Baey Yam Keng
Singapore
“Our next generation will have far greater opportunities to make their mark here. The Government will also guide them into the transport sector through scholarships, training and career development pathways, so that they can put their talents to good use and contribute to society.”
“I would say that the greening of bus stop roofs may not be something that is practical across all bus stops. I do not have the exact figures, but I am sure we must have tens of thousands of bus stops in Singapore. So, there is a cost element.”
“Based on earlier trials conducted by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), fans have a limited impact on the ambient temperature in an exposed bus stop environment. Commuter feedback from the trials was also unfavourable. Most bus stops are also shaded by surrounding buildings and trees, reducing the effectiveness of solar installations.”
“Certainly. Members would remember that over the years and decades, our bus stop designs have evolved. We have to take into consideration various factors, not just the comfort of commuters who are waiting there but also the practicality of sighting of buses coming ahead as well as maintenance, safety and different factors like that.”
“I thank Ms Gho for her concern for the arts and the artists. Indeed, it is part of our commitment to provide affordable, accessible spaces for artists and arts groups. We have announced last year that we are doing a study on how the arts spaces provision can be better improved and the study is ongoing.”
“Speaker, the median and maximum waiting time for pedestrians at signalised junctions are 120 seconds and 140 seconds respectively. Wait times for pedestrians depend on the nature of road, junction size and configuration, as well as prevailing traffic volume.”
The complete record
Every one of 912 lines we hold for Baey Yam Keng, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 18 of 19.
“I would like to thank the DPM for being so open about sharing the report because I think it would certainly lead to greater scrutiny and also more questions on report findings. So allow me to ask some minor detailed questions that I am sure members of the public would be very interested to know about. It centres around the clothes of Mas Selamat. I wonder if there is a SOP for the detainee to hand over his detention centre clothes when he changed into his civilian attire. The report noted that it believes that he was wearing two sets of clothes when he left the locker room. At this point in time, does it mean that the authorities cannot confirm that the detainee did return the detention centre clothes or not? The second question is, in the toilet, for a fellow male guard, he should know that a man does not need to take off his pants fully while doing business at the urinal. So when Mas Selamat flipped his pants on the ledge above the door, does that not lead to some suspicion on the guard's side? While I note that the guard is not encouraged to communicate with the detainee, I do not think it means that the guard need not have some common sense to be alert and to observe what the detainee that he is keeping watch over is doing. It appears that it is not just this particular guard on duty that day in the toilet who may not have this sense because I note that the report also mentioned that Mas Selamat had over time tested the reactions of the guards by closing the urinal door and that there had been a rotation of guards over these months. So it appears that these guards do not seem to be noticing such unusual behaviour by the detainee. My third and last question is about communications.”
“However, I would like to see more of the likes of MOE's reply in the Forum last April, which said that there is no age limit to the Adjunct Teachers Programme "as long as they are medically and physically fit to contribute effectively as a teacher." But there are still examples like the age limit of 70 for the application of driving licence, Classes 4, 4A and 5, with private driving instructors. I hope the Traffic Police and other Government bodies will identify the specific requirements, whether physical, medical, intel lectual or otherwise, and use them as qualifying criteria instead. Not all old people are sick, unfit or weak. Let us not use age as a convenient proxy.”
“Hence, we need to continue our efforts to enhance barrier-free accessibility in Singapore. There are also non-physical barriers, for example, many still have problems with our English-dominated society. I think the most important factor, the third factor, is the mindset. I met many elderly women who do not like to take pictures because they say, "lao chao bo already, not pretty anymore." So in this image-conscious botox society where we always see young fresh faces on TV and advertisements, I think we need to remind ourselves that old age is beautiful too. Wrinkles are lines of life and wisdom, nothing to be ashamed of. We should laugh more to enjoy our age, not despair and frown. Anyway, laughing and frowning both give us wrinkles. So let us take a more positive outlook in life and laugh more, irregardless of age. The society at large, and everyone of us, can play a part, especially as children and grandchildren. Besides supporting our elderly family members financially, we need to spend more time with them, bring them out more often, expose them to new things and new experiences in life. The Government can also play a part. Hence, I would like to ask the Minister on plans to promote active ageing in Singapore. Besides helping people to be active after retirement, we should also not use age to discriminate. We can have a minimum age for smoking, drinking and sex, but I would urge the Government to remove all maximum age limits in licensing requirements, where possible. I am glad that, in 2006, LTA raised the age limit for taxi drivers from 70 to 73 years.”
“Sir, my wife and I took a cruise holiday in Australia last year. We happily and proudly shared with other passengers, mostly local Australians, that we were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. But very soon, we were slightly embarrassed to realise that we were easily the least married among them! Many fellow passengers are senior citizens. A couple was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary while a man was celebrating his 90th birthday with his wife and family on the cruise. For many couples on the cruise, the cruise was part of a much longer and more physically demanding holiday where they spend three to six months driving a caravan around the country. Many of the passengers were also not that agile, fit or healthy. The 90-year old birthday boy is in a wheelchair and his wife uses a walking frame. However, their physical conditions have not deterred them from venturing beyond their homes and enjoying their lives. On the other hand, we see a different picture in Singapore. When statistics show that of those who are now 62 years old, half will live beyond 85 years old, many people do not believe it, as they say they do not see many old people around! The fact is there are indeed many old people around, just that they are mostly not very active and not seen. They are confining themselves to their homes and void decks because of physical limitations. Our senior citizens are indeed a lot less active compared to their counterparts in other countries. I think there are three main reasons. Financial stability is one. Hence, the call for us to do proper financial planning and save adequately for retirement needs is important. The environment also needs to be conducive for the elderly to go around. As we get older, our physical attributes decline.”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Singapore is a multi-racial society. I suggest that MOE compile a new set of teaching materials in order to enhance the interest of knowledge and understanding among all the races. Just to give an example, like the Chinese saying, “The same rice feeds a hundred types of people”. For example, our Malay nasi lemak, Indian nasi bryani and Chinese yang chow fried rice, all these are a dazzling array of food culture. Through our dialects, we can also learn about the Chinese culture. There is no need to expect our students to master these dialects as a subject, to ask that they can understand, read, or use the dialect in writing. But, at least, we need to teach them, to address uncles and aunties properly, according to seniority within the family, and not just use the generic terms. Even the local opera can become our teaching material. For example, Teochew and Hokkien opera, even their costumes, hairdo, makeup, musical accompaniment are part of our culture too. Other customs, such as the customary wedding ceremony, folk songs, names of our streets, for example, Teochew Street and Canton Street - these are part of the culture too. If we do not expose our young to our culture, one day all these will be lost. People will think that Hokkien people are just those who sell Hokkien fried noodles, and the Hainanese people are those who sell chicken rice. So it need not be too elaborate, just briefly will do, and make it more lively so that it can stimulate and develop our interest towards other races, and enrich our understanding and promote harmony among the races. *Cols. 2041-2042.”
“While we should move with changing times, adopt new technologies, while most Singaporeans will be able to catch up in tandem and benefit from the greater efficiency, I urge the Government to continue sparing a thought for this minority group and make provisions for face-to-face service points, even if it will not be the most productive and efficient use of financial and manpower resources. Sovereign Wealth Funds – Investments by GIC and Temasek”
“Madam, Singapore has been ranked top internationally in terms of provision of Government services online. This is indeed a great achievement, in line with worldwide trend and increasing computer literacy of our population. As a user myself, I enjoy the convenience provided by the SingPass. I understand Ministries and Government departments are assessed on the availability of their services online and their utilisation rate. To boost the utilisation rate, I am not sure if services are only made available online and other channels are removed. Is this a key performance indicator in the public service? Are there services to date which have been removed or made inaccessible through other means? During the GST Offset Package registration period last year, thousands of Singaporeans thronged CPF offices during the last few days. According to a Zaobao report, many of them are senior citizens. They have chosen to queue up at the counters personally, some even with walking difficulties, to sign up or just to confirm that they have signed up. I suspect among the 4% of eligible citizens who have signed up then, as reported, or about 100,000 of them, a fair proportion of them are computer illiterate. No matter how Internet-savvy Singaporeans become, as with any society, there will always be a group of people, either elderly, disabled, poor or lowly educated who will not use the Internet, or will not find using the computer an accessible and convenient experience. They will need human service personnel to help them.”
“Sir, I refer to SMS's response about national branding. I think branding is not just about a marketing or PR exercise. Many times, we have valid reasons to stand firm on our positions on certain matters, for example, the conditions that foreigners are not allowed in the Complaints Choir performance. We are upholding the principle that foreigners should not interfere in our domestic policies but the public outcry and negative international visibility seem to do us more discredit. So how does the Ministry strike a balance between these matters and the potential negative impact on Singapore's national branding?”
“If we allow some informative or even entertainment programmes to use dialects, our senior citizens could have a better understanding of what is happening in Singapore. Now that our people are ageing and many of them are living longer, I think we should also provide for their enjoyment besides financial adequacy. With today’s technology, we could even broadcast Hong Kong drama serials in dual sound. When the Speak Mandarin Campaign was launched in 1979, the slogan was “Speak More Mandarin, Use Less Dialects” but with the changing environment, the slogan is now “Mandarin Cool”. I think Mandarin will continue to be cool, but dialects need not be frozen! *Cols. 1585-1586. TV and Radio Licences”
“[For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] Sir, the movie "881" received overwhelming support by the people, because people liked the very strong local flavour and could find resonance with the Hokkien songs and dialect composition. In fact, dialect is not just the language for scolding or abusing each other; in fact, it is also an art, a culture, a heritage. "881" has represented Singapore in the Oscars award for Best Foreign Language Film, but it cannot be aired over our Channel 8 or Channel U. And even the popular Hokkien song, "Half for you, half for me" cannot be heard over our radio. In 2003, the Programme Advisory Committee recommended for the restriction on dialect programmes on our mass media to be relaxed but MICA turned down the recommendation saying that it would affect the usage of Mandarin. In fact, in 2005, less than 3% of our Chinese population aged between five and 20 cited dialect as the most frequently used language at home. And even for those aged between 20-30, the figure was less than 14%. Honestly speaking, dialects cannot be resurrected as it was before in Singapore. It has very little impact on our learning of Mandarin. So, should we kill dialects and eradicate them? I think we should give them some breathing space. Many of my elderly residents in Queenstown do not know Mandarin. Fortunately, I can speak Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese. So, I can communicate with our older residents. Many of them cannot understand Government schemes, especially those designed to help them. They cannot understand because it was not explained to them in their own dialects or languages. Currently, we only allow short news bulletins in dialects on 95.8FM and Chinese opera programmes on TV.”
“Sir, to promote a culture of design, the public must appreciate good design. One of the ways is to expose the public to good design. The most effective way is to have good design in our public areas. As the largest investor in public amenities, the Government can make the greatest impact on public design quotient. While MICA promotes enterprises to leverage on design as a competitive edge, does the Ministry also advocate that basic aesthetical standards are met during the Government procurement processes and how so? Besides functionality and ease of use, aesthetics should also be considered. For example, public amenities, such as our taxi stands, post boxes, litter bins, ERP gantries and even the humble tables and benches in the HDB void deck, can literally be works of art. Good design does not necessarily mean higher costs or come at the expense of usability. Sometimes, it is just a matter of choice with an eye for aesthetics. For example, the facade of the old Hill Street police station, now the MICA Building, was immediately transformed with the choice of rainbow colours for its many windows. Another good design I have noticed are the street lamps along Esplanade Bridge. I would like to encourage people to pay special attention and enjoy the beauty. As Singapore becomes more international with big events and we welcome more tourists to Singapore, good designs will also showcase our urban landscape. Media”
“Sir, what people thought was a huge Christmas tree turned out to be Singapore's tallest public sculpture at Finlayson Green. Everyday, on my way to work, I see this 18.35-metre tall sculpture by Israeli sculptor, David Gerstein. It depicts an upward spiral of progress capturing the energy and momentum of the district, and this gives me a sense of purpose at the start of my working day. The public sculpture donation scheme was established in 1988, to provide tax incentives to corporations and individuals who donate a sculpture to the nation. It used to be a tax exemption up to 100% of the value of the sculpture. From 2002, the exemption was increased to 200%, and I applaud that. However, the incentive requires the company or individual to give up ownership of the sculpture. On the other hand, there are tax incentives for owners who want to retain ownership of the public sculpture but the tax exemption is limited to expenses for the installation and maintenance of the sculpture. To encourage more public sculpture on the streets of Singapore for the enjoyment of the public, I would like to suggest that this lesser incentive scheme be enhanced to cover up to 100% of the value of the art work. I think that as long as there are conditions to require public access to the art work and the owner is not allowed to remove or change the sculpture, the ownership issue should not be critical. What is important is that the public can access and appreciate good art works. At the same time, the Government could also save on maintaining the sculpture.”
“I am sure, with this enhancement, the artists will feel very much encouraged and this will give a lot more meaning to the 20 international award winners last year, beyond just a statistical entry to a key performance indicator for public agencies. Exporting World-class Local Arts Talents and Productions”
“According to the answer by MCYS to my Parliamentary Question (PQ) last month, I quote, "The purpose of the MAP award is to recognise our athletes' individual and team efforts and sacrifices in training intensively at the elite level and attaining medal honour for the country." The answer also reminded that the award should be viewed as part of a comprehensive support and recognition framework for our athletes. I totally agree. Just like we have the School of the Arts now to develop young arts talents and there are the Cultural Medallion and Young Artists Awards to honour artists, there are similarities in the Sports School and the National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards. I would like MICA to consider initiating some kind of official reward system for our artists when they win a prestigious international award. The quantum of the award is not important. However, the gesture will be very significant in terms of recognising the dedication, hard work and achievement of our artists. A simple awards ceremony will also create the opportunity and interest for the media to report on, hence raising greater awareness in the public. It will also serve as a motivation for aspiring artists to persevere in the artistic journey. Just like the Multi-Million Dollar Award programme, it only recognises medals in the Southeast Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games, and maybe the Youth Olympic Games in the future. The National Arts Council should also identify selected established international awards for the various arts disciplines. We can start with a limited range, with an award each for dance, theatre, music, literary and visual arts.”
“Sir, Megan Zheng, the child actress of local move, "Home Run", won Best Newcomer at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards, Oscars of the Chinese movie industry, in 2003. Another Jack Neo movie, "Just Follow Law", was nominated for Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Visual Effects at the same Awards last year. Another local movie, "881", was also accepted as Singapore's selection for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2007. These are news that many people would have learnt about in the media. The National Arts Council has a target of 25 international awards by Singapore artists as a performance indicator. The number achieved was 20 in 2007. I doubt many people would have heard or knew about any of these 20 award winners last year, or of the 25 international award winners to be known this year, assuming that we hit the target set. I think if things do not change, this would be the scenario. Many artists and arts groups have given feedback that when they received international awards overseas for their works and achievements, they often do not get attention in Singapore. Here, we have a Singapore son or daughter coming home doing the country proud, but there is no pat on the shoulder. The trophy is left on the shelf in the child's bedroom, collecting dust. Let us look at and learn from another sector, the sports sector. The Singapore National Olympic Council initiated the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme in 1991 as an incentive for athletes to win medals at four major international and regional games. The Singapore Totalisator Board and Asia Pacific Breweries are sponsors for these awards.”
“Many of them came and they said, "I do not like the facing, I do not like the floor, I do not like this, I do not like that, I do not want it." So they went off. And that is the reason why we still have spare flats available. So when we hear such stories, when your constituents come to you, ask them whether they have tried other places, have they tried BTO in Sengkang. "Are you prepared to take a different kind of flat, a smaller flat?", and so on and so forth. Probe them deeper and if they really need a flat desperately, suggest to them to buy a resale flat. I think that is a realistic option and, as the reporter said, they have to consider other possibilities and do not just blindly restrict their options.”
“Then they probed further and they discovered that among these 250, four out of five of them, applied only for flats in the established towns. In other words, they do not want Sengkang or Punggol. They do not want Jurong West. They only want Bukit Merah. They only want Tiong Bahru. They only want Telok Blangah. They are not interested in everything else. So they kept on applying. You just do the mathematics. If you have 10,000 queuing up for 200 flats, what are your chances of getting it? Even if I give you four tickets, what are your chances? And this is really the issue. And that is why I have been repeatedly advising these young couples: are you really in need of a flat? If you are really in need of a flat very urgently, please consider a resale flat because you can get resale flats anywhere in Singapore. And if you tell me, "Oh, it is too expensive", I ask you again, "What is your budget?" If you cannot buy a five-room flat in a mature estate, because it costs so much money, then consider Toa Payoh, which this reporter that I cited did. She bought a Toa Payoh flat, zero cash over valuation. Or if you are not interested in Toa Payoh, then maybe you can consider Tampines or Woodlands. Or Yishun. Anywhere. So if you are really desperate, this is your option. But if you can wait and you want a new flat, there is another option for you, try for the BTO. There is a good chance you will get it. However, if you say you only want above fourth floor, above fifth floor, above sixth floor, then again we are back to square one. I am sorry. And this is what has happened. That is the reason why when we had 500 flats in the BTO we had 1,000-over people applying but, in the end, only 400 people booked a flat. What happened?”
“Then, when the financial crisis hit, the 147,000 people disappeared. By which stage, HDB already had 20,000 flats built. Where were the buyers? "Sorry, you know, we are not interested anymore." "But I thought you said you were interested?" "Oh, no, we were just queuing." And that is the reason why we said no more. That was not the real demand, so we went for the BTO system. So the question is: is this a "tikam-tikam "? No. In the case of the recent BTOs that we have launched, everybody who wants a flat is able to get a flat. In fact, there are flats still left over. As I have said, there are 700 flats still left over from recent BTO exercises. So nobody needs to "tikam-tikam". They can go to HDB and they can actually register for a flat, say, in Sengkang or Punggol. So where is the balloting issue? The balloting problem comes from those who are balloting for the small limited number of flats in the mature estates. 10,000 balloting for 300, right? And then another maybe 8,000 balloting for 200 flats. That is where the problem arises. So I asked HDB to check, because this was a very constant feedback. Many young couples said, "I ballot five times, six times, I cannot get, you know "tikam-tikam ", what am I going to do?". So I asked HDB whether this is true. This is what they told me. In the last six years, 250 first-timers, not 10,000, who applied for a flat in more than four HDB sales exercises were repeatedly unsuccessful. That means 250 people were unsuccessful for at least four times. This is less than one percent of the first-timer applicants applying for a new HDB flat. So I said how can that be? What has happened? Surely people are not telling me lies.”
“Sir, the Minister mentioned earlier that the queuing system for new HDB flats was abolished to ensure real demand of the flats. If I am correct, she mentioned BTO and other major schemes where Singaporeans can get flats directly from HDB and it is basically based on balloting and element of luck. So although there are priorities given to first-timers and to people who want to live near their parents, there are many people who have just been unsuccessful many, many times because they are just unlucky. So I always tell them to just go and "tikam" again. But for many couples who want to get married, and marriage is not a "tikam-tikam ", they are really facing a lot of uncertainty that affects their plans to settle down. So the previous queuing system, I remember the Minister saying that it is a longer wait for people but at least that gives them some indicative certainty of when a flat is coming and when they can make plans to get married and settle down. I would like to urge the Ministry to consider fine-tuning the system so that we can give better certainty to couples waiting to buy a flat from HDB. Mr Mah Bow Tan: First of all, the queuing system for the HDB flats that we used in the 90s, the Registration for Flats System, it required somebody to just show up, pay a small sum of money and then join the queue. At one stage, the length of the queue was 147,000 people. Let me repeat that: 147,000 people. I did not believe it when I first saw the number. People were just queuing up. And at the rate of building flats - let us just say we built 20,000 flats a year - we were talking about seven or eight years' waiting. In trying to be responsive, HDB saw that this was the queue - 147,000 people were waiting for flats - so they started building. So they built, and they built.”
“I think we need to get various Ministries and agencies to work quickly and efficiently together, especially on matters where the boundaries are not too clear. We have heard a very sound Budget to provide resources for key focus areas which will help Singapore create and open new doors of opportunity. Equally, if not more important, is in using these resources to deliver public services. The "No Wrong Door" policy needs to be better manifested, I think, both in practice as well as in spirit. Perhaps our Government should allow and encourage greater autonomy and empowerment such as the system practised at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Employees there are given a certain budget and operational leeway in the interest of customer satisfaction, speed and efficiency. They only need to report and justify later. But this requires a certain level of trust in the staff's ability to assess and judge a situation and their integrity. I like Minister Teo Chee Hean's idea of "Many Agencies, One Government" in his speech at the PS21 Star Service Award Ceremony last year. May I be bold to suggest an add-on: Many Agencies, One Government, Total Service. With this, I support the Budget. *Cols. 715-716. 5.43 pm”
“A bird handler arrived but, after reviewing the situation, he said he needed AVA's approval to deal with the birds. So it was back to the first agency that Mr Lau called. Finally, the two birds were collected at about 6 pm, eight hours after the eagles first landed. While this may be something that will only happen once in a blue moon, however, it took many phone calls and hours of anxiety before the birds were removed. Imagine two huge birds of prey, standing at least one foot tall with razor-sharp beaks and claws, in your own balcony. Could there be any danger of the birds diverting their personal dispute to the residents or what if they had carried the bird flu virus? Well, that might bring in another Ministry, MOH, and I am not sure whether there would be a quicker resolution or a longer merry-go-round. As it ended up, one eagle was dead and the other was still alive. To give it the benefit of the doubt, I suppose the agency had wanted to provide a complete solution and did not want a situation where NEA just collects the carcass and AVA takes care of the injured bird. Perhaps with a Group CEO now at Wildlife Reserves Singapore, arrangements between the Zoo and Bird Park would be more seamless now. To be fair too, not all fingers in this pie were all Government bodies. But many people do have the experience of calling a Government body and gets sent around in a merry-go-round, sometimes even within the same organisation. In trying to make sure that no child becomes nobody's child, the situation has become overly stringent - the father is now insisting that the child must go for DNA testing before accepting his responsibility as a parent.”
“(In English ): The Government is made up of many departments to provide different public duties. We are well known for our efficiency and effectiveness. Having worked in the Government myself, I know that we are very good at defining responsibilities and demarcating duties, ensuring that every single area is well taken care of. Therefore, every situation requiring the attention of public agencies is well thought through, with a specific agency being held accountable for. We now see more and more multi-Ministry committees being set up to address complex issues. While there could well be a networked Government at the policy level, it is typically the execution at various working levels where the public as the end customer will experience the desired outcome. If this is not done properly, the consequence can be greater bureaucracy and a situation that every department becomes very territorial and hesitates to take responsibility for grey areas. Just last month, the papers reported a very rare incident. Two eagles fought in the air and fell onto a balcony in Jalan Kayu one morning. The resident, Mr Chris Lau, called MND and was directed to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA). He was advised to call the National Environment Agency (NEA) which referred him back to AVA as it concerned wildlife. He was told that NEA only collects dead animals. Apparently, the resident could not be sure whether the two motionless birds were alive, dying or already dead. So he called AVA again, which then arranged for the waste collection contractor to clear the birds. The worker turned up but took off after seeing the birds. The resident decided to call the Singapore Zoological Gardens, but the zoo said they do not deal with birds, and referred him to call the Jurong Bird Park.”
“] A nation's heritage can be showcased in different expressions and methods. For example, the Chinese opera embodies the essence of the Chinese culture. But, due to a lack of dialect-speaking environment and funding from the Government, almost all the local Chinese opera troupes are amateurish in nature. Although many people are interested in Chinese opera, nobody has hopes of reviving the heyday. One day, what remains of Chinese opera might just be an exhibit in the museum. There are many things in our life that can be considered as cultural heritage, even a tree. For instance, the 80-year old Angsana tree at Braddell Road. The tree was growing well until it was found to be in the middle of an expanded road and causing obstruction to the project. In 2005, LTA accepted the recommendation of the National Parks Board to construct a detour in order not to chop down the tree, costing LTA about $200,000. However, things took a twist two years later when the authorities decided to chop down the tree due to safety considerations for reckless motorists. Nevertheless, I applaud the authorities’ recognition of the value of an old tree. Broadly speaking, both Chinese opera and the old tree can be considered part of our cultural heritage. LTA can spend $200,000 to conserve an old tree, which is not a significant expenditure compared to billion-dollar MRT projects. Yet, I believe that the most local Chinese opera troupes have never received equivalent funding from the National Arts Council or the National Heritage Board. Let’s not even talk about how to bring Chinese opera to greater heights. Between conserving an old tree and preserving our rich cultural arts heritage, I hope the Government can strike a better balance.”
“Besides the Singapore Arts Festival, there are various CDC arts festivals and the Singapore Youth Festival by MOE. Apart from NAC grants which support artists and arts groups, MCYS supports the PA Talents, and the Music and Drama Company under the SAF has produced many pioneers in the local entertainment industry like Jack Neo, Najib Ali, Glen Goei and T'ang Quartet. The Singapore Youth Orchestra, financed by the MOE, also creates a talent pipeline for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. MTI, through the STB, provides marketing support for major arts events which bring in tourists. Another big supporter of the arts, the LTA, launched the largest public art programme in 2004. The North East Line Art in Transit programme integrated art by 19 Singaporean artists, like Cultural Medallion winners such as the late Chua Ek Kay, Goh Beng Kwan, Tan Swie Hian and Teo Eng Seng, into the architecture and finishing of 16 MRT stations. Therefore, I would not be surprised if the combined amount of money spent by these various Ministries and agencies exceeds the NAC's, and maybe even the MICA's budget. The Government is doing more work than it may seem to promote the arts. But, of course, I hope more can be done for the arts. I would like the Government to consider re-packaging the way it reports on its expenditure and achievements. It should not matter that credit is shared to the benefit of another Ministry or credit is claimed for areas not necessarily part of a Ministry's desired outcomes. However, for some areas, there appears to be a discrepancy between the resources allocated due to different relativity of respective Ministry's overall budget. Mdm Deputy Speaker, I would now elaborate this point in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.”
“Perhaps we can also add the size of the budget surplus as another factor, so that people are able to see the basis of the ang pow and the direct linkage between the state of the economy and what they receive. With such a formula, there could be less complacency, less debate on the quantum of the money given out, less misunderstanding that it is given out at the Government's whim and fancy and, hopefully, a greater sense of ownership in the country's economic well-being. Another option is to share part of this surplus only before each term of the Government ends, ie, before each General Election. It could also be a good proxy to the report card of the ruling party seeking for another term of office from the electorate. Some people will, of course, accuse this as pre-GE sweeteners, but I see this as a reasonable way to end a term of the Government and to share part of the cumulative surpluses before closing the books. Sometimes we take a good government for granted and give it less credit than it deserves. The work of the government is often underrated. I am not sure if this has to do with the way the Ministries' achievements and performances are tracked and reported. For example, people would usually look at the work of MICA or National Arts Council as a total Government support for the arts and, unfortunately, the common perception is that the level of Government support is rather limited. Does this really paint the full picture? There are other Ministries whose main responsibility is not the arts, but they do support and promote the arts in their own way. Just to name a few examples: MCYS, through People's Association, supports many arts events and courses through the grassroots and CCs.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, the Singapore Government is probably the only one in the world that gives out cash " ang pows" on its Budget Day. The reason is not because Budget Day is always around the Chinese New Year period, but because we have a prudent Government which can generate surpluses and a caring one which wants to share some surplus with its citizens. This year, it has been a good Budget where most Singaporeans get something. In fact, for the past few years, we have New Singapore Shares, Progress Package, GST Credits, Workfare Income Supplement and the latest Growth Dividends, just to name some. I support the consistent principle of targeting more help towards the low income groups and the elderly, who are the most vulnerable in our society. However, most people are confused over the acronyms and what exactly each scheme meant to serve. There are people who happily take the GST offset package, spend it immediately on something and continue to complain about the 2% increase in the GST. Of course, I am happy if people do not need the Budget ang pows to survive. However, I am worried if people are beginning to take the ang pows for granted. I am worried if people just look at the dollar figure they receive, rejoice when it is more than last year's and lament if it is a smaller windfall. Are we breeding an unhealthy expectation of Budget ang pows? How would people react to a Budget without any ang pows? The Government may want to consider a simple and direct formula. For example, we can model it along the same way as the bonus of the administrative service is structured, as a percentage of GDP growth. We should also retain the priority towards the needy and the elderly who will receive more.”
“Sir, I understand that the lyrics of this song were created through workshops with mainly Singaporeans, facilitated by the foreigners. I would like to ask whether the Ministry took into consideration this genesis process, the substance, tone and intention of the lyrics in this case, and how have all these factors influenced the decision. The second question: are we extrapolating that in programmes on our national TV and radio, articles in local newspapers and content in the mass media, foreigners are prohibited from making comments regarding domestic policies?”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister: compared to the previous adjustment of taxi fares, are we seeing a longer period of transition time that passengers and taxi drivers are adjusting to the new fares before the situation stabilises? My second question: in the review of the national transport policy, would taxi fares be included in this review?”
“Last week, a resident came to my meet-the-people session and said that she is happy that the Government is retaining section 377A. I asked her, "Do you know what section 377A is about?" She said, "I don't know." I am happy to note that both the proposition and the opposition have spoken publicly and rationally. Hopefully, the Government will provide the environment to encourage the continuation of such dialogue so that the society at large can achieve a better understanding of the matter. I want to especially encourage voices from institutions, like the Law Society, so that this discussion will not be driven to periphery. Hopefully, the discussion will be ongoing and not just during the next review of the Penal Code. Hopefully, the review will happen earlier rather than another 23 years later. Hopefully, we will move with and not play catching up with the pace of change around the world that is affecting people's lives. Sir, with that, I support the Bill. *Cols. 2467-2468. 3.09 pm”
“Perhaps I have not been to the right places, but I have not indeed seen anyone before my eyes. Perhaps we are afraid that the slope will be more slippery in Singapore. After all, we have a track record of taking a more progressive stance in some areas, such as stem cell research and digital rights, leading the way, so to speak. We take into account the change of times and lifestyles. For example, section 376E on sexual grooming of minors is farsighted nip in the bud. Times have changed and our attitudes towards different crimes and their punishments have evolved as well. Should the law reflect the general or popular opinion or should it set up a framework to steer the way of thinking and behaviour of its citizens, residents and visitors? It is clear that we have chosen to take the former approach in this case. I do recognise that in today's situation, there is already an existing Act, and the debate is whether it should be retained or repealed and not whether we should introduce a new Act. We have inherited section 377A from the British. It is easier and, as the Senior Minister of State said, more practical to maintain the status quo than to change it. Because of the extensive and, some may say, polarised debate, we may not be ready to repeal the Act now. However, whether the perceived majority holding the status quo view has enough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter to make an informed opinion, is another question. I suspect a significant segment of our society does not really care and some are just uncomfortable with this topic and choose the convenient way to stick with the status quo without knowing what the Act exactly is and does.”
“Some of the parents chose to run away from reality and one of my friend's mother had gone to the temple to pray, she came back with a charm mixed with water, with the hope that after drinking it, it will cure the son. They do not know what to do and some of them even chase their son out of the house, but if they were to take time to think it through calmly, I do not believe that they will charge their son in court and send him to prison for two years. I have a friend who is the only child in the family. His mother still could not fully accept the fact that her son does not have any interest in the opposite sex. She was more worried that her son may be sentenced to jail being a homosexual. However, she is the person that knows him best, she knows that her son is very filial and obedient; he is a law-abiding citizen and a successful professional. Also, she has known the "boyfriend" of her son for many years and knows they do not have a promiscuous lifestyle. As parents, we are often the best judges of our children's character. Having a different sexual orientation from the others does not mean that they have committed a heinous crime and therefore should be criminalised. (In English): Back to my hypothetical scenario, we will also say that we introduce section 377A as a symbol that the society is conservative and that we do not want to go down a slippery slope to see public display of affection between men, the fight for gay rights and gay marriages. For seven years, I have lived in London, a city that legalised consensual homosexual sex 40 years ago in 1967. I am hence surprised to recollect my time there and I have not ever seen any such behaviour or intimacy between two men in public whilst I was there.”
“Sir, I will now continue my speech in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *. ] As the Chinese saying goes, 不孝有三，无后为大（Bu Xiao You San, Wu Hou Wei Da）which means, "There are three unfilial acts, the greatest is not to have a son." This is an important concept in a traditional and oriental society like ours. Parents are hoping that their sons will have wives and their daughters will be married, and the children also understand that it is an obligation for them to get married and have children. Nevertheless many people choose to marry late, not to get married, or not to have children, and for some it remains solely a personal choice. There are many reasons, but one reason is that they are homosexuals. I have some homosexual friends and most of them do not want to make public the fact about their sexual inclination, because Singapore is after all a more conservative society. They will only confide with their close friends, colleagues and siblings. More often than not, parents are the last to know. Especially for those who are male homosexuals, the gays, they will not be able to have children and they do not know how to live up to their parents' expectations. A friend of mine did not have the courage to tell his parents. And only after his father had passed away that he disclosed his secret at his father's coffin. Even now the mother does not know about it. When parents find out that their children do not like the opposite sex, their immediate reaction is that of shock, sadness, shame, anger or remorse, and they try to find out what has gone wrong - why their children had become homosexuals.”
“I do know quite a number of homosexual men and women. However, the majority, if not all of them, do not fall into any of those abovementioned stereotype categories. Well, they include some very talented and creative people - a common impression of gays which many have said is totally unfounded. These are the directors, actors, hairstylists and designers. But I also know many gay men who are just your average men on the street, making a living as lawyers, lecturers, engineers, accountants, bankers, teachers and civil servants. I know they have different sexual practices from me, and I have treated them just as any other person. Now, I am reminded that perhaps I should see them as criminals who should spend time behind bars. Perhaps, the thousands of audience who paid as much as $400 to watch Sir Ian McKellen, better known as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, playing King Lear, in July, might think twice now as he is an openly gay man and hence should object to allowing a criminal on the stage of our Esplanade. There are negative and positive steps a country can do to discourage and encourage certain behaviours. For example, we do not want to condone smoking and drinking. These acts are not criminal under the law, although we have made tobacco and alcohol less accessible and a lot more expensive. We want to promote marriage and procreation. Hence, singles do not enjoy certain tax and housing benefits, but they are not jailed. We may be utterly surprised, disappointed, embarrassed, disgusted and angry with our friends, our colleagues and our relatives if we find out they are gay. I will be saddened if my son is gay, because I realise I will not have any grandchildren by him. I may choose to disown him, but now we are saying that he should be jailed.”
“With no proactive enforcement, should anyone be a good citizen and report private gay sexual activities to the police or will they be simply ignored? Will there be ramifications of this legislation? If someone rents his apartment to a gay couple, will he be charged as an abetting accomplice to a crime under section V of the Penal Code? Besides valid immigration and employment papers, should landlords now ask for confirmation of their tenant's sexual orientation? With a punishment by up to two years of imprisonment, we are deeming that such activities are of similar severity as causing death by negligent act in section 304A(b), and wrongfully confining any person for three or more days in section 345, and assault or use of criminal force to a person with intent to outrage modesty in section 354(1). Our justification will also be supported by various surveys, including a NTU study published in September 2007 which saw that 68.6% of respondents in Singapore were negative towards sex between two men or two women. However, it is also interesting to note that some countries choose not to reflect such social non-acceptance in legislation. Based on the Pew Global Attitudes Project in 2003, 93% in Indonesia and 84% in Vietnam say that homosexuality should not be accepted by society, but these countries have no equivalent of section 377A. I assume most Singaporeans do not have many gay acquaintances. We are likely to gather our knowledge and form our opinions of the homosexual world from media reports. I believe certain stereotypes of homosexuals in people's minds will include effeminate men, like Boy George, men who prey on young boys, eg, Christopher Neil, flamboyant men who seem to lead decadent lifestyles, like Elton John, and AIDS patients, like Paddy Chew.”
“In this hypothetical scenario, perhaps some countries like India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Malaysia will also introduce similar Acts, as what their current position is. Other former British colonies which have since repealed the 19th century law, such as Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, will most likely not think it is necessary to now criminalise man-to-man sex. While almost all western countries do not have similar laws, we will argue that it is not relevant for us to take reference from them. However, we are also choosing not to benchmark Singapore against countries like China, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines which do not have laws that criminalise male homosexual activity. According to various points raised by the public, by not criminalising gay sex, it will lead to an increase in homosexual activity, both in public and private. There will also be more male paedophiles eyeing young boys, blatant public solicitation and more AIDS patients. The fact that in 2006, of all the new AIDS cases in Singapore, homosexual transmission constitutes only 26% does not seem to register clearly with the public. We also know that there are already laws and there will be stronger laws against prostitution, sexual abuse, exploitation of minors and public indecency. Maybe that is why we will propose that section 377A need not and will not be proactively enforced. Can the Senior Minister of State give examples of situations where specific enforcement of only section 377A may be needed? Yesterday, he mentioned previous convictions under section 377A, but it seems to me that they could also have been prosecuted under other sections.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Bill. After more than two decades, the overhaul of the Penal Code is necessary and timely. The updated Code will enable us to deal more effectively with the shifts in the nature and operation of crimes, fulfil our new requirements for social stability and national security, and empower us to keep up with new lifestyles, attitudes and aspirations. New laws and penalties have been introduced to deal with crimes which have emerged. Technological advances and globalisation necessitate such sweeping changes. The issues covered are indeed wide-ranging. The section that has attracted the most number of opinions, most heated public debate, with two online petitions and one Public Petition to Parliament is, in fact, one that has been retained - section 377A which probably has become the most known piece of legislation in recent Singapore history. Let us look at this issue in a hypothetical scenario. Singapore was never a British colony and we did not inherit section 377A. Today's debate then becomes one of justifying the introduction of a new piece of legislation which states that, "It is an offence for any male person, who in public or private, commits an act of gross indecency with another male person.". The rationale will be that since Singapore is a generally conservative society, we should single out and criminalise all sexual activities between two men while accepting that the same activity of anal and oral sex between a heterosexual couple and sexual activity between two women need not be offences. By doing so, we will be aligning our law with most countries in Africa and Middle East.”
“In fact, I was in Estonia in 2000 and they have a very good system for tourists where you can actually check the route from point A to point B with integration of various public transport systems. If Estonia could do it in 2000, we should be able to do it. It will bring only real benefits to commuters if MRT and bus systems are fully integrated in the system.”
“Sir, I heard the Minister saying that we will be launching an electronic planner, but he mentioned that only two bus operators will be involved with this. What about the MRT?”
“Sir, this is a question for the Parliamentary Secretary. In the promotion of sporting culture and high participation in sports, accessibility to sports facilities should be important and key. In providing funding for NSAs and in setting their KPIs, how does the Ministry differentiate between those which have easy access to almost free facilities, for example, athletes can always jog any time anywhere, basketball courts which are available in many neighbourhoods built by town councils, versus those which have to pay much to rent or hire facilities to practise, for example, volleyball. For this, I have to declare my interest as the President of the Volleyball Association of Singapore.”
“Some have an altruistic desire to be socially responsible corporate citizens, some do it for good name, and others may be motivated by tax reasons, eg, the double tax deduction when they are registered as IPCs. There are also companies which set up their own charity arms where their own corporate financial resources are dedicated to philanthropic causes. In these cases, where no public money is raised, there should be less stringent regulations for these corporate charities. Sir, I do hope that the Ministry could look into ways not to impose unnecessary restrictions but to give greater incentives to encourage companies to be more proactive in corporate philanthropy.”
“Sir, I need to declare that I work for CapitaLand which has a charity arm - CapitaLand Hope Foundation focusing on underprivileged children. With the recent episodes of NKF and Youth Challenge, it is timely that a Commissioner of Charities is appointed with the support of the Charity Council. It is necessary to require charities to practise good governance and provide transparency in order to reinstill confidence in the public. In the spirit of the 3P approach where the public, private and the people sectors can all play a part, we need to find ways to encourage greater philanthropy in the society with the Government playing a leading or catalytic role. Based on a piece of research by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) on the landscape of giving in Singapore, over 18 months between 2004 and 2005, corporate philanthropy in the private sector constitutes a miserable 12% compared to individual and grant makers' contributions at 46% and 42% respectively. In the list of about 2,000 registered charities, I did an estimate of the number of corporate charities crudely based on whether the names have a linkage to a company's name, I can only find not more than 10 names. This represents less than half a per cent of all charities. NVPC's corporate giving survey in 2004 also shows that Singapore's corporate gave 0.22% of its pre-tax profit to charity, which is a lot lower than the 1-2% in the US, UK and Canada. With many Singapore companies achieving record profits, we should find ways to encourage corporations to boost up the private sector on the 3P philanthropy pie. Companies contribute to charity for various reasons.”
“Sir, maybe I have missed it. But I believe the Ministry has not responded to my cut on Employment Passes (EP) for freelancers. Dr Ng Eng Hen: My apologies. Indeed, I have missed that. Mr Baey talked about how the creative industry requires certain employment arrangements which do not quite fit into our Employment Pass. Our Employment Pass is more centred on the fact that it is employer based. But he is quite right that in the creative industry, a substantial proportion will be freelancing, which means they do on their own. We had addressed that somewhat. As he rightly pointed out, we have introduced the Personalised Employment Pass. We have also introduced other categories which are more fitted for this. This is the EntrePass and the Professional Visit Pass. We will see whether that is adequate. The EntrePass does not require you to have an employer. But it does require you to have a good business plan. Basically, the problem is this. We want to have a balance between allowing people in to help us grow the industries versus allowing foreigners in that we are not quite sure they are going to add to our economy. So we have to balance that and see how it works. Let us review that. If it is inadequate, we are willing to look at other schemes. But we have just introduced the EntrePass not long ago. So let me evaluate the results of that.”
“I note that the Ministry launched the Personalised Employment Pass Scheme last August, but that does not apply to her, because she has not been a "P" or "Q" Pass holder before as the current guidelines require one to hold the respective pass for at least two and five years with an employer. And the PEP is only valid for five years and not renewable. I do not have the figures of freelancers or, for that matter, foreign freelancers in Singapore. However, in our efforts to develop the creative industries, we have to note that this sector has a higher than average proportion of freelancers than other industries. According to a 2005 report by the New York Freelancers Union, it is estimated that freelancers make up approximately one-tenth to one-third of the labour force nationwide and they are mostly in the creative sector. Currently, some foreign freelancers do fly into Singapore for a specific job and out they go. Sometimes they are blamed for taking jobs away from Singaporeans. I believe we can attract this group of freelancers not only to contribute to the development of Singapore's creative industries but also to make Singapore their base and become tax-paying residents. I would like to ask if the Ministry could finetune our employment pass guidelines to respond to this trend of working. Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar): Mr Chairman, Sir, may I take my two cuts together, please?”
“Sir, as the economy evolves, more and more people are no longer working for a single employer, but work on a project basis. This could be a freelance website designer who uses his home PC to create web pages for corporate clients. He charges a fee to set up a website, which may be one-off, or could include maintenance of the website and occasional updates. This is also an example of how technology and new media are changing the face and substance of work. Someone with the gift of the pen can also be writing a weekly column in the newspaper, be a freelance correspondent for an overseas journal, and working on a script for the next Eric Khoo movie. He may also earn a daily keep by doing some copywriting or translation work for an advertising agency. At the same time, the writer can also be working on his first novel, and still revising his manuscript while trying to find an interested publisher. He does not view anyone as an employer, nor is any party able to guarantee regular assignments and hence income. I know someone from Malaysia who is a freelance actress in Singapore. She has been appearing in a number of theatre productions a year. She has also acted in movies, TV serials and sitcoms, but she is not a MediaCorp artiste. Before she became a PR recently, she has been staying and working in Singapore on a social visit pass. It is not that she does not want to apply for an Employment Pass or Work Permit. The challenge is that she does not have an employer. Therefore, for some years, she was running the risk of being prosecuted as an illegal worker in Singapore. However, like many freelancers, she is no less professional or dedicated to her work. Or, perhaps, she will never be prosecuted because all authorities do not recognise her as "working" in Singapore, I wonder.”
“With response to SMS' reply, I would like to clarify that I do not think that the failure of Crazy Horse was solely due to the restriction on advertising materials. But my question is, if the operator would like to use the same coloured picture that is published in the Straits Times as part of its advertisement, what would be the concern of the Ministry here? To the scenario that SMS referred to about the undesired impact of young girls who wanted to audition for Crazy Horse because of the advertisement, I think the operator would be more interested to place advertisement to publicise the event rather than to recruit dancers.”
“Sir, I wonder if the authorities had allowed coloured pictures in the advertisements in the Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao, how different would they be from those widely used in the articles appearing in the same papers? As the Chinese saying goes, "hao ma bu chi hui tou cao", relaxing the guidelines now is too late to turn back the Crazy Horse, nor am I suggesting that the business will be viable just by lifting the advertising restrictions. I understand that the operator was well aware of the advertising regulations even before it decided to launch the show, and that this was not a case of new or additional restrictions being imposed on the operator after the show was launched. Having said that, I hope that the Ministry does not then turn the wheel backwards to introduce more stringent rules for pictures in the mass media. I would like to make a point that, in view of more exciting programmes and entertainment advertisements that will come to Singapore as we continue to develop our night life, including the Integrated Resorts, I hope that we can adopt a lighter touch in advertisement regulations, so that Singapore does not end up being too conservative compared with other global cities, and our rules do not become a convenient punching bag for any business failure. Subtitles for TV News”
“Sir, the arrival of Crazy Horse in 2005 was a milestone in the level of liberalisation in Singapore's entertainment scene. It signals an openness of the authorities in allowing an alternative form of entertainment for paying audiences. It is unfortunate that the show did not enjoy satisfactory ticket sales and has had its last curtain call on 31st January this year. Various factors have led to the closure of Crazy Horse and one reason quoted was the restrictions on its advertisements. The show was allowed to run its advertisements in selected magazines and in the movie pages of newspapers. The revue could also place only black and white advertisements in the cinema pages of the Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao, with coloured ones only in The Business Times. Over the last two years, I note that the mass media, especially the newspapers, has given great coverage on the show with extensive colourful images. Based on a rough count, I believe all the local papers published a total of about 70 pictures of the Crazy Horse performers. I would imagine that the total page area taken by these pictures is far bigger than the total advertisement space that the operator had placed in the newspapers. The media reports, at many times, do achieve the same impact as advertisements. I do not remember that there were adverse reactions from the public on the count of indecency. I have not seen the show myself, but from what I understand, the Crazy Horse is more a show of colourful lighting than a flesh parade. It was reported that some audience even left disappointed because there was not much to see!”
“A piece of new work, as it is untested, is usually more difficult to attract sponsors and audience. Like in pop music, Singaporeans began to take notice of Stefanie Sun and JJ Lin after they made it big in Taiwan and China. Our audiences also prefer to pay for tickets to established names, like Phantom of the Opera and Mama Mia. The new works hence tend to be less commercially popular. So I would like to call on the Ministry to provide greater incentives for creative practitioners to invest in and to take a greater risk in creating untested new works.”
“Sir, the creative sector is not one that depends on high capital investments or a large labour force. It only takes the talent of one person like JK Rowling to write the Harry Potter series, and now she is a millionaire, or probably a billionaire. But the application of the copyright in the form of the manuscript into books, movies, computer games and merchandise has created jobs and profits in the publishing, printing, film, gaming and manufacturing industries, not to mention hours of enjoyment for many end consumers. The creative sector is, hence, one heavy on intellectual property (IP). Besides stories, these could also include scripts, songs, TV formats, design patents, etc. We should do more to support the development of new original IP. In design, the idea can be easily copied and replicated. A few years ago, I was shopping for a new home and discovered that there are many copycat furniture and lighting designs over Singapore. Two items very similar in design may look identical, but the original, usually an European design, can easily cost 10-20 times more than a similar piece manufactured somewhere in Asia. Not only must we have the talent to create the designs, we must have the legal infrastructure to protect the IP. What are Singapore's plans to increase design IP? In the performing arts, I have observed that there have been a number of restaging of productions, both local and classic, eg, Forbidden City, Titoudao, Lei Yu. While re-runs could ride on past successful performances, I understand that each re-staged production does bring along with it new elements in direction, acting, design and treatment. However, we should also give more encouragement for local talents to create new IP.”
“Progress in the Creative Industries Now, for progress in creative industries, it has been more than four years since the Economic Review Committee identified creative industries as a key sector to grow for Singapore's future economic development. This is a sector that is different from the more traditional industries in manufacturing, which Singapore is familiar with. To develop this area, I would like to ask the Ministry what are the new mindsets and approaches that we have adopted so that we are not just replicating another industry model that may not be relevant for the creative industries. And what is the overall progress of the creative industries during the past year? Promoting Music and Design Talents”