Grace Fu Hai Yien
Singapore
“The Government takes a multi-pronged approach to address the disamenities from second-hand tobacco smoke. The National Environment Agency (NEA) works with Government agencies, Town Councils and community leaders to promote considerate behaviour and strengthen social norms.”
“The Government recently announced land-use changes in Lim Chu Kang to optimise our scarce land to meet our growing and evolving needs. We are at the initial planning stage and agencies are still working out the detailed development proposals.”
“Public Waste Collectors and Town Councils have trialled the collection and treatment of segregated food waste from households. However, participation rates are poor despite regular engagement and reminders.”
“The quality of incense offerings and the practice of burning incense are not regulated by law. Instead, the National Environment Agency (NEA) works with stakeholders, such as Town Councils, agencies and religious organisations, to encourage responsible burning of joss paper and incense.”
“The National Environment Agency (NEA) monitors public cleaning contractors through regular physical audits and remote monitoring, complemented by video analytics. NEA also regularly assesses the cleaning quality and outcomes of public cleaning contractors.”
“This question has been addressed in the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment’s combined answer to Question Nos 15 to 18 on the Order Paper for 7 July 2026. [Please refer to "National Recycling Rates, Plans and Targets", Official Report, 7 July 2026, Vol 96, Issue 32, Oral Answers to Questions section.]”
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Every one of 2,293 lines we hold for Grace Fu Hai Yien, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 27 of 46.
“Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "That Deputy Prime Minister's Ministerial Statement be taken now. As Deputy Prime Minister's Statement is scheduled to telecast at 3.30 pm, I ask Members for their agreement to allow Deputy Prime Minister to make his Statement at 3.30 pm." [(proc text) Question put and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, that, Deputy Prime Minister's Ministerial Statement be taken now. – [Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien]. (proc text)]”
“Now, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Third time."”
“I would relay Mr de Souza and Assoc Prof Theseira's concerns to the Parliament Secretariat and ask that they look into giving all Members technical support for continuity in the collaborative engagements between Members, in and outside formal proceedings. It is critical for us to remain connected and deliberate on critical national issues with each other, as we grapple with the difficult challenges we are faced with. Mr Speaker, I would like to conclude by thanking Members once again for their support for the Bill and their valuable comments. Sir, Parliament must carry on its constitutional functions of legislating and holding the Government to account even in exigencies. I trust that my fellow Members will hold fast to our commitment to doing so, even under difficult circumstances. The amendments in this Bill seek to put in place a mechanism to ensure the continuity of Parliament even in moments of crisis, so that the business of Parliament can continue unhindered. This way, we will be able to address issues that will matter greatly to the collective well-being of Singaporeans, when it is most needed. Sir, I beg to move.”
“Ms Ong and Mr Perera spoke about ensuring the continuity of public access to live parliamentary proceedings, or live streams as they call it, in order to build transparency and trust in times of crisis, to nurture nation building and citizen engagement. I thank Members for their comments. This Bill does not deal with broadcasting. The public will continue to have access to the proceedings as they currently do when Parliament sits in this Chamber. This topic has also been previously discussed in this House. The Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, Mr Chee Hong Tat, had explained that the reason why we do not have a live feed. There are channels available for members of the public, including students and overseas Singaporeans, to easily access full parliamentary proceedings online in a timely, comprehensive and convenient manner. They can view the complete set of footage of Parliament speeches, as well as questions and answers from each sitting on the CNA Parliament microsite. Parliamentary highlights are loaded onto this microsite within three hours of broadcast. In addition, the public has access to the full written record of Parliamentary proceedings via the online Hansard. The continuity arrangements will be activated when it is deemed that it may be unsafe for Parliament to sit in one place. And accordingly, to ensure the safety of the public, public viewing from the galleries should only proceed when it is deemed safe to do so. This will be determined as part of the details of the arrangements, to be decided by Mr Speaker or this House. Assoc Prof Walter Theseira spoke about the need for trust and collaboration, even as there are fewer opportunities for Members to meet in person to discuss. I believe Mr de Souza made a similar point.”
“And that is true also of what we say and how we debate in this House. The same solemnity cannot be reproduced in remote proceedings where there is no effective control over the physical environment from which Members dial in. So, in response to Mr Perera's question: whether it is legally possible to have 100 places taking part in a debate; would the Bill allow for remote sitting? The answer is that it is technically possible. But as I have explained earlier, that is not the scenario that we envisage. If that had been the case, we would have to put in a lot more certainty, a lot more precautions into how the proceedings would take place in our own individual homes. There are technical issues. There are security considerations and logistical considerations. And that will not make that option comparable to us sitting in this Chamber with the existing procedures. For large countries, they have no choice. Remote participation is the only feasible option for legislators who are far away from the seat of the legislature. But as I said in my opening speech, we are just one city, and Members should have no problems travelling to alternative sites for Parliament sittings. We have therefore struck the balance that is found in the Bill. Members have called for face-to-face discussions, negotiations and persuasions. So, we have tried to incorporate that as much as possible. It is a balance between considerations of safety, better continuity, but at the same time, keeping as much as possible to the current format of Parliament sittings. So, Members can spread out for continuity purposes, but we also keep the solemnity of a physical meeting. Members also raised some points that fall outside the scope of the Bill. With your leave, Sir, I will briefly address them.”
“Constitutionally, the first item of business for a new Parliament is to elect a Speaker, because Parliament cannot function without a Speaker. Members must also take the Oath of Allegiance. Only after that can Parliament proceed to transact other business, including activating continuity arrangements. If need be, we can arrange for Members to be divided into cohorts for the purpose of electing a Speaker and taking the Oath. Ms Anthea Ong asked whether the mechanism can be activated for future crises and the answer is yes. Mr de Souza and Ms Anthea Ong asked about the form of continuity arrangements. The Bill requires Members in different locations must be in contemporaneous communication with each other. In principle, we would want a Member who is speaking to be seen and heard live at all locations – so that means a contemporaneous audio-visual link. Members should also be able to ask supplementary questions and seek clarifications, though the process will need to be modified given that we have more than one location. The Speaker should also be seen and heard by all Members. And there should be certainty on the casting and recording of votes. If the Bill is passed, Parliament Secretariat will look into the procedural, logistical, technical and security details. Ms Ong and Mr Leon Perera asked about remote participation. Why does the Bill not allow for that? Sir, let me use the Division process as an example to illustrate. When a Division is claimed, the bells are rung, and then the Sergeant-at-Arms locks the doors. When we cast our votes, there are no strangers present, no outside interference. The decision that emerges is ours alone. The responsibility is also ours alone. There is a certain seriousness of purpose, a certain sanctity of process.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, allow me to thank Members who have spoken on this Bill for their broad support and comments. Let me first address the points relating to the Bill. Mr Christopher de Souza asked a few questions about activating the new Article 64A. First, what would amount to inexpedience under the Bill? It is difficult to state a hard and fast rule, because it is impossible to foresee what form an emergency will take and how it would affect Parliament. It could be a health threat, a virus of another kind, a security threat, or even a natural disaster. So, we need a broadly framed provision to capture all possible scenarios. But I can say, in principle, we should make every effort to sit in this Chamber, as Mr Christopher de Souza has said convincingly, face-to-face. We should only move to continuity arrangements in truly exceptional circumstances. Second, why does it only take a simple majority to activate continuity arrangements? This is because we envisage that the circumstances requiring activation to be those where time and flexibility are of essence. The situation is likely to be fluid and dynamic, necessitating Parliament to act swiftly in activating the mechanism. Furthermore, the mechanism does not give the Government or the majority any advantage or put the minority under any disadvantage. Every Member can still attend, speak and vote from his or her location. The privileges, immunities and powers of the House will stay the same. Any matter that requires a supermajority will still require a supermajority. Given that this is logistical and procedural in nature, there is no reason why we should require a supermajority to activate continuity arrangements. Third, how would the mechanism be activated by a new Parliament?”
“We may also want to create institutions, such as a virtual Members’ Room, so that informal discussions can continue even when we must be apart. And because a constitutional amendment may outlive those of us in the Chamber today, we should also be aware of how it may affect the future business of Parliament. There has been no need since Independence for the Government to collaborate with the Opposition in order to pass parliamentary business. But the time may come when the Government does not secure a two-thirds majority, or may even find itself in minority. In that case, having an effective means of building trust and relationships across party lines will be even more important than it is today. Indeed, I think it safe to assume that when a Government lacks a majority, Bills do not pass or fail based on the Chamber debate alone. The reasons for passage or failure are laid in backroom negotiations. Of course, democratic accountability holds that the business of Parliament should be as public as possible. So, we must find the right balance. But that does not change the fact that parliamentary work is done, offline and online, and technology can help, but cannot replace, the need to form human connections in doing this work. The most important work of trust and relationship building in the service of the country is still done face to face, in Parliament and outside it. Even though technology now allows us to see someone virtually, we still need to build that element of trust first. Barring unexpected changes in technology and in social norms, I think this will continue, even though we must all take more care. With that, I support the Bill.”
“And that is because a parliamentary debate is not quite a discussion, negotiation, deliberation or other type of meeting. The rules of parliamentary debate and the knowledge that we are all playing a public role, may constrain us at times from being in real communication with each other. Sir, that is, I think, where technology today falls short. If the Chamber debate is theatre, then what technology struggles to enable fully is the painstaking backstage work that hon Members carry out every single day – to find out what are the issues affecting Singaporeans, how can the challenges that affect society be solved, what are the ways that we decide as one Singapore to solve them. That work carries on in Parliament as well, but outside this Chamber, in the discussions and meetings that take place during every sitting, and beyond that. Technology is an enabler, but not a leveller, in this. We can certainly email any other hon Member or Minister. Some of us may even feel comfortable calling or video-conferencing a Minister at any time. But others will not. The discussions that we have in person, in the grounds of Parliament, whether by design or by accident, form an important basis for trust, relationship building and even national decision-making. So, in accepting the necessity for Parliament, from time to time, to meet at multiple sites using technology, we must be aware what the limitations are, and think actively about ways to overcome them. For example, when meeting at multiple places, we may not want the set of Members of Parliament at each location to be fixed for the entire duration of the crisis. Even at some risk of cross contamination, it may be useful to have a different set of Members see each other at some interval.”
“But I think this amendment speaks to a broader question of how Parliament actually functions, what types of parliamentary work technology helps to enable and what technology still cannot achieve yet. Let me start with what many consider to be the core function of Parliament – to meet in this Chamber and debate and pass laws. Sir, the idea of persuading your countrymen in open debate to follow a particular course of action, that goes beyond Parliament. It is the foundation of collective decision-making in human societies. But how does Chamber debate actually fulfil that function? If we look at the actual practice of Parliament, we will see that what we sometimes have is more theatre than debate. I do not mean to insult hon Members in saying so or to doubt their seriousness in coming here. What I mean is that we come prepared knowing that our lines will be put on the Hansard permanently, and reported to a national audience. Our true audience often goes beyond the hon Member sitting across from us. The audience is outside the Chamber because Singaporeans need to see that the issues of the day are being debated by the hon Members who represent them. Technology today is well suited to solving the problem of theatre. Yes, there is something lacking when you see a speech online or on TV, as opposed to in person. That is why political rallies still draw so many people. But all the basic elements can be brought to us through technology. For Chamber debate and Question Time, technology is an excellent substitute for face-to-face meeting. So, what does technology struggle with, which is yet vital to the functioning of a Parliament? I think something less appreciated is that much of the work of Parliament is conducted outside the debating Chamber.”
“But let me assure the House that should we decide to meet under continuity arrangements, every Member will be given adequate notice and full technical support. I would ask for the goodwill of all Members to operate the arrangements if it comes to that. Sir, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] 3.29 pm Assoc Prof Walter Theseira (Nominated Member): Mr Speaker, the National Library Board reports that the first Singapore-London telephone call was made in 1937. Yet the Merdeka Talks two decades later were carried out physically in London over three rounds and two years to determine Singapore's transition from colony to self-governing state. A telephone conference was not considered the best option for such a momentous and delicate negotiation. The question underlying this amendment is not so different from that faced by our pioneers. Can the business of Parliament be conducted properly through technology? In other words, would permitting the remote meeting of Parliament in multiple places, even during a crisis, fundamentally undermine the quality of decision-making and deliberation conducted by Parliament? If so, then it may well be better not to meet at all, because the only thing worse than a Parliament unable to conduct business, is one that puts the stamp of legitimacy on decisions that have not been properly debated and deliberated. Fortunately, technology has advanced today to the point where many of the functions of Parliament, most notably Chamber debates and official proceedings of committees, can be conducted remotely without any great loss of quality. So, on that basis, I support this amendment.”
“In the future, it can be activated by Parliament for six months at a time, if Members consider that it is impossible, unsafe or inexpedient for Parliament to meet in one place. Parliament can also resolve to deactivate the mechanism at any time. When the mechanism is deactivated, we will resume normal sittings in this Chamber. Sir, in developing this mechanism, we have considered other options, including the possibility of remote participation, which is being tried out by the House of Commons in the UK. We decided that we do not need to go so far. Singapore is a small country and Members should be able to travel to alternative sites for Parliament. We also wanted Members to be physically and fully present to apply our minds together to the important business of Parliament, even if we co-locate between several places. As I said when I wrote to Members last Tuesday, there is no immediate need for continuity arrangements. As the Minister for Health said yesterday, the average number of new cases in the community and unlinked cases have decreased, compared against the week before the circuit breaker was introduced. This suggests that the circuit breaker measures are effective and so, Mr Speaker, we will continue to meet in this Chamber for this month with safe distancing arrangements. We hope there will be no need to activate these continuity arrangements. But we cannot be certain how events will unfold. Out of an abundance of caution, we should put the constitutional mechanism in place. If the need arises, for instance, if there is widespread local transmission of COVID-19, we can immediately implement the necessary arrangements. This is why the Bill has been introduced under a Certificate of Urgency.”
“The new Article will create a mechanism for Parliament to meet under continuity arrangements. When the mechanism is activated, Parliament need not meet with all Members gathered at one place. Instead, Parliament will be able to meet with Members spread across two or more places appointed by the President and in contemporaneous communication with each other. This physical separation will enhance the survivability of Parliament as an institution. In the context of the COVID-19 situation, separating Members into cohorts and limiting the physical contact between these cohorts allows us to cut down the chance of infection spreading to all Members of Parliament – in other words, the whole of the political leadership of the nation, Government as well as Opposition. If one cohort is infected, other cohorts can still carry on. The details of these continuity arrangements will be decided by this House or by you, Mr Speaker. These details could include allocating Members between the appointed places and the mode of communication between those places. Continuity arrangements may also involve modifying the existing Standing Orders. For instance, the rule on ringing division bells would have to be modified if we conduct a division across different locations. This House or the Speaker would be able to make these modifications. With these arrangements, Members will be able to take part fully in the proceedings of Parliament. Their presence at an appointed place will count for attendance, quorum and voting purposes. The powers, immunities and privileges of this House will also be extended to apply to continuity arrangements. The mechanism will be active for six months after this Bill is enacted and comes into force.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time". Mr Speaker, Parliament is a forum for deliberation. Members meet face to face, in this Chamber, to scrutinise legislation and to hold the Government to account. Our rules and procedures, even the architecture of this Chamber, are designed around this function. But the COVID-19 situation has affected how we work, just as it has affected other parliaments and legislatures around the world. To ensure the continuity of Parliament, since March, we have been sitting with safe-distancing arrangements. Members are spread out within the Chamber, and some of us are seated at the public galleries. This is about as far as we can go under the law today. The constitutional provisions governing Parliament are premised on a physical meeting at one place that is appointed by the President. Certain provisions in the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act are also drafted with reference to Parliament House and its precincts. But it is entirely conceivable that exigencies may make it unsafe or even impossible for us to meet at one place. During such exigencies, it is even more critical for Parliament to carry on its constitutional functions of legislating and holding the Government to account. We have seen the critical role played by this House in the last two months when Members passed the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act as well as the Resilience and Solidarity Budgets. In the constitutional framework, we are an essential service. The Government is therefore proposing to amend the Constitution to put in place a mechanism for the continuity of Parliament even during such moments of crisis. Sir, the Bill will insert a new Article 64A into the Constitution.”
“Mr Speaker, I beg to move that, "That the proceedings on the business set down on the Order Paper for today be exempted at this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No 2." [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, "That the proceedings on the business set down on the Order Paper for today be exempted at this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No 2." (proc text)]”
“Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "That the proceedings on item 2 on the Order Paper for today be taken now." In order for the Second Reading of the Parliamentary Elections (COVID-19 Special Arrangements) Bill be taken in its entirety today and not be interrupted because of insufficient time, we request for Members' support to take this Bill now. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, "That the proceedings on item 2 on the Order Paper for today be taken now." – [Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien]. (proc text)]”
“Mr Speaker, copies of the Bill have been provided to the Clerk, who will distribute it to Members now. [Handouts were distributed to hon Members.]”
“Mr Speaker, I beg to introduce a Bill intituled "An Act to amend the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (1999 Reprint)". [(proc text) Bill read the First time. (proc text)]”
“Mr Speaker, I have a Certificate of Urgency signed by the President in respect of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill, to be laid upon the Table. [(proc text) Certificate of Urgency signed by the President in respect of the Bill, laid upon the Table by the Minister. (proc text)]”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to move, "That the proceedings on the business set down on the Order Paper for today be exempted at this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No 2." [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, "That the proceedings on the business set down on the Order Paper for today be exempted at this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No 2." – [Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien] (proc text)]”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No 48(3) so far as it is necessary to enable Minister Gan Kim Yong, Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister of State Edwin Tong to speak more than once?”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No 48(8) to remove the time limit in respect of Minister Shanmugam's speech?”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general of Members present to move a Motion for amendments to be taken in the Committee of Supply on the Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for FY2020/2021 so as to increase the sums to be allocated for Heads S, V and Z shown in the Order Paper Supplement of today. In his Ministerial Statements on 26 March 2020 and 6 April 2020, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance has explained the need to provide increased funds to support additional measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The amendments to the Heads of Expenditure taken in the Committee of Supply will allow the House to vote on the additional funds required for these measures.”
“Mr Dennis Tan asked if arts charities will be eligible for the Job Support Scheme and other kinds of support they are eligible for. I am pleased to confirm that all charities including arts charities are eligible for the JSS as long as they have made CPF contributions for their local employees. All charities which are tenants in MCCY-owned properties will benefit from two months' rental waivers. The arts charities can also apply to the schemes under the Arts and Cultural Resilience Package including the Capability Development Scheme for the arts and the Digital Presentation Grant for the arts. They may also avail themselves of broad-based measures to support charities in general. For example, they can apply for the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund (VCF) and obtain funding support of up to 80% to attend training courses and engage external consultants to improve key governance and management areas. In view of the challenges presented by COVID-19, we recently expanded the VCF scope to include funding for online training courses, audio and video-conferencing tools and enhanced the funding quantum for charities who outsource their payroll, finance and accounting functions. We understand that charities operations may be under additional strain and some have difficulties holding their AGM to finalise their financial statements. Therefore, the Commissioner of Charities has also granted an extension for all charities' annual submissions due during the period of 31 March 2020 to 31 July 2020, for three months. There is no need for these charities to seek extension separately.”
“Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to address the question that had been asked by Mr Dennis Tan on the arts charities issue.”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No 48(8) to remove the time limit in respect of Deputy Prime Minister’s speech.”
“We are in this together, and the arts, culture, and sports communities must work together, work with the public, to protect the safety of our patrons, students and audiences. I urge larger and more established groups with deeper capabilities to help the smaller ones and individual practitioners, and ask that corporations, foundations and members of the public continue supporting the arts and culture and sports. All of us should take this time to prepare, with agility and resourcefulness, to welcome our audiences and students again with better creations, better works, greater competencies and broader outreach. Our arts, culture and sports sectors have proven their resilience time and again. I am confident that they will be ready with our best shows, most creative content, and highest quality classes once Singapore is ready for us, so that arts, culture and sports will be an even more important part of people’s lives. COVID-19 is a test and we will rise to the occasion.”
“As such, we will enhance the National Arts Council’s (NAC's) one-time Capability Development Scheme for the Arts (CDSA) to benefit more arts and culture organisations and practitioners, including freelancers, up to end of 2020. The Arts Resource Hub (ARH) under NAC will continue to promote sustainability of freelancers' careers by providing shared resources and services, including advising them on various support schemes by the government, to tide them over this difficult period. (In English): Mr Speaker, if I may summarise. The relief packages announced by Deputy Prime Minister provide financial support to the individuals affected, sustain the eco-systems of these sectors by minimising the loss of capabilities, and raise the capabilities of the sectors in the physical and digital spaces. Individuals can benefit from financial reliefs, such as the Temporary Relief Fund, SIRS for freelancers and the COVID-19 Support Grant; training subsidies and grants in the Capability Development Scheme for the Arts to build their long-term capabilities. They will also benefit from the temporary jobs SportSG will be making available. Companies can benefit from wage support measures such as the enhanced JSS, and the Enhanced Training Support scheme and the CDSA. Our push to digitalise these sectors will provide economic opportunities to both individuals and companies, and allow them to continue bringing arts and sports experiences to Singaporeans. These schemes will be relevant even when circuit breaker measures are applicable, and will help us emerge stronger. Everyone has a part to play to overcome the situation we face.”
“Singapore, we will also offer a new $2 million grant to support more than 50 projects for sports SEPs and businesses to develop initiatives that create digital and virtual content and provide innovative ways to deliver sports for Singaporeans to stay active and fit in the lead-up from now to National Day in August. Mr Speaker, allow me to say a few words in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] In this challenging period, MCCY will strive to help our arts, culture and sports sector overcome the impact brought about by COVID-19. We will introduce a $55 million Arts and Culture Resilience Package (ACRP) to help protect jobs and maintain livelihoods. First, Deputy Prime Minister had earlier announced that the Government will co-fund 25% of the wages of every local employee under the enhanced Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) till end of this year, and 75% for the month of April when "circuit breaker" measures are in place. This will benefit all eligible companies and employees in the arts, culture and sports, sector. MCCY will also provide additional support for major companies, as well as leading arts and culture groups. More details will be announced at a later date. Next, all eligible tenants in MCCY-owned properties will benefit from the two months of rental waiver, to help lower their costs. Also, we want to quicken the pace of digitalisation efforts of the arts and cultural sector via the new Digitalisation Fund. Finally, we also want to encourage arts organisations and practitioners to upgrade their skills, and be ready to bounce back stronger than before during this period.”
“NAC and Arts House Limited will work with local arts groups involved in the Singapore International Festival of the Arts 2020 to explore how they can offer innovative arts and culture experiences digitally later in the year. The Digitalisation Fund will also support the digitalisation of our museum exhibitions and collections. The National Heritage Board (NHB) will progressively make available virtual exhibitions of the galleries at our national museums and heritage institutions, so that Singaporeans and international visitors alike can experience and learn about heritage without leaving their homes. NHB will also be working with Museum Roundtable members to support similar projects, and assist them in building up their digitalisation capabilities. We hope to roll out digital offerings by our arts groups in the coming months through multiple platforms and festivals. We aim to generate demand for the arts and culture sector, support over 200 new digital projects, and create more than 1,000 opportunities for our cultural and related practitioners once the circuit breaker measures are relaxed. SportSG will leverage technology to continue to engage Singaporeans in sports events and activities in this period. It will set up the ActiveSG Circle, a virtual sports centre in the form of an online platform. This will enable citizens to stay connected and active with an expansive offering, a wide offering of content such as exercise videos, programmes, talks, workshops and even races through a virtual space. For this year’s Get Active!”
“For the arts and culture sector, we have established a Digitalisation Fund to support arts and culture groups and practitioners, cultural institutions, and cultural festival organisers to go digital with their arts and culture content. NAC will offer a new Digital Presentation Grant for the arts of up to $20,000 per project, to ramp up efforts in digitalisation of arts and culture content and delivery. This will be open to all arts and culture groups and practitioners, including freelancers. Artists and arts groups offering student-facing programmes including NAC Arts Education Programme (AEP) providers are encouraged to apply to NAC for this support to create digital content that can be offered for online use by schools. While some ideas may only be possible to execute after the circuit breaker measures, I encourage arts and culture groups and practitioners to prepare and submit their grant proposals now, so that they can bring their best work to Singaporeans once the situation improves. NAC also welcomes proposals which include creative means to develop digital projects while fully working from home. The Digitalisation Fund will support large-scale digitalisation of existing festivals and projects. We are committed to continuing with our annual large-scale festivals through digital means. As far as possible, we will hold digital editions of Singapore Heritage Festival in June, Singapore Writers Festival and Arts in Your Neighbourhood in November, followed by Singapore Art Week in January 2021. They will involve virtual arts and culture presentations, workshops, and tours.”
“NAC will invite suggestions on training programmes and welcome courses by our own major arts companies and established professionals who are keen to offer their skills and experience in their areas of expertise. Our freelancers can receive up to $1,000 for their training, which can cover both course fee subsidies and a training allowance of $10 per hour. Just like companies and their employees, freelancers can also use this time to apply for the CDSA and use it to take online courses, or for future training. Arts, culture and sports lift our spirits in these difficult times, and sustain our emotional and physical well-being. To ensure Singaporeans continue to have access to the arts, culture and sports during the next few months, our culture and sports agencies will be releasing digital content to engage Singaporeans even as we stay at home, provide enjoyment for the entire family, and encourage them to keep fit. Interested audiences can view available offerings at NAC’s A-List website, an integrated platform featuring cultural offerings from our cultural institutions, arts groups and artists to offer greater access and connectivity for audiences. A-List is already available with many exciting programmes. I urge Members to check it out. We also want to step up on-going digitalisation efforts to enhance capabilities of the arts and culture, and sports sector, create new experiences for audiences and participants, and expand economic opportunities. Beyond bringing their products online, we see that it is a good time for the sector to acquire technical skills in data analytics, audience sensing, online marketing and more.”
“It helps us refine our range of shared resources and services, and provide reliable and relevant information to help them tide over this difficult period. Freelancers who have experienced contract cancellations can also seek advice from the ARH. I strongly encourage all cultural and creative freelancers to sign up online with the ARH, at no cost, to enjoy the convenience of a centralised point-of-contact. This is the time for companies to invest in their employees. The Enhanced Training Support scheme announced by the Deputy Prime Minister provides absentee payroll to employers who send their employees for training in SkillsFuture courses and is open to companies in the arts, culture and sports sectors. In addition, arts and culture organisations can apply for further support under the expanded Capability Development Scheme for the Arts or CDSA administered by NAC, to send their employees for professional-led training courses, beyond those endorsed by SkillsFuture. In the coming months, NAC will list more online courses which are eligible for CDSA support. We have enhanced the CDSA so that Major Companies can now receive up to $20,000 for training, while other arts groups can receive up to $6,000. Up to 200 companies will benefit from this. In addition to organisations and their employees, we will also support the training of up to 6,000 freelancers through the CDSA. These freelancers can apply for the CDSA to participate in a variety of courses, including local and international online courses. These include masterclasses in graphic communication skills in outreach with digital media, courses in creative writing, music production and studio recording.”
“Practitioners in these sectors will already benefit from the $500 to $1,000 SkillsFuture Credit top-up, and the SEP Training Support Scheme. I encourage our practitioners to hone their professional skills, and explore new complementary skills through the many online courses that are available from home. For the sports sector, we have been working with partners to build up the range of Continuing Coach Education or CCE courses to upskill our coaches and instructors. When the situation allows, coaches and instructors can avail themselves of more than 3,000 training opportunities by end-2020. This is in addition to the more than 2,000 ActiveSG SkillsFuture training opportunities currently available to coaches and instructors. These courses are either free or well covered by training grants from SkillsFuture. We will progressively make more training programmes available to individuals in the sports sector. We will also set aside $100,000 for the Coach Development Grant, up from $30,000 in previous years, to cover coaches’ registration and course fees when they sign up for CCE courses. Arts and culture freelancers, as well as those in the wider creative sector who provide important complementary expertise such as sound and lighting professionals, hold essential capabilities for our arts and culture eco-system. The Arts Resource Hub or ARH under the National Arts Council or NAC, has been set up to promote employability and sustainability of freelancers’ careers by providing resources and services. The ARH has been engaging and surveying a wide range of cultural and creative freelancers over the past months to better understand their profiles and the impact of COVID-19 on them.”
“For companies, the Deputy Prime Minister announced that the Government will co-fund 25% of the wages of every local employee under the enhanced Jobs Support Scheme or JSS, which will last till end 2020, and 75% for the month of April, in view of the heightened measures. This will support all eligible companies and employees in the arts and culture and sports sectors. MCCY will announce additional support for major companies, as well as leading arts and culture groups, shortly at a later date. To help companies and businesses further defray costs, all eligible tenants in MCCY-owned properties – be they in the arts and culture, youth, or sports – will benefit from the two months of rental waiver announced by the Deputy Prime Minister. This will benefit more than 300 tenants. These measures will provide some immediate relief for our arts and culture companies and allow them to use this period – when they are working from home – to plan for the future with greater assurance and certainty. To further support employment in the sports sector, as part of the SGUnited Jobs Initiative, we have identified more than 500 temporary job opportunities for various roles in the sports sector to support our national sports associations (NSAs), sports centres, academy and clubs as well as to support digital and exercise-science related capabilities. While many of these jobs will not be available while circuit breaker measures are in place, we are preparing them now so that we can start hiring as soon as these measures are relaxed. Beyond relief support, we will invest in retaining and upskilling the arts, culture and sports professionals. We want to protect and sustain the breadth and depth of skillsets and talents in the eco-systems as much as possible.”
“Mr Speaker, the livelihoods of many Singaporeans in the arts, culture and sports sectors have been badly affected by COVID-19. Arts and sporting events, and CCAs, were cancelled or postponed even before the new circuit breaker measures that take effect today, 7 April. To deal with this unprecedented crisis, the government has introduced additional measures to protect livelihoods, help businesses overcome immediate challenges and strengthen economic and social resilience. Fifty-five million dollars has been set aside for an Arts and Culture Resilience Package (ACRP) as part of the Resilience Budget. We will: (a) protect livelihoods and careers in the arts, culture and sports eco-systems; (b) invest in capabilities that will position ourselves well for the post-COVID recovery; and (c) digitalise these sectors to create new markets, provide new job opportunities and ensure that Singaporeans can continue to benefit from the arts, culture and sports. We must first protect the livelihoods of our arts, culture and sports practitioners. They have been badly affected. Individual professionals, such as freelancers, may tap on broad-based relief schemes like the Temporary Relief Fund and SEP Income Relief Scheme or SIRS, and defer their income tax payments and mortgage instalments. Depending on individual circumstances, an eligible arts or sports freelancer may potentially receive $12,000 from May to October 2020 from SIRS and the Enhanced Workfare Special Payment among the broad-based measures in the Resilience and Solidarity Budgets, even before factoring other schemes.”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move a Motion that the debate on Deputy Prime Minister’s Ministerial Statement be taken now. This will allow the House to resume its debate on Deputy Prime Minister’s Ministerial Statement on the additional COVID measures given on 26 March and conclude on its consideration, before the House proceeds to vote on the sums contained in the Supplementary Estimates for FY20/21 and the Supplementary Supply Bill. As Members are aware, the Supplementary Estimates and the Bill reflect the necessary funds required for the multi-Ministry programmes outlined in the Ministerial Statement which are subject to Parliament’s approval.”
“We must have courage to accept the political risk of publishing facts on immigration that may be uncomfortable, but are nonetheless better than pleasant platitudes. But above all, we should not fall into the trap of thinking that the purpose of immigration is to solve the problem of our unwanted jobs, or our falling workforce. Nor does it make sense to think of immigration as simply a means of preserving the status quo and demographics of what Singapore is today. These ways of thinking are counter-productive and unworthy of an immigrant society because they treat immigrants merely as means, and not as an end. We should not be surprised, then, if the immigrants we attract with this mindset likewise think of Singapore as a means and not as an end. We must build an alternative narrative that stresses building a common future together, not preserving a comfortable past. Mr Speaker, Singapore is and will continue to be an immigrant nation. But to retain our vibrancy and relevance we must move forward as a country that treats immigrants as potential contributors and partners in developing the Singapore of tomorrow. We need an immigration policy that allows the Singapore – and Singaporeans – of tomorrow to be a better version of who we are today. With a fact- and research-based approach to immigration policy, education and engagement of Singaporeans and an outstretched hand to immigrants who want to join us in this journey, I believe we can build on today's Singapore for a better tomorrow.”
“A 2019 Institute of Policy Studies paper by Mathews, Tay and Selvarajan found that Singaporeans expressed broad support for the benefits of immigration, but they did prefer a calibrated level of immigration at below 20% of the population. Respondents also felt strongly that immigrants were not doing enough to integrate. Close to 40% of respondents felt that immigration issues, if mismanaged, could lead to communal anger; a decreased sense of national identity; and a fall in trust in Government. There was, moreover, broad support for increased Government intervention to address immigration issues. What might a successful Government intervention look like? I believe we must confront the facts. There are distributional consequences of immigration and despite our best efforts at calibrating immigration flows and manpower policy, some Singaporeans will be better off and some worse off. We need research that documents how immigrants have contributed to our economy, as well as how immigrants have affected employment prospects and outcomes of locals. We need to understand who among our immigrants decides to put down roots in Singapore and who does not stay, and how they assimilate over time. And we need to be prepared to grant targeted help to locals whom we discover are adversely affected by immigration, because the net positives of immigration for the country do not mean anything if your own livelihood is affected. While we cannot address systematic misperceptions about immigrants with facts alone, the facts are a good starting point. There really should not be a need for a researcher to estimate what are the labour market outcomes of PRs, when it would be easy to publish them outright.”
“On average, a citizen is just above half as likely as a PR to be retrenched. The citizen retrenchment estimate would go up if you assume that 10% of citizens are self-employed, but not by so much as to cover this gap. Overall, it is a mixed picture. My estimates suggest PRs are more skilled, earn more, but also face more economic risks than citizens as they are much more likely to be retrenched. There is little surprising about the first few points I made because PRs are often granted based on economic criteria. If our selection of PRs is good, it is logical that they are going to do better on average in the labour market than citizens do. But reality is a bit more nuanced than we think. The last point on retrenchment is, to me, surprising and needs further study. Sir, I have described a very incomplete picture of the relative labour market outcomes of PRs and citizens. Most economists would argue the net effect of immigration is positive for the Singapore economy. The problem is that the net effect may hide substantial redistribution to the incomes and wealth of many Singaporeans. Some Singaporeans will have skills that are complemented by immigration and will have better job opportunities and wages, but others may see their job prospects harmed by competition for jobs that immigrants are also highly skilled in. Many Singaporeans also own assets ranging from property to stakes in businesses. These too benefit from immigration, so it affects wealth and not just the labour market. In the absence of credible research and readily accessible data, I fear that the destructive narratives about the quality and character of immigrants that now plagues politics in many Western countries, will also find a foothold in Singapore.”
“That is actually the difference between PR and resident earnings. So, in the example I gave, if a citizen earns $9.50 an hour, and residents earn $10 an hour, PRs must earn $12 an hour, $2 more than what residents do. Your real difference is actually a bit bigger because there is actually about 5.66 citizens to one PR in the labour force. The point is if residents perform a bit better than citizens, actually, PRs are doing a lot better, much better, because PRs are a very small fraction of all residents. This is also true for the reverse. Using this principle and some assumptions, I have computed estimated labour market outcomes for permanent residents. First, what are employment rates like? I estimate the PR employment rate rose from about 70% to 74% over the last decade, compared to a rise from about 60% to 63% for citizens. But that is because PRs are generally of prime working age, where the employment rate is high in any case, unlike citizens who are spread throughout all ages. What kind of jobs are PRs in? I estimate that over the last decade about 71% of employed PRs were PMETs, and this did not change much over time. In contrast, the share of PMETs among employed citizens rose from about 47% in 2009 to 54% in 2018. While citizens have become substantially more skilled over time, PRs have always been fairly high-skilled. What do PRs actually earn? This is difficult to estimate because median wages are reported, not average wages. Nonetheless, if you assume the wage distribution is similar, a rough estimate is that PRs earn about 35% more than citizens do. But, take that figure with a grain of salt. Are PR jobs stable? The answer is no, not relative to citizens. The estimated retrenchment rate for PRs is actually much higher than that for citizens.”
“We forget that sometimes, that we should never treat other people as solutions to our economic and social problems. But let me get back to the problem of facts. What do we actually know about the labour market for citizens? How does it compare to that of more recent immigrants such as Permanent Residents (PRs)? This question was debated in Parliament earlier this year because our labour market statistics cover residents as a whole and not citizens and PRs separately. MOM released the report "Singapore Citizens in the Labour Force" in January to address these concerns. As Minister Teo explained, there is actually little difference for many indicators between overall resident outcomes and citizen outcomes. That is because citizens form 85% of our labour force. However, because citizens are the majority, this also means any differences between resident data and citizen data actually implies a much larger difference between citizens and PRs. Since PR data was not detailed in the MOM report, I will first compute it and then discuss it. Let me just illustrate how to compute PR data. You can do this at home. It is a fun exercise. Let us suppose that residents earn $10 an hour. Citizens earn $9.50 an hour. That is roughly the actual ratio of citizen-to-resident median earnings. So, I want to find out how much PRs earn. Out of every 10 residents, let us say eight are citizens, two are PRs. That is lower than the real proportion but it makes the math a bit easier. So, there are four citizens for each PR. That means average earnings of citizens counts for four times as much as the average earnings of a PR when you compute the average earnings of residents overall. There is a $0.50 difference between citizen and resident earnings. You multiply that by four times, you get $2.”
“Respondents who read a short story about the struggles of a working-class immigrant improved their perception of immigrants and were less likely to think that immigrants were poor because of their own failings. Let me turn to Singapore. We know that we are an immigrant society. That does not make us any less of a real country or a real people bound together as one. What it means is that being Singaporean is not permanently linked to any language – Singlish aside – or to history or ethnicity. We have the room as a society for our identity to evolve with each new generation of Singaporeans, local-born and immigrants, together. We have the chance to define and to work towards becoming a better version of ourselves. But each wave of immigration to Singapore has had both disruptive and productive effects on our economy and society. In the lifetime of our first generation of leaders, immigration swung from being a problem in a new country with high unemployment, a booming population and no natural resources to becoming the solution to a rapidly ageing society with manpower constraints and stagnant population growth. Like many societies, we have developed a conflicted attitude towards immigration. We seek low-wage immigrants to do the dirty, dangerous, demanding jobs that we do not want to do. We depend on high-wage immigrants to fulfill crucial skills shortages to make our economy more competitive. But we often prefer that immigrants are neither seen nor heard, that they fulfill their roles quietly and efficiently, without getting in our way or without competing for our jobs. We complain about immigrants refusing to integrate when it is not clear that we ourselves think that they can become Singaporean one day.”
“For example, she asks people: what is the share of immigrants in your country? Where are they from? What proportion are on welfare? This allows for a comparison between beliefs and reality. Her research finds striking mis-perceptions of immigration. The average respondent in these six countries thinks that the number of immigrants is about two to three times larger than it is in fact. For example, Americans think that more than one in three people in the US is an immigrant. Actually, only one in 10 is. Even if you added illegal immigrants and the native-born children of immigrants, you would not get anywhere near that estimate of one in three. Respondents have other biases. They think that immigrants are less educated, more likely to be unemployed and more likely to receive welfare benefits than they are in fact. The immigration debate in these countries appears to be deeply tainted by systematic bias against immigrants. There is a very destructive narrative of a culturally, ethnically, religiously different immigrant, who has arrived in overwhelming numbers and is a welfare burden on the host society. This in turn poisons the policy debate not just on immigration but also on domestic social policy. People cannot think about questions like welfare reform and taxes without thinking about whether immigrants could benefit more than locals. What can we do about this? Could we just tell people the truth about immigration? Prof Stantcheva also looked at whether presenting targeted facts on immigration to respondents helped to correct their mis-perceptions. Unfortunately, it turns out that facts are not well absorbed, possibly because our biases are even stronger. But stories actually stick in our minds.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] Rational Immigration Policy in an Irrational Age 5.02 pm Assoc Prof Walter Theseira (Nominated Member): Mr Speaker, thank you for allowing me to say a few words. I am going to start with a story about a land quite far away. Civic Science, a US market research company, posed an innocent question in mid-2019. The question was, "Should schools in America teach Arabic numerals as part of their curriculum?" Fifty-six percent, or more than 2,000 respondents, said "No". Of course, this was a trick question. Arabic numerals are the standard system for counting that we all use today. It is based on 10 digits, including zero. The name is a misnomer because the numbering system actually originates in India. It reached Europe around the 10th century after further being developed in the Middle East, hence the term Arabic numerals. But many Americans have no idea what Arabic numerals are. They just know that they do not like the sound of it. Mr Speaker, this story illustrates the challenge of making rational immigration policy in an irrational age. People do not always understand the things that they oppose. The debate on immigration is often driven by systematic mis-perceptions of who immigrants are, what they are doing in host countries and how they are contributing to the societies that they live in. Prof Stephanie Stantcheva at Harvard and her colleagues studied perceptions of immigrants and social policy across six Western countries: France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the UK and the US. Her research tries to obtain objective measures. Instead of asking people whether they like immigrants, she asks them for their best estimates of facts about immigration.”
“Mr Speaker, I understand that a Message from the President addressed to Parliament is to be read to the House. As the Message is on a matter related to Deputy Prime Minister's Ministerial Statement, I seek the House’s agreement for the Message to be taken now. Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "That, under Standing Order 10(2), the Message from the President be taken now." [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, "That, under Standing Order 10(2), the Message from the President be taken now." – [Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien]. (proc text)]”
“Participative arts has also been another way to engage more audiences, such as SIFA 2019's De Relaxeratte (which invited audiences to journey on a merry-go-round of hammocks as they listen to stories with headphones) and We can Dance had audiences learning dance steps, and their experiences were then filmed and projected for a larger community to enjoy.”
“Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) shifted to a more compact model in 2018 under Festival Director Gaurav Kripalani. All events happen over three consecutive weekends to generate more buzz, instead of four months in the past. The average attendance for the past two editions has been about 50,000 attendees each year. SIFA's strength in curating and showcasing high-quality artistic works has culminated in a 17% increase in returning visitors to SIFA in 2019 as compared to the previous year based on audiences surveyed. As articulated by the National Arts Council in Our SG Arts Plan (2018 to 2022), growing audiences is a key priority area for the development of Singapore's arts landscape. For SIFA, close to half (47%) of the audiences surveyed last year were first time patrons, of which 70% were Singapore residents – this is heartening and we would like to see more Singaporeans attend SIFA or an arts event. SIFA will continue to present interesting programmes and experiences that can reach people from all backgrounds to attend this national event. SIFA will also keep tickets affordable to break down barriers of entry. For example, it offered a $10 Front Row Student Special to attract the younger audiences. SIFA seeks to look at audience development holistically and explore different ways to reach audiences, such as bringing the arts out into our public spaces. It held performances in unconventional spaces such as the Armenian Church and the National Library at Bras Basah to attract new audiences.”
“The National Arts Council (NAC) believes Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) as our pinnacle arts festival, should be a platform for Singaporean arts groups to create exciting new works. It seeks to profile and open up opportunities for local arts practitioners as a highlight in our cultural calendar. In the past two years, half of all productions and programmes at SIFA involve local artists. This will continue to be the case for future SIFA editions. NAC has decided to cancel SIFA 2020 in view of the current challenges posed by COVID-19.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] Working Together Towards a Zero-suicide Singapore 6.47 pm”