Chan Soo Sen
Singapore
“In this way, we could generate, nurture and grow the sparks of creativity. But all these ideas will still need to have things like incubators and the various start-up support schemes in order to make them into reality. All these would need funding support.”
“The fact that children give parents some money to have a good time in casino shows how complacent we can be. Mr Chairman, I want to propose that we must be more aggressive in publicising the ills of gambling. Let us take the example of smoking. Real pictures of health hazards are shown on the boxes to deter people.”
“Thank you, Madam. I just want to say that the Minister did not quite answer my question about having a special Chinese language programme or, if necessary, set up a special Chinese language centre for those who are gifted in Chinese. Perhaps I did not make myself quite clear.”
“Hence, I propose that the Ministry of Education consider implementing a Special Chinese Elite programme. If necessary, establish a Special Chinese Language Centre and peg the standard to the highest level.”
“As the public sector is a major employer in Singapore, may I ask whether the public sector as an employer is willing to recognise the medical certificates issued by TCM practitioners and allow medical benefit claims for TCM treatment? If not now, then how about some time in the future when professional standards of TCM further improve?”
“I hope that in the next few years, more emphasis will be given to the care and support for the caregivers – how to offer them emotional support, how to give them counselling support, how to organise programmes to give them some relief from the daily chore of giving care so that at least they may have, say, two or three hours a day t…”
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“I would also like to emphasise that the People's Association is very clear in ensuring that the grassroots organisations are not party political organisations. No political party, including the PAP, can organise party political activities using PA facilities, for example, the community centres.The PAP never politicised the People's Association. From the way Mr Steve Chia asked the question, he is the one who keeps on looking at the issue from a political angle. So, he risks politicising the People's Association. On civil servants to be appointed as advisors, I would not rule that out entirely. But bear in mind that all the staff in the constituency secretariats as well as community centres arepublic officers. So, is there any point, generally, in appointing another civil servant to be a grassroots advisor? As for the powers of grassroots advisors, I would like to point out that advisors to grassroots organisations can propose projects for the Main Upgrading Programme, Interim Upgrading Programme and Lift Upgrading Programme to the relevant authorities. The relevant authorities will decide how the resources for such projects should be allocated. And when a project isproposed, it is up to the residents to vote on it. The CCC cannot reject projects. But the Government does enlist the help of the CCCs, together with the advisors, to explain what the project involves, how much it benefits the residents, how much it would cost them, should there be cost sharing so that residents can make an informed decision when they vote on it. It is the residents, not the grassroots advisors or the CCCs, who ultimately decide. The CCCs and the grassroots advisors merely facilitate the process. Maintenance of public housing estates is the responsibility of the town councils.”
“Madam Chair, this is a set-piece question always asked of the People's Association byOpposition Members. So, I shall also give a set-piece answer. I do not really think Mr Steve Chia will be surprised by the answer. The People's Association is a statutory board which was set up to promote racial harmony, social cohesion and Government-people communication. Being a statutory board, the People's Association, like any Government agency, is not a party political organisation. It is certainly not the political arm of the People's Action Party. The People's Association appoints and works with members of the Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCCs), the other grassroots organisations, such as the Community Centre Management Committees (CCMCs) and the Residents' Committees (RCs), to serve Singaporeans from all walks of life, regardless of race, language, religion and political affiliation. Because it is a Government agency, it is up to the Government to decide who should be appointed as Advisors. Naturally, when deciding who to appoint as an Advisor, the Government considers whether that particular person will serve the aims of the People's Association in promoting the three objectives just stated. Just because the Opposition MPs are not appointed does not mean that Government MPs should not be appointed. On the contrary, Government MPs are appointed as grassroots advisors because they help to carry out the People's Association's objectives. Almost by definition, Opposition MPs do not share the objectives and visions of the Government and the People's Association. Therefore, it serves no purpose to appoint Opposition MPs as grassroots advisors.”
“In larger families – in fact, if we remember, many of our families, when we were young, have three or four siblings - we find that parents share their time among their children quite effectively. In fact, we can argue that they parent less intensively, and leave a lot to the brothers and sistersto interact with each other. And to have brothers and sistersinteracting with each other,helping each other, to taking care of each other, and givingsupport to each other, is also a very important aspect of life skills that all of us benefit from. This also contributes tothe very happy memories of our childhood. I would say, therefore, that we have all the values very much in our head, but we also have another set of values that has worked and generated stress in ourselves. If we can let go a little, we should be able to do much better balancing both work as well as life. I would certainly agree that this is the direction that we ought to be moving towards. As I have said, I very much agree with all the points that have been raised. Mdm Cynthia Phua is not around. As far as moral education and moral values are concerned, I would like to assure her that these are very much inculcated in many of the activities in the kindergartens and childcare centres. By teaching them social skills, teaching the children to interact with each other, asking them to make Christmas cards, Father's or Mother's Day cards for their parents, we are teaching them vital values. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)”
“It is only natural that each generation wishes that the nextto do better. However,our definition of success is a little bit too narrow. When asked about their fears and concerns about being parents, these centre on their children's academic success. This has been another big issue that would bedealt with in the Ministry of Education. Another top concern of parents was not being able to spend enough time with their children and not having effective parenting skills. Do we expect too much of ourselves as parents? That is the question. And because we expecttoo much of ourselves as parents, have we taken the joy of parenthood out of this very relationship that all of us said we wanted in the first place? Because the expectation on ourselves as parents is so high, many of usfeel it is vital to focus our time, energy and resources on one, at most, two children.As a result, we are unable to have bigger families, because we want to do such a good job,we over-emphasise on quality, and quality is defined based on such a narrow band. I certainly agree with Dr Lily Neo thata more balanced role between the father and mother at home would definitely help but there are also other stress factors to consider. In the case of education,you willhear fromthe statements thatwe aregoing to make in the COS debate on the Education Ministry, we dowant to get the parents to see success in a much broader front, rather than just academic results, such as how many straights "As" one has. We must also understandthat our time and energy need not rise proportionately with the number of children we have. For example, if we spend three hours per day after work with one child, we do not need to spend six hours when we have two, and then nine hours when we have three, and 12 hours when we have four!”
“Sir, it is very easy to answer these three questions. We agree to all of them. In fact, quite a lot of these answers are contained in the ealierspeeches that my Minister has given. Perhaps, I will just share with the House some of the surveys that we have done, to indicate that our family values are basically on the right track as of now. In 2003, MCDS conducted a survey of about 3,000 married Singaporeans, and it showed very clearly that people wanted children simply because they loved them, notbecause they wanted financial or fiscal incentives. When asked what it meant to have children, they concurred with statements, such as "I always enjoy having children near me"; "I can feel happiness and I feel at ease at home with my children"; and "I believe that the closest relationship I can have is with my child." In the hearts and minds of Singaporeans, the intrinsic value of children outweighs the utilitarian value of children as insurance for old age. That isthe mindset of most Singaporean married couples. Therefore, I hope that Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang could be assured that our studies suggest that Singaporeans do not have children merely because of financial incentives. 2.15 pm Our survey also showed that although most parents said achievements did not matter so long as their children were happy,they did have high hopes and aspirations for their children. I think this also gives rise to the kind of stress level that Dr Lily Neo talked about. We ought to be happy having children. For Singaporeans -wemay bethinking a little bit too faror too much - almost 70% of the parents surveyed wanted at least one child to go to university, and almost half wanted all their children to be university graduates. That makes the whole thing very arduous.”
“Sir, as and when doctors come across cases of suspected abuse in their clinics, they are duty bound to report the cases to the Police or maybe to MCDS. And we will follow up from there. ABUSE OF SINGAPORE PASSPORTS (Offences) 10. Assoc. Prof. Chin Tet Yung asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether offences relating to the abuse of Singapore passports are on the rise; and (b) what steps are taken to deal with such offences.”
“Sir, I would like to say that all these five cases were purely criminal cases. Early detection is not really the issue. There was a case of a 21-month old baby abused by the father and the baby died. The father was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. There was a 6-month-old baby girl who died after being sexually assaulted, and the perpetrator has been sentenced to death. There was a boy who was abused by the baby-sitter and who has been charged for murder. There was another case of a 2-year-old boy physically abused by a domestic worker, who is to be charged for murder. There was a 4-year-old boy abused by the mother and her boyfriend. Both were released on police bail under a charge of voluntary causing grievous hurt under the Penal Code. All these are criminal cases.”
“I am afraid I do not have those figures with me at the moment, because the Member asked about alleged abuse cases, rather than early intervention cases. If he is interested, we will try and look up the information for him.”
“Sir, I would say that every family is different. The question of whether corporal punishment is allowed is also a matter of opinion. But if we are talking about causing serious injury, it is a clear case of abuse. For rational parents, I think they would know what constitutes an abuse, if that is what Mr Sin is talking about. Mr Wee Siew Kim (Ang Mo Kio): Sir, the Minister of State talked about early intervention. Could he enlighten the House how many cases of early intervention have been disclosed by the social workers that have been brought for early investigation?”
“The handbook for teachers is basically on how to manage children at risk and probably to look for possible signs and evidence of abuse. To issue a handbook on how to do parenting, I think, is something very basic. I suppose we can consider it.”
“As I said, principals are responsible for deciding on fund-raising activities of their schools. The Ministry does not require them to seek approval from the Ministry before they proceed. All they need to do is just observe the general guidelines. So I am afraid we have no figures on how many fund-raising activities overall and how much has been raised. But we do believe that all these activities are for the benefit of the schools. UPGRADED HDB FLATS (Problem with windows installed) 5. Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for National Development if he will state (i) the number of flats in HDB estates, except those at Circuit Road, which have been upgraded and which have problems with the windows installed; and (ii) how many of these windows need to be repaired or replaced.”
“Sir, I do not know whether I can answer that question with a simple sentence, because what do we mean by "severity of crimes". I can only say that the figures are quite stable. There is no trend to indicate that they are getting more or less severe. There is no untoward kind of tendency that we can see. RELAXATION ON SUPPLEMENTARY CREDIT CARDS 10. Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance what is the rationale for the recent relaxation on supplementary cards by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in the light of the recent concern over mounting credit card bad debts and calls for more prudence in spending.”
“Alternatively, parents can also access the "About Family Life" website at www.aboutfamilylife.org.sg for more information on helping their teenagers cope with peer pressure, disciplining teenagers, parenting, imparting values to and communicating with teenagers.”
“Ho Peng Kee comprising senior representatives from the Ministries of Community Development and Sports, Education and Home Affairs and other agencies, to monitor the youth crime situation and coordinates the programmes of various agencies to tackle this issue. In fact, there are many programmes that have been initiated to tackle and prevent youth crimes. For example, 81 schools initiated the School Community Security Programme which targets at preventing juvenile delinquency. Other measures include the Police-School Liaison System, and the Honorary Volunteer Special Constabulary (School) Scheme. Also, the Police, together with IMYC and National Crime Prevention Council, developed a Youth-Crime Prevention Roadshow last year. The roadshows were targeted at students and their parents as well as teachers of schools, Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs) as well as polytechnics. Feedback gathered from more than 3,000 students who attended the roadshows indicated that the roadshows achieved the objective of raising greater reflection on crime. For example, 83% indicated that they better understood why youths commonly committed offences, such as simple theft, shop theft and rioting, and an overwhelming 90% recognised the dire consequences of committing a crime. Although there are many programmes and measures in place to tackle youth crime, I cannot sufficiently emphasise the critical role parents play in instilling positive values in our youths. Prevention efforts to combat youth violence must begin in the family. Parents who require assistance in parenting can seek help from my Ministry or any voluntary welfare organisation. They can also approach the Family Service Centres near their homes or call the hotline at 1800-838 0100 for assistance.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, based on the figures of the Police, from 2001 to 2003, 670 male and 86 female juveniles were arrested for violent offences. For the same period, there were a total of 659 male and 983 female juvenile victims of violent crimes. These juveniles are between 7 and 15 years of age. Reports of such violent crimes tend to be quite sensational. In fact, if Members look at the newspapers, in December 2003 as well as January 2004, there were quite a number of very sensationalised reporting. But it is not correct to conclude therefore that juvenile crimes are out of control. If you look at those reports carefully, about half of these reports are reports of trials of crimes that were committed in 2003 or 2002. In fact, I would like to say that there was a 56% decrease in the number of female juveniles arrested for violent crimes last year as compared to the year before. Therefore, it is definitely not true that crimes involving female juveline delinquents have increased. On the family profile of young offenders, over 70% of juveniles who are referred to my Ministry for probation come from intact, rather than dysfunctional families. The majority of these juveniles come from families earning a family income below $2,500 per month. In a study conducted by my Ministry between June 2002 and April 2003, we found that juvenile offenders rated the level of support and supervision rendered by their mothers to be higher than that provided by their fathers. Juvenile violence can be attibuted to various reasons, and that is why we need a concerted effort by various Governmental bodies, social agencies, community organisations as well as family members to deal with the problem effectively. There is an Inter-Ministry Committee on Youth Crimes (IMYC) chaired by Assoc. Prof.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Members for the clarification. Our plan is to implement the increase with effect from 1st October 2003.”
“In fact, if he has any specific proposal for the Cut Waste Panel, I think he should put something out more clearly so that we can take a look at it. This is a time for us to be united to face the challenge as a nation. Sir, I am somehow surprised by Mr Chandra Mohan who suddenly talked about merger. I may not have got him totally right, but I think he talked about the possibility of making merger easier. I do not know why he feels we should look at merger just because we face some setbacks. In fact, I raised his comments with my grassroots leaders yesterday. All of them were quite shocked. This is the time to be united as a nation to overcome the current difficulties. So my message to Singaporeans is this: Together we shall overcome. There is a Chinese proverb that says that the moon is there, except that it is covered by dark clouds. The clouds will disappear. We will see the moon again. The moon has always been there and the best is yet to be.”
“But I fully understand one thing that our universities told me. They said that top US and European universities, after looking at their projects, have come out with proposals to work together. To me, it means three things. Firstly, our R&D initiatives are on the right track; secondly, the quality of our research workers is high; and, thirdly, there must be the possibility of breaking through. Indeed, with world-class universities coming in, the probability of breaking through will be even greater. And if there were to be significant breakthroughs, then the investment that has gone into promoting R&D will pay off. Two weeks ago, I went to give away prizes to some JC students on a programme called the Science Talent Search. They presented their proposals and projects. Again, I could not understand. They are JC students. I did study Science up to "A" level. Yet, I cannot understand their projects. But one thing I heard from the chief judge, a young American Professor, and he was very clear. He said, "You ought to be proud of your young people. These projects are simply fabulous. How I wish my chaps would also do the same." Sir, we have talented young people. These talented young people have been given space to grow. I have no doubt that they will be able to find their feet and we will be able to do well. How can this be achieved if we are not in tune with their feelings as well as their aspirations? I do not understand. The Government is aware of the fact that every cent counts and, therefore, we have established a Cut Waste Panel. We have also talked about reviewing salaries of civil servants. All these will be put in place in due course. I will urge Mr Steve Chia to look at the results before coming out to accuse us of having an expensive Government.”
“SSC has also tried to increase other sources of revenues from its sports facilities, such as renting parts of the premises to retail shops. We recognise that we may not be enterprising enough and, therefore, we are open to explore other ideas to increase revenues. I am happy to explore further with Mr Ong Ah Heng his idea of rearing fishes. Mr Speaker, Sir, Mr Steve Chia said that he had moderated his speech after listening to the relief measures that had been announced. He said that at least the Government was aware and was in tune somehow with the feelings and aspirations of our people. Let me assure him - he has left - that the Government is always in touch and in tune with the feelings and aspirations of our people. Otherwise, it would not be possible to come out with all these well-targeted relief measures. There is no doubt that our days ahead are going to be brighter. Our people are united with the Government, partly because we are in touch with the feelings and aspirations of the people. The Government was able to mobilise the whole nation to defeat SARS. If we talk to the workers and the grassroots leaders, all of them acknowledge that the CPF cut is very painful. But, on the other hand, all of them understand why it has to be done. Nobody likes to receive less money in their accounts. But if it is necessary to preserve jobs, they will do it. Another reason why I said that the days are going to be brighter is, I do agree with Mr Steve Chia that we have talented people and we have got financial reserves. After I came to Ministry of Education, I went to NUS and NTU to visit the laboratories to look at the R&D work that is being done. They introduced me to many projects. To be honest, the projects are so complex that I did not understand them.”
“SSC last revised fees and charges for its sports facilities in 1997, six years ago. The increase that time was about 10%. SSC actually considered revising fees in 2000 and 2001. But on both occasions, MCDS decided against it because of the economic situation. Sir, increasing fees is not something that we do lightly. In fact, we do it very reluctantly. Our problem is that there is really no good time to increase fees. However, if we continue to defer doing so, the quantum of increase will be greater when we eventually have to do it. To minimise the impact of the fee revision on the public, SSC will be implementing the revisions in two phases. The first phase will take effect from 1st October 2003 and followed by a second revision on 1st July 2004. The details will be announced in the next few days. There will continue to be concession rates for children, senior citizens and schools. Furthermore, SSC has introduced stored value cards for the swimming pool users which will allow some savings for regular customers. The other option to control costs is to close facilities that are under-utilised. Mdm Cynthia Phua mentioned the closure of swimming pools. In June this year, we closed six swimming pools, including one in Mdm Cynthia Phua's constituency. We did bring forward the closure because of SARS which had resulted in a severe drop in attendance. The grassroots organisations were notified one month in advance. I agree that we should cut costs and increase revenues from other sources. In the past few years, SSC has cut manpower costs by employing part-timers, installing ticketing machines and coin-operated lockers. It has also reduced utility costs by cutting down the number of pumps running during the night and using rainwater for backwash at swimming complexes.”
“I would also like to remind the House that the Government schemes are not the only source of help available to Singaporeans. The CDCs and grassroots organisations have also come up with their own programmes to complement the Government schemes. Singaporeans who are genuinely in need can find help either from the Government or in the community. This is in line with our 'Many Helping Hands' approach. Mr Ong Ah Heng and Mdm Cynthia Phua have raised concerns over the increase in fees for sports facilities. Frankly, I am a little bit surprised because this has not been formally announced yet. Today, the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) heavily subsidises the use of sports facilities. For example, the average cost of operating the swimming pool is $3.50 per user, excluding depreciation cost. But today, each adult pays only $1.00 per entry with no limit on the number of hours used. So, that is a subsidy of $2.50 or 71%. Children and senior citizens pay even less, ie, 50 cents. The subsidy for all the SSC sports facilities amounts to approximately $18.8 million a year, excluding depreciation costs. This level of subsidy is, in fact, very high, and is a significant proportion of the cash grant given by MCDS to SSC, which stands at about $117 million this year. So, more than 20% goes to subsidise sports facilities. It is not right for MCDS to do nothing about it. Even after the two-phased increase, including the second increase in July 2004, SSC will still be subsidising some 60% of the total cost of operating the sports facilities. We will formally announce the increase soon. But let me say that even with the increase, we will still be subsidising 60% of the total cost of operating the sports facilities.”
“Ms Braema Mathi may be pleased to know that single parent families may be eligible for the interim financial assistance scheme, the rent and utilities assistance scheme and the centre-based financial assistance scheme for childcare. Single mothers who are not ready to seek employment due to care-giving responsibilities, could also be given some short- to medium-term help. Those who are ready to seek work will be placed on WAP. They will also receive financial support to place their children in childcare centres. This is to ensure that the children are taken care of while the mother may be working. A few Members have expressed concern about those who are not covered by the financial assistance schemes. Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed mentioned the middle income, Mr Iswaran highlighted the `sandwiched groups' who are marginally above the income ceiling criteria, and Mdm Ho Geok Choo even referred to those earning between $3,000-$6,000 a month. We empathise with the struggles of these families and recognise that they too need help when the main breadwinner is retrenched. For this group of Singaporeans, work is still the best form of welfare. In the process of seeking re-employment, one main barrier faced by this group is their expectations. If these Singaporeans are prepared to make the necessary adjustments and moderate their expectations, and some Members of the House have indicated that many of them are willing to do so, we will do our best to facilitate their job seeking efforts. I have mentioned earlier that the CDCs have beefed up their employment service capabilities with more than 80 additional employment officers. I believe that with this enhanced capability, we can help more Singaporeans, including those from the middle income group, to find jobs.”
“The entry level requirement for polytechnic courses as well as higher ITE Nitec courses is 3 GCE `O' levels. Hence, those who do not meet this requirement, ie, 2 GCE `O' levels and below, are likely to face difficulties advancing their training and education in post-secondary institutions and therefore need additional help. That is how we set the criterion at 2 GCE 'O' levels. We have received suggestions to extend HOPE to cover poor families with more than two children as well as divorcees. Ms Braema Mathi has also made an appeal for HOPE to cover single parent families. I would like to reiterate the objectives of HOPE, ie, to encourage young couples to keep their family strong and intact so that the children can grow up in a stable environment. Our policies should not encourage behaviour that goes against our family values. Notwithstanding this, I agree with Ms Braema Mathi that some of these families are genuinely in need and not all can be assisted under HOPE and WAP. For example, there are Singaporeans who are unable to work because of old age, illness or care-giving responsibilities. Apart from WAP and HOPE, there are, in fact, many existing schemes to help people in need. My Ministry has compiled a list of social assistance schemes provided by the Government. I am requesting the Clerk of Parliament to distribute the list for Members' reference. [Copies of list distributed to Members.] This is just for Members' reference because many of these schemes are public information. Many Members already know about many of these schemes. These schemes cater to Singaporeans with different needs - those who require long term assistance, those who need interim help with rental and utilities arrears, and those who need support with child and student care.”
“Those who are assessed to be eligible will be assisted under the existing employment and social assistance schemes first. They will be given short-term interim help and be transferred to WAP come 1st October 2003. Likewise, Singaporeans who are interested in HOPE can also approach the CDCs for details. Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) A few Members also spoke about the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) programme. I would like to thank Mr Ahmad Khalis and others who have expressed their support for the programme. We have also received feedback, particularly on the eligibility criteria. Many felt that the criteria should be relaxed to allow more low-income families to benefit. Mr Speaker, Sir, let me reiterate the objective of HOPE. It is designed as an upstream programme to target young, low-income families. The objective is to enable their children to get a better headstart in life. To do so, we are encouraging the couples to keep their families small so that they can concentrate their resources on their children. The benefits given are meant to help them earn a better living, perhaps buy a home, and keep their marriage strong so that they can provide a stable and supportive family environment for their children to benefit from educational opportunities offered to them. This will provide the best chance for these families to break out of the negative poverty cycle. NMP Mrs Fang Ai Lian commented specifically on the educational criteria - that a poor family with 4 GCE 'O' levels would not qualify for HOPE. Currently, the criterion is 2 GCE 'O' levels. The 2 GCE 'O' levels criterion is meant to target couples whose opportunities for skills upgrading are potentially limited by their lack of educational qualifications.”
“This will cover school and transport fees and a one-off grant to cover miscellaneous expenses, such as uniform as well as textbook expenses. There are also other sources of help available in the community, for example, the School Pocket Money Fund. I am pleased to inform the House that the CDCs have been gearing up to implement the WAP programme from October this year. The Government has provided more resources to beef up their employment-related services. A total of 83 officers will be stationed at the CDCs to provide employment services. 53 of these staff are being trained with case management skills. They are taught skills on motivational counselling and techniques to help the unemployed identify barriers and needs. This training would enable the case management officers to be more effective in helping WAP beneficiaries work towards employment. We expect the job placement services in the CDCs to be given a significant boost with these additional staff. We are aware that apart from financial and employment assistance, some of the families could have other problems that need to be addressed, for example, family violence, as Mdm Cynthia Phua has pointed out. The case management officer will also look into the needs of the family and link the family up with the appropriate agencies, for example, the Family Service Centres, for assistance and support. The CDCs are also fine-tuning their work procedures to ensure that all social assistance applicants who are fit to work will be referred for job placement services. There are Singaporeans who have already lost their jobs and need help immediately. Between now and October, they can approach the CDCs for help and advice.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, firstly, I would like to thank Members of the House for their suggestions and points made on two of the schemes that MCDS is managing, that is, the Work Assistance Programme (WAP) as well as HOPE. Dr Wang Kai Yuen and Dr Warren Lee have suggested that we help unemployed Singaporeans to train for new jobs and provide them with financial assistance. Some Members have also given encouraging examples of Singaporeans who are determined to find jobs and be self-reliant. Mayor Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon shared her CDC's experience and her observation that Singaporeans are increasingly prepared to make the necessary adjustments and to take up low-income jobs. NMP Mr Nithiah Nandan has also mentioned some of the examples that he has come across. The Work Assistance Programme (WAP) is, in fact, designed with these resilient Singaporeans in mind. The programme, announced by DPM Lee last week, is really aimed at helping these Singaporeans seek employment and transit quickly back to work. Financial assistance is only an interim measure while our recipients look for jobs under the programme. WAP beneficiaries will receive job placement services and short-term financial assistance to help them tide over this difficult period. Those who have tried, but are still unable to secure jobs over a three-month period, will be given more personal attention by a case management officer. With this support and the Singaporean spirit of self-reliance, we feel that the majority of WAP recipients will find jobs and be independent within 3-6 months. Mr Gan Kim Yong has proposed that we should do more to help affected families cope with their children's schooling assistance. Let me assure him that under WAP, provisions are available to help deserving families pay for schooling expenses.”
“Sir, what I said was that stress exists in our system. Our proactive approach involves training all our teachers in basic counselling skills and training two teacher-counsellors per school to deal with the more serious cases, bring in former education officers who are experienced, train them and deploy them at cluster level. At the Ministry of Education, we have psychologists to give guidance as well as to deal with the more complicated cases. We do not want to see every symptom of stress as potentially serious. This is our approach. We regret that there have been suicide cases. For the recent cases, we have not established that they were due to school related issues, but we are prepared to wait for the investigations to be completed. And if there are things that we need to do, we will do it. So we do have a proactive system in place. 3.00 pm”
“Sir, if the Member files a Question, we will give her an answer.”
“We do ask the teachers, the principals and from the schools' perspective. We did not find any evidence that it is because of a school related element from the inquiries that we have conducted internally. So, we say we will wait for the police report. It may be more comprehensive. We are prepared to look at additional facts. If the Member asks me about the suicide cases in recent years, I do not have the information on the cases that happened in the last few years with me. If the Member is interested, he can file a separate question and we will give him the answer. Dr Lily Neo: Mr Speaker, Sir, I want to clarify that I did not imply any number or large number of suicide cases I would appreciate for the number that happened in the past few years and the reasons why these suicides happened.”
“Sir, if we are talking about the recent suicides, the investigations are still taking place. What I said was that there was no evidence that MOE knows of to suggest that the students have study difficulties.”
“As I have said, all these may have been happening on the ground. The Ministry did not organise. The schools and parents would have discussed this subject. I would like to go back to my earlier point and say, yes, stress is inevitable in a learning environment. And that stress is motivating. It is a drive. The point is that if it becomes excessive beyond the level that the person can cope, then intervention is necessary.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I was responding to Mr Steve Chia's point about crying for help. If a person cries for help and we did not respond and the person commits suicide, yes, something is very wrong. I am saying that it is not a case of a person crying for help and we did not respond. As for being sensitive, we have to bear in mind that if our teachers become too sensitive, they may see suicidal tendencies in everybody, and that is not the way to conduct a class.”
“Maybe the Member can be more specific about the terms of reference of the study, and we will look at them.”
“There are additional channels that we can do to work with the community as well as with the parents. For example, under COMPASS, more and more schools are forming the parent-teacher associations. This is one mechanism that we can use to work with the parents. Schools also work with Community Development Councils and some of the CDC projects also carry a social element. And if Members have any other suggestions of what we can do, we will be very happy to look at them,”
“Mr Steve Chia is assuming that before people commit suicide, they always cry for help. But in many instances, this does not happen. Sometimes there is not even a symptom that the person is about to do it. As I have said, if there are symptoms that something is wrong that we can detect, we will intervene. But in cases where nothing of that sort happens and the person just commits suicide, we will have to investigate before deciding what conclusion to draw, what to do and what lessons to learn. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang (Nominated Member): Sir, notwithstanding the various reasons for a person to attempt or commit suicide, I would like to ask the Minister of State to give an idea of what the schools and MOE are doing to reach out to parents and the community to have a collective effort of trying to deal with stress-related issues of our students, because they are very precious resources for us. And I think from the indications given, more needs to be done. What is the Ministry's contribution in this regard?”
“We take all the cases very seriously and we try to learn from them. But I want to say that from the tone Dr Lily Neo has put the question, I feel she may be saying that there have been many such cases. I do not think there have been many such cases. And for those cases, the stress is not necessarily with school related. If we are talking about the recent cases, let the police investigations be completed. We will certainly learn from there. Like all Members, MOE is very concerned about each case.”
“The number of students who are seen by IMH and the hospitals is not really a very good indicator. An increase in number can be due to a greater willingness to see psychologists, not the problem becoming greater. As for numbers of the last few years, I do not have them with me at the moment, but I did see it this morning. It is more or less steady, and it has gone down a little in the last 2-3 years. If the Member is interested, we can share those figures with him. We do not have a list of formal indicators. As I have said, we depend on teachers who are in the frontline. We teach them how to observe signs of stress as well as problems. If it goes beyond a certain level, it will be detected and follow-up action will be taken. As far as stress is concerned, I do believe that in all forms of learning, there is some form of stress. Stress is generated as we go into areas that are unknown or uncertain. Learning, by definition, is to go into areas that are unknown so as to know more. So, a certain amount of stress in the learning process is inevitable and, in fact, necessary to provide the drive. If there is no stress, all of us will become very lethargic and lacking in drive. But the important thing is to ensure that when stress goes beyond a certain level, is becoming dysfunctional and the student is unable to cope, the case is detected and followed up on. Stress exists in our education system. We do not deny it. But I just want to say that we have a system in place to detect and follow up.”
“I do not think I can give such an assurance. In fact, I do not think anybody can. Piority in allocating budget to programmes change over time. But I would like to say that, as of now, there is no plan to cut back allocation to counselling services. On the second question, I just want to say that teachers interact constantly with students. So students who have difficulties can raise their problems with their teachers. Or if they raise their problems with their friends, their friends may be able to raise the problems with the teachers, and the teachers follow up from there. Our best assurance is to have teachers trained in basic counselling skills so that they will be able to detect problems. This has already been done.”
“I am very surprised to hear that counselling services have been cut in schools. In fact, in addition to what I have mentioned in my reply, MOE has a scheme to engage part-time counsellors from the group of experienced teachers who have left the service. With their wealth of experience plus training by MOE, they become part-time counsellors. They are paid allowances for their services. And the schools find this service very good. In fact, we plan to look into expanding it.”
“We are aware of the recent suicide cases in the JC students. Investigation is still being undertaken by the Police. So far, there is no evidence to show that the suicides were related to stress arising from school. Let the investigation go through and we will be able to answer that question. We should not speculate at this stage. The junior colleges do organise support for the families as well as the friends of the students concerned.”
“As I have said, this depends on the observation by the teachers. Sometimes when the students interact and if between their conversation, they detect that some of their classmates may have this tendency, they may raise this to the teachers and then follow-ups can take place from there.”
“These include: 1) Cracks on the brackets holding the frameless glass door, which may be caused by repeated slamming of the glass door; 2) Dislodgement of the frame holding the fixed glass panel from the outer frame; 3) Chips at the glass edge on the unbroken glass; and 4) Scattering of glass fragments over a big area. Sir, the shower screens are installed using specialised systems, according to the prevailing industry standard. The glass suppliers supplying tempered glass to HDB projects have their in-house quality control testing to ensure that the tempered glass meets the required standard. Since mid-2002, HDB also conducts additional sample testing to ensure the quality of the tempered glass.”
“I think we can accept that there is no good time to impose an additional levy, and we did say that, because of the economic condition, we asked the RCs to hold the cost to the residents for six months and they have agreed. SHOWER ROOM TEMPERED GLASS DOORS IN HDB FLATS (Shattering) 6. Miss Penny Low asked the Minister for National Development as the shattering of shower room tempered glass doors has been classified as "rough handling and improper renovation works" (a) what are HDB's criteria for determining rough usage as research shows that a very high force or stress is required to cause tempered glass to shatter; and (b) as there were two cases where the shattering has resulted in shards rather than fragments, what is the quality control process that HDB uses to ensure the safety of the homeowners. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development (Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, HDB uses tempered glass for its shower screens as it is stronger compared to normal glass, and tempered glass is less likely to cause injury when broken. While tempered glass is able to withstand stronger impact than normal glass, it can still break, if used improperly. Rough usage may cause chipping of the glass. Over time, the chips may develop into cracks, causing the glass to break suddenly when they widen to a certain crack width. It is difficult to pinpoint the actual cause of the breakage after the incident. Nevertheless, in some instances, there are signs that would indicate the possibility of rough usage.”
“I do not have the cost figure for the changing of the logo. But the change of logo is a separate issue. We have come to the stage where we feel that it is good to review the logo. In fact, quite a number of Members of this House had also given feedback that it was about time to consider the change of logo. We therefore conducted that particular review. A design competition was organised and a new logo was introduced by looking at some winning designs and modifying to suit our needs.”
“Can the Member repeat the part about the increase as I could not quite get him?”
“The Member has quoted the word "negotiate". We will negotiate with the intention of complying with the circular that has been sent. But if there are very, very strong contractual agreements that affect the ability to reach an agreement, PA is prepared to look at it on a case-by-case basis.”
“As I have said earlier, we will look at the contractual agreements specifically and then advise the Member.”
“What type of contractual agreements? PA can look at them.”
“Mr Tan Soo Khoon says that since we do not need the $3 million, why not give it to the welfare schemes. The current financial procedure does not allow us to do so. The $3 million was set aside for this purpose. If it is not used, it has got to be returned to the Ministry of Finance.”
“Sir, to understand the phenomenon, we have got to see the CCC assistance scheme in context. The scheme was there because there was an assurance by the Government that, with the introduction of the GST plus all the rebates and relief, nobody will lose out overall in tax terms in the next five years. And in order to put the money where the mouth is, the Government has set aside $3 million and anybody who feels that he has lost out can come and apply, and the money is there and we will give the rebate. In 1994, the scheme was there when GST was first introduced. Therefore, when we increased the GST this time, there must be a scheme there to give the same assurance. There is, of course, a difference in the situation between 1994 and 2002. In 1994, we were doing well economically and there were no such handouts, so to speak, from the Budget. There was no EDRS. There were no various types of rebate schemes. Therefore, the people would just apply when they thought they were eligible. But, now, after introducing the various schemes to help the people because our economy is doing badly, when they hear about this, they feel that it is some kind of a handout. Therefore, 20,000 people applied. Mr Charles Chong asked whether we use additional resources. We did not use additional resources. Our CCC staff and grassroots leaders mobilise themselves to try to explain to the residents who come. It has not been easy. But there is no additional public money involved, partly because we did not expect that type of response. Now, the number has indeed dwindled. In the first two weeks of February, it was 3,500; and in the last two weeks of February it was 1,800. So I think people are beginning to understand what the scheme is all about and they are not coming forward to apply anymore.”