Cynthia Phua
Singapore
“Sir, I am very glad that the Minister has elaborated on the diversification of our food sources. On the ground, our senior citizens are saying that the 10-cent increase in a cup of coffee is affecting their daily needs.”
“Where are the weak links that should be tightened? How does his Ministry intend to tackle the problem and whether it is engaging in any dialogue with different concerned groups in the community, for example, VWOs?”
“Mr Chairman, the Minister mentioned about the cross-agency effort on youth. He mentioned three Ministries – MOE, MHA and MCYS. I would like to ask for one more, ie, MINDEF, because for male youths, if they are delinquents, they would have left school and be enlisted earlier, and they could get help from MINDEF.”
“Many parents are working when the children are in secondary school. As a result, teenage students are left at home in the afternoon without proper guidance.”
“In the community, we came across many new cases where family could not manage to persuade the patient to have early treatment, resulting in nuisances being caused to the neighbourhood and the patient himself who suffers the mental illness.”
“What has been the outcome pertaining to our ongoing efforts to bring back our Singaporean medical students and some of the young doctors working overseas? What are the Minister's views on the newly introduced scholarship for medical students studying overseas?”
The complete record
Every one of 639 lines we hold for Cynthia Phua, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 13.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask Minister to clarify. There is a time lapse between the applicants applying for the flat and meeting the HDB's requirement before the flats are built. Minister promised a three-year construction period. But what is the time period between the point when the first applicant applies and the time HDB decides, or for the requirement to be met, for that precinct to be built? So, three years refer to only the construction period. There is also another time period before the go-ahead for construction. So, what is the average time in total, for the precinct to be built for the past BTO projects?”
“The family backgrounds are more or less the same, namely, parents suddenly out of a job, business failure, or one parent falling sick suddenly. Their allowances were either limited or suddenly cut off. They recognised their parents' difficulties and did not press their parents for their daily allowances. As a result, either innocently or stupidly, they allowed themselves to be coaxed into illegal moneylending activities. I would like to appeal on behalf of these young people. I hope that the Ministry of Home Affairs would be sympathetic and compassionate to these young offenders and understand the cause of their misdeeds. Please allow them to have a chance to continue their education and impose community service on them, rather than sending them to jail. In addition, I noted that the new section 28(B) applies to offences involving minors under 16 years of age. I am appealing for this to be raised to the age of 18. We have raised the age limit to 18 years for our young to take driving test, as we find that they are more responsible at this age. We should raise the age limit to 18. Anyone who lures a person below the age of 18 to commit an offence should be severely punished. Thank you, Mdm Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak on this Bill. *Cols. 2165-2168.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I would like to propose that the Government work with the private and public sectors to extend mini-loans to the needy people. I think there are two ways we can do it: first, we would allow the companies to lend money to their employees; and secondly, we should allow the clan associations to extend loans to families who are in need. Please allow me to elaborate. If we could allow these companies to have some tax rebates to minimise the risk of bad debts, they would be more willing to provide small loans. In case this loan is not paid, it can be written off as staff expenses. The company can treat this as part of the staff welfare, and it could deduct the loans from the staff’s monthly salary. Secondly, the original purpose of setting up clan associations is to foster relationship among clansmen and help each other. Now they are just a social club. I think we should extend their functions by allowing them to provide loans to families who are in need. The Government can set a limit based on the size of their fund. They could then lend the money to the members who are in urgent need. Finally, I would like to appeal for young offenders who have been lured recently by the loansharks into harassment activities and opening of bank accounts for the illegal moneylenders. In view of the increase in these activities, the Police have moved in very fast. As a result, many of the young offenders have been caught without knowing the serious consequences of the law. I have seen three young people in my Meet-the-People session. Two of them were involved in harassment activities and were arrested. The third was involved in the opening of a bank account for these illegal activities.”
“I think we should learn from our experience of how we use the Criminal Law (Temporary Provision) Act to deal with the infamous Chap Ji Ki operators and cause their operations to collapse. At the moment, we can only nail down the shrimps and small fries. We have not heard of the big fish, maybe the "soon hock", or the red snapper being caught yet. Mdm Deputy Speaker, with the freezing of unlicensed moneylender’s account, I think we should extend it to include the wealth of family members of the syndicate, so as to stop the transfer of their ill-gotten gains. I also think that law enforcers should be empowered to freeze the bank account of the suspected moneylenders and their family members directly. Of course, their family members can appeal to the Minister to withdraw some of the money from the frozen account. I also noted that caning is only optional, and not mandatory. Why is it so? I think we should make it mandatory, because illegal moneylending is already an offence. It is a criminal offence. They have also caused hardship to a lot of families and instigated a lot of young people to do this sort of things. I think we should make this mandatory, and not just an optional punishment. In addition, will these offences be serious enough to warrant the assistance of Interpol to help us to track down some of the illegal moneylenders and their assets? Nowadays, people can apply for credit loans or credit cards. However, before they are given the loan, they would be asked whether they have the means to pay. Illegal moneylenders do not require all these. As the Government has set up legal betting shops to fight illegal 4D, can the Government do the same by providing small loans to the people?”
“In view of the increase activities, our Home Team have moved in fast and furious and as a result our young offenders have been caught without knowing the serious consequences of the law. I have seen three young persons’ appeals in my Meet-the-People Sessions. Two teenagers are involved in harassment activities and the third is involved in the opening of a bank account for the illegal activities. Their family backgrounds are the same, namely, parents suddenly out of job, business failure and one parent suffered from sudden illness. Their allowances are either limited or suddenly cut off. They recognised their parents’ difficulties and did not press their parents for their daily allowances. As a result, either innocently or stupidly they allowed themselves to be coaxed into illegal moneylending activities. I would like to appeal to the Home Team to be sympathetic and compassionate to these young offenders and listen and understand the cause of their misdeeds. Allow them to have a chance to continue their education and impose on them the community service which I have advocated earlier on instead of imprisonment. I have noted that the new section 28B applies to offences involving minors under 16 years of age. I am appealing for this to include the minors under 18 instead of 16. We have raised the age limit to 18 years for our young to take driving licence as we find that they are more responsible at age 18. We should raise the age limit to 18, so those who cause or procure any person below the age of 18 years to commit an offence to be severely punished. (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Mdm Deputy Speaker, I am very glad that the Parliament will now legislate to deal with illegal moneylenders, who have been harassing others.”
“Illegal moneylending is concentrated in deprived communities in society. Only a minority, three out of 10, of borrowers have chaotic lifestyles – drug and alcohol abuse or gambling problems. The rest have exhausted legal credit options. We should take a leaf from the UK experience and launch a Stop Loanshark Project. They have a website to offer debt advice and assistance for people who are in dire straits or who need counselling or assistance arising from harassment by these loansharks. They run training programmes for volunteers and for those who need help in money management. Retired police officers for example can volunteer their services and help to nail the culprits. There is also a Credit Action group which is a national money education charity established in 1994. Credit Action operates at a national level through advocacy, collaboration and partnerships with various groups and companies, with a particular emphasis on those most vulnerable to financial difficulties. In Singapore, we should similarly set up a Stop the Loanshark movement. We can tap on the GRC websites to popularise its work and reach out to residents who can log in and report the culprits via e-mail or phone. The movement can be led by an experienced police investigator or any other civic leader, working with a pool of volunteers. We need to act fast, and act firmly to stem this scourge on our community. In addition, this movement could also look into how to make our children money-savvy so that they do not fall into debts. Finally, before I end, I would like to appeal for our young offenders who have been lured by loansharks into harassment activities and also opening of bank accounts for the illegal moneylenders.”
“As the Government has combated the illegal 4-D by opening up legal 4-D betting shops, can the Government do the same by providing small loans to the people? Personally, I would like to propose two possible sources where mini loans can be extended, one is for companies making small loans to employees and the other is for social clan associations to help these families in difficulty. Please allow me to elaborate. If companies are able to claim some tax incentives or reduce their risk of collection when small loans are made to employees in financial difficulty, the companies would be more willing to lend. For example, claim for tax incentives for a certain portion written off as staff expense upon non payment of the loans. The company has an interest in the staff welfare and the loan could easily be deducted from the employee's salary over a longer period of time. Secondly, most clan associations were set up to help each other when many of our forefathers came to this shore. The families are closely-knit and know each other well. If there are times of difficulties, they should be allowed to extend some credit to their members, as compared to now, where they are just social clubs. The Government could set a limit based on the funds that they have but allow them to provide some credit extending facilities to their members. Illegal moneylending is not a problem that exists only in Singapore but is common in Asian countries and even in the West. In the UK for example, an estimated 200,000 UK households are using illegal moneylenders. People in the UK repay 120 million pounds per year to illegal money lenders. I would add to Prof. Straughan's call for a profile of the borrowers here. But the victims are most likely female, aged 30 to 40, on benefits, living in social housing.”
“I feel that we should make a strong impression on the would-be offenders that not only do they have to serve a mandatory fine and jail sentence, but they should be committed to perform community service for, say, 20 hours thereafter. These offenders should be made to perform tasks such as repainting of walls and railings in the HDB estates and other locations so that they get a taste of the hard work put in by the maintenance workforce. Let me give an extent of the damage that has been done in Aljunied Town Council estates. In 2008 and 2009, we see a total of 212 and 378 cases respectively. The total amount that was spent on the residential estates to rectify all the vandalism is $49,833 in 2208 and $69,370 in 2009. It is increasing all the time. The second pronged approach is to see how we can eradicate this social illness. The root cause is the borrowing from illegal sources. I would like to urge the Ministry to consider this borrowing as an offence under the Act, as what out Member of Parliament, Mr Christopher de Souza, has said. This was earlier explained that this would bring the activities underground and the borrowers keep silent on the details of the borrowing, hence investigative work is hard. Presently the situation is that we already need to change the legislature many times to get more information and I do not see the difference it will make. However, before we do, please do provide legal sources for mini loans for would-be borrowers. Today, we have pawn shops and various easy cash or Easi-Credit schemes but they all require the borrowers to show that they have the ability to pay unlike the illegal money lenders.”
“The Minister's empowerment can be sought for long-term freezing of the assets, or for any appeal against the Police freezing of the assets, perhaps on good compassionate reason, if necessary. Going through the enhanced penalties for the illegal moneylenders, I note that the caning is optional for these offenders. Why is this so? They are a scourge and a menace to society and I call for mandatory caning. My argument is that their illegal acts inject fear and often caused harm to so many innocent families, putting them in misery and anxiety. These loansharks and their henchmen destroyed the security and peace of the law-abiding community and as such should be given the rod, just like other criminals who inflict bodily harm. Hence, canning should be mandatory and not optional if we want to rid our society of this menace. For offenders who are a registered company, it is noted that the penalty is only a fine for the company. I feel the law should be tightened. After all, the company can just go for liquidation and another new company can be easily set up. I seek to ask that the Minister amend the law to assume that the directors of the company are actually involved in the offence and sentence them as individual illegal money lenders. The penalty should include compulsory caning and not optional caning as well. I would like to ask the Minister if he could enlighten the House whether this offence is considered sufficiently grave to enlist the help of Interpol should the investigations warrant the need for external assistance to track down the culprits overseas and also the culprits' overseas assets? I am pleased that the current optional penalty imposed under section 28 for harassment, will now be made mandatory.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I rise in support of this Bill which I felt should have come sooner though I must admit it, it is better than never. I speak for the silent majority of HDB home owners who have suffered silently for too long as the illegal moneylenders and their henchmen committing the acts of hooliganism and vandalism. We have to take a two-pronged approach to resolve this problem. The first approach is to harness the legislative powers to block the current rise in illegal moneylending activities. The other prong must be to look into the social aspects of the problem if we want to treat the disease and not just the symptoms. Let me first focus on the legislative changes. I am very pleased to see that we are going to throw the books at the kingpins and other hardcore henchmen by unleashing the powers of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act. I believe the Criminal Law Act was also imposed on the infamous Chap Ji Ki kingpins that caused their operations to collapse and the rest is history. The imminent opening of the Integrated Resorts underscored the need for us to be even more vigilant to the nefarious activities of the local syndicates, before they become more bold and jostle for a piece of the business at the casino tables. On the freezing of proceeds of unlicensed moneylending, I would like this to be extended to include the wealth of the syndicate family members so that any attempt to hide the ill-gotten gains will be ferreted. Instead of having to seek the Minister's sanction, I feel that a Senior Police Officer should be empowered to freeze the banking account of suspected moneylenders and their family members, while they are under investigation and there is a good reason to suspect their involvement in the illegal activities.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir. I am surprised that being Senior Minister of State of MND, she has brought up cases of NEA instead of HDB killer litter. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether she could consider, during the inspection for the Town Council Management Report (TCMR), asking the officers to advise the lessees of HDB flats on killer litter items that have been detected during their rounds. Currently, HDB has left this role to the Town Councils.”
“The third question – can the design of such flats be further improved? If high-rise planting is desired, then flats should be properly designed for high-rise planting. If not, can it be further improved to ensure that it is not dangerous for high-rise planting?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have a few supplementary questions. The Parliamentary Secretary has said that HDB has issued warning letters for only 12 cases. There is a report that says 4,650 in 2008. Who had actually issued the warning letters? And in 2009, what was the figure? Is there a disturbing trend in such high-rise littering by residents? If that is so, what is the land owner, ie, HDB, going to do? Because it only issued 12 letters of warning, as compared to –”
“Thank you, Sir. I have three supplementary questions. In the planning perimeters that Minister has mentioned, he has not included the new residents coming into Singapore to buy flats. We know that they are buying resale flats, as a result, the demand for resale flats is high. Most of the people who want to buy a HDB flat will have to buy from HDB, as a result, there will be a further demand for the HDB flats. Will Minister consider the new residents' demand on the resale market? Second question – can Minister consider setting up a special committee, to work with real estate developers to sharpen your figures in terms of demand and supply. In the 1997 financial crisis, you have a sharp oversupply. Now there is a lot of demand on the ground. Maybe a special committee, with the rest of the Ministries will be able to sharpen your numbers. Third question – on the buffer of flats. I know Minister's policy is not to have ready flats. Can Minister consider having a 10% out of your projected 10,000 to 12,000 flats per year, built as ready flats? A lot of families are in urgent need of a home over their heads such as pregnancy before marriage.”
“Thank you, Sir. Can Minister let us know whether in the historical records, how many of these sales are sub-sales, that means speculators buying them? My reason is to re-emphasize that withdrawing these finance schemes really affect genuine buyers.”
“Although the media recently reported that these privately-operated markets were being bought over by supermarket operators and converted into supermarkets, the operators of these premises would need to seek approval from HDB for any sale/assignment and change of use. NEA currently has no plans to change the use or management of the Government-owned wet markets that it manages. The current occupancy of the Government-owned wet markets is about 91%, compared to 78% 10 years ago. The Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme (HUP), which started in 2001, has also improved the occupancy of the wet markets. Some 1,700 stallholders or 30% of market stallholders per centre opted to leave the trade during HUP, citing reasons such as retirement and tough business conditions. Consequently, vacant stalls that were in low demand were removed to enhance the stall sizes and layout. Vacant stalls in the wet markets are put up by NEA for tender or direct application under the Walk-in Scheme every month and the average take-up rate of these vacant stalls is about 23% and 3%, respectively. The current median age of hawkers operating in the wet markets is 60 years old.”
“If you go to the market stalls, you need to have the ability to garner supplies for the things that you are trading in. So there are a lot of hurdles for them in order to enter the trade. But if they were to go to the CDCs, they have a lot of opportunities for training or even alternative employment, and that is a lot more stable. So for those reasons, we decided that it is not best for us to continue with this practice. CLOSURE OF WET MARKETS 14. Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources in view of the impending closure of several privately-owned wet markets (a) what are the implications on wet markets managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA); (b) what has been the take-up rate at these NEA markets and the profile of applicants over the last 10 years; and (c) how has the rate and profile of hawkers at these markets managed by NEA changed over the last 10 years. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: NEA currently manages 82 Government-owned wet markets which were built in the 1960s and 1970s to resettle the street hawkers. In 1981, the Government decided that it would no longer build wet markets in new HDB estates. However, in response to residents’ feedback that they preferred to buy produce from wet markets, HDB had since 1992 constructed smaller scale markets in HDB neighbourhood shopping centres. These markets were leased or rented out en bloc to single private operators, who in turn sublet stalls within the markets individually under their own private arrangement.”
“I just want the Minister to consider keeping tab on the assignment cost of these Tender Scheme stalls. Question two. The Tender Scheme pricing is at least 50% higher than the walk-in Scheme. This means the entry level for those who need the stalls is very high. I would urge Minister to consider setting aside 10% to 20% of the stalls for low-income families and some of the elderly residents who do not have the skill set and are unable to upskill their skill set. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, the answers to both questions asked by the Member are in my first answer. The assignment process is a private transaction between two interested parties. As to whether we can keep a tab, if you mean monitoring the numbers, we can do that. But in terms of the assignment fee, it is going to be very difficult to track, because of our inability to verify if the assigned value is true or not. So it is very difficult for us to do the verification, because it is a private transaction. But her point about the fact that the fee is very high, I think is worth noting, and I hope the public will also understand that this is a private arrangement. Therefore, they have to go in with their eyes open to see whether they can afford it or not. But it will not be passed on, because the person who takes the assigned stall will be charged market rent and he knows what the market rent is. The market rent is irrespective of the assignment fee. On her second point, the better alternative for those who are really in need of a job or any form of assistance is to go to the CDCs or find other forms of assistance. The hawking trade is very risky. If you do not have the skills set to cook and your food is not that great, you may not be able to get the patronage.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have two supplementary questions. Currently, the high assignment cost from one tenant to a new tenant is very high. In view of that, I am wondering if NEA could keep a tab as well as a cap on this. Just like the HDB, they have imposed the resale levy. He may want to consider an assignment levy so that the cost of it will not be borne by the consumer.”
“I would like to appeal on behalf of the ex-spouses. A lot of them are ladies and they have to take on jobs and take care of the children. I think the lunch hour is really not convenient for them. Many of them are living far away. Can the Minister consider allowing at least the three applications before the court hearing to be heard after office hours? This is so that if they are required to appear for these hearings, they could at least do so during the day time. Secondly, on the payment of the maintenance fees – some ex-spouses use the excuse that they go overseas. Can the Minister consider tagging their passports or restraining them from going overseas, just like for bankruptcy cases? Could we not do this for the maintenance payments? Third, can the Minister consider tagging the maintenance payments to the ex-spouse's salary, instead of applying for a garnishee order?”
“I would like to ask the Minister of State, in view of our multi-racial and religious society, food is a key concern in childcare centres. Would the Ministry advise the childcare operators to look into the food prepared for the children so that children from multi-racial and religious backgrounds can go to childcare centres?”
“I am pleased to note that under EduTrust certification, there will be a fee protection system. Can the Senior Minister of State please elaborate on this? As regulation encompasses a move towards providing greater assurance to consumers of private school education in Singapore, will the Ministry consider incorporating a fee protection scheme for all private school students as a basic requirement under this new Bill? This will cover all students including those in PEIs that are not seeking EduTrust certification. On EduTrust certification, like Ms Denise Phua and Mdm Cynthia Phua, I, too, feel that EduTrust certification should be made compulsory – why have two grades of private education institutions? If we feel that EduTrust certification is important and it will raise the level of professionalism, then make it compulsory for all. Finally, I note that private education regulations in some other countries require the operators to furnish a security, to be held in trust by the Ministry of Education. For example, in Canada, the security is based on the total revenue from tuition fees estimated in the institution's annual budget for the first school year of the period of validity of the permit. This security serves as an added assurance to students that the private education provider would not cease operations prematurely. I would like to ask the Ministry if we would consider adding a security clause in the Bill. Thank you, Sir, for allowing me to share my thoughts. 5.17 pm”
“Particularly so from the students’ perspective as many must worry about the operation status of their respective schools once this Bill is passed. My second concern relates to the cost involved in the registration process. One concern raised by small operators is related to the cost involved in meeting regulation requirements. This was reported in the Straits Times, 12th March 2009. The worry for students registered in these agencies is that a significant portion of the cost may be passed on to them. Can the Senior Minister of State comment on how much the process of achieving registration is likely to cost – say, for a small operator who has to now expend resources to meet more stringent registration requirements? Does the Ministry expect the cost factor to have a significant impact on both consumers as well as service providers? While market forces will likely monitor how much these operators can raise their fees, my immediate concern is with students who are already committed to long-term engagement with these institutions. They may not be in a position to switch institutions should the terms change against their favour. Will we have any provisions in place to protect the interest of these students? My third point relates to concerns on fee protection. From the recent closure of Brookes Business School, we learn of the difficulties local students face when the private education institution they invest their savings in, fails to fulfil the contract. These students fell in the loophole because existing norms prescribe fee protection insurance as compulsory only for foreign students in private schools but as an option for students who are Singaporeans. We now know that this option comes at a very high cost for our local students.”
“However, as with the advent of all regulatory processes for an existing market, there are inevitable concerns on impact and disruption to current practices. With the exception of a small group of rogue operators, private education providers have played a significant and important role in shaping the education landscape in Singapore. Therefore, we should ensure that this Bill be implemented with minimum disruption to current private education institutions and their students. It is with this in mind that I raise the following four concerns. My first concern relates to the process of achieving a registered status. I cannot pretend to understand all the processes spelt out in this Bill. But I do know that when this Bill is passed, all private education institutions will have to step-up the documentation of administrative processes and records. It is important that we strive to minimise disruptions to existing operators who are adhering to best business practices. I am pleased to note in section 74 that transitional grace periods have been provided for existing private education providers, to help them to continue operations as they prepare for registration. Can the Senior Minister of State comment on the proportion of existing private education institutions that will likely be able to secure registration status with minimum disruption to their business operations? What other measures have been put in place to help existing private education institutions achieve registration as required by this Bill? Knowing the expectations of this registration initiative will help allay the apprehension of both operators and current students at these institutions.”
“In addition, the process should be objective and simplified so that approval is fast and not draggy. In addition, section 44 directs that for every person to teach any course, his/her particulars must be informed, and the qualifications must meet the requirements stipulated by the Council. Is this too tall an order to follow or should there be a minimum percentage of teachers who can meet the stated requirements? The tightening of rules and regulations for private schools and institutions is good also for our own Singaporean children, some of whom may find it more affordable to study here rather than overseas. The advantage of staying back to study is obvious. They incur lower costs, are close to their parents, and they can even work in the day and study at night. Furthermore, if fewer students go abroad, it will also be good for our economy as we are able to reduce the outflow of funds. Sir, I support the Bill. 5.11 pm Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I rise in support of this Private Education Bill. As we continue to position Singapore as a global education hub, this Bill will convey the strong commitment of the Government to provide regulation in an increasingly complex market. Indeed, this Bill is both timely and significant in light of the recent incidence of rogue players in the private education scene, the latest being Brookes Business School. This Bill will raise consumer confidence among current as well as potential private school students and their families. With this Bill, the professionalism of private school education in Singapore will also be enhanced, and will result in a win-win situation for all involved.”
“If there is a need, a maximum retention of fund must be stipulated. All accounts of PEIs must be subjected to financial audits and annual reports be submitted and made available for public viewing. Presently, there are schools that require the prospective applicants to sign up as members of their association. If they are to be enrolled as students, there should be a clear distinction between wanting to join an association and subscribing to its values and principles, and wanting to sign up for the courses that are run by the association. We do not ask parents to sign up as PAP members if their children want to study in PCF Kindergarten. But there are schools which make signing up with their associations a pre-requisite to study. There are many management consultants offering short courses or modules of courses that are not registered as PEIs. The question is: are these management consultants subject to the provisions of this Bill? If they are not, how are we to ensure that the quality of these courses conducted outside the ambit of the Bill, but operating like PEIs, is satisfactory? The suggestion is that even if they are not registered under the PEIs, they must go under the ambit of the EduTrust scheme to ensure quality of the content and curriculum. Before I conclude, I would like to caution that we should not over regulate the PEIs. We have switched from one of no control to one of total control. Section 43 directs that every course offered by the PEIs must have the written permission of the Council. The world is always changing, we must ensure that the PEIs are able to be creative and nimble to create courses that meet the demands of the changing world. The Council must be opened to new course contents and must have the platforms to listen to the PEIs.”
“There must be a minimum number of management staff strength regardless of whether the PEIs are conducting one or two courses. This will ensure a basic support to the staff and students of the PEI and also the quality of the PEI is met under the regulatory framework and the EduTrust scheme. Although there are clauses that ensure that the advertisement materials should not be misleading or false, there is no clause that deals with the marketing team. We have learnt from the sale of the Lehman Brothers Minibonds. We should look into the system where schools' marketing teams are rewarded commissions for every student recruited. I have nothing against them, but I think there must be some safeguards, as the so-called "counsellors" would sometimes get the students enrolled into courses that they would never have gotten into. For example, for students who cannot write, they are enrolled into mass communication. Or they make a Polytechnic diploma-holder enrol in another diploma course and wasted a year, when this student could have proceeded to an advanced diploma course. I think this is somewhat like a financial institution’s relationship manager giving wrong advice to prospective buyers of risky financial products. Presently under the Bill, there is no direction or provision spelling out the facilities for the students, for example, library, multi-media resources, multi-purpose halls for the well-being of the students. For courses that cover Engineering or Sciences, basic laboratories are essential. There are concerns that funds under the PEIs should not be allowed to be transferred to sister companies, or associated companies or even a holding company. This is to ensure that the interests of the students for the long three to four years courses are protected.”
“I hope that there is a platform where the existing students can be informed as soon as possible when there is a possibility of change in the status of registration of the PEIs. Under clause 60 (b)(i), a minimum of 14 days is given, which is insufficient for an overseas students to make the necessary preparation for arrangement of an alternative course or to change plans in the course of studies. Under clause 60, it sets out that the Council has the power to direct the PEIs to refund each student or intending student in part or in whole of the course fee when the course did not start on time or did not complete or worse, the PEIs' registration is cancelled. This is an excellent recourse for the students; however, as most of these are overseas students, the investigation process must be swift and decisive. If not, we would end up like the foreign workers – many are waiting to get their claims addressed and end up living in the streets or in poor accommodation and without finances. Consider requiring the schools to have a minimum number of administrative staff and add on with a ratio of administrative staff to the number of students enrolled if the PEIs are huge. I know that many schools keep recruiting students but their administrative departments are not expanded to meet the rise in demand. As a result, they end up with students complaining of lost assignments, lost examination scripts, mix-up in time-tables, and all sorts of administrative mis-management. These students are voiceless. They cannot complain to MOE or the Council nor can they write to the press. To do so may mean they will end up getting an expulsion and a disruption of their studies, especially the foreign students.”
“The Bill does not stipulate the qualifications of the teachers nor does it stipulate the quality of the courses except that permission must be sought before the course could be offered and that the teachers could be allowed to teach. Whether these submissions are subject to detailed checks are not mentioned or are they merely regulatory, ie, information submitted and not assessed? Two, once the PEIs are registered and the quality of the courses offered is deemed acceptable, our Civil Service must recognise these courses in the employment of public officers. We must have confidence in our own registration system. Let me quote the aspiration of a young lady who wrote to me yesterday in Facebook when I asked people to share their concerns. She took a part-time diploma with Singapore Polytechnic and went on to take a two-year part-time marketing degree course and got a Second Upper Class degree. She later realised that the Civil Service does not recognise the degree and she expressed her disappointment. I quote: "It is really disappointing. It takes one to be very determined in order to manage both work and studies. Amidst that fake cert scam, there should be proper recognition for private education. Presently, many people like me are feeling deflated and thought it is very ironic, since the Government encourages people to take lifelong learning and upgrading seriously. Not many are blessed with the chance of progressing full-time at local or overseas universities." Clause 38 sets out that the Council may suspend or cancel the registration or reduce the period of registration of any PEIs. My concerns are for the students again.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill is long overdue. In fact, it should have been introduced when we began talking about making our country a global education hub in 2003. When I read the reports of students left in the lurch because of malfeasance by the operators of so-called educational institutions, my heart goes out to them. The mechanism that we had prior to the introduction of this Bill was weak and easily exploited. Public records show the weaknesses. Schools with poor quality teachers, schools with no proper system to administer the running of the academic delivery, schools which offer themselves as a front for students to moonlight in other activities and the latest is one that issues fake university degrees. It is heart wrenching when the students use their hard earned money or their parents' money trying to improve themselves, only to be duped. Instead, the heat went to CaseTrust. The focus became the recovery of monies paid. While the broad sweep of the Bill will certainly straighten things out at these private schools, I would like the Ministry to look into some of these concerns. When we discuss Private Education Institutions (PEIs), there are four main areas of concern: one, the quality and recognition of the courses; two, the quality of teachers/lecturers; thirdly, the facilities of the PEIs; and fourthly, the management of the PEIs. The management of the PEIs is governed under this Bill and the quality aspect is governed under the voluntary EduTrust. Why do we allow the main concerns of the PEIs to be addressed under a voluntary EduTrust scheme? Why is the EduTrust scheme not compulsory as in the registration of the PEIs under this Bill?”
“When Police can charge harassers under other more serious sections, eg, mischief by fire – I think there were about 35 instances this year when items had been lit outside flats and indeed like Mdm Phua said under her ward, petrol bombs were thrown – when the facts are proven, Police will also impose a higher charge to send the right signal. So let that be clear. For the hotline, when the NPC works with the grassroots leaders, in particular working with the RCs, it is not just a method of getting in touch, there is information imparted, there is also coaching being done as to how to identify people who may be suspicious, networking amongst the neighbours, contact numbers are also given out. If you look at the papers over the last two to three weeks, there have been good arrests arising from these collective efforts on the ground. And, indeed, there was one case I am quite happy to note, in Yishun, where I come from, a person actually alerted the Police when he saw two persons using the ATM machines for 30 minutes, transferring money from one machine to another machine. That act alerted him to the possibility of them being runners on the ground. He alerted the Police, the Police came and then caught these two persons, looked at what they were doing, traced the records and I think they are being charged as harassers or runners. I think the message I want to send to this House is that we must all work together. The Police will indeed step up and MHA will step up too. I think if everybody sends a very strong signal that we will not tolerate this scourge, the situation will improve.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister, out of the 81 youth offenders that were caught, how many of them were in school and how many of them were school dropouts. The other question is, does the penalty commensurate with the seriousness of the vandalism? Like what the Minister has said, throwing petrol bombs, locking up gates, splashing of paint can be frightening to the residents and is vandalism but it does not invoke fear. My last question, I noted that the Police has really engaged the community. Instead of just engaging the NPC or going around and watching, is there a hotline that they could call? Do they have the power to restrain the possible culprit? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, first, of the youths who were caught in the first half of this year, about half of them were in school. The other half were working, not in school, unemployed and some were in NS. So there is a range. But, definitely, we will do more, in terms of outreach and education. On the second part, as I have said, we have enhanced penalties over the years. So in 2005, we enhanced the penalties, and in 2008, last year, we enhanced them further and upcoming, we want to enhance the penalties even more. But, really, for those harassers who cause damage to property or injury to persons, we want to emphasise the caning and indeed for those who damage property or harm persons, the element of a mandatory minimum caning will be imposed because, after all, they are threatening the well-being of others. So I think there is no question about it, these are dangerous acts and we must nip them in the bud.”
“I would like the Ministry to refine the policy's implementation target of three years. I agree with Mdm Halimah that three years is too long. I mean, safety is paramount. Can it be refined? The canopy requirement, I agree, is a little more complex. But putting railings on three sides of the truck is a very simple job. So why do you need three years to do that? Can the Ministry look into the measures and the timeframe?”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether he could consider a dedicated website for such epidemics. The reason is I notice that MOH does have in the website itself certain issues related to Influenza A (H1N1-2009). But you may want to go into the details and also the concerns of the people at each stage of the epidemic, for example, currently, the use of Tamiflu, whether it is a preventive measure or it is a cure. Such matters are of concern to people at each stage of the epidemic. If you have a dedicated website, then there could be some interactive communication with the people.”
“Mr Speaker, thank you. I would just like to ask the Minister whether he could consider some of the local placement efforts. For example, Paya Lebar division, we have a one-stop service. In the past one year of placement for local jobs, the placement rate is very good at about 20%. So I wonder whether the Minister could consider some local placement funding.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister to elaborate on his thoughts on ex-spouses supporting the children, in view of the increasing divorce rate.”
“Lastly, I would like to ask if we are well prepared to go the next lap when the world economy recovers. What will be the economic landscape? I am glad to hear from the Prime Minister yesterday that the Government has set up an Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) to come up with new and creative ways to grow the economy for the long term. I hope the ESC will draw up an action plan, prepare all of us so that when the world economy recovers, we can be the first one to charge out from the starter block like a sprinter. *Cols. 677-678.”
“Next, our elderly need affordable healthcare. Are we better off providing affordable healthcare or spending money on putting up artistic murals, fountains, musical performances, lavish annual reports, and so forth? Ask the man in the street, he will say all these decorations are of no use to him – help me use this money to help me lower my bills. That is all the uncles, aunties, pakcik and makcik, ask for. They do not need such frills. For example, we know that if the older people suffer from flu, their condition can deteriorate quite fast. We also know that we can take some prevention by going for a flu jab. Is it not better for us to spend this money giving flu jabs to the needy elderly? I believe it is better to spend on saving lives and preventing people from falling ill. Next, I would like to ask the Government to provide emotional support for the elderly. While the onus will invariably be on the family and relatives, the Government should give more support to provide for the emotional needs of the elderly. It is one thing to get a roof over the heads of the elderly; it is another to organise them into groups to take part in activities and give them something that they can look forward to. Children, relatives and guardians are sometimes very pressed for time, especially in the generation where they have only one- or two-child family. Some are struggling to keep up with their jobs and feeding their families and, hence, are not able to give the quality time and emotional support for the elderly. As a result, the elderly either end up staring at the blank wall at home or, worse still, roam about in the neighbourhood until evening when their children come home.”
“Now is the best time for the LUP as the much lower development costs will allow the people to reap its benefits. Now lifts are a necessity and no longer a luxury. (In English): Next, I would like to make another appeal for our ageing residents. I must admit that much has been done to assist the elderly. But the implementation of some of these policies is not moving sufficiently fast. As we know, time, especially for the elderly, is very precious. Time is not on their side. It is not good enough to tell them that by 2011 or by 2014 we will have this, that or the other. Very often, my elderly residents told me that they may not live long enough to enjoy the upgraded facilities. What they need is "now". For example, they need lift upgrading and lifts at overhead bridges leading to MRT stations. Walking long distances to the traffic light junction is a challenge for some. Climbing the overhead bridges is an even greater challenge. I have been talking about this for the last two years and I certainly hope that our policy-makers are looking into this request seriously. We need to have a holistic policy to look into the needs of the elderly, not just monetary but also infrastructure. We know how vulnerable the elderly people are when crossing roads, especially at busy intersections or at night when lighting is not good. For the elderly, when they are injured, the injuries tend to be more serious because of the brittleness of their bones and also their overall health condition. In fact, I am very worried also about cyclists who weave in and out of pedestrian paths. Old people are not so agile to dodge these cyclists or, in Malay, we say elak, and their eyesight is not good enough to give them the wide field of vision to notice the cyclists coming.”
“The bosses like them because they are hardworking and their pay is low. Those Singaporeans whose rice bowls are threatened or are taken away by the foreign workers hate them. Therefore, when allowing foreign workers to come in, the Government should strike a balance, especially during this extraordinary time. The Government should ensure that those Singaporeans who would like to get a job can get a job. *Cols. 673-676. Sir, in Malay, please. (In Malay): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] I would like to touch on housing. I hope that HDB will be more sympathetic during the economic downturn that we are facing now. For those facing difficulties, it is hoped that HDB can give assistance like reducing mortgage payments or extending the period for rent payment, instead of sending warning letters repeatedly and eventually repossessing their flats. HDB must also accelerate its housing programme so that the new applicants do not wait too long to get their flats and remain in the balloting list for a long time. Let us stop and think – what is HDB’s original intent? It to render assistance and provide housing for our people? Or is it to be proud with our housing developments that are beautiful and they can give back huge financial returns? A new HDB flat can cost as high as $500,000. Where is our responsibility towards public housing? Yes, we can say and argue that there is still demand for those flats. If that is so, then we have changed our original intent. Now, we are focusing more towards higher priced flats and neglect those who really need affordable housing. Still on the issue of housing, I hope the Government will accelerate the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP). We have a number of elderly who need lifts to facilitate their movement.”
“Another resident worked in a five-star hotel as a security officer for more than 10 years. For his case, he was posted to another department, but after that he was retrenched. There was no reason given. For the past few years, many workers have worked themselves to the bone for their companies. During the last recession, they tightened their belts. Even during boom times, they accepted only negligible increase in their pay for fear of being replaced by the low-wage foreign workers. Hence, when the cost of living went up, they were badly impacted. Sir, when their salaries were suppressed, they had to eat humble pie because they hoped that they could retain their jobs. And they also realised that there was no such thing as job security. We often talk about tripartite cooperation, but such arrangement is beneficial to the big companies only. Many employers are not subject to the tripartite arrangement. I would like to ask the Government to reconsider the policy on foreign workers. These foreign workers have taken over the jobs at the HDB coffee-shops, small eateries, gas stations, grocery shops and market stalls from our local workers – jobs which are traditionally theirs. We often ask old people to go and find jobs but the jobs available to them are getting scarcer and scarcer. I would like to ask the policy-makers to look at the problem squarely. If you read the Zaobao, there is one letter by a reader, entitled "Senior Citizens Find It Difficult to Find Jobs". The writer was a lady, Luo Liming. I believe our colleagues have the same thought as our residents. I believe Singaporeans can accept foreign workers to come here. Singaporeans, on the one hand, love them; but on the other hand, hate them. Why?”
“] Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the President's Speech. The President encouraged and inspired us to stay united and together face up to the challenges ahead of us. I firmly believe all Singaporeans, those who live and work here, will march forward shoulder-to-shoulder to realise our vision, our home, our future and our Singapore. We are like seasoned sailors who have gone through countless storms. Each experience of the stormy seas has made us wiser and better prepared for the more adverse environment. In the last few months, our Government has painstakingly formulated many policy measures to help workers and businesses to avoid massive retrenchment. The Jobs Credit Scheme is a boost to the morale of workers in the workplaces but there are some employers who still resort to retrenching their workers and thus plunge them into bottomless predicament. At my Meet-the-People Sessions, I have come across many workers whose services have been terminated by their employers. The reason given is invariably, very simply, "Due to the present economic situation, we do not need your service anymore." These retrenched workers are paid minimal compensation or no compensation at all. I would like to know whether the Government would take action against such unreasonable employers. Let me cite an example to illustrate this. A resident came to see me and he told me he was an administrative staff in a foreign-owned construction company. I asked her what was her salary like, she said $3,000. Before she was retrenched, she was not given any option, such as a pay cut. So, after putting in 30 years of service, she was retrenched. In fact, she told me this company still has many ongoing projects in Singapore, eg, MRT project.”
“Sir, I would like to thank NEA for the support, especially for the Kovan Centre, in upgrading our "C" stalls to the "B" stalls. Sir, I just want to ask the question that when did the NEA last check the stall before the incident happened. Because this will relate to the ratio of one officer to 400 stalls. And how often would the periodic checks be, in relation to the higher ratio? Can the Minister help? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: I do not have the exact details of when was the last time that we checked the Geylang Serai temporary market. But the morning that we went to check, it was after we had been alerted to some hygiene lapses. But to answer Mdm Cynthia Phua's second question as what would the frequency be, if now I am able to increase the number of officers at NEA to check for all the stalls, regardless of whether you are "A" or "B" or "C" or "D", we will now check you once a fortnight. Previously, the frequency ranges from once in six weeks to once in eight weeks. Now with the additional manpower, I am able to do a bit more and, irrespective of the grading level, I want to ensure that it is a constant inspection regime across the board. Column No : 573 Column No : 573 PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS Debate on the Address (Fourth Allotted Day) Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [25th May, 2009], 'That the following Address in reply to the Speech of the President be agreed to:– "We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the Speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the Opening of the Second Session of this Parliament.".' – [Mr Michael Palmer]. Question again proposed. 2.14 pm Er Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio) (In Mandarin): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.”
“This is the question. I ask the Senior Minister of State to consider adjusting the rental according to the market rate instead of just giving the 15% rebate.”
“Sir, I would like to declare my interest. I am working in a retail chain and I am actively negotiating rental as well. For HDB and other Government agencies, I understand they currently do take into account the rental rebate of 15% but they do not adjust to match market rental, in view of the rebates. They say, "Because of the rental rebates; hence, I will keep the rental as it is." I think this is the practice. After listening to the Senior Minister of State, I would like to appeal to her to look into adjusting the rental in line with the current market condition, instead of just taking into account an across-the-board 15% rebate.”
“There is another concern on cycling and pedestrian walkway and cycling lanes that are introduced in the estates. This is when there is an accident between a pedestrian and a cyclist, where does the responsibility lie? In terms of the insurance coverage, how do you cover them? Does a cyclist who cycle on a cycling lane and a pedestrian walks by, who is at fault? And when a pedestrian is knocked over on a pedestrian lane, again whose responsibility is it? So I would like the Senior Parliamentary Secretary to think through these aspects before introducing cycling lanes within an estate. Because in our common areas, residents expect safety and security and I would love our children to be able to run around instead of introducing two-wheelers, especially a motorised one in our estates.”
“I want to ask the Parliamentary Secretary when he talked about introducing this cycling lane in the HDB estates, what law governs this? Is it the Road Traffic Act? Because it is not a road, it is not a public road per se, so who would govern this and who would be responsible for the management and the enforcement? Does the Police have the say over cyclists on this cycling lane in the estates? I think I agree with the Minister when he said when you create a policy, it must be very clear. I think when you create these cycling lanes, you are not very clear on the legal aspect of it.”
“LTA should clarify if pedestrian walkways are governed by the Road Traffic Act as they are not public roads. Who is the authority that oversees the behaviour of cyclists on pavement? Without any identification for cyclists, how do we enforce responsible cycling? I have been informed by our grassroots leaders that they tried to stop and advise irresponsible cyclists. However, the cyclists do not stop and zoom past. Even if the cyclists are to stop, the enforcement is rather confrontational. One way is to define the responsibility of cyclists under the relevant law and put the onus on cyclists when there is an accident. This means that the cyclists are deemed responsible for the accident on the pedestrian walkway when the accident happens. The other additional responsibility is that cyclists are to wear bright clothes, luminous stripes at the back, ensuring that there are basic front and back lights, and loud ringer installed on the bicycles. I ask that we act now to protect the interests of all parties, especially our pedestrians, and that the Ministry takes preventive steps and not wait until an accident happens before reviewing the Road Traffic Act. Cyclists”
“Cycling is now a form of healthy exercise although what I am appealing to the authorities may appear that I am against cycling. But the contrary is true. I love cycling, especially to feel the "rush" to my face. Today we see bicycles of all forms being used on the roads including motorised bicycles. With the introduction of the trial at Tampines, cycling on pedestrian pavement is common in all HDB estates now. There are three issues I want to highlight. The facility for cycling in the estates: we need cycling lanes especially when cycling becomes an essential mode of transport. Many foreign workers are cycling to their nearby workplaces and when they go to look for food around the HDB estates. I have also noticed that parents are sending their children to schools on bicycles. To emphasise the importance of having proper cycling lanes, let me share a report written for the European Commission Directorate-General for Energy and Transport which pointed out that, and I quote, "City regions that have large cycle lane networks in proportion to the size of the urban road network were also found to display the highest levels of cycling modal share." It added, "People are more likely to cycle responsibly where they are provided with the facilities that enable them to cycle safely and quickly." The co-use of the pedestrian pavement for cycling is heading for a collision course. I sincerely wish that similar tragedy of cyclists and motocyclists on the roads would not happen to our pedestrians on our pedestrian pavements. For responsible cycling, the onus lies on the cyclists. If public education fails, then enforcement on the cyclists has to be done. There are many issues here. Are there acts that govern the responsibility of cycling on pedestrian pavement?”
“Has LTA reviewed the capacity of existing MRT lines and any possibility to add more tracks on the existing lines which are now overcrowded and has reached its maximum capacity? The transport operators' explanation that to give our polytechnic students cheaper fare would mean higher charges for public fare is not acceptable. There is no need for this direct relationship. It is an expense item, but there are also many forms of revenue as well. URA and LTA over last few years have allowed more and more retail space in the MRT stations, and this space provides added revenue. Can MOT and the Transport Council be more persuasive and effective on this matter? 2.30 pm Direct relationship between fare and fuel prices – there was some confusion about what the Minister has said earlier on that there is no direct relationship between fuel and fare prices. The formula shows a direct relationship as the inflation index incorporates the fuel prices. Are we going to have good news of a lower fare for the general public and our polytechnic students, since fuel prices have fallen for many months? Masterplan on public transport – next, I would like to ask the Minister for an update of our Land Transport Masterplan in relation to our public transport system which was unveiled only a year ago, so that the public knows what is going to be done and being done. Increase Frequency of Bus Services on Sundays”