Cheng Li Hui
Singapore
“To be fair to ourselves, despite the mistakes and inadequacies we see, when you take a few steps back, you would realise that relative to so many other countries, we have done pretty well. Please give ourselves a pat on the back.”
“Chairman, harmonious neighbourhoods are what we all hope for and work towards. However, having some disputes is unavoidable. While we work towards minimising such disputes, we must also pay attention to improving the ways we manage disputes such as the CDMF.”
“Chairman, in 2016, the Disability Sports Master Plan (DSMP) was launched to further improve Persons with Disabilities' access to sports. PwDs deserve the same level of access to the sports that they wish to pursue as non-PwDs.”
“Chairman, motherhood is one of, if not the most, noble of aspirations. While I thank MOH for the steps it has taken in the right direction with respect to Elective Egg Freezing (EEF), I feel that the ideal destination is still some distance away.”
“Chairman, every Singaporean has a part to play in our whole-of-society effort to build a strong, secure and cohesive nation. New threats continuously emerge, while existing threats evolve and re-invent themselves. The addition of Digital Defence is timely, which forms the sixth pillar of Total Defence.”
“Mr Chairman, the safety of our service men and women is paramount. At last year's Committee of Supply (COS), Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How spoke about emphasising a strong safety culture in the SAF through audits and inspections.”
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Every one of 221 lines we hold for Cheng Li Hui, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 5.
“Sir, OBS was set up by Dr Goh Keng Swee in 1967. Dr Goh's vision was for OBS to help build a rugged society. True to his vision, the fundamental philosophy underlining the operations of OBS has not changed over the past nearly 50 years. I am glad that OBS is now being expanded to strengthen our rugged society. At the official opening of Coney Island, Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in his speech, "We will, of course, keep the island rustic and keep to its natural state, as much as possible. Coney Island is home to a wide variety of habitats, including coastal forests, grasslands and mangroves. It is also a stop for migratory birds and features rare flora and fauna that are not seen on our mainland." I am, therefore, concerned whether the rustic nature of the island can, indeed, be preserved. I understand that 12 hectares represent 10% of Coney Island. I would still like to ask what are the measures taken to minimise the impact to the environment and how the rustic nature of the island can be preserved. The cost of $250 million seems to be rather high, considering cost of other infrastructure projects like the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Sports and Residential Halls cost $230 million. Will the Minister share the details of the development plans and the components which account for the high costs? I would also like to ask what are the plans for the current OBS and adventure campsites.”
“Madam, last July, in a written answer to a question by Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin shared that, "For children above the age of six, KKH and NUH provide diagnostic services for a range of developmental disabilities, such as autism and speech and language delays, while IMH provides assessment for Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In 2014, the average waiting time for subsidised patients was between one week and two months." I would like to ask how are the children identified for these tests and how many of them were assessed in the last three years. IMH runs two Child Guidance Clinics located at Buangkok Green and Outram Road. I heard about the good team of doctors and staff in these premises and I thank them for their passion in caring for their clients. I understand that children with mood and anxiety-related concerns, including eating disorders and relationship problems, may be referred there for therapy. Would the Ministry also provide figures on the number of children and youths below age 18 seeking treatment at Buangkok Green? Our conservative society still exerts considerable social stigma to the family and children suffering from autism and other mental health issues. Will the Ministry consider relocating the Buangkok Green unit to our heartlands or start new units in other locations to strengthen support for mental wellness? Dengue Vaccination and Zika Prevention”
“As we face the silver tsunami, the number of seniors who suffer from dementia is expected to rise. One in 10 people aged 60 and above, and half of those aged 85 and above have dementia. The number is projected to increase from 28,000 in 2012 to 80,000 in 2030. What preventive measures can we introduce to the public so as to reduce or temper the expected surge in dementia cases? In Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] As we face the silver tsunami, the number of seniors who suffer from dementia is expected to rise. What preventive lifestyle changes can Singaporeans be encouraged to adopt to reduce the risk of getting dementia? An MOH study shows that the risk of dementia is 25 times higher for housewives and retirees than the working people. This figure deserves our attention. Working and participating in community activities actively may help to slow down brain degeneration. Hence, we should encourage and help more housewives and retirees to stay active and healthy. (In English): Would the Ministry share with us the latest initiatives for the early detection and treatment of dementia? Also, what is the Ministry's long-term plan to support persons with dementia who are living in the community? Research has shown that allowing them to age-in-place would be less costly to society. Those who care for dementia sufferers are three times more distressed than other caregivers. Many have to stop work, which may put them in financial situation. What kinds of support schemes are there to help and relieve family caregivers? Will MOH consider allowing standard health screening, including dementia screening, to be done at private GPs at subsidised rates? 12.30 pm Dementia-friendly Communities”
“Hawker centres are an essential part of heartland living and part of Singapore's unique national heritage. Many Singaporeans enjoy our hawker food, its convenience and affordability. As many of our hawkers are getting older, how can the Ministry help to preserve the hawker trade? How do we ensure that the stall rental prices remain reasonable and the prices of food in our hawker centres remain affordable? 3.00 pm”
“Mdm Chairman, Singapore has long advocated the 3Rs – recycle, reduce, reuse. How prevalent is recycling in both our residential estates and commercial properties? Would the Ministry update us on our progress in the area of public education to get more Singaporeans to recycle consistently and the correct way to recycle to prevent contamination? What percentage of the collection is contaminated? NEA provides a blue recycling bin at the common area next to every HDB block under the National Recycling Programme (NRP) to encourage more households to recycle. How successful is this programme and what is the average amount of recyclables collected per month islandwide?”
“Singapore's current demand for water is 400 million gallons per day and it is expected to double to 800 million gallons per day by 2061 due to population increases and growing commerce and industry needs. The Linggiu Reservoir in Johor is five times larger than all of Singapore's 17 freshwater reservoirs combined and hence, it is a critical source of water. Our 99-year water agreement with Malaysia will end in 2061. What is our long-term water supply plan to ensure Singapore will continue to have adequate water for her needs in the future? 2.45 pm Currently, the Linggiu Reservoir's water level is hovering around 43% due the recent dry weather. What plans do the Ministry and PUB have to ensure that our water supply is resilient against increasing occurrences of dry spells and even prolonged drought? Can we expedite the installation of water retention tanks to collect rainwater during heavy rain and reduce the amount of rainwater flowing into the public drainage system and help reduce flooding? Water is precious and we need to manage its use carefully. What is the progress of our public education efforts to encourage water conservation? Can we incorporate more water-saving designs and mechanisms in our buildings? Water Resilience”
“Experts have warned that Singapore is at risk from rising sea levels due to climate change. May I ask the Ministry for an update on the long-term plans to protect our coastline and the infrastructural costs involved? Would the Ministry also share the progress of the road-raising works on Nicoll Drive in anticipation of rising sea levels? What other parts of Singapore are at risk if the sea level rises by another metre? As the global climate changes, Singapore is not immune to its effects. We have seen in recent years, periods of extreme weather – more frequent episodes of heavy rain alternating with very hot weather. How will we minimise the incidents of flooding due to the downpours and mitigate the impact of the blazing sun on our population, particularly those engaged in outdoor activities? What can we do to ensure that people whose profession or hobbies require significant outdoor exposure are educated and protected? With the hotter weather, our energy consumption will also rise as more Singaporeans turn on their air-conditioning. Do we have long-term plans to reduce this dependency on air-conditioning via green building or eco-friendly architecture?”
“In its recommendations to the Ministry last month, AMAP recommended that cyclists and users of personal mobility devices (PMDs) be allowed on footpaths. While this recommendation will certainly help to reduce the risks that cyclists face on the road, the risk for pedestrians also increases. In reality, a number of cyclists are already riding on footpaths and there are many accounts of cyclists and users of PMDs who do not give way to pedestrians nor stop when approaching bus stops or crowded areas like neighbourhood centres and markets. While residents understand the need to legalise PMDs on footpaths, I hope that we can continue to educate our cyclists on good practices, such as dismounting in crowded places. Madam, I support cycling as a green and healthy mode of transport but I feel that they should be allotted a dedicated lane where there might be high cycling and pedestrian traffic, such as the last mile to the MRT stations. It would take additional planning and investments to do this but I do think it will be money well-spent. Pedestrians, especially the elderly and young children, should not be put at risk for the convenience of cyclists and users of PMDs. I would also like to ask the Ministry how it intends to enforce speed limits, which the Panel recommended at 15 kilometres per hour on footpaths and 25 kilometres per hour on cycling and shared paths. Change of Rules for Bicycles”
“SkillsFuture courses are very diverse, from Aerospace to Domestic Cleaning, Marine and Port Services to Tourism. With such a wide range of subjects and with so many different providers, how does the Ministry ensure the quality of the courses and their relevance to market needs? I am interested to know what are the checks and mechanisms in place to maintain consistent standards and encourage providers to keep their content updated and relevant. What are also some measures that will be put in place to prevent potential abuse of the schemes by the vendors? Would the Ministry also share how often audits will be conducted on training providers and their companies? I also tried checking up the various types of approved courses on the website and it is actually not quite friendly. I would like to request for the design of the SkillsFuture website to be more informative and user-friendly. In addition, can there also be a platform for interested learners to exchange information and feedback about the courses with past participants and the vendors?”
“Madam, cybercrimes and online scams have been on the rise and it is not surprising with the majority of Singaporeans accessing the Internet every day across different platforms. According to the "Annual Survey on Infocomm Usage in Households and by Individuals 2014", 54% of our children aged between seven and 14, and 92% of our young aged 15 to 24 use portable infocomm equipment to connect to the Internet wirelessly. While they are tech-savvy, they may or may not be Internet-savvy. They are comfortable navigating the Internet and may forget there are real dangers lurking in cyberspace which they have to guard and protect themselves against. Cyberbullying, online predators and online scams are just some of the dangers that youths face. Some people believe that it is the parents' duty to protect their children from online threats. While this may be true, it is difficult for parents to monitor and control the online behaviour of their children. Parents are often less tech-savvy than their children. We have to equip our children and youths with the skills to navigate the Internet safely and to differentiate between fact and fiction, outdated news and incorrect sources. Page: 20 Hence, may I ask the Ministry for an update on the Cyber Wellness programmes in our schools and whether they also include IHLs? Would the Ministry also share what other initiatives will be implemented to promote cyber safety?”
“This conversation left a strong impression on me on the joy of learning − that we should and can continue to learn at all ages. We should look at how we can harness SkillsFuture to roll out interesting courses in our Community Clubs to keep our seniors engaged. To our seniors, I say, "You can retire from work but please do not retire from our community". I implore our seniors to stay engaged and active with us and, together, we can continue to make our home, our Singapore, the best home for all of us. Mdm Speaker, I support the Budget. 12.21 pm”
“Two weeks later, our PGAs received a call from Mdm M informing them that her husband had passed away. She was not sure whom to call. Our PGAs rushed to the pioneer's home and activated ambulance services for assistance. Our PGAs continued to befriend Mdm M and give her support to cope with her husband's demise. Mdm M is now an active participant in our community events. This is one of the many examples of friendship made possible through personalised outreach and the good work of our PGAs. As of June 2015, there are 670,000 Singaporeans aged 60 and above. Of these, 434,000 are PGs. I hope that the newly-launched Community Network for Seniors can have the same personalised outreach as our PG programme. I hope they can also engage our seniors who are not in the PG programme, to explain MediShield Life and understand their needs and interests. It is important that our seniors are aware of the medical assistance that is available to them while they are well so that if and when they are not well, they will know how to seek medical help. Last Christmas, I was at our PCF eldercare centre, and I met a new client, Mdm Loke, aged 72. She said that she used to have body aches and pasted many "koyok" plasters to relieve the discomfort. Since joining the centre, she had been doing morning exercises and activities. After a few weeks of participation, she began to feel better and did not need to apply any plasters or Page: 12 continue her rehabilitation therapy. She showed me her mathematics assessment book. As she did not have the opportunity to attend school, the programme coordinator decided to teach her mathematics. She was so happy learning simple addition and subtraction.”
“Currently, 80% of our GPs and family physicians work in the private sector. The remaining 20% work in our polyclinics and hospitals. In a recent visit to a public hospital, I was told that 80% of their cases are referrals from the polyclinics. It is common knowledge that our polyclinics are operating at near full capacity. Can we make better use of the 80% of GPs and family doctors in the private sector? Can we enable these doctors to handle the consultation with support from the specialists? This will make it more personable, build better patient-doctor rapport and also ease some of the loads off the public doctors in the polyclinics. Next, can we use technology to create a better experience for our increasingly ageing population? The Minister had shared in his speech about how robotics in our hospital pharmacies is improving accuracy and speed of services. I fully support this. We should do more. In the marketplace today, there are robots that can perform simple chores around the home, health bands that can monitor the state of the elderly, remind them to take their medication and send alerts when the users' health is compromised. Isolation is one of the biggest problems for senior citizens. Today, many Internet services help people stay more closely connected with family and friends. Should we harness the power of technology to help our elderly stay engaged? One example is a virtual retirement village where tech-savvy elders can connect, look out for and keep one another active and engaged. Finally, on outreach and prevention, let me share two stories. The first one is from our Tampines Pioneer Generation Ambassadors' (PGAs) house visits. Last July, our PGAs visited Mdm M and her husband to explain the PG package.”
“I do not have the exact figures but, judging from my house visits and friends in the medical community, the scheme has helped many residents. But as our population ages, our healthcare expenditure can only go in one direction – up. We are already feeling the impact of the increasing number of seniors in my constituency. During my house visits, I have encountered more aged living on their own. Of course, many are productive, helping look after their grandchildren and generally living a happy and fulfilling life after retirement. To those that are not so fortunate, I am glad we are doing more to help with the Silver Support Scheme. But going forward, I feel that there is more we can do to make sure our healthcare budget can be better spent in three ways: first, we can make better use of primary care resources; second, we can better leverage on technology; and third, we can encourage active ageing and emphasise prevention rather than cure. Singapore has a good healthcare system with world-class hospitals and specialty centres, such as the National Heart Centre, Cancer Centre and Eye Centre. While we have a highly sub- Page: 11 specialised system, I believe we can make better use of our primary care system. Last December, while on a break in Australia, I met up with a Singaporean doctor practising in a suburb of Melbourne. In our discussion, we spoke about coordinated care. As a family general practitioner (GP), he would be the one assessing his patients' needs for surgery and coordinating with the specialist. After surgery, the specialist would send a soft copy of the patient's files and x-rays and the GP would follow up. I learnt that the role of the family doctor is important and useful for the long-term care of the patient.”
“Mdm Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to participate in the debate on Budget 2016. This year's Budget emphasises growth. A lot of money will be spent on transforming our economy through enterprise and innovation. This is crucial to ensure that Singapore remains relevant and competitive, so that there is growth. Growth will enable us to realise our aspirations and fund our essential programmes like education, healthcare and defence. But there is another important aspect of this year's Budget, and that is the social element, making sure that Singaporeans have a stake in our country and share the ownership of this place we call home. I am happy that the Minister for Finance has not forgotten about the vulnerable in our society – our young, our low-wage workers, persons with disabilities and, especially, our seniors. I have a special empathy for our seniors. Like our parents, our senior citizens have worked hard for us. Now, it is our responsibility to look after them. Mdm Speaker, I see that the Minister for Finance has assigned more resources to the Ministry of Health (MOH) – $11 billion in 2016, compared to $9.2 billion in 2015. I know we have managed to keep our healthcare spending over the decades on the lower end with our unique 3M approach – MediShield, MediSave and MediFund. I sat on the MediFund Board for several years and I know how it has helped so many of our people. We have improved MediShield to MediShield Life last year, providing universal healthcare insurance coverage for all Singaporeans. The Community Health Assistance Scheme (CHAS) was also enhanced in 2014 to help Singaporeans with outpatient primary care services in the private sector.”
“I appreciate the Minister's reply and the fact that the RA is to fund the retirement of Singaporeans. Would the Minister agree that a significant number of our residents are marrying later and the children are entering tertiary or higher education just when they are retiring? Therefore, would it not be reasonable to allow them to use the RA, with the provision that the children will repay them when they graduate? For the lower and middle income who may not have sufficient savings and who are unable to get loans and the bursaries may not cover the full cost of the fees, does it not make sense for them to want to give their children a good education and investment in their future?”
“Locations, such as Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park and Tampines Sun Plaza Park, would be suitable. These parks are close to HDB heartlands, have convenient drop-off and pick-up points and ample space. The children and elderly can exercise, take strolls and be with nature. Community "urban farmers" can supervise and share their gardening expertise. Most of us will live longer and well into our eighties and beyond. What do we hope to see when we reach that age? I hope that we will be a nation of multi-generational neighbourhoods, where we take care of each other and where our elderly and our young can mingle and share their lives and experiences, like Mdm Tan and her granddaughter. This means providing many more opportunities for our neighbours and generations to come together, interact and encourage each other. Mdm Speaker, I believe that the integration of facilities, institutions and services will result in stronger community bonds. As we strive to be a Smart Nation, I hope we can also be a cosy and compassionate Home for Adam, Mdm Tan and all Singaporeans. 4.16 pm”
“They live in separate homes but they get to see each other in this centre. So, it is very convenient and also precious that grandma and granddaughter get to "hang out" with each other because of shared facilities and programmes. I have seen first-hand the benefits both groups receive from each other because of this facility. As the number of elders in our society grows, I would like to propose that we accelerate the Page: 43 development of these inter-generational facilities that will benefit both the young and the old. We have two public facilities which, I think, can be better used for this purpose. The first is our schools. Taking a cue from my 3-in-1 centre, I would like to propose that our schools have integrated eldercare facilities. Our schools have safe open spaces with appropriate exercise facilities and areas suitable for the elderly. The seniors can participate in the school's activities, whether passively like watching school performances, or actively in music and art classes. Like Mdm Tan's family, many of our young are cared for by their grandparents while their parents work. These facilities will provide a nexus for these grandparents who send their grandchildren to school, to stay on, mingle, get involved as a volunteer or even be a participant in the eldercare programmes. Let our more abled seniors help the less abled. The second public facility that can be better used is our many beautiful neighbourhood parks. On weekdays, they are quiet. Let us do more with them. I would like to suggest that the Government build integrated centres in our public parks. I recently learnt that this idea will be implemented in Tokyo, with three wards in Tokyo opening childcare centres in urban parks next year.”
“I will have to persuade him to take SkillsFuture seriously, to make use of the opportunities to pick up new skills. In this way, he will be able to earn a living in future Singapore. All of us will be affected one way or another; it is not only the blue-collar jobs. With cloud computing technologies, many companies will automate white-collar functions, such as HR, IT, customer service and accounting. We need to do two things to prepare ourselves for this. One, we need a renewed focus in education on these new technologies, such as ITE courses on the technology involved in driverless cars, augmented reality in JCs, and industrial robotics in Polytechnics. Two – and I repeat my earlier point on SkillsFuture – we need to ensure that our current workforce, people like Adam, can be trained in other areas and to remain relevant even as their jobs may change or eventually disappear. The second issue I want to raise is on the better integration of our infrastructure for caregiving. Our infrastructure must take into account how to better integrate facilities and services to make life easier. Last year, the Ministerial Committee on Ageing announced a $3 billion national plan to help Singaporeans age confidently and lead active lives. One initiative which caught my eye was the decision to co-locate eldercare and childcare facilities in 10 HDB BTO new projects. I have a combined childcare, student care and eldercare facility in my Tampines constituency, which was initiated by my predecessor, Mr Mah Bow Tan, 20 years ago. My centre takes care of 90 children, 70 students and 50 senior citizens. One of my constituents, Mdm Tan, was enrolled in our eldercare facility in this 3-in-1 centre and her granddaughter is in student care.”
“Are we prepared in our education and training systems to ride the crest of this development wave? The future is very exciting but it is also very challenging. Increasingly, we will see more machines taking over dangerous occupations and relieving us of mundane, repetitive jobs, including household chores. It also means that many jobs we know today will be eliminated, including some white-collars. A Merrill Lynch report says, "The combination of AI, machine learning, deep learning and natural user interfaces, such as voice recognition, is making it possible to automate many knowledge worker tasks that were long regarded as impossible or impractical for machines to perform." What about us? If about 30% to 40% of our jobs were to be made redundant, will we achieve higher productivity, higher unemployment, or both? I recently visited the Future of Us exhibition with my branch volunteers. It was an inspiring evening together. We got a glimpse of life in future Singapore. For example, we could be moving Page: 42 around in driverless cars. But then last week's Sunday Times asked this question: "In a driverless future, what happens to today's drivers?" With the advent of taxi applications, driverless cars and car-sharing schemes, the taxi and bus industries will be affected. Will all these technology advancements make taxi drivers redundant in 10 years? Not so far-fetched. A mere 20 years ago, dial-up Internet was hardly seen in most homes. Today, high-speed Internet has permeated all aspects of our lives, so much so that we can hardly imagine going through a day without it. The pace of innovation and technological development is relentless. So, what happens to Adam?”
“Mdm Speaker, I rise to express my support for the motion of thanks to the President for his Address. As a new Member of Parliament, I feel the weight of my new responsibilities. I see my role as a Member of the Thirteenth Parliament as contributing meaningfully to the debate of this House in two ways. One, I will voice the hopes, worries and dreams of my constituents and, two, I will talk about issues that I feel strongly about. Our predecessors in previous Parliaments have set a high standard. Now, it is our turn to build on their good work. I would like to take this opportunity to put on record my appreciation and gratitude to all our seniors in this House, past and present. Mdm Speaker, I wish to focus on two issues which the President mentioned in his Address. The first is to "future-proof" our economy. The Government has implemented several measures to prepare our students and workforce, one of which is SkillsFuture, to support lifelong learning. I know a young man, Adam, 31 years old, father of two. He has Secondary school education, tried several jobs and, finally, decided that being a taxi driver suits him best. He explained that it is hard for him to tap on SkillsFuture as he works long hours and has family commitments. People like Adam who needs SkillsFuture the most may have difficulties finding time for it. We need to stress the urgency and importance of SkillsFuture for the current generation of workers because, like Adam, they have not been trained in new technologies and they will be the ones who will be most affected. I will share more on this later. I worry about the current cohort of workers due to the confluence of developments in information technology (IT), artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Some have called it the robotics revolution.”