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 6 of 6.
“In cases where there is more than one language chosen, the Court will conduct the proceedings in either language and an interpreter will simultaneously interpret into the other language. These interpreters are engaged at the Court's expense, and not by the divorcees. The divorcees will thus understand the proceedings, the testimonies and examinations that go on in their presence in court. Subsequently, the orders that are pronounced by the Court in their presence will be in the language that they have chosen. For example, in cases where the divorcees do not understand English, but understand Malay, the Court will conduct the proceedings in Malay and will pronounce its decrees and orders in Malay, whilst the written document reflecting this will be in English. FOREIGN MAID LEVY 5. Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry plans to increase the foreign maid levy and, if so, whether the Ministry has considered other alternatives other than just increasing the levy.”
“Mr Zainudin Nordin asked the Acting Minister for Community Development and Sports and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) what is the number of requests for translation of documents and rulings of the Syariah Court from Malay to English; (b) is there an increasing number in such request; (c) does his Ministry find it necessary for future written documents and rulings of the Syariah Court to be given in both Malay and English. The Acting Minister for Community Development and Sports and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Syariah Court started issuing its summonses, correspondences, documents, decrees and orders in English in August 1999. Prior to that, such documents were issued in Malay. The switch was made for the benefit of divorcees who needed to submit the documents for various applications to other Government agencies such as the CPF Board, Immigration and HDB. Before the switch, divorcees had to go to the Supreme Court to translate the documents from Malay to English for a fee. This meant that such families had to incur additional costs, suffer inconvenience and delay. The present arrangement serves the interests of divorcees better. It saves them time and they need not incur additional costs for translations. Although important documents such as Court orders are printed in English, the proceedings of the Court are always conducted in either Malay or English, depending on what the divorcees themselves are conversant in. Very often, simultaneous interpreters for Tamil, English or other languages are used to assist parties who do not understand Malay or English.”
“Could I ask the Minister how then can we enhance or deepen this reading habit especially among the polytechnic students and upper primary students because there have been reports that the standards of ability to converse and dwell and discuss in English are getting lower? What are the efforts we can take on then? RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, I disagree with the Member that our English Language standards are getting lower. I think if you look at the usage of English Language in Singapore and you look at the top 5% of English speakers and you compare them with the top 5% of the population 20 years ago, I think they are comparable. If you go down to 15-20% of the population, they are speaking English today. But probably when you get down to about 20% of the population, they were not speaking English 20 years ago. If you get down to 50% of the population, they are speaking English today, not perfect English, not the way the Member speaks English or the Member would like others to speak English, but they are speaking English. Therefore, the English that we hear today, because it is being spoken by a much wider spectrum of Singaporeans, who might never have spoken English before, on average, may be lower. But the English level in Singapore, I think, is indeed higher than it was 20 years ago. So I disagree with the premise of the Member's question. SYARIAH COURT (Translation of documents) 4.”
“Could I ask the Minister of State about the question on mediation council? In the on-going process, is it possible that we do not have to use the Act and we can nip things in the bud?”
“Madam, I applaud what the Minister said earlier about not inhibiting the censorship but making it a little bit more transparent. As part of that process, while you bring in the right people to form this body, may I also suggest that sometimes that kind of overriding principles must come down to the officers on the ground, including MITA officers as well as editors of papers, etc. Because, sometimes the OB markers are not very clear and everyone tends to over-read the Government. Perhaps this can be taken into consideration.”
“When a marriage dissolves and, instead of a joint application, they now become two single applicants, and they could have upgraded, so it becomes a third-time application, but it is a single parent. Could there be any concessions, please, or does it go back to the same premise of the bank loan?”
“Sir, for a third-time applicant, in terms of joint applications where couples are concerned - a different type of risk - the marriage goes bust, will there be any kind of consideration here, please?”
“Just one point. The arguments that were put forth by the Ministry at that time about three or four years ago, on whether to allow MRT trains to become disabled-friendly, sound very similar to the arguments that the Senior Minister of State is presenting now. For the public bus companies too, we are talking about productivity, etc. But it was good news that finally the MRT opens its doors.”
“Under the directions of the Ministry in wanting a world-class transport system as well as a seamless transport system, how would the Ministry account for a good MRT system that is currently disabled-friendly in terms of those in wheelchairs? When they get out of the MRT, there is not a good public transport system as in buses to help them. Would the Ministry be looking into perhaps a greater advisory role where the PTC is concerned in this matter?”
“As I said earlier, we are looking into a master plan for social workers in terms of their career development, training needs, etc. When that is out, I will be most happy to discuss this with Ms Braema, and have a discussion on what are the things that we really need to understand better. Ms Braema suggested some changes to the funding and felt that the 50-50 ratio restricts the ability of the VWOs to pay the social workers. I am not quite sure that I agree with her on that point. For the 50-50 funding ratio, there is a certain philosophy of co-sharing that we want to encourage. What we are trying to do now is to put a system in place called the Programme Evaluation System (PES). This would allow VWOs to be more efficient and, hopefully, with greater efficiency, they will have greater savings. The 50% funding is basically decided on every year based on how much they need. If they work smarter or more efficiently, there will be a lot more savings, and they can use that money to pay bonuses and salaries. So far, what we have seen is that the 50-50 basis has worked quite well. I am not prepared at this point in time to promise that we will change it. Let us look at other parts of the system where we can try and improve so that at the end of the day we can at least address some of the problems that Ms Braema has mentioned. Mdm Deputy Speaker, I think I have addressed most of the concerns, and I would like to thank Ms Braema again for raising some of those points. As I said earlier, I cannot address all the issues, but I promise the hon. Member that we will certainly look into her suggestions.”
“Like all paid personnel, they are basically still professionals who are working, who have a life of their own, families to look after during weekends, etc. So this is something which we have to work with the VWOs to look at how they can plan the workload and use some of the worklife initiatives that we have introduced to make sure that the workload is more evenly spread. I agree with Ms Braema that we cannot predict accurately the workload. But, to a large extent, if there is a human resource programme in place at the VWO, that would actually be very helpful, in terms of how they can adjust the workload. These are the things that we are discussing with the VWOs. So, let us look at the overall system that we are trying to put in place. We have increased funding to VWOs. We have set up a VCF fund so that they can use that money for training, research and even scholarships. We are now looking into how we can identify the core competencies needed for various professionals. Do we need a training institute to ensure that social workers undergo some training while they are even on the job? That is being studied at this point in time. Once we have that, something comprehensive, then we have to look at what is the right and appropriate salary scale for the social worker professional, primarily because, as Members know, the area of social work is diverse - from FSCs to eldercare, to counselling, violence, abuse, etc. There is a variety, in terms of the work that they do. At the end of the day, it is about dealing with people. But we must also understand that running a student-care outfit is slightly different from that of an FSC or dealing with eldercare. So we have to sort that out first. This is something that will have to evolve.”
“So, we have to understand the core competencies which are needed and then identify what are the training requirements for them. As Ms Braema rightly pointed out, when they graduate from NUS - I am sure Prof. Ngiam will agree with me - they are more generalists rather than specialists. They will have to go through some form of training. Ms Braema also mentioned about recognition - in this case, remuneration. She is right that NCSS has looked into the salary scheme to follow very closely the salary scheme of the civil service. As to whether they can match the kinds of schemes that are in place for teachers and nurses, this is best left for NCSS to discuss with the VWOs. Having said that, I would like to assure the hon. Member also that, to a large extent, it is up to the VWOs to pay their social workers. Some are able to pay more using their own funds. The manpower cost is already incorporated in our funds to VWOs. We will continue to adjust our funding to VWOs on a yearly basis to take into account inflation, rising costs, etc. We also take into account the need for wage increases. But in terms of whether the wage structure is consistent with other professionals that Ms Braema has mentioned - be it teachers or nurses - this is best left for NCSS to study further, because we have to evolve as we go along. So, rather than looking at remuneration, I would prefer that we look at the other parts of the building block first, whereby we have a system that they can go through in order to receive the training in the core competencies. Thereafter we can set out to determine the appropriate salary level. Key issues concerning social workers such as attrition and burn-out rate have to be addressed.”
“This is also currently being studied as to whether there is a need for a training institute for people to go to get new skills and new knowledge about what is going on. As mentioned by Ms Braema, there are now social trends which are developing, and social workers need to be kept abreast. The master plan is not ready yet. The thrust of the master plan is to look at the overall development of the professional social worker, from the time he graduates to the time he goes out into the field, and how he works his way through the VWOs. I cannot promise that we can get male social workers. We will try our very best. As Members know, we have tried to address the problem of shortage of social workers by providing scholarships to NUS for people to gain some expertise in social work, both at the undergraduate and the Master's level. These are some of the efforts that we have put in place. As to whether or not we can develop a system where we have a common registry and accreditation, we have to look into the building blocks first. Do we have, firstly, a comprehensive training programme? Are we clear about what are the core competencies which are needed in the various areas? Ms Braema mentioned about aging. That is a new phenomenon. What exactly is the competency that we need? So, in areas such as gerontology counselling that we are now looking into, what are the sorts of skills that we need? Some VWOs are in discussion with some foreign experts. I can be very candid. They have come to see me to discuss some of their suggestions. These are areas which are evolving, and we will certainly want to understand how best we can fit in this particular expertise that is needed because this is a phenomenon which will come in 2010 and beyond.”
“With regard to Ms Braema's point about plugging the gap by ensuring that there are enough para-counsellors, I certainly agree with that. I am not familiar about the certificate programme that she mentioned, but I would certainly look into that as I do know that some organisations have actually looked into training their own para-counsellors because of the shortage of social workers. Mdm Deputy Speaker, the first point the hon. Member has raised is a very important point - the shortage of social workers and how we recognise them. As Members might know, we have launched the VCF $30 million fund. Just to clarify: the $7 million annually is an increase in funding that we gave to VWOs this year. So there is money that is available to the VWOs at this point in time for them to use in terms of research, training, etc. We have also launched, with the Ministry of Manpower, the Strategic Conversion Manpower Programme in order to train people who wish to convert from whatever occupation they were in, into social work. Hence, we do have a plan in place to address these issues. Overall, I agree with Ms Braema that there is a need for a master plan, which NCSS is looking into. We need to develop something which is more comprehensive from the point at which they graduate from NUS, to the point that they begin to work, and the sort of training they will need. This is something which we will have to build up over time. Ms Braema mentioned about FRTC, which is a good example of a setting within the VWO to provide training for social workers. There have been some suggestions about setting up a social service training institute.”
“Yes. Just that the funds can be used, and I know that there is already one fund for the diploma programme. But the certificate level for Nanyang Polytechnic too can be enhanced. The Acting Minister for Community Development and Sports (Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Thank you, Mdm Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to respond. I would like, first, to thank Ms Braema Mathiaparanam for raising all the suggestions. I do agree with her that social workers are an important professional component in the social service sector. I would like to assure her that as I may not be able to answer all of her queries tonight, we will look into her suggestions and that my Ministry and NCSS will consider actively the suggestion she has made in areas such as social workers' career development and professional upgrading. And to consider some of the suggestions that she has made as we develop a master plan for the social worker community in Singapore. Let me just touch on a few things first, beginning with the last, because that is the first thing that one can remember. The hon. Member spoke about the role of social workers beyond merely being part of the social delivery system, but their expertise and knowledge can be tapped. I certainly agree with Ms Braema that we should look towards the social workers in terms of getting direct feedback and knowledge on the problems they face and the kind of skills that they need. I understand that this is something that is on-going between the VWOs and NCSS where there is constant dialogue and discussion. As to whether or not we can tap their expertise in terms of her first suggestion, of developing a curriculum, I think we should consider it. I am not clear about the format, but it is something which we can certainly work towards.”
“Just two points. I will wrap it up. I am not reading. I am just wrapping it up.”
“Using the Skills Development Fund and the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund, retrenched workers of sound character who can be assessed to be fit candidates ---”
“The next area which I would like to draw attention to is the role of the social service professional. Because of this shortage, social workers are often functioning as just doers, meaning appraising client needs, sourcing for help, and counselling them. However, we are ignoring a greater and more fundamental role of the social worker - preventive programmes. They are the professionals in the field, with more experience and energy that we can tap on to design programmes. We can use their management skills, etc, to further develop the non-profit sector, get deeper into research, such that the social worker can become a stronger advocate, commenting on the community's needs. We need more Laena Thambyahs to talk about the needs of children with special needs, more Anthony Yeos to remind us about what life is worth, and more Ron Chandran Dudleys to remind us of the needs of the disabled. Their voices must be heard, and the social worker is that advocate for the less privileged and less fortunate in our community. But when there is not enough time and too much work, they run the risk of just becoming doers, and so we do ignore the pleas from people whom we do not normally hear about. I would also like to suggest that we can tap the expertise of the social workers to develop joint curriculum projects with the various Ministries, especially the Ministry of Education, such that communication skills, one of the fundamental problems always faced by social workers, are put into place within the school system in a directed manner. Lastly, I would like to suggest to the Ministry that there is right now a window of opportunity to plug the gap where the shortage is concerned, by enhancing and developing a para-counselling layer with help from NUS, Nanyang Polytechnic and the unions.”
“Because we have a lot of cases of spousal violence, children who need that kind of male role modelling even within the social service sector, male social workers whom spouses can talk to, etc. Currently, we have too few males in the social service sector. So this career development plan, which is in the making I hear, should also look into ways of recruiting males into the service too as their help is needed to offer counselling to violent spouses, many of whom are males. The Ministry is already making some headway. Its efforts are appreciated in that it has increased funding through a VWO Capability Fund of $30 million and recently another $7 million was added for 80 VWOs to run programmes. All this means staff can be paid to run programmes and staff can be retained. Yet, without a systematic structure defining a social worker's career path, the training needs and a revised salary structure that can be applied across employers, these gestures run the risk of becoming band-aids, short-term solutions. Professionals in the social service sector are not volunteers, and it is not morally right of us to look into this issue without trying to give them the best deal when they are coping with a very vulnerable community within our society. In this revision, may I also suggest that the Ministry needs to re-examine its 50-50 co-funding structure that it shares with the National Council of Social Service, the reason being that when it is pegged at 50-50, the Council does not have the flexibility to reward social workers adequately and the cycle is perpetuated. Since I am at liberty to suggest a ratio, I would like to suggest that this be 70-30 or 80-20, so that the whole scheme can improve from a bottom-up approach.”
“Bear with me, I know time is ticking by, just to study the background a bit on how the salaries have been pegged for the social workers. In 1995, the salaries of social workers were aligned to that of the civil service's Senior Officers' Scheme. In 2000, voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) adopted the NWC wage adjustment scheme used by the civil service. But then the civil service moved ahead again and further implemented salary revisions for its superscale and timescale officers. Performance bonuses were also introduced. Currently, VWOs are grappling with what it means to have performance bonuses and an appraisal scheme that should follow that. So with all these schemes that the civil service has put in, social workers have to catch up all the time where salaries and performance bonuses are concerned. As social workers work in different fields - in hospitals, in schools, in VWOs and also, now, in CDCs - their salaries are adjusted by the various institutions that they work in. There are disparities, and social workers do compare which institution is providing better for them. This does not augur well for the social workers. It is perhaps timely that the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, NCSS, MOE, MOH, as well as the PA, could come together to plan the career development structure for social workers, as has been done for teachers under the Ministry of Education, look at the salary structures that they should be having as well as the training schemes that they can enjoy and look at a massive recruitment drive, such that this shortage can be weaning the way in the next few years. This, I am sure, the Ministry is already thinking of from what I hear. I would like at the same time to emphasise that recruiting males must also be a top priority here.”
“Going by statistics on social trends, we can see the potential increase in workload for social workers - the number of divorces or separations has doubled in the last 10 years from 1.3% in 1990 to 2.5% in the year 2000; the number of juvenile delinquents had risen last year to 31.4% per 100,000 young people, though arrests have fallen; violence in the home still averages at about six cases every day, according to police statistics. With greater awareness, there will be more reports on rapes, incest, etc, cases that cannot be wrapped up in five counselling sessions, cases that make a demand on the individual social worker on his/her own emotional and psychological make-up and energy. And then there are our national trends. Also, with an ageing population and a widening income gap, all this will just mean more at the social workers door. So what then can we do about all these? To deal with such cases and with rising sophistication in a Singapore client, it becomes very important for the social workers to keep abreast of the latest counselling skills. And also, the MCDS advocates family interventionist programme to handle clients effectively. These are time consuming. So if we just look at all that impinges on a social worker, increased case load, time consuming cases, cases that are becoming more complex, skills that you want to acquire but are too tight for time to acquire and not so favourable salary package, I do not think things sound so rosy at all for the social worker. Coming back to the situation where the salary is concerned, I am told that, currently, the social worker's salary package is a 10% lag behind those senior officers in the civil service.”
“A check with VWOs on the National Council of Social Service suggested wage rates show that a social worker with a general degree starts off with a gross salary of between $1,844 and $1,972. A teacher in training gets between $1,967 and $2,144 for the same qualification while training to be a teacher at the NIE. A nurse with a degree in nursing has his/her starting salary as $1,800. The social workers lot is a tough lot, as every profession would say. But I think when you are dealing with the vulnerable in society, it can be very tough on the individual social worker. Hence, the burn-out. Hence, the drop-outs. Hence, the attrition rate. Going further, while these salaries are there, let us look at the workload. Although salaries are perhaps not as attractive as other vocations, the workload of the social worker is not diminishing. In fact, it is increasing. A check with five FSCs for the month of July alone shows that each centre now handles between eight and 10 new cases a month while each social worker manages between 30 and 40 cases per month. About a fifth of these cases are to be closed in a year by the social workers. Social workers average about four at each of these centres. They said their time-consuming cases are those dealing with marital and parenting problems. They said that the cases, especially in the first half of this year, have also doubled because many clients are coming in with their financial problems. So that is the current situation. Going further to policies that have been implemented in recent years. With greater enlightenment and appreciation, the courts today rule mandatory counselling for juveniles beyond parental control, violent spouses and couples going for a divorce. All these cases do land at the social workers door.”
“I would also like to suggest that the Ministry of Community Development and Sports could also look at infrastructure and beef up an existing organisation - The Family Resource Training Centre - or work with the National University of Singapore to restructure the Department of Social Work and Psychology into a faculty on its own or a training/research centre on its own, akin to the National Institute of Education, that trains teachers. Let me just elaborate the advantage in that. With such a centre, curriculum can be well-planned. There will be enough scope and expertise to expand on programmes, such that existing officers can come back to upgrade their skills and, at the same time, it can also bring on board quite a number of counsellors out there and upgrade them all to a certain set of standardised course skills. After all, what is there to stop this. Because, right now, teachers have NIE, the lawyers-to-be have their own Law Faculty, the medical students have their Medical Faculty. Why should social workers be any different? Such a one-stop faculty, or centre, can handle all matters related to training and accreditation for all professionals. This centre can be modelled after the well-reputed George Warren Brown School of Social Work, an entity unto itself at the University of Washington to which, I think, the Ministry sends quite a number of its officers for upgrading skills. Mdm Deputy Speaker, let me now move on to the second issue here of how we recognise and reward those who stay in the profession. A new social work graduate receives a median monthly salary of $2,114 as the starting salary, according to the Ministry of Manpower's Report on Wages in Singapore 2000, as was reported in the newspapers.”
“While these individuals enter the field with the best of intentions, there must also be a way to ascertain the nature of their qualifications to maintain standards within the social service sector. I am told that some of the post-graduate degrees, doctorates and certificates, come from institutions that practitioners do not totally endorse. Moreover, such professionals have many entry points into the service - being appointed by voluntary welfare organisations, schools and other institutions, which having the autonomy make such appointments and peg their salaries to the qualifications and experience. While it is good to have this autonomy it also gives rise to approval of a range of qualifications which has already raised questions at the ground level. Hence, it is my suggestion that the four organisations catering to the different professionals in the social service sector, namely, the Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW), the Psychological Society, the Society of Marital Therapists and Psychotherapists and the Singapore Association of Counselling, work with the Ministry of Community Development and Sports and the National Council of Social Service to build up a common registry and an accreditation scheme for both short-term and long-term courses, such that officers will be well-qualified and can be employed with similar salary packages pegged to their qualifications that are approved, and come under an approved scheme.”
“This is a shortage. It is worrying. Add to it, another dimension. Looking at the nature of the degree in social work under the current modular structure and the liberal arts approach within the Faculty of Arts and Social Science at the National University of Singapore, students can graduate with a degree in social work by fulfilling a minimum quota of eight core modules out of the 24 modules offered by the department. This is well and good for students who wish to diversify and keep their career options open. But when these same graduates enter the social service sector to work as social workers - listening to what academics and practitioners on the ground have told me - they are still lacking in skills that will give them the depth to deal with clients effectively. Hence, the dilemma. A tight labour market where the social workers scene is concerned and new graduates who cannot prepare to go on to further immediate training to become more competent in this field. In fact, figures from MCDS and the National Council of Social Service in newspaper reports two years ago showed that 30% of its 550 professionals in the social service sector do not have social work qualifications. Add to that the current group of community development officers, who number between 10 and 40, at the five CDCs, who work in the community to help the less fortunate, with very few among them trained in social work. So not only do we have a shortage but we also have a situation where some social workers, new graduates, already need more training to function more effectively. Let us also look at another group of professionals who are making their inroad into the social service sector, the much needed group of - the psychotherapists, family therapists, counsellors, psychologists.”
“I am sorry to keep the House at this time of the evening, but we have no choice and I will get straightaway to the business. Thank you, Mdm Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to speak on the professionals in the social service sector. I thank the Minister for hanging on right up to this moment. Madam, I would like to highlight the work of these professionals, drawing special attention to their status, their professional growth and the current system in which they operate. First a glimpse into the situation as it stands today. There is a shortage of social workers and we all know that. Just to illustrate the severity - two recent reports in the newspapers attest to this - Straits Times in January and another in June in the NewPaper. Both carried reports that only four out of 10 in every cohort of graduates from the Social Work and Psychology Department at the National University of Singapore actually enter the field to work as social workers. And I am told that in three to five years' time about half from each cohort of these graduates who enter the field to work as social workers then leave the service, often citing burn-out as a reason. Yet, it is estimated in the same Straits Times' article that, each year, 40 new positions go a-begging for social workers. This figure does not take into account the number of vacant positions due to resignations. What do these figures mean in reality? The National University of Singapore admits about 150 students each year major in social work at the Department of Social Work and Psychology. Almost 50 new graduates, qualified in social work, go on to become social workers - that four in 10 figure. Of this group, in three or five years' time, perhaps, only 25 will remain in the workforce as social workers.”
“What I was saying is what happens to their status if the contract is made between the employer and employee, the agency comes in to do their checks and the employer is flouting the contract. How would the Ministry know that the agency is not reporting or mediating in this case? What happens to their status after that?”
“Sir, during the two checks that are made to the employer's home in the six months, if the employer does not adhere to the contract, how would the Ministry then know what to do with this agency and what happens to their accreditation? My second question is: is there an "1800" number available to all maids who come in? Sorry for my ignorance. If not, can we see that something be done, if possible, about it? Dr Ng Eng Hen: Yes, there is a "1800" number. With regard to her first question that during the two checks carried out by the employment agency and they find that there is unhappiness on either party, I think they would usually see whether they can make a second placement. I am not sure whether that was her question.”
“Sir, the Minister mentioned poor health and depression. To what extent do financial problems play a role? I ask this question because, for many of them, to depend on children is tough. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, this is based on the data that we have collected between 1995-2001. Again, as I have said earlier, this is dependent upon the Coroner's findings with the police reports. On financial problems, about 30 suicides between 1995-2001 have been attributed to financial problems. Sir, it would appear that it is not one of the largest factors.”
“Sir, a clarification to Question 6 (b). How does the Ministry monitor the appointment? I know the Minister had replied to that, but could we have a few more details, especially in the light that in certain schools the situation can get a bit desperate and schools may be obliged to employ certain candidates whom they deem suitable and they are in an environment with a lot of children, please?”
“Sir, could I have the answer to part (e) of Question No. 5, ie, when will the team make its final recommendation to the Ministry for further action, please? Is there a time-frame?”
“Sir, how would the Ministry's officers, as well as their counsellor staff, be tracking these parents? Is there a registry that is being used to know where these parents and the children are?”
“Sir, just going back a little bit to the ILO, under CEDAW (Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women) and our legalistic framework, the Constitution states that everyone is the same, whatever race or religion, and the part about gender is missing, and that is why we have signed the CEDAW with reservation. How then would the Ministry be in compliance with the ILO where this legalistic framework, to a certain extent, in my opinion, is lacking where gender issues and wage differentiation are concerned as a result of that? Could you please explain how the Ministry sees these two documents, the ILO and CEDAW and our legalistic framework?”
“To outfit buses with hydraulic lifts for the wheelchair, as a previous Straits Times report shows, can cost about $40 million. When it comes to providing for such facilities, what then will be the role of the PTC? If there is any guiding principle at this point in time on how the PTC operates, then its rationalisation to raise the fares for the bus companies, leaves me to fear that bringing in better systems for those in wheelchairs may take another two decades before it comes true. Hence, I feel that this current 3- to 5-cent hike - which some cannot understand what the whole fuss is about - is a good point at this time to reflect on how we can improve the role of the PTC, reassess what is the structure or model for public transport companies, as well as, at the same time, understand the Singaporean of today better. To an unemployed Singaporean, 3 to 5 cents will send shudders. To the average Singaporean, it means absorbing more and more costs. Here, I would like to relate a case that happened just last year. A woman and her daughter walked all the way from Bedok to a hospital in the central part of Singapore, because they could not afford the bus fares. Thankfully, the mother and daughter have been helped since, through the very same schemes that Minister Mah Bow Tan brought up yesterday. Even as we help those who cannot afford to pay for their transport, let us not forget that the money comes from donations from the public, and from MCDS-funded programmes, which again comes from the taxpayer. So, it is not so easy to dismiss this concern for those who cannot afford to pay for public transport by citing available financial assistance schemes. For the above three main reasons, I think the Motion is a good one.”
“As has already been suggested, should their services be opened up for tenders? Hence this means a re-examination of what is the role and function of public transport companies. The other is the role of the PTC. At least a third of the members in the 14-member Council are either from one of the transport companies or the shareholders. Whether they like it or not, the perception is that perhaps they could be looking after the interests of the organisations they represent, and it could be most unfair to them. It is best then to have a range of members in this Council. I would like to suggest that some of the members come from the school bus operators, private bus companies, as well as officers from NParks. NParks has been trying for some time to bring families to its parks - and we are family oriented - and it is also trying to nurture a cycling culture within Singapore. It might be timely to have their input too in the council. But, what is going to be the role of the PTC, if there is perhaps no change in the current model of how public transport companies operate? How are they going to walk this fine line between safeguarding the public interest as well as those of the public transport companies? And it is at this point that I do despair over the age-old debate about providing services for those who are disabled, especially those who are wheelchair-bound. This is an age-old debate, perhaps as old as the 15-year-old PTC. How are we going to address this? We are an aging population. The North East Line, when it opens, will be ready for those in wheelchairs, and yet how seamless are we in this aspect? There are already retrofitting works going on for other MRT lines, but where does the bus fit into this scheme of seamless transportation?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Motion put forth by Members of the House, and I agree with the eloquent argument put forth by Mr Tan Soon Khoon. I feel that the move to raise fare prices in this instance was ill-timed and a misjudgment. The rationale given for the fare hike was one of recovering costs - incurred in terms of wages given to employees and in terms of maintenance for services - to maintain the respectable profits for the public transport companies. Yes, profit is not a dirty word, but when the very profitable transport companies seek to recover costs from a public that is generally going through a bad patch, that action, at this point in time, leaves behind a foul taste in the mouth and cannot be very palatable. On grounds of this principle, I feel that it is not a rightly placed motivation to push for the hikes in bus and MRT fares. In a perverse way, however, we also have to say thank you to this fare hike, because it has brought into focus the role of the listed public transport companies, the role of the PTC and the needs and, more importantly, the expectations of a more sophisticated commuter today. This incident highlights, in my point of view, these three main points, and what is also to be appreciated is how this public outcry is also a good sign that Singaporeans do care for others, for whom the pinch hurts a bit more. These are good signs of a maturing Singapore. Coming back to the three points: on the role of a listed public transport company, I seek a greater clarification on what is the role for a public transport company. The issues related to this question have already been brought up by the other speakers: should such companies be just focused on profits? Should they take a different model or be restructured?”
“Sir, coming back to the hearing-impaired and signing, I appreciate what the Minister has said about the signing differences. How would the Minister account for Malaysia having signing over their news? Is there something to be learnt there?”
“Sir, the Minister mentioned about cost. Is it possible to know how costly this service would be? On the point about the lack of resources, there are a lot of signing classes that go on, especially through the YMCA, and people are certified. How does the Minister see this problem?”
“Sir, trafficking of human beings is a growing global problem. From that perspective, what is Singapore doing regionally to contain this problem? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, Singapore also takes part in many regional conferences on this matter. Indeed, it is true that human trafficking is perceived by the UN and by other international agencies as a growing problem. So we play an active part, together with other countries, in determining the extent of the problem and what measures to take to curb the problem. In short, we are an active participant with other countries to tackle this problem regionally and globally. SINGAPORE LAND AUTHORITY (Security deposit from voluntary welfare organisations) 19. Dr Chong Weng Chiew asked the Minister for Law (a) what is the rationale behind the Singapore Land Authority's requirement for 3 months' rental deposits or security in lieu from charitable voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) since the rentals are being paid by their respective Ministries; and (b) this being the case, will the Minister consider having this requirement waived as the 3 months' deposits are quite substantial and can be better utilised by the VWOs.”
“Mr Tan Soo Khoon asked the Minister for Home Affairs if he will comment on the report released by the United States State Department classifying Singapore as a "Tier 2" country, alongside countries such as Angola, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Haiti, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sierra Leone, in not doing enough to combat human trafficking across borders.”
“Like HDB flat lessees, these lessees own neither the land on which their flats are built, nor the car parks and common areas of their estate. They are thus required to pay about $25,000 per flat for the conversion of their flat leases into strata titles. Most of this cost - about $20,000 per flat - is the cost of purchasing the common property from HDB. The residents have to pay this sum because they did not pay for this common property, such as the car parks, at the point of original purchase. The cost of the common property is computed taking into account the net car park income forgone for the remaining period of the lease. The remaining $5,000 comprises costs incurred by HDB for survey fees, legal fees and construction works necessary to comply with statutory building control and other requirements. On the other hand, for lessees in HUDC estates in Phases I & II, these are governed by the HUDC Housing Estates Act. I want to emphasise that they were sold on different terms. In particular, these lessees would pay lower conversion costs, because they already own the common areas of the estate. For these lessees, the privatisation process involves mainly the land and strata subdivisions and the transfer of the legal title of the land from HDB to them. By paying conversion costs, these flat owners would be able to own the common property as tenants-in-common. Through privatisation, they would also enjoy other benefits, such as the autonomy to manage and upgrade their estates according to their needs and aspirations, and will no longer be subject to HDB's restrictions on the use, ownership and resale of their flats. HUMAN TRAFFICKING (Classification of Singapore as "Tier 2" country) 18.”
“Sir, where private high-rise buildings are concerned, I would like to know, for the same time span, what is the number of spalling concrete defects as compared to those in HDB flats. Perhaps from here there are some learning points. Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee: Mr Speaker, Sir, obviously, we do not compile statistics of private dwellings, but we do receive feedback from buyers of private condominiums that they suffer the same problems. But these problems are not highlighted in the public domain like HDB flat defects are. Having said that, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) does what we call a CONQUAS survey. CONQUAS is the acronym for Construction Quality Assessment System. We found that the quality of HDB flats is the same as the quality of private condominiums, by and large. And, as the Minister has rightly pointed out, HDB does a lot of goodwill repairs. They do a lot of follow-up. They give expert consultations. They try to rope in contractors to repair and, sometimes, they even bargain on behalf of the consumers to get a low price from the contractor. HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY FLATS (Privatisation) 17. Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for National Development (a) why is there a need for residents to pay a privatisation fee when their Housing and Urban Development Company flats are privatised and (b) what is the basis for setting the amount payable by the residents. The Minister of State for National Development (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan) (for the Minister for National Development): First of all, let me thank Mr Chiam for raising a question which has caused some confusion on the ground. The flats in HUDC Phases III & IV were sold under the Housing and Development Act.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I make a suggestion, or maybe it is already being done at the HDB? Perhaps, some best practices ---”
“I would just like to say that the schemes that were introduced by the Deputy Prime Minister were very comprehensive. I have just two questions here. One is the retraining programmes for retrenched workers. I am curious to know as to how successfully those who are retrenched are retrained and to find a job again. Is there some kind of feedback here that we could have that would be useful to know how useful the retraining programmes are? The other issue leads to Dr Jennifer Lee's point about the New Singapore Shares and the position of women and housewives which she has already raised. I am not going to go further, but may I beg your indulgence here to ask for another group of people, and that is, the destitute elderly in the welfare homes. It may be quite right and justified to let them partake, to a certain extent, in this scheme that is coming down the Singaporean's way. We have no record in many cases of their histories. We do not know how they have contributed to what Singapore is today and since we have a scheme now called the New Singapore Shares to benefit all Singaporeans, I appeal that it is their right to be included. One last point, if I may, on the whole question about what Mr Iswaran has brought up. In helping the people who need financial aid, I have a slight reservation here about the role of the CCCs. We have already present schemes through the FSCs and the CDCs and they have already got some kind of training in handling sensitively people who come through their doors for help. Could we not perhaps use them rather than a new instrument in this area like the CCCs?”
“The third point here is the whole question of exclusion. Like Dr Wang, I too have questions about independent school teachers. Perhaps, is it possible that there is a co-sharing payment scheme for independent schools such that teachers who teach in independent schools do not lose out on the CONNECT Plan? The other group that I would like to talk about is the special education teachers. I know that for years they have fallen between the cracks of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Community Development and Sports as well as the National Council of Social Service. There are many among the almost 500 teachers giving lots of long years of good service. Without belabouring their contributions, I think perhaps it would be timely if the Education Ministry could mainstream special education teachers and include them in plans like this or see how there can be some kind of contribution across the Ministries and different organisations such that they too do not lose out in the scheme. Lastly, I do agree with Dr Wang that these are great plans - the CONNECT Plan is good; it is a good incentive. Nevertheless, I think there is something greater, perhaps a systemic situation, within the education system that we need to look at closely. And I think right now there may be a situation, with the recession, that we might have one or two years' lead time to perhaps see who among our retrenched officers can support the school system as a parallel layer of support staff, or whatever, so that we can beef up the whole education system and teachers do not feel overburdened.”
“Thank you, Sir, for the time and thank you also, Members of the House, for believing that I can do something as an NMP. I support, in principle, this Bill but I have a few reservations that I hope the Education Minister would elaborate. The first one being that the objective of this Bill is to keep teachers in the fore. While these are great monetary benefits that are coming by for teachers who are just beginning as well as teachers who have been there for a long time, I fear that in the implementation of this scheme, teachers who have been there for a long time, here the premise we are talking about is good loyal teachers, might be demoralised in seeing younger teachers catch up in a matter of a few years under this scheme and with better incentives than themselves. So I just wonder whether the Education Ministry could go further with the CONNECT Plan and perhaps give a token lump sum payment in appreciation to teachers who have given long years of service so that they continue to be good serving officers. The second point that I have here is that all this is going to be based on a good appraisal scheme. I think that there are a lot of good things coming the teachers' way - performance bonuses and good promotion prospects. And now we have the CONNECT Plan too. It then becomes imperative, I believe, for the Education Ministry to have a staff appraisal scheme that is consistent - it is a daunting task - because we are talking about 22,000 teachers spread across more than 200 schools of different streams and school types. But when the Government is giving out quite a lot of money in terms of incentives, I would like to know how the Education Ministry would implement a good standardised system of appraisal better than what it already has.”