Indranee Rajah
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, I would like to make a clarification in relation to two written answers on childcare leave issued by the Prime Minister's Office on 25 September 2025 and 3 February 2026 in response to Parliamentary Questions filed by Members of Parliament Ms Cassandra Lee and Ms Valerie Lee respectively.”
“Based on Year of Assessment (YA) 2025 data, about 9,500 working mothers claimed a lower amount of Working Mother's Child Relief (WCMR) under the fixed-dollar basis than they would have under the previous percentage-based basis, for children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2024.”
“We regularly receive feedback on enhancing child-related leave provisions, including the Member's suggestion. In recent years, parental leave provisions have been significantly enhanced, such that parents now have 30 weeks of paid leave, including 10 weeks of Shared Parental Leave.”
“The Government does not have data on the number of transactions involving multiple units on a single residential title that have not been subdivided. Such properties are treated as a single property for Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) purposes when it is bought, so no ABSD is foregone.”
“The Government publishes data on personal income tax, which is publicly available on www.data.gov.sg. This includes data on the number of course fees relief claimants and the amount of the relief granted. The Member may refer to the website to access the data for the first three questions.”
“In considering the duration of leave, we will look at the need. In this case, as I have explained, there is a difference between those who give birth physically to a child and those who adopt.”
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“The SAF has done a very good job of promoting its image as a defence force. So much so that many people automatically think that defence is purely the job of the SAF. Not everybody understands and recognises that defence is the responsibility of every Singaporean. But not all understand this. Let me just bring up one example which underscores it. People should remember that the first Singapore victim to international terrorism was a woman. She was not an SAF officer. She was not somebody in the security forces. She was a young lawyer, and she was the first victim of international terrorism. So the security challenges that we face come home to us personally. It is our home to defend. It is our responsibility to take, not just the SAF's. Sir, I would like to ask the Minister what efforts are being made to promote Total Defence as a concept applicable to all Singaporeans.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Minister what efforts have been made to recognise and acknowledge the contributions of our NSmen and also, since the NS duties inevitably impinge on their work responsibilities, having an understanding and supportive employer is important. So, could the Minister let us know what level of employer support there is for NS generally? Bullying in Camps I was concerned when I read in the newspapers last month about an incident when NS recruit was badly beaten up by his camp mates. His camp mates were apparently unhappy about his attitude in carrying out his duties and their solution to this was to confront him and beat him up with wooden poles. He was beaten so badly that he was hospitalised for several weeks. I understand though that the attackers have been formally charged with criminal offences and sentenced, and rightly so. This particular incident is now closed. But I would like to ask the Minister whether this type of conduct is typical or prevalent in the SAF because our NSmen are drawn from all walks of life with very different educational backgrounds. Some may have been members of youth gangs prior to doing their NS. Their idea of how to settle a dispute is very different from what we might regard as acceptable. So what steps is the SAF taking to ensure that incidents like this do not happen again? Total Defence Sir, I totally support the concept of Total Defence. My question though is whether this concept has fully permeated to all levels of Singapore's society and whether everyone fully understands that the defence of Singapore is not just the job of the SAF, but of every Singaporean – man, woman or child – whether you are working, whether you are a senior citizen, whether you are a school-going youth.”
“Thank you, Mr Chairman. I would like to speak first on the topic of recognition of NSmen. Sir, NSmen play an important role in the defence of Singapore. They are not only required to serve full time for two years (and for some of them, it was two and a half years in the past) but they have to remain operationally-ready until age 40 for Warrant Officers and age 50 for Officers. They are also liable to be called up at short notice, and this means work disruption for them. I see this personally in my work life because I have a number of young male lawyers in my team who are liable to be called up for reservist duty. When they are called up, before they go for reservist, they often have to put in additional hours to make sure that their work is cleared before they go for reservist. In some cases, if they are allowed to book out, they come back in the evenings, on weekends, on public holidays, just to ensure that their work is cleared on time to meet the client demands. This is not to say that I am a particularly hard task master. It is just that they are very professional in what they do and the nature of their job is such that it cannot always be delegated to others. So they come back to make sure that they do the job properly. I just cite this as an example of a situation that I am familiar with. But I have no doubt that there are many other NSmen who have the same wholehearted commitment to both their work and to their NS duty and this entails both dedication and sacrifice on their part. It also impacts on the time that they have available to spend with their families or just simply time for themselves.”
“Therefore, I think that when our NSmen train to be fit, they should do so in an environment that approximates the reality. I decided that I would try an experiment in my own HDB estate. We are doing an R & R. In the R & R, I am going to implement IPPT facilities that would be NAFA compliant - that means the NSmen in my HDB estate can actually do down to the block and use those facilities to train for IPPT. I have asked the Town Council to build a track. Obviously, we cannot do the whole 2.4 kilometres, but we have a track which is 400 metres and they could do multiples of that to train and reach the 2.4 kilometres. This is not a MINDEF issue but probably a Town Council or HDB issue, but I would strongly encourage MPs to include IPPT facilities in their constituencies. 12.30 pm National Service”
“Because if they are not fit, then it is not good for them and it is not good for the SAF either. Then, after they have finished their NS, they have to be operationally ready. Here, Sir, I think is the biggest challenge, whether our NSmen are sufficiently fit. They obviously have to contend with the challenges of lifestyle: drinking, smoking, diet. I am not suggesting that all our NSmen drink, smoke and overeat. I am just saying that these are challenges that they have to contend with in working life. I personally understand how difficult it is in order to maintain one's fitness. This Parliament would recall that, last year, MINDEF very kindly allowed me to do IPPT with the SAF. One of the lessons I learnt from that personally is the difficulty of the challenge of maintaining a person's fitness while he also has to perform his own work responsibilities. Last year, before I took the IPPT, I was in the middle of a 30-day trial. I was in court every day. I had to finish cross-examining and after that, I had to get out of court and get onto the track and start training. And it was not easy. If I had to deal with that, I can imagine what our NSmen have to cope with. And it made me realise the importance of our NSmen actually having access to proper facilities to train. I realise that there does seem to be – lack of facility is not the right word – but I think that there could be an improvement in access to facilities for training. For example, I know that for training for IPPT, they can go to the gymnasium. But, Sir, I am not a big proponent of training in air-condition. I do not think that we would fight our wars in an air-conditioned environment.”
“Sir, in the current security climate where countries have to deal not only with conventional threats but also with unconventional threats, like terrorism, the effectiveness of a defence force is not just about the number of the personnel or how much hardware we have. The effectiveness of our SAF depends very much on the quality of the men and women in the SAF, their ability to work together within a structured chain of command and yet, at the same time, to be able to think, adapt, innovate and to show intelligence and initiative. Quantity is important but quality is even more so. In the past few years, the SAF has begun the process of transforming into a third generation, or 3G SAF. Change within a big organisation is never easy. It is easy to give something a label to, say, 3G SAF, but the real question is: what does that change entail, and is that change and transformation taking place? Is it permeating to all levels and does it reach operationally to the ground? Also, in this sort of transformation, technology plays an important role. We buy weapons and systems from abroad. But are we also developing our own systems and equipment for the 3G SAF? What is the status of our defence technology? I would be grateful if the Minister could let us know whether we are using part of the defence budget to invest in defence technology and R&D to enhance the capability of a 3G SAF. Fitness Sir, I move on now to my next cut on fitness. I wish to ask the Minister about the fitness of our NSmen on two aspects. Whilst they are doing NS, they are fine, they have to be fit – no choice. But before they start NS, how fit are they when they come before they start to do Basic Military Training (BMT)? Are they properly pre-conditioned before they start their BMT?”
“Sir, terrorism remains one of our biggest security challenges today and the problem is that terrorists are constantly looking for new ways and methods to wreak havoc and destruction and to inflict maximum damage on civilian populations. It seems as though the security forces are always playing a catch-up game. In 2001, it was the use of airplanes to crash into buildings. So we had to take measures for airport security checks. We had to worry about air defence. In 2002, there was the plot to plant a bomb at the Yishun MRT. So we strengthened measures at the MRT. In 2003, we had the Bali bombings. So we had to take measures at Holland Village as well as at other soft targets, like pubs and nightclubs. Then there were the hotel bombings. So we had to take measures at our hotels as well. And, most recently, last year, there were terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and the ease with which the terrorists took over the hotels was quite dismaying, and it raises the question of whether a similar incident like that could occur here in Singapore. I would like to ask the Minister, firstly, what is the SAF's preparedness to deal with unconventional threats like terrorist attacks? Secondly, what are the implications of the Mumbai terrorist attacks for us, and whether there are any lessons for the SAF arising from that particular incident? I noted, for example, there were three security heads in India travelling in the same vehicle. When the terrorists took out that vehicle, there was a loss of command as a result. The Mumbai attacks also emphasised the fact that an urban engagement with terrorists is a very real possibility. I would like to ask the Minister how prepared are we for urban warfare, in terms of training, equipment and facilities?”
“Whenever we have this kind of potential vacuum, we know that nature abhors a vacuum. Vacuums tend to lead to instability. I would like to ask the Minister for his assessment of what our current security challenges are in the face of this backdrop of a global economic crisis as well as the potential security challenges that the world faces. It seems as though there are these momentous events that are shaping the world and Singapore, a small little red dot, is right in the middle of it, too small to make a huge impact on the scale of world events but, at the same time, in a position where we will be affected by whatever happens. We obviously need to be ready. We obviously need to know what our challenges are. We need to know what we can do to protect our own sovereignty and our own security. I would like to ask the Minister what he thinks the security architecture is currently, both globally as well as for the region, and to give his assessment on what he thinks Singapore can and should do given this environment.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head J of the Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, right now, the world does not appear to be a very safe place. September 11th, 2001 marked the beginning of a new era in which we saw a rapid deterioration of global safety and security. Since that time, we have seen the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the after-shocks of September 11th have spilled over to the region, and now we have to be constantly on the alert for potential terrorist threats. We are also right now in the middle of a global financial crisis. And history has shown that whenever there are severe economic problems, this is often followed by political problems and instability. Political instability, in turn, often leads to problems in security if a Government loses the ability to lead strongly and firmly. The United States, once regarded as a leader in the unipolar world, is now preoccupied with its own domestic issues. The Obama Administration is focused on the herculean task of pulling the US economy out of its present quagmire. Iran and Afghanistan are still problem areas, and there is tension between India and Pakistan arising out of the recent Mumbai attacks. Europe is preoccupied as well with the global financial crisis. In the midst of all these, we have China which is still, as yet, an unknown factor on the global security scene. ASEAN, meanwhile, remains the foremost regional grouping, but our ASEAN neighbours also have their own domestic issues to attend to as well as the challenges posed by the current credit crunch. So it appears as though the world is very much in a state of flux right now, and it seems as if the tides of change are lapping at our shores.”
“Mr Chairman, I would like to raise the issue of child protection. Young children are vulnerable. Ordinarily, one would expect them to be cared for and protected by their families. Yet this is not always the case and we have seen instances where there has been a total dereliction of familial and parental responsibility, and an abuse of the trust that the child is entitled to repose in a parent or an adult. There have been instances of physical abuse of children. Children are often the victims of domestic violence especially where the parents have matrimonial problems. Because the child is young and defenceless, it is easy for an adult to take out his or her anger, aggression and frustration on the child. There are also cases, we have read about in the newspapers, of incest or other forms of sexual abuse, either by a parent, relative or other adult who stands in a relationship of trust towards the child. In some cases, the abuse is not physical but it is emotional or verbal. The children are often not in a position to articulate the abuse. And even if they are old enough to do so, not many know that they can and should voice out such problems, nor do they even know with whom such matters can be raised. I would like to ask the Minister what protections are in place for children who are the subject of such abuse, what kind of intervention the Ministry undertakes when such cases are brought to its attention, and what more can be done to ensure the protection of children. Also, is there any form of specialised counselling for children who have been the victims of abuse as different types of abuse require different counselling and treatment?”
“Mr Chairman, I understand that there is no compulsory sports CCA for polytechnic students. I am concerned that as a result, male polytechnic students may not be sufficiently pre-conditioned for National Service. I will be querying MINDEF on the physical fitness of our NSmen but in fairness to MINDEF, I should start at source, which is the educational institutions from which our NSmen are drawn. The sudden deaths of two NSmen reported last year raised questions about the physical fitness of our young men. As it transpired, those two particular deaths were due to specific causes and not to undetected pre-existing conditions. Nevertheless, questions were raised as to whether our young people are getting less fit due to our urban lifestyle and fast food culture. We need an SAF that is physically fit and that process begins in school even before the young men commence NS. Lest there be any concern that this cut is not gender equal, let me say that my concern applies equally to girls as well as to boys who may not have to do NS but still can do physical activity. It is medically accepted that exercise is beneficial to health and those who exercise and are physically active generally have a lower risk of disease and health problems. The exercise habit needs to be inculcated at an early age for both male and female Singaporeans and making sports or physical CCA compulsory in polytechnics will facilitate that process. Sir, I wish to ask the Ministry if it will consider making sports CCA compulsory for polytechnics.”
“Mr Chairman, I would like to thank the Minister for his very comprehensive replies to our questions, which have given us a deeper insight to Singapore's foreign relations. And since he has mentioned that the world is in disarray and it appears that his Ministry has its work cut out for it, we wish the Ministry the very best as well. Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $367,261,400 for Head N ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $80,000,000 for Head N ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head T – Ministry of National Development”
“Mr Chairman, I would also like to ask the Minister for an update of our relationship with US, China, India and Japan. The US has a new administration. Singapore has had a good relationship with the former Bush Administration, and under that Administration, we saw the strengthening of Singapore-US ties, including the signing of US-Singapore FTA. Does the Minister foresee any significant change in our relationship with the US under the Obama Administration? The "Buy American" clause in the proposed US$800 billion package has attracted some criticisms from the European Union and has prompted President Obama to indicate that he would review the clause. Do we anticipate that the US is now likely to be more protectionist in terms of trade and, if so, will that affect Singapore? Also, how does he see our bilateral relationships with China and India panning out this year? What are our challenges with these two countries and what plans do we have for engagement? Finally, could the Minister update us on Japan and our relationship with Japan, as it is our sixth largest trading partner? Singapore-US Relations”
“Mr Chairman, Singapore assumes the Chairmanship of APEC this year. This presents us with a unique opportunity to engage APEC partners and play an important role in Asia-Pacific cooperation. Could the Minister update this Parliament on what Singapore's plans for APEC are this year, and how we intend to contribute towards building a stronger APEC? Could the Minister also comment on APEC's overall vision of reducing trade barriers and promoting cross-border investments? In the current global economic environment, is it the automatic tendency of countries to gravitate towards projecting domestic markets? But Singapore's approach has always been one of free trade. Could the Minister expand on what efforts Singapore will be making to promote free trade, both as a member as well as Chairman of APEC? And so far, we have entered into a number of bilateral free trade agreements. Could the Minister update us on recent ones and also indicate if we have plans to enter into more free trade agreements and, if so, with which countries?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head N of the Estimates be reduced by $100. Mr Chairman, we are in the midst of what has been described as the worst financial crisis that the world has ever seen. No country has been left unaffected, mostly the countries in Southeast Asia and in the region. Economic crises inevitably have a political impact. Could the Minister give us his view on what impact the financial global crisis has had on the countries in the region in political terms, and whether he thinks that this will affect Singapore's relationship with our regional neighbours? Could the Minister also update us on ASEAN? There continues to be question marks in ASEAN's effectiveness as a regional grouping, both in terms of its direction and its ability to enforce collective decisions. If ASEAN wishes to maintain its credibility, then it must demonstrate its relevance to the evolving regional architecture. I would also like to ask the Minister to tell us what progress ASEAN has made in the past year and what progress he thinks it is likely to make in this year and what is ASEAN's key priorities. Also, what is the current state of play with respect to the ASEAN Charter? Are its provisions being implemented? There has also been much talk of ASEAN integration of an ASEAN community. The general feeling, however, is that while member countries are friendly, we have not yet reached the stage where there is a distinct identity as an ASEAN community. Could the Minister comment on what efforts have been made towards ASEAN community building? ASEAN Integration”
“Mr Chairman, I would like to raise the issue of responsible media reporting in the event of a terrorist attack. My concern is prompted by what happened in India during the terrorist attacks on the two hotels in Mumbai. As this Parliament will recall, the terrorists took over two hotels. Whilst some people were taken hostage, there were others who were in hiding, awaiting the opportunity to escape. Those in hiding presumably managed to get word out that they were safe. And during the attacks, there was extensive media coverage of what was happening. The Indian media apparently managed to obtain information of the fact that some people were in hiding and of their whereabouts and published this as part of the news. This obviously endangered those people and alerted the terrorists to the fact that there were other potential hostages to be taken. There was also extensive media coverage when the security forces and commandos began the counter-attack and rescue operations. This gave the public a blow-by-blow account of the operations while the operations were ongoing. But, unfortunately, since terrorists and their handlers also watched TV and read the newspapers, it meant that they got the same information too, which endangered the lives, not only of the hostages but of the security personnel as well. Therefore, I would like to ask the Minister for Home Affairs what measures MHA is taking to ensure responsible media reporting in the event of a terrorist attack in Singapore, because whilst the media has the responsibility to inform the public of what is happening, this has to be balanced against putting innocent lives at risk. Emergency Preparedness”
“It is because of the way the debate has been presented. The criticisms of the Jobs Credit Scheme which have come from Mr Low, Ms Lim and yesterday, Mr Siew Kum Hong, are that they believe the objective is not met because demand is not stimulated. In other words, Jobs Credit and some of the other schemes stimulate or help the supply part, but helping the supply will not make a difference if we do not boost the demand. And I thought that was not entirely accurate or fair, because this Budget does look at demand. There is the expansion and acceleration of public sector infrastructure spending. That is boosting demand. There is development of the neighbourhoods and suburban nodes. That is boosting demand because we are creating a demand for services. Education, healthcare and the fact that the Government is actually doing recruitment for about 18,000 jobs, that helps with demand. I do not think that we can expect the Government to provide all of the demands that are necessary, but there is a balance. And that is why I think it is a bit of a ying-yang Budget, because we have the part that helps the supply, but we also have aspects of the Budget that helps with demand. Sir, with that, I would like to commend the Government on this Budget because it has been a very thoughtful Budget and, obviously, a great deal of care has been taken into it. It is not a Budget where it is a one-sided thing where one party, the Government, is supposed to pump everything in. It is a Budget that recognises different segments of Singapore have different responsibilities, and this is a challenge that needs the required effort of all segments of Singapore. Sir, I support the Budget. 2.48 pm”
“This challenge that we face is a challenge that has to be met by every segment of Singapore – Government, employer, employee. Government provides the subsidy. Employers should be creative and thoughtful about the way that they use the money from the Jobs Credit. Employees should be willing to accept either flexible working hours or perhaps wage freeze. Their expectation should not be as high as they were before. But the important thing is that for us, as Singaporeans, we meet this challenge together, each one playing a role, just like the banks have a role to play as well because they should ease up on giving credit. One cannot expect that they abandon the principles of risk assessment, but they too have a part to play. Everybody has his role, and we should all pitch in. One question I have for the Minister is how the Ministry of Finance may deal with abuse of the Jobs Credit Scheme. Last night, I was having a Chinese New Year dinner with my grassroots leaders and I asked them what was the feedback on the ground, particularly with respect to this scheme. One of them said that someone had asked him this question, "Supposing I have two companies, and I have one employee who is paid $4,000. Then maybe if I split his job and I put him in one company and pay him $2,500. Then I give him another job in the other company and I pay him $1,500. Do I then get two Jobs Credit?" I was thinking, at least, we have not lost our sense of creativity in these times. So, things like that may crop up. I want to ask the Minister how the Ministry of Finance will actually view a situation like this and other possible abuses of the Jobs Credit Scheme. Let me now also touch on why I say there is a touch of traditional Chinese medicine in this year's Budget.”
“For businesses that are doing all right, it is not to say that the Jobs Credit would not help them because every business at the start of its year does its projections for its budget. If it feels that it can still make a profit but has to trim, it may take the decision to trim and cut jobs in order to maintain a certain level of profit. But if it knows there is assistance coming by way of Jobs Credit, it may actually make a difference in their decision to keep some of the jobs, retain those jobs and help workers. So that is why I say that it is like a shot of vitamin C. I also considered the suggestion that was in the newspapers today – that instead of having something like Jobs Credit, I want to put wage subsidies directly into the workers' CPF account and reduce the employers' CPF contribution correspondingly. But having thought about it, I would not agree with that suggestion. If we reduce the CPF rate, then there is no need to pay that portion that has been reduced; so why would the Government be paying that portion? But on the other hand, if we retain the rate and then we say the Government should pay a certain portion of it, what we are really doing is that we are transferring the responsibility to paying CPF to the Government instead of the employer, which is again not right. And it absolves the employer from the responsibility of paying CPF. I thought that it is actually important that the employer remains part of the solution to saving jobs because, in Singapore, we have the unique tripartite relationship of Government, employer, employee. If we just do it straight as a subsidy from the Government into the employee's CPF account, that leaves the employer out of the equation, and it is just too easy.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join the debate on the Budget Statement. There have been many medical analogies produced in the course of today's debate. I am afraid I am about to add to them. One of the ways I would describe this Budget is, I see it as the vitamin C budget but with a touch of traditional Chinese medicine. And the reason why I say that is this – vitamin C, as Members know, is a powerful antioxidant. It helps boost resistance to fight infections, flu and cold. This global financial crisis was triggered by events in the US. The US sneezed and everybody else is catching the flu, and we are not immune. The question is, what can we do to defend against it, and I think that the Jobs Credit Scheme, the SRI and many of the other measures that have been taken are very much like a shot of vitamin C. How vitamin C actually works on a person depends a lot on his inherent constitution. If his resistance is low, it is not going to save him; he is going to catch the flu anyway. If his resistance is just about all right but he could be affected, vitamin C will make quite a lot of difference. And if his resistance is really high, well, it may not make a big difference but there is still a lot he can do with it in the system. So, similarly, Jobs Credit is not going to save companies which are fundamentally unsound. They are going to go under anyway, and it is not right that they should ultimately have taxpayers' monies to prop up companies which are unsound and not viable. But there are many other companies which are viable but for them cashflow is an issue and some injection of funds or subsidy, like the Jobs Credit Scheme, will make a big difference and will help to save jobs.”
“Sir, may I seek a clarification from the Member on that particular statement as to why he doubts it would save jobs? The Jobs Credit Scheme is to encourage the employer to retain employees. By retaining the employees, it will save jobs and thereby achieve the stated objective of saving jobs. Can the Member explain why he thinks it will not achieve the stated objective of saving jobs?”
“In order to be effective, our security agencies cannot proceed on the assumption that nothing will go wrong. Instead they should proceed on the assumption that if something can go wrong, it will. This mental robustness is something that needs to be addressed, and quickly. I would urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to look into this aspect.”
“He again acted on an assumption – he assumed that whoever was on the other side of the door would be a person who was allowed to come through. Again, the antenna for danger was not up. In the case of the immigration lapse, Mr Ang, the passenger, cleared all the security checks, he cleared the airline counter, he got past the CISCO officer, he then ran into problems at the ICA counter because he was not able to clear his fingerprint scan at the Immigration Automated Clearance System. The immigration officer then directed him to a lane for manual clearance. Once again, the failure here was an assumption rather than asking why the system was rejecting the scan. The immigration officer proceeded on the assumption that the person in front of him was the right person and that the machine must therefore be wrong. He ignored the red flag when it went up. Mr Speaker, Sir, in the security arena, two factors are of critical importance – the system and the people – and these particular instances were not incidents of the system failure or failure in SOP. It is not about the system. This was about the quality and robustness of the mental attitude of our security personnel. The lack of alertness and sense of danger appears to be a result of living in a society which has been safe and secure for so long and which there has been no major security disaster. In fact, it is the success of very good work done by the Ministry of Home Affairs that, in a sense, has perhaps led to our sense of infallibility and a certain softness and complacency appear to be creeping into our mindset. Ironically, however, it is when our security officers feel most secure that we are the least secure.”
“He apparently did this because he assumed that the urinal cubicle was a secure facility and that Mas Selamat could not escape from the Detention Centre. So the Superintendent was lax because he assumed that the guard would do his job and the guard was lax because he assumed that the Superintendent would do his job. Then there is also the question of delay caused by hesitation. When the first guard felt that Mas Selamat had taken too long, he referred the matter to a fellow guard. This officer in turn turned to the Special Duty Operative of the STO. She in turn hesitated to break down the toilet door because it was a male toilet, so she referred it to the Assistant Case Officer who eventually took a decision. Throughout the series of hesitations, however, it was indicated that at no time did the guard or the STO become concerned that Mas Selamat was taking too long because he did not think that he might have escaped. So, again, there was another assumption. Now, the Subordinate Courts' case. In that case, the first failure was on the part of the policeman who obliged when one of the detainees asked for water. The policeman opened the door to give the prisoner a cup of water which was a breach of procedure. No doubt he was trying to be helpful but, again, there appeared to have been a failure to appreciate the potential danger in coming into close proximity to prisoners that way. He assumed that the prisoners would be cooperative and well behaved. And having got out of the cell, the two detainees got out of the building because of a second failure, and this was the failure of the policeman or security officer who did not look up to check the CCTV when the two escapees buzzed for the door to open.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Dr Teo Ho Pin has highlighted three areas for improvement. I would like to highlight one more which is the need to increase the robustness of the mindset of our security personnel and for them to improve upon, what I would call, an antenna for danger. The Ministry of Home Affairs had indicated that the lapses occurred as a result of human error and security personnel not following procedure. If it was the case of just one incident caused by an error on the part of one individual, there would be less cause for concern. However, what we have seen in recent months is a series of several errors committed by several individuals across three different departments. That seems to me to be an indication of a wider problem. So the deeper question we have to ask is: what were the cause of these errors on the part of these individuals? It seems to me that if we analyse the underlying causes of each of these incidents, it would be seen that there is a common thread that runs through each incident and, that is, that the individual in question all acted on the assumption that nothing would go wrong. Let us take the Mas Selamat's incident first. The first failure was on the part of the Superintendent of the Detention Centre who thought that sawing off the handle of the ventilation window was sufficient as a security measure to prevent him escape. In the Minister's Report in the COI findings, it was reported that the Superintendent thought that this measure would be adequate because he assumed that the guards would always have sight of the detainee. The second failure though was the failure by the guard to keep Mas Selamat in his line of sight. He allowed Mas Selamat to close the urinal cubicle door.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $10,473,000,000 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $330,000,000 for Head J ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head L – Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources”
“Sir, I would like to thank the Minister, the Second Minister for Defence and the Minister of State for Defence for their very comprehensive replies to the questions of the Members of this House. May I just conclude with a clarification to the Second Minister for Defence? With respect to the outfits for IPPT, I am afraid that that is classified information. And as it is still pending further review and investigation by Ms Jessica Tan and myself, most of the information is presently available.”
“We have many NSmen who are self-employed. And when they go for in-camp training, there may be some disruption to their businesses or their jobs. They have no employers. They are the boss. Sometimes, they find it a bit difficult, and that is where the woman comes in. So the woman can play many roles - military, social, economic, civil.”
“Mr Chairman, I would like to seek a clarification from the Minister of State, Assoc. Prof. Koo. On Total Defence, his response to me was that, as a female, we could do things that encourage somebody to go for NS. But that still goes back to the military pillar. My point about Total Defence is that the other four pillars actually involve everybody other than able-bodied NSmen. So the question really is: what plans does MINDEF have to get that message out to this other sector of Singaporeans who can then feel involved and participate in Total Defence? Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee: Mr Chairman, thank you very much for giving me extra time earlier on. Now I have got a bit more time, I believe. Women form a critical part of the Total Defence force, because women are mothers, wives, girlfriends, MPs, and they play an important role in complementing National Servicemen. The National Serviceman is the fighting force, but he operates in an ecosystem supported by his employer. So when the NSman goes for in-camp training, the employer should say, "Go, don't ask for deferment, and work hard there." As a wife, when the husband goes for in-camp training, she has to shoulder responsibility of looking after the whole family. Usually, in a household, the husband will have some role. For me, when I was an NSman, I drove my children around. But in the absence of the husband, the wife has to take over. That is part of National Service. I conduct orientation programmes for new citizens at the PMTC, and the mothers always come along. The mothers are part of the Total Defence team. Talking about social defence and economic defence, we find that, in many cases, the men are the breadwinners, and the woman supports the husband who is a National Serviceman in various ways.”
“In the course of his reply, the Minister talked about the formal arrangements that we have for regional cooperation and the informal. The formal, for example, being like the ASEAN Regional Forum, the informal being like the Shangri-La Dialogue. I would appreciate if the Minister could expand a little bit on the value of the informal forums vis-a-vis the formal ones, and what they can achieve in the informal forums as opposed to the formal ones.”
“Mr Chairman, if we ask average Singaporeans about Singapore's defence, most automatically think in terms of military defence, which they see as the responsibility of SAF regulars, both male and female, and of NSF and NSmen. However, the military aspect is only one part of our defence. Singapore subscribes to the concept of Total Defence, and Total Defence has five pillars, of which military defence is only one. The other four pillars are defence of the civil, economic, social and psychological pillars. The other four pillars are equally important and they depend on all the other members of society to succeed. So it means that not only able-bodied men are involved in Total Defence but also women, students and the elderly. Economic defence, for example, requires a strong economy and a strong workforce, and both men and women contribute to this aspect. Yet, the average woman would not normally think that when she is working and contributing to the economy, she is also contributing to Singapore's defence. So I think more needs to be done to make Singaporeans understand the part that they have to play in Total Defence. I was also disturbed to read a New Paper report on Thursday, 28th February 2008, in relation to Total Defence activities in schools, that some students complained about the following hardships – having to forgo lights, fans or air-conditioning for the day, having to eat sweet potatoes, and that the water from the water cooler was not cool enough. This does not augur very well for our psychological defence if young Singaporeans do not have the mental toughness and resilience to do without the usual comforts even for a day. Sir, I would like to know what plans MINDEF has to raise public awareness for Total Defence.”
“Yes, Mr Chairman, I have. National Service”
“Just in case Members feel that women are left out, I would be happy to volunteer to do it together with Ms Jessica Tan as well. 3.30 pm One final question on recognition of NS. Obviously, our men put in a lot of sacrifice when they do NS. I would like to ask the Minister what plans MINDEF has to recognise our National Servicemen for their contributions to the defence of Singapore, and whether there are plans to reflect their skills set acquired during NS as well as their contributions during NS that would help enhance their marketability post-NS to give employers a better appreciation of their skills in the workplace.”
“Moving on to fitness, Sir, a large part of our standing force comprises reservists, now called Operationally-ready NSmen, to better reflect their readiness to go into action at any given point in time. I am concerned about the fitness of our NSmen. There is no problem when they are NSFs, doing full-time NS, from age 18 to 20. The question is whether, after they finish NS and enter the workforce, they remain fit enough to carry out operational duties until age 50 for officers and age 40 for other ranks? Once they enter the workforce, they have to contend with the more sedentary lifestyles, the temptation of unhealthy diets and, in many cases, smoking and drinking, which also take a toll on health and fitness. I know that they have to do IPPT and I understand that, for many, the 2.4-kilometre run and the standing broad jump pose the most difficult challenges. There have also been reports of SAF personnel who have died during runs, although the circumstances are different. A couple had been doing marathons and one, I think, was doing a practice run at his own pace. I should therefore like to know what is being done to maintain the health and fitness of our NSmen, and whether they are taking personal responsibility for keeping themselves fit. And lest anyone should think that the MPs are unsympathetic to the challenges faced by NSmen in keeping fit, let me assure the House and our NSmen that this is not the case. We are fully behind them and want to encourage them in keeping fit operational readiness. To that end, I am volunteering my parliamentary colleagues to do additional IPPT – Mr Teo Ser Luck, Mr Baey Yam Keng, Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Dr Lim Wee Kiak and Mr Christopher de Souza.”
“Sir, the Dave Teo incident and the more recent Mas Selamat escape have highlighted the need for greater vigilance at high security premises. At the sitting on 7th September 2007 of this House, the Minister reported that, following the Dave Teo incident, the SAF had done a thorough audit of the physical security of all SAF camps and guard rooms and that, whilst most of them fully met with the physical security requirements, a few required improvements and that the SAF was in the process of implementing those improvements. I would like to ask the Minister for an update on what these improvements were and whether they have been implemented. Also, as the Minister may recall, when Corporal Dave Teo was arrested, he was found with two sets of ammunition, five rounds and three rounds. The five rounds were the ones that he had with him when he was on guard duty, and he had three additional tracer rounds which he had appropriated two weeks before he went missing. At that time, I had asked how those three rounds came to be overlooked. The Minister's response at that time was to say that he could not say it was impossible for a determined person to secrete one or two rounds of ammunition, though it would be difficult to do so. And he said that, at that time, investigations were continuing and he did not want to make any presumption on how it might have happened. Five months have now passed. So I would like to ask about the outcome of the investigations on how those three tracer rounds came to be missing and whether this has necessitated any further tightening of procedures for accounting of ammunition.”
“Defence Diplomacy and Relations Defence diplomacy may sound a little like a contradiction in terms, but we have seen in recent years that defence diplomacy is something that has assumed greater importance on the international front. Singapore has been fortunate enough to have many years of peace. That does mean though that we are not necessarily engaged in offensive operations but it does not mean that we stand down in terms of training or actual operations. In the past couple of years, we have had peace time operations, such as the tsunami relief operations, which have engendered a great deal of goodwill for the SAF. I would like to ask the Minister what has been achieved through defence diplomacy and how has that helped to, if you like, consolidate Singapore's position in terms of security. Defence Diplomacy – Malaysia/Indonesia”
“Sir, with respect to our regional security architecture, I would like to ask the Minister the following questions: (1) What kind of architecture do we have in place with our neighbouring countries for defence and security cooperation, both on the multilateral and bilateral fronts, so as to achieve a more stable and peaceful environment for Singapore? (2) On the multilateral front, could the Minister update us on what kind of defence cooperation we have within the framework of the ASEAN Charter? (3) What has been achieved with the past ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)and what does the ADMM hope to achieve, going forward? (4) Have we arrived at a point where we can say that there is a common ASEAN defence approach or, if we have not arrived at that point, at what point are we precisely at the moment? (5) Moving beyond ASEAN, could the Minister also update us on defence cooperation on the bilateral front? With Indonesia, of course, the DCA appears to be in a state of suspension. Could the Minister update us on that? (6) What about our relations with Malaysia? (7) Yesterday, in the Committee of Supply for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Foreign Affairs mentioned that we have reached an agreement with India on training for the Republic of Singapore Air Force. I would be grateful if the Minister for Defence could elaborate on this and provide us with further details, and also whether we have similar types of defence cooperation with China. (8) Could the Minister also tell us about our cooperation, if any, with Japan and Vietnam?”
“The fact that it interlinks with our neighbouring countries can be seen from the fact that the Malaysian security forces went on alert when the news of the escape came out and the Indonesian security forces are obviously also on standby. With that sort of surrounding environment, I would like to ask the Minister if he could update us on his assessment of our regional security environment. That also brings us to cooperation between the Home Team and the SAF because, obviously, I had seen in the news in the past couple of days that, with the manhunt going on, I saw not just Home Team personnel but SAF personnel involved there as well. I would like to ask the Minister about the degree of cooperation between the Home Team, the SAF as well as the other security agencies, whether coordination has been working, whether there had been any hiccups, whether or not there are lessons to be learnt from it, and what else can be done. Perhaps, if the Minister could also give us an overview of the issue of maritime security, piracy in the straits which has been a persistent problem, whether the situation has improved, the role that the Republic of Singapore Navy plays, and whether or not there are further steps to be taken in that respect.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head J of the Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, I would like, if I may, to ask the Minister for Defence a concentric question. Concentric because it starts with an overview and narrows down to specifics. First, the current international security environment still has that US focus on Iraq and Afghanistan. Some Singaporeans wonder what that has to do with us, what impact it has on us, because Singapore has supported the US in its efforts in Iraq as well as Afghanistan. I would like the Minister to comment on the relevance of Singapore's position with respect to this international perspective. Moving in a little bit closer, China and India obviously have risen very rapidly economically. Does their economic rise also impact on the security landscape around us? To what degree does it impact on it? What sort of cooperation do we have with them? Coming in a little closer to the region, I would like to ask the Minister for his assessment of our security environment in the region. Prior to 2001, our security threat assessment was more in terms of conventional threats. Since 2001, however, it is clear that the biggest threat to our security environment is the non-conventional threat of terrorism. We are surrounded by countries where terrorism is an issue. There had been reports of militant groups in Indonesia as well as, of course, incidents of terrorism in Indonesia. There are separatist groups in the Philippines as well as unrest in southern Thailand. Closer to home, we have had the detention of the JI detainees, and the escape of Mas Selamat from the detention centre two days ago is a stark reminder that the threat is also present here.”
“Sir, may I thank the Minister for his comprehensive and patient replies. In the light of his replies, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $345,743,600 for Head N ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $62,320,000 for Head N ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head T - Ministry of National Development”
“Sir, speaking about our relations with India, the Minister mentioned a joint ministerial committee. May I ask what would be the ambit of the joint ministerial committee, what it intends to do and what it hopes to achieve?”
“May I seek the following clarifications from the Minister? He mentioned that with respect to ASEAN, the way forward should be the approach for greater integration. He also mentioned, as an example, we follow the European Union where they had tribal nations that were locked in conflict. The difference though between the European Union and ASEAN is that, for Europe, a lot of unification took place under the Romans, the Pax Romana, followed then by a common religion, the Roman Catholic religion, which laid the foundation, if you like, for unification for closer integration. In ASEAN, where the countries have very different cultures, racial as well as religious backgrounds, the question is: is it possible, or does it look likely, that we will be able to achieve greater integration?”
“Sir, my parliamentary colleagues and I have so far focused on the more immediate neighbourhood, ie, ASEAN and the Asia Pacific. Perhaps, taking a longer or a broader view, I would like to ask the Minister to give us an overview of our other international relationships, such as with Europe and also the US, particularly having regard to the fact that they are having presidential elections. I think most of us have been watching to see what is going to happen. But whatever the outcome, I think we would like to know whether that is likely to have an impact on our relationship with the US. Also, as foreign policy relations are not static, may I ask the Minister whether we have any new foreign policy initiatives or whether there are any new countries or areas that we intend to engage? Foreign Policy and Environment Moving on to foreign policy and environment, I would like to touch on the topic of climate change which is very much an issue that is attracting attention today. We have clearly seen that there is a greater need for cooperation at the international level to deal with environmental issues. The haze is one example, but there are, of course, other issues related to natural disasters and environmental matters which people feel are traceable to global warming. There is clearly a greater impetus and a call for developed nations to cooperate to protect the environment, reduce gas emissions, control pollution and legislate to cope with the problem of global warming. Can I ask the Minister to comment on Singapore's approach to climate change negotiations as well as Singapore's position on the Kyoto Protocol and what would be the landscape after 2012?”
“Sir, it is widely recognised that China and India are the new economic powerhouses in the globalised Asia and that part of Singapore's economic strategy is to leverage on the growth of these two countries. This, in turn, obviously necessitates greater interaction with them and shapes the direction of our foreign policy relations with them. I would like to ask the Minister for an update of our bilateral relations with India and China, what progress has been made in the past year and what direction he sees it is going in the future? Whilst China and India have dominated the landscape, we also have strong trading relations with Japan and Korea and these have tended to be overshadowed by the buzz in relation to China and India. I would like to ask the Minister for a status report on our relationship with Japan and Korea. China”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head N of the Estimates be reduced by $100. Singapore has been a member of ASEAN for several decades. And from time to time, there are queries on the effectiveness of ASEAN as an organisation, its direction and its ability to get its members to act in a concerted manner on specific issues. Allegations are sometimes made that ASEAN has no teeth, that it cannot enforce its decisions. I would therefore like to ask the Minister the following questions with respect to ASEAN. I would like to ask him for his views on the continuing viability of ASEAN as an organisation and its value and usefulness to the region as a whole. I would also like to ask, what is Singapore's interest in maintaining its membership and participation in ASEAN, and also for an update on what was achieved during the 13th ASEAN Summit; also, for an update on the status of the ASEAN Charter. With Singapore's current chairmanship of ASEAN, what do we hope that ASEAN can achieve, going forward during our tenure of the chairmanship and the strategy for ASEAN, looking ahead? At the same time, whilst ASEAN is in the Southeast Asian region, ASEAN cannot remain untouched by the greater Asia Pacific region of which it is a part. I would therefore like to ask the Minister for an update on the status of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and APEC's place in the regional architecture and why participation in APEC is in Singapore's interest.”
“May I seek a clarification from the Senior Minister of State with respect to our enforcement against drugs? I would like to ask whether the CNB gives equal priority to enforcement on the ground as it does to enforcement against busting the activities of syndicates. I ask for specific reasons because, in my constituency, there is an area, Blocks 91 to 96 of Henderson Road, where there is drug activity since I took over from the last Election 2006. To CNB's credit, the activity has been reduced because we have asked them to assist. But recently, the reports are that the activity is on-going. It is less than satisfactory. Two youths were apprehended for glue sniffing but released. The impression I am getting, and I hope to be corrected on this, is that the big level activity is paid attention but enforcement on the ground may not be given as much priority. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: For drug takers, it is also important to enforce on the ground to prevent hotspots from appearing. In the past, in Singapore, there were hotspots. It also affects Singaporeans' sense of safety and security should they find people either sniffing glue or taking drugs. Let me assure Ms Rajah that CNB, whilst it does delegate resources to hitting at the syndicates, is also concerned about ensuring that, on the ground, Singaporeans do not take drugs. So if she gives me the details, I will ask CNB to look into it.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister about the progress in our push to encourage integration amongst expatriates as well as PRs and new citizens. This issue of integration is not new. It is something that has existed for many centuries. Three years ago, my secretary gave me a book on Alexander the Great. She obviously thought I did not have enough to read! Alexander the Great was a Macedonian. He pushed forward out of Macedonia and Greece towards Asia, conquered Persia and pushed towards Afghanistan. But he had a problem with integrating his Generals. In the course of it, he also wanted to retire some old Generals. His troops rebelled. He had to calm them down, which he finally did. Then, he sat down and had a dinner. And the first ring around the dinner were the Greeks, followed by the Persians. When I read that, I was thinking this sounds exactly like an Inter-Racial Confidence Circle to me. The idea that in 300 BC, this issue of integration was something that posed a challenge at that time was remarkable because it is an issue that we still face today. On the ground, there are concerns by Singaporeans about integrating with foreigners. So, I would just like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister about the status and what efforts we have made and the progress in the past year. Population Integration”
“I say this because I have elderly who come to see me. They went to the flat with somebody whom they knew for a long time. And, of course, one passes away or, for some reason, no longer rents the flat with them. The requirement then is that if they want to stay in the rental flat or get a new rental flat, they have to find somebody else to be a co-tenant. But it is very difficult to ask somebody who is 60 or 70 years old to go and live with a complete stranger. Many of them do not have relatives. I do not know about you, but I would not like to live with a complete stranger, even if I was 60 or 70 years old. Just because I am old does not mean that I should live with somebody I do not know - not that I would do that even if I was young. The point I am making is that sometimes when people have housing, they do not necessarily want to be living with somebody else. They may wish to live alone. They just need a roof over their heads. In time to come, when we design our rental housing, we should take into account these changing norms in society and find a way to allow our society to develop as it is actually taking place. We have more single elderly. We have more single people who do not necessarily want to live with other people. This is a particular group that I was concerned about in relation to the Budget Statement. I would ask the Minister to look at this. The Minister for Finance, hopefully, will give more money to MND and MND, hopefully, can do something for rental housing. With this, I fully support the Budget Statement. 2.45 pm”
“So, I would ask, firstly, that the Government, in particular MND, conducts a comprehensive review of the status of rental housing in Singapore and to analyse supply and demand, just to see what the exact figures are in terms of demand. The waiting list at the moment seems to be like nearly up to 8-9 months and, in some cases, nearly a year. The profile of people who live in rental housing is either very elderly or lower income families, usually with more than two children. Very often in those cases, there is a single breadwinner, usually, the mother does not work. Here, I would like to pick up on a point which Dr Amy Khor made, which is the need to encourage these mothers to go out to work. But their problem, of course, is that they have young children and they have to stay at home to look after the children. I was wondering that when we look at this problem of rental housing, we can design it in such a way that we make the infrastructure such that it would facilitate having childcare or after school care facilities within a group or cluster where there is rental housing. In other words, if we have three or four blocks of rental flats, make sure that there is always some provision where we can have childcare or after school care, because that will then enable the mothers to leave the children there, go to work and come back, and be able to pick up the children. We have to design the infrastructure to facilitate people to work and basically to get out of the poverty trap. The other thing with respect to rental housing that I would like to ask the HDB to reconsider is the policy of requiring at least two people to live in a rental flat, if it is possible to have new rental flats where we can allow a single person to rent.”
“I do not have the letter in front of me but it says, "Dear Mr So-and-So, HDB housing is heavily subsidised and therefore we have to be careful how we allocate the rental flats," or words to that effect. I do not have the exact wording, but that is the general thrust of it. I can understand, but for the resident, it is very difficult because the person has nowhere to go. In fact, I have just adopted the strategy now of sending everything to MND instead of HDB, because I thought that it would be good for them to see the number of appeals I receive. I suspect MND now thinks that they are my favourite Ministry, which they are after MINDEF, of course! I had one resident approaching me for a rental flat, because he had been living in a bin centre. He did not have a roof over his head. He was staying in an open area where the dustbins are. He had nowhere else to go. There was another family who approached me. They could not get a rental house. So the family had to split up - one child was with one relative and another child was with another relative. They said that sometimes they went to the beach to stay. The problem seems to be caused really by the shortage in available rental housing. So, I would like to urge the HDB to provide for more rental housing. I would like to ask the Government to allocate more resources towards building new rental flats. I say this because this ties in with the third plank of the Government's strategy to cope with inflation, which is the support of home ownership as a key pillar of society. Home ownership is fine provided that they can afford it. But for this group, where they cannot afford it, rental housing is something that they need urgently.”