Chan Chun Sing
Singapore
“Since 2002, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has worked with the autonomous universities (AUs) to establish arrangements that minimise disruption to National Servicemen (NSmen) who are pursuing full-time studies up to the undergraduate level, while meeting the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) operational and training needs.”
“Secondments help to build up the range of competencies and work experiences of public officers to strengthen their longer-term employment relevance and resilience. The Public Service Division's guideline to agencies is to support public officers even while they are on secondment.”
“The priority of our National Servicemen must be their military duties and operational training, to meet the Singapore Armed Forces's (SAF's) operational requirements.”
“In January 2026, I had informed this House that the Government had convened an independent committee to conduct a review of the political salary framework that was laid out in 2012. The Committee has completed the review and submitted its recommendations to the Government in April.”
“All countries seek to develop mutually beneficial partnerships, and the United States-Indonesia Major Defence Cooperation Partnership is one such example.”
“Since the Singapore Armed Forces Volunteer Corps (SAFVC) was established in 2014, over 1,500 men and women have completed training and served as SAFVC Volunteers (SVs). Presently, there are about 1,100 in-service SVs, comprising 52% male and 48% female. About seven in 10 of our in-service SVs are new Citizens or Permanent Residents.”
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“Just to give some examples, Ambassador Rena Lee, who is the current CEO of IPOS, was elected as President of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). In 2018, when she was an officer in Attorney-General's Chambers' (AGC's) International Affairs Division. As IGC President, Rena built upon her strong international networks and mastery of international law, which helped her build bridges during multilateral negotiations. The success of Ambassador Lee's presidency has entrenched Singapore's standing in the international community as a top leader in international law and as an advocate for a rules-based multilateral system. Another example, Mr Daryl Ong from the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) participated in a two-year Madrid Fellowship Programme administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Through this, he built his network with other countries' trademark examiners and deepened his knowledge of the Madrid Protocol. Daryl transformed the way trademark data is communicated from IPOS to WIPO to be faster and more accurate. This benefits trademark owners in Singapore. We will continue to look out for opportunities for our officers to be attached to international organisations at all levels, including the UN agencies, because this allows us to understand what are the issues that are evolving at the international circles and how we can better prepare ourselves to integrate and work with these agencies in time to come. Beyond organising ourselves differently and building new capabilities in our offices, we also need to partner differently. As part of Forward SG, partnership is a key component of the refreshed social compact. Strong partnerships are anchored on trust.”
“We are also deliberate in exploring alternative modalities such as boot camps and competitions to generate interest in building new capabilities. To build data capabilities, GovTech organises the annual Data Champions Boot Camp and Data Arcade Tournament. To build AI capabilities, GovTech launched a Prom Royale Award, a Prom Engineering Competition last year. This year, GovTech will launch a new AI Champions Boot Camp. Public officers can also expand their perspectives through exposure beyond the Public Service. We are encouraging the public officers to experience the perspective of citizens and businesses through stints in the private and people sectors, such as the Talent Attachment Programme (TAP). Under the TAP, Enterprise SG officers like Clarence Tan was attached to DBS Bank's business analytics team. There, he learned how to operate with big commercial data sets to achieve an all-round understanding of customers. These insights were helpful when Clarence subsequently returned to Enterprise SG to use data to further partner businesses on their growth journey. We have set aside up to 40 hours per year for officers to pursue their own development opportunities outside the public sector. For example, Ivy Lee from NLB volunteered with Friends-in-deed Counselling Society as a certified counsellor. In her journey with three individuals over 10 months, she deepened her empathy and communication skills. This helped her to become a more empathetic middle manager in NLB. An effective Public Service needs to operate well, both locally and internationally. We are equipping more public officers with broader international perspective through exchange programmes and deployment to international organisations at all levels where they fly the Singapore flag high.”
“For municipal services, the Municipal Services Office (MSO), coordinates across agencies and Town Councils to serve residents. For businesses, MTI and GovTech are continuously evolving the Go Business portal to facilitate a globally competitive, pro-enterprise operating environment in Singapore. The Go Business portal allows businesses to access services across multiple Government agencies by milestone movements. So, these are just examples of how the Public Service is organising and evolving our organisation to be much more mission-centric and much more citizen-centric. Let me respond to Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Melvin Yong's cuts on your feedback on how public officers need to cultivate different skill sets and perspectives to thrive in the new operating context. Within the Service, public officers can gain new skill sets from formal training courses and increasingly through hands-on development opportunities. These range from short-term attachments, what we call Short-term Immersion Programmes (STIP) or gig work, to longer-term job rotations or structured job rotations (SJR). The take-up rate has been good. The number of officers matched to these opportunities jumped five-fold, from 730 in 2021 to 3,700 in 2023. Just as an example – Service SG Centre Head, Ms Uma, signed up for STIP with the Agency for Integrated Care's (AIC's) Silver Generation Office. She engaged seniors to better understand their concerns and share how Government can support them. We are happy to report that the people who have gone through this programme have found the cross-pollination of ideas very useful and at the same time it helps them to build the network of relationships required for a much more responsive Government service.”
“In the digital sphere, we have made great strides in making services more intuitive, seamless and relevant for our citizens, and we will continue to improve. For example, Singaporeans can use SupportGoWhere, a one-stop portal, to find Government support schemes and services. A key feature is the Care Services Recommender for caregivers to find the support they need easily and conveniently. Another example is MyLegacy@LifeSG portal, which helps citizens plan ahead for end-of-life matters. Even as more services are digitised, the Public Service is committed to ensuring that our services continue to be accessible and inclusive for all. Today, citizens can walk into the seven physical ServiceSG centres across Singapore and access close to 600 services and schemes from over 25 agencies. Seniors who have difficulty making online transactions can simply walk in. Officers are cross-trained to help them access frequently used digital services. And 70% of citizens visiting ServiceSG centres in 2023 were aged 55 and above. 5.00 pm We will continue to expand the network of ServiceSG centres to prioritise areas with higher demand and concentration of citizens, particularly seniors, who require support with multiple digital transactions. In line with this, two new centres will be established at Woodlands Civic Centre and Bukit Merah Central by the end of 2024. There are whole-of-Government service standards to ensure agencies uphold a consistent and satisfactory level of service. To avoid cases falling through the cracks, we have a no-wrong-door policy for any public feedback received. We will continue to ensure that our policies, standards and practices are inclusive to all.”
“S&TPPO is driving the consolidation of these sensitive feeds into a cloud video exchange before applying video analytics to the consolidated video feeds. This can improve decision-making and respond times, such as identifying an overcrowding situation that requires intervention or preventing worksite incidents. We will continue to build on these successes to refine the way we organise ourselves going forward. In response to Ms Mariam Jaafar's earlier questions to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong about centralisation, from a Public Service perspective, we just want to say this. Centralisation is not the only way that we can allow better coordination across the various agencies. In fact, depending on the nature of the problem, we have different methods. Sometimes, we may start up a new agency, centralise and put it under the PMO to incubate it. At other times, we may assign one of the agencies to be, if you like, the lead or the first among equals to coordinate that. But that agency, that lead agency, is, if you like, a mini joint staff. It must have people participating from other agencies to support it. Our hope is that over time, each and every one of our agencies, when tackling a new problem, can be a mini joint staff where it can harness the energies and capabilities and capacities of other agencies to come together. So, it does not mean that every new problem that requires more coordination needs to be centralised at the PMO or to create a new agency. Next, let me respond to Mr Yip Hong Weng's questions on how we reorganise our service delivery for us to be much more citizen-centric. In 2021, we formed ServiceSG to create a single touchpoint for citizens to access multiple services across agencies.”
“NCCS has allowed us to sharpen our focus on climate change issues across the whole of Government, cutting across many agencies. For example, NCCS worked with MSE to develop the Singapore Green Plan 2030 to achieve our long-term goal of net zero emissions. But behind that, there was participation from MTI, MOE, MOM and many other agencies. In 2019, to better harness the potential of technology, we formed the Public Sector Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office, or what we call S&TPPO. We are seeing the fruits of this effort too. For example, robots are increasingly deployed in buildings for services like cleaning and security, but they cannot communicate with each other because of different manufacturers having their own proprietary software. This is inefficient. To drive the adoption of robotics and automation, S&TPPO worked with A*STAR and GovTech to adapt and deploy a universal middleware for the Public Service. With this, robots from different manufacturers can now communicate with one another and with lifts, doors and security gantries to move autonomously around buildings. Successful trials have been completed in the Tampines Regional Library and the JTC Summit with the National Library Board (NLB) and JTC. S&TPPO is working with GovTech and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to further test the product with other public and private sectors. Yet another example where they have become much more mission-focused, mission-centric is ground operations. To improve efficiency, S&TPPO and GovTech are working with agencies to apply video analytics rather than just focusing on each agency's own CCTV video feed.”
“Chairman, we thank all the Members for their cuts, questions and suggestions for the Public Service and how we can do better. Indeed, today we have a Public Service that the vast majority, if not all Singaporeans, can be proud of. But we, in the Public Service, we are acutely aware of the need for us to stay ahead of the game. As Mr Patrick Tay mentioned, technology is changing rapidly. The way countries are organising themselves and their Public Service are also rapidly evolving. We must be careful that we do not rest on our laurels. We continue to innovate, continue to want to do better and come up with new solutions, lest we be overtaken by others. And if we do not have a strong, committed and innovative Public Service, it will certainly not help us to inspire confidence in investors, local enterprises, to put their investments here to create good jobs for our people. So, our Government believes that we cannot rely on today's or yesterday's solutions for tomorrow's problem. We have to constantly look for new processes, new organisations, to meet tomorrow's challenges. A forward-looking and future-ready Public Service is central to Singapore's success. Let me share how our Public Service is going to operate, develop and partner differently to ensure that we are ready for the future challenges. Let me start with how we are going to evolve the way we organise ourselves. Increasingly, our Public Service will be organised in a much more mission-centric way, given the complexity and interdependency of issues that many Members have mentioned. For example, to more effectively tackle climate change, we set up the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) in 2010. This has worked out well and borne fruit.”
“There are existing processes between the Ministry of Education and other Government agencies and community partners, where schools receive relevant information through secured platforms to ensure that our students receive the necessary support. These processes are reviewed regularly.”
“Over the last five years, the proportion of tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty hired by the Autonomous Universities (AUs) who received their PhDs at a local AU has remained stable at 10%. Besides pursuing an academic career in Singapore, PhD graduates from local AUs also take up job opportunities overseas or join the industry. Like other globally competitive universities, our AUs recruit the best academic talents trained either locally or overseas to deliver world class education and conduct high-quality research for the benefit of Singapore and Singaporeans. The Ministry of Education will continue to work with the AUs to encourage more young Singaporeans to pursue an academic career, such as through talent schemes, which provide sponsorships for studies at local or reputable overseas universities. The overseas exposure will be useful to broaden our students' experience and expand their network of research contacts.”
“The Member may refer to Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) press releases, which are published on SEAB's website annually, for total candidature sizes. For Tamil and Non-Tamil Indian language (NTIL) candidature, the question has been addressed by Parliamentary Question 20 as published in the Circular for Written Answers on 6 February 2024. [Please refer to "Statistics on Students Taking Tamil and Five Non-Tamil Indian Language in 2013 and 2023", Official Report, 6 February 2024, Vol 95, Issue 121, Written Answers to Questions section.] The per-student funding for NTILs is around 70% of that for the three official Mother Tongue Languages.”
“There are already established processes in place for Political Office Holders (POHs) and civil servants to make declarations of their assets. The Code of Conduct for Ministers requires POHs to make a declaration of their sources of income, assets, and financial liabilities to the President through the Prime Minister, upon their appointment to office. Civil servants make declarations of interests in investments and properties to their Head of Agency annually and when they come to acquire significant assets. For Government-linked companies, they are private entities and make their own decisions on such matters.”
“The institutes of higher learning (IHLs) provide education and career guidance support to all students as well as recent graduates. To support those who are freelancing or exploring the option, IHLs conduct workshops and talks to provide tips on freelancing and self-employment. These include sessions conducted in collaboration with the National Trades Union Congress and professional freelancers from different fields. This helps students to understand their employment rights as freelancers and consider the pros and cons of freelancing in making their career choices. Students and graduates engaged in freelance work who face contract or payment-related disputes may seek help from the Small Claims Tribunal or Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management.”
“We agree with the Member that students need to have competencies, such as strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, among others, so that they can thrive in the future. These competencies are best developed not in isolation or standalone programmes but through a range of academic and non-academic learning experiences, where the competencies can be applied and honed in context. For example, in co-curricular activities and student leadership programmes, students grow in resilience, adaptability and problem-solving and communication skills as they work with one another to overcome challenges and accomplish tasks as a team. In classes, such as science lessons, students learn through the scientific inquiry process to challenge assumptions, think critically and make evidence-based inferences. Taken together, these learning experiences will equip students with the necessary values and competencies to grow into effective leaders in times of uncertainty.”
“The Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) scheme was introduced to provide additional financial support for post-secondary education. Any unused amount in the PSEA will be transferred to the account holder's Central Provident Fund Ordinary Account (CPF OA) in the year he or she turns 31 years old, since most account holders would have started employment after age 30. Nevertheless, account holders who have no use of their PSEA balance for further education can write in to the Ministry of Education (MOE) to request for early transfer of their PSEA balance to their CPF OA before 31 years old. Account holders who require the use of the PSEA funds after 30 years old may similarly write in to MOE to extend the time to use their PSEA, and some have done so.”
“The Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) phone enquiry system allows account holders a convenient way to check their account balance. Besides the hotline, statements are sent to account holders annually in March and also in the following month after any transaction. The phone enquiry system does not allow callers to perform any transaction. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Education (MOE) is currently enhancing the system to require Singpass authentication. MOE will also include PSEA functions as part of a planned information technology system.”
“But to the extent that we can, we want a professional panel to make sure that these are assessed objectively, both performance and potential, and that it can stand up to scrutiny. Because that is how we uphold the integrity of our system. The third thing that we need to do well for DSA is that, when it comes to the selection process, we must follow through. This means we must have an upstream process to look at the potential of our children, whether they come from a privileged or less-privileged background, we must be able to identify those talents and work with the parents to continue to develop those talents in the children. This process does not stop at Primary 6, because there must be a handover, a handshake, to the secondary school to continue to develop these children whom we have identified. So, these are the basic core principles that we must adhere to, regardless of the field or the area of DSA that we have allowed the schools to do.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the short answer to Mr Darryl David's question is, certainly, yes. In fact, many of our schools have proposed to MOE the areas which they would like to focus on, in terms of their DSA selection. For example, certain schools have very strong traditions in certain areas. This may go beyond the sports or arts arena and we allow the school to have that diversity of areas which we want our children to fulfil. And, as Members know, I have been an advocate that we need to allow a greater diversity of models, a greater diversity in the types of talent that we recognise in our children and to help them fulfil that potential. That adds to the resilience of our society. This is the reason why we have allowed our schools to propose ground-up. But regardless of what you propose, there are certain rules that we hold dear to ourselves in order to make sure that the system is transparent and objective. First, whichever field or area that the school proposes, it must be communicated transparently to everyone, not just to a sub-group of people, so that anyone who is interested can apply for it. That is the first criterion. Second, there must be some ability to objectively assess the potential of the child in that field. I accept that it cannot be done 100% in a matrix because not everything might be able to be captured scientifically, especially when we are talking about the potential of a child. Even in sports, we know this. Suppose we are choosing a sprinter. Someone at a certain age might sprint faster than someone else. That is performance. But that does not necessarily correlate to potential. What we want is not just performance, but potential. So, there is some degree of subjectivity.”
“The reason for the DSA is to widen the spectrum of talents and abilities with which we assess a child, in order to best site the child in the right place for secondary school. Granted, any system like that will require a level of assessment on the potential of the child and beyond the performance of the child. I can fully understand that there will be isolated cases where they may not have gotten their choice and there will be questions, perhaps, allegations of unfair practices. But if there are such things, let us know. My assurance to you is that MOE will look at each and every one of these cases thoroughly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as Assoc Prof Jamus Lim has said, if we believe that the system is right and if the Member has anecdotal evidence that the Member thinks requires our attention, we welcome him to pass it to MOE and we will take a look at it. But if the Member thinks that there is a problem with the entire system, then, I would also suggest for him to let us know where his areas of concerns are so that we can take a look at this. Because, as the Member has suggested, I think there is a difference between anecdotal evidence, where someone says something versus a system problem. If there are anecdotal incidents, even individual cases where the Member suspects that there is something is not right, he can let us know and we will get to the bottom of it. But I make a distinction between isolated cases and what we talk about: the system. Just to put things into perspective: what is seven cases out of 4,000 successful applications? That percentage is lower than even the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) appeals. So, that is just to put it in context: seven cases out of 4,000. I will make the following two other points. First, when we look at DSA, we are looking at, essentially, the potential of a child. We are also looking at how the child is able to fit into the school's programme. Granted that this system will be such that there is some degree of assessment on potential and not just based on current performance. We would hope that people do not hothouse their children for performance, in lieu of potential. And we need to understand one step further behind this system. When we only had the PSLE system to allocate students to school, there were comments and feedback that, perhaps, we were too rigid, too narrow.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Direct School Admission Exercise for Secondary Schools (DSA-Sec) provides a pathway for students to enrol in secondary schools, based on their diverse talents and potential. Schools have the flexibility to determine their selection and assessment criteria, so that they can select students who will benefit most from the school's development programmes. At the same time, schools are required to adhere to the Ministry of Education's (MOE's) selection guidelines and to uphold the key principles of transparency, objectivity, inclusiveness and student-centricity during the selection process. For example, schools are required to update and publish their selection criteria on their website before each DSA exercise. Schools are also required to form selection panels, led by the school leadership team, to evaluate each applicant. These selection guidelines are reviewed and updated before the start of each year's DSA exercise. Over the past five years, there have been an average of seven cases per year from parents querying the outcome of their child's DSA selection. Based on MOE's review of each case, we have found the schools to have conducted their selection processes rigorously, objectively and professionally.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take the next two questions together, please?”
“The absolute number of students offering Tamil (TL) and Non-Tamil Indian Languages (NTIL) varies, depending on the cohort size. Overall, the proportion of students who took TL at PSLE, "N" level and "O" level examinations was around 4% to 5% in 2013 and 5% to 6 % in 2023. For NTIL, the proportion was around 1% in 2013 and 2% in 2023. "A" level Tamil candidature fluctuated between 2% and 3% between 2013 and 2023, depending on the number of students who have done well in Higher Tamil at "O" level and need not offer Tamil at the "A" levels. Candidature for "A" level NTIL is also around 2% to 3%. The Ministry of Education’s funding has also increased accordingly, based on the enrolment of Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents in the respective languages, with more support for TL as an official MTL.”
“Between 2021 and 2023, around 12,700 secondary school students from all streams applied to Nitec and Higher Nitec courses at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) each year. Subject grades taken at different levels are converted to ITE aggregate points, which are then used for admission. Each year, around 10,900 students enrolled in ITE. Most of the students who did not enrol in ITE were Normal (Academic) students who progressed to other pathways, such as Secondary 5 or the Polytechnic Foundation Programme. The Ministry of Education will continue to cater sufficient post-secondary places for all secondary school students across the different pathways.”
“Under the current Joint Admissions Exercise, applicants from the Ministry of Education (MOE) schools may combine results from two separate sittings of the GCE "O" level examination when applying for admission to junior colleges (JC), Millenia Institute (MI), polytechnics or the Institute of Technical Education. This arrangement will continue under the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate examinations from 2027. For admission to autonomous universities, applicants from JCs and MI are required to use the results from their H2 content-based subjects and General Paper or Knowledge and Inquiry subjects taken at the same sitting of the GCE "A" level examinations. They are allowed to combine these results with their results from Project Work, Mother Tongue Language and H1 content-based subjects from a separate sitting. These arrangements and requirements apply to local and international students from MOE schools.”
“The Member may refer to the Parliamentary Question answered on 20 October 2022. [Please refer to "Review of Payouts to Retirees on Government Pension Schemes Given Rising Cost of Living", Official Report, 20 October 2022, Vol 95, Issue 72, Written Answers to Questions section.] There is no fixed schedule for reviews. The Government continually considers the adequacy of its benefits provisions, taking into factors such as inflation, fiscal cost as well as other national policies. For example, Government pensioners also benefit from other forms of national support, including the Pioneer and Merdeka Generation packages, Goods and Services Tax (GST) vouchers and Community Development Council vouchers.”
“The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has not been convened. I had previously mentioned in this House that the work of the EBRC is essentially to consider the latest changes in population shifts and housing developments to determine the electoral boundaries for use at future elections. Its composition includes senior civil servants who are experts in these technical areas. They independently consider the relevant data before making their recommendations. Hence, it will not be practicable for the EBRC to explain the technicalities and details of every change that it recommends. And, as a matter of practice, the Committee should be allowed to carry out its work professionally, away from media attention or public pressures. I would like to reassure the Member that there will be sufficient time between the release of EBRC’s report to the time of election for candidates and political parties to make their preparations.”
“We have assessed that there is no need to introduce fertility leave as a separate leave provision at this juncture. Public officers who are undergoing fertility-related procedures can already tap on their current leave provisions, such as outpatient sick leave or hospitalisation leave, or request for flexible work arrangements from their supervisors, such as flexi-time and hybrid work arrangements to undergo or recuperate from the treatment.”
“Our schools' curriculum includes mental health education that teaches students skills to manage stress and conflicts, break negative thinking patterns and navigate uncertainties. This curriculum is developed based on research and evidence-based practices, including an understanding of brain functions and affective neuroscience.”
“On average, each Student Welfare Officer (SWO) based in school supports about 25 students in a year. Each roving SWO works with around 20 students across a number of schools.”
“The number of students admitted via the Direct School Admission (DSA) for secondary schools scheme has increased from about 3,500 students in 2019 to about 4,400 students in 2023. As a proportion of the Primary 6 cohort, the number of students admitted via DSA has increased from around 9% to around 11% respectively. There are sufficient DSA places for eligible students to enrol across the school landscape. Currently, we cater DSA places for about 20% of each cohort, or about 8,000 places in 2023. There is no need to expand the number of DSA places at this point. Around one-third of applications are under the Sports and Games talent category, and a quarter are for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) category. The remaining applications are spread across Leadership and Uniformed Groups, Performing Arts, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Languages and Humanities, and Visual Arts, Design and Media. Over the years, schools have expanded their DSA selection processes to recognise diverse strengths, and take into consideration potential, interest, character, resilience and drive. The Ministry of Education will continue to work with schools to ensure that the DSA talent categories are sufficiently varied, to cater to the diverse interests, talents and strengths of our students.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) regularly reviews the demand and supply of school places across Singapore. In these reviews, we consider factors such as the current and projected residential populations and housing development plans. Outram Secondary School (OSS) is currently located in a mature area where demand for secondary school places has been falling. Relocation of OSS to Sengkang will help meet the higher demand for secondary school places in the North-Eastern part of Singapore while preserving the identity of a well-established school. There will be sufficient secondary school places in the Outram area without OSS, even after considering the new housing planned in the area. For the case of OSS, as with other relocations, MOE engaged the school stakeholders at the appropriate juncture, prior to the public announcement. OSS’ history will be documented and preserved at a heritage space in the new school building.”
“For the public sector, we need to earn the respect and trust of the public and to put in place a fair system that it is not just about who you are and whether you can pay to access public services in a fair and transparent manner. This is why the Public Service hold ourselves to high standards of conduct to give confidence to all stakeholders that they will be treated fairly and transparently.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me answer the question in two parts. First, on the training of our public officers and second part about the difference between the Government and the private sector. Our Public Service has a system of ensuring the Code of Conduct is known and observed. We focus not just on the rules, as I have explained, but also the principles behind the rules. The key principles are articulated in the Instruction Manuals with illustrative examples to help officers understand the rules. The Code is reinforced through various channels, including on-boarding of new entrants, annual declarations to remind officers of the rules, annual mandatory quizzes, incorporation into milestone programmes – for example, the Foundation Programme for Young Leaders, Management Development Courses for Supervisors, Senior Management Programme for Directors – and there will also be regular discussions and conversations with Senior Leaders on the values and ethos of our Public Service and there will also be regular service-wide reminders. This is the process of how we inculcate the right values and ethos in our officers to help them understand not just the letter of the rule but the spirit behind the rule. Let me address the second part. The context for public agencies is different from that of private companies. Our Public Service is in the business of governance and providing public services to a nation of people from diverse backgrounds and who have different expectations and aspirations. This is very different from the private sector where they are more concerned with transactions between private parties.”
“Political Office Holders are also expected to abide by the Rules of Prudence, issued by the Prime Minister after every General Election to all People's Action Party (PAP) Members of Parliament. Mr Edward Chia, Ms Joan Pereira and Mr Mohd Fahmi asked about the whistle-blowing process. The Public Service has an established Internal Disclosure Policy where officers can directly report to their Heads of Agencies any wrongful or doubtful practices they observe. There are confidentiality and "non-retaliation" provisions in place to protect those who have reported in good faith. If anyone suspects that any of their superiors have been compromised, they can report the suspicious activity to their Heads of Agencies, or beyond their organisation, including to agencies like CPIB. Finally, Mr Speaker, Sir, I must remind ourselves that Mr Iswaran’s case is before the Courts. We should let the law take its course and not jump to conclusions nor make statements that may prejudice the case or prematurely adjudge the processes that may have gone right or wrong. This case is one that was picked up by CPIB and investigations were initiated without external pressure or interference. In updating our rules, sharpening our implementation, and inculcating the right ethos and values to our officers, the Public Service and the Government will continue to draw lessons from this and other cases, whether local or overseas.”
“For operational simplicity, the officer may be allowed to retain a gift worth less than $50 without paying for it, if doing so does not affect the integrity of the Civil Service. But should an officer accept multiple gifts of $49 repeatedly? I think we know the answer from the spirit of the rule. If such a pattern of behaviour is observed, it must stop. What about meals? Similar principles apply. We appreciate that it may not be practical to assess the value of the meal in the moment. Officers must have good sense to know when they are being cultivated and reject such attempts. When in doubt, officers should inform their supervisors. This does not mean that our officers should not go out and interact with non-Government stakeholders to understand the business and social communities. It is part of our work to understand the world in order to govern responsively and responsibly. As a practical measure to protect ourselves, I always advise our officers to avoid attending such events alone where the risk of being compromised is harder to manage. On the Code of Conduct for public officers, we review the rules annually to ensure that it remains relevant to the contexts we are facing and are going to face. For each review, we will gather feedback and will consult stakeholders, including the unions. If there are changes, they will be communicated to our officers. Ms Joan Pereira and Mr Darryl David asked about the Code of Conduct for Ministers and Political Office Holders. The Code has been in place since 1954 and it is regularly reviewed to ensure that the Code remains sound and relevant. The last major changes were made in 2005 and included clarifications on the rules on acceptance of gifts, declarations of investments and directorships, amongst others.”
“At the team or organisation-level, we must look out for one another to minimise the chances of us being compromised, subverted, or succumbing to human frailties. At the system level, we must have regular internal audits, external audits and have institutions like Auditor-General's Office (AGO) and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to respond to issues not picked up by other layers of checks. Mr Speaker, Sir, while we may endeavour to do our best and keep improving at the system level, no system is ever perfect and will be able to pick up every wrongdoing at the first instance, as much as we may desire. Hence, when incidents happen, we respond decisively and transparently to restore trust and confidence in our system. This is what we have done and what we will continue to do. Mr Speaker, Sir, with these as background, let me address some specific questions raised by Members of this House. First, Mr Edward Chia and Mr Derrick Goh asked about gifts. Our rules on gifts are clear. Officers must never ask for gifts or favours, especially when they are in a position to influence or affect any decision involving the other party. An officer must not accept any gift offered to him, on account of his official position or his official work. Our first instinct must be to decline any unsolicited gifts and return them, if possible. If it is not possible or impractical to do so, we declare and account for it according to established processes. This is to ensure transparency and to maintain our probity. If the officer wants to keep the gift, he may be allowed to do so if he pays for it after having its value assessed.”
“I would invite Members to seek clarifications, if need be. If the questions have been addressed, it may not be necessary for members to proceed with the Parliamentary Questions for future Sittings. Mr Speaker, Sir, let me first lay out our approach to uphold the integrity of our system of governance so as to maintain public confidence and trust. Our rules are meant to facilitate our work and keep our officers safe from being compromised. They should not be so onerous that our officers cannot operate. Neither should they be so lax as to erode discipline and trust in our system. When an incident happens, we should not have a knee-jerk reaction and immediately tighten or add more rules. Instead, we should ask ourselves three questions. First, was it a case where the rules were clear, but were flouted or ignored? If so, then what we need to do is not to adjust the rules, but to take action against the offender. Second, was it a case where the rules were unclear? If so, then we should clarify or simplify the rules. But we should be mindful that not every grey area can be clarified, and for some matters, judgement may be required. Our officers should not just understand the letter of the rule, but also the spirit. Third, was it a case where the rules were too lax, or was it a new situation not envisaged or covered by the rules? If so, we should update the rules. To know which of these apply to the case of former Minister S Iswaran, we need to know the facts of his case, and we should not prejudge these facts before the court trial. Maintaining the integrity of our system is a multi-pronged and continuous effort. At the individual level, we must have the right ethos and values; understand both the spirit and letter of the rules; and uphold them.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the Prime Minister. In view of Mr S Iswaran’s case, some members of the public and various Members in this House, including Mr Edward Chia, Mr Derrick Goh, Ms Joan Pereira, Mr Darryl David and Mr Mohd Fahmi, have asked about our rules – whether they are adequate and should they be reviewed. May I have your permission to answer Question Nos 28 to 31 on today’s Order Paper? And Mr Speaker, Sir, my response will also cover the matter raised in the questions by Mr Darryl David1 and Mr Mohd Fahmi2 which are scheduled for a subsequent Sitting.”
“Over the years, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has leveraged technology and enhanced information and processes for the Secondary 1 (S1) Posting Exercise to ensure that parents and students have sufficient time to make informed choices. Typically, the Primary School Leaving Examination results are released around mid-November. Thereafter, parents and students are given seven calendar days to choose their secondary schools. The S1 Posting results are released about three weeks later. MOE uses this period to conduct the posting and to ensure accurate posting outcomes. Over 90% of students are posted to a school of their choice. If parents wish to appeal after receiving the posting results, they can appeal directly within that week to the relevant schools. Schools are generally able to process the appeals and inform students of the outcomes prior to the start of the academic year.”
“Public educational institutions follow the same regulations and guidelines for noise as other entities.”
“In the past three years, about 18% of students with autism from special education (SPED) schools continued their education in mainstream secondary schools after passing the PSLE. From 2021 to 2023, 18 SPED students with autism transferred midway to mainstream schools after being assessed to be suitable. From 2019 to 2021, from the latest data available, more than 83% of students with special educational needs (SEN) graduated from mainstream secondary schools and progressed to Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs). At the post-secondary level, SEN officers are deployed to junior colleges and Millennia Institute when necessary. The other PSEIs have an average of three to four SEN officers per institution. To facilitate students’ transition to a new education environment, the Ministry of Education works with secondary schools to share SEN-related information with junior colleges, Millennia Institute, polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education. Students with SEN progressing to the autonomous universities or arts institutions are encouraged to share their conditions with their institutions and request SEN support where necessary. The SEN officers will engage students with SEN to understand their individual needs and work with educators to provide targeted support, including in-class learning assistance, access arrangements and intervention support. PSEIs also have funds that students with SEN can tap on to purchase education-related assistive technology devices and support services.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) regularly reviews its financial literacy programmes to keep up to date with the evolving financial landscape. For example, the most recent review for the secondary level was in 2023. At polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education, students take mandatory financial education modules, which cover key concepts like savings and costs of borrowing. At the autonomous universities, financial education is available through course modules in finance and investment, as well as various campus activities, which build awareness of good money management and financial planning.”
“Since the start of the semester on 16 October 2023, there has been no technical outage in Singapore Polytechnic to date. All polytechnics, including Singapore Polytechnic, had switched their Continuing Education and Training course registration to a new system, the Skills Training and Enhancement Portal from the October 2023 Semester. Students and sponsoring companies were informed of the change in advance and most were onboarded smoothly. Any learners in need of further assistance with the new system can approach Singapore Polytechnic for support.”
“The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth are exploring with partners to add a few more sports to the programme and will announce them when ready. These sports are those not commonly offered in schools, such as athletics and water polo. As Strategic Partnership Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) Programme is still in its early development stages, international schools are not currently included.”
“Flexi-adjunct teachers (FAJTs) supplement our teaching force to help schools meet short-term manpower needs. FAJTs are remunerated on an hourly rate according to payment tiers, which are based primarily on their teaching experience. FAJTs are not eligible for bonuses and retention payments, which make up a significant portion of the annual remuneration package for full-time teachers. The annual remuneration package for FAJTs is designed to be lower than that of full-time teachers with equivalent experience. For example, the maximum remuneration for an FAJT at the highest payment tier is less than 60% of the median annual remuneration of classroom teachers with comparable experience.”
“Between 2019 and 2023, the number of male students caned in schools remained stable. In schools, caning is carried out as an educative and disciplinary measure for serious offences committed by male students when other corrective actions have been exhausted. Paired with counselling, it serves as an effective deterrent to further student offences and contributes to a safe school environment conducive to learning.”
“Since 1980, the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) has adopted a planning norm of ±30% variation in the average number of electors per Member of Parliament in its review of electoral boundaries. This approach balances the considerations for fair representation, with the need for more adjustments to the electoral boundaries arising from population shifts.”
“The recommendations from the last political salaries review were announced in 2018. The salary review Committee recommended a review of the political salaries framework about every five years, or when necessary. The Government did not make any changes to political salaries following the 2018 review as the salary structure remained valid and there were economic uncertainties in the previous few years. A review of the political salaries was due in 2023. However, the Government decided to defer the review as we have other pressing issues to deal with. In 2023, the global geopolitical situation has become more uncertain, with conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and continuing heightened geopolitical contestation. On the economic front, significant uncertainties and downside risks in the global economy remain, impacting our local economy and our wages and inflation outlooks. Hence, we decided to focus on dealing with these key challenges at hand and defer the review of political salaries for now. The Government will review the political salaries framework and benchmark in due course to ensure that they remain relevant and up to date.”
“As Member Mr Alex Yam had earlier filed a similar Parliamentary Question (PQ) for Written Answer, our response to the two PQs are similar. The recommendations from the last political salaries review were announced in 2018. The salary review Committee recommended a review of the political salaries framework about every five years, or when necessary. The Government did not make any changes to political salaries following the 2018 review as the salary structure remained valid and there were economic uncertainties in the previous few years. A review of the political salaries was due in 2023. However, the government decided to defer the review as we have other pressing issues to deal with. In 2023, the global geopolitical situation has become more uncertain, with conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and continuing heightened geopolitical contestation. On the economic front, significant uncertainties and downside risks in the global economy remain, impacting our local economy and our wage and inflation outlooks. Hence, we decided to focus on dealing with these key challenges at hand and defer the review of political salaries for now. The Government will review the political salaries framework and benchmark in due course to ensure that they remain relevant and up to date.”
“The autonomous universities (AUs) manage their own events, including deciding which speakers they wish to invite. As common spaces for learning, AUs are aware that they must respect Singapore's wider social norms and act in line with national interests. Where necessary, the Ministry will advise the AUs to uphold these principles.”