Benedict Tan
Singapore
“I thank the Minister for his reply. In 2012, at the National Body Building Championships, eight bodybuilders were tested for doping and, of the eight, seven were found to have doped. That is a pretty high percentage.”
“With reference to the Fifth Schedule, Part 2, para 3(a), on the Waiver of Requirement for Appropriate Consent for Human Biomedical Research Involving Human Biological Material for Health Information, may I ask if the Ministry would clarify if the above scenario, which is a common one, would qualify as a research that "may not practicably…”
“I would like to ask if it is possible for the Minister to streamline the application of multiple permits and provide a timeline for the application process, to reduce the hurdles for event organisers. Page: 84 Paragraph 14(b) of the Bill clarifies the definition of an unmanned aircraft.”
“Mdm Chair, I commend the Minister for the comprehensive suite of support services for our athletes. In particular, I am heartened to hear that ActiveSG has a defined role of complementing the schools' sport CCA system.”
“If a child takes a liking to a particular sport during such a try-out, the school can link up with external providers such as ActiveSG and various community centre groups to deepen his or her interest in the sport.”
“Madam, I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for his reply. We know that our teachers already have a very heavy academic workload and it is difficult to match teachers' interests to the sports they cover.”
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Every one of 31 lines we hold for Benedict Tan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account.
“I thank the Minister for his reply. In 2012, at the National Body Building Championships, eight bodybuilders were tested for doping and, of the eight, seven were found to have doped. That is a pretty high percentage. Yes, the bodybuilders fell under the jurisdiction of ADS but, since that incident, body building has been dropped from the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), meaning that bodybuilding no longer falls under ADS' jurisdiction. Even though they have fallen out of ADS' jurisdiction, I feel there is an urgent need to continue to police and monitor doping within the bodybuilding fraternity. Apart from that, recreational sports do not fall under ADS either. There are many recreational gym users who have access to performance-enhancing drugs and yet they are not under the policing efforts of ADS. Can the Minister elaborate on how we can be more proactive in preventing doping amongst recreational gym users and people who exercise and not compete and, therefore, fall under ADS?”
“With reference to the Fifth Schedule, Part 2, para 3(a), on the Waiver of Requirement for Appropriate Consent for Human Biomedical Research Involving Human Biological Material for Health Information, may I ask if the Ministry would clarify if the above scenario, which is a common one, would qualify as a research that "may not practicably be carried out unless there is a waiver". Finally, Part 2, clause 5 empowers the Minister to establish advisory committees for the purpose of advising the Minister on any matter arising out of the administration of the Bill. Would the Ministry be able to give an indication as to whether representatives of the growing private sector or commercial biomedical companies will be invited to sit on such committees? Mdm Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill.”
“Mdm Speaker, as there are many grey areas in research ethics, the Human Biomedical Research Bill is a necessary and timely one. As I am directly involved in medical research and I work for an RI, I declare my interest. Mdm Speaker, I seek just three clarifications. Firstly, the First Schedule of the Bill specifies human biological materials that are excluded from the definition of human tissue, presumably because such materials are not individually identifiable or viable for cloning. One such material listed is "naturally excreted bodily fluids and waste products, such as saliva, sweat, urine and faeces". As it is possible to extract genomic DNA from some of these materials, such as the commercially available kits designed to extract DNA from saliva, may I seek the Ministry's rationale behind the list? Secondly, a common research scenario is one where the validation of new diagnostic tests, using residual biological specimens collected as part of routine clinical care. These residual specimens would otherwise have been discarded. In such research, there is no additional risk to the patient, as he or she is not required to undergo further procedures or tests for the research. Most often, these samples are selected after the diagnosis has been made using the current gold-standard method. Hence, it would be challenging to Page: 114 retroactively obtain consent from the patient as he or she may have been discharged, be uncontactable or may have passed away. Though it is possible to obtain informed consent for every potential new case who might be enrolled into the study, this requires additional resources to be dedicated to patients who may eventually not be enrolled into the study after their diagnoses have been made.”
“I would like to ask if it is possible for the Minister to streamline the application of multiple permits and provide a timeline for the application process, to reduce the hurdles for event organisers. Page: 84 Paragraph 14(b) of the Bill clarifies the definition of an unmanned aircraft. The definition clarifies specifically that an unmanned aircraft excludes a balloon or kite. In a similar vein, given the rapid growth of the sport of kite boarding and kite surfing, I hope the Bill will also clarify specifically that kite boarding equipment – including those with GoPro cameras mounted – are also not considered unmanned aircraft. Mdm Speaker, I support of the Bill. 5.01 pm”
“Mdm Speaker, with the increasing applications of unmanned aircraft, this Bill is, indeed, necessary. The broad applications also mean that various needs would have to be balanced. It is evident that this Bill has given thorough consideration to two concerns, that of public safety and security. I would like to pose a query on a third concern and, that is, the privacy of individuals. With Singapore's dense housing, how do we ensure that unmanned aircraft with cameras do not peep into bedrooms and bathroom windows? There is hardly any mention of privacy in this Bill. So, I hope the Minister will provide more details on how this would be addressed. While we protect public safety, security and, perhaps, privacy, we need to ensure that we do not hinder useful applications of unmanned aircraft, both current and potential ones. These include using unmanned aircraft for search and rescue, sports science, media coverage of sports events and simply as a hobby. In particular, I would like to highlight that aerial filming of sports events is fast becoming a norm and it is a trend that we should encourage, to keep sports exciting, thereby attracting an active following. The organising of sports events is becoming increasingly complex and onerous, as we set higher standards for sports safety and compliance. For example, to organise a race at the National Sailing Centre at East Coast Park, organisers require a permit from the MPA. On top of that, to do aerial photography of the event as part of the media coverage, it seems a permit is also required from the Commissioner of Police to bring the unmanned aircraft into a special event area, and yet another from the CAAS to operate the unmanned aircraft for commercial photography within five kilometres of an aerodrome.”
“Mdm Speaker, I stand in support of the MAS (Amendment) Bill. Singapore has grown significantly over the past decade or so to become one of the world's leading wealth management centres. This growth reflects the trust that Page: 54 high net worth individuals have in Singapore. And this trust is precious and hard-earned. Singapore must defend her reputation for being a well-regulated financial centre that abides by international standards for anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing. With the crackdown on corruption intensifying in China and Indonesia and with the expanding grip of ISIS, the Bill could not be more timely. I would, however, like to make two observations. One, the codification of customer due diligence requirements is, certainly, a large step in the right direction. We have heard stories of how businesses have migrated from one financial institution to another in search of lower account opening due diligence requirements. Some have experienced how one bank might ask fewer questions about the provenance of funds compared to another bank. How will MAS ensure that the playing field is level for all banks and that there are no loopholes or leakages? Two, stepping up international cooperation and information exchange is important, given the increased cross-border mobility of capital. However, banking confidentiality, which has been an important foundation of success, continues to be critical. We must safeguard against spurious international requests, and also safeguard bona fide client confidentiality. In addition to paragraph 30Z on the Conditions for Provision of Assistance to AML/CFT authority, can the House be provided with more concrete details about how these safeguards will work in practice? 3.16 pm”
“Mdm Chair, I commend the Minister for the comprehensive suite of support services for our athletes. In particular, I am heartened to hear that ActiveSG has a defined role of complementing the schools' sport CCA system. Can I ask the Minister if he will work with MOE to take it a step further to recognise students' participation in ActiveSG sports activities, to allow them to get CCA points for that?”
“If a child takes a liking to a particular sport during such a try-out, the school can link up with external providers such as ActiveSG and various community centre groups to deepen his or her interest in the sport. And this out-of-school activity should be recognised as a CCA, even if it is at a recreational level as suggested by the Member before me. 4.30 pm Yes, MOE has explained that the Physical Education or PE curriculum rotates students through various sports. But we know that given the limited time for PE and the time taken up just to prepare for NAPFA, such exposure is too superficial to get the student hooked onto a lifetime of active living. Let us give our young, especially those in Primary schools, a positive sporting experience and a positive start by reviewing the format of their sports day. Madam, let me conclude by commending the Minister and his team at MOE for their insight and pioneering work in transforming our education system.”
“Madam, following my speech in Parliament on 19 January this year where I identified 10 worrying trends in Singapore's sports participation, many parents and students as well as Members of this House approached me to personally provide even more evidence of such trends. In particular, they affirmed that their schools are too focused on winning medals and that there are not enough opportunities to learn sports through the local school system. They are particularly unhappy at being rejected by the school team, especially at the primary school level. And when they pursue the sport on their own outside the school, their participation is not recognised. This all-or-none scenario, whereby you are either good enough to make the school team or you are completely shut out, exists during sports day as well. If you are not good enough to represent your house, then you cannot compete during sports day. Instead, you get "arrowed" to attend as a spectator. And these are not the enthusiastic fans that you see in Brazilian stadiums – both students and teachers tell me that they are mostly reluctant participants. With such negative experiences, is it a wonder why many of our young develop Page: 104 an aversion to sports and physical activity? Instead of having only a small proportion of the school population competing in track and field events during sports day while the majority sits and watches, why not engage the whole population by transforming sports day into a sports festival? During the sports festival, we can give students opportunities to try their hand at the various sports and games.”
“Madam, I would like to encourage multinational interactions among youths through sports. We can do this by bringing together students from local MOE schools and the international schools, increasing interaction and exchanges through sports and games. Singapore at its core has always been multicultural, multi-ethnic and multilingual. And particular attention has been paid to integration and the development of the Singapore identity since Independence. Over the years, we have seen more and more international schools being set up in Singapore and expanding. We also have local schools, setting up their sister international schools. This may create a divide but it also presents opportunities. There are many nationalities living, working and studying in Singapore. To leverage on this cultural diversity, to give greater exposure to Singaporean students and to be inclusive, I feel that our inter-school competitions or what is now known as the National School Games, should include international schools as well. Currently, the schools from the two ecosystems – the MOE and the non-MOE schools – do not interact much. The platforms and avenues for interaction do not present themselves naturally. Sports offers such a bridge. Granted, there will be operational challenges, such as the timing of school semesters, vacation periods, fixtures and scheduling, manpower and cost sharing issues. But I do believe that the benefits of having a vibrant, inclusive school sports ecosystem will provide many tangible and intangible benefits for the young and prepare them for increasing globalisation. Sports Co-curricular Activities”
“Also, outdoor education may have become too tame, with some schools counting pitching a tent on the school field as outdoor education. I am heartened that, as of the beginning of this year, OBS has become a part of the National Youth Council or NYC and would be spearheading NYC's efforts as a national youth developer. And from my understanding, the annual capacity of OBS would be significantly increased in the coming years to broaden its outreach and engagement with our youth. This is an exciting prospect as all Singaporean youth would once again have the chance to experience adventure-based learning from the passionate instructors at OBS. I know that many of these instructors welcome the renewed focus on our youth. But with around 40,000 students in each cohort, I hope that MOE will fully leverage not only on OBS but also on the MOE Adventure Learning Centre and other providers to put every single one of our youths through a quality outdoor education programme. I hope MOE can update the House on the percentage of students from each cohort who has undergone a proper outdoor education experience and whether there is any intention to increase this percentage. Broaden Art and Craft Curriculum for Schools”
“Years ago, I was on a socio-civic mission to a rural part of Indonesia. With me was a group of Singaporeans in their late teens. One of them pointed to an animal crossing a road and said: "Eh, what kind of cat is that? It is so big!" I glanced at the so-called "cat" and was dumbfounded. It was actually a goat! You see, this young man had never seen a goat before and is only familiar with domesticated cats and dogs. Madam, I would like to suggest that outdoor education feature more prominently in our school curriculum. I declare that I am the President of the Singapore Sailing Federation. Page: 63 Previously, there was much emphasis on the majority of students attending the Outward Bound School or OBS at least once during their school life. Hence, many of us grew up with trekking, orienteering, camping, kayaking and sailing experiences, which would not have been easily accessible to the average child living in an urban Singapore. Outdoor education is now more important than ever as Singapore becomes more urbanised and our young spend more time in front of computers. Outdoor education instils an appreciation and respect for nature, builds character, independence, resilience and leadership. Surely, Basic Military Training cannot be the first time that a youth is exposed to the jungle and having to fend for himself. When the Ministry of Education (MOE) first pushed for outdoor education, many schools ensured that each cohort would have undergone the OBS course at least once during their school life. Over the years, my impression is that fewer and fewer schools insist on this, with OBS reserved only for a selected few, such as during orientation or leadership training.”
“Madam, I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for his reply. We know that our teachers already have a very heavy academic workload and it is difficult to match teachers' interests to the sports they cover. Some schools have cited the lack of resources for scrapping certain sports CCAs and one of the resource constraints is finding a teacher to be in charge of the sport and that is why I have suggested doing away with that requirement. For all intents and purposes, the teacher is there for safety but when the school has already outsourced the coaching of the sport, let us say, badminton, to a professional service provider with a proper agreement which includes having the professional provider take care of safety, can we not just leave it to the professional provider to be responsible for safety and free up the teacher to do other academic duties?”
“Mdm Speaker, I would like to declare my interest. I run two sports medicine centres and I thank the Minister for his reassuring reply. Page: 32 I have just one supplementary question. The network that the Minister mentioned has the advantages of bandwidth because it is relying on institutional resources. The disadvantage of that is that it lacks in-house capabilities and we need the in-house capabilities for research that is specific to the national athletes. So, a better solution would be to have both in-house as well as the network capabilities. In relation to that, I would like to ask the Minister if the sports medicine network is the permanent solution or an interim solution and whether the Minister is exploring other options or models.”
“Last November, Eric Khoo, the organiser of the HolyCrit cycling race in Tanglin Halt explained that he did not seek permits from the authorities primarily because of an estimated $25,000 to $30,000 in compliance costs that is needed. The sailing community could not continue its proud tradition of the popular Round Island Race because permits would not be granted. Maritime security and safety are certainly valid concerns, but we need to push the boundaries and take a leaf from others. If other countries were as conservative as us, there would be no Sydney Hobart Race or boating activities in the busy Sydney Harbour or San Francisco Bay. Each of these points represents a major obstacle to Singaporeans adopting an active lifestyle. Collectively, they form a formidable barrier to sports participation. Each of these issues falls under the purview of a few agencies. This is reminiscent of the fishball stick anecdote that Prime Minister Lee shared at the last National Day Rally. I hope we would not need a sports equivalent of the Municipal Sports Services Office to systematically address these multifaceted challenges. But let us not wait till our obesity levels catch up with the West, or for our healthcare costs to creep further up, or for the pipelines to our national teams to run dry before we strengthen our resolve to address these emerging gaps in Page: 106 Singapore's sports participation.”
“Through sports, he has since picked himself up and has been training diligently to do Singapore proud in the archery event of the ASEAN Para Games to be held in Singapore in December this year. His main obstacle now is not his missing leg, but the fact that he does not have a 70-metre range to practice after he finishes work on weekdays. Jason Chee, who lost both legs and his left arm while serving on a Navy ship in 2012, now represents Singapore in table tennis. Together with his doubles partner Darren Chua, he won a bronze medal for Singapore at the ASEAN Para Games last year. Jason is also now training hard for the next ASEAN Para Games. What is his number one obstacle? Jason says, "Transport to and from my training venue." Dr William Tan, a long-time advocate for challenged athletes, added that, apart from permanent training venues and transportation, another major obstacle faced is funding. Dr Tan shared, "The financial support from the existing carding system is meagre for challenged athletes. Any financial support received goes mostly to transportation costs." Ten, the struggle for recreational space, especially for sports, is escalating. Agencies like NParks, URA, PUB and SLA have been very progressive in optimising our shared spaces. As a result, we witness water sports in the heart of our CBD in Marina Bay itself, beautiful running tracks along our waterways, recreational activities on various reservoirs, and ciclovia – the closing of a section of Orchard Road to cars one evening a month in favour of pedestrians. In a highly urbanised Singapore, there will always be challenges when it comes to sharing spaces. Take, for example, the constant struggle between cyclists and other road users or pedestrians.”
“MINDEF's recent simplification of the IPPT format and increased flexibility in the IPPT Preparatory Training (IPT) are steps in the right direction, as keeping the status quo will not yield better results. Seven, reduced fitness levels, in turn, lead to increased obesity rates and a heavier burden of chronic diseases. Singapore's prevalence of obesity rose from 6.9% in 2004 to 10.8% in 2010 while diabetes rose from 8.2% to 11.3% in the same period. Eight, our sports events can be more veteran-friendly. One is never too old to participate in sports and there is ample medical evidence that one can benefit from exercise even if one starts late. What message are we sending when Singapore's biggest marathon offers older runners only one age category, that is, the above-40 Masters category? Lumping a 60-year-old runner together with a 40-year-old in the same competitive category can only discourage the 60-year-old even before the race has started. When I was at the International Sailing Federation meeting last November, there was naturally and understandably a lot of emphasis on youth sailing and how to attract young people to the sport. Hence, I was impressed with the insight of a windsurfing official who reminded the meeting that, in fact, the biggest market for windsurfing is actually the older age groups. Nine, the physically challenged are still facing significant barriers to sports participation. For the disabled, sport offers a beacon of hope and is an important avenue for reintegrating into society. Desmond Tong lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident in 1999. After the accident, his life went into a tailspin, he dropped out of University, was ostracised by his Page: 105 friends and became depressed and suicidal.”
“I find this disappointing because a significant number of national sailors did a credible job of representing Singapore even though they started sailing relatively late. Stanley Tan and Stanley Chan got introduced to sailing through their Junior College. Stanley Tan went on to represent Singapore at two Olympic Games while Stanley Chan is a multiple Asian and SEA Games representative and medalist. Despite such success stories, their Junior College has since shelved their sailing programme. Page: 104 If our schools do not undertake to accept new entrants to various sports, there will be no future Stanley Tans or Stanley Chans. An FAS survey of 100 Primary schools earlier this year found that nearly one in two children wanted to play football, but only 5.9% of boys and 1.6% of girls were given a chance to. Five, are our schools too focused on winning medals, at the expense of sports participation? Even school teams face the threat of being scrapped simply because they cannot achieve a podium finish. The 14 December 2014 issue of The Sunday Times cited a veteran football coach who said, "My principal said the football team will be scrapped if we don't reach the nationals tournament." Is winning the only thing that matters to our schools? While policies have shifted, how can we help the policy implementers put it right? Six, Singaporeans are struggling with their fitness levels. A lecturer at one of our Polytechnics estimates that 70% of Polytechnic students fail their NAPFA test. Another lecturer at a different Polytechnic cited a failure rate of 60%-70%. Pre-enlistees struggle to get fit for NS and many NSmen struggle with their IPPT as well.”
“Many participate or compete in multiple sports despite the fact that the international schools do not award CCA points. In fact, do we really treat sports as truly "co"-curricular? In January 2000, MOE acknowledged the integral role of co-curricular activities in achieving the desired outcomes of education by replacing the term extra-curricular with co-curricular. It is a work in progress and I look forward to more and more Singaporean parents – and, consequently, their children – adopting the right mentality, participating in CCAs for the right reasons. Four, there are not enough opportunities to learn sports. Again, citing our international schools as an example, there are ample opportunities for their students. For each sport on the comprehensive menu of sports that they offer, there are teams of various levels, including beginners. Another one of my patients from an international school was not much of a basketballer when he enrolled in the school, so, he simply joined the novice team. As he got better, he progressed to team C then B and, eventually, ended up in team A. Contrast that with our local schools where parents have told me that if you are not good enough for the school team, you are not offered a chance to participate in that sport at all. Take sailing for example. In the past, there were multiple entry-points into sailing. It did not matter if you did not start sailing in Primary school, you still had another chance to try out sailing in Secondary school and, if you missed that, there is still the Junior College and Polytechnic. Now, apart from the international schools, hardly any local school in Singapore will offer to teach you sailing. They accept only ready-made sailors.”
“Participation levels fell amongst Singaporeans below 60 years of age, particularly those in their teens, which fell by 16% to 68%. This does not bode well for our future. On top of that, blue-collar workers recorded a larger decline in sports participation compared to professionals, managers, executives and businessmen (PMEBs). Two, too many of our young are not enjoying sports. When I ask my patients from the local schools if they look forward to their school's Sports Day, I get a cynical look. When I ask a patient from UWC the same question, she said, "We all love it – it's so much fun!" She continues effusively, "Sports Day is run over three whole days and everybody participates and gets to try multiple sports. There're aquatics, games and athletics. We are rotated from one station to another and end up trying a lot of things. You don't need to be good and it is do-able for everyone!" When young Singaporeans have a pleasant introduction to sports and physical activity, the exercise habit is likely to continue into adulthood and beyond. We need to review how we approach physical activity promotion across various groups, especially the young. We Page: 103 may have the best-laid policies and plans, but let us see how we can do better in bringing these to fruition. Three, our motivation for being physically active is questionable. Do we do it because it is simply the natural thing to do or because it is part of our culture and tradition? Or do we participate in sports to accumulate CCA points or notch a higher level of attainment under the Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement, Participation and Service (LEAPS) 2.0 framework; for direct school admission (DSA); or for a shorter BMT? In our international schools, the norm is to participate in at least one sport.”
“Page: 102 Do they ever ask me whether our sailors enjoy sailing, whether they are familiar with Singapore's rich maritime history, whether our sailors see sailing as a lifelong pursuit, whether they are inculcated with the desired values, or whether we have sailors who sail for reasons other than medals? I wish they did, because those are the pertinent questions that matter much more than the medals. I would say that SNOC, MCCY and Sport Singapore have done a thorough job of reviewing our High Performance Systems over the years – from the Sports Excellence (SPEX) Programme in the 1990s, to the Committee on Sporting Singapore (CoSS), Project 08/12 Go For Gold and the Olympic Pathway Programme, to the current High Performance Sports (HPS) Programme. Through such comprehensive initiatives, our elite athletes have progressed to the point where we are winning Olympic medals and, last year, our sailors won Singapore's first two YOG Golds. On the academic KPI, we have done exceedingly well, topping the IB exams for the fourth consecutive year and achieving the best showing at the "O" levels in 20 years. What we need to do now is to pay more attention to mass participation, where the results and benefits are less tangible. Yes, we had Sports for Life in the 1990s and the current Vision2030 master plan adopts a more holistic outlook and we have introduced ActiveSG. Nevertheless, there appears to be worrying trends emerging in our local sports culture. I highlight 10 of them. One, Singaporeans are not exercising enough. The 2011 National Sports Participation Survey revealed that only 42% of Singaporeans exercised at least once a week, down from 50% in 2005. Compare this with Finland's enviable 76% in 2005.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to declare my interests as the President of the Singapore Sailing Federation and Sports Patron of the Singapore Disability Sports Council. In my clinic each day, I see lots of students from our local schools, with their parents in tow. At some point during the consultation, the Singaporean parent will ask, "Dr Tan, can you write my son an MC to excuse him from PE and sports? At the same time, can you also ask the school to allow him to use the lift?" You will see a similar dialogue with pre-enlistees or their parents requesting for excuse letters or permanent downgrades. Many doctors will tell you that these are common scenarios. I see students from our international schools as well, such as the United World College and the Singapore American School. No, it is not the MC that they are after. Rather, they want me to sort out their injuries so that they can continue and finish the baseball season and be fully fit before the swimming season begins! It is very common for students from the international schools to do multiple sports – with full support from their parents. When I see such contrasting attitudes, it worries me. I am worried because this is just one manifestation of a systemic disease in Singapore's sports participation framework. Singaporeans are pragmatic – we are goal-oriented and we monitor closely our key performance indicators (KPIs). We pay close attention to what is tangible and measureable, that is, medals and grades. Without fail, before each Major Games, the media will ask me, as President of Singapore Sailing, what is our medal target and whether we are on track.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for the answer. Currently, we have a lot of new and large hospitals coming on stream and that requires manpower. There is also concurrently an outflow of doctors into the private sector. On the whole, we have a shortage of doctors in the public sector and I know of reputable doctors from overseas who have got a very public service ethos who would be happy to work in Singapore. The problem is that even with their credibility and reputation, they have been denied accreditation in Singapore. Therefore, I suggested this scheme whereby, unlike the current scheme, the doctors that are accredited to work in Singapore are limited only to the public sector, indefinitely. The current scheme I think allows the foreign doctors to go into the private sector after being supervised for two years in the public hospitals. Can the Minister of State elaborate on that?”
“After all, good life and financial management skills, as well as wisdom to say no to vices, are essential to grooming a well-rounded individual. Gambling is like drugs; one should not try it at all. 5.22 pm”
“I was in Hong Kong, two to three years ago, and the tour guide was showing us, "On the right was so-and-so casino; on the left is another casino, lots of casinos". So, I asked the tour guide, how does the government in Hong Kong help the residents in Hong Kong so that they do not end up in a casino? I went to Hong Kong and Macau as well, because I remember it was Hong Kong and Macau as one trip. Actually, it was in Hong Kong that we encountered this casino. And the tour guide told me that for every one of them, when they are studying in school, they attended modules on the ills of gambling. And so, most of them know that they should not go into casinos. Perhaps, it is to stop the Hong Kong people from going to casinos in Macau. Finally, parents too, must be responsible for the well-being of their children. They must watch out for signs in their children's behaviour that may suggest a potential gambling addiction. Schools, counsellors and parents could work together to educate students on this aspect. Additionally, many busy parents these days give supplementary credit cards or debit cards to their children to provide for their spending. These cards are among the most common ways to pay for a round of gambling online or via other telecommunication methods. Parents must check their children's card statements for suspicious expenditures. Madam, it has always been our goal to provide a wholesome, comprehensive education system for our youth. The onset of a gambling addiction is akin to a typhoon, coming fast and furious, sparing no one and leaving behind broken people and irreparable damage. I urge that my suggestion to inculcate education on gambling addiction in the school curriculum be considered.”
“Worldwide, young people and even students gambling away their study loans is a growing problem. In the UK, gambling charity Gamcare revealed that student finance officers in the universities had requested them to come to school events and give information to the students. More universities are acknowledging that something needs to be done about student gambling. We must not wait until our students at the University level to start educating them about gambling. This is a problem severe enough to be granted a place in the school curriculum. Have the NCPG design a course for the students. It should not be a one-time talk, but an ongoing series of lessons. Let them start from as early as the upper Primary levels and continue into Secondary levels. According to a 2012 report by IDA, 98% of students aged seven to 14 years old have had access to Internet in the past year. This figure is likely higher now with the proliferation of smart phones and tablets. With the high online exposure, web gambling games contribute another hazard that fuels a rise in childhood gambling addiction, according to an article in The Telegraph. Prof Mark Griffiths, director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, said large numbers of under-16s in the US were becoming hooked on such games, often accessed through social media websites. Some of these games are also available via smartphone apps, designed to look flashy, colourful or even cute, which Page: 89 are easily appealing to children. These seemingly harmless games allow users to play online games like poker and jackpot with virtual money. Eventually, users may be enticed to fork out real money to play more rounds or advance levels. We cannot discount the threat of virtual gambling games.”
“However, there are many methods used by online gambling operators. I do not think it is possible to root them out completely. As the saying goes, "While the virtue rises up a foot, the devil rises up by 10". There are thousands of ways of doing international transactions. Some gamblers may try all means to evade restrictions imposed by local financial institutions. Page: 88 The Government can only set an example and implement relevant policies; ultimately it is up to each individual to discharge his responsibility. We can simplify the procedure for the public to report remote gambling operators and illegal gambling activities. We can set up a hotline, a feedback webpage or an app to receive such feedbacks. Quite often we read about the police raiding illegal gambling dens in Geylang and Little India, but we seldom hear how these operators were punished in the end. We hope MHA can publish the punishment meted out in these cases so that gambling operators and gamblers would know the consequences that they will face. I hope the Minister can give my suggestions careful consideration. (In English): Mdm Speaker, we should also create awareness on the ills of remote gambling through public service campaigns especially among students across all levels, and encourage everyone to whistle blow on such activities. Eventually, to solve the root of the problem, we want people to stay away from remote gambling because they understand its dire consequences and not because it is unavailable or because they fear punishment. If we can imbue in our young the ills of gambling, then even when they are overseas for study or later when they are on working trips or any overseas postings, they will be less susceptible to gambling altogether.”
“She did not want her young children to be affected, hence she decided to come out and work. She asked me how to start the divorce proceedings and to help her find a job. I am sure we all have heard of similar cases. Nowadays, almost every family has access to Internet. We must take actions to prevent online gambling from invading our families, especially families with children. In recent years, the Government has taken various measures such as advertisements, self-exclusion orders to warn Singaporeans not to become addicted. The Government has imposed restrictions on civil servants and those who frequent the casinos. On the other hand, remote gambling is also receiving attention. In this Internet era that has no time and space limitation, Internet savvy gamblers can engage in online gambling at any time and any place and can easily become addicted. Hence, the impact of remote gambling is far-fetching and the negative consequences are unimaginable. There are no restrictions for online gambling, sometimes not even an age limit. Some people would fake an identity to cover their real age. Some gullible, capricious youth who want to make a few extra dollars can easily fall into the trap. If they lose a large amount of money, they may be compelled to commit crimes. We have all seen how loan sharks take advantage of young people and gamblers. The new Remote Gambling Bill shows our determination to root out unregulated gambling channels. I support the ban on promoting remote gambling sites. Financial institutions will also help by stopping the transactions of gambling websites which have been blacklisted. This can deter illegal online transactions. More importantly, punishing the offenders will act as a deterrent.”
“If the argument for exempting a Singapore-based remote gambling service with a Singapore-customer link is to provide competition for Singapore Pools to increase the attractiveness of its services and offerings, then I would say that we should find other ways to compel Singapore Pools to level up. With the passing of this Bill, legal gambling channels, namely our two IRs, Singapore Turf Club and Singapore Pools will probably be beneficiaries. I hope that will translate to more funds being funnelled to public, social and charitable causes. Surpluses from Singapore Pools are channelled to the Tote Board and in FY2013, the Tote Board approved $472 million in grants, of which only $7 million went to sports. This year, our sailors created history by winning two Gold medals at the Youth Olympic Games. Our athletes have worked hard to bring glory for Singapore and I hope to see the expected increase in revenues from legal gambling be channelled towards sports and our deserving athletes. Mdm Speaker, on that note, I support the Remote Gambling Bill. 5.11 pm Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, in Mandarin, please. Page: 87 (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Gambling is a social evil and we should do our best to prevent Singaporeans from falling into such an abyss. Like drugs, gambling can easily become an addiction and will bring about much negative impact on our society. We have witnessed many people running into financial problems due to gambling and subsequent problems such as broken family and crimes. Recently, a resident came to seek help from me. She is a housewife with two young children. Her husband was addicted to online gambling and ended up with huge debts. The bank even came to their house to seize the furniture.”
“The Bill aims to block access to online gambling websites, block money transfers to remote gambling services and ban advertisements that promote online gambling. These measures are not watertight and will drive online gambling further underground. Online gambling sites can change their URLs, as was the case during the soccer World Cup earlier this year where operators changed their URLs tens of times during the course of the World Cup. IIlegal online gambling sites use a network of personal bank accounts to pay and receive monies to and from gamblers. These personal bank accounts are often bought or "rented", making it very difficult to trace the individuals ultimately receiving the money. In certain instances when sums are large, these transactions are made face to face, in cash. While the restrictions introduced in the Bill are unlikely to eradicate illegal online betting, I feel the Bill is still worth supporting, even if it only serves to send a message or as a deterrent. The Bill provides for exempt operators, whereby the Minister may issue a certificate of exemption to a Singapore-based remote gambling service with a Singapore-customer link, after considering certain factors. One such consideration, stated in clause 26(3)(c), is whether the applicant is a not-for-profit entity that distributes part of its funds to public, social or charitable causes in Singapore. May I suggest that this consideration be stipulated as a prerequisite instead? As Singapore already has two IRs, Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club as legal gambling channels, any additional operator should be made to plough back surpluses to benefit the community, otherwise it is hard or impossible to justify exempting them.”
“Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to speak on this Bill. The gambling industry is a booming one around the world, not just in Asia. The economic benefits from this are obvious – the combined revenue from our two Integrated Resorts (IRs) was $7.4 billion in 2013; they employ 22,000 staff of which 70% are Singaporeans; and they played a significant part in boosting our tourist arrivals to 15.5 million last year. In FY2013, Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club made surpluses of $598 million and $16 million respectively. But, as we are aware, there are social costs, namely addiction, broken families and criminal activities such as loan-sharking. In finding the right balance between an absolute ban on gambling and total liberalisation, I strongly feel Singapore should err on the side of being conservative. There are three reasons why I feel remote gambling should be banned. Firstly, other jurisdictions, such as the European Union intend to make online gambling more restrictive for their citizens and this will only drive online gambling operators to target jurisdictions that are less restrictive, such as Singapore currently. Secondly, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) revealed in its 2011 survey that 47% of residents gambled and notably, online gamblers were the most likely to have poor self-control – they gambled for a longer period of time than they had planned to, gambled with more money and gambled more frequently than they had planned. Thirdly, the revenues from remote gambling are not captured locally, so there are no benefits to speak of that can outweigh the social problems that come with it. Page: 86 When introducing the Remote Gambling Bill, we need to anticipate the consequences.”