Desmond Tan
Singapore
“Here, I would like to thank MOM and our tripartite partners for their attention to maintaining workplace fairness, particularly their focus on seniors.”
“And he went on to say that, "as unionists of unions affiliated with NTUC Singapore, we have never flinched from raising our concerns and advocating for our members' rights for better wages and for better work prospects and welfare.”
“As shared by Mr Lee Kuan Yew at a mass rally in Geylang Serai in 1959 and, thereafter, repeated at the NTUC’s 50th Anniversary Dinner in 2011, and I quote, “In Government, I have never forgotten that it is in the interests of workers and their unions that we must strive for growth and development.”
“Mr Speaker, we have not detected an uptick in unlicensed moneylending, or UML, cases since October 2021. Between October and December 2021, there were 917 cases of UML and UML-related harassment cases reported. This was an 8% decrease, compared to the same period in 2020. The Police take a tough stance against UML activities.”
“There are approximately 13,000 households who have electricity accounts in arrears and 150,000 households who have water bills in arrears. Of these 150,000 households, about 1,200 have arrears of at least $250.”
“I thank the Member for the suggestion. Indeed, the Police do monitor the current trends, but I would like to, first of all, say that we think the current situation of unlicensed moneylenders is under control.”
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“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the Minister for Home Affairs, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a second time". Singapore has consistently been ranked as one of the safest countries in the world. In the most recent Gallup Global Law and Order Report 2020, we were ranked first, for the sixth year running. People feel safe walking alone at night, violent crimes involving weapons are few and far between; and attacks involving guns and explosives are extremely rare. This did not happen by chance. Our highly safe and secure environment is, in large part, attributable to the stringent laws that we have in place to regulate dangerous activities involving articles such as guns, explosives and other weapons, and the criminalising of unlawful actions involving these items. The Arms and Explosives Act or AEA, in short, is the primary Act for regulating the handling of guns, explosives, explosive precursors, certain other weapons like swords, daggers and spears, and noxious substances. For simplicity, I shall refer to these items collectively henceforth as "GEW" – Guns, Explosives, Weapons. In addition, for drafting reasons, from here on, by "weapons", I shall be referring only to those weapons scheduled in the AEA or the Bill like swords, spears and daggers, and not guns or explosives which I shall treat as separate items. Four other Acts, namely, the Arms Offences Act, Explosives Substances Act, Corrosive and Explosives Substances and Offensive Weapons Act, and Dangerous Fireworks Act, also deal with GEW-related crimes. We cannot take our safety and security situation for granted. First, the threat of an extremist attack remains very real. There have been serious incidents in countries with strict gun and weapon laws.”
“I thank the Member for the question. TraceTogether is conceived and implemented for the purpose of contact tracing and for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. We do not preclude the use of TraceTogether data in circumstances where citizens' safety and security are or have been affected. This applies to all other data as well. Authorised police officers may invoke the Criminal Procedural Code, as I had mentioned earlier, to obtain this data for the purpose of criminal investigation and for the purpose of protecting the safety and security of our citizens. But otherwise, TraceTogether data is indeed to be used only for contact tracing and for the purpose of fighting the COVID-19 situation.”
“Data will only be taken from the individual. In a criminal case where there is a suspect and a witness, we will extract the data from the witness. However, for individuals who are suspects or are under investigation, the data will not be extracted from them, for the purpose of security.”
“Mr Speaker, the Singapore Police Force is empowered under the Criminal Procedure Code or CPC to obtain any data, including TraceTogether or TT data, for criminal investigations. The Government is the custodian of the TT data submitted by individuals, and stringent measures are in place to safeguard this personal data. Examples of these measures include only allowing authorised officers to access the data, using such data only for authorised purposes and storing the data on a secured data platform. Under the Public Sector (Governance) Act, public officers who recklessly or knowingly disclose the data without authorisation or misuse the data may be liable to a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment of up to two years, or both.”
“If every one of us can be sincere, upright, improve oneself and keep the family together, there will be no reason for police officers to come to our doorstep, much less will there be any negative impact on society. Besides managing oneself well, we also need to care for others, especially the disadvantaged groups in society. If you find that there are people around you who need help, I urge you to inform welfare organisations in the community, raise the difficulties they face, and work together with everyone to solve them. Do not cross onto the wrong side of the law or embark on the road of crime. This, is where we will have to be accountable to ourselves. Since Singapore's independence, the Government has upheld the three pillars of accountability, fairness and equality, and the separation of powers, and in so doing, built the progressive, prosperous, just, and equal nation, that we have today, just as promised in our Pledge. We are all Singapore Citizens; I hope everyone will continue to work together to achieve happiness, prosperity, and progress for our nation. Thank you.”
“The separation of powers is the cornerstone of our democratic system and ensures the independence of the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary branches of Government. Hence, even for someone who has power in the Executive or Legislative branches of Government, he may still be tried independently before the law by the Judiciary branch of Government, and may still be subject to independent investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau. Minister K Shanmugam also explained in his Ministerial Statement just now that our system of governance and the justice system abide by the rule of law. If anyone commits a crime, he would have to face the consequences of a judicial trial, and would not have any special privileges. Minister also provided many examples and details. Fellow members who know the law have also shared many precedents. Hence, I will not belabour that point. Mr Speaker, there is one more point I would like to cover. Apart from penalties, it is more important for us to be self-disciplined. While the law sets the baseline for our conduct, morals and ethical standards should be the ultimate guide of our behaviour. We often hear the elderly say: “we must pay attention to “propriety” and law.” This means "proprieties" – which include courtesy and etiquette – should take precedence over the law. We have to abide by the proprieties and law, and not violate the law. Confucianism advocates the following goals in life: "observe things, gain knowledge, be sincere, be righteous, improve oneself, keep the family together, govern the state, and bring peace to the world ".”
“This includes providing pro-bono legal advice and representation to those who have limited means through the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS). Ms Liyani is one such beneficiary under this Scheme. In 2013, the Ministry of Law announced funding for the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme and in 2015, it co-funded the Enhanced Criminal Legal Aid Scheme with the Singapore Law Society. From 2015 to 2019, the government allocated an average of $2 million per year to fund the scheme. The scheme also encourages practising lawyers to come forward to provide their services. Over the past 4 years, they have taken up close to 1,000 cases, ensuring that no Singaporean will be denied the help they need because they cannot afford to pay for a lawyer. This is a commitment by the Government and community organisations to Singaporeans. Protecting Singaporeans' lives and property is an enduring commitment. This year, the police force celebrates 200 years of maintaining law and order in Singapore. Our law enforcement agencies have pledged allegiance to the country and to protect people's lives and property for up to 200 years. We are proud that Singapore ranked second in the world's safest cities, just behind Tokyo. This achievement, this sense of security, did not come by easily. Besides the prosperity and development of the country, our people live and work in peace and harmony, and the Singapore Armed Forces and the Home Team – as well as other law enforcement agencies - do their utmost in their duties. We must all work together and do our utmost to uphold the reputation of a safe city in the world. Third, the separation of powers.”
“As we identify problems and explore solutions, we must also guard against over-correcting or putting the cart before the horse. If a law or judicial process is taken advantage of by criminals to exonerate themselves, or causes people to stop reporting crimes and lose confidence in the justice system, it will go against the objectives and spirit of the original legislation. Second, our two core values of justice and equality. Justice and equality are the core values on which Singapore depends for her survival. They are reflected in our policies in various areas, such as free education for 10 years, ensuring that every Singaporean child has the opportunity to upgrade themselves through education, and thereafter to continue training and maintain job competitiveness through government subsidies. Public housing policies ensure that every resident can afford to own their home, rather than allowing the market to freely determine housing prices. In healthcare, the Government also gives higher subsidies to the low-income and disadvantaged groups, and ensures that every Singaporean has access to quality medical care through Medisave and other schemes. The values of justice and equality have been ingrained in our thinking and systems, as well as our lives. During the debate on the President’s Address in Parliament in 2018, Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong said that Singapore would not condone ostentatious displays of wealth or discrimination against others, and must always remain vigilant and must not allow elite groups from becoming closed circles. The Singapore government's stand on this issue is clear: we seek a fair and just democratic society and will never tolerate the formation of closed circles of elites. Any actual injustice can be corrected.”
“Ms Liyani's case has sparked questions from the public on whether individual law enforcement officers have complied with the standard operating procedures, whether there are flaws in the investigation procedures of the Attorney-General's Chambers, and the qualifications of the trial judge. We must address these concerns. In the Ministerial Statement by Minister K Shanmugam earlier, he addressed these concerns by setting out the facts and the corresponding remedial actions. Every job has a certain scope of duty, rules and regulations that must be observed, and tasks that must be done. If mistakes are made at work, it is clear that the jobholder must bear responsibility and face the consequences. This is the system of accountability that we have always upheld, and this is especially important in the Public Service. This is because the Public Service uses public resources, and thus has to be accountable to the state, to the people, about the areas where resources were used, why they were used, and to produce results. The Public Service has always been open and transparent. If a civil servant’s performance is unsatisfactory, he/she is held accountable. If punishment is necessary, it is not shirked, and it is not perfunctory. The public can see that the assessment system is robust. If results are not produced, there are areas of negligence, or laws have been infringed, the jobholder will be promptly removed from the service. A holistic, clear, and rational system of accountability encourages us to identify problems, find solutions, and seek progress. This is a continuous process. The accountability system should not lead to inaction in the public service, nor should it become a tool for political criticism.”
“Mr Speaker, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Speaker, fellow Members of Parliament: I have heard many speeches and questions from fellow Members. While there are differences in opinion, what is clear is that all Members are concerned about this issue and for our country. In fact, the debate in Parliament today fully reflects the three pillars of our transparent, fair, and structured system of governance. Let me sum them up with “one, two, and three”. One, it represents a kind of insistence, an insistence on accountability. Two, it represents our two core values: justice, and equality. Three, it represents the separation of the three branches of power in Government, that is, the independence of the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. One, two and three: one insistence, two core values, and three independent branches of Government. These three key points form the cornerstones of our system of governance, and are implemented across our management and decision-making, across every Public Service Department and every public servant, and in every decision everyone here, makes every day. Without accountability, we will become a society where people accuse one another and problems remain unresolved; without justice and equality, we will become a corrupt and backward country; without separation of powers, the consequences will be most frightening, and the power vacuum will plunge our country into chaos and crisis. This is certainly not an outcome we want. To ensure Singapore's continued growth and prosperity, we must hold steadfast to these three pillars of governance. First, we must uphold the accountability system.”
“Mr Speaker, in 2019, there were 400 cases of death by suicide. From January to September 2019, there were 304 deaths by suicide. Preliminarily, from January to September 2020, this year, there were 166 cases of death by suicide. I have to qualify that these are preliminary figures. They may change depending on the outcomes from proceedings such as the Coroner's inquiries to determine the circumstances leading to death. Attempted suicide was decriminalised via the Criminal Law Reform Act 2019. The amendments came into effect on 1 January 2020. From January to September this year, Police were called to assist in about 1,800 cases involving persons with suicidal ideation or persons who may have attempted suicide. Before attempted suicide was decriminalised, from 2017 to 2019, Police received about 1,200 reports of attempted suicide per year. For these cases of attempted suicide, the physical and fault elements of the offences under section 309 of the Penal Code must be made out. That means they have to demonstrate intent as well as actually carry out an act to take his own life. This figure is not comparable with the post-decriminalisation figure which covers cases where individuals have suicidal ideation, in addition to persons who have actually taken the further step of attempting suicide. The criminal justice system is not the best way to deal with persons who attempted suicide. Such persons are often under severe distress. The decriminalisation of attempted suicide reduces stigma and encourages persons who are suicidal to seek help early. The reasons for suicide are multi-faceted and complex. Hence, the Government has been continuing our efforts to prevent suicides. We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our approaches to better assist suicidal persons.”
“So, these are the things that we look at in our on-going review – the noise limits, the ability to measure them as well as the penalty regime. These are the three areas we will look at in the on-going review.”
“I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. Certainly, in our on-going review, we will take into consideration the current situation and, of course, the economic conditions that we are going through. I have to remind Members of the House that noise management has to be considered in view of the cost as well as the duration of the construction time. It is of our most important interest to make sure that public health is being protected, to make sure that noise levels do not exceed the noise levels that are prescribed by the World Health Organization. We will take into account the current as well as future conditions. We have to work closely with the built environment and the industry to ensure that whatever penalty regime as well as noise limits that are imposed will first has to protect the public health of our people and at the same time, also to ensure that our construction work continues to be completed within the time frame and within the cost that is stipulated. So, we will take into account the current and future conditions. The second question that was being raised was about the economic levers. Today, we have a penalty regime that has been reviewed over the years and it has been effective in bringing down the number of feedback as well as enforcement actions. So, for instance, in 2012, we saw that the number of feedback per construction site was about 2.7. And last year, it has dropped to about 1.6. And also, in terms of the enforcement action, it has also dropped from 1.6 in 2012 to about 0.8 per 10 sites in 2019. However, we will continue to look at how this penalty regime will have an impact on the construction noise and in particular for repeated offenders, as in construction sites, that have been given the same warning over and over again.”
“Indeed, the Member has highlighted a vulnerable group. We are also mindful that they are quite prone to scams. The Police and MHA have started, in terms of our public education, to be more targeted and focused on specific targets that are prone to certain different kinds of scams. So, for the seniors group, other than the mainstream media, we also work very closely with the community networks through their events, through their house visits including the Agency for Integrated Care, to make sure that some of these messages are communicated to them. We also work with IMDA, in terms of the Seniors Go Digital Programme, to try and see whether we can highlight, in the process of teaching them how to use the smartphone, to be more mindful of the risk and the threat that can come their way. So, these are the efforts that we are working on and we will continue to make sure that our seniors are protected in cyberspace. They are an important group for us.”
“I thank the Member for the clarification of the question. As I had mentioned, we will take his suggestions. Today, the Police work closely with the community to also highlight what are the top five crimes in the community. Scam is obviously one of those that are increasing in trend. So, we will take the Member's suggestions in mind. The second one with regard to the website and a one-stop station for residents to post and also to submit the scam situation, as I had mentioned, the scamalert.sg would probably serve that purpose.”
“Any member of the public who needs help, who is not sure, who needs advice on whether that is a scam, they can go to the hotline. On top of that, we have also set up the scamalert.sg, which is a URL that allows members of the public to see what are the most common scams that have happened and also for members of the public to share their stories about how they have fallen prey to scams. So, these are the efforts that we will continue to step up, in time to come.”
“I thank the Member for the question. The first question with regard to the most popular scam crimes that we have tracked, the top three, in terms of number of incidents that has happened, will be first is the e-commerce scam. We can all understand why. With the prevalence of Internet and the e-commerce platform, this has become the number one, the most common scam that we see in our community. The second one is social media, impersonation scam. The third one will be loan scam. These are in terms of the number of incidents that happened. If you would like to see more in terms of the top 10, you can go to our anti-scam website. We have listed the most common scams that have happened. In terms of the amount, the highest levels of investment or financial losses will be for those related to investment scams. The Member also asked in terms of breaking down online scams by constituency. I do not have the data right now. We will take it back. We have to bear in mind that online scams represent a very challenging area to deal with, in terms of how we look at the trans-borderless nature of this crime, as well as how anonymous some of these crime scammers can go about doing its operation. So, I am not so sure how this breakdown will help but we will certainly take a look at the Member's suggestions on how to break down the data. If it is useful, we will do that as well. Finally, the Member talked about how the Police can allow our residents and our people to have a one-stop way to seek help when they need help, so I would like to inform Members of the House that the Anti-Scam Centre was set up for this purpose. Working with National Crime Prevention Council, since several years ago, we have already set up a hotline. This hotline is 1800-722-6688.”
“Fourth is public education. The Police and the National Crime Prevention Council have disseminated advisories through various media platforms, including messaging and social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. In August 2020, an anti-scam public education campaign, "Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes", was launched. This new campaign focuses on sharing real-life scam examples to educate and inform the public on how to spot the tell-tale signs of various scams. Indeed, the key to fight against scams is a discerning public. They are urged to stay vigilant and report possible scams promptly to the Police.”
“The Police set up the Transnational Commercial Crime Task Force or TCTF in short, in October 2017 to investigate transnational scams such as China Officials Impersonation Scams, Internet Love Scams and Credit-for-Sex Scams. We have seen good results since. To date, the TCTF has conducted 12 joint operations with international counterparts, resulting in the arrests of over 120 suspects. Let me cite two examples. First, in November 2019, the TCTF worked with the Royal Malaysia Police, Hong Kong Police Force and the Macau Judiciary Police to jointly cripple an Internet Love Scam syndicate based in Malaysia. The group is believed to have been involved in at least 139 cases in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macau, involving losses of about S$5.8 million. Second, in May 2019, the TCTF successfully extradited two Nigerian men to Singapore for cheating Singapore-based victims in Internet Love Scams perpetrated from Malaysia. The two accused persons were charged in court in May 2019, and the trial is still on-going. Third, we work closely with public and private sector stakeholders. The Police regularly engage banks, remittance agencies and convenience stores to train their frontline staff to spot possible scam victims. In 2019, the Police commended 108 recipients from the community for preventing 91 instances of scams involving approximately S$5 million. Earlier this year, the Inter-Ministry Committee on Scams was set up to coordinate a whole-of-Government effort to combat scams and their roles include (a) to improve scam detection and disruption capabilities; (b) to develop measures to secure the digital space; (c) to enhance the loss recovery and remediation experience for scam victims; and (iv) to improve public education and outreach efforts against scams.”
“The Police started to track the number and types of scams from 2016 when it started to become a crime of concern. Since then, the number of scams reported has increased by 77%, from 5,383 cases in 2016 to 9,545 cases in 2019. There were 10,402 cases of scam reported in the first eight months of this year, which is a 100% increase over the 5,229 cases reported during the same period last year. In terms of the total amount lost, it has also risen over the past years, from $89.7 million in 2016 to $170.8 million in 2019. In the first eight months of this year, the total amount cheated increased by almost 71% to $157 million, from $92 million in the same period in 2019. The Member asked about what the Singapore Police Force is doing about this. MHA adopts a multi-pronged approach to tackle scams. First, strengthening enforcement. The Police have set up specialised units to disrupt scammers’ operations. One of these units is the E-Commerce Fraud Enforcement and Coordination Team or E-FECT in short. Since its formation in November 2018, the E-FECT has arrested 101 e-commerce scammers and solved about 2,000 e-commerce scams. In June 2019, the Police set up the Anti-Scam Centre or ASC, which acts as a nerve centre for investigations into scam-related crimes. The ASC’s focus is to mitigate victims’ losses, through the swift interdiction of the proceeds of the crime. In its first year of operation, the ASC froze more than 6,100 bank accounts and recovered more than S$21.2 million. Second, the Police have stepped up collaboration with foreign law enforcement agencies.”
“The agencies have considered the High Court judgment and are conducting reviews. These reviews are still in progress. As indicated by the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, a Ministerial Statement will be made to address the questions raised by Members after the reviews are completed. This is expected to be done at the November sitting.”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek your permission to take Question Nos 4 to 11, on behalf of the Minister for Home Affairs and Question Nos 12 to 16 on behalf of the Minister for Law together, please.”
“” What kind of Singapore are we and our next generations going to build? We must all ask ourselves, do we want a Singapore of mutual trust or suspicion? Do we want a Singapore that people blame each other or help each other to find solutions? Do we want a Singapore where people keep asking "what can I get" or "what can I do"? Mr Speaker, I only want to say that one day when I am old, I want to leave my children a Singapore that they can be proud of. Thank you.”
“Together, let us build on the solid foundation that the Pioneer and Merdeka Generations developed for us, and create a society that we will be proud to pass on to the generations to come. With all Singaporeans on board, we will surely get there and grow stronger in the process. Mr Speaker, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Speaker, I would like to share the lyrics of a xinyao song; the title is "Singapore Pie". Do not worry, I am not going to sing it, I am just going to read out the lyrics: "Dad said I was born in the 60s. I was only one-year-old when Singapore was born. Back then, nobody believed in the Singapore brand and there were people migrating overseas. Gradually, we went into the 70s, the chimneys in Jurong were rather grand-looking. Then, we entered the 80s. MRT made this legend spread faster. Friends said that the more I live, the more I was as real as Singapore. In a blink of an eye, we are in the 90s and now it is people from other places migrating here. Who do not love the Singapore brand?" Due to the time constraint, I shall not recite the whole song. If interested, you can go online and listen to it. The reason why I mention this song today is because it tells the Singapore success story. In the early days of nation-building, nobody believed that Singapore would succeed. Some people even migrated overseas. With collaborative efforts from the people and the Government, our Pioneer and Merdeka Generations have made Singapore into a prosperous and orderly country. Those who have migrated also started to return. This is Singapore's success. The last two lines of the lyrics are: "We will write our own stories. The future will depend on the next generations.”
“For instance, since the start of COVID-19, our Prime Minister and the Ministers have been sharing very openly and regularly with Singaporeans about the pandemic, trusting us to rally together to do the right thing. Beyond sharing information, our policies also need to reflect trust in our people in their delivery. In some areas, the Government can trust citizen groups to lead and execute policies and projects. One initiative that comes to mind is the youth-led Somerset Belt Masterplan, which is a product of the ideas and aspirations of over 40,000 youths on what they wish to see in Somerset and how they can achieve that. It is a good example of how innovative concepts and plans can develop when we give autonomy and trust to our youth who can take ownership of the projects they feel strongly for. On the other hand, an engaged citizenry must be prepared to listen and understand the various perspectives, considerations and trade-offs. We must create a discourse that is based on data, science and facts, not one based on rhetoric and ideology. I hope to be part of this constructive engagement process. Trust is, ultimately, a two-way street. It is only when we give trust, that we gain trust and achieve great things together. Mr Speaker, let me conclude. I urge all of us Singaporeans to come together to build a society with opportunities for all, that is liveable and sustainable, and founded on mutual trust. Let us learn to listen well to one another, and communicate with more empathy. Consulting my two boys on the use of social media so that I can relate to the younger generation, I learnt that if I want them to understand me, I need to first connect with them in their channels, sometimes using their language. I hope to see better engagement, especially with our youths.”
“We saw this when workers accepted wage cuts so that more of their co-workers could remain employed, and when we all responded and stayed home to break the infection cycle and preserve our healthcare system for those who needed them most. I hope that we can continue to build and nurture this trust. The question remains: how do we build this trust between the Government and people, and amongst people? We often hear the phrase that trust has to be earned. Over my career in the Army and public service, I found that this adage, while may be true, may be counter-productive sometimes because until someone earns it, we hold back trust to protect ourselves, build policies on the premise that a small minority may abuse the trust, and sometimes we micro-manage down to the dot. Instead, I believe when we are in a position of leadership, trust has to be given. I learnt this as a young father. When my firstborn was in Primary school, I was called up by the school for an incident that he was involved in. Without even verifying with him, I chided him in the car on the way home for getting himself into trouble. He remained quiet for some time and then turned to me and asked, "Dad, why don’t you trust me when I said I didn’t do it?" Like all fathers, I wanted to earn his trust. That day, I learned that I have to give him my trust first. I hope we can build a culture of openness and trust and continue one in which the Government listens, consults and engages regularly with citizens. This may mean being more transparent about our considerations and trade-offs when developing policies.”
“We will create new jobs in the green sector and develop a pipeline of talent to support sustainability in Singapore. But sustainability requires a whole-of-nation effort. Besides working with businesses and other partners, we must actively engage and create opportunities for youth to play a bigger role in co-creating and co-delivering solutions. We must take our youth’s efforts seriously because they are not an interest group – they are taking ownership to lead in fighting climate change, to make Singapore a more liveable and sustainable city. I will certainly do my best to support their efforts. Finally, and most importantly, I hope that we can build a society based on trust. This is more relevant and important now than ever. How does a society built on trust look like? I believe that such a society is characterised by a sense of togetherness where individuals and groups are willing to sacrifice their own interests for the larger good of the society. A good example in our history is our Land Acquisition Act of 1967. As a young growing nation, our kampungs and squatter huts had to make way for high-rise HDB buildings and industrial development. Our Pioneer and Merdeka Generations understood that, and they reluctantly moved from places they were familiar with to the HDB flats. There was trust that this was indeed necessary for the greater good of our nation. Today, our world class housing bears great testament to what we can achieve when there is trust between the Government and the people. As our founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew once said, “Our greatest asset was the trust and confidence of the people.” COVID-19 has shown this trust still exists today.”
“Climate change will remain an existential threat for many, many generations to come and we must never stop pushing for sustainability as a key consideration in all our decisions. Sustainability is about meeting the needs of the current generation, without compromising that of the future generations. This has become more pressing than ever with the gathering pace of climate change and its impacts. As a low-lying island with limited natural resources, Singapore is especially vulnerable to rising sea-levels and disruptions in global supply chains of critical resources like food and water. So, it augurs well for the future of our common home that sustainability is a high priority for many of our youth, as studies commissioned by the National Youth Council have shown. Many of them are also stepping forward to make their voices and their actions count, and some are working together to make a bigger impact with their efforts on sustainability. In Pasir Ris, we have residents who are keen to turn seaweed and mussels into bioplastics and then into alternative fuel. We have youth who want to champion rooftop farming, clean up beaches and estates, promote car-lite by improving cycling path networks and so on. There is no lack of ideas and energy from all our residents. We now have a Pasir Ris Sustainability Action Group with over 20 volunteers and growing, from both young and old. I am excited now to be in MSE, which has committed to plans for a green recovery from COVID-19, one that supports a transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient future. MSE will galvanise sustainability efforts across the Government, promote green growth, ensure resource resilience and pursue circular economy.”
“Two years ago, I worked with some colleagues in the public service to initiate a social programme where volunteers befriend children from the rental blocks at Casa Clementi and give tuition to them after school. Twenty-four-year-old grassroots leader, Hameed, played an active role in setting up and sustaining the centre, together with youth volunteers from NUS and ACS Independent, and even MINDEF and SAF regulars. Besides tutoring, Hameed and his team organised activities and holiday programmes for them, such as coding classes, football sessions, and trips to the Zoo and the Wild Wild Wet. During the circuit breaker, they delivered special care packs to each of the children’s homes on top of the regular Zoom sessions, just to remind them that they were not alone. It was heartening to see the students improve in their learning attitudes and in their results. Two of them even received the Edusave Bursary Award recently. I asked Hameed recently what kept him going. His answer was simple – seeing the excitement in the children when they turn up, watching them develop and grow, and simply wanting to make a difference in the community he lives in. I am sure we have many Hameeds in every community to bring all Singaporeans on board the moving escalator, to give each generation a better future. I urge Members of this House, many of whom have spoken passionately about this topic, to rally our community to step up and do something for our children who may not have a good start, to ensure they receive a good education. Together, let us ensure that there will always be social mobility in our society and that this remains deeply anchored in our value system. Second, I hope that we can build and nurture a liveable and sustainable environment for all Singaporeans.”
“These silver linings give us confidence that we shall prevail. And we will continue to grow stronger as a nation. Mdm President has said that domestically, Singapore is at an inflection point of our history. This is indeed the time to chart the future we want for Singapore and Singaporeans. And our youth will be key in shaping our collective future, for they are the leaders not only of tomorrow, but also of today. Our youths, with their ideals and ideas, can play a critical role in building the kind of society we would like to have and to see in Singapore. What would such a society be like? First, I would like to see a society of opportunities for all. Second, I would like us to build a liveable and sustainable environment. And third, I hope Singapore will be a society built on trust. First, on a society of opportunities. The economic impact of COVID-19 has not been borne evenly. Lower income households are hit much harder. We have a family in Punggol in which both parents lost their jobs and finding new ones was not easy partly because they were past offenders. They got by with ComCare and COVID Support grants. But what weighs most heavily on them is their worry about the future of their four children who are all in school. There are families out there who need help. And I am most concerned about young children and the opportunities they may lose, if nothing is done. While there are various Government schemes to support individuals and families along their life journeys, there is an important role for the community and individuals to reach out to fellow Singaporeans, like what we have done during this pandemic.”
“Mr Speaker, I rise in support of the Motion. Much has been said about how the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted our lives and forced massive changes to the way we work, live and play. It is no exaggeration to say that this is indeed a crisis to test our generation. But it is also not without some silver linings. Let me highlight three. First, people are looking out for one another. We can take pride and draw strength from this. Many Singaporeans have gone out of their way to help others – giving out free masks to strangers, delivering groceries to those in quarantine, hawkers cooking for the hungry, customers rallying support for hawkers on social media. These are just a few examples of the great many heart-warming acts we see all around us. Second, our businesses and workforce are seizing opportunities and trying new things in response to the crisis. Traditional businesses have innovated and accelerated their adoption of tech solutions. Our wet market stallholders are hawking their fresh produce over livestream on Facebook. Many Members may also recognise getai veteran, Wang Lei, who has sold seafood, durians and even cars online. In his words, he turned the crisis into a business opportunity, or in Chinese, 把危机转成商机. Third, the enforced time-out has allowed nature and the environment to recover. The air is cleaner and humanity’s carbon footprint has shrunk with the reduction of transportation and industrial activities. At the peak of the lockdowns around the world in early April, global daily carbon emissions were slashed by 17%, dropping to levels last observed in 2006. It was my nine-year-old daughter who has noticed there are more butterflies and wildflowers in our estate during our evening walks.”