Braema Mathiaparanam
Singapore
“Sir, can I ask the Minister whether he would consider it a preventive measure, especially when foreigners come in to set up student agencies, etc, to do a background check.”
“Sir, I was in particular referring to a specialised kind of rehabilitation programme, because there are quite a number of offenders. Is there a need and, if so, would the Ministry consider bringing in some expertise in that regard? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: We can consider that.”
“Do we know the number of school children who may not possess a home computer? Is there any study done in this area? Are schools opening up their school laboratories so that, after school hours and on weekends, children who need to do their homework or browse through the Net to do whatever research, they are made available to them?”
“CouldI ask the Minister whether the criterion of having just two children is one of the deterrents? Is there a view on that? Doesthat criterionnot run contrary to the "Baby Bonus" policy where wedo not now put alimit on the number of children? If so, will there be any review?”
“Listening to the Minister's answer just now, I have one question on the role of MICA in such an eventuality where two companies, media giants, are talking about a merger. It has come across from the Minister's answer as quite a stand-offish approach. If that is so, what then is the role of MICA in discussions on possibilities of mergers?”
“I would like to ask the Minister what kind of approval system is there that you have such structures with barbed wires and nails to deter children from playing in the void deck. I accept that they should not be playing on the void deck. What is the approval process or is there one where the Ministry is concerned?”
The complete record
Every one of 296 lines we hold for Braema Mathiaparanam, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 6.
“I think there are efforts made by the Community Chest and other groupings so that clusters of smaller charities can go out and solicit the donation dollar as a group. So these are some of the ways in which they can get a bigger share of the pie. Ms Braema Mathiaparanam rose ---”
“So these are not unusual, I would say, distractions for the patients to keep them busy. On the running of the IPCs, our administration is to appoint administrators for different groups. So it is not true to say that if you belong to the education or the health group, you get your IPC status automatically. The fund administrator in each group has certain criteria by which he evaluates applicants who want IPC status, and these criteria are set by IRAS, and we make sure that people who apply have to qualify before they are given this IPC status. Let me conclude by saying that it is not a zero sum game. I think there is room for the big charity organisations and there is room for the smaller charity organisations. And if both groups go out and convince Singaporeans, I think Singaporeans have big hearts and are willing to donate to the wide range of charities. We have 1,300 charities registered in Singapore and we have 820 IPCs. So there are more than 2,000 organisations out there doing good for Singaporeans, largely run by volunteers. And Singaporeans, by and large, if you convince them of the worthiness of the causes, will open up their wallets. So I do not see this as a zero sum game. I urge all the VWOs to continue their good work and continue to solicit the donations from Singaporeans. One way to do so is, of course, to have good corporate governance and to be transparent as to how the donation dollar is going towards the beneficiaries. The more people are convinced that the money which they contribute goes directly to the beneficiaries, I think the more they will be willing to donate. As for the smaller charities, I think there is a case to be made for them by combining their resources so that they go out and operate as a group or as a cluster.”
“So, the patients that go to NKF are actually treated to very high medical standards and therefore they live much longer. That is the reason why they need more funds. And there is nothing wrong in putting these funds in the reserves because they are committed to the patients for their lifetime. On the point about cost and salaries of CEOs, this is a decision by NKF whether to disclose the salaries of the CEOs. Here, I have some sympathy for their dilemma. If they do not disclose, then there will be critics who say they are not transparent. If they disclose, there will also be critics who will say that whatever they pay are too high. So I think they are caught between a rock and a hard place. I think it is their decision not to disclose. We also discussed earlier this afternoon about the proportion of expenses towards fund-raising. And the reason why we set the 20% rule is to have a reasonable cap that will facilitate fund-raising for the smaller charities. Smaller charities require high overheads in fund raising. So if we were to lower the cap to something below 20%, then I think we will constrain the smaller charities. On the issue of cross-selling and the sharing of databases, I think NKF has come up to clarify its position. So I see nothing objectionable to its position. What they are saying is that they will only release this data if there is consent from the donors. I think that is a very sensible position to take. On aquariums and TV sets, if you have been attending dialysis three times and each time it takes long duration, I think it is nothing wrong actually to have aquariums and TV sets to keep the dialysis patients occupied. We do have aquariums and TV sets also in our blood donation centres.”
“And, lastly, it is my hope that bigger charities will allow smaller charities to piggyback on their fund-raising efforts so that both can share proportionately the goodies that Singaporeans are willing to give them. The Second Minister for Finance (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have gone through this debate a couple of times, once in the Committee of Supply and, also, this afternoon during the Questions for Oral Answer. In responding to the Member, I would just like to clarify a few points. First, on the press release put up by NKF. I am not aware of the details. I think they put up the press release and explained the differences between 52% and 56% go to the beneficiaries. I recall also that they indicated in the press release that about 26% goes to the reserves. So, actually, if you add up the two numbers, nearly 80% goes to the beneficiaries. I think that puts NKF on quite a sound record. The vast bulk of the money goes to the beneficiaries, both immediately as well as in the reserves. Secondly, on the operation cost of running a dialysis centre. From my experience in the Ministry of Health, I can tell you that running a dialysis centre is very, very expensive. The NKF looks after more than 2,500 patients and the average cost is more than $25,000 or $30,000 per patient. That is the reason why the NKF requires a budget of $50 million to $60 million. These are not small sums to run the centres. As I mentioned this afternoon, when NKF takes on a patient, it is committed to the patient for life. I have met patients, both locally and overseas, who have been on dialysis for more than 20 years. The medical record of NKF is extremely good, better than world standards.”
“What is more important is the system with which the dollar was lured. Was the donor given a whole spectrum of things that are needed by the charity, so that the donor can make a considered choice of where to put his or her one dollar? And it was not told instead that, "Here, this is our need. Could you please donate to this item? We need it badly." What I am talking about here is enhancing the capabilities such that the individual donor can make good and well-considered decisions. And, fourthly, the whole issue of the IPC status. We have big umbrella funds - health endowment fund and the education endowment fund - and it is sometimes an auto registration if you come from a particular field closely related to health or education that you do get your IPC status. Maybe this needs a review under the guidelines that are to come. We have asked earlier when these guidelines are due. It is my hope that, in the interim, when the new set of guidelines comes on board, we still have instruments that will govern any practice that may not be so conducive, as it has already been acknowledged that the current guidelines are a little bit too broad. At the end of the day, I totally agree with what the Minister said earlier. It is important to note that as Singaporeans become more sophisticated and ask the right questions, they want to know where to park the precious charity dollar. If Singaporeans themselves are too easy going on where they would like to place their charity dollar, then we are just opening the doors to charities which will work less hard in being as transparent as they ought to be in sharing the information with the public.”
“The recent NKF shows over the two weekends have reaped about $14 million from the very generous public - well and good! Thirty percent of that can roughly amount to $4 million, which is also well and good. Because this means we can really churn a good fund-raising industry. However, there are some outcomes that one must be a bit cautious about. Bigger charities can throw bigger money to lure more money; sometimes crowding out, in the absence of enlightened donors, the smaller charities. Secondly, fund-raisers' creativity - after all, they have a 30% stake in this business - can lead to a staple fair of stunts in some particular cases, as we recently saw, each more demanding than the last in an effort to lure the charity dollar. Thirdly, the most important - what are we then leaving as our heritage to our children or to the next generation? A warped sense of values - as we are now dangerously close to linking charity-giving to how hard or how well they perform their stunts, what kind of celebrity performs the stunt. In the whole issue, as already mentioned by the Minister, there are issues here for governance on how funds are raised, if we are going to remain watchful on how values are going to be transmitted to our younger people. Another area of fund-raising is cross-selling. The recent one, as in the papers, is Aviva (the insurance company) and NKF. Cross-selling and sharing of databases - this is an area which I would also hope that the Council will look into. The third part of this that I would like to raise is the attention on how the charity dollar is used. We have seen in some organisations aquariums galore, in some instances, TV sets, plasma screens, plush surroundings, water features - nothing wrong with that at all.”
“What I am raising here with this incident is that different definitions do go into making up what comes back to the beneficiary in terms of a precise dollar value. There needs to be greater consistency in the factors that go into such computation. Another example - operational costs. Comparing an apple for apple, NKF cites an example of $31,200 per annum to help a patient on dialysis. Kidney Dialysis Foundation (KDF)'s figure is $15,079. The manpower resource for NKF is one person to two beneficiaries. And KDF works with a much smaller manpower pool. The subsidies granted to the beneficiaries are also not very clear, from both the websites. Therefore, it becomes imperative that as these guidelines are being mediated by the Council, it is my hope that very clear criteria are spelt out so that the public will know once and for all what are the factors to look for, what goes into the computing, and then make a considered decision. I do not wish to knock NKF here. But what I would like to point out, using them as a case study, is that it is difficult for the public to become a wise donor if basic issues on monetary value on each charity dollar given to the organisation, or operational and administrative costs, as depicted by the organisation, are not consistently applied. This includes transparency issues on salaries of top management - the CEOs. After all, public listed companies - the banks - recently announced what their CEOs are earning. And when we talk about mega dollar charity organisations, transparency issues should cover such areas too. The second part of this is to highlight the proportion that is allocated to fund-raisers. It is currently at 70% back to the organisation and 30% - up to 30% - back to the fund-raiser.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, for granting me this opportunity to speak on this topic, and to all Members of this House for being charitable enough to listen as it is already past six o'clock. I wish to speak on this issue of charity practices as the recent developments over the National Kidney Foundation (NKF)'s reserves have highlighted practices that are too varying in nature, too polarised and, I think, this has already been spoken on twice this year, in dire need of better governance. It is my hope that some of the issues I have raised here can be taken on board by the Council of Governance as they mediate on the guidelines that will be announced soon. Firstly, NKF needs to be applauded for being creative, having long-term vision and for branding itself so well that so many people immediately can recognise what it does and donate generously. There are inherent good practices that one can learn from. Forward-planning and amazing reserves up to $189 million is not wrong in itself. But when it comes to such large charities, it must also be seen as an equal responsibility to exhibit good corporate social responsibility and be accountable to all their shareholders, that is, each and every donor. In reference to this particular comment, I would like to point out a few areas where I think corporate social responsibility means sharing with the public clear information. The most important criterion to a member of the public is what comes back to the beneficiary. In this case, NKF, in the public domain, has made two announcements of 52 cents coming back to the beneficiary, as well as 56 cents. One has been passed off as a computing error and the other has been accounted for as well.”
“Sir, could I ask the Minister, in this considered and cautious approach, whether some studies will be done on the vice rings around the gambling prospect, in particular relating to prostitution and drugs?”
“Sir, could I ask the Minister what would be the terms of reference for this Council in terms of transparency issues as well as in terms of how space can be created for the smaller charities?”
“Sir, could I ask the Minister when will the Council of Governance come up with the improved set of guidelines? Secondly, what is the assurance that we can have under the current system of guidelines? I heard the Minister's anwer to Mr Charles Chong on the computation of the beneficiary dollar. What goes into that computation under the current set of guidelines, and how will this be improved upon under the revised system?”
“Lastly, I would like to say that this is an important area, in spite of the current instability, because our guest workers are our ambassadors. We need to look into it.”
“Sir, I would first like to applaud the Ministry on its many new initiatives to protect the foreign domestic workers (FDWs), training of new employers and foreign domestic workers, booklets on safety precautions, accreditation schemes, etc. Most employers do treat their FDWs well and, in some cases, extremely well and the number of obvious cases of abuse is small. What remains unclear though is what constitutes acceptable working conditions. Currently, the variations from one worker to another on salary issues, rest periods, sick leave, days off, prompt payment of salaries are too wide. We cannot say that these are the conditions that need to be settled between the employer and the employee because here we have, in our midst, a foreign domestic worker. Whether she is savvy or not, we have to see her, more often than not, as being a little bit more vulnerable. It is my hope that the Ministry of Manpower would look into a standardised contract to spell out certain terms or, at least, a set of guidelines on good practices so that employers and employees do know the terms which are open, transparent and, most important of all, consistent and can be applied. I know the Ministry would come back to say, as in last year's answer, that there are enforcement issues here. How do we enforce this? I think that the current accreditation scheme that will be effective from 1st June can be used to put pressure on agencies to take this under their purview, ie, to govern the behaviour of the employers who have taken the FDWs from their agencies. Another way to govern this would be, if the terms are open and consistent, for all of us in the community to play a role in alerting the Ministry or the agencies to any abuse of contract. But when the contract varies, we are all stuck.”
“I have one more question about the 90:10 ratio. I would like to know whether that also can be looked into.”
“I would like to appeal to the Ministry to review these two areas, ie, the percentage ratio as well as what constitutes standard and non-standard items. This would reduce the burden on the VWOs and let our special children have the amenities that they should at least get easily. School Sports Facilities”
“Sir, I will drop the cut on mega schools because it has already been answered through class size. I will move to the next cut, please. School Buildings On standard and non-standard items, Sir, I would like to make comments on what we consider standard and non- standard items where new school buildings are concerned. I was very pleased to note earlier, through the discussion from Minister of State, that more Special Education schools are slated to be rebuilt. That is good news. However, I would also like to ask the Ministry whether it is timely to review the guidelines on what constitute standard and non-standard items. In particular, I make some reference to some of these items, like a multi-purpose-hall-cum-canteen. In a SPED school, having them separate is classified as a non-standard item. Whenever it is a non-standard item, one has to go back into the community to raise funds. In a mainstream school, I think a multi-purpose hall is already a standard item. But when it comes to a SPED school, this is a non-standard item, like art and craft room and ECA, etc. Because the children already need special facilities, I wonder whether it is fair to the SPED school that the standard and non-standard items are classified in this manner, and whether there should not be a review to make it fairer. The next point is that, currently, Government aided schools pay about 5% of the building cost, while the Ministry kindly foots 95% of the bill. But when it comes to Special Education schools, it is 90% from the Ministry of Education and 10% from these schools, and they also have this problem with facilities that need to be more tailor-made for their children.”
“All right. I think we are not on a common platform.”
“I think I have said it clearly enough. There is still no answer yet.”
“Two clarifications, Sir. One is on LSP. I did not mean at Primary 1. I meant at pre-Primary 1, at the registration time which is July. The screening takes place at that time. Can we offer some form of LSP so that we have a five-month headstart with children who did not have any pre-school education, after doing the screening? The other clarification is, yes, I know of the 2.5 from MOE and 1.5 from VWOs. But I do not get a clear indication as to why the pedagogical side of it cannot come under the Ministry of Education - teachers, training, curriculum, career prospects, salaries. I know it is parked under the NCSS for certain teachers. Could I have a clearer explanation, please?”
“Finally, I think it is about time that we gave our children with special needs the due recognition that they deserve.”
“It is an international treaty which recognises the rights of disabled children. The most important article for the protection of disabled children is in Article 23(1) which states that: "States, parties, recognise that the mentally or physically disabled child should enjoy a full and decent life in conditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate the child's active participation in the community." We have passed the Compulsory Education Act and we have also left out children with special needs. This is not acceptable. It is my hope that the Ministry will review this policy, as it reviews all other policies, to make sure that our children with special needs come on board. In case that is still in the pipeline, I would then like to appeal strongly to the Ministry of Education to ensure that all special education schools are co-located with mainstream schools. This gives rise to a lot of economies of scale. Firstly, sharing of resources, as the LSP pool of teachers can also double up in the special education schools and vice-versa. Secondly, common curriculum, such as PE and art and craft classes, can be shared across the board, depending on the kind of flexibility needed. Thirdly, it is cheaper to build schools together so that they can share common facilities, such as school fields, etc. Lastly, and the most important, emotional bonding, recognition of each other, that our society grows knowing that we live with people with disabilities and giving them due recognition. If hospitals - we are learning a lot from the Ministry of Health here - can be co-located with step-down facilities, I do not see a problem in mainstream schools being co-located with SPED schools, ie, that all schools are co-located.”
“Sir, I share the concerns of the speakers before me. The Special Education Schools (SPED) are in a state of need where teachers are concerned. Here are some of their problems. (1) I hear that there are about 100 vacancies in the 20 SPED schools currently. The teacher-to-pupil ratio, as already mentioned by hon. Member Dr Ong Seh Hong, is between 1:10 and 1:12. (2) The attrition rate is roughly around 10%. (3) It is difficult to recruit new teachers, and upgrading takes time as most of them are already so stretched and the courses are on a part-time basis. (4) The Ministry's support of giving 2.5 times more in financial support is stretched universally across all disabilities. Certain children are multiple disabled. Teachers need greater training to deal with such children. Yet, it is 2.5-times the cost factor across all SPED schools for whoever the teacher, whatever the child's capabilities. It is my hope that the Ministry of Education - and I know this is not new, we have spoken about this a few times here in Parliament - would take under its wings the SPED schools, the teachers especially, ie, the pedagogical aspect, looking after the training, curriculum, career prospects, salaries, so that our children will have better attention. The current situation of VWOs employing untrained personnel to look after the pupils is, I think, totally unacceptable. Compulsory Education Sir, one of the most vulnerable groups among persons with disabilities are our children. They are more vulnerable and they rely on adults for the enforcement of their human rights mechanisms. The Convention for the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most complete statement of children's rights, and it is the first to give these rights the force of international law.”
“Sir, perhaps the point was missed again. I am asking about a comprehensive across-the-board kind of education for lower primary children, because they are more vulnerable and cannot be left on a more ad hoc basis. We can use VWOs, or even the Police could come in and conduct such talks.”
“Sir, there was no answer on my question about lower primary and what we can do to educate the young about whether they should or should not be touched.”
“Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang: Sir, I wish to support the views of Ms Braema Mathiaparanam and to just add on a few other points here. These days, our young have easy and ready access to Internet chatrooms, illegal videos, CDs, and sometimes even pornographic websites. We are also seeing some emerging changing sexual mores and norms over, for example, homosexual matters, oral and premarital sex, to name a few. The Straits Times report of 16th March, "Teen Sex in the (Lion) City" that my colleague mentioned earlier is a case in point. To deal with what appears to be an increasingly "sexualised world" for the young, I would like to ask the Minister whether it would actually be reviewing its human sexuality programme and its present approach in conducting it in schools, and also how it involves parents in the process. Also, what are the Ministry's plans to help students understand through its human sexuality curriculum and other related curriculum, the national procreation issues facing the long-term future of our country, as we have been hearing and debating in this House in this session. Sir, the cow, and to some extent the bull, seem to be our favourite animals in this House during this year's Budget debate, judging by our frequent references to them. I shall add my contribution. Regarding the role of parents, it is well and good to say that they should bear primary responsibility in educating their children about human sexuality. We can go on exhorting this line to parents until the cows come home. But the reality is that most parents are not and are unprepared to do so. As such, the role has to fall on the schools and the community. I hope the Ministry, on its part, will be able to rise up to the challenge to help our nation in this regard.”
“Sir, there have been a few reports in the newspapers of our students developing sexual relationships at an early age and, in some instances, having multiple partners. In recent years, there has been an average of about 2,000 teenage pregnancies a year. I am sure the majority of our students are less adventurous and more cautious, concentrating on their studies. Nevertheless, we need to face the reality that the world our young occupy today is vastly different from ours, with chatrooms, SMSs and phones with multimedia capabilities. The dynamics of their social interaction have changed dramatically. Coupled with this is the phenomenon of our dual income family where, at times, the primary care giving is relegated to other members, like foreign domestic workers or organisations like the student care services. Yet, looking at the sexuality education of the Ministry, I must say that the content of the Growing Years series is a little removed from this reality. I would like to urge the Ministry to review the content of the Growing Years series and also to review perhaps the training programme that the teachers have undergone. I hear that the training programme is a good and comprehensive one but, at times, to keep up with the reality of the world that our young are in, this training needs to be further enhanced, and I hope the Ministry will look at that. The second call that I would like to make in this particular aspect is whether the Ministry would consider introducing a compulsory course in the lower primary classes, with perhaps the help of a VWO like the Singapore Children's Society, so that our young will learn where they cannot be touched. There is a rise in the number of child abuse cases. I think that kind of awareness will go a long way in protecting our children.”
“A look at nurturing an interest in a child means a lifetime interest into adulthood and retirement. A look at the magazine rack at any bookshop in UK or the States reveals an amazing maze of activities. There is almost a magazine for every hobby, some as obscure as train-spotting, that one has to flip through to know what the obsession is. The point I am making here is that we all need great passion and interest to take us through into our old age. It is my hope that, as school is a place of learning, a place for imagination, the scope for CCAs will be broadened and we will find the facilitators using Edusave money to conduct and facilitate such activities. Character Building”
“Sir, I am pleased that the Ministry is finally going to improve the school ranking scheme to take into account character building and CCAs. However, the current scheme of activities open to school children does fall into the predictable list, to name a few, eg, football, rugby, hockey, softball, or the co-curricular activities such as drama, public speaking, uniformed units, librarianship, IT clubs. If we wish to nurture the varied interests of our children, be it in the areas of stamp collecting, movie discussion groups, book clubs, saving the endangered species of animal groups, etc, we also need to create the environment around them. Children do care about the many things that happen around them and in the world, but we, as parents and teachers, sometimes give them a prescribed list of activities, be they ballet, piano or art classes, thus robbing them sometimes of their own interests. I feel that such interests can be further nurtured, harnessed, honed or dropped, if the child's interest wanes. We do not need to stay with an activity in a predictable manner from one year to another. As such, when we give schools autonomy, it is my hope that teachers can expand the range of activities around the pupils, become facilitators in this process, and also negotiate for these activities to be recognised under the CCA scheme. Schools and the Ministry need to be more flexible on the descriptors currently used for CCAs. Let me share some of the activities that students in the United World College here enjoy, eg, tenpin bowling, freebies, books on tape, rainforest club, card games club, stage lighting club, stage design club, jewellery and accessory creation club, cartoons club, jazz club, recreational hockey, etc. It is exciting.”
“Lastly, as we continue with this discussion on mother tongue, may I also urge that we keep an eye on the command of our English language where our students are concerned, so that we know that we are moving perhaps a little bit more beyond Phua Chu Kang. Language Education”
“Sir, I would like to appeal to the Ministry that the teaching of English language be made more interactive in the lower primary classes. While we may have a good command of the written language, it may not always be true for the spoken form. A check with some primary school teachers shows that there is still too much emphasis on the written form in terms of composition, comprehension and structured answers, and this is quite a routinised process. Teachers also say that there is too little time within the current classroom situation to engage in discussions that involve processing information as well as having fun with the use of the language. Moreover, the indicators used to see whether successful learning is taking place within the classroom still go back to the conventional form, often in terms of composition, comprehension and written exercises. My fear is that we have boxed the English language into something that is perhaps too functional, with little room left for having just pure fun. Developing a love for the language has to begin early which, I think, happens in many homes. But at the end of the day, it is the school that continues to nurture that interest. In this respect, I have two questions or suggestions to make. Firstly, the teachers who teach English language, especially in the primary schools, could I ask who they are, what are their qualifications, and whether they are individuals who have specialised in either English Language or Literature at university. After all, for mother tongue, we do bring in specialists. Secondly, we could also do with introducing an oral component in the examinations, and this oral component could carry a stronger emphasis than the current form, so that we encourage our young children to speak and we also hear their voices.”
“My counter to that would be that if we look at nursing right now, students without "O" levels enter Certificate in Nursing, students with "O" levels enter a Diploma in Nursing course. So "O" levels are still crucial and if so many of our Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) students can make it to Secondary 5, I would like to know why the Ministry still sees it as a necessity. 5.00 pm”
“Sir, I look forward to more exciting announcements from the Education Minister, especially with regard to ranking. Sir, I would like to ask the Ministry to consider doing away with the Secondary 4 academic examinations, and allowing all Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) students to sit for the Secondary 5 "N" examinations at the end of three years, the reason being four out of five of the 10,000 students who get into the Normal (Academic) stream already qualify for the Secondary 5 "N" examination. A check with the Ministry's top 40 schools for the Normal course in 2003 - shows that in almost all of the 40 schools, about 80-90% of the students obtained three "O" levels and 65% of them went on to obtaining five "O" levels. These are very healthy trends. While four out of five go on to Secondary 5, their Secondary 5 results show that our Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) students are capable of producing good results. So, if this is the trend then I hardly see, unless the Ministry can convince otherwise, the necessity to prepare our Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) students for a two-step progression - a Secondary 4 Normal examination and then followed by a Secondary 5 examination. If we look at the original intent of introducing the Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) stream, it was to allow the students to reach "O" levels at a pace that they can move along with. So, if this is already happening naturally over three years, why not we just do away with the Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) examinations? I anticipate the Ministry's reservation on this point. "Why are we over-emphasising the "O" level?", was the answer I got last year.”
“Sir, I have to declare my interest here as I work in the Corporate Communications Department in a restructured hospital. Sir, with greater transparency, which is something that I applaud, and a population that is better educated, it becomes imperative for doctors and nurses to develop good communication skills and bedside manners. What I am saying here is from my experience as both care-giver and a patient. Currently, both the Certificate in Nursing and the Diploma in Nursing have modules, in some cases, elective, that deal with communication skills. In other cases, bits of it are incorporated in the general course. I hope that in the proposed degree course in nursing, and in all these other courses, communication skills which play an important role be made a compulsory module. Housemen, nurses and trainee nurses whom I spoke to, say that much of it is left as an on-the-job training, and depended on a good mentor to take them through. It is my hope that the Ministry will look into this. As the public gets more and more educated, they would need more information. The way information is given to them becomes very important as it will help them make considered choices in an era of greater transparency. Lastly, the patient-nurse-doctor relationship is a very delicate one. It means mutual respect for each other. In certain cases, I think doctors need to be more mindful and respectful of the roles that nurses play. I totally endorse what Dr Lily Neo brought up about the image of the nurses. It is my hope that mutual respect, or a process towards attaining mutual respect, can be taken on by the Ministry with the help of the Singapore Nurses Association, which I think can play a bigger role in all of these. Shortage of Manpower”
“And I agree with Dr Amy Khor's arguments on the criteriafor bringing our sporting characters into the schools. If we spread it across, maybe in the long run, these academic criteria will not be a problem too.”
“Sir, I really enjoyed the visit to the Sports School and I am really excited for the children, the teachers and the coaches. Nevertheless, I have two points of view on this subject. Firstly, I would like to ask the Ministry what isthe rationale behind naming the road leading up to the school as "ChampionsWay ". I just feel that we are putting a little too much of pressure on the children and also leaving them quite open and vulnerable to ridicule. Ironically, I do not know about the rest, but when I first saw the word "Champions", the instant recall I had was Milo, which is testimony to the successful branding of that product. So, I think this can even open itself to more ridicule if we perhaps are not watchful. I would perhaps like to suggest this.There are quite a number of local sporting heroes whom we can use to name that road.We have, for instance, Mr Wong Peng Soon, who was crowned as Singapore's greatest athlete,he took the All-England titles in 1950, 1951, 1952 and 1955. We also have Mr Tan Howe Liang, an Olympic silver medalist. So when we have good history, good exemplary characters, why the anonymous "Champions Way" ? It is left a little bit too open. Secondly, I share Mr Iswaran's view. There is an exciting model going on in the Sports School, a balance between sports and academia and personalised mentoring. How can we use that model and replicate it across the other schools? This cannot be left isolated in some corner of Woodlands but it has to spread across to the other schools. I would like to ask the Ministry what are the longer term plans,what is the timeline, and how can these wonderful andexciting programmes be brought into the other schools.”
“Here, I am not talking about married women but also of single women as they tend to shoulder the eldercare responsibilities. General discrimination at the workplace goes against our fundamental principles of meritocracy. This is where, as a society, we must forge a consensus and not be divided. I agree with her that we should try and find a way to try and overcome this at the workplace. I think I have addressed her two concerns, Sir. Social Cohesion”
“She has raised her concerns on two Articles. Let me first talk about Article 2. We have tendered our reservations and there are important reasons why we have done so. For example, Articles 2 and 16 of CEDAW require us to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women. This is quite a mouthful but it is something whichis there in the Article. Singapore, asyou know, Sir, is a multi-racial and multi-religious society. Islam allows a man to marry four wives if certain conditions are met, but not vice versa. Islam also sets out complementary but different roles, responsibilities and obligations for men and women. For this reason, we have to tender the reservations to address provisions under Singapore's Administration of Muslim Law Act, which are not strictly consistent with the full gender parity definition under CEDAW. So I can understand Ms Braema's concern. But because of our local context, we have to be sensitive to the needs of the various communities here. As my opening statement says, while we agree with the general intentions of CEDAW, a blanket agreement may not be in the best interest on how we continue to maintain our racial, religious and social harmony. Sir, I am not familiar with Article 5 specifically, but the Member did mention about whether or not we are going to look into the issue of harassment and discriminationof women. As I have mentioned earlier, with regard to gender discrimination, we are mindful that some of the practices like family-friendly work practices could lead to general discrimination of women in the labour market.”
“Sir, I would like to first commend the Ministry for setting upa women desk as well as the type ofchanges made, eg,even the medical quota against women has crumpled. However, I am raising this issue of our compliance withthe UN Charter on the complete elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. I would like to ask the Ministry for an update of our level of compliance, primarily on two articles. On Article 2, which refers to a constitutional mandate on gender equity, the reservation placed was that we have observed customary differences based on religion. I would like to ask the Ministry whether this reservation cannot be parked under Article 16 which then allows the Women's Charter, as well as the Syariah law, to be used to cover the sensitive observations that we need to comply with anyway. The other article is that of Article 5 which deals with sexual stereotyping, prejudice and family life agenda. I would like to ask the Ministry whether there is any move to look into laws on sexual harassment asbrought up by MsIndranee Rajah earlier on, and also on issues of marital rape. Would the Ministry give an update on this? Lastly, there are concerns on Article 11, but I think that can wait till August for greater discussion. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I would like to thank Ms Braema Mathi for commending us for setting up a women desk. I think she must acknowledge that that is a step in the right direction. Sir, we currently hold some reservations to a few Articles under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). We agree with the general intentions of CEDAW for general equity but uncompromising blanketadherence to CEDAW without due regardto oursocial norms might not be accepted nor desirable for Singapore.”
“Sir, this is about the role of singles in families. I have looked through the website as well as the literature of the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, primarily the attitude on family. Throughout the documents, both on the website as well as the book itself, there is very little mention of the role that singles play within the family. In this respect, I would like to appeal to the Ministry to make it more inclusive of the role that singles play. What then is the role that singles play? Many of them do look after their elderly parents, their handicapped sisters or brothers. They child mind their nephews and nieces. They fit in whenever married siblings have to drop and run, and they pick up the pieces for the family. They are there by the side of ill relatives as well as the children of their siblings. In a nutshell, the singles are there by the side of their families. And as the Ministry is the key mover of family values, I think it is also appropriate that in its literature and its messages to the public, the role of the singles is given a place and accounted for, so that the singles do not feel that they are on the fringe. 1.30 pm Infant and Child Care”
“Recently, PAGi and the National Crime Prevention Council launched a booklet for parents on safe Internet usage and cyber crime. There are many programmes by Government and non-Government agencies to educate Singapore youths about positive values, sexuality issues, the consequences of promiscuous behaviour, and the importance of responsible sexual behaviour. Again, I want to stress the importance of parental supervision and open parent-child communication. Community resources and information are widely available to help parents work with their teenagers on sexuality issues. Ms Braema suggested that we should think out of the box and look at creative ways to help. We will be most happy to listen to any suggestions that she may have. Ultimately, our emphasis must be for parents to take it upon themselves to understand the changes which are taking place and help their daughter to take responsible actions. Aging Population”
“My Ministry is also concerned for young girls who engage in sexual liaisons with men they meet over the Internet and other avenues. There were several media reports recently of underaged girls who engage in promiscuous sexual behaviour with multiple partners. Ms Braema Mathi suggested mandatory counselling for these girls. Sir, mandatory counselling is available. If parents find that they are unable to moderate their child's behaviour despite their best efforts, and they feel that the child's behaviour is a risk to her own safety, they may lodge a complaint of beyond parental control at the Juvenile Court. Depending on the risks and needs of the child, the Court will issue a supervision or residential order. The Court can also mandate the girl and/or her parents to attend counselling. However, lodging a complaint at the Juvenile Court should be the last resort. Parents need to understand that such an action will often adversely impact the parent-child relationship. Instead, my colleagues and I at MCDS would like to emphasise other approaches to deal with this issue. For parents who are aware of their daughter's promiscuous behaviour, it is important to maintain an open line of communication. Rather than just confronting and condemning her, parents can try to talk with their child to help her examine the impetus for such behaviour and to understand the consequences. Parents can also approach the Family Service Centres for counselling services to help both parents and child address the issue. Members of the House may be aware that we have a voluntary organisation called PAGi or the Parents Advisory Group for the Internet. They organise many activities and provide support for parents to guide their children to use the Internet positively and safely.”
“Sir, we are living in a world where our young girls and boys have access to dating via chat-rooms and take on personas while being in these virtual social gatherings. In the last few years, there have been two cases of underaged girls, who reportedly, had sexual experience. In today's Straits Times, we read about a survey of 104 students under the care of a VWO, with33 of them making claims that they have had sex, and 10 had had multiplesexual partners. What I gather also from social workers and school-based counsellors is that it is difficult to get the teenagers to attend counselling sessions as there is very little hold over them to keep them on track with the counselling. Research shows that counselling and child sexuality cases need proper diagnosis of root causes to minimise the emotional mental disorder and prevent further sexual deviancy. As such, I would like to suggest a form of mandatory counselling, which I leave it to the Ministry whether it is by law or by other means. There is a good model in the earlier discussion that the Minister made about the self-reliant programmes where we bundle a few things to get people on track. Perhaps, such a model could be used for teenagers where we bundle both the good parts and not so palatable parts of counselling such that teenagers remain on course with the counselling sessions and, hopefully, we can save them from further harm to themselves. Today's article in the papers stated one example of the case of a girl in the home who has since learned that what she did previously was not quite right. I hope that the Ministry will look into this seriously. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I agree with the Member.”
“The other group belongs to the very low income and who are unable to make ends meet due to the income they could command in a depressed job market, besides having to support a larger family. 12.00 noon Sir, when we talk about a strong society, we should not only be focusing on our ability to increase material wealth but, equally, we should have the will and care for the underprivileged and less fortunate amongst our society. Hence, we should ethically help these Singaporeans. The Government recently announced a 2% cut in the budgets of the Ministries this year, and a further 2% cut next year. In view of this cut, I wish to ask the Minister whether his Ministry would be more stringent in providing public assistance to the first group I mentioned, and financial or other assistance schemes to the second group. I wish to also ask the Minister whether the 2% cut will have an impact in further enhancing the public assistance scheme or other schemes in place. Will there be any improvements to the public assistance scheme this year? Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Project”
“However, sometimes the person in need needs to know what these are and how to access them in a more fundamental way beyond the website. Could the Minister please enlighten? Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang: Sir, I would just like to reinforce the points made by hon. Members, Mr Charles Chong and Ms Braema, and to say that whilst we have a lot of these schemes which help the traditional poor, the new poor and those with temporary hardships, the existence of all these separate schemes makes it difficult for the public to actually understand and to utilise them in a holistic manner. My understanding is that whilst there are computerised data systems existing among the CDCs - the NCSS is also having one for the VWOs - these systems are not common. They cannot talk to each other. So, we have issuesof checking and monitoring usage and how do we extend the help given to more people in a more efficient manner. I would like to ask the Minister whether he could enlighten uson what his Ministry is doing toovercome the information gap. Mr A Nithiah Nandan (Nominated Member): Sir, in the past couple of years, Singapore had gone through a number of economic downturns. These downturns have resulted in misplacing many workers from their jobs. Not only workers have been retrenched but their families have also been affected. Globalisation and the emergence of very aggressive new entrants in the economic arena add quite an impact on the type of investments and jobs Singapore could attract. This has greatly affected especially those who are in jobs in the lower end of the employment market. In a way, it has created a further problem to two main groups: one is those who have been incapacitated for one reason or another - the aged, the very poor and the under-employed.”
“Sir, it is commendable that there are many financial schemes available to help people in need. I have spoken on this issue before and I will reiterate the points made perhaps in the last discussion. The various assistance schemes use many indicators, which is good. But could the Ministry please explain why indicators on income too need to vary across the schemes? For instance, fee assistance for student care and in others, such as the centre-based financial assistance scheme for childcare, in one instance, it is household income of $1,500 per month, and the other, it is gross monthly income. My concern is how then does the Ministry get a real picture of who is the person in need and how to identify the real poor person. Would it not be a better prospect to standardise at least on the common indicator of income? Secondly, certain schemes such as HOPE and the Work Assistance Programme are conditional in that the family or the individual needs to attend training. This is good and it is a good demand made on the individual or the family. However, in spite of all the cooperation given by the individual or the family and still things do not move for the family, I need to know how does the scheme apply to them. Thirdly, how are these schemes managed at the agency level? What kind of quality control measures are there in place across the CDCs and VWOs to ensure that families do not hop across the financial schemes, and also thatthis assistance is managed holistically? For these various schemes, is there a confidential database on applicants and their progress? Lastly, there are plenty of schemes, which is well and good, and websites too are up.”
“I was saying that women should do NS compulsorily.”
“Secondly, women coming into this fold are also equally important as human resources are getting scarce and it will become inevitable that women need to play a bigger role in this area of nation building. In fact, the then Prime Minister had already brought this up in 1978 and this was brought up again in 1998 when Parliament discussed this issue all over again. Some women, of course, might find this unpalatable. Why should they be serving in such an exercise? However, I think it is a fair demand for women to do their bit in this. An AWARE's position, which was tabled to the Remaking Singapore Committee, is that it is something we ought to do as women if we are asking for gender equity. Women need to know also that doing such a stint is beneficial as it prepares them for national emergencies, something that Dr Jennifer Lee has already said, and the throwing together of people from diverse backgrounds is both an enriching and challenging exercise. These bonds of friendship will extend into work and family life for both genders. While men have to have a rethink of man as the head of household, the women too have to rethink on what gender equity really means for them at the personal level. 3.15 pm Accounting Practices”
“Sir, I am also rising to raise this issue of women doing National Service, like the other hon. Members of Parliament. However, I am not talking here about just making babies. I think we should leave making babies as a national service, it is not a national duty in the first place. As to why I see it as a nation building exercise is because I see that there are two arms to National Service. One part of it is that there are other sectors as mentioned before - the SCDF, Singapore Red Cross, the Police, the health sector - that also do their own little bit in building up this nation. And then, we have the military arm. If we were to put these two arms together under a bigger corporate whole, maybe consider it as a nation building exercise, then within this realm, both men and women can play a more productive role. In that context then, I would like to hope that both men and women can be given an opportunity to choose which arm of these sectors they would like to compulsorily give their service to. And in time, perhaps a year's stint, and if they wish to specialise, they can sign up for a longer training period or be enlisted into the military arm or the other arm. There are interesting models already around, from Switzerland to now I hear that Sweden too is going to table this in Parliament for discussion. On the need for women to be conscripted into nation building, this is inevitable on two counts. If women wish to see gender equity as something that is due to them, then it is also fair that women see this as part of their duty towards the nation to serve in the military or to serve in any one of these sectors.”
“Sir, with an ageing population, there are more retirees with time on their hands and looking for new hobbies, and many of them want to go back to the land to become farmers or gardeners, but not everyone has the luxury of living in landed properties with sizeable gardens to potter or putt around. In England and in Germany, plots of land are set aside for retirees to begin farming as an enterprise or as a hobby. I am asking if the Ministry of National Development could take the lead in this with AVA, HDB, URA, SLA, to keep aside more land beyond the 1,200 hectares that I believe are currently made available to retirees on two levels. For the smaller plots the HDB dwellers could come down, potter about and go back to his flat for home consumption. Secondly, on a larger scale, for our more mobile retirees to sink roots here rather than take off to retirement homes elsewhere and form a farming entrepreneur ownership, and so develop even by-products from the products that they grow. This is indeed I feel a growth industry and there are many opportunities here for us. One example I can cite is Bollywood veggies by Mrs Ivy-Lim Singh and her husband Mr Lim Ho Seng, where their products are already in the NTUC supermarkets. And, you can even drop in now at their farm for by-products like lemon-grass tea.”
“Sir, I must commend the Ministry for continually revising the Building and Control Authority guidelines since 1995. The mandatory Code on Barrier-Free Accessibility (Third Edition, 2002) is clear, and it applies to offices, residential buildings, places of worship, resorts, shopping malls, hotels, F&B outlets, etc. However, the Code is deficient in not making it mandatory to create barrier-free access for the following groups: the older persons, the visually impaired, disabled children, facilities for families with young children. The BCA guidelines do make recommendations as in the Appendixes. However, clause 1.1.6 states clearly that these are not mandatory. So, in effect, they become guidelines. I would like to ask the Minister why they are not mandatory and, if they are not mandatory, how then is the industry governed in providing barrier-free access for one and all in our country?”