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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“A recent survey showed that the majority of Singaporeans – 60% – would not litter because they know that it is inherently wrong to do so. But there are the other 40% who indicated that they would litter if they are not being watched. We need to convert this 40%. We need to engender social graciousness and encourage everyone to play their part in keeping Singapore clean. For a more long-term solution, we must start by establishing positive norms from young. And I agree with Mr Gan Thiam Poh that schools in Japan and Taiwan offer us very, very good examples and we should learn from these systems. Dr Teo will also be pleased to note that we have a "green education programme" with the schools, though not by that name. NEA has partnered MOE to pilot new cleaning routines for students as part of the new Character and Citizenship Education curriculum. However, if our children see rampant littering as they step out of the school compound – that is, if the social norm is out of line with what is being taught in school – the teaching will not be effective. Thus, we need the family and the community to reinforce the positive messages of a socially gracious Singapore. Our volunteers in the Community Volunteer Scheme do this by approaching and educating people against littering. We have trained 127 volunteers who have since approached 483 litterbugs. Page: 29 I will like to reiterate my thanks to the many cleaners, NEA enforcement officers, NGOs and volunteers. They make a discernible impact on the quality of our everyday lives. Let me move on to smoking. Our long-term goal is to prohibit smoking in public areas except at designated smoking points.”
“Since September 2012, we have deployed cameras at more than 700 locations. Footages from these cameras helped us to enforce against 95 litterbugs last year, up from the average of five a year previously before cameras were used. I was asking about this photo and I was trying very hard to identity the litter. But actually when the staff explained to me, it becomes very apparent. This person in the picture here is actually putting a dust pan over the window and pouring out all the dust and litter that she has collected over the window. We have taken a very strong view on this matter. Killer litter, or litter that injures any person, will be investigated by the Police and can result in the Page: 28 litterbug being sent to jail. We are also working out a pilot scheme to leverage on equipment of other agencies so that we can use the footages from their video cameras to identify and enforce against litterbugs. We will now show a short video clip of this in action. You can see that this motorcyclist parked his vehicle at the side. The CCTV was there actually for enforcement of traffic but, as you can see, by identifying the number plate of the motorcycle, we could also nab him for other offences such as littering. We have stepped up our enforcement hours by almost 50% since April 2013. Over 9,300 smokers were fined and almost 9,400 tickets were issued for littering in 2013. We have tightened our rules. We doubled the court fines for littering for the first and second convictions. For third and subsequent convictions, the litterbug can be fined up to $10,000. Second, we need to go beyond employing cleaners and enforcement if we truly want to have a more sustainable solution to uphold public cleanliness.”
“We have introduced machines such as the Billygoat, which is an industrial outdoor vacuum that will help make such cleaning works easier. For those with additional skill sets, such as the ability to handle more complex equipment, they will be trained for supervisory roles. One such example is Mr Mohd Noor. He has been helping to keep Singapore clean for over 40 years. Even though he did not receive formal education, he is now a Higher Environmental Support Assistant. And he is showing me in a photo here how he is using the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) to manage the performance of his team of 10 ESAs. He does so by sending pictures of the site situation to NEA's self-reporting system using the device. In general, with the job re-design scheme, Environmental and Higher Environmental Support Assistants now have a starting salary range of $1,300 to $1,400, up from the previous salary range by about 4%-5%. This was commensurate with the increases in productivity. Questions have been raised by Members in the earlier discussions on the effectiveness of this training requirement. We would like to stress that the training has proven to be very effective and we hope that the Members will give us their support. Our cleaners deserve to be paid better and be given the opportunity to do so through training and productivity uplift. The cleaning industry needs to uplift productivity through these processes. In regulating the industry, we adopt several approaches to maintain high levels of public cleanliness. We enforce against litterbugs, we encourage ground-up initiatives and we establish values and norms. First, we are expanding our use of video surveillance to better apprehend litterbugs, and here are some pictures.”
“Licensing conditions include a progressive wage requirement and training. By offering better wages and training, we believe that this will uplift the professionalism and productivity of the industry. The training requirements under the regime are not onerous. Each worker only needs to undergo at least one module under the EC WSQ Framework to meet the requirement. A module can be as short as eight hours, yet this training can be very effective. I would like to show a visual of this. The top photo shows the e2i conducting courses at hawker centres during the off-peak timing so as to allow cleaners the opportunity to get proper training. The picture at the bottom actually shows the cleaners being trained to use different detergents on different surfaces to effectively clean different types of stains. The Government is walking the talk on the Progressive Wage Model. NEA currently employs 270 Environmental and Higher Environmental Support Assistants (ESA/HESAs) to keep the streets in private estates clean. Their jobs have been redesigned – both horizontally by expanding their job scope and introducing mechanisation processes, and vertically by giving some the opportunity to handle more complex equipment or by giving them supervisory roles. One of our Environmental Support Assistants is Mr Suaidi. He has been in his job for about 20 years. Before the introduction of mechanisation, he carried out his routine cleaning works – such as the sweeping of dry leaves – using a broom and pan, the conventional method of cleaning. This could be Page: 27 physically taxing and was usually a slow process, especially when there was heavy shedding of leaves.”
“NEA formed the Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC) on 1 April 2012 to better integrate and manage the cleaning of public functions that fall under the responsibility of different Government agencies. DPC is in the process of rolling out seven new integrated public cleaning contracts. This way, we aim to achieve a coordinated and effective cleaning regime so that Singaporeans can enjoy clean public spaces. 12.30 pm To address Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Ms Sylvia Lim's queries, private estates are cleaned at least three times a week and DPC checks the levels of cleanliness in these areas at least once every three weeks. Hotspot areas are inspected daily. Page: 26 Where there are accessibility issues for mechanised equipment as a result of vehicle parking, we deploy cleaners to manually clean affected areas. Cleaners are also deployed to clean the pavements and grass verges. NEA will explore with other agencies, such as LTA, measures, including those suggested by Ms Sylvia Lim, to improve the accessibility of such areas for cleaning. Residents can also play a part. One such example is in New York City where, to facilitate street cleaning, residents park at stipulated sides of the road during certain time periods. We will explore suggestions and we welcome suggestions on how we can improve cleaning in these areas. NEA monitors the performance of cleaning companies. If any cleaning lapses are observed, we will issue demerit points which are translated into financial penalties. Cleaning contractors were fined a total of $1.3 million in penalties in 2013. NEA is also the regulator of the cleaning industry in Singapore. The Environmental Public Health Act was revised to put in place a licensing regime for the cleaning industry.”
“Therefore, the Town Councils undertake the general cleaning of these hawker centres because they fall under the common areas. Hawkers will take care of the general cleaning of the tables. Currently, this table-cleaning function is usually outsourced collective through the hawker associations. How did this division of duties come about? Under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) regulations, stall-holders are individually responsible for ensuring that tables are cleaned, and their used crockery and utensils are cleared away. In fact, in the early days, hawkers used to handle these tasks on their own. They collected their own crockery and cleaned the tables. But times have changed. Hawkers now outsource table-cleaning duties to contractors through hawker associations. Most Town Councils and Hawker Associations have been managing the responsibilities of these centres very well. However, there are cases where improvements can be made. We think that if Town Councils integrate general cleaning and table-cleaning contracts, they would achieve better results. Town Councils should consider doing so to enjoy the economies of scale. NEA's role is to regulate and also ensure the high standards of public hygiene and food safety at all eating establishments including restaurants, coffeeshops and hawker centres. NEA conducts regular inspections of eating establishments and takes enforcement action where there are hygiene lapses. However, as there are many food establishments, over 34,000 of them, which are regulated by NEA, it cannot possibly step in and take over the cleaning of food establishments whenever hygiene conditions are less than satisfactory. (In English): I now turn to the topic of public cleanliness.”
“This will add several hundred stalls to the market in the next few years, keeping a lid on rental pressure. The centres at Bukit Panjang and Hougang started construction last year, and will be completed next year. The centre at Tampines also began construction at the beginning of this year. Another five centres, including the centre at Yishun that Er Lee Bee Wah had talked about, will begin construction this year. Secondly, since March 2012, we have removed the reserve rents in our tender exercises for hawker centre stalls. Since then, NEA has awarded 417 stalls or 57% of all awarded stalls at bids lower than what would have been the reserve rents. That means we have rented these stalls out at prices below the reserve rents. We have also allowed the award of stalls to single bidders after consecutive tenders where there were no competitive bids. Since April 2012, we have awarded 89 stalls to single bids. These lower tendered bids also influence the valuers' assessment of market rentals which are used when tenancies are renewed. Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about this rental policy. I hope that I have clarified this issue. Thirdly, we have also disallowed the sub-letting and assignment of stalls. This will eliminate the use of hawker stalls as an investment. This will ensure that prices of these rental stalls continue to remain affordable so that those who have genuine interest will join this trade/profession. Ms Lim and Mr Yeo have also asked about specific issues related to the cleaning of hawker centres. Out of 107 hawker centres that we have today, close to 80% of them are owned by HDB. The remaining 20% are owned by MEWR. Page: 25 HDB hawker centres are located within the common areas of an HDB estate.”
“We have already taken the first step by allowing NTUC Foodfare to try out their non-profit operating model at Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre, which is due for completion next year. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang and Mr Low Thia Khiang referred to the closure of Kampung@Simpang Bedok. This is a privately-run food centre, which closed down recently. We should understand that for privately-run food establishments, some may succeed while others may not. More importantly, when considering the different operating models, we look for models that will benefit both the stall-holders and the residents. We are still in the process of considering the suggestions received. But as I said, the interests of residents and stall-holders will be at the core of our decision. At the same time, we are also looking at other suggestions to improve the operation of hawker centres. For example, NEA is now working with NTUC's e2i, to look into how we can centralise dishwashing. As for Mr Yeo, I think he will Page: 24 be happy to know that Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre will be having centralised dishwashing facilities. However, due to space constraints, we are unable to do so for all the hawker centres, especially for some existing hawker centres. We are also looking at how to segregate food waste, so that recycling can be effectively performed within the hawker centres. Some of these ideas will be piloted at selected hawker centres later on. Whichever the model chosen, the availability of affordable hawker food is our main objective. While it is the hawkers that determine the prices, my Ministry can help to control their business costs through fair and sensible policies, ensuring that the public can continue to enjoy affordable food. First of all, we will build 10 new hawker centres in the next few years.”
“Furthermore, working hours have become more flexible and diverse, and Singaporeans' needs with regard to food are also changing. Due to work arrangements, many Singaporeans would like hawker Page: 23 centres to extend their operating hours, or to operate for the whole day. However, due to an ageing population, our hawker centres also face some challenges. Many first generation hawkers cannot find successors to continue their trade. Many cleaners at hawker centres today are also getting old. In 2011, we announced plans to build 10 new hawker centres. Since then, my colleagues at MEWR have been thinking deep and hard about the kind of new generation hawker centres that should be built, and whether or not we should continue with the current operating model. We have also asked Singaporeans for ideas and suggestions, and the public has been generous with their feedback, giving us valuable suggestions. Some of them hope that hawker centres can extend their operating hours, some hope that hawker centres can be more vibrant while others hope that it can provide job opportunities for the disadvantaged. And some also suggested that we enhance the design of tray return collection points and also centralise dishwashing facilities. Mr Yeo, Mr Liang and Mr Low asked about the management model of hawker centres. In our consideration, new generation hawker centres should be vibrant and viable, and be able to meet the changing needs of our population. We considered carefully all the suggestions, including suggestions on the management model. We hope that some of these new ideas will benefit all Singaporeans, especially residents who live near the hawker centres.”
“[Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Let me begin with a topic that Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Ms Sylvia Lim, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Low Thia Khiang care about – hawker centres. As the saying goes, "We eat to live and live to eat". Having meals at hawker centres is an integral part of Singaporeans' lifestyle. It is where a good variety of food is available, prices are affordable and the environment is hygienic. In fact, some tourists also choose to patronise hawker centres, to sample authentic local food. Madam, I refer to the slides on the LED screen. From these photographs, we can see that hawker centres of today offer a clean and comfortable environment for us to have a meal. I am sure that we all have our favourite local dish, and stalls that we like to frequent. From time to time, we exchange information on where to find good food. So, I would say that a hawker centre is not just a place where we can have a meal. It is also a place where families, friends and colleagues bond with one another. Hence, hawker centres play a unique and important role in our lives. Through our love for local food, we become closer to one another and we also create many shared memories. All these help to strengthen our identity as a Singaporean. The history of hawker centres dates back to the 1970s. Back then, we started building hawker centres to re-house roadside hawkers so that they can continue their business in a clean and hygienic environment. However, due to economic development and demographic changes, the social role of hawker centres is also evolving. Today, there are more dual-income families. In order to save time, many of these families choose to eat out.”
“I think these are very operational issues. I am afraid NPTD does not have that ability to give you that number. If you wish, I would suggest that you file a Parliamentary Question for MHA and ICA.”
“We evaluate them across a wide spectrum of factors, and that would suggest that it is a stable marriage with stable families. The process is there for them to slowly naturalise and gain Permanent Residence, and later on, Singapore Citizenship. In terms of integration, it is helpful if they come from very similar backgrounds, if not they probably have to take a little bit more time. As to whether there are fixed criteria, again, I would say that we do not have any specific requirements other than what we are familiar with.”
“Mdm Chair, I would like to explain that the criteria to grant immigration passes as well as Permanent Residence and Citizenship involve a set of very comprehensive and holistic criteria. Various factors are involved, but I think there will be three key considerations. First, whether the applicant would be able to financially support Page: 92 the family. Secondly, whether the applicant would be able to integrate into society. And third, whether there is a commitment to sink roots. Specifically, with respect to foreign spouses, I think the marriage has to be a stable one, so the period of time that the couple is together could demonstrate that there are stable relations and that the foreign spouse is able to be accustomed to the life in Singapore. So, there is a certain time to wait. Typically, two years to six years is what we think is reasonable, but there are many other factors involved, including whether the spouse is able to financially support the foreign spouse. Couples do have options. I think they need to look at their options and they need to consider the stability of the marriage before they take the next step of committing more for their future, for example, if they are going to buy a HDB flat without considering their financial readiness. So, we do want the families to demonstrate that it is a stable one. Having a child actually adds to that stability and that will help in their application. But at this moment, we are not considering releasing a definitive roadmap as suggested by the Member, because we have to review our criteria from time to time and we need to make adjustments depending on the applications that are coming our way. Also, we would not like to have applicants artificially improving their applications to meet what is stated as the criteria.”
“Let me thank the Member for the question. When we were designing the Marriage and Parenthood Package, we took suggestions and views from a wide variety of people from various segments, and this is because there are differing needs. I think how society and the Government support a young family and their newborn and young children should not be limited to this Package. When we are talking about families with lower income who have to support their children's education, the subsidies provided to Page: 91 support them in meeting their preschool education needs and school fees are very significant. Similarly, when it comes to housing, the Additional Housing Grant that the Government has given to support young parents, especially to those with lower income, is also very significant. So, the support has to be seen in totality. The CDA portion is to meet the aspirations of parents from all income segments who wish to see the future financial security of their children being built up over a long period of time. And we encourage that. As to whether we will review the contribution rates, we will always look at how effective our packages are and we will review from time to time. As we have just rolled out the Package in 2013, we will take some time to review the effectiveness of the measures.”
“This is a journey we can all work together to achieve, to build a shared future and a place we can proudly call home. Oversight of Financial Advisers”
“I think that examples like these show that our employers are also doing their part, and we encourage more of them to pay attention on integration initiatives. In debating the Population White Paper here in Parliament last year, the Government committed to ensuring that the benefits of our policies flow to Singaporeans. We have seen Singaporean wages grow as job opportunities are created, and also improvements in the way we support and care for our people, including in important areas, such as healthcare and education, as well as increased support for low- and middle-income households. We also committed to resolving the current infrastructure strains, and planning and investing in infrastructure ahead of demand. We have coordinated efforts to build new infrastructure at a faster pace, and are on track to provide Page: 82 more accessible public facilities, green spaces and higher transport connectivity. Mr Inderjit Singh asked what has changed in terms of the way we plan. I think in terms of our long-term planning, such as the URA Master Plan, the planning process remains the same. But I would say that our population growth is now being watched closely and regularly at a very senior level, to make sure that we keep within the planning parameters. So, that is the assurance that we would like to give to Members of this House, that we are looking at how to moderate the growth of our population and we are taking concrete steps in that direction. This transformational journey will take time and is not without its challenges. As the pace of population growth slows, we must strike a delicate balance between concerns over the inflow of foreigners, and Singaporeans' social, economic and infrastructure needs. We have and will continue to plan ahead to balance the trade-offs.”
“On top of these, we need to uphold a strong sense of national identity, as we Page: 81 are both a city and a state. We have been taking steps to address these challenges. We remain committed to having Singaporeans as the core of our workforce. We will continue to support local enterprises and ensure that Singaporeans are considered fairly for jobs. We are working with employers to provide opportunities for Singaporeans to upgrade, and to create inclusive and progressive work environments through measures, such as WorkPro. The Fair Consideration Framework introduced recently will also help ensure that Singaporeans are considered fairly for jobs. We have made the commitment to keep the ethnic proportion within our citizen population stable. So, in reply to Mr Manap, in 2030, the Malay citizen proportion will remain similar to what we are having now. The National Integration Council has worked with partners in our schools, workplaces and the community to promote greater mutual understanding and respect among our people. We have reached out to improve the quality of interactions between Singaporeans, new immigrants and foreigners. The Council also supports ground-up initiatives from community, civic groups and individuals, leveraging on a wide variety of platforms, including sports and the arts. A silver lining from the Little India riot is that we have employers who are now more focused on integrating or introducing workers to the practices and social norms in Singapore. I have a resident who is a Project Manager at a construction site and he tells me that now, every day, besides safety briefings, he will also spend some time to advise his workers to observe social norms, such as not littering, spitting and loitering at void decks.”
“However, with regard to Mr Manap's specific request on the number of applicants from Malays or certain racial groups, we have explained in this House previously that, because of the sensitivities involved with source countries, we have not made such information available in detail in the public. But we do from time to time provide the profiles of our new citizens and PRs on a broad basis. If you would like the information, please look out for the periodic publications by the Department of Statistics (DOS) and by NPTD. We have all along been open to people who seek out opportunities in Singapore, as a place of great promise, and they bring their skills, ideas and investments that have helped us develop quickly as a nation. If we were to close our doors to foreigners, we will be shutting ourselves out of opportunities and innovation that are available to open and globally connected cities. Our spirit of openness must, therefore, continue, as it enables us to capture opportunities and helps Singaporeans attain good jobs and a high standard of living. We must connect ourselves with the world and be open to the flow of people, knowledge and resources. This applies to everyone who is interested in contributing to Singapore, including Malays, whom Mr Manap referred to. While we benefit from being open, we face challenges similar to other global cities. Singaporeans are concerned with being displaced. The greater diversity of people could lead to social tensions from cultural differences. The potential to leverage on growth is also not evenly distributed, leading to pressures on equity and fairness in our society. The greater density of people could lead to crowded spaces and discomfort if we are not able to plan well for it.”
“It was later found not to be the case and the citizenship was revoked on the basis that the reason for which it was granted was not valid. The circumstances leading to persons being stateless are quite complex and could vary, and it could involve documentation lapses or lack of proper records. We need to treat these individuals on a case-by-case basis and review the circumstances leading to the person being stateless. Mr Zainal Sapari suggested requiring PRs to renew their status every five years. We already have a system which makes sure that our PRs continue to have strong links to Singapore. PRs are issued with a Re-Entry Permit (REP) Page: 80 valid for a maximum of five years, allowing him to travel in and out of the country. To renew their REPs, PRs granted on economic grounds must show that they remain gainfully employed and are contributing to Singapore, while those granted on the basis of family ties must show that their roots are in Singapore and they continue to have valid family ties here. PRs who travel out of or remain outside of the country without a valid REP could lose their PR status. PR applicants must demonstrate their commitment to contributing and sinking roots in Singapore. Those who exclude their sons from their PR applications in order to avoid serving NS will not be assessed favourably. ICA may also revoke the PR status of persons who have been convicted of offences and sentenced to a jail term. We have provided information and statistics pertinent to immigration where possible and will continue to do so.”
“But for some cases, more time could be taken due to inadequate documentation, or reasons of concern. For example, if this particular person has been applying for social visit passes for relatives, then perhaps the situation is not as isolated or as urgent as it would have seemed. For applications like these, ICA would usually take a second look and perhaps could have taken more time than usual. But I have many experiences with ICA's application process, when it was, indeed, a truly urgent matter. For example, to support a newborn in the family or a critically ill parent, they do take an urgent review of the application and grant it expeditiously. Aside from immigration facilities, we also have programmes available to help couples build a strong foundation for their marriage and help foreign spouses better integrate into Singapore society. We recognise the key role that Singaporean spouses and extended family members play in ensuring the integration of new foreign spouses into our society. Family members are best placed to introduce foreign spouses to our way of life and to help foster in them a strong sense of Singaporean identity. Mr Faisal bin Abdul Manap suggested granting citizenship to stateless individuals. Most stateless individuals who are 65 years and older are PRs. We will consider their citizenship applications on a case-by-case basis. Mr Manap also asked about the circumstances leading to a person being considered stateless. It could be that this person has been staying here for a prolonged period of time, and this resulted in the lapse of his citizenship in his home country. In other cases, for example the one I have personally come across, a child was brought in and granted Singapore Citizenship on the basis of being a child of a Singapore Citizen.”
“To support the family and the foreign spouses as they settle in and integrate, we have a range of immigration facilities for foreign spouses, including the Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP), and the Long-Term Visit Pass-Plus (LTVP+) introduced in 2012, which enable the spouses to be employed and have access to some benefits and, over time, progress towards naturalisation as PRs and citizens. Various factors are considered when we assess applications from foreign spouses for Permanent Residence (PR) or citizenship. These include the length of stay in Singapore, duration of marriage, whether the couple has Singaporean children from the marriage, and whether the Singaporean sponsor will be able to support the family. So, like for like, the family that Ms Tin has described – stable marriage, with Singaporean children, stayed in Singapore for a long period of time – would stand a better chance than one who is newly married or does not have children. Where the foreign spouse does not yet qualify for PR or citizenship, he or she could be granted an LTVP or LTVP+ to enable the couple to reside together in Singapore. The LTVP+ carries healthcare and employment benefits. LTVP+ also provides greater certainty of stay. It is valid for a longer period: three years in the first instance, and up to five years for subsequent renewals. I would like to assure Mr Png that we take into account whether there are compassionate grounds when we consider applications from foreign spouses. Page: 79 In this particular case, I think Mr Png was referring to a family member of a foreign spouse who has become a Singapore Citizen. We have the stipulated response time of six weeks, as stated on the ICA website.”
“Many employers like OCBC who pitch in to make a positive difference in their employees' family lives reap the benefits of more engaged, motivated and productive employees. As we tighten our labour market, employers who adopt family-friendly practices will be able to attract and retain good employees who want to achieve both family and work goals. Going forward, we will continue to look into how we can improve the way we provide parents with greater flexibility and enable fathers to play an active role in taking care of their children. We want to help parents balance the needs of their children and their work, and we need the active participation of employers to be successful. Overall, we have received encouraging feedback that the various support measures have given parents greater peace of mind. The decision to have a Page: 78 child is a responsibility that goes beyond a financial one, and it involves nurturing and caring for the child. We will continue to look closely at the needs of parents, take in feedback and suggestions, and refine our support as needed. 3.15 pm To all aspiring and existing dads and mums, as with anything in life that is worthwhile, you need to plan and create your own opportunities. We, as family members, friends, employers and the community, will be there to encourage and support you every step of the way as you embark on this challenging but immensely fulfilling marriage and parenthood journey. Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Mr Png Eng Huat and Ms Tin Pei Ling spoke about Singaporean families with foreign spouses and asked if more could be done to support these families. Our approach here is for Singaporean families to be stable ones and able to care for and support their family members.”
“Page: 77 OCBC told me that it was in its interests to have these family-friendly benefits to attract and retain talent. Out of the over 100 children that were enrolled at the childcare centre at OCBC, about 80% belonged to children of OCBC staff. What they did was that they allowed a commercial space to be converted into a childcare centre, sacrificing commercial rental; but they thought that it was a useful staff retention tool, and a welfare service for their employees, to have it converted into a childcare centre. Of the children that belong to OCBC staff, 40% actually belong to male staff, which means that the men who were working in OCBC were also taking care of their children, ferrying and picking them from the childcare centre and so on. So, it is quite heartening to see that the men are taking on a greater role, though not quite 50:50; but I think it is very encouraging. I happened to visit OCBC on Valentine's Day, so the childcare centre actually arranged for the children to visit their parents at their workplace and give them a card, a nice flower and a cookie. It is a very good way of engaging the staff, and I can imagine that the staff that benefitted from this would be loyal and committed to the workplace. The management of OCBC told me that this was one of the reasons why some star female bankers decided to stay on with the bank, because they felt that this is the bank that cared. So I agree with Members that companies that invest in facilities and policies that engage staff and allow staff to balance both their work, play and life choices, will be rewarded in the long term. OCBC topped a list of the most attractive employers in the banking and financial services sector last year.”
“ECDA is also working to strengthen the manpower supply and improve the attractiveness and professionalism of the sector. These moves support our goal of giving parents more good quality and affordable options, both with caring for and developing their children. In this year's Budget, we also enhanced the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) to provide more fee assistance to lower- and middle-income families and expanded it to cover all Anchor Operators and MOE Kindergartens. The Minister for Social and Family Development will be providing more details in his speech on our efforts in this area. Workplaces and employers, too, have to play their part. We must foster a workplace environment and culture that supports family goals and celebrate employers' efforts in doing so. We introduced paternity and shared parental leave to encourage fathers to become more involved and spend more time bonding with their newborn. When children fall sick, or need to attend medical check-ups, parents need to take time off work. We extended childcare leave last year to help parents through days like these. Both dads and mums can use their extended childcare leave so they can be there for their children. I would also like to call on employers to do more to implement and sustain flexible work arrangements and take advantage of the Work-Life Grant under the Marriage and Parenthood Package. I visited OCBC Bank recently to learn about their family-friendly workplace practices and was very heartened to hear that they had introduced pro-family measures, such as paternity leave, family leave and an in-house childcare centre, even before some of these were legislated in the Marriage and Parenthood Package enhancements last year.”
“Many of the recommended childhood vaccinations can also be obtained free at the polyclinics, while parents who choose to vaccinate their children at private clinics can use their Medisave. We have also extended MediShield coverage to congenital and neonatal conditions diagnosed from 1 March 2013. Under the Medisave Maternity Package, couples can also tap on their Medisave funds to pay for pre-delivery and delivery expenses. I thank Mr Gan for sharing Taipei's strategies to improve the accessibility and affordability of childcare. I recently visited the Nordic countries to see how they supported families too. And we do review and consider the policies of various countries and societies in order to pick the best options for us. People in the Nordic countries have more children than Singaporeans on average, and more of the mothers are working. One of my key takeaways was the integrated support provided to parents, in terms of the comprehensive and high-quality childcare services and options available at each stage of the child's life. From the moment the newborn arrives to when he or she completes primary school, Page: 76 there are options to support parents' needs to balance work and family. Singapore already has many elements of such support. And we have the advantage of a strong family culture and networks, where grandparents and relatives also view child-raising as a family affair. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile taking a leaf from other countries and studying what more we can do to further support working parents. Over the past year, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has significantly enhanced childcare subsidies, helped to set up new childcare centres and appointed three new Anchor Operators for the early childhood sector.”
“Among them, about half are expecting, or have young children below two years old. The Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme has also helped over 800 families rent flats from HDB at an affordable rate, while waiting for their new flats to be completed. I am happy that these schemes are helping our Singaporeans. We will continue to work with MND and HDB to keep housing affordable and help couples get Page: 75 their flats faster. Dr Lam and Mr Dhinakaran gave suggestions on improving the financial support given to parents, including more help with medical expenses. Our approach here is to provide the best support, both broad-based and targeted, to help defray the costs of raising a child, while not undermining the principle that raising a child is ultimately the responsibility of the family, of the parents. This is why we enhanced the Baby Bonus cash gift last year, to further defray some of the expenses arising from having a newborn. We also have the Baby Bonus Child Development Account (CDA), where savings deposited by parents are matched dollar-for-dollar by the Government. This money can be used for child development needs, including childcare, kindergarten and healthcare expenses. We recognise that the primary responsibility for the care and development of a child rests with the parents, and we encourage parents to save for their child's future by co-saving with them. To help parents have more time to save into and use the CDA, we extended it so that parents have 12 years to co-save into their children's CDA, up from six years previously. Specific to healthcare costs, each citizen newborn receives a $3,000 Medisave Grant, which helps to offset the costs of the child's hospitalisation, outpatient expenses and MediShield premiums.”
“Recently, I met a relative who told me about his worry for his single daughters, two of them, both successful career-wise, outgoing and good-looking. When he pressed his daughters to get married, they retorted, "What for?" The answer took him by surprise. But on further reflection, he realised that his daughters, like many in Singapore, were no longer looking to marriage for financial security or companionship. After thinking very carefully, he now takes another approach. He said he is trying to create the environment for his daughters "to find love". When they fall in love, the rest will follow, he reckons. Madam, the subject of love does not fit naturally in this House and neither is it one in which the Government is an expert. I do think that this relative of mine has a point, and I wish more of us will, like him, be concerned about the future of our children and help our children in any way that is suitable, whether it is to find love, to find the reason for wanting to start a family with a life partner, or for any other reasons. We need to tell our loved ones that we need to make time for things that matter, not wait for the "perfect timing", and we have to prioritise and carve out our own opportunities. As a society, we should give our singles the support, encouragement and optimism to find a companion with whom they can build their family and their life together. For couples who wish to find a place of their own, housing is a common concern that we have been addressing. MND has ramped up the supply of new flats since 2011. Since the Parenthood Priority Scheme was introduced in January 2013 as part of the Marriage and Parenthood Package, almost 10,000 families have benefited from this scheme.”
“We are also supporting our younger Singaporeans in their aspirations to get married and have children. One of my colleagues at the National Population and Talent Division said this to me recently, "Encouraging people to get married and have children is not about numbers or pushing up our TFR. I encourage others to start their own families because I have enjoyed 11 years of marriage; we have three wonderful children, and I want others to experience that, too." What he said captured the spirit of our work at NPTD. Our vision for Singapore is one that is supportive of family formation, where employers, relatives, communities and Government support couples at every step of their marriage and parenthood journeys. A Singapore where care options are widely available and can be used flexibly to help parents with differing needs to balance their work and family commitments; where dads and mums both play important roles in raising children; and where parenthood and family are celebrated and respected throughout society. Page: 74 We know that the decisions to get married and have children are not easy. This is where families, neighbours, community, institutions, employers and the Government all have a role to play. Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Dr Lam Pin Min and Mr R Dhinakaran have asked what more can be done. First, is to help our singles find a life partner. I have often asked young Singaporeans in the course of my work, whether in my constituency or the Civil Service, if they are single, dating, or seeing someone seriously. Their common responses range from "no time", "no money", to "no right person". I always tell these young colleagues to make time for themselves.”
“Mdm Chairperson, let me start with an overview of the changes in our population in the last one year. Last year, our citizen population grew at a steady pace of 0.9% to 3.31 million through births and immigration. Our total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.19, and we welcomed over 31,000 Singaporean babies. This was fewer than in the 2012 "Dragon Year", but more than in 2011, the "Rabbit Year". Page: 73 To mitigate the shrinking and ageing of our citizen population, we continued a calibrated approach of granting about 20,000 Singapore Citizenships (SCs) and 30,000 Permanent Residences (PRs) in 2013, to those we assessed to be able to contribute and integrate well into our society. This has kept our PR population stable at about half a million for the last five years. 3.00 pm With the tightening of our foreign manpower policies to slow down population growth, foreign workforce growth in non-construction sectors halved to 3.5% in 2013 compared to 7.1% in 2012. The bulk of the foreign manpower growth was in the construction sector to speed up our major infrastructure projects, such as in housing and transport. As a result, our total population growth fell to 1.6% last year. This was the slowest population growth in the past nine years, and almost half the average rate of 3.1% from 2004 to 2012. As committed in the Population White Paper, we have embarked on a new strategic direction in our population policies to bring about this slower and more sustainable pace of population growth. Our goal is that Singapore continues to be an endearing home, and a good place for Singaporeans to live, work and play. Caring for Singaporeans remains at the heart of our population policies. In the last few days, the House discussed how we will help our Pioneer Generation and older Singaporeans.”
“Mdm Speaker, we agree with the hon Member about the importance of integration. Both in terms of our selection criteria of new immigrants, we have special attention on the assimilability of the new citizens that we award to and, at the same time, we continue to meet regularly with the various sectors, both in the employment sector, the companies and employers. We are also encouraging schools to engage the students in community projects together with the foreign students, including the people sector such as the clan associations, new immigrants association and the People's Association (PA). We believe that we have to work with multiple sectors and continue to persevere in this journey of promoting integration not just amongst Singaporeans and foreigners but also across all races and all religions.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for the supplementary question. In the process of the country's development, we have Page: 27 at one time or another received assistance from many countries. Myanmar and many other developing countries in Asia are probably on the same path. What we would like to do as ASEAN is to have solidarity in the views that affect the common interests of ASEAN. As Members know, ASEAN works on the basis of having unanimous consensus and agreement. Therefore, through the discussions with all the ASEAN member states, we will continue to achieve our common objectives.”
“I believe hon Member Mr Baey is referring to the interagency noise consultancy study tendered in June 2013.4 This study aims to provide a better understanding of the noise profile of commercial and residential activity zones through the provision of 3-D noise contours that will show the propagation of noise in the vicinity and the impact of noise on different groups of people, for example, nearby residents, patrons of nearby premises. It will also recommend engineering measures to mitigate noise at existing and upcoming food and entertainment outlets. The external consultants involved will augment NEA's current range of expertise and complement it with skills, such as complex modeling methods, that are not used routinely in the course of NEA's work. Furthermore, the consultants will also bring with them their experience and insights from conducting other similar studies. NEA has the necessary in-house expertise to effectively carry out its role in regulating and managing noise levels. We will ensure that the officers involved Page: 113 have the relevant technical and engineering competencies to enable them to carry out their jobs effectively. They also undergo regular training and take part in local and international seminars and exchanges to keep themselves updated on the leading-edge thinking and technologies in the field. From time to time, however, it will be necessary for NEA to engage consultants that either complement or augment their expertise for certain work and this depends on the nature and scale of what needs to be done.”
“It is our long-standing policy that territorial issues should be settled by claimant countries in a peaceful manner in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS. The question of sovereignty over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands can only be resolved between China and Japan. Singapore and ASEAN take no position on the merits of their respective positions. However, Singapore closely watches the recent developments on the issue with some concern. China and Japan are the second and third largest economies in the world and important partners of many countries around the region including the US. Any escalation of tensions can have potentially serious ramifications on the interests of not only the countries directly involved. We hope that both sides would exercise restraint and engage in dialogue to overcome their differences, and not allow their overall bilateral ties to be held hostage by one single issue.”
“The non-paper makes some suggestions on how to streamline meetings, develop a more systematic approach towards external partnerships and strengthen the ASEAN Secretariat. Our paper was, generally, well received by ASEAN officials and at their last Summit, the Leaders had instructed the Ministers to proceed with the review. But I must emphasise that a "non-paper" is only intended to start a conversation and is not a definitive plan of action. ASEAN has yet to conduct in-depth discussions on our paper and has not yet reached consensus on the way forward. Members will appreciate that under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate to share the detailed contents of our paper with the public at this time. On the South China Sea (SCS), Singapore's position has not changed since I last updated this House in January 2013. The Leaders recently endorsed the 20 July 2012 Foreign Minister's statement on the Six-Point Principles on the SCS and ASEAN's call for an early start to negotiations on a Code of Conduct (COC) in the SCS. ASEAN continues to engage China on the COC. Both sides had a useful round of discussions at the ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Consultation in Beijing on 2 April 2013, where we agreed to continue consultations on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the SCS (DOC), as well as on the way forward on a COC. We were encouraged by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's recent expression of China's readiness to explore a COC with ASEAN. However, we are still at the stage of talking about talks on a COC. I hope China will come to a decision on this soon. It would be an important and concrete way of commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership which we celebrate this year.”
“As the two questions are related, I will take them together. I will speak first on what lies ahead for ASEAN and how Singapore's non-paper on the "Review of ASEAN Institutions" fits in, and then update the House on the South China Sea issue. The key strategic issue facing ASEAN is how to maintain our centrality and relevance in an increasingly complex and challenging geopolitical and economic environment. This was clearly on the minds of all the Leaders at the recent ASEAN Summit held in Brunei on 24-25 April. Since the ASEAN Charter entered into force in 2008, the world has changed immensely, and change continues at an unprecedented rate and in unpredictable ways. This is a new and inescapable reality that will be with us for the foreseeable future. ASEAN Community-building thus takes on even greater strategic importance. A united and economically integrated ASEAN is essential if we are to hold our own in the new environment and remain an attractive partner for the major powers. ASEAN still has much to do to fulfil our goal of establishing an ASEAN Community in 2015, as well as implement the Initiative for ASEAN Integration Work Plan II, the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Nor will all be settled on the stroke of midnight on 31 December 2015. That is but one milestone in a continuing process of adaptation to the new environment. To ensure that we can adapt in a timely and effective manner, ASEAN must review its decision-making processes and institutions. This was the essential reason for our decision to present a non-paper on the "Review of ASEAN Institutions" to the ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting on 8 April 2013.”
“Mdm Speaker, as Members of Parliament who are hard at work on the ground, we know that these are not easy issues to tackle. There are always two sides to a story. There are always people who feel that they need to take care of the strays or feed the birds. On the other hand, if they do not clean up the food waste, it causes public hygiene problems. So, on this particular issue, I think we really need all parties to come together. First of all, residents need to be considerate, understand the impact of their actions on Page: 50 public hygiene and on the possibility of disease transmission. On the other hand, Town Councils, if it is within a Town Council's permit, need to also look at how we should enforce some of the local rules and what are the actions that can be carried out. I think that is where local decisions can be made. Where the situations are serious, as in where there is a total disregard of public hygiene and we really need to take strong enforcement action, NEA will step in and take the necessary enforcement actions.”
“[Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I would like to thank Er Dr Lee for her question. We fully understand how the Member of Parliament feels about this issue. We know she sincerely hopes that the new hawker centre will be completed as soon as possible. The National Environment Agency feels the same way too, and we are working day and night to complete its construction as soon as possible for the residents. Evidently, we are also aware that the construction industry is facing manpower constraints, and the entire industry is under a lot of pressure. Of course, we will try, where possible, to bring hawker food that is delicious and value-for-money to residents of Yishun as soon as we can.”
“Mdm Chair, I thank the Member for his question. I think we will announce the details shortly.”
“[Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I thank Er Dr Lee Bee Wah for her question. Allow me to clarify on this matter. Dr Balakrishnan mentioned that aside from the new hawker centres, we are also concerned about the operations of existing hawker centres. Between 2014 and 2017, there will be almost 2,000 hawkers from 15 hawker centres, whose 20-year leases will expire. They will have the opportunity to continue their business. The leases at these 15 hawker centres will expire in four phases. The first batch of expiring leases are located at hawker centres in Bedok, West Coast, Aljunied and Ghim Moh. These hawker centres may need to undergo renovations, refurbishment or redevelopment, depending on the needs of the vicinity. After works have been completed, they can continue with their operations. Current stallowners will be able to decide if they want to continue with their business. For stallowners who enjoyed subsidised rental rates before buying the stalls 20 years ago, if they choose to continue, they will be reinstated on the subsidised rent scheme. If they do not wish to continue with their business, they Page: 46 can return the stall to us, and receive an ex-gratia payment. They can also choose to assign their stall to another hawker at market rates. For stallowners who do not come under the subsidised rental scheme, we will allow them to continue their business if they choose to do so. They will bid for the stalls according to market rates. We will treat all affected stallowners fairly. We will soon begin close consultations with various hawker stall-owners and Hawkers' Associations, and we hope to announce more details by 2014, before the leases at the first four centres expire.”
“So, if you look at the M&P Package, many of the items are actually made available to the child that is born to a single mother. And on the specific issue of Childcare Leave, we have been reviewing the Childcare Leave, and we will make certain adjustments accordingly and appropriately.”
“Madam, I think that we totally empathise with the case that Mr Gerald Giam has mentioned, that an unmarried single mother has to shoulder the responsibility of caring for her child alone, and therefore deserves our help. However, having said that, I think, like all our policies, they are designed based on a certain set of values. In the M&P Package, for example, I will name two main values that basically have been the key basis upon which the policies were designed. The first one is actually on self-reliance and the other one is that family is the basic unit where support is given. It is the family which should be the one to provide the first line of support. So, on the basis of self-reliance, I would also like to clarify that this is where, in our design of the package, we have stressed on co-savings, that parents should have the primary responsibility of caring for the child. It is very different to have a set of policies that say this is the amount of money that the Government gives you, versus another set that says this is the amount the Government gives you and another amount for which if you saved for your child, we would support you. For that reason, we have, for example, a cash gift component of the Baby Bonus and also a savings component. On the issue about family, we believe that it is important for a child to grow up in an intact family and therefore, in our policies, we have basically emphasised that marriage should precede having children, and therefore, we Page: 121 support our young couples to get married and settle down before having children. Having said that, we are also very mindful that the welfare of the child born to unmarried single mothers deserves our attention and we have been, over time, extending support to the child and also to the mother.”
“Mr Ang Wei Neng and Mr Sitoh Yih Pin raised an interesting proposal for Singaporeans to be involved in the decision of granting citizenships. We will consider it seriously. Singaporeans remain at the heart of our nation and are the central considerations in all our policies. A strong Singaporean Core is our key objective. A strong Singaporean Core is where Singaporeans have a sense of well-being and belonging. Well-being comes from tangibles like having good and meaningful jobs and a good quality living environment, as well as intangibles like strong, loving and supportive families, values that connect us and a collective hope for a brighter future. We believe that together – all of us, new citizens, Singaporeans alike – we can build a strong Singaporean Core and a brighter future for Singapore.”
“Many of them would have lived in Singapore for a number of years before taking up citizenship. It takes time and effort for our immigrants to understand and adapt to our values and norms. The National Integration Council (NIC) drives and Page: 100 coordinates integration efforts across different platforms – namely our schools, workplaces and community to familiarise our newcomers to Singapore's norms, cultures and values. The Singapore Citizenship (SC) Journey was introduced in 2011 to enrich new citizens' understanding of Singaporean norms and values and provide opportunities for greater interaction with their local community. We have received good feedback from participants of these initiatives, but more can be done to improve them. We will review the efforts undertaken thus far to address possible gaps. The NIC will also press on with efforts to foster integration across all segments of our society. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, who chairs the NIC, will elaborate more on the Council's upcoming plans in his speech. The challenge lies in fostering meaningful integration. The SC Journey and many other integration programmes are merely catalysts to the process. Ultimately, effective and sustainable integration can only be achieved when sincere relationships are forged between new immigrants and Singaporeans. The numerous opportunities in our daily lives to cultivate and nurture these relationships are therefore the most crucial element in the integration process. We therefore seek the support and participation of everyone, both Singaporeans and new immigrants, so that we can maintain the cohesion in our diverse society and safeguard our values and norms.”
“Ultimately, what matters most to Singaporeans abroad is the same as that for Singaporeans here – that is, Singapore to be a place where we belong, that it is a good home for us, and it is a place where we have good opportunities and a fair chance to succeed. For Singapore to be attractive, we must offer good opportunities for our people. 4.30 pm While we are putting in all our efforts to sustain a strong Singaporean Core, by encouraging Singaporeans to get married and have children, this will take time. We are hopeful that we can improve our TFR over time. In the meantime, we have to address the shortfall of births. We do so through a calibrated pace of immigration, granting a select number of citizenships to those who share our values, who can fit into our society, and who have committed their future with Singapore. Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked about the impact of immigration on our fertility rate and dependency ratio. Our immigrants top up our resident population in the younger age groups where we have a shortfall of babies. Our birth rates have been below replacement levels over the past few decades. Immigration helps to alleviate this problem and improve our old-age support ratio, as we work towards improving our fertility rates. An increasing number of new immigrants are foreign spouses of Singaporeans and such couples go on to have children that will make up the next generation of Singaporeans. In 2012, around 9,000 marriages involved one citizen and a foreign spouse, either a Permanent Resident or non-resident. Children born from marriages involving a foreign spouse account for about 30% of Singaporean babies each year. Mr Ang Wei Neng, Mr Sitoh Yih Pin and Asst Prof Eugene Tan raised the issue of integration of new citizens.”
“Our Overseas Singaporean Unit proactively reaches out to Singaporeans overseas. We have conducted an extensive study involving more than 3,000 Singaporeans abroad. We are actively taking steps to address their needs and facilitate their returning from abroad as much as possible. This could involve facilitating contact with various public agencies, such as MINDEF for enlistment matters, Contact Singapore for job matching, and MOE for placement of returning students. We keep in touch with our Singaporeans overseas through a suite of face-to-face and online engagement activities. Events, such as Singapore Day, bring a piece of Singapore to our Singaporeans living overseas. Here we have very energetic Singaporeans waving Singapore flags proudly in Prospect Park, New York, 15,000 km away from home. They are very appreciative of the effort to keep them connected emotionally with Singapore, including having good Singaporean food. We see these as important platforms for us to strengthen the emotional connection between our overseas Singaporeans and Singapore. Our President and Ministers also take opportunities to meet Singaporeans whenever they go for overseas visits. This is a photograph of our Prime Minister holding a tea reception in Melbourne in October 2012 for the Singaporeans there, the young Singaporeans were very appreciative of the opportunities to catch up on the latest developments in Singapore and also an opportunity to Page: 99 engage our Prime Minister. Many who have attended these events found that these are precious opportunities to re-connect with Singapore, as well as to meet fellow Singaporeans. As Singaporeans join the global talent pool, we will need to compete for our Singaporeans to return.”
“MOE and MSF will provide further details of these initiatives. In addition, we recognise that employers can and do play an important role in supporting a pro-family environment by putting in place family-friendly work practices. In this regard, we are also enhancing the support given to employers. MOM will provide more details on this. While we continue to support marriage and parenthood, we recognise that they are personal decisions. Social attitudes and family values play an Page: 98 important role in influencing these decisions. The society at large has an important role to play. Employers making available flexi-work arrangements; bosses encouraging their young employees to leave office when work is done; grandparents helping to keep an eye on the young children; a friend who organises dinner parties and introduces new friends to one another; these are ways that can help shape a pro-family environment so that our young adults will put family high up on their priorities, and are better able to achieve their family and career goals. We thank Members for their suggestions, Mr Gan Thiam Poh on the family COE, for example, and will take them into consideration as we continue to study ways to better support Singaporeans in their marriage and parenthood journey and enhance the pro-family environment in Singapore. Apart from encouraging marriage and parenthood to strengthen our Singaporean Core, Singaporeans living overseas are also an integral part of the Singapore family and Singaporean Core. We are actively engaging our overseas Singaporeans to help them remain emotionally connected to Singapore, and in touch with developments and opportunities back home. We hope that they will return at the end of their work or study stints overseas.”
“Legislation of leave entitlement, therefore, has to be made judiciously, taking into consideration the needs and concerns of both employers and employees. This is why the childcare leave entitlement is given to both fathers and mothers for better sharing of parental responsibility, with each parent who has young children below seven enjoying the maximum leave entitlement of six days of paid childcare leave per year. Both Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Dr Intan have suggested that the Government provide additional support for grandparents and family care-givers. Grandparents and other relatives who care for children play an important role in raising them. They make significant contributions to our society in bringing up the next generation and passing on our values and memories to shape the future generations of Singaporeans. Their contributions cannot be under-estimated, nor are they quantifiable. We have sought to symbolically recognise the support provided by grandparents by giving the Grandparent Care-giver Relief of $3,000 per year to working mothers. It is never easy to place a value on the care given by one family member to another – whether it is a husband caring for a sickly wife, a mother caring for her child, or a daughter caring for her elderly parent. Recognising that care given by one family member to another is one that is motivated by a sense of love and family ties, we have not attempted to reward family members monetarily for looking after one of our own. In this light, we hope that parents will do more to recognise the help offered and sacrifices made by grandparents. In total, Madam, we have set aside an annual budget of $2.3 billion for marriage and parenthood measures. We are making improvements to the pre-school sector.”
“In response to feedback and requests from parents, we also expanded the use of the CDA in July 2012 to cover healthcare items at pharmacies, eye-related products at optical shops and assistive technology. CDA funds can also be used for the purchase of textbooks and uniforms for pre-school, as well as other related childcare costs, such as registration fees, local field trips and assessment fees. Mr Giam suggested further enhancement to the childcare leave scheme. We recognise that parents will need time away from work to see to their children's needs, especially parents of younger children. This is why we have increased the childcare leave provisions in 2008 from two days to six days per parent per year for parents with children below the age of seven. Parents of infants below the age of two can also take six days of unpaid infant care leave per parent per year. This gives parents of infants below the age of two a total of 24 days of leave per year to look after their young children. As part of the enhancement in the 2013 M&P Package, childcare leave provisions were further extended so that parents of Primary school-going children aged seven to 12 can also enjoy two days of Government paid childcare leave per parent per year. While legislating more childcare leave may provide parents with greater Page: 97 flexibility, employers may find it difficult to manage their operations and manpower needs if their employees are away for too long. Even with the Government funding childcare leave, we are mindful that some companies face practical difficulties should the employees be absent from work often or for an extended period of time.”
“Ms Lee Li Lian, Mr Gerald Giam, Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar have made some suggestions on this area. Page: 96 Ms Lee asked about the need for the co-savings component of the Baby Bonus Child Development Account (CDA). Our schemes seek to help parents defray some of the costs of raising a child while recognising that the primary responsibility for the care and development of a child rests with the parents. Costs of raising a child go beyond the costs of delivery and child birth. In fact, many parents have come up to me to say that they plan ahead for the future needs of their child. Many proactively save for their child. We agree with what they are doing. I think they are very responsible parents and they have sensible plans for themselves and for their children. The Government would like to encourage savings by co-saving with them. The Baby Bonus scheme, therefore, comprises both the Baby Bonus cash gift and the CDA. The cash gift component helps parents cover some of the costs in the child's early years. Singaporean children born on or after 26 August 2012 will receive the enhanced Baby Bonus cash gift of $6,000 each for the first and second child and $8,000 each for the third and fourth child. The co-savings component encourages parents to save for the future needs of the child. This is extended to all birth orders. The Government will match dollar-for-dollar contributions made by the parents to the CDA, up to a cap ranging from $6,000 for the first child to $18,000, depending on the birth order of the child. The CDA was extended by six years to the age of 12 of the child, with effect from 1 January 2013. This allows parents more time to save and utilise the support from the Government.”
“Mdm Chair, we had an intense and passionate debate last month over the Population White Paper. Population issues remain close to everyone's hearts and have a significant impact on our future. Our conversation on population does not end with the debate on the White Paper. While the White Paper sets out a long-term roadmap to overcome our demographic challenge, our population policies are not static. There are many factors that affect population, like fertility rate, the pace of restructuring and global economic conditions. Beyond 2020, things are more uncertain and we will carry out a medium term review of our population policies and assumptions before then. We will ensure that the benefits of our population policies flow to Singaporeans. Parliament had emphasised the need to maintain a strong Singaporean Core by encouraging more Singaporeans to get married and have children. This remains our top priority and is a key and central starting point of our population policies. Last year, we welcomed 33,205 new Singaporean babies and our total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.29. I am happy to share that this is a slight improvement from 2011 where there were 30,946 new babies born to Singapore citizens and a TFR of 1.2. With the enhancements announced in January this year, we have a comprehensive Marriage & Parenthood (M&P) Package to help us fulfil our aspirations to get married and have children. Our measures support Singaporeans in getting married, setting up a home, having children, parenting as well as achieving better work-life harmony. Marriage and parenthood is a central piece of our population policies, and we welcome further suggestions on how we can improve our measures.”