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 3 of 6.
“The community of Chinese elderly really would like to have their dialect programmes coming back to them. Lastly, the call that they made is to show greater sensitivity and not depict them as weak or frail. A good example lies in today's Forum page whereby the Chairman of the National Council Against Drug Abuse rationalises the decision to portray memory loss using an elderly woman. In his letter, and I think the irony is lost on him here, he says, the key challenge was how to drive home the message in a 30-second advertisement featuring an elderly woman with impaired memory. That is why they had to use an elderly woman. So I think we can have quite a number of lessons that we can learn on sensitive portrayal. I would like to know how MDA can fund or help to find sponsors to fund such programmes.”
“Sir, in spite of all the good local programmes that are coming up, I am advocating for better and more programmes for the elderly to be aired and, also better appropriate times over the free-to-air channels and on radio too. Sir, from feedback gathered at the Programme Advisory Committee, of which I am a member, the elderly in the group and other older folks I have spoken to, have expressed the following. One, more oldies with their favourite stars, such as Wang Sar, Yeh Fong, P Ramlee, MGR, Dean Martin in them, so that it is a flash back down memory lane for the elderly too. Two, create or buy programmes that portray the elderly as a vibrant group, instead of a fragile lot. Their suggestions include featuring sports people, such as Reynold Caleen, the marathoner, mountain climbers, retired soloist, who sailed round the world. Three, local family dramas that depict generational differences and similarities that can help the young and the old understand each other better. Also, in that, they would like to have more programmes that show the various hobbies that elderly people can pick up. Four, they also have discussed that there is almost a lack of older people as news readers or game show hosts. Right now, Dick Clark is still universally recognised and appreciated. What has happened to our own local older group of news readers? Five, to schedule more of these programmes in the afternoon so that it does not clash with prime time viewership and cause family problems sometimes, as they tussle over the remote control. In all these, there is one recurring theme also that has come up, which has been brought up in Parliament before, and that is at least an hour or so of dialect programmes over radio.”
“" Sir, we are providing wonderful experiences for our visitors. What more do we have to do for our own citizens? And, if the Minister is going to ask me whether the citizens will want to pay for this, I see it as corporate responsibility. The state, the two bus operators and the citizenry must pay, so that the disabled do not just have to go to Sentosa.”
“Sir, I would like to first say thank you to the Minister for letting me park this topic under MOT instead of the usual place, which is MCDS. The reason is that I do see it as a national policy because such a provision actually caters to four groups of people: parents with strollers; the disabled; the elderly and the normally healthy people, who because of an injury, are wheelchair-bound for a temporary period. As such, providing transport for the disabled becomes a national concern that affects everyone right now, or in the future. So, it does need a mindset change. If we leave it with MCDS, the provision of a dedicated service will be transferred to, in all probability, the VWOs to manage, which will then come back to the citizens, in all probability, as a charity dollar to support the system. Therefore, it is my hope that if we truly believe in our desired outcome of providing a first-class transport system for the citizenry, that is seamless, we have to bite the bullet and look into providing at least kneeling buses that will complement the NEL and the SMRT lines. We do not have to look very far. They are already in Singapore on Sentosa Island, brought in at $250,000 and they are giving our tourists the best experience. A recent report in the Straits Times, I quote the Deputy Communications Director who says, "These are just small touches that we hope will give our visitors a pleasant experience." My question then is: what more are our own small touches, big and small, that we have to provide for our own citizenry? Let me quote a visitor's experience. A Mr Huang from Hong Kong said, in that same report, "It is very convenient, these kneeling buses. We have something similar back home. Only it has an additional ramp. This is more convenient.”
“Sir, firstly, I would like to commend the Ministry for moving into a more offender oriented approach towards the prisoners. The Singapore Prisons Service is now called Captains of Heart with an emphasis on rehabilitating, renewing and helping ex-offenders to restart. I would like to ask the Minister, in this aspect, the number of staff and the quality of the staff who have been retrained to take on this approach and to help offenders to rehabilitate. Where else have our prisons officers gone for training to cope with this approach? There is also a customised recovery route under the Prisoners Housing Unit Management System and an Integrated In-care System. What are the details of these systems and what are some of the outcomes where prisoners' rehabilitation is concerned? 12.45 pm In the current climate of job instability for some of our own citizens, could I also ask the Ministry how successful has the care network been since it was formed in 2001, I believe, in helping ex-prisoners to secure jobs? Lastly, the last statistics on the relapse rate that I could find was one of 1977, concerning prisoners with criminal records covering five years, where the relapse rate was 30%. A search in the Library, both NUS as well as the National Library, did not turn up a similar research. Is it possible to look into good academic research area, if it has not already been done, to see how our prisoners are rehabilitated and to also look at lessons that we can learn?”
“Lastly, I would like to ask for cooperation with Interpol when it comes to paedophiles who are passing through Singapore en route to other countries. Drug Abuse”
“Thank you, Sir, for letting me speak on this topic. Sir, the number of children who are abused is rising - 193 in 2002; 205 in 2003, of whom five were below the age of five. A third of these children, I am told, were sexually and/or emotionally abused. It is this last group that I am concerned with. I would like to ask the Ministry if there is a special team to handle such cases where children are involved in such sexual offence against their will, of course. And if there is such a team, how are they trained? I am also told that the average length for such investigations is right now about nine months, putting the children through much psychological revisiting of their trauma. Can we streamline this process and shorten the investigation process in any way? I would like to also ask the Ministry how do prosecution charges come to bear on the offenders in such cases. Let me explain. In some cases, it is incest, and in others it is statutory rape. I would like to know where the bloodline, in terms of the victim-offender relationship, really ends in certain cases. The next question in relation to this is that, in some countries, these charges are turned into charges on paedophilac activities. In Singapore, I am just wondering why they remain as incest and statutory rape when it involves very young children. Is the sentencing structure in other countries stiffer for paedophilia, and is there any comparison? I would like to know if, in Singapore, the incest/statutory rape charges, when it comes to young children, are adequately stiff both in stigma and in sentencing as opposed to paedophilac charges of other countries. And why do we label them differently?”
“Sir, may I clarify? What I meant about the old people was not that they should take part in the National Day Parade. That will be too taxing on them. Rather, we should create some kind of scheme as a National Day recognition for their contributions.”
“I raise this with respect to a recent newspaper report where the Independent Society of the Blind tried to raise money by tagging on its mailer to the Singapore Power bills. There is a loophole here in the sense that if the society went out into the streets, then it has to apply for a permit. But when you tag on to a mailer, there is no permit. So could there be greater clarity on how funds are raised and also on the criteria used for IPC status? Charities”
“Sir, there are many groups appealing for donations for a variety of causes. Most Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans are very generous. In 2002, according to a Straits Times' article, $400 million was donated to non-profit organisations. It is good news that, the governance of the Institution of Public Character (IPC) has been formed with the primary objective of setting common standards of governance so that the donors would be more informed on how this money is used. My concern in raising this here pertains to the criteria used to assess which organisations are worthy of the charity status and how they go about raising money. I have checked on the website of the IPC which shows an exhaustive list that includes a diverse group, such as the Chinese Opera Society, EDB foreign university education fund, Eunos CCC education and welfare fund, Adventist Home for the Elders. While this diversity is good, because it shows that we respond to different needs, perhaps greater clarity is needed and needs to be shared with the public. I understand that there are 13 central fund schemes, such as the Health Endowment Fund, the Education Endowment Fund, and organisations that have similar objectives can come under this umbrella. Yet, we also have stand-alone organisations that do seek charity status. Sharing the criteria schemes will be useful to organisations that are in need of becoming a charity. Lastly, when the Charity Bill was tabled for Second Reading by the then Finance Minister, Mr Hon Sui Sen, in 1982, one reservation raised by a Member of Parliament at that time was how can we limit the fund raising where the organisations are concerned.”
“Sir, I see little relevance and, in fact, quite a bit of bureaucracy in the way we are trying to distribute the ERS shares to the elderly who are 65 and above. Again, some 84,000 have missed out and some of them cannot afford, like my other colleague has said earlier. I think if we factor in the volunteers' resource time as well as the administrative duties that go into trying to distribute the ERS shares, perhaps it would be good to review the original intent of why we embarked on this, which is to primarily give some top-ups back to the elderly, and just give it to them without the top-up itself. On another note, I would also like to see if we can do something more for the old. We have a very small group of people who are 80 and above, who are destitute, who live in homes, or like the samsui women on their own, and I think we have no clear official record of how they have actually contributed to our society in the early days. I would hope that we can do something for them on National Day and make them feel good. It should not come from the community as a charity dollar, but from the State. And this is beyond the ERS so that they can really feel that they have been valued for all the contributions they have done to our country. Government Subsidies”
“On goods and services tax, I am also asking the Finance Minister to reconsider why there is the need for GST to be levied on structures built for the disabled and items bought by the disabled. Quite a number of VWOs are right now in the process of building new buildings for their disabled communities that they look after. One incident is that they have to go back to the community to raise about $200,000 to pay for the GST taxes. It comes back again for the community to pay for the GST. Could this, please, be reviewed? Tax on Sports, Arts and Cultural Groups”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister for Finance to review the policy that singles do not enjoy tax relief on the maids they employ to look after their elderly parents or their handicapped siblings, so that they can continue in the workforce. The first time this was discussed in Parliament, the then Second Minister for Finance's response at that time was that the tax relief was only meant for married women. Now that he is also the Chairperson of the procreation committee, I hope this can be reviewed so that singles can contribute both to the workforce and the family. The manpower statistics show that 7% of employers of foreign domestic workers are singles, and 3% are divorcees. If we take the relief at $8,000 per employer, we have a total of 9,800 singles due for enjoying this relief or an annual sum of $800,000. I think this is not such a big sum in the scheme of things but a great boost to the status of singles who are contributing both to family life and to the workforce. The Chairman: Ms Braema, can you go on to your next cut? Goods and Services Tax”
“When does Sintercom become political and when does it remain a civil society? Lastly, I would like to ask for clearer and more consistent signals so that we can get more ownership from the citizenry.”
“And in this discussion, I will just cite a few examples where I feel sometimes mixed signals are sent to the people that sometimes they do not know which way to go or they step out of this process altogether. Role of the CDCs. This organ is great for community bonding and for funding. But, at times, it subsumes quite a number of initiatives that come from the ground in its ever expanding umbrella. In fact, I fear sometimes that the ownership can transfer from the citizens straight into the CDC fold. I recently heard of one case of a CDC now giving out all-rounder awards to school children with certificates and money awards. I wonder what is happening to the schools' ownership in this instance.”
“Thank you, Sir, for allowing me to speak on this subject. I would like to make some observations on what constitutes civil society today, and ask for greater openness and trust among the three main stakeholders - the Government, the private sector and the people, which include societies, voluntary welfare organisations and civil society groups. If one were to look at our short history, we were never short of examples of the people taking ownership to improve things around them - the clan associations that were set up to help each dialect community among the Chinese; the Malays who were very organised along the principles of gotong royong, the spirit of mutual self help. The Indians too formed associations along ethnic lines or language-based discussion groups. Then we had a blend across cultures as societies and voluntary welfare organisations were formed to help the less fortunate among us. In politics too, the then women's movement under Mdm Chan Choy Siong helped the PAP to get rid of polygamy and also won some women's votes for the party in the early days. With globalisation, the private sector too is now becoming more accountable and is looking to corporate social responsibility as its own selling sector. Companies like Shell, Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Singapore Press Holdings, MediaCorp are all trying to contribute to the good of society. The third sector - people. Many of us want ownership too to make a better society. Often, due to the lack of experience or the fear as perceived, it does curtail some of these aspirations. If we really want to create a vibrant society, we need to engage our people more in the decision-making process or as enablers towards the decision. Our people must step out of the so-called fear zone.”
“Why can we not do it now, because it is staring in our face whether we should still be having this policy that so obviously discriminates against female civil service officers? 11.15 am Lastly, I would just like to say a big thank you to Dr Maliki for being one parliamentarian who has stood up for women. Child Sick Leave”
“Thank you, Sir, for allowing me to make my presentation on this cut too. Since 1976, this issue has cropped up from various Members of Parliament and various Presidents of women's groups too. In a 1994 parliamentary speech, the then Finance Minister said, "It is the husband's responsibility to look after the needs, including the medical needs. This is how our society is structured. It would be unwise to tamper with this structure." Today, it is 2004. The social climate is changing and we have to make amendments and slaughter, not a sacred cow, but perhaps a sacred bull - that man is the head of the household! As long as this fundamental is in place, the civil service will be led by that. The civil service needs to lead by example, and such archaic policies, such as the 1994 Medisave-cum-Subsidised outpatient scheme policy which favours the male civil service officer over the female needs to be revamped. The reality is here - ,000 or 54% of our civil service officers are women. So just by having this policy, we are actually discriminating against the majority. Admittedly, 28 years later now, the space for discrimination against female civil service officers is getting smaller. However, I still get the impression that we are maintaining a status quo on this and the civil service cannot afford to lag behind the private sector. A check with some private companies already shows that they are far ahead in this field. DBS Bank, for example, has got no such discriminatory policy on medical benefits. What is beyond my understanding here, and I need some clarification, is why are we tenuously clinging on to this policy and have to wait for August for a review through the procreation committee.”
“Can I seek one clarification too? On the LawNet, at the current cost of $30 per half hour, it is quite prohibitive. I think schools can benefit a lot from getting access and Hansard is a document for all. How do we reconcile the two effects? Could we have a little bit of a clearer answer? We would appreciate that.”
“We have just heard DPM mentioned about things that are nice to have and things that we have to be prudent. I do understand that. Nevertheless, I see the accessibility of the Hansard as something that should be given to citizens, and one way is using SingPass.”
“Sir, I am advocating a Hansard for all. Currently, the Hansard of this Parliament is available online on its website. This is commendable. However, I would like to ask why our archives are limited to no earlier than March 2002. A cursory look at Hansard made available online by other countries show that the archives of Canada and the USA go back to 1994; the UK, 1988; the Australian Hansard goes as far back as 1981. I am asking that the Hansard be made more readily available to the public, especially for busy Singaporeans who do not have the time to visit public libraries or come to Parliament directly. Singaporeans should also not be made to pay for this use. An ad-hoc subscription to LawNet for a search will now cost $30 per half hour, not including the GST charges. It is interesting that on top of paying $30 per half hour, we still have to pay GST. It may be argued that copyright issues are involved. Yet if, on the other hand, it is the Singaporean who pays for the enactment of our laws through his or her own taxes, then should the Singaporean not also have an easier access to these documents through Hansard? Sir, having Hansard online is not just for researchers or an academic process. Members of the public too need to be engaged and these archives help each citizen to get a sense of history of our nation, how it was built, and how it is reinventing itself. An example will be the recent discussion in Parliament on head of household. It was first brought up, according to Hansard, in 1994 by NMP, Kanwaljit Soin. The social climate then and now are interesting comparisons for members of the public to also look at. The public can then make meaningful contributions to debates with better access to the archives.”
“On a last note, I would like to perhaps encourage all my fellow colleagues to perhaps read this book called 'A Bitch in the House'. I have forgotten the authoress. Excuse the language, it is the title. The very first page - even if one does not go beyond - spells out clearly the dilemma that faces a wife from a dual income family who is trying to manage a wonderful career, and who is also trying to manage a wonderful home life. I think that kind of insight needs to be internalised beyond the lip service that sometimes we give to this whole concept. And I think the Government is now on the right track in looking for longer term solutions.”
“So it works like a childcare until the parents come home, then the foreign domestic worker goes off to another setup to begin the next day. Again, on the issue of the foreign domestic worker, we conducted a seminar last year, and it was very telling that we had a young girl who was about to be married and she asked this pertinent question that I would like to share. She said that for the last, almost more than two decades, we have had the foreign workers. She wanted to start a family. She asked, "Where are the childcare facilities and infant care centres that are close enough to my home or to my employer, such that for all these years that we have been paying the levy for the maid, that money could have been used to bring about more childcare centres, more facilities and better resources within easy reach?" And that is a question that, I think, we do not have an answer. Maybe there can be an answer later. On another point - I think the most important of all, I suppose - is socialisation, which quite a number of Members brought up. How do we wish to perhaps socialise a nation to look and to value children again, to see the whole responsibility, not just as having children for the nation but to enjoy the child. I think, so far, we have forgotten that children are there to be enjoyed. We have used words, even in some of the discussions here, like 'yield', 'buy', which are commercial terms. I quite understand perhaps why we use these terms. But if we are going to talk about socialisation, if we are going to shift the nation's attitude a little bit further into appreciating, bringing up children, etc, and not see it as a burden, the language that we use becomes very important, and it needs to be managed consistently at the same time.”
“Employers, if they have such flexible arrangements, can offer parents whatever scheme that they can fit into the whole structure of that organisation, instead of having that half a day that intrudes into family life too. At the same time, we also have to relook at what employers term as compulsory activities for their employees, especially on their weekends, because we have to keep aside time as a family, and I think employers at times try to put quite a lot of pressure on that balance between family and the workplace. The second point is on the six months' maternity leave. As I have mentioned, the Norway example offers us some good lessons and maybe we can modify it to our own experience, meaning that after perhaps two to three months of leave being given to the mothers, then it becomes a joint decision with the employer, the father and the mother on how the rest of the leave is to be shared. Tax relief should be extended to all children irregardless if you are a twin or a triplet, or even a quadruplet. Because I think a child does not deserve to be known as a child without the tax relief. Infant care and childcare are not just questions of facilities. We need to look at how accessible they are to the employees and how are they staffed. We have a good pool of retired teachers, nurses who may really wish to be retrained as childcare teachers. I think we can look into this area to enhance the pool for childcare resources. On foreign domestic workers, much has been said already. But I think we need to look at whether it is necessary to have a foreign domestic worker as being domiciled within the home. The concept of having foreign domestic workers on wheels is an option that, I think, many parents would welcome.”
“With that policy comes all other policy matters, from medical benefits to definitions of leave, etc. This whole suggestion of even offering six months' leave has been termed as maternity leave. That alone shows that we are still putting the responsibility back on the mothers-to-be. I would like to say, as Mdm Halimah Yacob had also brought this up, that we should reconfigure the status, we should reconsider packaging this leave not as maternity leave, etc, but as parental leave. In Norway, fathers and mothers have joint childcare leave which is left to the parents to decide as a team between them. Of the 42 weeks with full pay entitlement, the mother is only entitled to three weeks before and six weeks after birth. The rest of that 42 weeks is a negotiation between father, mother and the employer. This will be an ideal way of placing joint responsibility of bringing up children between parents, fathers and mothers. If we are really serious about trying to fix this problem on a longer term basis, then we really need to look at what are our policy structures in terms of what we consider the status of women. Gender mainstreaming has to become part and parcel of how we approach a lot of our policies. On these, let me also talk about some other schemes. The five-day week has to become, in my opinion, a reality. We still have a five-and-a-half day week. I would love to know what studies show how productive that half day really is. Yet, we have many industries that work on a 24/7 model. When we have a 24/7 model, why do we not work on a five-day week, spread from one Sunday to the next Saturday?”
“If, in these short-term solutions, there is a concern over the diverse origins of babies which we will bring in through adoption or through marriages to spouses of foreign countries - I think we can believe in our own system that we do have a meritocratic system, we have great emphasis on responsible parenting, and we have a wonderful scheme of lifelong learning programmes. Put the three together, I think the chances of having children not being brought up as good citizens of this country will be very small. Next, we look at another group of Singapore citizens who have decided for whatever reasons best known to them that they do not want to have babies or are happy to have one or two, and that is that. We have heard Mr Tan Soo Khoon speak about how it costs about $77,000 to bring a child right through university, and in terms of real years, quarter of a century. If this is how costly, perhaps in personal terms, it can be to an individual couple, maybe it is also time to stop badgering these couples to let them make their own choices, to give them the due respect that they are asking for, suspend judgment, and look at where the fit can work better for us. Couples who really want to have babies, we can see how we can help them, and even if it means that a particular family is already with five children and is looking towards their sixth, we can give them the support that is needed. The long-term approach to delivering more babies in Singapore lies in a structural setup. The baby shortage problem is every citizen's. Till today, the language used by some colleagues, the media and employers have squarely put that responsibility on the women. We are today still seeing a policy of men being heads of the household.”
“Is it possible, like Mr Ang Mong Seng said, to look into how we can persuade single mothers-to-be or married couples to reconsider aborting their healthy foetuses and instead support them to full-term pregnancies and, perhaps if they so wish, put up their children for adoption. It is also perhaps time to review the baby drop idea that was discussed in this Parliament last year. A baby drop idea might help mums in trouble to drop off their babies for adoption rather than to go for an abortion. There is also another group of singles who do want to adopt babies. If they are part of an extended family structure which we do recognise, and there are in some cases wonderful aunts and uncles, is it possible to slaughter this sacred cow and offer them a process of adoption too? Thirdly, there is another group of men and women who cannot wait to start families. Yes, many of them are married to work permit holders and former foreign domestic workers. They face an uphill task in securing PR or citizenship status for their families, and so continue to conduct their lives split over two countries. I have come across two cases of good responsible Singapore men, both married to ex-domestic workers. Both ex-domestic workers carry wonderful recommendations by their Singapore ex-employers. If these domestic workers have helped our own Singapore children, would it not then be a natural conclusion to say that when it comes to their very own, they will help bring them up as good responsible citizens? Is it possible also when we look at these short-term solutions, to see whether we can review or relax on the criteria of assessment of such Singapore men or women who are married to work permit holders?”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, for allowing me to speak on the issues related to the Budget 2004. My comments are on two matters - the procreation policy and the proposal to reduce subsidies for university education. First, on procreation policies. I would like to, first, commend the Government on taking a stance to be less prescriptive in this area. Though we are stuck with the possibility of becoming an endangered species or to put it less alarmingly, in spite of this gravity of not replacing ourselves, it is astute and sensitive of the Government to be more consultative and collaborative in looking for solutions on an issue that is, at the same time, so very personal and yet has such national implications. This is a refreshing change. On procreation policy, let me, first, discuss it as a 'fit' question that in some instances we have not looked at who wants babies, people who are trying hard to become parents to assess how we can help them along the way. Earlier, Dr Michael Lim has elaborated on the ART of trying to have children. I will look at when the biological struggle to have a child fails, what are the other options and how can the state help in this case. Parent wannabes can be persuaded to adopt, and right now the process is becoming less painful, with MCDS setting up two VWOs to look into this area. The question here is: can we further enhance the easing of this adoption scheme and allow desperate couples to get their children from overseas or locally as soon as possible? The other area was also brought up by Mr Ang Mong Seng and Mayor Heng Chee How about abortions. We have 14,000 abortions roughly in a year.”
“Sir, in terms of preventive measures, could I ask the Minister of State what kind of collaboration takes place with doctors or the Ministry of Health, especially for young children, in reporting of such cases and what action takes place after that?”
“Can I ask the Minister then, since we do believe that principals must have the autonomy to exercise what they feel is the best ground decision, how are principals chosen, perhaps what kind of track record do we look at to ensure that we have got a good principal who knows how to use discretion in such matters? Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: There is no cookie-cutter approach to selecting a principal. This is like leadership in other areas that we are familiar with, how you spot a person with leadership abilities. It is also, in the school context, about people who know what teaching is about, what nurturing students is really about, people with a certain sense of care and compassion. Our principals are basically people with a good sense of how young individuals grow. We take great pains to identify potential school leaders early in their careers and we check our assessments as they go through their careers. We go to great lengths to do so and put them through various projects and courses where we can also come up with further assessments as to who would make a good principal. It is not a perfect process, but it is not working too badly. SCHOOL FUND-RAISING PROJECTS (Guidelines) 4. Mr Ang Mong Seng asked the Acting Minister for Education whether there are any regulations or guidelines on fund-raising projects for school principals to follow in order to spare students from committing too much of their study time, effort and money to such projects.”
“Pardon my ignorance here. Can I just check with the Minister of State whether seat belts are compulsory on these buses? If not, would we consider this?”
“Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Transport (a) in the past three years, 2001, 2002 and 2003, what is the number of accidents involving school children and school buses; (b) whether LTA will review the need for school bus attendants for buses of 18 seaters or below, especially when these buses are also permitted to carry an additional one third more children; and (c) whether LTA will also review the need for separate buses for lower and upper primary children and for accompanying bus attendants.”
“Could I please ask about the specific area of cooperation with the State of Johor because most of them are swimming across and the snakeheads are operating in the coastal villages? The problem must be serious enough for us to erect fences. What is the level of effort there? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: The Police has a very good working relationshop with the Royal Malaysian Police, including, of course, its counterparts in Johor. It has been like this all these years, not just in the fight against illegal immigrants but on other fronts as well, and this will continue. MR STEVE CHIA (Leakage of police report) 12. Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for Home Affairs if he will (i) investigate the leakage of a police report made at Ang Mo Kio Police Division concerning Mr Steve Chia, NCMP, around December 2003; and (ii) state what steps will his Ministry take to stop further leaks of police reports while investigations are still going on. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Sir, the media reports did not contain information known exclusively to Police investigation officers. I would like to assure the House that allegations against Police officers breaching confidentiality are treated very seriously. Since the Member has alleged that there is a possible leak of information pertaining to the report made by Mr Steve Chia's wife, Police is now investigating this. ACCIDENTS INVOLVING SCHOOL CHILDREN AND SCHOOL BUSES 13.”
“I heard the Parliamentary Secretary on the answer given to Ms Ng, but could I just ask the Parliamentary Secretary to give a rough estimate on the numbers? What percentage or what bulk belongs to employees who are Singaporeans and how many are foreigners? The second question that I have is that for the two employers who were prosecuted, what is the status of the employees who were affected? How were they compensated?”
“This scheme supports children in non-profit Student Care Centres. For single parent families who are more at risk, the Ministry has started a programme called the Healthy Start Programme which provides early intervention through providing appropriate support to the parents to strengthen their parenting and coping skills. Sir, we understand Mr Ong's concern over those who are affected by the unemployment situation. For this group, the Ministry has recently implemented the Work Assistance Programme (WAP). WAP, as I mentioned earlier, is designed specifically to help Singaporean families tide over a period of unemployment and, more importantly, to help the main breadwinner quickly get back to work. The programme is open to low-income families who may have lost a source of income and who are in need, and this includes single parent families. It provides both employment and short-term social assistance to the recipients. HUMAN ORGAN TRANSPLANT (AMENDMENT) BILL Resumption of Debate on Question (5th January, 2004), "That the Bill be now read a Second time.". - [Acting Minister for Health]. Question again proposed. 2.37 pm”
“We would like the couples to keep their marriage strong so that the children can grow up in an intact family and supportive environment. We must give our young children the opportunities for them to succeed in life. The HOPE scheme replaces the Small Families Improvement Scheme (SFIS) but retains the same objectives as SFIS. There are existing schemes that low-income single parent families can tap on to meet their various needs. Our schemes provide not just financial assistance, but also support for their children's education and development. Those who need interim relief and support can be assisted under the Interim Financial Assistance Scheme (IFAS) or the Rental and Utilities Assistance Scheme (RUAS). Under IFAS, the families receive a monthly allowance and, where necessary, grants to help them pay for the utilities and service and conservancy charges. For those living in rental flats, RUAS helps them with their monthly rental and utilities bills. Single parent families with young children can tap on existing pre-school assistance schemes to help them offset the cost of childcare or kindergarten education. As I have said before, there is also the Centre-Based Financial Assistance Scheme for Childcare. This scheme provides a subsidy on top of the existing Government childcare subsidy. It also provides for a one-off assistance of up to $1,000 for eligible families to meet the upfront costs of placing their children in a child care programme. There is also the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme that subsidises 75% of the monthly kindergarten fees, or up to $600 a year, whichever is lower. Similarly, those who need help to pay for the before-and-after-school programmes for their children can tap on the Student Care Fee Assistance Scheme.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister how many so-called jobless spouses have been helped to find jobs so that they can help their families. Secondly, does the Minister agree that this is a vulnerable group of people and, if so, what kind of inter-Ministerial cooperation can take place from the court at the point of the divorce settlement? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I must apologise as I do not have the number of people on the WAP scheme but I will try to provide the figure to the Member. As to whether there is cooperation, I would like to assure the Member that there is close cooperation between MCDS and the courts, because this problem of maintenance orders does affect families. And families which are in distress will need to be helped. So we are in constant contact with our colleagues in the Family Court. And if there are ways in which the Member would like to suggest on how we can best improve our assistance programmes to these families, we will be most happy to discuss with her. HOME OWNERSHIP AND EDUCATION SCHEMES (Relaxation of criteria) 11. Mr Ong Ah Heng asked the Minister for Community Development and Sports in view of the unemployment situation will his Ministry consider relaxing the criteria for qualifying for the Home Ownership and Education Schemes for single parents who have two children and who possess lower than GCE 'O' level qualification. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) scheme is not designed for Singaporeans who are unemployed. It is a programme to encourage young families with limited financial resources to keep their families small and stable by providing them with a comprehensive package of assistance.”
“But I would like to assure the Member that if a single parent approaches our family service centre, notwithstanding the fact that there is a maintenance order, if she is in need of help, we will help her. I would like to assure him that the assistance to the family in terms of their needs will be catered for once they step into any of the various centres which are available island wide.”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister on the last part regarding recovering some of the monies owing to, more often than not, the wife? How successful have these schemes been in recovering some monies? There are lots of financial schemes which are available, which is well and good. What is the Minister's assessment on how available and accessible these are and made known to people? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, on the first question, I do not have the details. I will refer it to my colleagues in the Ministry of Law to get some details on the success of the programmes carried out by the Family Court. On the financial scheme, from the data that we have for the last few years, there is an increase. A lot more families are aware of the assistance out there. We have to thank Members of this House who have referred a lot of cases to the CDCs, and also to members of the public who have alerted us. I am confident that with the outreach programmes that we have put in place by the various partners in this scheme - the VWOs and self-help groups - the CDCs which are responsible for rolling out all these financial assistance schemes have been able to reach out to a wider network of people in Singapore. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang (Nominated Member): Sir, the Minister has mentioned various schemes. They are very good for those who know how to use them. Is there a fast track system that is coordinated, so that for confirmed maintenance cases and for genuine reasons that they are not getting help through the maintenance route, there would be this fast track to help them get assistance from the various other schemes? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I am not sure whether there is a fast track scheme.”
“Could I have the assurance from the Minister that in the way we have given the permit, we have not contravened the Convention then?”
“They could not have been bred in captivity then. So how were the records checked?”
“Two supplementary questions, Sir. The Minister of State mentioned that, according to CITES, as long as it is wild or bred in captivity, it allows it to be imported. I am a little bit lost here as to what is the definition of "wild" if it is an endangered species when you are going to bring it and keep it within a specific area. How did that dolphin then come about to be? Is it captured in the wild then? Could I have some clarification on that? According to the report in the newspaper, the Oasis Seaworld was founded in 1990. The dolphins that came here, the average age, according to the report, is about 26.”
“May I ask the Acting Minister how does the Ministry encourage the child who feels that he or she cannot pay the school fees of these independent schools? What steps do the primary schools take to encourage such children to put such independent schools as first choice?”
“Sir, could the Minister please clarify on why some kids, as reported in the newspapers, have been asked to take a year off to increase their competency in literacy and numeracy skills before being enrolled in Primary 1? What is the Ministry's mandate where principals are concerned in taking in children who perhaps cannot read or write at all?”
“But if the Member knows of specific cases, I will be most happy to investigate. As for the ratio, we have looked at this very carefully, and these are based on some studies that have been done. It is left to the childcare centre to work with the specified ratio. As I have mentioned in my reply, it is a maximum of 1 teacher to 25 children. There are some childcare centres which cater to 25, some even less. I agree with the Member that we should find the best way possible to integrate every child into the childcare centre. We have done so, especially with disabled children. This year we announced that some childcare centres are taking in kids who are disabled. Beyond that, I think the childcare centres will have to find their own way to deal with some of the difficult children. But if there are specific cases that the Member would like to raise with me, I will be most happy to look into them.”
“Sir, does the Minister think that it is time to have a national registry of children who are eligible for pre-school to track them? Because, now with compulsory education, it becomes more important that our pre-school children get their minimum numeracy and literacy skills. That is one question. Another question is that I was disturbed by some recent news story as well as what I understand from social workers that in a classroom with a ratio of 1:25, there have been instances where childcare teachers have wrung their hands and asked the parents to take the child out. How can we prevent such things from happening? Is it perhaps timely to review this ratio? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, it is not compulsory for every child to attend pre-school classes. Therefore, there is no need for us to have a national registry. But I agree with the Member that we should encourage parents to send their children to childcare centres or kindergarten programmes. In fact, the take-up rate is quite high. For all the childcare centres over the last four years, the enrolment rate had been up to about 75%. So, there is already an understanding by parents that childcare centres and kindergarten programmes are necessary for the child's development. On that accord, I do not think it is necessary for us to have a national registry. On the same point, self-help groups are also encouraging low-income families with young children to enrol their children in childcare centres and kindergartens where there are assistance programmes for them in terms of offsetting the fee requirement for these families. As regards the difficulty of some childcare teachers to deal with difficult children, I do not know of any specific cases.”
“Does the Ministry issue any guidelines then, please?”
“May I ask the Minister that it is great that the content remains more or less stable for six years. Is there any guidance that the Ministry can give the publishers such that the textbooks do not get printed with new inclusions that children cannot share textbooks across years?”
“Could I ask the Minister regarding the national hotline number 1800? Can that be operated on 24 hours with reference to FSCs locally? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, at the moment, you can call the helpline anytime but there will not be a person after office hours. You can leave a message and someone will call you back. Whether or not we can extend it beyond the normal office hours, we will have to look at that in terms of its viability. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang (Nominated Member): Sir, in view of the new social assistance schemes that are in place or will be in place like HOPE, WAP, etc, FSCs probably would be asked to shoulder more of the cases referred from CDCs and meet-the people sessions and other sources. The question of resources is therefore pertinent. What new measures and provisions will be available for them? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, with respect to these new programmes, the resources are now given to the CDCs because the CDCs are managing the programme. But as I have mentioned in my reply, we are reviewing the role of the FSCs and we will study the resources that they may need to carry out these additional responsibilities.”
“Matters discussed during counselling sessions are kept strictly confidential, and I am reading from the Recruits' Handbook, page 30. I have already discussed earlier in response to another Member's question about how an NSman can raise issues if he feels that he is seeking redress. There is a system through the command chain and there is also a system outside the command chain where he can approach his Member of Parliament, but there are certain rules that have to be observed. Sir, every time we have an incident or an accident, every time we lose a soldier, it is a painful experience for us because it is one of our boys. And we take it very seriously and we look for ways of improving what we do. And the Training Safety Regulations are paid for with the blood and, sometimes, the lives of our soldiers. That is why the Training Safety Regulations are written that way and that is why the Training Safety Regulations have to be followed. And this is exactly what I told my Commanders this morning. We have to keep on improving. We have to keep on learning. And I can assure Members that we will continue to do our best to make sure that our men are trained well and that they are trained safely.”