He Ting Ru
Singapore
“When our researchers develop AI system that work across Southeast Asian languages, we create tools that can be deployed in our own service sectors, our hospitals, our schools. When our companies lead in AI adoption, we generate demand for new skills, new roles and new industries that our workers can be trained into.”
“Thank you, Sir. I would like to ask the Minister for further colour about the longitudinal tracking of bullying incidents, as in my Parliamentary Question, both in terms of perpetrators and how does the Ministry actually track that.”
“Mr Speaker, while I am supportive of the Government's zero tolerance approach towards stamping out vapes, we should also be holistic and mindful of the socio-economic and even possibly psychological undercurrents that give rise to vaping.”
“With decisions like periodic increases to tobacco duties, I hope we are seeking to maximise the sin tax impact instead of considering its revenue impact. Similarly, we should be doing more to curb the health impacts of public smoking, for instance, by tackling smoking while walking.”
“Sir, I would like to once again thank our Parliamentary staff for their work in ensuring the smooth running of the various functions of our Parliament. And with that I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. [(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“For instance, during a debate on the Online Safety Bill, we proposed that OSC submit annual reports detailing the number and categories of reports received, directions issued and findings of online harms trends.”
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“For example, in our drive to reach "30 by 30" for food sufficiency, we need to ensure that the bulk of the home-produced food would meet nutritional criteria. The WHO has indicated that countries can stimulate the supply of nutritious food by creating large-scale predictable demand and making production and procurement of such foods more economically viable, and I believe that changes to our policies can be made to accommodate these aims. Other areas which are promising and should be given more attention include supporting research which is specific to our geography and population, especially as it appears that we do have unique biological responses to certain foods. I spoke during last year’s Committee of Supply (COS) about the work being done by local enterprise, AMILI, to better understand the gut microbiome in local populations. Given the gut-brain axis links the emotional and cognitive centres of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions, we should continue to pursue research in this area to better understand our own population’s needs and which foods would best support mental health and well-being, and to harness newer technologies such as artificial intelligence to bring down the costs associated with tailoring healthy food choices to specific sub-groups in the population. Employers, too, in their drive to support employee well-being, should consider ways in which to encourage healthy and mindful eating.”
“The existing Healthy Dining Programme should emphasise clearly that healthy eating goes far beyond just merely counting calories. Aside from eating to reduce chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, it should also consider the importance of consuming a variety of food types to promote maximal healthy brain function. Steps to increase awareness of and to reduce our consumption of refined sugars – which are bad for both our physical and mental health in the long-run – through the introduction of the Nutri-Grade sugar level labelling laws are a good start. We should also explore the possibility of heeding WHO’s calls to implement an effective sugar tax that is equitable and does not punish those on lower incomes. As the affordability of healthier food options remains a barrier to achieving healthy dietary practices, we must increase accessibility to healthier and more nutritious foods to as wide a segment of the population as possible. In a fast-paced society with escalating concerns about the ever-rising costs of living, the prospect of incorporating whole foods, often more expensive than readily available highly processed options, adds another layer of concern. With a global surge in food prices, it is the lower-income groups with the least resources that would face greater barriers to healthier food options. The costs – both financial and also time costs – associated with eating healthily have to be mitigated further, to ensure that the ability to eat for a healthy brain is not one which is exclusive to those with greater economic means. One way to achieve affordability and accessibility of healthier food choices is to ensure that our Government policies really lean into supporting the promotion of healthy diets.”
“If the findings are replicated here, this would further reinforce the call to delve deeper into understanding how to enable our citizens to flourish beyond just being free from physical and mental health pathologies, but also to flourish in all aspects of their well-being. Next, no discussion about enhancing and protecting mental health in a holistic manner can be done without mentioning our diet and lifestyle. The emerging field of research about the effect that our everyday diet has on our well-being and mood is one that has much to offer. For example, some studies have found that individuals on traditional Mediterranean and Japanese diets – which are high in vegetables, fruits, unprocessed grains, fermented foods, fish and seafood – experience a significant reduction in the risk of depression, ranging between 25% and 35%. Conversely, it has also been found that a diet that is high in refined sugars correlates to impaired brain function. It would be a shame if we do not seriously consider the scientific evidence surrounding foods that support good mental health and implement policies that make it easier to ensure that our diets complement and support our brains. The field of nutritional psychiatry is an emerging one. Nevertheless, I hope that we can use our education and public health systems to include ways in which we can facilitate incorporating eating for a healthy brain into our everyday life. This means eating more varieties of vegetables, fruits and less processed foods, as well as ensuring that we have adequate intake of healthy fats and fibre, all of which also promote good physical health. We can begin by intensifying efforts to amplify and update existing healthy eating initiatives.”
“The authors also note that more in-depth research is required to determine specific concerns and to implement initiatives to better engage the citizenry and, I believe, that this is worth looking further into. Presently, there are also ongoing studies that dwell into the allocation of financial resources within Singaporean families toward the families' well-being. These findings will be instructive, particularly in an environment marked by stresses associated with resource scarcity, in the wake of cost-of-living and climate-related concerns. Such studies may also prove to be pivotal in shaping our national policies spanning, economic, housing, health and social domains, all of which are aimed at fostering a holistic advancement of overall well-being. We can leverage such findings to set the trajectory of our policies to better support Singaporean families. The research initiatives I mentioned above also dovetail nicely with WHO recommendations to ensure that high-quality research and data are available to specific societies and populations, so that we better understand the driving factors that enable Singaporean families to flourish. We also have to consider high-quality research in areas such as positive physical health. Studies in the US and Europe have found that patients with more optimism suffer from statistically significant lower rates of cardiovascular disease and decreased mortality rates. While the effects are comparatively smaller for other diseases such as infectious illness and cancer, they remain noteworthy. At the moment, I am not aware of similar research being done in Singapore to explore the potential correlation between traits such as optimism and improved physical health.”
“The strengths-based approach is already being undertaken in the social work sphere, and I believe that the experience the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has here could inform more opportunities for Government agencies and institutions to be able to apply this approach to other areas of policy. As policymakers and political leaders, we should not look to the lowest common denominator and perpetuate an environment, which takes away the factors that people need to flourish. Aside from strengths, meaning, accomplishment and gratitude, another area which promotes well-being, is to identify an up-to-date common set of values as a nation which we embody. To support this expanded approach to mental health, we should consider findings from existing longitudinal research on well-being. Assoc Prof Siok Kuan Tambyah and other researchers, repeated their Quality of Life survey in Singapore in 2022 and found significant decline in Singaporean's satisfaction of life between 2016 and 2022, and a drop in overall well-being between 2011 and 2022. The authors also note that Singaporeans have, and I quote, "...become less happy, enjoyed life less and, have felt a decreased sense of achievement. They also felt that they did not have control over their lives and a sense of purpose." An interesting observation from this research is also the positive correlation between Singaporeans' satisfaction, with five out of six recognised democratic rights, and their overall satisfaction with life. The findings further indicated a decline in satisfaction of democratic rights across the years in 2011, 2016 and 2022.”
“Workers' Party MPs have, previously, called on the Government to ensure those in the mental health sector are supported in their work, for instance, by providing sufficient staffing and by facilitating financial support for those seeking the qualifications to become a counsellor. That said, we should not rely solely on the disease model that has dominated psychology since the second world war. Instead of asking, solely, how can we make miserable people less miserable, I would like us to also ask, "What is right with you?" Research in the last two decades has given us a better understanding of how we can measure and apply concepts of engagement, meaning and accomplishments in achieving well-being for individuals, organisations and societies, and that these areas are clear means by which we can improve well-being. In short, how can we go from ill-mental health to promote maximum flourishing? This is not just about positive thinking or even toxic positivity but, instead, it is about figuring out how we can support our citizens in their journey to become the best versions of themselves. The research shows that understanding and ultimately playing to our strengths, has the added advantage of helping us face adversity in a way that does not breakdown our well-being. It is why we end up finding that people can still thrive in conditions of severe deprivation or conflict. We need to entrench ideas of harnessing our strengths as individuals and as a society and use our own unique strengths as a solid foundation to build our future path forward. We can start this by helping our people understand what their own strengths are.”
“It calls for early intervention through evidence-based psychosocial and non-farmacological interventions based in the community, avoiding institutionalisation and medicalisation. While many of these are points echoed in the national health and mental health and well-being strategy as well as in the Government's recently announced push for more community-located delivery of mental health services, I hope that we can also take inspiration from the ethos behind the WHO plan which, I think, is summarised best in the WHO's Constitution itself, and I quote, "Health, is a state of complete physical mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Many of us know instinctively that this definition makes sense and should be what we aim towards as a society. Mental and social well-being does not mean just the absence or suppression of depression psychosis or any other mental health condition. What we need to consider, as part of today's debate on mental health, is to look beyond decreasing rates of mental ill-health and to discuss how to elevate well-being. Having a thriving society has to stem from a study of how we can facilitate human flourishing. It is about, in the words of Liber Marskey, growing the seeds rather than removing the weeds. I do not mean this replaces the importance and hard work undertaken by psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists and other workers and volunteers in the mental health sector who spent so much of their life working to tackle challenges brought about by mental illness and neurodiversity. It is, without doubt, that we are in a much better position today to understand, reliably diagnose and provide the necessary support, medication and treatment, for those suffering from various neuropsychiatric conditions.”
“Mr Speaker, today, many would rightly acknowledge the work done in improving access to treatments and interventions for those suffering from poor mental health and the breaking down of stigma. I also note that many officeholders, including the Deputy Prime Minister, are slated to speak and this is attention long overdue. However, today I wish to focus my speech to call for a more holistic and well-rounded approach to mental health, which looks beyond lifting people out of situations of poor mental health. I will speak on three broad areas: first, a call for a thriving and flourishing society to be built into policy formulation as an objective; second, for institutions and agencies to include and accurately promote good nutrition as part of our national mental health and well-being strategy; and third, for the promotion of structural barriers to mental health support and therapy. When we look at the larger picture, mental health is a fundamental part of our overall health. Globally, WHO has indicated that depression is one of the leading causes of disability and noted that people with severe mental health conditions die as much as two decades early due to preventable physical conditions. One hundred and ninety-four member states, including Singapore, have signed up to the WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030, which commits us to meet global targets for transforming mental health. The plan is wide-ranging and includes ensuring that member states strengthen information systems, evidence and research for mental health to better understand the needs of the local population, ensuring that data is disaggregated by sex and age, and reflects the diverse needs of sub-populations.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have a couple of supplementary questions. The first is, I think the Minister of State mentioned earlier about the importance that teachers can play in this. I just wanted to know, is there and what is the basic training given to preschool educators and assistants to enable them to recognise these signs? Is there a very general training that is available to these preschool educators to enable them to detect signs and symptoms of abuse in children, given that children of this age are usually less able to articulate or verbalise what is happening to them? My second supplementary question relates to, when we talk about training given to educators and to people who work within the social services sector, especially those with vulnerable young children, we talk about reporting and understanding the reporting framework. I would like to check whether this training that is given to them also includes training about how best they can respond initially to a child coming up to them and telling them potentially that they have been — or recognising that this child might actually be a victim? I am just wondering whether or not there is basic training given to teach them how to respond and how best to first respond to these children, so that these children are not further traumatised or are better protected.”
“Sorry. When the public officers are responsible for safety records, is there an element of their compensation or any KPI that is tied to the safety record of the agencies under their charge?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is good to hear from the Senior Minister of State that we have got this target in mind, to bring our fatality rates down to 1.0. And I do hope that we do achieve that consistently in the future. The one supplementary question that I had was, in terms of the compensation of the office holders who are involved in overseeing workplace safety and health, when there is a public agency involved — because I think the concern here is that, when the public agencies are given the fines, that is obviously fining the public agency. Then of course, that comes from public funds. So, how do we ensure that the public officers who are in charge, how do they, apart from the usual key performance indicators (KPIs) that ensure they do their jobs well and the usual appraisals, is there an element of compensation that is linked to these safety KPIs?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just one supplementary question for the Minister. I think the Minister mentioned earlier that there are some checks that are done by the agencies with their counterparts overseas, from source countries, on where the sand comes from. I just want to understand, how often are these checks done and what triggers their being carried out; whether it is through tip-offs or whether it is a regular spot check or audit? How do they actually decide when to carry out these checks to make sure that all the regulations have been complied with? And then, the follow-on thought process from that is, whether or not our current regime is strict and enough to make sure that all these things, like illegal mining and smuggling of sand, do not take place as and when our counterparts export the sand to us?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just a really quick clarification. I thank Senior of State for mentioning under the HDB PQM framework. I just wanted to make a quick clarification that in my speech, I was asking for more consideration and weightage to be given to outlets and restaurants that actually offer healthier options. I was not saying that it was not already being done. but I think the point is well taken.”
“Eating well is eating in a way that at least meets what nutritionists recommend as a bare minimum. This is already contained in the Health Promotion Board (HPB)'s My Healthy Plate guide: a quarter whole grains, a quarter good sources of proteins, half fruit and vegetables. This, as many of us know, can be challenging to do, given our carbohydrate-dominant everyday cuisine. This is made even harder for those who work or live further away from supermarkets or places where there is a range of food options to facilitate a healthy diet and can be tough on those of us who work shifts. It is also harder to address rising food costs when many do not have access to a microwave or fridge at work, which makes it more difficult to bring healthier meals from home. The HPB has a Healthier Dining Programme encouraging availability and accessibility of healthier food and drink options across the island, but we can go further. For example, we can give more consideration and priority to stalls and restaurants that offer quantitatively healthier food under HDB's Price-Quality Method Tenders framework. Sir, the continued cost of living crisis facing us has had an impact on our mental and physical health in the near-term and also has long-term impacts on our health and development as we grow and age. We need to take steps now to help hard-working families already struggling to juggle their household balance sheets confidently deal with increases in the cost of care – health, preventative and social care – so that it does not become an insurmountable burden. With these in mind, I support the original Motion filed by the Leader of the Opposition.”
“However, I note that nursing home care costs remain a significant area of concern, with those with per capita household income of over $2,800 a month not being able to get subsidies for nursing home care. These families would instead have to turn to private nursing homes, which can cost $5,000 or more a month. The WP, in our 2020 manifesto, called for there to be more subsidies for ILTC costs to relieve the out-of-pocket financial burden of social care for families who need it. With immediate cost of living pressures upon us, can the Ministry share details about the quantitative and qualitative impact the current cost of living crisis has had on the ability of households to pay for ILTC needs and what are the plans to ensure that they do not fall through the cracks and have to dial down on ILTC arrangements? A next step in this revamp for subsidies would be to look again at related subsidies, for example, the Home Caregiving Grant that was brought up by Member for Hougang SMC Dennis Tan. While the grant was increased recently to now pay between $250 to $400 a month for those who satisfy the means testing criteria, the amount is hardly enough to cover care-related needs. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] The means testing criteria is also strict and excludes many middle-income households. Additionally, it does not account for the loss of income or non-financial costs, such as the invisible workload associated with providing care at home for a family member. Finally, I would like to touch on concerns about the cost of healthy eating in Singapore. After all, what we put in our bodies will form a strong foundation for good physical and mental health. And by eating well, I do not mean swapping our national diet for the most expensive proteins or organic foods.”
“Anecdotally, it appears that the wait times for access to counselling, therapy and other mental health care have driven some recipients to private services. Alongside ongoing moves to grow public mental health services, can the Government consider allowing users to tap their own MediSave account for a range of private mental health treatments which would include psychotherapy, counselling and other forms of therapy like speech and occupational therapy? This would mean bringing in practices run by therapists and other professionals to allow their treatment costs to also be covered by MediSave. Mental health is no less important than physical health and poor mental health can lead to issues with physical health as well. Since MediSave is already being approved for use for mental health services at places like Institute of Mental Health and polyclinics, I hope that we can consider expanding this to include the use of MediSave to access mental health services in other practice settings aside from purely psychiatric settings. This would be important to assist families from across the board, some of whom need to put in place early intervention strategies for their children's developmental issues, to support a multi-modal approach beyond psychiatric treatment to address neurodevelopmental, mental health conditions and symptoms. Moving to intermediate and long-term care (ILTC) costs, while the issue deserves a longer intervention on its own, the move earlier this year to provide subsidies of at least 50% to all Singaporeans for palliative care earlier this year is welcome. Likewise, positive are plans to extend drug and vaccine subsidies of at least 50% to all patients of MOH-funded providers of long-term care services.”
“Apart from continuing to work on ensuring individuals feel secure about their ability to cope with the financial aspects associated with future healthcare costs, existing financial education efforts should target this specific point and address what families can do to avoid over-insuring, including demystifying complex insurance schemes which inevitably change from time to time due to developments in the macro environment. I now turn to MediSave. For those with low MediSave balances, the Government should offer more MediSave top-ups to address healthcare inflation while continuing to leverage its design which reduces wastage while cutting out-of-pocket costs for consumers. In this vein, we have to ensure that yearly MediSave withdrawal limits are updated yearly to reflect inflation, as medical costs can surge rapidly in a short period of time. The headline limit was increased to $500 from $400 in 2018 and was updated in 2020 to allow patients with specified complex chronic conditions to withdraw up to $700 yearly. At the time of the 2018 update, the $500 limit was enough to cover the average annual bill of a patient with three or more chronic conditions. However, we have to look to increase withdrawal limits to match healthcare inflation rates and consider allowing greater flexibility to use our MediSave savings. One way to do this would be to repeat the WP’s proposal to remove the MediSave withdrawal limit for chronic disease management for those over 60, which is contained in our 2020 manifesto. And this was also raised by Aljunied MP Gerald Giam in October last year. A third MediSave-related point is that our savings earmarked for healthcare expenditure could be used to better support mental health treatment.”
“In a reply to a question that I filed in September this year, MOH also stated that insurers cannot indiscriminately reject an application solely on, amongst others, the basis of medical conditions, including mental health conditions. I was also happy to see an article in end October 2023 where private insurers stated that they are looking to include better coverage for those with mental healthcare and treatment needs. However, the Government should ensure that this does not cause a surge in private sector insurance bills and regulators have to be ready to step in should private insurance discriminate on various medical grounds. This is especially as inflation in medical benefits is already expected to exceed inflation in healthcare post-subsidies. Insurance broker, WTW, currently projects medical benefits inflation to be 9.8% this year, outpacing the broader inflation after subsidies in healthcare, which has generally risen in line with broader inflation over the last one-and-a-half decades. Next, healthcare schemes and financing are currently extremely complex and are challenging for the person in the street to negotiate. This complexity imposes a bandwidth tax. For example, an individual in the sandwiched generation will have to understand the differences in schemes for both older and younger dependents. And if they buy IP riders, they will also need to understand the interaction between public and private healthcare for each dependent. In such situations, I hope that we can try and avoid situations where one ends up over-insuring their family in order to avoid the stress of being caught out unawares.”
“As an example, my WP colleagues have pointed out that for many years now, even before and without COVID-19, our approach to hospital bed occupancy rates are a cause for concern, with Ng Teng Fong, Khoo Teck Puat and Tan Tock Seng Hospitals operating at near 100% occupancy just in the last week of October 2023, even though the Government has acknowledged that 85% is the academic consensus safe operating rate. In terms of waiting times, medical manpower per capita, intensive care unit (ICU) bed capacity in the public health system, there remains concerns about what the tensions in these areas mean for our health outcomes. These areas should bear continuous scrutiny to maintain confidence in our public healthcare system. Out of pocket costs and waiting times are the most direct interaction that most of us would have with the healthcare system. Around 70% of Singaporeans and PRs have Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) that cover private medical care and two in three have riders to pay at least a proportion of medical bills. This is indicative of residents being extremely cognisant about the potential costs associated with ill health and wanting to take action to guard against these costs. A Straits Times article published in April 2022 titled "Having an Integrated Shield Plan and rider may not always guarantee peace of mind" warned that even buying IPs and riders may not always guarantee peace of mind and that residents might still face substantial bills should they require expensive treatment for preexisting conditions. Recent commentary has also focused on private insurance coverage for those with mental health conditions and there is acknowledgement that current coverage is inadequate.”
“Almost two thirds of the 1,100 respondents in Singapore also agreed that inflation is making it too expensive to stay healthy, whether it is through paying for care or taking measures to stay healthy. A study at King's College London's Centre for Society and Mental Health also found that worries about increasing costs pose a major risk to mental health and those with pre-existing mental health issues are more at risk. The study also found that those who are using savings to meet everyday costs and borrowing money to cope were correlated to psychological distress. In view of this, I believe the cost of health and other forms of care is one of the areas that warrants closer attention as we tackle the broader cost of living issues. While Singapore, as a nation, has increased healthcare spending as a proportion of GDP in recent years, our current spending at 4% of GDP is still less than half of the OECD average. The health outcomes we have achieved at this cost are rightly a point of pride for policy-makers. However, our country is a densely populated urban city where the cost of healthcare delivery is more easily managed compared with countries with larger and sparser geographies. Singapore's health system also benefits from a generally lower crime and drug abuse rate and road traffic fatality rate than other countries – achievements that are not to be diminished and these should definitely be maintained. But I believe that our health outcomes could be improved, with Singaporeans living healthier, longer and safer lives.”
“Preventive care or regular care today can effectively avoid future health and financial burdens. I will use my speech on the motion today to explore these issues in more depth, with the hope of improving medical services and reducing the challenges faced by Singaporeans. (In English): The adverse impact of the cost of living crisis is seen on both mental and physical health. While humans have an immense capacity for resilience to get through difficult times, there are measurable, long-term effects on health and overall wellbeing that result from long-term stress. The imbalance in the body's physiology due to long-term stress, such as the constant worries associated with increasing costs, can lead to increased rates of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, lowered immunity, leading to greater susceptibility to infectious diseases, and also has an adverse impact on mental health. I would therefore like to focus on the health and care related elements of the cost of living crisis facing us. There is attention given to the direct link between worries over costs and the impact that it is having our ability to stay healthy and to be able to afford care, be it physical or mental health, long-term intermediate care or even preventive care. A report released by Cigna in January 2023 about a global survey of 9,000 respondents also warned that cost of living pressures could trigger a global health crisis. The survey found that rising costs of living are top of mind for most people around the globe, with nearly half of respondents in Singapore saying that it was their biggest worry.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, over the last few years, one can barely open the headlines without catching a glimpse about various crises facing our planet, ranging from the cost of living crisis that is the subject of this motion and also the climate crisis, mental health crisis and crises relating to war and conflict. But even when we may be faced with "crisis fatigue", what affects us viscerally is the surging prices of things that we need on a daily basis. Madam, in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] In recent years, many things have troubled Singaporeans, especially the pressure of rising living costs. This also includes rising medical and nursing costs. Among these, mental health is also an aspect that may be easy to neglect in Singapore's medical and insurance systems as it is less visible. However, mental health can have a very direct impact on the lives of individuals and their families. We must remember that if we neglect our physical and mental health for a while, we may need more complex or even expensive treatment later on and the stress we need to endure in life will also increase. For this reason, the Workers' Party calls for the relaxing of restrictions on using CPF savings and also to increase state subsidies for medium- and long-term care and also mental care. Some may point out that this is a waste of resources, that it will reduce personal savings that can be used for medical care in the future, and also creates dependence on the country and weakens the country's financial resources in the long run. The Workers' Party believes health cannot be understood through a cost lens alone. Health is a long-term investment in our people and the country.”
“Sorry, just a quick clarification. I was not suggesting that it was because of capacity. There were actually two separate issues. Given that this is a new office, I am just curious about whether we have had overcapacity? And what are the anticipated cases, what we budgeted for and also what eventually came to pass over the last 11 to 12 months? The second point was about the two means and merits testing, the two broad categories that the Minister mentioned earlier. I just wanted to know, as a separate issue, how many cases were actually rejected because of it? Just to clarify this point.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for Law on the response to my written question about the effect on CLAS. We look forward to receiving more detailed data about the actual effect on it. I note earlier that the Minister said that the amount that CLAS handles this year is expected to be lower, because of the coming on stream of the PDO. Moving on to the means and merit test, I think we are in broad alignment of the principles used to decide whether or not the PDO will take on the cases. I have two supplementary questions for the Minister. The first being, whether the Minister can share a little bit of data about the capacity of the PDO, whether what levels of capacity it is operating at, given that this is a new office? And secondly, whether the Minister can give a breakdown about the cases that the PDO has rejected to take on because they did not satisfy the means test or the merits test, based on the number of applications received?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just one supplementary question based on the Senior Parliamentary Secretary's answer. I just wanted to check, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary mentioned this grant that is made available to producers to introduce alternatives or manufacturing processes to lower the sodium input into the products and the food that eventually comes out. I am just wondering what is the uptake rate of this scheme? How many producers have actually been granted and what is the size of the average grants, and what are the efforts to be made to encourage more producers to take up this grant in order to reformulate some of the manufacturing processes?”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I have a couple of supplementary questions. First, I do not think the question was asking for the grants to be conditional upon making these firms list in Singapore on SGX or Catalist, as appropriate. Rather, it was just to get a sense of how many of these firms are receiving grants or support from the various agencies and how many of them eventually decide to exit via an IPO strategy and then, subsequently, decide upon careful consideration that they want to list elsewhere, as the Minister of State shared in his reply. And does MAS then track the reasons why and what are the tensions between having a tech firm or just any startup decide to base themselves in Singapore, avail themselves of our grants and then, subsequently say, "Oh, actually, we rather have access to funds elsewhere" or "we rather try to access the capital markets elsewhere"? So, I think having MAS to actually understand these tensions and the reasons why it is a good idea to be here but not a good idea to raise funds here and whether or not MAS does any studies to find out. Once you find out the reasons why, it will eventually become easier to amend or to support our regulatory environment and regime to address some of the concerns that these startups will have, with the ultimate aim of making our SGX and our equities and capital market regime here in Singapore more active and, of course, deepen that pool in the market here. A related supplementary question is: does SGX and various agencies track the number of locally incorporated and home-grown tech startups which eventually, on a yearly basis, decide to list and go for an IPO here in Singapore? If so, can the Minister of State share the data?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have three clarifications. The first is a general one. In the recent years, we have seen increased wealth influx into Singapore and some of these fund flows are now suspected to be part of the proceeds of criminal activities. I am just wondering taken in total, what impact, implications or estimated effects will these developments and findings have on our economy – specifically financial, wealth management, asset management sectors – going forward? The second one is for Minister Indranee, relating to the approvals granted to foreigners to buy landed properties in Singapore and, I think, it is well taken that the numbers have been very low. But just coming back to my PQ, I was just wondering about whether the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) specifically looks at money laundering, does some kind of money laundering checks as well when doing the assessments for these applications. I think one of the criteria was also about exceptional economic contributions should be made to Singapore and I am just wondering about what sort of general factors are taken to account when making the assessment of whether or not these applications do meet these criteria. My third clarification is how many property agents, developers and owners have been investigated in the last three years for failing to exercise duties to conduct CDD/anti-money laundering-type checks and how are these investigations typically commenced? Are they usually tip-offs or are they proactive investigations that are carried out to make sure that all these individuals and these professions are exercising their duties properly?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I just want to ask one last clarification from the Senior Minister of State. I thank the Senior Minister of State for sharing with us this kind of way-out, that is, this option that is available to these families who find themselves in very trying circumstances, obviously with zero intention of speculating on COE for any financial gain. I am just wondering whether, in terms of awareness of this scheme, this is something that LTA actually tells people who ask for this, because I just do not think that many people out there are aware that this is possible.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply and for sharing some of the reasons as well why one of the approvals for waiver was given because of a deceased person. I am just also wondering whether it is possible that LTA would consider cases where there is a very sudden, unexpected and catastrophic event, something like a permanent disability to the car owner or within the family, whether or not that would also qualify for waiver of the additional levy, because, sometimes, we do not plan it, especially when we are at a relatively young age. But, of course, the additional waiver can be quite a significant burden on this household which is already struggling and having to deal with this permanent disability or long-term illness.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply earlier. I have two supplementary questions. First, I noticed that the Senior Minister of State quoted data from the 2016 Mental Health Survey that was conducted. I am wondering whether a more up-to-date survey is in the works, given that with increased awareness and after COVID-19, we could actually see a difference in the number of individuals who are diagnosed with mental health conditions and illnesses. Second, does the Ministry consider these issues about ostensible denial of insurance coverage? Does the Minister consider this to be a problem or is the Ministry working with MAS at the moment to study whether this is an issue and how many individuals this might actually be affecting and whether or not further remedial action needs to be taken to make sure that insurers are not discriminating against these individuals?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have two supplementary questions for the Minister. The first being, leaving aside secrecy, which of course we agree is very important, does ELD have data about how many total identity cards were scanned during GE2020 versus how many votes were eventually recorded as being cast during the election? That would actually give us a first instance indication of whether there is any discrepancy beyond the 1,097 voters that have contacted ELD to say that they voted but their names were erroneously removed from the Register. That is my first question. My second question is, I note that in a reply to one of my Parliamentary Questions in 2020, the Minister stated then that, in 2019 and 2016, one-off exercises were done to remind voters whose names were not on the Registers to ask them to take action and to re-apply to go back onto the Registers. I am just wondering whether we can do a one-off sweep to all voters, including voters that were removed from the Registers prior to GE2020 and PE2023, to ask them to take action to put their names back on. And also, in that vein, whether or not we can make it standard practice after every election that ELD would then send out a notice to voters who did not vote, asking them to apply, so that you do not just rely on press releases?”
“Greater awareness of an empathy for families of children with additional needs is undoubtedly growing but do we really understand and account for the larger amount of resources, mental load and emotional costs that parents bear when providing care for such children? Do we also pay attention and try to address the increased pressure that siblings of children with special needs often bear? Parents of such children are often faced with both having to strive to give the best support available to their children while at the same time dealing with their own complex emotions, which may involve grief and feelings of loss associated with not being able to achieve dreams of their children doing things that so many of us take for granted sharing. Cheering their children on at football matches or Sports Days, graduation day, or even just curling up on the sofa with a book, and which can be quickly followed by devastating guilt for feeling such grief in spite of the deep love they continue to hold for their child. I previously spoke about parental burnout and its lack of systematic quantification. I believe this is even more important for such families if we are to be serious about property supporting them. A workplace solution could become an increase support and flexibility when it comes to childcare leave arrangements. While we call on our policies to do more, I believe that each one of us can start today by showing more empathy and understanding and non-judgement towards our fellow Singaporeans who may be finding it difficult to juggle it all. And if we are privileged enough to be able to take on a little bit more in any way in the hope that it can ease their burden, just a little, let us do so without complaint or expecting anything in return.”
“While we are acutely aware that there are immediate business continuity costs associated with having to cover the work to be done with employees who are on parental leave, we must continue to look at the bigger picture. Businesses, ultimately benefit by being able to access a wider hiring pool when they are able to make reasonable accommodations for parents who have care responsibilities and the economy also benefits when we take these measures to support parenthood aspirations and address our low TFR. While the amendment Bill today focuses on parental leave it would also be remiss of us not to bring up the importance of how it remains to look at the bigger picture. This means looking beyond traditional population and economic growth models and strategies. As I said in my speech during the Baby Support Grant in 2020, we have to continue to seek sustainable solutions for how to afford the financial and unpaid cost associated with caring for an increasingly aged society while maintaining international and inter-generational fairness. Finally, as we discussed building better support for parents, I feel that a segment deserves more attention. Families of children with special needs. With latest data indicating that around 35,500 students have special education needs as of December last year, this is a significant group, especially as it does not include children who are not of school-going age, but whose parents are still responsible for their care. The number also does not include children who are suffering from other health conditions, both mental and physical, who also warrant extra care from their families and caregivers.”
“I myself benefited hugely from having had a boss and department where my team understood that sometimes having children makes it difficult for you to be at your desk in the office constantly and that a reasonable amount of give and take should apply. For us, this could come in the form of having to make an unscheduled school run to pick up a child who started having a fever in the middle of the school day or the flexibility to work from home in the mornings in order to spend more time with an infant who is still breastfeeding. All of this was on the understanding that colleagues were ultimately responsible for doing their jobs conscientiously and timeously and that we would support each other in achieving our goals as a team. This is similar to the conversation that we had about our medical certificate (MC) culture, which emerged during the coronavirus pandemic. This level of trust being common in workplaces may be dismissed as being unrealistic, as being naïve. But as the people of an improbable nation, I do not think that we do ourselves favours by selling ourselves short in thinking that this is an unachievable goal. Beyond trust and empathy in the workplace. I hope that the upcoming workplace fairness legislation has specific measures to ensure that parents and in particular, working mothers do not end up being penalised and discriminated against, whether this is for employees being discriminated against for taking up the improved Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML) and GPPL entitlements or else for having to juggle childcare responsibilities with work.”
“But to ensure continued progress, we should also automatically publicly track the uptake of the Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) taken by fathers. From a reply to a Parliamentary Question previously, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) says that just 40% of eligible fathers took the full two weeks of GPPL in each year from 2018 to 2020, with median GPPL taken increasing from 0.1 weeks to 1.2 weeks. While tracking the uptake of the new four weeks of GPPL taken by fathers, could MSF also survey and study the reasons why fathers do not utilise their full GPPL entitlements? Anecdotally, we have heard that it is a matter of culture as well. Pressure from employers alongside wider societal norms are reasons why fathers do not take up paternal leave. The Government has a responsibility to actively ensure that employers are not punishing fathers for taking up parental leave entitlement schemes and to see what effects this is having on our efforts to promote better support for young families and aspiring parents. I also note that there is still a gap between an extension of such support to self-employed parents and those without full employment benefits. Self-employed parents or those not in full-time employment may end up feeling rushed to hurry back to work which in turn may end up with detrimental effects for both parents and children and also make it more stressful for such parents when deciding whether or not to have a child or to add to their family. Beyond mandating mandatory leave days, we must ultimately look to the trust that we should and can build in the workplace in order to make it more conducive for young parents.”
“Working parents would thus take comfort in the amendments contained in this Bill to tweak our existing parental leave system to increase paternity leave entitlements for working fathers. It seeks to increase the existing paternity leave entitlement from two to four weeks on a voluntary basis. The Government has also indicated that there are plans to make this change mandatory in due course, and this cannot come soon enough and I hope that we have a firm commitment about when this is expected to happen. It is interesting too, that in Sweden with the highest levels of female labour force participation in the world, parents are entitled to a total of 480 days of paid parental leave, with 90 days reserved for each spouse that cannot be transferred. Single parents are entitled to all 480 days in recognition of the harder job that they have in bringing up their children. Latest statistics show that fathers currently take up 30% of all paid parental leave entitlements. I am not suggesting that we blindly copy the examples in other countries. We have come far in our journey to support families in the workplace. We have mandatory parental newborn leave and childcare leave schemes that have been introduced. I do not doubt that this change is the result of the tireless work of all involved to change mindsets surrounding the support that parents and aspiring parents need from the workplace. What I believe we can benefit from though, is to closely study the causative effect of flexible and generous parental leave entitlements where parents can exercise more choice in deciding what split works best for their family using the examples of, for example, Sweden described above, with its high female labour force participation rate and gender equity.”
“After all, for those of us fortunate enough to have kids who go through the milestones of a first smile, a first step, a first word, the first wobbly tooth that falls, know too well the bittersweet thrill that accompanies these moments. It brings with it a flood of memories and also the realisation that your child is growing up. Yet, on a personal and also societal level, we are torn by various considerations beyond the urge to want to seize every precious moment with our children. After all, we do not exist on fresh air and sunshine. So, how do we strike that delicate and constantly shifting balance between ensuring that economic and material needs are fulfilled, alongside ensuring the well-being of our child? This question gets evermore important in a rapidly disrupted world also facing the twin pressures of cost of living and climate emergency crises that show scant respect for borders. Added to that, we have heard from many fathers about their desire to play an even greater role in bringing up their children, not only for reasons of personal joy, but also because there are benefits to children's development through more gender equitable socialisation. Some researchers, for example, argue that modelling of gender equitable relationships in child rearing correlates to girls being more ambitious in their working lives. These social and economic reasons are why the Workers' Party 2020 manifesto called for a total of 24 weeks parental leave to be made mandatory, to be shared between parents of all newborns as they deem fit for their family circumstances, with a minimum of 16 weeks to the mother and four weeks to the father.”
“Mr Speaker, children are the greatest joy, children are also the greatest source of worry and, as a society, we work together to find ways to ensure that we put the right support and structures in place to help Singaporeans fulfill their parenthood aspirations. Yet, we also wring our hands in despair at the stubbornly low total fertility rate or TFR despite over two decades of the Baby Bonus Scheme and its frequent enhancements. Three years ago, this House debated the introduction of the Baby Support Grant (BSG), which offered an extra cash payment of $3,000 to encourage couples not to delay having children in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the scheme was extended to eligible babies born before 14 February 2023. It was revealed that a total of $92 million was paid out in the first year that the scheme ran, a not insignificant sum of money. However, the birth rate in the years where the BSG payouts were made failed to go above the 2019 rate of 1.14% and in fact, dropped even to a record low in 2022 to 1.04%. It should thus be more clear than ever that financial considerations are only a part of decisions that parents make about whether or not to start or add to a family. The amendments proposed by the Bill do go beyond cash payments to address the concerns that we have raised time and again in this House to bring in changes relating to the extinct parental leave system. At the heart of parental leave is an acknowledgment of the important role that parents play in their children's lives, particularly in the early days, weeks and months. How often have we young parents heard people telling us that the days are long but the years are short? Time spent at work away from our little ones is time that we will never get back.”
“Yes, thank you, Mr Speaker. I think the question that I asked was, did CPIB apprise the Prime Minister or any other Cabinet Minister about the facts relating to the investigation to Minister Iswaran and including information about evidence that became available?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Two clarifications from me. First, to follow up on the point about the Prime Minister's concurrence being sought. I was just wondering, in the event of an active investigation into a Minister, for example, if the CPIB then decides to pass it on to the public prosecutor, who then decides to proceed, that is, to charge the individual being investigated, would the Primie Minister's concurrence then also be required? I know this is not currently required under the Prevention of Corruption Act, but I am just wondering, given that we have a slightly different approach with the commencement of investigations. So, I am just wondering whether this will also be the case. And then secondly, I wanted to know if CPIB apprised the Prime Minister or other political office holders, Cabinet Ministers, about the facts relating to the active investigation into Minister Iswaran? And whether or not any information about evidence was given and whether this was used in deciding whether or not to place Minister Iswaran on interdiction?”
“Thank you, Speaker. Two supplementary questions from me. First, I understand from the Minister's reply that there is undertaking to be done to make certain checks that are similar in scope. Can the Minister share about the timeline for when this is expected to be completed and also a bit more details about the scope in which these additional checks are going to be carried out? Secondly, on the details of the independent committee, would the Ministry commit to eventually publishing a full report about its findings? Can I also ask about the composition of this committee? Who sits on the committee? Are they external to the PA or are they appointed from external sources?”
“In summary, today, I hope that we can have official performance indicators to more explicitly and holistically include key indicators for access and inclusivity in our sports ecosystem. Our agencies need to focus more on the fundamental issues that improve access and participation for all, especially persons with disabilities and different needs, which include ensuring our urban mobility standards are improved and followed properly by developers to help us keep on the path towards our aspirations with sports, as well as help us reap the significant social, economic and health benefits of becoming a sporting nation for all. I support the Motion put forward by Sengkang GRC Member Assoc Prof Jamus Lim and Aljunied GRC Member Mr Faisal Manap.”
“I also note that exhibits at places like KidsSTOP at the Science Centre have labels that stipulate sensory levels for various exhibits to aid parents to know whether the exhibit is suitable for their child, and perhaps the same system can be applied in the sporting context. Finally, I would also like to draw attention to the increasing awareness of mental health in sports, with high-profile athletes, such as tennis player Naomi Osaka and gymnast Simone Biles, withdrawing from major competitions citing concerns over their mental well-being. Far from resulting in the "wussification" of our top athletes, I note that greats from previous eras, such as Billie Jean King, have been equally outspoken about their concerns on this and do good work to increase awareness and support for current top athletes operating and competing in a brutal environment. In turn, spectators and sports fans alike should also be aware of how we ventilate our frustrations when our team or our favourite athletes suffer defeats or setbacks, as seen from the wave of anger and abuse our Lions team and Joseph Schooling, for example, received online in recent times after painful losses. Despite our disappointment, we must remember to continue standing behind our teams and athletes through thick and thin. I also hope that our sports training programmes with the National Youth Sports Institute and other sports associations adequately prepare our often extremely young athletes for life as a professional athlete, which should go beyond how to cope on the pitch but also off the pitch, not just mental health and well-being but also in navigating media exposure and pressures online and off, and even making appropriate decisions over sponsorship and funding options.”
“But nonetheless, availability and accessibility to such sports remain extremely limited despite the known benefits. And I fear that the closure of the Singapore Turf Club, along with the expiry of leases to stables like the Bukit Timah Saddle Club to make way for residential or transport infrastructure, will only make these sports even more expensive and inaccessible to Singaporeans who could benefit tremendously, particularly as some retired race horses do eventually end up working as therapy horses or for other equestrian-related sports at our dwindling number of saddle clubs. Uncertainty over whether the lease will be renewed or if the stables will continue to be allowed to operate only adds to the stresses that they face. Horses aside, I also hope that, more generally, we also need to start paying more attention to accommodations that sporting participation – both as sportspeople and spectators – can make to cater to more diversity, particularly neurodiversity. With latest estimates of 10% to 20% of the global population being neurodivergent, it is a significant group that we should not neglect. For example, individuals with sensory sensitivities or on the autism spectrum may find taking part in organised sports difficult to cope with because of the sensory input or unmet expectations, and I hope that parents and officials are given the right awareness and tools to know how best to cope with unexpected situations that arise. This could take the form of training officials and coaches to communicate more effectively with these individuals, to better awareness for parents about which sports may suit their child's specific needs.”
“The guidelines also allow for designs encouraging footpath users to enter cycling paths to manoeuvre away from oncoming cyclists or pedestrians in cases where footpaths and cycling paths are next to each other, including in the case of wheelchair users. Running, walking and wheelchair use are among the most popular and lowest barrier to entry sports for people with disabilities. To get the basic building blocks for disability sports, we must first get everyday active mobility design right. The Member for Aljunied GRC, Mr Leon Perera, also spoke earlier about lesser-known or less popular sports, and I note that this issue is even more pertinent for PWDs' participation in less popular sports. Many of us in this House lauded the achievements and success of our paralympians and, in particular, our para-equestrian athletes, such as Laurentia Tan, who was the first Asian woman to win a Paralympic medal in equestrian sport in Beijing 2008. It is of note that para-equestrian events have their roots in therapy riding. And equine-assisted therapy is widely known to have myriad benefits, ranging from benefiting mental health and well-being, to therapeutic horseback riding, all of which work to build core muscles, balance, confidence, sensory motor skills and are also extremely calming and relational. And these benefits accrue, too, to typical and non-disabled individuals. Yet, in spite of this, only a small handful of Singaporeans have access to equine-related sports and therapy. Charities, such as Riding for the Disabled Association of Singapore, do excellent work with children and adults from Special Education (SPED) schools and Social Service Agencies (SSAs), and up to 7,000 individuals have benefited since its inception over 40 years ago.”
“While I appreciate the need to develop specific hard infrastructure for people with disabilities to participate in some sports, we must put a lot more effort into growing broad, regular participation in sports for them. For instance, the last Enabling Masterplan reported that the sports participation rate among persons with disabilities was approximately 50% in 2019, exceeding the target that was set. But the definition of the sports participation rate indicator only tracks whether an individual has participated in any sports or recreational physical activities in the past year. This definition is also different from the one used for the wider population in the National Sport Participation Survey (NSPS), which uses the headline definition of regular participation of at least once a week. It would be good to harmonise the indicators used to better understand where we stand. Secondly, for people with disabilities participating or wanting to participate in sports at a recreational level, our residents shared that much of our urban environment continues to present significant barriers to participation. Particularly for running, walking and wheelchair use, cycle and walk paths often do not actually meet the Government's walking and cycling design guide specifications, despite these specifications already making large allowances for our urban density. There often does not seem to have any safe passing distance designed for walking and cycling paths for those with disabilities. For example, intra-town cycling paths can be designed to be just two metres in width.”
“Despite the skilled havoc on the court in play – making for a wonderful spectator experience – we struggled to get more than a handful of spectators to attend the matches in Toa Payoh. This was a point made by Rohit Brijnath, The Straits Times assistant sports editor, who compared this against the 300 to 400 fans who turned up in an earlier leg of the tournament in Palembang. It was a shame, particularly as the Singapore team comprised members with incredible stories that I believe would have been very inspirational to people who actually watched them play. My kids certainly still remember sitting in the stands and watching the matches and talk about it periodically, even today. In view of the above, sports spectatorship should be studied as part of the National Sport Participation Survey (NSPS) and considered a key indicator of national development beyond GDP. Apart from the benefits I outlined earlier, exposure to sports, whether as spectators or otherwise, also exposes us to intangible lessons in terms of the culture surrounding various sports, such as the importance of focus and balance in tai chi and yoga, the importance of harmony in aikido, and the respect for the opponents in a sport like kendo, where participants do not celebrate scoring a point out of respect for your opponent who has after all trained as hard as you have. Moving on to sporting success for people with disabilities, I am glad that we recognise its importance and that new initiatives continue to be launched, such as the Para Sport Academy last year and the move to make all ActiveSG gyms more inclusive by 2026.”
“While the National Sport Participation Survey (NSPS) found that there appeared to be high levels of positive responses associated with a sense of national pride in our achievements in sports, how does this translate into attendance at live sporting events? After all, any competitive athlete will tell you that competing live is a truly unique and irreplaceable experience, and that the roar of the crowd is often instrumental in their performance during the match or race, and home support can make the difference between victory or defeat. Yet, this seems to be an area which we struggle with. One highly publicised example in recent months was the cap that the Football Association of Singapore applied to limit the number of fans for Team Singapore football friendly matches at the National Stadium to a paltry 5,000. Apart from being extremely frustrating for fans, attendance numbers today are also a far cry from the regular 50,000-strong crowds during our Malaysian Cup and Super League halcyon days of the 1970s and 1980s. This is also a contrast against the huge queues with fans camping overnight for tickets to matches, which even resulted in a tragic stampede in 1977 which resulted in casualties and even a life lost. Contrast sports event attendance, too, to the fans who flooded the Internet and even started camping from yesterday for tickets for when Taylor Swift will play at the National Stadium next year. Lack of spectator participation also was an issue when I assisted to organise an international wheelchair Rugby Fours tournament held at Toa Payoh Sports Hall and the Singapore Cricket Club, which was attended by teams from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and Europe.”
“They also gave us important lessons in grit, resilience, risk-taking and the importance of having one another's backs – skills that ring through across so many areas of life long after leaving the formal education system. It also teaches us how to deal with often very strong negative emotions in a healthy manner. Experiencing first-hand the physical and mental health benefits of participating in sports made it easier for me to make a conscious effort to carve out time and to seek out suitable sporting activities to fit my current circumstances despite busy work and family schedules, especially here in Singapore. What these experiences taught me is that we need to work to ensure that all of us – no matter who or where we are in life – are able to understand the benefits of sports – particularly organised sports – and reap these benefits. Starting from our very young, we have to continue to work to make sports and physical activity fun for all children and find ways to sustainably incorporate it into daily life in a way that complements and not competes with academic learning. It can be as simple as stopping ourselves from shouting at our young children to stop when they have a sudden impulse to run or jump, but instead pause and ask them how they can run or jump in a manner that is both safe and situationally appropriate. As our children grow up, the sporting ecosystem has to evolve to be supportive and accessible enough to allow them to choose a sport they enjoy and have an interest in, at a level of participation they are comfortable with and that fits into their current life circumstances. And while we are on the topic of participation, we also must not neglect the important role of our participation in sports as spectators.”
“It was to be the start of my three-year journey with what eventually became known as the Corpus Terriers, as we cobbled together a ragtag group of students – both undergraduates and postgraduates – to become a good enough team that progressed from the bottom league, to gaining promotion twice to the league above in the university league tables. By my second year, I was having such fun being part of the football team that I doubled down and agreed to also join the college rowing team and was part of the first eight that year. What participation in these sports taught me was not about winning or losing, but about the importance of perseverance and being there for your teammates. It did not matter if you were out in a nightclub or panic writing an essay until three in the morning the night before. Come 6.30 the next morning, whatever the weather, you were expected to be there on the river, ready to start training, or else you would be the reason the rest of the team was unable to go out on the water. I have many memories of having to row on with ice forming on our blades, of beautiful winter sunrises seen on the river and of having to play on in horrible winter drizzle, rain and mud, and of having to swap the footballs midway through a match to fluorescent snow-balls in order to be able to see through the fog. The time we spent together as friends, as a team, on the river and the playing fields, more than the hours spent trying to make sense of dense and opaque scientific journal articles, is what I remember when I think of my time at university almost two decades on.”