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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“The Government could channel the monies from the fines imposed on the IRs for violating the rules under the Casino Control Act as well as some of the casino entry levies into this fund. This proposed anti-gambling fund could then, amongst others, (a) Fund the Police to buy more CCTVs or pay the local CCTV contractors more to install CCTVs urgently at residences that are harassed by legal and illegal moneylenders. (b) Pay for the ad hoc fees, such as the bankruptcy fees, which CDC and the various Government agencies are reluctant to fund or waive. (c) Provide quick relief money to family members affected by gambling addicts in the terms of food vouchers, utility and rental rebates, especially for deserving households with per capita income exceeding $550 but owed money to multiple legal and illegal moneylenders. The CDC is less willing to help this group of people due to the crude means-testing guidelines. (d) Provide more generous funding to programmes that benefit low-income families, especially low-income families with school-going children, of whom The Straits Times Pocket Money fund can only provide assistance for a year or so. The proposed anti-gambling fund can be administered by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPC) or the CDC. The main purpose is to provide additional funding over and above the budget of the Police, the CDC, Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office and the various Government agencies to better help Singaporeans that are affected by gambling ills. As the proposed anti-gambling fund is supported by fines imposed on IRs and casino entry levies, though I would not say it is easy money – tempted as I would be – perhaps one can be more generous and flexible in the usage of this kind of fund.”
“This resident's monthly income is about $1,200 and he has five children to feed besides the debt that he has to service. Naturally, he cannot afford the deposit. Thus, I wrote to Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office to request for the waiver of the deposit but it was to no avail. I wrote to CDC to ask to help him to pay the bankruptcy fee but they told me that they have constraints. Page: 1417 The second case is about raising funds for my residents who have recently shifted into two new rental blocks in my constituency. Many of these residents could not afford basic household appliances, such as refrigerators, stoves or even rice cookers. Quite a number of them are also affected by gambling ills. Thus, I decided to raise funds to help the rental flat residents and wrote to various organisations, including appeal letters to the Tote Board and the IRs. I have some successes from some individual donors but not the rest. One of the IRs replied to say that, "while your cause is an interesting and important one", however, they still refused to donate even a single cent despite earning more than $4 billion in 30 months. As for the appeal to the Tote Board, there was tremendous red tape. Even after multiple email exchanges for the past three months, Tote Board still could not commit to provide any funding. Sir, it is mind-boggling to say the least that despite collecting $195 million of casino entry levies in 2011 and $134 million in the first nine months of 2012, Tote Board is unable to help the Singaporeans in distress. Thus, I would like to urge the Minister to consider setting up an anti-gambling fund.”
“Currently, more than 75% of the MBS' revenue is derived from gaming activities while that of RWS is more than 80%. I am keen to know if the Minister is setting a target ratio of gaming revenue to non-gaming revenue for the IRs when they reach the mature state, which means that all the planned non-gaming facilities are operational within a promised timeframe. If not, would the Minister consider setting a target? Such a target is quantitative, objective and can be used to supplement the subjective measures used by the evaluation panel to form an opinion on the IRs. I was heartened by Minister of State Josephine Teo's reply to my Parliamentary Question on casino levy in July early this year. She said that the Government is "not short on the commitment to resourcing" anti-gambling measures and safeguards to be put in place. Following the reply, I went on to seek assistance from various organisations to help my residents who are distressed by gambling habits, gambling debts, and other debts from legal and illegal moneylenders. The journey of seeking help is not a smooth one and I would like to share the experience briefly with the House. The first case is about one resident of mine who is indebted to a number of legal and illegal moneylenders to the tune of $90,000. His family is constantly harassed by the legal and illegal moneylenders. Thus, I requested the Police to install CCTV outside his residence. However, I was made to understand that the waiting period could be a few months due to lack of resources and funding. In this case, Sir, despite my best efforts, the wait was almost two months. While waiting for the CCTV to be installed, this resident wanted to declare bankrupt but he was asked to pay a deposit of $1,600 to the Official Assignee.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Bill. Since the opening of the two Integrated Resorts (IRs) in 2010, they have contributed 1.5% to 2% of the GDP in Singapore. The two IRs have paid about $1.1 billion in taxes in FY2011 and have supported more than 60,000 jobs, 62,000 to be precise, as stated by the Second Minister for Home Affairs, throughout the economy. Based on two and a half years of financial results, Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and Resorts World Sentosa's (RWS) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation or EBITDA is about S$4 billion each. The two IRs are well on track to recover their entire investment of about S$6-7 billion each within the five years of operations or even earlier. If we rely solely on the economic figures, even the critics would agree that the two IRs are a success. Thus, I am not surprised that the Australians are trying to follow Singapore's footsteps to build a second casino in Sydney. Page: 1416 However, the two IRs also have to be socially responsible beyond the taxes that they have been paying. Thus, I applaud the Bill to amend the Casino Control Act on many levels. In particular, I support the new section 45A on the formation of the new evaluation panel to evaluate the casino's licence suitability for renewal. Renewal of the casino licence is conditional on the applicant's suitability to develop, maintain and promote the integrated resort of which the casino is a part. This will go a long way to ensure that the two IRs run the business on values of profit-orientation and social responsibility. Minister has repeatedly said that the casino is a small part of IRs. This may be true in terms of physical size, but it is not true in terms of revenue share.”
“Sir, I thank the Acting Minister for the reply. When I do the weekly house visits, I encounter quite a few families where the mothers have three or more children, and they are pregnant. They really hope to join the HOPE scheme. If we do not help these mothers, they will have problems bringing up the children. Without additional help, these children may not be able to do well in school and subsequently may not do well in society. This could create a vicious cycle. So, I hope the Acting Minister can review it earlier, rather than later.”
“To this end, I would urge the Minister to consider allowing personal data to be transferred to a third country only if that country provides an adequate level of protection, that is, at the country level rather than at the firm level. Page: 870 Lastly, I would like to ask the Minister whether the personal data and information collected during the house visits and walkabouts by fellow Members of the House, including myself, would fall under the purview of this Bill. I am of the opinion that the same standards and regulations should apply but I hope the Minister could elaborate. 5.44 pm”
“I suggest that the PDPC could take reference from the data protection legislation in the EU when drafting the guidelines. For example, the guidelines can require organisations to inform their customers or members of the public about the presence of CCTV on their premises. They should also make provision to protect the CCTV video recordings in their possession or under their control by having reasonable security arrangements to prevent unauthorised access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal and similar risks, as stated in clause 24 of the Bill. At the same time, it is advisable that an organisation should only release the CCTV recordings to public agencies, as defined in clause 2 of the Bill, and not to individuals, especially with regard to law and order issues such as allegation of thefts or assaults. This is because CCTV recordings, most of the time, may reveal images of other individuals which could be construed as personal data about these individuals and fall under the provision of clause 21, section (3)(c). On the issue of transfer of personal data outside Singapore, I am disappointed that the Bill does not sufficiently protect the consumer. Clause 26, section 1, states that an organisation shall not transfer any personal data to a country or territory outside Singapore except in accordance with requirements prescribed under the Bill. However, putting the onus on the organisations that collect the data in Singapore to ensure that a comparable standard of protection is accorded to the personal data transferred overseas is, in my view, asking a fox to mind the chicken coop. Organisations and businesses will be inclined to take the routes most beneficial to their own entities and bottom line.”
“While we protect the consumers, we also need to provide some safeguards to SMEs, so as to curb the cost of compliance. Section 3 of clause 11 mandates that an organisation must designate an individual to ensure that the organisation complies with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). For example, EU Data Protection Law stipulates that organisations with over 250 staff must employ one dedicated data protection officer. However, considering SMEs' limited resources, perhaps the Commission could consider establishing a consulting service to help SMEs to comply with the requirements of PDPA at affordable fees. Page: 869 In recent years, the technology of digital camera and video camera has improved drastically while the costs remain affordable. Consequently, more and more companies install surveillance camera on their premises to deter crime, help solve customer disputes, etc. At this point of time, I would like to declare my interest as I work in a Public Transport Organisation (PTO). We operate trains and buses that are installed with CCTV. I understand that video images recorded by surveillance cameras could be considered as personal data and come under the ambit of the Bill. I agree. Under clause 24 of the Bill, an organisation shall protect the video images which include taking steps to prevent the images from circulating on websites, such as YouTube, without prior authorisation. (In English): In the last part of my Mandarin speech, I said I am glad that video images recorded by the surveillance cameras are considered as personal data as the video images can identify an individual. I understand that the PDPC will be issuing guidelines on the application of the PDPA to the use of CCTV and surveillance cameras.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Bill. I will commence in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech on Pg 940.] The Personal Data Protection Bill comes at the right time. In today's Internet world, personal data can easily be stolen or misused by unscrupulous people. Singapore is unlike the EU, US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, where comprehensive consumer data protection laws are in force. Quite often, we receive uninvited calls, SMSes or emails trying to sell various products and services. The most annoying is a call like this: "xxx, you are our bank's valued customer; I call to recommend our newest insurance products/loans." Banks possess our personal data and they vow to keep the information confidential. However, the banks pass our mobile phone numbers to their agents and partners who in turn promote insurance products we usually do not need. I believe many Members of the House might have similar experiences! Therefore, the Do Not Call registry will be welcomed by many people. Clause 40 of the Bill stipulates that customer can apply and register his telephone number with the registry or to have the number removed from the registry in the form and manner determined by the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC). I hope that PDPC can simplify the application process. It would be ideal if we could allow consumers to apply through phone, using any of the four official languages, after simple authentication of identity. If the consumer subsequently decides to pull out, I suggest the application to remove his number from the registry has to be made in writing. We do not want unscrupulous people or organisations to take advantage of illiterate Singaporeans by persuading them to withdraw from the registry, or to withdraw on their behalf.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. I have one supplementary question for the Minister. We observe that there is an increasing number of Singaporeans in their 50s to 60s who have to support their even more elderly parents in their 80s and 90s. We want to know how MCYS can help this group of Singaporeans better because some of these Singaporeans also have to support their children in their education.”