Edwin Tong Chun Fai
Singapore
“These questions have been answered in the reply to Questions Nos 26 to 31 for Oral Answer on today's Order Paper. [Please refer to "Addressing Issues Identified in Legal Profession Sustainability Study", Official Report, 7 July 2026, Vol 96, Issue 32, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time secti…”
“I am answering in my capacity as the Minister charged with the responsibility for the People's Association. The Community Development Council (CDC) Vouchers Scheme was first introduced in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic with two key objectives: one, to help Singaporean households cope with daily expenses; and two, to support hawker…”
“If the incident is a result of bilateral obligations relating to data protection and inviolability of equipment not being complied with, then the Government will consider all available legal and diplomatic options, in accordance with the bilateral RTS Link treaties, as well as the relevant international law.”
“In 2024, community sentences under part 17 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 (CPC) were imposed in 86 criminal cases handled by the State Courts.”
“It is a five-minute journey across both ways; and with the availability of closed circuit television coverage and the real-time monitoring that will be done by the officers on both sides, we did not think that this will be necessary.”
“The Ministry of Law will provide an oral reply to this Parliamentary Question, together with other Parliamentary Questions which have been filed on this topic at the next available opportunity.”
The complete record
Every one of 2,221 lines we hold for Edwin Tong Chun Fai, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 24 of 45.
“Sir, as I mentioned, the Government takes into account a variety of various factors, whilst at the same time preserving its discretion to deploy the land for efficient uses. Having said that, on a case-by-case basis, we will consider the appropriate length, having regard to factors such as whether the land is going to be put up or re-developed immediately and the time span for that; as well as factors such as its purpose and use in the community, including matters such as its heritage value. 11.00 am”
“As I outlined earlier, this is something that is being looked into by the CDCs working with LSPBS. In the appropriate cases, we can consider a full translation of the court document. But I think Ms Lim would also appreciate that it is not in every case that a full translation automatically means that the person who is receiving this document, even in its translated language, can readily understand it. That is why the suggestion earlier that I made, which I think Ms Hany Soh also weighed in on, is for pro bono lawyers to assist in this process, not just in the translation but also in the elucidation and explanation of the impact of the document and what it means to the litigant-in-person. That said, I think, through various means, we want to ensure that the litigants-in-person are able to understand the process, understand what the judge is saying, what the other party is seeking to achieve. This, I think, upholds the integrity of the process. We will take these necessary steps to ensure that litigants-in-person will be able to understand the process through a variety of means.”
“We certainly encourage lawyers to take part in pro bono services and offer their services. Anything we can do to promote that area, we will consider. Having said that, the training contract is for the purposes of ensuring that the trainee lawyer comes through to the market and is able to serve and practice in the market. So, it may not be feasible to just serve a training contract in the Law Society's Pro Bono Office. But that can be certainly one factor and one aspect of practice that they can look into.”
“I thank Mr de Souza. On his first point on small landlords, I would like to assure Mr de Souza that it is precisely with deftness in mind that the framework was designed; to use Assessors and not to use a strict legalistic adjudicatory process. And in the context of looking at a dispute between a landlord and a tenant, or two parties who have filed a notification, the Assessor can take into account factors which a court or a judge sitting in an adjudicatory process might not otherwise be able to do. And this includes looking at the tenant's performance, looking at the ability of the tenant's business to pick up thereafter, and take all this into account when looking at the relevant compensation. On IP, I agree with Mr de Souza. To monetise it and to take advantage of it, I think there are two broad aspects. The first is to have a system that is strong, clean, transparent, robust, and as I mentioned earlier, quick. Second, it is to develop a framework to look at how we can monetise or value intangible assets, which make up the majority of assets on a given company's balance sheet. To look at how that can be assessed, it can be quantified and how that can then be used as leverage. Third, on the access to justice points. I think Mr de Souza's points are well taken, and it is precisely for that reason that I have said my Ministry continues to study it, its impact in other jurisdictions, the experiences there, and to be careful to scope it to walk a fine line between the balance of looking at how we can help the indigenous and making sure that the state's resources are best deployed, and that it is not being taken advantage of unfairly.”
“As I understand it, currently, you are not able to currently navigate iLAB in different languages. Nonetheless, if a litigant in person or a litigant who is looking at commencing a claim needs to find resources in other languages, there are other facilities available such as the concierge, the front staff counter, all of whom will be able to address other languages. We will look at the possibility of enhancing iLAB to deal with other languages. But as Ms Lim might appreciate, it is not often as easy to deal with matters on iLAB which looks at giving legal advice and outline of the laws and is not easily translatable into different languages all the time.”
“But, with the internet being what it is, it would not be possible to eradicate all such content, we will have to adopt a whole-of-society approach to helping Singaporeans navigate a vast body of online religious content, while working with the ROs, so that we can safeguard and promote religious harmony in Singapore, and ensure that hate speech and misinformation does not take root here. We will also continue to work with our religious organisations, schools and community groups to proactively build trust and mutual understanding among Singaporeans, across religions and races. For instance, our Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles (IRCC) work closely with religious and grassroots organisations to foster interaction across different religious and ethnic communities, and promote inter-faith dialogue and collaboration. We can and will work together to build a more cohesive society.”
“Many of our religious organisations provide their followers guidance when seeking out religious content online. They emphasise the need for viewers of such content to be discerning and sensitive, and to unequivocally reject content laced with hate and that causes enmity with others. In addition, ROs also put out original, online content that promotes inter-faith understanding and is contextualised to our multi-religious society in Singapore. This is important to counter extremist and exclusivist views that can sometimes be found online. (a) For example, MUIS strongly encourages the Muslim community to seek religious guidance only from religious teachers accredited under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme. MUIS also launched SalamSG TV last year as an online platform for Islamic content and religious guidance for Muslims in Singapore. (b) The Catholic Archdiocese consistently emphasize the need to maintain religious harmony and respect towards other religion and races, and highlight to their young the potential pitfalls of consuming unverified online sources of information related to the faith. (c) The Inter-Religious Organisation regularly works directly with faith groups to strengthen their digital presence and promote inter-religious knowledge. It also launched a digital initiative in 2019 called We The People of Singapore that provides a platform for Singaporeans to talk about each other’s religion to gain a deeper understanding. Government will continue to ensure that extremist content which is inimical to our common space and social harmony does not proliferate online.”
“HEB, in collaboration with COC, will also be sharing the lessons from this episode and the best practices learnt with other Hindu temple charities so that all temples can do its part to continue to improve the management of its temples.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the alleged misappropriation and pawning of gold ceremonial jewellery, happened at the Sri Mariamman Temple (SMT), one of the four Hindu temples managed by the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB). The former Chief Priest of SMT, Mr Kandasamy Senapathi, has been charged in Court for offences under the Penal Code and the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act. The case is presently before the Courts and I will not go into the specific details of this case. However, I will share the follow-up actions that have been taken since the discovery of this case. The HEB has taken the matter very seriously and has conducted routine audits for all four of its temple endowments, including the SMT, to ensure that all ceremonial jewellery is properly accounted for. HEB has undertaken a review of this case following the incident and has commissioned a special audit of gold inventories in all of its temples to ensure that all ceremonial jewellery has been accounted for. No other irregularities were discovered. HEB has since also worked closely with the Commissioner of Charities (COC) to review and strengthen its governance and internal controls to ensure proper safekeeping and management of gold items. In particular, HEB is improving the gold movement registers to track all movements of gold items within the temples. The Temple Management Committees will also tighten up oversight of all the gold inventories in their respective temples. HEB will also conduct more audits each year, including unannounced audits. HEB will continue to work with each of its Temple Management Committees to prevent abuse, and mitigate circumvention of governance controls.”
“So, there is a range of different options, beginning with pre-bankruptcy for an individual who is in financial difficulty; and also, if they inevitably go into bankruptcy, there is a series of support options open for them to seek advice from and to try and find a way out of bankruptcy; and also, as I had mentioned, post-bankruptcy, how they can organise and maintain their financial matters better to avoid being in the same situation again.”
“I thank Mr Gan. Sir, the Insolvency Office under MinLaw routinely advises the bankrupts. We understand that it can be a traumatic, a novel experience even, for bankrupts to be in this situation. So, whilst they are bankrupt, the Insolvency Office working with various social service agencies, as I had mentioned, and also agencies such as Workforce Singapore and NTUC's e2i in the context of assisting bankrupts with employment opportunities. In addition, the Insolvency Office has also had the benefit of working with Singapore Polytechnic's Institute of Financial Literacy. This tie-up helps to provide bankrupts with financial literacy courses to allow bankrupts to make plans whilst they are bankrupt, and also to look at the options available to them after they are discharged from bankruptcy so that they can organise and maintain their financial matters better. In addition, as Mr Gan might be aware, we have over the last few years, instituted the Revised Debt Repayment Scheme which allows individuals, pre-bankruptcy who have a steady stream of income and whose debts do not exceed a certain amount – in this case, we recently revised it to $150,000 – for them to benefit from a programme where these debts can be serviced through a repayment plan over a period of time with their creditors; and in this way, also avoid bankruptcy, the stigma of bankruptcy and also the longer tail impact that bankruptcy may have on the individual.”
“(d) The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and NYC launched the YouthTech Programme to equip 1,000 youths with digital skills, and deploy them into the community and social sectors to support digitalisation efforts. More generally, for workers in the gig economy, or Self-Employed Persons (SEPs), MOM partnered NTUC to introduce the NTUC Training Fund (SEPs) since April 2020. The Fund has helped to supplement SEPs’ income while they upgrade their skills during the economic downturn brought on by COVID-19. The Government is also working with NTUC-affiliated associations to help SEPs transit out of the gig economy. Youths can visit Career Offices in their alma mater, Workforce Singapore’s (WSG’s) Careers Connect Centres or NTUC’s e2i’s career centres to get career and employment-related assistance. WSG’s Career Starter Programme supports graduating and fresh graduates from ITE and polytechnics in boosting their job search skills and employability. Youths may also tap on online career resources through the MySkillsFuture portal and MyCareersFuture digital service. The Government will continue to support youths to stay work-ready and acquire new skills. We encourage youths to be proactive in taking up these opportunities.”
“Youths are concerned about their job prospects during this climate of economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19. Some youths may take on gig roles as these provide flexibility and potentially higher take-home wages in the short-term, compared to other permanent roles currently available. While gig roles may help fulfil short-term needs, we encourage and support our youths to take a longer-term perspective in developing their careers. The Government is expanding opportunities for youths to acquire new skills and gain meaningful work experiences, to prepare themselves for their future careers: (a) The National Jobs Council provides a range of jobs and skills training opportunities for jobseekers under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. Specifically, the SGUnited Traineeships Programme and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme offer company-hosted traineeship or attachment opportunities to equip them with industry-relevant experience. They can also acquire new skills through the SGUnited Skills Programme, which offers certifiable courses designed in partnership with industries. (b) Recent graduates from the Polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education can consider the various SkillsFuture Work-Study Programmes. These programmes allow youths to deepen their skills as they transition into the workforce, through a combination of classroom learning and structured on-the-job-training. (c) The class of 2020 graduates from the Institutes of Higher Learning can upskill by taking up free Continuing Education and Training modules offered by their alma mater. These modules span areas such as hospitality operations, artificial intelligence, business analytics and financial accounting.”
“This means that CDRT Judges have the flexibility and discretion to consider relevant evidence from a broad range of sources. Claimants may support their claims with evidence that has been collected using technology which is readily available. This includes photographs, audio or video recordings that are taken with a smart phone. I should remind Members that the CDRT should be a last resort. We should continue to encourage the amicable mediation and resolution of such disputes upstream, as early as possible. Neighbours who have disagreements can turn to community intervention by grassroots leaders and community mediation services to help resolve the disagreements if they cannot do so themselves.”
“The Community Dispute Resolution Tribunal, or CDRT, saw an increase in the number of claims filed in 2020, compared to 2018 and 2019, with a slight uptick during the circuit breaker period. The top three causes of disputes were excessive noise, littering and surveillance. Mr Liang asked whether we need clearer and more comprehensive guidelines on unacceptable and anti-social behaviour among neighbours. The Community Disputes Resolution Act provides a non-exhaustive list of behaviours that may cause unreasonable interference with a neighbour’s enjoyment of a place of residence. Such acts include causing excessive noise, smell, smoke, and light, littering, creating obstructions, surveillance and trespassing. In determining whether certain behaviours are unreasonable, the Tribunal will take reference from the list, and consider social norms and the facts of each case. We will continue public education efforts to raise awareness of acceptable social norms, and encourage residents to be gracious to one another. One such effort is HDB’s collaboration with the Singapore Kindness Movement on a public messaging series, called the ‘Then How’ series, to encourage neighbourliness in the new normal. Agencies also use a variety of means such as public messaging, community initiatives, and exhibitions to help residents be aware of actions that may cause nuisance to others (e.g. noise, dripping laundry, obstruction of common corridor). Mr Liang also asked whether there is greater scope for the use of technology in gathering evidence that can be brought before the CDRT. Members may recall that CDRT proceedings are Judge-led, and that the CDRT is not bound by the formal rules of evidence.”
“If none of these avail the particular instance that Dr Tan was speaking about, please feel free to approach me and I will take that offline, and assist the person separately.”
“Sir, when a matter goes before the Small Claims Tribunal, the parties represent themselves. And so, those cases are typically scoped to be less complicated, more straightforward, more personal in nature, as opposed to business or commercial, which itself, attracts the potential for disputes being more complicated. In addition, there is a cap on the quantum of claims that go before the Small Claims Tribunal. It is for that reason that the scoping of the nature of the disputes is as such for Small Claims Tribunal cases. That is, of course, not to say that such entities' elderly persons or proprietors, as Dr Tan has put it, will not be able to avail themselves of other legal services. I have outlined several. There are several pro bono options, Legal Aid can step where appropriate. And in those cases where it is deemed to be of a particular complication and there needs to be more legal advice given, Dr Tan's resident in Clementi can approach the Legal Aid. As far as awareness is concerned, there are different schemes that I have outlined earlier, including those that were recently introduced in 2020, pertaining to the COVID-19-related relief measures, those have been put on a variety of different platforms, including social media, advertisements, websites. In addition to that, we have also made available to various communities on the ground, including hawkers associations, merchants associations, people in touch with the persons who are likely to need to avail themselves of these measures, material information. In addition to that, I would say that my Ministry also mans a hotline which has been quite well used in the last few months. We address those queries in a variety of different languages as well.”
“(proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”
“It is also not uncommon for the Chief Executive to sit as a member of the public body. The opinion of the public body would therefore be the opinion of the constituent persons, and this opinion would be formed in the same manner as how a public body ordinarily makes a decision. For example, if a Statutory Board can make a decision by a simple majority of its members, then this simple majority can likewise form an opinion for the purposes of making that particular decision. The exact process would, of course, depend on the legislation that constitutes the public body and any rules that they apply to the process under which the public body undertakes that decision-making. The broader point here though is that there are established legal doctrines which can be used to determine the state of mind of a public body, and this Bill does not seek to introduce anything which is fundamentally new or controverts existing principles in this regard. Mr Louis Ng's third question relates to good practices recommended by the Court of Appeal in Asia Development. Madam, shortly after the decision in Asia Development was released, administrative guidance was issued by the AGC to public agencies. The administrative guidance effectively adopts the good practices that were recommended by the Court of Appeal in Asia Development. Madam, this brings me to the end of the three responses that I had for Mr Louis Ng. I think I have touched on all the questions that he has raised. With that, Madam, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai].”
“These include the nature and gravity of a function, and I think Mr Louis Ng himself mentioned, the nature, purpose and scope – they are not different – as well as considerations of administrative necessity. The exercise is similar to deciding whether the common law doctrine of Carltona devolution, which I mentioned earlier, applies. So, to illustrate, at one end of the spectrum, where a power affects life and liberty, or is quasi-judicial in nature, such as the hearing of an appeal, then unless the express language makes it clear, then it is likely that there is an intention against delegation. On the other end of the spectrum, where the function is administrative in nature and likely to involve a substantial volume, such as transmitting a document from one authority to another, then it is very unlikely that there would be an intention against delegation. Mr Louis Ng also asked whether statutes can expressly address the question of delegation. The short answer is yes. I think to the extent possible, this would be made clear in provisions and that is part of the exercise that the AGC is undertaking. Specific provisions in an Act of Parliament may allow the delegation of functions, for instance, by providing that a Minister may authorise another person to exercise certain functions that are conferred on the Minister by that Act. The new delegation framework in this Bill does not affect those statutory provisions. Mr Louis Ng's second question is how a public body's opinion, belief, or state of mind should be determined. Madam, in general, a public body has, of course, its own independent legal status. But at the same time, it is also made up of natural persons. And the natural persons will usually comprise a Chairperson or some other members within the body.”
“Both delegation and devolution though are important tools to allow the Government to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of Singaporeans.There are also clear lines of accountability to Parliament, and to the public. Mr Louis Ng asked how one might discern, the contrary intention as appears in the Act. I think the question is, what are the factors we look at to discern this contrary intention. Mr Louis Ng would know that that is actually a matter of statutory construction and is not uncommon for pieces of legislation to contain this phrase "unless the contrary intention appears". In fact, this phrase appears more than 70 times on our statute books, and can be found in Acts such as the Partnership Act, Medical Registration Act, Copyright Act and Companies Act. In the Interpretation Act alone, the phrase appears more than 20 times. So, this is a concept that the Courts will be familiar with, legislative users are familiar with, and how to interpret them. On the more specific question as to how this contrary intention against delegation can be inferred, there are well-established principles that can be applied. The express language of the legislation should first be looked at. That is the best indication of what the intention of the draftsmen is in that piece of legislation. The intention can also be implied by statutory context, by looking at the overall architecture and context, the construction of the provisions and the location in which this particular provision sits in the context of the broader provisions in the Act. Mr Louis Ng also asked what other relevant factors could be taken into account.”
“Madam, I thank Mr Louis Ng for speaking and expressing support for the Bill. I just want to go into one clarification before I answer Mr Louis Ng's three questions. Mr Louis Ng cited Asia Development and raised some good points regarding the delegation of the Ministerial functions under the new section 36 of the Interpretation Act. I just want to point out for this House that Asia Development deals with the devolution of Ministerial functions under the Carltona principle. The principle is explained in the Explanatory Notes of this Bill. It is a common law principle established by the English Court of Appeal case. In that case, the Court of Appeal recognised that a Minister's duties and powers are normally exercised by responsible officers who act under the authority of the Minister. It is also recognised that the decision of the officer is the decision of the Minister in this instance. The new section 36(8) of the Interpretation Act makes clear that the principle of the Carltona devolution, which has been applied by the Singapore Court of Appeal in Asia Development, remains unaffected. On the other hand, what is being introduced in this Bill is a delegation of Ministerial functions. Conceptually, delegation is quite different from a devolution. Where a power has been delegated under the Interpretation Act, which is what this Bill seeks to do, the delegate exercises the power in his or her own name, as I have explained in my speech earlier. In contrast, where a power is devolved under the Carltona principle, then the authorised officer exercises the power in the name of the Minister. I just want to clarify that before I address Mr Louis Ng's three questions.”
“I thank Mr Perera. I am not generalising and I know that you have gone into a series of other countries. I think if you did the research – which I am sure you did – you would have seen numerous articles about the ombudsman system in Australia, in the UK and the failings that they have had. Just look at the NHS ombudsman in the UK and the police ombudsman in the UK. Two examples. Second, I am not in a position to speculate as to what might happen to those countries were there no ombudsman. But I think the point I am making is two-fold: first, look at the outcome in these countries – I am suggesting that they do not fare better than Singapore and I am sure the Member will agree; and second, perhaps more importantly, that we have our own systems, we have our own context. And we have our system that works in the way in which I have outlined. I am not sure if I did justice to it when I outlined it very quickly, in the interest of time. I am sure the Member will agree that you have to apply suggestions in the context of what you already have in your own systems and look at whether that is going to improve the system or whether that would create yet another layer. On his third point about the QSM, I made the point in response to the fact that you do not need an ombudsman to deal with someone who is rude to an individual. That is where you have the QSM, you have your Members of Parliament, you have other avenues like REACH to deal with. On his final point, I think we all agree that if we can better the system – obviously – and I think on that, we are on the same page.”
“But, yes, indeed. I have mentioned earlier that 1,500 grassroots leaders have been trained as mediators. We will grow that pool. The idea really is to decentralise the venue of mediation as far as possible and find a location that is suitable for both parties. We will continue to work on that. If Mr Louis Ng has got any other suggestions on how other facilities within the neighbourhood can be used, we will welcome that as well.”
“Thank you, Mr Ng. I thought you were going to ask me about second-hand smoke.”
“I would add also – I forgot to mention this earlier – that CMC also, on occasions, visits residents who fail to respond to a mediation invitation. Members will know that mediation is voluntary. So, you sometimes invite two disagreeable neighbours to a mediation but one side does not want to respond. On occasions when CMC asseses that this case is suitable for mediation and one side has failed to respond, CMC officers and mediators also visit the resident concerned to try to persuade that person to come for mediation. So, these are the various steps. Some of these steps have been enhanced and taken on board because of feedback given by our grassroots leaders, Members in this House, and we will continue to do so.”
“It is not that there is no timeframe that is available. As I have said, this framework is regularly reviewed. And in fact, these are steps that can be taken outside of legislative changes. They can be improved operationally. And, occasionally, when we receive feedback on how this can be done better, we try it out and, if it can be enhanced, then it is instituted immediately. Some examples of what has been done in recent times, as I have mentioned at the outset, we try as far as possible to bring the process upstream. So, the Community Mediation Centre, or CMC, has been working with frontline officers. And that includes officers from the Singapore Police Force, HDB, Town Councils, NEA, BCA and MSO as well. The CMC works to equip these officers with mediation skills so that they, who encounter the neighbours and the disagreements first-hand, will be able to have some skills to try to resolve that as a measure of first resort. More than 1,500 Grassroots Leaders have been trained in the past five years on basic mediation as well. Again, on the premise that these are persons who are on the ground, they deal with neighbours, they interact with neighbours on a daily basis and they will be the first responders to any issue that might arise. We have also enhanced the referral protocols in the context of when a case can be escalated to CMC so that CMC, with its expertise, can intervene upfront and earlier. I keep mentioning intervening upstream and earlier because, very often, the earlier an intervention is made between the parties, the more likely it is that it will result in a successful mediation. So, these are some steps that we take, together with CMC.”
“MCCY leads an inter-agency committee that regularly reviews the Community Dispute Management Framework or CDMF that Mr Yip has referred to, to update and improve measures, such as the referral protocol amongst frontline agencies, mediation and, of course, also legislative recourse. Our guiding principles continue to be to strengthen neighbourliness to minimise disputes upstream as far as possible; encourage mediation between neighbours to mend relations as far as possible; and, finally, as a measure of last resort, legal recourse for cases which may be intransigent. Mr Yip and other Members are welcome to share their views and feedback with us and the inter-agency committee on how this framework can be strengthened.”
“We also urge members of the public to continue supporting Singapore’s arts and culture community – by attending digital performances and donating to your preferred artists and groups to enable them to continue practising their craft during this difficult period.”
“I thank the Member for raising this topic. Our buskers enliven Singapore’s streets and neighbourhoods, and busking has become a platform for them to creatively express themselves and share their talents. Thus, my Ministry is also keen to allow busking to resume under safe public health conditions. MCCY and MOH are exploring busking pilots to test out the safe management measures required for busking. These pilots would be held at selected venues, where we are confident that venue managers will be able to comply with the necessary measures and maintain the safe distances required for audiences and the performers. We are adopting a cautious approach with busking because there are specific challenges that we have to address. Firstly, most busking activities involve singing, wind or brass instruments – all which bear higher risks of virus transmission as they require the expulsion of air. Secondly, there is also the challenge of crowd management and maintaining the safe distance of audiences in ungated spaces. Nevertheless, we will continue to identify measures and ways to resume busking activities safely. In the meantime, we urge buskers, like other artists, to reach out to audiences through digital means and take this opportunity to continue upskilling. Since April 2020, NAC, *SCAPE and the Singapore Buskers' Association have worked with different online partners such as Twitch.tv, and Circles.Life to enable buskers to bring their content to audiences. We note that Nee Soon East Community Club has introduced e-busking initiatives and welcome more of such opportunities. In October, NAC also organised a virtual talk for buskers about leveraging digital platforms. Another session will be organised in December 2020 and buskers are encouraged to join.”
“It does not do that and it only allows, out of fairness, for some corporates who exist at the margins, who may not have made it into the criteria, to be considered by the Minister. Mdm Deputy Speaker, I believe I have covered most if not all of the queries raised by Members. With that, I beg to move.”
“In this context, the existing priority of debt provisions under section 203 of IRDA already strikes the appropriate balance by giving priority to the varying claims in a descending order as Members might know. This is to facilitate an orderly and optimal distribution of the company's assets. The cost and expenses of liquidation and the expenses of the applicant for the winding up under section 203(1)(a) to 203(1)(c) are paid out first before any other debts. Removing priority for this type of categories of claims would undermine an orderly liquidation and also a distribution of dividends. To Mr Tay's point, that ranks in priority to the employees' claims and after that, those priority claims are paid off, the employees claims would then be paid next, thereafter. Assoc Prof Jamus Lim had one other point about section 72H and section 250H. This relates to the criteria for admission into the Simplified Insolvency Programme, both for restructuring and liquidation. And I think Assoc Prof Jamus Lim had some comments about how this is a broad use of Executive discretion. I wish to assure Assoc Prof Jamus Lim that, first of all, this is not meant to overturn the Official Receiver's decision to admit a company into the programme. This allows the Minister some discretion at the margins where, if a company might, say, have 51 employees instead of 50, in all other respects, you satisfy the criteria, the Minister has the discretion to allow this company into the programme. This is no free pass because all the other criteria to the programme, including the continued satisfaction of the eligibility criteria, still apply to these companies. It is not as if it is a broad discretion, or at least that is how I heard it to be, which seems to turn the criteria upside down.”
“Mr Tay had a series of questions on the employees and I would like to just briefly respond to those questions that deal with the position of employees and how they are protected in the context of both the simplified restructuring and the simplified liquidation. As Mr Tay would appreciate, the approach and treatment of claims under these two situations are quite different. One is for the continued rehabilitation of the company and the other is for the dissolution and liquidation. In a restructuring scenario, the impetus is to facilitate the potential rehabilitation and for there to be a meaningful rehabilitation, the employees will be an important group of stakeholders. The Simplified Debt Restructuring programme, in fact, through its threshold requirements, expressly recognises this position. Hence, if a company proposes to compromise debts owed to employees and other unsecured creditors with preferential debts under section 203 of IRDA, then these creditors will, as a default, vote in a separate class under the proposed section 72M(4)(b)(ii). What this means is that, without the assent of this group of creditors, the scheme will not pass. Each of the classes have to, on their own, pass the two-thirds threshold before the scheme will be sanctioned. To avoid doubt, this provision, however, is not intended to affect the existing principles that apply to classification in schemes of arrangements generally, outside of the current Simplified Debt Restructuring programme. In relation to a situation where companies is in an insolvent liquidation, this is different because it is a terminal procedure and this is a scenario where there are insufficient debts to meet the creditors' claims, including the employees' claims.”
“I outlined at the outset, in my opening speech, that not only does the criteria have to be satisfied at the outset but the Restructuring Adviser and the Official Receiver continually evaluates if the company can continue to maintain its eligibility criteria, and whether or not it is in a position to carry out with these functions as stipulated by either the restructuring plan or in the liquidation process. Mr Ng asked about the licensing and regulatory framework behind IRDA, in particular section 50(1A) and the extent or scope to which the Minister intends to exempt and individual from being a qualified person. Allow me, Madam, to first clarify that the amendment is a separate one from the Simplified Insolvency Programme and the amendment will supplement the general powers of the Minister found in Part 3, Division 3 of IRDA and this relates to the licensing of insolvency practitioners. The exemption may be granted to a professional who has accrued sufficient expertise and experience, so practical experience, undertaking insolvency work as an approved liquidator under the predecessor Companies Act, but who does not presently meet the qualified person requirement. Granting an exemption in such a situation would allow this individual to be considered for the insolvency practitioner's licence and to continue to undertake such work under IRDA. One other example, which I did allude to in my opening speech was for foreign practitioners who are involved in cross-border, multi-jurisdictional restructurings, to also be allowed to come into Singapore to practise to the extent that an aspect of the restructuring either touches on or involves Singaporean assets or Singaporean stakeholders.”
“Mr Chia also asked about the eligibility criteria and whether they could cover a large number of companies and whether we could include other qualifying criteria. I think for the earlier reasons I have set out, we would not want to differentiate the criteria. Because there is already a fairly clear criteria not only in terms of the size of the entity, but also as I outlined in my opening speech, we are also restricting qualification to number of creditors, number of employees, the size of the debt and in the context of liquidation, the amount of realisable asset. So, these criteria already scope the relevant cases and right-size the kinds of companies and corporates, who are entitled to take advantage of the SIP. I think Assoc Prof Jamus Lim also sought to argue that there ought to be a differentiated tier for a small company, that is different from a micro company, that might be different from another company. I think what we wanted to do as its name suggest is to simplify it and not to over complicate the matter. As I said, these are the criteria that look at different touchpoints in the context of a restructuring or liquidation, and already right-sizes the corporates for the purposes of this Bill. Mr Louis Ng made several comments and have some queries in relation to the lowering of the threshold for creditor approval. Mr Ng asked about the guidance and assistance provided to these companies and their creditors both at the initial stage and if accepted into the programme, during the restructuring process. The viability and suitability of a micro or small company for the simplified debt restructuring will be continually evaluated.”
“Second, they will also be full-time Assessors, engaged by the Ministry to look into these cases and they will comprise experienced lawyers and accountants who will look at this on a full-time basis once the Bill is in force. Ms Soh and Assoc Prof Jamus Lim also asked about legal advice and legal representation in relation to claims under the COVID-19 Bill for assessment. I just want to clarify that legal advice is always available. And legal advice in fact, will be available through the various pro bono options that I have outlined earlier. What we have not done is to allow for lawyers to represent the parties before the Assessors and there are good reasons for that. First, if you have a lawyer represent one party, it is invariably going to be the stronger party to the negotiation. The whole purpose and raison d'etre behind this, is to assist the smaller micro and small enterprises to be able to take advantage of this Bill and to try and take a position before the Assessor. So, we do not want the two parties to be unequally represented before the Assessor. Second, this process is not designed with legalities in mind, where rules of evidence, how you prove a case and so on will be the central feature of the assessment. It is really about looking at what is fair and just, in the context of the case, in the context of the two parties and the circumstances between the two parties. As Members know, the Assessors' overarching objective is really to achieve that fairness. From that perspective, it is not an adversarial process with the Assessor in the middle. The Assessor is really trying to bring the parties together to find what is a fair and just outcome for both parties. Madam, I turn now to the questions raised on the Simplified Insolvency Programme or SIP.”
“All of that, done in the context of understanding that what we really want out of this, is for parties to renegotiate their positions, come up with something that both sides can live with, mutually workable and carry on from that position. Mr Murali suggested that model clauses be looked at and I think that is a very good idea. We will work on some of those and maybe consult with Mr Murali as well. We have another pro bono source now. And we will tap on Mr Murali's experience and expertise to work some of these clauses into contracts upon renegotiation. Ms Soh also asked if there will be enough Assessors with the right qualifications to ensure that the determinations are responsive. I think that is another very important point because much as we want the process to be resolved quickly with a six-week time period, we also want to ensure that the Assessors will be able to expeditiously, in the context of the case, reach a decision. Our Assessors for the contractual moratorium period set up by "COVID 1", comprise mainly volunteers. I outlined that in a previous Parliamentary Question. For this framework, the six-week deadline as I mentioned, means that we must expect that most of the applications will coalesce and come together at around the same time. And so, the applications for the adjustments will also likely be more complex with regard to the schedule that we have set up and yet at the same time, need to be more timely. So, the mechanism that we have set up, we will require more resources and hence, we have decided that the Assessors for this Bill, will first of all be a dedicated and separate pool of Assessors from the earlier COVID-19 Bills.”
“We have reached out to various industry groups, including the various chambers, trade organisations, associations – those who are in touch on the ground with the micro and small businesses – for help to disseminate information packages. I think Mr Murali also made that point. We will also arrange for these organisations to set up legal clinics so that they can have a more direct port of call, more direct way of consulting with pro bono lawyers to assist in at least making a first triage of whether the case or the contract is something that they would wish to seek renegotiation for. And if so, what kind of terms will be appropriate for them; some kind of assistance. We have also been exploring with the Law Society to set up something on a broader scale for more outreach for these pro bono lawyers to assist parties on the ground. In doing so, we are very mindful that we have a limited six-week period. I have explained why it ought to be six weeks because of certainty but at the same time we also acknowledge that parties will need assistance on the ground in this six-week period and we will do so. Apart from Law Society and the trade associations, we have also reached out to the law schools. As Members may know, law schools also run pro bono centres with the assistance of tutors and students. We have also reached out to the Singapore Mediation Centre or SMC for assistance where mediators can then help parties to break the impasse during the negotiation period. Because very often, when you have two individuals come together, the environment could be hostile in those situations where expert mediators can play a role, MinLaw officers will put them in touch with SMC mediators to try to facilitate the process.”
“First, these amendments will clarify that the Minister may extend the prescribed periods under Parts 1, 2 and 3 or for description of the scheduled contracts under Part 2 of the Act by different periods of time. Second, the Bill provides that applications pending at the end of the prescribed period will be deemed withdrawn. Apart from events and tourism related contract and construction and supply contracts, which I spoke about in my opening speech, the only relief available under Part 2 is really the temporary moratorium. And once the prescribed period expires, there is no need for any further determination by the Assessors. The rationale being the relief is in fact, the moratorium itself. Third, to facilitate the smooth operation of Part 2 of the Act in relation to each scheduled contract, the Bill makes amendments to remove all the references to this section 3 prescribed period and instead have the provisions refer to the specific dates prescribed in the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Rental and Related Measures) Regulations. This will facilitate necessary flexibility should there be a need to make further amendments subsequently. Ms Hany Soh asked about assistance to help businesses understand the options how the Framework works and to whom it applies and the process. I think she made several very useful and thoughtful suggestions. My Ministry is getting ready to support the businesses and as I said at the outset, we know that as much as good intentions and thought have gone into designing the scheme, we do want it to be able to be operationalised and administered well and efficiently on the ground.”
“One example of where this power could be invoked is where the party either did not or could not put in relevant evidence before the Assessor and in the context of the case it is just and fair for the Assessor to reopen the case and look at the evidence that is available and then make a decision based on the review. To Mr Patrick Tay's point that there have been questions on the determination under "COVID 1" that has raised some degree of unhappiness with his residents, I would like Mr Patrick Tay to know that we engage with many of these individuals quite often. Indeed, we have been engaging with parties who give us feedback on the assessment process. And, in most cases, the relief is to grant the moratorium. But having said that, we do look at the cases very closely within MinLaw. I believe previously when I spoke about the earlier Bill, I mentioned that these Assessors are organised in a form where there is a district judge who heads each of the groups, and they discuss the outcomes across the different Assessor panels. In many cases, particularly when we first set up the Assessor panels, both Minister Shanmugam and myself were involved in reviewing each decision, making sure that there is parity across the different Assessor panels and to really discern the different issues that come through so that there is alignment and uniformity in the decisions. That said, if Mr Patrick Tay is aware of any other outlier decisions that he wishes for us to look at, please do contact MinLaw and we will have that evaluated. Madam, there are various miscellaneous and clarificatory amendments to Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Act. These also come in to modify the process and to improve on the process as we learn more about it.”
“They might also determine if additional compensation might be payable that is just and fair in the circumstances, one of which might be the value of the fixtures that have been left behind, as suggested by Mr Edward Chia. One other scenario that might arise would be whether some of the property that was unutilised, that was not consumed should be returned to the other party, the counter-party upon termination. So, there is a fairly broad and flexible range of options that the Assessor would have regard to. Mdm Deputy Speaker, let me turn to some questions Mr Derrick Goh had raised. I think I covered it earlier when I said that the rental relief framework and the Re-Align Framework were not mutually exclusive and tenants that had qualified under the rental relief framework can still qualify for the Re-Align Framework as long as they meet the Framework's criteria. I should point out, as I mentioned earlier, that one of the conditions of the SRS is that if the tenant terminates the lease during the repayment period with some amounts still outstanding, then that has got to be something that the Assessor would take into account. The Assessor will not be able to allow a tenant to walk away from a tenancy that is under SRS without the outstanding rental still due to be paid. Mr Patrick Tay asked about appeals and raised some questions over outcomes of some of the earlier "COVID 1" and "COVID 2" Assessor decisions. Madam, in a limited situation, a party can seek a review of the determination by the Assessor for the Re-Align Framework that is set out in section 67 of the present Bill.”
“So, whilst I understand where Mr Edward Chia is coming from, I wonder whether the gains of that approach that he has suggested, would not be commensurate with the costs and the possible drag on the efficiency of the administration by costs. To formulate the criteria with intra and inter industry differences would make it difficult to apply and would also raise questions as to what would be the appropriate differentiated levels between each industry. Mr Edward Chia also asked whether the cost incurred by a tenant on fixtures such as fixed equipment, can be used to offset the outstanding obligations and I think the rationale Mr Edward Chia gave was that these fixtures when left behind could benefit the landlord. That is a matter that is within the discretion of the Assessor when the Assessor decides what the appropriate release terms ought to be following the termination. We recognise that the default consequences that have been sketched out in a fairly long and quite elaborate table in Part 4 of the Second Schedule, might still not fit every situation. But we believe that if you look through it, the relevant guiding principle behind how and on what terms the termination ought to be allowed would be quite clear. Assessors, therefore, have a broad discretion to adjust the rights and obligations of the parties upon termination. An overarching intent is to achieve a fair and just outcome in each case. So, to give Members some further clarity as to what this might entail, the Assessor might well allow parties to pay sums, including the accrued obligations through instalments, having regard to the relative financial position and cash flow of the parties.”
“I forget whether it was Mr Edward Chia or Mr Murali Pillai who asked where we would set the revenue cap. We would look at, as far as possible, helping the majority of micro and small businesses. We believe that those are the entities which would need assistance, the nudge that we spoke about, to give them a bit of leverage in initiating the renegotiation. So, it will cover a broad range, the majority of micro and small businesses. And as far as the revenue drop is concerned, something that is of an order of magnitude that will make it quite clear that these are entities that have suffered,and it is a result of COVID-19. The drop between the comparable periods in 2019 and 2020 will demonstrate that. And I have explained earlier why we chose to use a number, as opposed to having each and every case come before the Assessor to undertake an individual forensic evaluation as to whether or not this factor is part of the COVID-19 or not part of COVID-19, and whether it is mitigation and so on. We have consulted with the industry. We will continue to do so and those numbers will be prescribed in subsidiary legislation. And I assure Members that the moment we settle on the decision on this, we will make an announcement, so that as much notice as possible is given to the stakeholders. Mr Edward Chia proposed several novel additional qualifying criteria and I do share his concerns as well. Remember that one of the objectives I outlined earlier was for this to not just be fair and thorough in how we apply it, but it has also go to be efficient in how it is administered. The last thing we want is for a scheme that is very well designed with many exceptions and many differentiated tiers, only for it to cause a problem in the administration and operationalisation of the scheme.”
“So, the overall momentum and direction of these amendments is to take the economy, businesses forward. Mr Murali raised several questions, one of which was whether there was going to be a moratorium within the framework of this Bill whilst the parties were working out their own renegotiations. The answer is yes, the Bill does provide. And service of the Notice of Negotiation will itself trigger an automatic moratorium on both legal as well as enforcement actions. So, if you have an outstanding judgment then there might also a moratorium on enforcement on those judgments. The list of prohibited actions, for Mr Murali Pillai's benefit is found in Part 2 of the Fifth Schedule of the Bill and this sets out the series of steps that would be covered by the moratorium. Several Members – Mr Murali Pillai, Mr Derrick Goh, Mr Edward Chia, Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Vikram Nair – spoke about the thresholds and the concern that the thresholds that we set not to be set too high so that more entities could benefit from this. I wish to reiterate our position that our overarching goal in designing the architecture of these two Bills is to help the economy for the long term. We are neither on the side necessarily of the landlord; we are not pro-landlord or pro-tenant or pro-hirer or pro-supplier. But we want to achieve a fair balance between the business entities and provide a framework for them to re-look at their operating assumptions, look at it in the context of what they know today about the economy, about the restrictions to the businesses and then, make a considered decision as to what the renegotiated terms ought to look like. It is in this context that we will be setting the thresholds.”
“They do support the businesses who may already have enjoyed the rental relief framework but now choose to decide that they wish to renegotiate the contract with parties; you can avail yourself of this but, obviously, to the extent that the rental relief framework also provides for a repayment period, if the repayment schedule for the outstanding amounts has not been fulfilled, then it could be unfair to allow you to exit from the contract. So, that has to be taken into account. Those arrears should be discharged and then you can look at the termination provisions under this plan. Third, the purpose behind these measures, as I said at the start, is to rejuvenate, not only to look at where we were six months ago which was to hold the line with a moratorium. That was the reason behind "COVID 1"; then with "COVID 2" we look at an additional injection to help tenants with their rental, one of the biggest cost components. But we want to also look forward, in terms of rejuvenation so, for example, I mentioned we do not want to have zombie companies remain on the books, companies which are no longer sustainable as a business entity, but which remains alive because of financial and fiscal injection. That is not going to be viable in the long term. It ties up resources, manpower as well as assets. We also want to move away from the thresholds that just hold the line. So, again, on Mr Henry Kwek's proposition as to whether we can go back to where it was before in ensuring that we assist parties to stay out of bankruptcy, for instance, or liquidation, I would suggest that those entities look at this framework in the SIP, decide whether you can restructure, if not to exit under the liquidation plan.”
“Thank you, Mdm Deputy Speaker. I thank the various Members who have spoken in support of the Bill. Let me just make three overarching points before I go into the specific questions that have been raised. The first is to reiterate that these measures have to be looked at in the context of the broader schemes, measures, budgetary as well as non-fiscal measures that have been put in place to assist individuals, businesses and also to seek to rejuvenate the economy. And to the extent that Mr Henry Kwek has said what else can we do, and also whether we should keep and extend Part 3 of the earlier COVID Bill – please also look at this in the context of the fact that beyond these immediate measures, there are also measures implemented by MAS, by EDB. There is the Extended Support Scheme, both standard and customised for those who do not meet within this scheme. And then, also in relation to the insolvency thresholds, the IRDA has been revised recently so that the debt repayment scheme to ensure that individuals have a reason, have a basis on which to avoid bankruptcy had been extended, and that was implemented in July 2020. We moved the thresholds to $150,000 for those individuals. Second, all three of these Bills need to be looked at in tandem. They provide different options. Some are complementary and, indeed, an individual or a business can use more than one of these measures. I believe it was Mr Edward Chia who asked whether these are in addition to the measures that have been put in place in the earlier rental relief framework. The answer is yes.”
“Along with a judge of the High Court, Justice Kannan Ramesh, their years of legal experience and insights were very much invaluable and a pivotal part of the way in which we were able to produce this Bill in short order. Sir, we also have an industry resource panel. We consulted with them very closely and we scoped the provisions based on the views that they gave us and the feedback that they gave us, honing our policies and our thinking. I will put their names on record without having to mention them individually. There is an Annex which will be put into the transcript. [Please refer to Annex 5.] Finally, I think, perhaps, to our Attorney-General Mr Lucien Wong and his team at AGC – Lee Yean-Lin, Leong Kit Yu and Ng Jun Yi. This Bill is the product of not just legal solution but indeed legal innovation that they have helped us with in difficult, complex times. I wish to thank all of them and place on record the MinLaw's gratitude to all of them for their framework. Because of this, we believe that we will have a better chance at emerging stronger from this pandemic, ready to overcome the challenges ahead of us in the mid to longer term. Thank you, Sir, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question put. (proc text)]”
“In some ways, it is significantly more complex than the earlier "COVID 1" and "COVID 2" in terms of the concept and its scope of application. We also did not have the luxury of time as a Bill like this would typically have taken some months up to a year to conceptualise and make workable. It was only possible because of the outstanding contributions of many of those who worked very closely and very hard with my Ministry to put this together. Sir, we are indebted to the various agencies who have worked for many months, over the last few months, with meetings, turning this around, draft after draft, giving valuable input, going out to the ground, importantly, taking soundings from the different stakeholders in the business community and reflecting those views in our meetings. MTI and ESG, in particular, were always ready to help with ground sensing, with the data, making helpful suggestions to refine our proposals, to scope them carefully and appropriately. MAS, too, did the same, contributing their own domain expertise and helping to bring stakeholders on board in explaining the process, explaining the intent. We are indebted to our other colleagues from the other Ministries and agencies like MOT, MCCY, MND, HDB, JTC, MHA and SLA, and of course, MOF, too. Besides paying for the Bill, they also attended all our meetings and helped us to work out a solution, especially when it came to dealing with contracts of national interest. Sir, a few more. I wish to thank in particular, Mr Sushil Nair and Mr Patrick Ang – two private sector lawyers on the committee who have been working with us since "COVID 1". They gave of their time very generously and they also helped us to not just conceptualise but also draft and redraft the Bill.”
“Sir, let me now touch briefly on the licencing of insolvency practitioners. This is an amendment that is separate from the Programme. It is a miscellaneous amendment introduced under the existing section 50 of IRDA and it seeks to empower the Minister to exempt any individual from the requirement of being a qualified person in order to be a licensed insolvency practitioner. This power will be exercised judiciously, on a case-by-case basis. It is not intended to allow a person to circumvent the general requirements but it is intended to be used in exceptional cases, where the exemption is justified. Members who have been in Court and argued this or seen this applied, will know that there have been insolvency professionals who act for companies or creditors in cross-border transactions, cross-border restructurings, and those are one type of professionals that we envisage would come under these exemptions. Sir, let me now conclude. I have taken Members through the two new measures in both Bills. At the level of individual contracts – business to business, party to party – the Re-Align Framework will allow businesses to have a basis to renegotiate and re-base their contracts to adapt to substantially changed circumstances. At the corporate level, the simplified insolvency framework will allow eligible companies an easier route to restructure or rehabilitate, or to exit in the way I have just outlined. These are necessary as a part of a suite of measures that the Government is providing to help businesses and our workforce and, fundamentally, people and jobs emerge stronger from the pandemic. Sir, let me end off with a few words about the process of preparing the Re-Align Framework.”
“Such circumstances include where the Official Receiver is satisfied that the company either did not meet, or could not meet, or no longer meets the eligibility criteria for the programme. The provision is not intended to affect the rights of any person entitled to make an application under section 124 of the IRDA for the company in simplified winding up to be wound up under a Court order. And that also includes the Official Receiver as liquidator. Sir, the proposed winding up in this form, under the simplified regime, provides a simpler and more streamlined framework for the winding up of micro and small companies relative to the usual process. Currently, one would have to apply to Court or pass a special resolution and convene the necessary meetings, the company would have to seek a liquidator who would have to agree to being appointed, and the creditors may also then appoint a Committee of Inspection to act in respect of the winding up. In comparison, under this simplified process, the process is commenced once an application is made to the Official Receiver. If the Official Receiver accepts it, the winding up commences without more. The Official Receiver becomes the liquidator and there will not have to be a Committee of Inspection. These are in addition to the other features and modifications that I have outlined earlier. The simplified winding up process is really designed for companies who have taken the view – small and micro businesses who qualify – that it is no longer sustainable to remain in this business. Rather than have a protracted process where more time, more effort, more costs are put into managing the exit from the business, those companies can avail themselves of this mechanism.”