 2014. Both MOT and LTA have indicated the intention for Singapore to match the same. However, many Singaporeans are concerned about the impact of the higher toll charges. Would the Senior Minister of State provide an update on this issue?”
“I thank the Senior Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. With more people using the Internet, including the vulnerable elderly, it is quite understandable that more online crime could be expected. At times, online crimes call for a different computer skillset to trace the culprit and collect online evidence, and some of the current investigating officers may not have the skill-set. So, what kind of training plans do the Police have to equip Police officers with such cyber skills to crack cybercrimes? Is there a plan to set up a dedicated cybercrime unit in the Police Force? For cyber criminals who are based overseas or use overseas websites, how are the Police enlisting the help of Interpol to crack such cross-border cybercrimes?”
“Madam, I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. I have the following supplementary questions. I understand that the length of the Second Link Bridge over the water is about 1,920 metres, and presumably half of the length is under Singapore's jurisdiction. With the massive land reclamation in Johor, what would be the nearest point of the reclaimed land to Singapore? Will it pose any border security issues? The second question is: does the Singapore Government have any more plan to further reclaim land at the Straits of Johor? The third question is: how could we use the lesson learned from the previous land reclamation dispute between Singapore and Malaysia in 2003 to resolve the current issues of the reclamation land near the Second Link?”
“For those people who have money in their savings account but refuse to pay the premiums, will the Government put pressure on them and even impose penalties? The Minister has said repeatedly that MOH would use Medifund or some similar scheme to help those who cannot afford the premiums. I hope the Minister can show compassion to help them as long as they do not have sufficient savings in their Medisave account and do not have any family support. There is no point forcing the poor to pay the premiums when they cannot afford. (In English): In conclusion, I believe that MediShield Life will be a game-changer. I believe that MediShield Life, if implemented well, means that all Singaporeans can afford the basic healthcare. I believe that MediShield Life means – Government cares. With that, I support the Motion. 6.31 pm”
“Let us use as an example a typical family of four; parents in their 40s with two teenage children. The family's annual MediShield Life premiums will be $1,130, without any permanent or transitional premium subsidies. If the family belongs to the low-income category, they only need to pay $806, meaning a 40% subsidy of $324. For a relatively well-off family, the subsidy of $324 a year is not a big sum. For a low-income family who cannot even afford the premiums, $324 is a substantial amount. Therefore, it makes sense to adhere Page: 103 to the principle that the lessser a person earns, the more subsidies he deserves. The Committee estimated that one-third of Singaporeans will not receive permanent premium subsidies. However, there might be people who need subsidies but, for some technical reasons, cannot qualify. The Minister has promised that the Government will give special considerations to such cases. More importantly, there are Singaporeans who either have no job or their job is unstable. These people have more pressing needs. The Minister for Manpower shared just now that, every year, among CPF members who turn 55, 23% are inactive. Among them are housewives and people who either have no job or their job is unstable. The Minister did not say how the Government is going to collect the premiums from Singaporeans who do not have sufficient money in their Medisave account. For this group of people, will the Government deduct the premiums from their Ordinary Account first before siphoning money from their Special and Retirement Account? Will the Government ask them to use cash to pay the premiums as the last resort?”
“I note that the Minister, in his speech, did not mention whether Singaporeans with pre-existing illnesses could purchase the universal B1 IP with additional premiums, similar to the basic MediShield Life scheme. If we leave it to the private insurance companies, it is unlikely that Singaporeans with pre-existing illnesses could join the B1 IP. Thus, we hope that MOH could work with the insurance companies to determine the additional premiums that Singaporeans with pre-existing illnesses need to pay, based on a few broad categories of pre-existing illnesses so that all would have a chance to come on board the B1 IP. How about Singaporeans who could not afford? Despite best effort, some Singaporeans still could not afford to pay the MediShield Life premiums. How could we help them? Please allow me to elaborate my thoughts in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] First, I would like to thank the MediShield Life Review Committee for their efforts to produce such an excellent report! This report is not one that recommends robbing the rich to help the poor. However, one of the Committee's recommendations indicates that wealthy Singaporeans who stay in expensive apartments/houses or have high income should not enjoy permanent premium subsidies. This is unlike the Pioneer Generation Package whereby all Pioneers can enjoy the same subsidies, regardless of being rich or poor. When the report was released, it is not surprising that retirees who live in big houses and upper-middle class families who have more than two maids cry foul that it is not fair. However, Singaporeans need to understand that the Government has already provided some forms of subsidies for MediShield Life.”
“In short, the majority of Singaporeans would like their employers to pay or co-pay their MediShield Life premiums and that of their dependants without wasteful duplicate payments to the private insurers. Page 78 of the White Paper notes that 60% of Singaporeans have Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) and yet, 7 in 10 Singaporeans who have IPs to allow them to stay in class A wards choose to stay in lower ward classes when they are hospitalised. As reported in the Sunday Times, this is akin to one buying an expensive business class air ticket but choosing to be seated in the economy class when he boards the airplane. So, why do Singaporeans buy the IPs in the first place? One reason could be ignorance. Another reason could be that most Singaporeans who bought IPs are contented with B1 ward in the public hospitals but most private insurance companies only offer policies with higher wards. Or, worse, they are "oversold" by the insurance agents. Hence, I am glad that Minister Gan has agreed with the Committee's recommendation to work with private insurance companies to develop a universal portable B1 ward IP, or what I call a B1 IP for short. Page: 102 Certainly, with the universal B1 IP, Singaporeans who are contented with B1 wards in the public hospitals do not have to pay extra premiums for IPs that are meant for class A ward or wards in the private hospitals. With the universal B1 IP, employers could choose to pay B1 IP premiums for their employees instead of buying additional H&S policies again, which is a waste and is not portable. I hope MOH would strongly persuade employers to do so. Certainly, employers could also have the option to pay additional premiums to cover their employees for class A wards in private or public hospitals, if they can do so.”
“In addition, with the MediShield Life's focus on classes B2 and C, we do not need Einstein to tell us that the demand for hospital beds of these two class types would increase. Do we have a situation of hospital bed shortages? We certainly Page: 101 do. Are we doing anything about it? I am sure it is an item on the Health Minister's mind. My hope is that there is no secondary prioritising of the increase of class C and B2 beds in the light of the Prime Minister's revelation of postponing some $2 billion worth of public construction projects because of the tight labour market environment. The importance of adequate number of hospital beds cannot be overlooked and lost on us. It would be a terrible injustice to our healthcare providers working so hard to create a world-class system, only to be attacked by someone who likes to play up the scene of patients lying along the corridors. Next, I strongly support the Committee's call on employers and unions to work together to avoid duplication in the light of MediShield Life. Mr Deputy Speaker, I would go further than this and urge the Government to use its wide moral influence to ensure that more companies start to utilise MediShield Life for their workers' medical benefits rather than relying on private insurance coverage, such as the Hospitalisation and Surgical (H&S) Plan. Specifically, MOH could facilitate a framework to allow employers to directly pay or co-pay the employee's MediShield Life premiums, in addition to the usual Medisave contribution before the employers start to buy H&S Plan for the employees or their dependants. This would help us to realise the goal of portable medical insurance coverage for our workforce.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, the MediShield Life Review Committee had not only done a lot of hard work, it had also taken the bull by the horns on a deep-seated controversial issue of public health insurance scheme. Many countries have implemented public health insurance that provides for universal coverage. For instance, Germany has one of the oldest social health insurance schemes since 1883 through Otto von Bismarck's Sickness Insurance Law designed back then for the benefit of manual workers. Currently, the German's basic health insurance plan covers 85% of their population and the premiums are paid jointly by employers and employees. In 2010, the total healthcare spending in Germany was about 11.3% of its GDP, as compared to 4% in Singapore. As Singapore moves towards universal healthcare insurance, coupled with medical cost inflation and our ageing population, it is inevitable that our healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP will grow. However, we need to guard against increasing our healthcare cost to more than 10% of GDP, as in the case of Japan and most European countries or, worse, 17.9% in the case of the United States. With this as the backdrop, allow me to provide my perspectives, based on three broad categories of Singaporeans. The first category refers to the majority of Singaporeans who are contented with basic MediShield Life coverage. The second category refers to the more affluent Singaporeans who prefer to have Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) so that they could afford to stay in B1 ward or above. The third category refers to a small minority of Singaporeans who could not afford to pay the MediShield Life premiums despite best efforts. The majority. With the compulsory MediShield Life, 270,000 currently not insured under MediShield will also be insured.”
“Thank you, Mdm Speaker. I understand the need for the Minimum Sum. However, I would like to ask if Minister would consider giving Singaporeans more choices pertaining to CPF withdrawal. For example, would the Minister consider allowing Singaporeans at age 55 years to withdraw $10,000, $5,000 or zero amount? For those who choose not to withdraw any CPF money at age 55 as they know that they would not meet the Minimum Sum, would the Government reward them by way of Medisave top-up, to encourage prudence? For those Singaporeans who can easily meet the Minimum Sum, they are already allowed to retain more money in the CPF as mentioned by the Minister. That being the case, would the Minister consider allowing them to choose a different CPF LIFE policy that provides them with a higher monthly payout of, say, $1,500 per month? In short, Singaporeans like to make choices. Would the Minister consider providing Singaporeans with more CPF options?”
“I thank the Minister for the assurance. Very often, banks send out lengthy new terms and conditions without highlighting the main changes and expect the customers to accept the changes. While it appears that the oversight of banks' terms and conditions is under the purview of MAS, I hope the Personal Data Protection Commission could intervene when the terms and conditions relate to Personal Data Protection. Some banks claim that they are governed under the banking secrecy law and thus will abide to stricter confidentiality clauses. However, the banking secrecy law largely governs the confidentiality of financial transactions and not the customers' contact details which could be used by the banks through their business partners. Thus, would the Minister consider mandating the banks: (a) to provide the customers an option to receive marketing materials from the company alone and NOT from the bank's affiliated companies or business partners; and (b) not to have clauses in the terms and conditions that contain threat to terminate the agreement with the customers when the customers disagree with their data protection policy in lock, stock and barrel? Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: I thank the Member for the suggestion. Currently, there is an ongoing consultation on the rules for the banking sector. I will take these suggestions and forward them to the Commission, together with the Association of Banks of Singapore which is conducting the consultation to consider the Member's suggestion. I do agree with him that we need to try and find ways to ensure that, at the end of the day, the customers are protected not only in terms of their interests but also their data. So, I will bear in mind his suggestions.”
“The effort also helps to generate goodwill with our neighbouring countries. When I broached this proposal to different groups of people, there is a general agreement on the benefits of the field trips. But I also receive some objections. For example, one parent's immediate response was, "What if my child falls sick? Who will be responsible?" Another teacher said, "Wow! This means that teachers also have to suffer with the students and stay at those places with harsh conditions! Susah!" One Secondary 4 student remarked, "Going to a third world country? What a waste of time!" Such responses are not unexpected. In fact, they reinforce the benefits of sending the entire cohort of our students for such field trips. Over time, just like National Service, I hope parents and teachers will see the value of such trips when the students return from the trip more mature and sensible. I am confident that such compulsory service-learning field trips will help our youths appreciate Singapore's success better, reduce the sense of entitlement and inculcate the value of service to others. It will be money well-spent. It will generate a wind of gratitude. It will help us cherish the pioneering spirit that "built the Singapore we see today" and to "pledge ourselves anew to build a better, brighter Singapore". With this, I support the Motion.”
“I am proposing that MOE organise more field trips of this nature and extend this experience to all students. After overcoming the initial operational and logistical challenges, I hope MOE would eventually make it mandatory for all students to spend a stint of one to two weeks doing community service in some rural villages of our neighbouring countries. MOE could schedule each cohort of students to participate in these trips when the students Page: 51 are in Secondary 3 or 4. There are three main benefits of such overseas field trips. Firstly, the students would learn to appreciate what it is like to live in an environment with limited modern amenities. No air-con, no potable tap water, no proper roads. Instead of city lights, the students would enjoy a beautiful sky full of stars. Instead of air-conditioned system, the students would enjoy the fresh morning dew. Instead of morning traffic noise, the students would enjoy the sound of singing birds. After going through the relatively tough field trip, the students will, hopefully, appreciate the infrastructure in Singapore better. Secondly, the field trip could serve the purpose of character building and inculcation of the values we would like to observe in our youths, such as empathy, resilience, resourcefulness and so on. Moreover, it could help to foster close friendship ties among the students and hone their interpersonal skills, especially when many students choose to communicate through social media rather than direct human contact nowadays. Thirdly, the constant flow of students participating in such field trips would help to ensure the continuity of help rendered to the villages over time, which makes such effort more sustainable and meaningful.”
“We do not want our children to grow up taking for granted the good things we have in Singapore. We do not want our children to grow up like Rachel Canning, an 18-year-old American, who sued her parents in court for failing to pay her tuition fee after running away from home and she made the headlines in the US. We need to impress upon our children to count our blessings and, in turn, bless others who are less fortunate by being more empathetic and generous. How do we achieve this? For this, I have a radical idea. Before I elaborate, I would like to applaud the effort of MOE for re-emphasising the importance of values in our education system. MOE stresses the inculcation of value thinking through the Values in Action programme. At the same time, MOE also encourages overseas study trips to develop in our students an international awareness and interest in cultures and issues concerning the world beyond Singapore. To this end, I understand that more than 100,000 students have the opportunity to go for overseas field trips organised by schools yearly. Maybe we can marry the two concepts together, that is, learning through values in action during overseas trips. I would like to propose that MOE organise more field trips to some less developed rural areas of our neighbouring countries, where our students get the opportunities to help their less privileged counterparts through activities like conducting English lessons, teaching IT skills, setting up computer laboratories, building a library and so on. Some schools are already organising such trips for selected students as part of their learning journeys. Students who signed up or are selected for such trips may already have a higher propensity to help others and are more willing to go through hardship.”
“Many in Singapore complain that we need to wait for weeks to see a Government specialist when referred by a polyclinic doctor. In contrast, two million adults in London need to wait for two weeks to see a GP, let alone a specialist. Every major city in the world has their own set of challenges, whether it is ageing population, immigration problems, cost of living and so on. Do our children appreciate what we have today? A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine, who is the CEO of a listed company, told me this story. He grew up in an HDB rented flat. Like many other Singaporeans at his time, he used to take public buses to school. While he was travelling on the public bus and admiring the private cars zooming past him, he asked himself when he would be able to drive a car one day. Fast forward 30 years. Today, when he drives his son to his school in his BMW, his son asked him, "Daddy, when would you bring me to take a bus?" Would his son, our children and our future generations be appreciative of the good things we have in Singapore? They may, but most will not, if we leave it to chance. We have to mould the character of our children during their impressionable years, just like a potter would mould a ceramic ware while the clay is still moist and mouldable. Page: 50 Another friend of mine told me a story he heard in his childhood, which left an indelible mark on him. A young boy who came from a poor family complained to his parents about his old shoes. He could not accept that his parents were not able to afford him a new pair of shoes like most of his classmates. This grouchy boy only stopped complaining when a new classmate joined his class one day. He was dumbfounded – as his new classmate did not even have a pair of real feet to wear a pair of shoes.”
“Mdm Speaker, as Singapore celebrates its Jubilee next year, all Singaporeans hope that our next 50 years will be better. No one wants Singapore to be annexed like Crimea. No one wants Singapore to have a civil war like in Syria. No one wants Singapore to experience political turmoil that led to a military coup like Thailand. Page: 49 What is better for Singaporeans, however, may differ quite significantly. Mr Robin Chan, Assistant Political Editor of The Straits Times, has shared his views of what is better for Singapore last Saturday. Many Singaporeans have also come forward to share their views and aspirations for Singapore, and this kind of conversation should continue. At some point, we need to take stock of what we have, cherish what we already have and not complain about what we could not have. Materialistically, what we have in Singapore is comparable to many other major cities in the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Singapore 6th in the where-to-be-born index or previously known as the quality-of-life index, scoring eight out of a 10-point scale. In terms of City of Opportunity, PricewaterhouseCoppers (PwC) ranked Singapore third amongst 30 cities worldwide, after London and New York. Given this favourable ranking, it does not mean that Singapore has already arrived and we should be contended. Singapore cannot be perfect when we score only eight out of the possible 10 points in the where-to-be-born index. To improve continuously, we must. I have in the past spoken furiously on many areas of improvements and I will continue to do so. Nevertheless, no city is perfect. Even as London leads by a clear margin to clinch the top City of Opportunity, its scores are not perfect either.”
“Madam, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. I note that more than 590,000 people have registered with the DNC registry. Is this number within the expectation of the Ministry? Page: 66 The second question is, I understand from the Senior Minister of State's reply that the Personal Data Protection Commission refers the moneylending SMSes to the Police instead of investigating them under the Data Protection Act. Does the PDPC follow up with Police on the number of such complaints and how they are being followed up by the Police? The third supplementary question is, the Minister of State has said that for one case, MCI may bring the case for prosecution in the Courts. For the other cases, will they be brought to the Courts or will they mostly be settled with a compound fine?”
“I would like to urge MSF to consider working with Singapore Kindness Movement to launch a campaign to educate the public so that all could have a better and more pleasant ride on the public transport. Central Youth Guidance Office (CYGO) Update”
“Transport for Persons with Disabilities Madam, on the cut on transport for persons with disabilities, we are pleased that MSF will soon offer PWDs a continuum of transport options from discount on public transport to subsidies for dedicated transport. PWDs with lower mobility typically need to take dedicated transport, including wheelchair-friendly vehicles, to gain access to schools, daycare centres as well as clinics or hospitals for medical checkups. With the new subsidy, we can expect the demand for dedicated transport services to increase significantly. It would make sense to stretch the subsidy dollars so that the sector as a whole could provide an extensive, efficient and effective transport dedicated to Page: 10 PWDs. I recommend that the disability sector pool their resources together to reap the economy of scale rather than having each individual VWO buy its own vehicles to ferry the PWDs. To this end, MSF could help to set up a coordinating committee to develop a plan to minimise duplications, possibly stagger demand so as to maximise the usage of limited resources, namely, the vehicles and the drivers. With the strategy, the coordinating committee can then call a tender to engage a few transport operators to provide the dedicated transport service for PWDs. Mdm Chair, at the other end of the spectrum, PWDs with higher mobility could enjoy a 25% discount when they take public buses and trains. This is a generous gesture which will be appreciated by PWDs and their caregivers. However, the public also need to understand that PWDs have special needs and may unintentionally upset other commuters. At times, they might be deliberately taken advantage of by some commuters.”
“Mdm Chair, the Enabling Master Plan 2012 to 2016 was introduced by MSF two years ago. It was announced two years ago. We are now at the halfway mark. We would appreciate if the Minister could Page: 9 provide an update of the progress made. Meanwhile, MOE had announced additional measures to help students with disabilities, including the setting up of disability offices at ITE, Polytechnic and University. This is a welcome move. However, MOE officials have also on various occasions made it clear that the responsibilities of finding employment for these students after their graduation lie with MSF and other VWOs. To this end, we are glad that SG Enable is formed to help find jobs for the Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), amongst its other functions. I had visited the new SG Enable premises last year and noticed that it now occupies the sprawling ground of the previous e2i campus. I understand that SG Enable is trying its best to tie up with companies that are willing to employ PWDs and attract social enterprises to set up shops at its campus, but it is facing an uphill task due to various factors. We hope that the Government could provide more incentives for private companies, quasi-Government and Government agencies to tie up with SG Enable to provide more employment opportunities for the PWDs. These incentives could include lower rent for social enterprises to set up shop at SG Enable campus or more relaxed foreign worker quota or even better tax incentive for firms that hire a significant number of PWDs. We hope that the SG Enable campus can be the incubator for social enterprise start-ups that seek to employ PWDs, much like Block 71 at Ayer Rajah is the incubator for IT start-up companies.”
“Mdm Chair, I agree with hon Member Dr Janil Puthucheary that we need to promote cycling as a form of transport but I am not too optimistic that it can be a primary mode of transport. I am more optimistic that it can replace some feeder buses, as residents can cycle to MRT stations and take the train to the eventual destination. 3.15 pm We can probably put more effort into facilitating cycling from HDB flats to MRT stations as well as to neighbourhood centres where they can buy groceries. We need to have better facilities for cycling. Besides cycling paths, cycling racks are important. If you visit the MRT stations now, you can see there are a lot of bicycles but there are insufficient cycling racks. Sometimes, it is not too secure and a lot of bicycles get stolen. We need to build more secure bicycle racks at points where the cyclists need to get on and off, and that would include MRT stations, HDB void decks, neighbourhood centres and even schools and offices. Besides the facilities, I also agree that we need to educate the cyclists, pedestrians and other road users on the need to accommodate each other, especially at points of potential conflict, such as pedestrian crossings, bus stops, road junction and so on. We also need to have adequate signs to warn the cyclists, pedestrians and other road users of the potential conflict points. To this end, I also agree with the hon Member Mr Cedric Foo that we need to have a coordinating body to build the facilities required for cyclists as well as liaising with the different agencies, such as the Police, HDB and so on. To this end, I propose that LTA could consider setting up a coordinating body under its wing. Page: 85 Bicycle-safe Singapore”
“ERP2 could probably track the whereabouts of any vehicle, anywhere, anytime in Singapore even if it is not passing through a CBD area or a restricted zone. With such a "Big Brother" watching you, how could MOT ensure that the privacy of a car driver is not compromised? If MOT could resolve the privacy issue, I foresee that there are many other possibilities and benefits that can be derived from ERP2. For example, MOT could inform the public of the average speed of the vehicles travelling along different segments on the roads, in different parts of Singapore, in real time. That being the case, I hope the Minister could consider relaxing the off-peak car scheme such that off-peak cars can travel on uncongested roads at anytime of the day without surcharge. Satellite-based ERP”
“If MOT agrees to review the system, I hope the following suggestions can be considered: (a) To redefine Cat A so that it is exclusively for car models with OMV of less than $20,000, that is, only for mass market models. (b) Split the COE of Cat C category into two, with one catering for light commercial vehicles and another for heavy vehicles. In this way, SMEs that need to buy light commercial vehicles do not have to compete with the "Big Boys" who are buying the heavy commercial vehicles. (c) Conduct a trial to experiment with the concept of banning car dealers from bidding for COEs by taking half the quota from each category to allow only car buyers to bid by themselves. This is because some believe that the car agents are responsible for driving up the prices of COEs, but we can never be sure of the actual cause unless we do a trial. (d) Consider a "reset", that is, to redistribute the number of COEs of each category based on current needs assessment. This will give MOT a chance to re-balance the number of COEs across the different categories based on parity as well. Mdm Chair, Singapore is a land-scarce city-state. No matter how you change the COE system or replace it with another vehicle control measure, it will not satisfy everybody. However, we look forward to a comprehensive review so that there does not come a day when only a CEO can afford to buy a COE. The COE system needs to be balanced with social equity so that ordinary Singaporeans who need just a basic car can have a fair chance. Page: 65 ERP2 The ERP2 system. Mdm Chair, I understand that MOT is ready to call a tender to install the next generation of satellite-based Electronic Road Pricing system, or ERP2.”
“Mdm Chair, let me now move on to private transport. I would like to call upon MOT to do a comprehensive review of the COE system. Let me give three main reasons for doing so. Firstly, the latest tweak by MOT to change the definition of Cat A COE in February is not working well enough. According to LTA's data, 42% of the cars registered under Cat A last month have Open Market Value (OMV) of more than $20,000, of which close to 40% have OMV of more than $25,000. That is, many luxury cars are still competing for Cat A COEs. As a result, not only has the price of Cat A COE not decreased significantly, the price gap between Cat A and B has also narrowed. Secondly, the number of Cat C COEs has shrunk over the years even as the economy grows. The supply of Cat C COEs, meant for commercial vehicles, for the three months between February and April this year is only 1,571 although more than 2,000 commercial vehicles were scrapped during the three-month period before February. The shrinking number of COEs in Cat C has driven up the cost of commercial vehicles and increased the SMEs' business cost, as shown by the latest COE tender results in March. This is an anomaly unless MOT is of the view Page: 64 that there are already too many commercial vehicles in the market. The current Early Turn-Over scheme (ETO) to encourage early scrapping of old commercial vehicles is not attractive enough and I note that MOT will be improving the ETO scheme. I hope it will not be a case of "too little, too late" again. Thirdly, we are expecting a bumper supply of COEs come end 2014, right through 2015 and 2016 because most vehicles are reaching their 10-year legal life span, and this bumper supply of COEs offers the best opportunity for MOT to revamp the system.”
“Mdm Chair, I would like to declare my interest as I am also Senior Vice President of SBS Transit. I also share some of the concerns expressed by the hon Member Mr Gan Thiam Poh about City Direct. As part of BSEP, we are very glad that MOT has introduced CDS services that provide a direct link for the residents to travel from the heartland to CBD via expressway. I understand that there are a lot of CDS buses that are quite popular. Could MOT also provide an update as to: (a) how many CDS services have already been implemented as of last month? (b) how many more CDS services are planned in the pipeline for this year and next year? (c) what is the ridership of the CDS services that are in operation currently? (d) whether MOT is satisfied with the performance of the CDS providers and the ridership of these services? I also note that CDS is quite similar to the Premium Bus Service (PBS) except that the CDS services allow standees and the fares are lower. From my understanding, PBS operators were summoned for allowing passengers to stand on the bus, not because the operators deliberately allowed standees but passengers demanded to board the bus even though the bus drivers had repeatedly told the passengers that the buses were full and all the seats were Page: 48 taken up. The passengers do not mind standing on the PBS buses as they want to get to the office as soon as possible but the bus operator, in such instances, will be fined. CDS does not face the same capacity issue. Hence, I would like to ask MOT if there are plans to replace PBS with CDS to avoid the above phenomenon, especially when PBS operators have given notice to give up the licence. Request for Better Transport Connection”
“Mdm Chair, I am pleased with the additional measures by MOE to assist students with disabilities, especially with the setting up of the Disability Support Offices. However, it is important that MOE could also help ensure that the quality of the SPED schools is consistent across the different schools, so that we can have a desirable outcome. And the desirable outcome to most of us with keen interest in this disability sector is for as many of the SPED school graduates to proceed to ITE or to find a meaningful job after graduation. So, to this end, could MOE clarify how MOE is helping SPED graduates to transit from school to work; and, secondly, more importantly, how MOE could help SPED schools implement a curriculum that will help to shape the SPED graduates to be more work-ready? Mdm Chair, one more question on the DSA. I am glad that MOE will review the DSA scheme, partly to incorporate the assessment of students' other exceptional personal qualities, such as resilience, ability to overcome adversity, despite coming from a family of challenging background and so on. May I ask if it means that every student applying for DSA will be assessed on whether they have these exceptional qualities? Page: 20”
“Mdm Chair, the tuition fees at the Institutes of Higher Learning or IHLs, such as Polytechnic and University, have increased significantly over the past few years. For example, the tuition fee for business undergraduate degree course at NUS has increased by 37% between 2008 and 2013, much higher than the inflation rate and the increase in the median household income over the same period time. Thus, the increased in the bursary quantum for students studying at IHLs will be a relief to many households. However, I hope that the increased in quantum is not a one-off exercise. Otherwise, its effect would be negated or eroded with successive rounds of tuition fee hikes and inflation over the years. Perhaps, MOE could consider having a formula to peg the bursary quantum to a percentage of the latest student's tuition fee. At the same time, I also applaud the initiative to ease the per capita household income criteria for bursaries which will benefit two-thirds of all Singaporean households. Nonetheless, I hope that the lower income families will receive higher bursary quantum to help their children move up the social ladder. 5.15 pm Last but not least, I hope that MOE could find ways to impress upon the bursary recipients that the bursary is not an entitlement. I find it very disturbing when some tertiary bursary recipients refused to attend the cheque presentation ceremony or expect the cheque to be mailed to them directly. Perhaps, MOE could consider requesting the bursary recipients to perform some form of community service during their vacation as a way of giving back to the society. Tuition Grants for International Students”
“Madam, the Direct School Admissions or DSA scheme has allowed students to be admitted to the schools of their choice Page: 125 without using their PSLE scores. The DSA scheme helps to ease the pressure off the high-stakes examination but it also has its unintended consequences. For example, many students who are good at sports but are academically weaker are not choosing to go to the Sports School. Instead, some of them opt to attend schools that offer integrated programmes which are supposed to cater to the academically stronger students, designed to prepare them for a University education without going through the GCE "O" level examinations. MOE had recently revealed that of the students admitted to top Secondary schools through DSA sports in 2013, 10% had PSLE scores that were 30 or more points below the school's PSLE cut-off point. The question is whether the top schools that admit the academically weaker students through DSA sports have been taking good care of these weaker students. Has MOE done an empirical study to track the progress of these academically weaker sport students? How many of them have fallen through the cracks and failed to pass their GCE "A" level examinations eventually? On a separate note, MOE has earlier revealed its intention to review or expand the DSA scheme with a special emphasis on admitting students from challenging family background. Could MOE share with us on the progress of the review? Through-train Schools”
“If we leave it entirely to market forces, we would be faced with the above situation. Hence, I propose that the Government take steps to reserve commercial spaces near MRT stations for social service providers, such as childcare centres, library, social service offices and so on, to provide better conveniences for the residents. As we build new MRT stations and there are more vacant lands surrounding these stations, the Government could consider providing incentives for the developers to reserve floor spaces for social services providers without affecting the plot ratio meant for commercial uses. Mdm Speaker, the Government has taken bold measures to honour the Pioneer Generation by covering a significant portion of their medical needs. It is a departure from previous Budgets whereby the Government used to devote more resources to drive the economy. Budget 2014 also aims to spread the fruits of our economic success and our economic growth to a larger segment of the population. We would not want to reach the same situation as the US, whereby the top 10% of earners took in more than half of the country's total income. This is not desirable. In a similar fashion, we do not want the benefits of land appreciation to profit a small minority of individuals. In particular, we hope that the Page: 20 Government would consider spreading the positive externalities of transport nodes to residents who need the social services such as childcare centres near MRT stations. With this, I strongly support the Budget. 12.31 pm”
“According to the information on the URA's website, the price of multiple-user factory space has increased by about 100% between 2010 and 2013, which is alarming. The increase in commercial property prices has enriched a few parties, such as the developers, REITs, speculators and so on. However, for the majority of business owners who cannot afford to own industrial properties, they are at the mercy of the rising rental costs. To relieve SMEs of such cost pressure, Government might want to consider once again, getting JTC to play a more active role in developing factories for SMEs, instead of selling industrial lands Page: 19 to private developers. Remaining on the topic of property prices, I would like to shift the focus to the commercial space around transport nodes such as MRT stations and bus interchanges. The heavy human traffic at the transport nodes makes it very attractive for firms to sell their goods and services within the 400-metre to 800-metre radius of MRT stations or bus interchanges. If we leave it to pure market forces, firms with the highest profit margins will snap up commercial spaces around the transport nodes. Social services providers such as childcare centres with lower margins will not be able to afford to lease the spaces near to the transport nodes but these services are essential if we want to improve our fertility rate. One classic example is how legal moneylenders and pawnshops with high profit margins have taken over a significant number of shops at a town centre beside a major MRT station. At the same time, there is a long waiting list for childcare places at the same town centre but most childcare centre operators cannot afford the high rent near the MRT station.”
“In conclusion, I hope that the PGP can help to improve the bonding among Singaporeans, rather than divide us. Some who are aged 55 to 64 years old need not fret because you are not included in the PGP. You will still enjoy the Medisave top-up every year. In addition, many of you who are in this age group are still independent and able to work. To this end, I agree that employers have to treat older workers fairly, as advocated by hon Member Mr David Ong. More importantly, I hope that the PGP will remind Singaporeans of the importance of economic growth. It is unwise to advocate zero economic growth as what a small group of people have done. We must stand united, grow our economy and practise prudent fiscal policies so that all of us can share the fruits of economic growth. We should not let down the Pioneer Generation who had worked so hard to build the Singapore we have today. (In English): Mdm Speaker, let me now turn our attention to the plight of Small and Medium Enterprises or SMEs, like what eight Members had done yesterday. SMEs are facing higher manpower and rental costs amongst others. It is inevitable that manpower costs will rise as we strive to pay local workers more. I agree that we should pay Singaporeans workers more, especially the low-wage workers. In addition, companies have to pay higher foreign workers' levy due to the Government's effort to reduce reliance on manpower growth to grow our economy. To assist SMEs to improve productivity, the Government has offered schemes like PIC, PIC+ and so on. To some SMEs, these schemes may not be enough. SMEs are also facing pressure from rising industrial land costs.”
“In this way, Singaporeans can better appreciate the importance of economic growth and see the need to transform our economy so that we can enjoy sustainable growth. Secondly, future packages need to adopt the principle of targeted approach. If we divide the $9 billion PGP by the 450,000 pioneers, every pioneer is entitled to $20,000 on average and it is sufficient to pay for most of their medical bills in their lifetime. If we decide to spend the same $9 billion equally on all Singaporeans who are above 25 years old and there are 2.3 million of us, then each of us will only receive $3,850, not very significant. Hence, it is wiser to spend our financial surplus on people who really need it, so as to achieve the maximum impact. And that leads us to the third principle. That is, future packages should not be as universal as the PGP. The Pioneer Generation is quite a homogeneous group. Most of them are not well-educated, have had lower income and thus do not have much savings in their CPF accounts. Hence, it is understandable that the PGP has to be inclusive. The younger generation is more fortunate. We have gone through a period of rapid economic development. The income gap of the second-generation Singaporeans is much wider and quite a significant number of them manage to make a fortune from the property market. The wealthier Singaporeans could afford to be gracious and let the less well-off Singaporeans enjoy a bigger share Page: 18 of the future packages. The wealthier Singaporeans do not have to insist that everyone receives the same benefits. I will speak more about the issue of how property appreciation has only benefited a small number of Singaporeans in my English speech later.”
“Mdm Speaker, please allow me to speak in Mandarin first. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] This year's Budget, especially the Pioneer Generation Package (PGP), was applauded by all the Members who have spoken. In my view, there are three main reasons why this unprecedented PGP received such strong support. Firstly, the $9 billion package could be funded totally by the 2014 Budget without burdening our future generations. Secondly, the Package is able to cover a major part of the Pioneer Generation's medical expenses for their entire life span, which is a big relief to them. Thirdly, the inclusiveness of the Package is a surprise to many. The Package covers the Pioneer Generation, regardless of whether you are a Page: 17 millionaire or a pauper. Soon after the announcement of the Package, a few Members and many Singaporeans started to ask, "Can we have other packages similar to the Pioneer Generation Package?" The second generation of pioneers may say, "While it is difficult to start a business, it is harder to keep it going; therefore, we also deserve a package for the generation who keep things going". In the end, how many packages can we afford? There is a need to manage people's expectations after we implement the PGP. Otherwise, we will fall into the same trap as Greece and Italy where the governments are having deep financial troubles. So, how do we manage the people's expectations? I want to lay out three principles as a basis for further consideration. Firstly, we need to be prudent and use our Budget surplus to pay for any new packages, similar to the PGP. We should not spend the money of our future generations.”
“I thank the Minister for State for her comprehensive reply. First of all, I would like to clarify that I support the DSA scheme in general because it provides the students with more options to choose a Secondary school without the PSLE scores. However, I am concerned about the DSA scheme. One of the concerns that I have is that it has unintended consequences. For example, some top schools not only manage to pick and choose the top students with the best academic results, these schools also manage to absorb students who excel in the area of sports but are less academically inclined, as revealed by the Minister of State. Ten percent of them have 30 points below the cut-off points. Perhaps these students could be better absorbed by the Sports School as they have this unique programme to develop both their academic as well as their sport talents. In my view, could MOE review whether some of the top schools could stop accepting sport students with PSLE scores 15 points below the cut-off points of the respective schools?”
“(In English): In conclusion, the usage of CLTP Act has evolved and is still relevant 59 years after it took effect in 1955. I applaud MHA's effort in taking pain to explain the relevance of the Act when it seeks Parliament's endorsement to extend its validity every five years. It is rightly so, as detention without trial is a departure from the norm in the view of a civilised society. However, it is important for MHA to share how the CLTP Act is applied by revealing the profile of the detainees and how the cases are reviewed objectively by the Advisory Committees to alleviate the fear of abuse by the law enforcement agencies. With that, I support the Bill. 4.34 pm”
“This showed that CLTP can be used in another area, that is, workers who work in the essential service industries have to comply with section 6 of CLTP before they go on strike. Under CLTP, four SMRT drivers were prosecuted, convicted and sent to jail. Singapore has reached a high level of living standard today; one important reason is our harmonious tripartite relations. MOM pays close attention to the well-being of our workers. This is something that everybody can see. If workers have any grievances, they can use the many existing channels to lodge their complaints with the Union or MOM. We cannot tolerate workers in the essential services industries to ignore the laws and do anything they wish to and damage Singapore's industrial relations. Just now, when I spoke in English, I said that we must continue implementing this Act to deal with organised criminal organisations, such as drug-trafficking syndicates, illegal moneylenders and secret societies. The illegal strike last year showed that CLTP, which has been in effect from 1955, is still relevant and necessary today. However, we need to have safeguards and make sure that this Act is not abused, especially under section 6. Can MHA consider reviewing this clause so that we keep up with the times? In this Internet age, is 14 days' notice period too short or too long? Although we Page: 71 have slowed down the growth of foreign workers, there are still many of them working in the essential services. I hope that MHA can work more closely together with MOM to educate them on the importance of harmonious tripartite relations, hence prevent similar incidents from happening again. Let me now use English to do a summary.”
“Next, on Advisory Committees, section 39 of the CLTPA allows the Minister to appoint one or more Advisory Committees each consisting of not less than two persons. From my understanding, MHA has appointed six Advisory Committees to examine every fresh order, issued by the Minister under section 30 of the Act, and also review existing Detention Orders every year. Mdm Speaker, the number of Advisory Committees does not necessarily equate with the number of safeguards. Section 40 of the Act empowers the Page: 70 Advisory Committee to summon and examine witnesses, to administer oaths or affirmations and to compel the production of documents. So, the question is: how often do the Advisory Committees summon and examine witnesses? Some could allege that people can be quite capable of writing reports to support a decision that has already been made. One could argue that the Advisory Committee may be prone to accept a well argued paper if they do not independently summon and examine witnesses to verify the arguments in the paper. I am not questioning the integrity and competency of the Advisory Committees. As mentioned by the Minister, they comprise of prominent private citizens "such as Justices of the Peace, senior lawyers, High Court Judges and community leaders." What I am advocating is that MHA could provide more information on how often the Advisory Committees meet and how often they summon and examine witnesses, so as to assure the public that the safeguards are adequate. Before I conclude, Mdm Speaker, allow me to continue my speech in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] On 26 and 27 November last year, some SMRT drivers staged an illegal strike.”
“Firstly, instead of releasing information on the number of detainees detained under the CLTPA every five years or as and when a Member of Parliament files a Parliamentary Question, may be MHA could consider issuing an annual report to inform the public on the number of detainees by nationality, the kind of criminal activities involved and duration of detention and so on. In particular, I am keen to know how many of the current detainees are foreigners and how many are detained for casino-related crimes or other crimes that are not directly related to secret society, drugs and loanshark syndicates. Just last Monday, one of my residents came to see me because he used to be a runner for an illegal moneylending syndicate and he was detained under section 30 of the CLTPA for four years. He claimed that he was supposed to be placed under the Police supervision for another three years after his release but he was discharged after 18 months due to good behaviour. From my conversation with him, it did not appear that he knew why he was detained for four years and not shorter. In the eyes of the detainee, he might feel that it is not justified for him to be detained without trial. For that matter, an unremorseful criminal might not feel that justice is done even if he is convicted in an open Court. So, it might be good for MHA to explain how the length of Detention Order is determined. Or how many times the Court Order is renewed? Does it correlate to the imprisonment terms of the offence if the detainee were to be charged in the open Court? Or does it correlate to the propensity that the detainee would commit the same offence again if he is released?”