Cassandra Lee
Singapore
“In this context, as IMDA and the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) continue to review and update the regulatory framework, I would like to ask if the Ministry would share any updates on whether it is considering any further developments in relation to the regulation of social media use by adolescents and youths.”
“Thank you, Speaker. I just ask because I encountered fire safety issues in my constituency. Batteries will become more prevalent. The Ministry has said in the Budget that you will step up on public education, as well as strengthening the regulations on online sale advertisement of active mobility devices (AMDs).”
“I would like to thank the Ministry for looking into our suggestions. Very grateful for the Ministry's update. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State on a point that she raised earlier about drink driving. She mentioned that MHA will be revising the threshold to 15 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.”
“How should supervisors support employees undergoing fertility treatment? How should HR facilitate conversations and present options to employees navigate challenging family situations? For the longest time, Chairman, we have left it to private market forces to deal with a national issue.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise to seek a point of clarification from the Leader of the House. First of all, I thank NMP and Senior Counsel Ms Kuah Boon Theng for sharing her experience sitting on disciplinary tribunals pursuant to the Legal Profession Act (LPA).”
“I thank the Minister of State. I recognise that last September, MOH mentioned to a Parliamentary Question that you are looking to review these limits.”
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“Empowering seniors to find their second lease of life will also ease the load on their children as they balance work and caregiving. We can bring together Active Ageing Centres and schools – seniors reading to children, youths teaching digital skills to seniors, youths inventing interactive games to train seniors' agility and memory, and seniors passing on life lessons that cannot be found in textbooks, lessons especially important in this age of AI. We can also create opportunities for inter-generational sports. Pickleball, I understand, is popular across ages. In closing, we are at a crossroads. What the Singapore Puzzle will look like at SG100 depends most of all on today's young parents and those deciding whether or not to be parents. The suggestions raised will come at a cost. We must decide whether it is worth the cost. We, as a society, must ask ourselves: do we want to have children? What does it take for us to build families and have children? Families are not just a private choice. They are a public good. They shape the strength of our workforce, the resilience of our national defence, the cohesion of our communities and the depth of our national identity. If we want Singapore at SG100 to remain cohesive and stay ours, we must start now to secure the foundation. Let Singapore be a place where our children grow up with roots to ground them and wings to let them soar. We must solve the Singapore Puzzle together and shape the next bound of Singapore not as bystanders, but as builders of our common future. In Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Speaker, in my view, the greatest challenge Singapore faces today is what I call the "Singapore Puzzle".”
“We can provide contingencies for common childhood illnesses, with sick bays and medical support where the children are. We can strengthen workplace culture and HR practices so that young parents are supported to thrive both at work and at home. And we can reshape how society and workplaces see parenthood and families – by bringing to light not just its challenges, but the deep joys and meaning it brings. Bridging the care gap will take a whole-of-Government and whole-of-society approach, all of us rowing in the same direction. Second, let us do more to equip parents with raising a child in this brave new digital world. Technology is pervasive in all areas of our lives and, by extension, our children's lives. As far as child-raising goes, with grandparents stepping back, Google, TikTok, ChatGPT, YouTube and Instagram have stepped in. But the Internet is no wise elder and viral content often outruns accurate advice. We must help young parents with what they need to make the best decisions for their children – from food choices to schooling, healthy sleeping practices and well-being. In this way, we not only ease their burdens, but give every child the strongest start in life. With the right support, parents can spend less time firefighting and more time strengthening the bonds that matter, with their children and with their own parents. That brings me to my third point, connecting with seniors. More seniors are living alone. The number has doubled in the last 10 years. Where do seniors belong in our Singapore Puzzle amidst all these fast-paced economic and social changes? We must not only provide for our seniors physically. We must not forget to connect with them emotionally.”
“Singaporeans have consistently told us that career and raising a family are equally important to them. Let us not make them choose between work and family. Let us empower them to thrive in both. We have made tremendous progress in this area, especially in the last few years. These policy changes will need time to make an impact, and in the meantime, we must continue the progress. Mr Speaker, I make some suggestions on how we can further strengthen the bridge between work and caregiving for working parents. But before I do so, I want to acknowledge that these suggestions cost money and can exacerbate manpower challenges. Our employers are still adjusting to the new parental leave regime and face an uncertain global market. We do not want to introduce these suggestions at the expense of our businesses. We need mindset shifts from both employers and employees to make the following suggestions work in a mutually beneficial way, and in a way that will last in the long term, and in a way that will not be abused. And there is something in it for employers too. In today’s competition for talent, family-friendly human resources (HR) policies build trust, retain top talent, and save employers the hidden cost of good people walking away. Dual income families are contributing to our economy, and I believe our young working parents want to be able to do right by their children and by their employers. I suggest that as we help companies leverage on technology and AI to improve productivity and stay relevant in the new market, we keep the following suggestions in mind. We can restructure childcare leave to increase incrementally with each child. We can make flexible work arrangements genuinely accessible for both mothers and fathers.”
“Another example which is a common experience for most parents: hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) outbreaks happen frequently in preschools. Children can catch it more than once. And when infected, they must be brought home and looked after. But each parent has only six days of childcare leave a year. A single bout of HFMD for a single child can wipe out almost all of it. Add to this preschool closures and other childhood illnesses, coupled with the pressures and insecurities of work and rising costs, and it is easy to see how the early years can become overwhelming. There is also the omnipresent pressure to live up to society’s ideal of a “good” parent – pouring immense time, energy and resources into securing a child’s future. With technology, AI and rising expectations, that pressure has only grown. The early years are difficult. And unlike past generations, ours has more choices. Parenthood is no longer the default – there are other options, some of which feel more urgent and important, others feel more comfortable. Do we perceive family as an ideal that looks good on paper, but not a realistic goal or an attractive experience? Mr Speaker, I am concerned. I am concerned that these sentiments are spreading. The desire to marry is slowly falling across the years. Seven in 10 of our youths feel that it is not necessary to get married or have children in a marriage. These sentiments have crystallised into reality. Our TFR is at its lowest. This is reshaping our society. It affects policy planning in areas like education, housing, health, even national security. But perhaps most critically, it will affect our identity as a nation. What can we do to arrest this trend? We can further strengthen the bridge between work and caregiving.”
“We are ambitious, but often exhausted. Many still aspire to marriage and parenthood. But the reality of raising a child in today’s Singapore weighs heavily on young parents. Four in 10 cite stress as a main reason for not wanting children. Young parents today want to be present for their child. Many prefer not to rely on a domestic helper or on the help of grandparents. Others do not have the benefit of these options. This means that young parents are often saddled with heavy caregiving responsibilities. The problem is exacerbated by the increase in dual income families. Young working parents find themselves constantly juggling. Juggling careers with the unpredictability of childcare and childhood illnesses, the unspoken shame of pumping at work or leaving office in the evening for school pick-ups, the unseen second shift of housework and childcare after work. There are expectations at work, if parents want to be seen as equal next to their non-parent colleagues. Especially in a competitive job market like ours. Especially in a time of economic change where, as the President noted in his address, workers need to adapt and evolve to stay relevant. Especially in a generation like ours today, where the number of non-parent employees is increasing and parents start to feel more like outsiders, pushed into the periphery. Indeed, the Family Trends Report 2025 reported a decrease in the take-up of Government-Paid Maternity Leave by mothers, from 79% in 2019 to 74% in 2023. More than one in four mothers do not take more than two months of maternity leave. Do our working mothers feel the need to expedite their return to the workplace, or suffer the consequences?”
“Young parents today are stretched – striving to build their careers, but strained by caregiving responsibilities, costs and the unpredictability of early childhood. The pressure is real. But so too is our ability to ease it. The Government saw the challenge and acted. That is something to be proud of. And this is just the beginning. This is perhaps the best time in Singapore to start and raise a family – because this Government is listening, learning and determined to act. I will play my part to speak on policies that strengthen families, so that the Family Puzzle piece can maintain its place in the heart of the Singapore Puzzle. Over the years, the Family Puzzle piece has changed its shape. It no longer fits as before. Working parents face a widening care gap. Technology has rewritten the playbook on raising children. Our seniors seek connections in this fast-changing world. If the pieces do not align, the picture will reveal its fault lines. Mr Speaker, in my speech today, I will focus on the care gap facing working parents. But the other corners of this puzzle piece are no less important. First, on the care gap. Many in my generation are young parents or parents-to-be. We grew up in a Singapore that was prosperous and stable. We have been given opportunities our parents could only dream of. We take pride that Singapore consistently punches above its weight internationally. We see no need to compromise. The world is racing ahead, and so must we. We must move quickly to find our niche in a contested and fragmented global market and adapt our people for new technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI). We must stay competitive and hungry. But at home, we are stretched – caring for young children, ageing parents and coping with rising costs of living.”
“Mr Speaker, I rise in support of the Motion of Thanks for the President’s Address. I seek your guidance as I embark on my journey as a Parliamentarian. Mr Speaker, in the President’s address, the President spoke about Singapore’s remarkable journey from an improbable beginning to a thriving nation, built by the selfless sacrifice, resolve and perseverance of those before us. As the youngest elected Member, I carry two duties today: to honour the foundations we inherited and to help build the next bound for my generation so that the Singapore story continues. In my view, the biggest task Singapore faces today is what I call the "Singapore Puzzle": how do we compete in this changing world, without losing ourselves? To hold together what seems to pull apart – racing fast while moving as one, reaching for the stars while catching those who fall. The global tide is shifting, currents are turning fast. As we chart our course through stormy seas, we need an anchor. The President and the Prime Minister have called for a "we first" society. I agree. This is critical. It will decide whether we succeed in solving this Puzzle. And how we go about it. And first, we must first know who “we” are. At its heart lies the family – the puzzle piece that anchors us with its web of relationships and gives us a sense of identity. If this piece weakens, so too will every other piece. Our local workforce will decline, our national security will weaken, our communities will thin without intergenerational bonds, and our sense of “home” and national identity will erode. A "we first" Society cannot endure unless we first know who “we” are. Families give meaning to that “we”.”