Janil Puthucheary
Singapore
“Sir, I thank Ms Lee for her two supplementary questions, which address what are our targets and what is it that we measure. Indeed, the issue of how we should think about recycling and waste disposal will be at the heart of our review of our Zero Waste Masterplan.”
“Another strategy that we are embarking on is the strengthening of the reuse of waste residue and treated toxic industrial waste before and after they are landfilled.”
“Sir, about half of our recycling material is exported. It is processed overseas. There are business arrangements between businesses here in Singapore and businesses in the region or overseas, to be able to handle the recycling of waste and recycling of material, whether domestic or non-domestic, already today.”
“Sir, I thank Ms Poh for her questions. Indeed, we do have to shift behaviours. The incentives and disincentives around recycling and waste disposal are an important part of it. We will consider her suggestion on looking at the fees.”
“The heat advisory that goes out is clearly defined. In my original answer, I explained what a heat wave was. There are clear definitions that we have been using in Singapore since 2016, if I recall. It was then last revised in 2023.”
“Sir, in the planning of schools, the Ministry of Education ensures that our students can access a primary school near their homes. Except for a small number, 15 of Special Assistance Plan schools, all primary schools offer the three official mother tongue languages.”
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“IMDA is working with other Government bodies, such as the Ministry of Education (MOE) to identify jobs that ICT professionals can be placed into. We are also working with industry partners via the SMEs Go Digital programme to curate more suitable job roles. Secondly, we will also strengthen employment facilitation for mid-career professionals. Leveraging on our integrated career services, a career support ecosystem by partners like the Singapore Computer Society (SCS), Workforce Singapore (WSG), Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and NTUC, individuals will get more career guidance, more mentoring and better support for better job matching. The career coaches and mentors within this ecosystem will also be provided with better and more timely insights on job openings and skill needs, going forward, so that they can better assist workers. Through TeSA's scale-up and its targeted assistance, we will build strong digital capabilities in our workforce. Sir, MCI and our partners will help workers, businesses and citizens benefit from the opportunities of a digital Singapore. In the next few months, we will share further details on our digital economy and digital readiness efforts.”
“Information and communication technology (ICT) professionals are in demand across many economic sectors, as the economy and industries rapidly digitalise. Currently, TeSA is quite focused on the ICT sector, as well as on the Finance and Healthcare sectors. Moving forward, TeSA will expand its training offering into Manufacturing and Professional Services. In line with our commitment to develop our people, TeSA will also strengthen our support for those who might need it most, such as mid-career ICT PMETs in search of new job opportunities as the economy and the ICT job landscape evolve. Mr Desmond Choo asked about how we can better support workers, especially mature ones, to reskill and upskill. TeSA programmes have been benefiting mid-career professionals. Since 2016, approximately 10,000 TeSA training places have been taken up by those above the age of 40. But TeSA will do more to support more mid-career ICT PMETs. First, we will help to curate cross-sector ICT job openings. While there are ICT job openings in the public, non-profit and private sectors, as well as across different industry sectors, many mid-career ICT PMETs are unlikely to possess the networks, contacts or the sector-specific skills needed to make the transition into new sectors. They may already have skills which are relevant to either the private, public or the non-profit sector, or they may have ICT skills that are domain-specific to a given industry within the economy. What we need to help them do is make a transition across either the domain, the industry or the sector. And if we do not, this will be a missed opportunity, because there are many job opportunities that could potentially be meaningful as a next step for mid-career professionals.”
“Every individual who has gone through TeSA’s Company Led Training programmes, as well as more than 90% of job seeking trainees from the Tech Immersion and Placement Programme have been successfully placed. We will scale up the TeSA initiatives with an additional $145 million of funding. This will provide more training places, more programmes and will address more user sectors. TeSA is a key initiative not just for the workers, but also for the businesses. One of the key issues about the development of the digital economy is going to be the provision of capabilities and skills in the workforce. So, by our focus on TeSA, we are helping workers find jobs and transition into new jobs, and we are helping businesses develop the skills and capabilities to help them grow. What are these initiatives? First, TeSA will provide an additional 20,000 training places by 2020. This will require and build upon the strong multi-agency and tripartite approach that we have taken. Secondly, TeSA will work closely with industry to develop more programmes in frontier technology areas, such as AI, data analytics, cybersecurity, IoT and IM. There will be more job opportunities that demand such frontier technology skills. Up to now, a significant part of what TeSA has been doing is concentrating on the existing skills gaps, existing jobs gaps, known technologies, well-developed and mature business issues, and we need to push towards these frontier technologies to try and anticipate what would be the next steps required to grow our digital economy. I hope many more companies will work with TeSA to co-develop training programmes in these areas. Thirdly, we will widen our approach towards more user sectors.”
“Our approach has always been to be as inclusive as possible but recognising that some groups would find the transition difficult and providing them with targeted help. We will continue to help the elderly by expanding digital readiness initiatives for seniors. By the end of this year, we would have organised more than 50 digital clinics for 2,000 seniors, to help them become confident in using digital mobile technology. This year, we will also work with industry and community groups to organise 48 experiential learning journeys to benefit 2,000 seniors to learn about digital technologies useful for their daily activities, such as e-payments. Mr Yee Chia Hsing asked whether more can be done to prepare elderly residents for digital television (TV). Today, about three in 10 households are still using analogue TV signals. We have put in place the Digital TV Assistance Scheme to help households switch to Digital TV and will continue to provide targeted assistance to the elderly, including organising briefings and demonstration sessions using both English and the vernacular languages. Just as we will help citizens become digitally ready, the Government will also help workers and businesses build strong capabilities to benefit from the opportunities in a digital economy. Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about the progress of TeSA and its upcoming evolution. TeSA is a key tripartite initiative to help build strong digital capabilities through training. You have heard from the Minister that outcomes have been encouraging and, since its launch in 2016, more than 27,000 training places have been taken up or committed, greatly increasing the opportunities for workers.”
“These skills will be articulated as a curriculum that will be made available to training providers and can also be used by family and friends or community partners who are interested in helping everyone enjoy the benefits of our Smart Nation. To ensure that everyone can benefit from this, we will provide training for these basic skills in all four languages by the end of the year. Assoc Prof Daniel Goh asked about the Government’s efforts in tackling cyberbullying. We agree with Assoc Prof Goh that it is important that we have avenues where the youths, their parents and their teachers can seek help and support from credible sources. Help123 was initiated last year by the National Council of Social Service and various partners like Fei Yue Community Services and TOUCH Community Services. It provides services for youth cyber-wellness issues a dedicated webchat, email service and a hotline. It also provides resources of counsellors who are able to support people who need further direct intervention and help. The Media Literacy Council also does work in this space. It makes available and will continue to produce resources to tackle cyberbullying. Examples include an anti-cyberbullying instructional video as part of the "Better Internet" campaign, informational packages with information specific for victims to counter cyberbullying, products, such as those providing guidance for parents and families to detect the symptoms of cyberbullying, and also to provide help to children. A series of workshops is being rolled out this year to help parents raise digitally resilient children. Mr Vikram Nair asked how we can ensure that Singaporeans of all ages do not get left behind.”
“Thirdly, collaboration. Digital Readiness must be a whole-of-society effort. Government, businesses and the community must work together to have a deep and wide impact for Singaporeans. This is why we established the Digital Readiness Workgroup last year, bringing together representatives from the public, people and private sectors to propose strategies to address future opportunities and challenges. We have learnt a lot from hearing about these organisations’ approaches to building literacy and giving people a chance to participate in the digital world. We will publish a Digital Readiness Blueprint later this year. Being digitally ready means ensuring that Singaporeans have, firstly, digital access, which is the means to transact digitally; secondly, digital literacy, which is the skills, attitudes and values of a digital citizen; all of which will, ultimately, lead to digital participation. As an example of the sort of issues we are concerned about for digital access is smartphones. A smartphone becomes a key enabler for many of the digital services that we want to provide. How can we ensure that enough Singaporeans have adequate access? Today, the total ownership of smartphones in Singapore is high, at about 150% of the population, and yet, there are Singaporeans who have no access to a smartphone. Once we ensure there is adequate access, we need to develop a base of digital literacy. To begin with, we will articulate a set of basic digital skills, that is, skills that every one of us should have as a first step towards being able to participate in a digital society. The focus areas of these skills will be the ability to communicate, transact and search for information through a mobile device for day-to-day living.”
“Mr Chairman, the emergence of new opportunities in the digital age is why Singapore is transforming itself into a Smart Nation. Smart Nation is about making all our lives easier. It is about building a strong society and economy with opportunities for all, and where businesses thrive. It is important that no one gets left behind as the world becomes increasingly digital. Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about how the Government will work with businesses and the community to help citizens with this transition. This is not the first time that Singapore is experiencing a technology-driven transformation. Since the 1980s, we have introduced information technology (IT) in schools, made broadband available to all homes, and transformed many public services using technology and the Internet. As the pace of technological change accelerates, we will need a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to ensure that all Singaporeans can participate in and benefit from the opportunities of a digital age. To do so, we need to help citizens be digitally ready. There are three important principles that guide our approach. Firstly, we need to design with the user in mind. The user interface of our digital services and applications must be so easy to use that almost everybody can start using it with little or no instruction. Secondly, we have redefined digital inclusion as more than just access but also equipping people with skills. Today, we have many programmes that focus on giving people access to affordable devices and the Internet. But being digitally ready is also about having the skills to use digital technology safely and confidently. These include basic information and media literacy skills, awareness of cybersecurity and personal data protection, and several other skills as well.”
“That is correct. There is no change. When I go to visit the Singapore Armed Forces Reservists Association (SAFRA), which I have done recently, on the banner, it said that "Visit by Dr Janil Puthucheary". I was not there in my medical capacity.”
“Mr Perera is clear that he is able to separate out his partisan political views from attending and interacting with people in other capacities. So, that is the answer to Question 4. Anybody can attend the school; it has got to be a question of what capacity you attend in and that drives your behaviour in the school. All kinds of people can have political views. People who drive buses, people who prepare our food, our teachers. But you have to be very clear about the role in which one attends and interacts with students. So, that answers your fourth question. And that is the basis for the first question. People do attend, and they do so in a very clear capacity that is non-partisan in nature. In the past, the policy was the same. So, the specific instance that the Member referred to, I believe, does not actually specify the capacity in which the person was speaking at the school or meeting the school. It was those years in his capacity as an MP. So, my reading of the exact same text that he has quoted is that what was referenced was the time in years that he had spent as an MP, not that he was attending the school in his capacity as an MP. I think that point is really quite clear if one reads the text properly and is not seeking a derived meaning from it. Have I answered Mr Perera's question?”
“May I begin by asking Mr Perera for a little bit of clarity from his initial cut. Has he attended a school and interacted with students? If so, in what capacity?”
“Sir, I thank Ms Denise Phua for the follow-up questions. Indeed, we want to strengthen support, but the question is how. I think Ms Denise Phua and many others will appreciate that the SPED space is not homogenous, with very varied challenges, very varied needs. When I describe things like the structures that we have or the 80% of students with SENs in our mainstream schools, that is not a model. That is not a target. That is an outcome of the approach that we are taking. We currently have a space with a wide variety of service delivery models and a wide variety of structures. So, we have to take a little bit of a step back and have a sense that there really is no clear single answer about a single best model. But there are some common challenges that we need to address in terms of strengthening our support. The biggest single challenge actually is professional capability. So, when we look at what we are doing now in our schools, the mainstream schools, the MOE-funded SPED schools, our VWO partners, the biggest single challenge is to not just have enough of the professionals but actually deepen the capabilities of those professionals. That is the biggest single focus of the work that we are doing. So, the answer to the Member's first question is yes. As to the SPED Academy, it is something that we will seriously study, we are quite open to improving and updating and refreshing how we do the different models of SPED delivery. There is no single model of SPED delivery and we are quite open to studying further models.”
“Sir, as we look forward to a new future, with many paths and many possibilities, our education system continues to evolve, trying different things and trying to do things differently. What has remained unchanged is the belief that all of us together – MOE, schools, parents and the community – must continue to provide all our students with opportunities and experiences that bring out the best in them so that we can all realise our collective potential as a nation. Aptitude-based Admission in ITE”
“More importantly, we put in place programmes to give extra support to those who need it right from early childhood prior to Primary 1, and many different interventions, including meals, career counselling and learning support programmes. As a result of these interventions, we have made significant progress. Today, nine in 10 students from the bottom 20% of socio-economic stratification progress to post-secondary education. Fifteen years ago, only five in 10 did. Today, more than half of our students who live in 1-room to 3-room flats progress on to publicly-funded degree or diploma programmes. Internationally, as I updated this House last month, our 15-year-old students from the most disadvantaged families performed significantly better in PISA than OECD students of a similar socio-economic background. Sir, social mobility has always been, and will continue to be, a priority of education. We start early on, we ensure access to quality education for all students and, on top of that, levelling-up programmes for the disadvantaged to give them every opportunity for success. In our IHLs, our students are prepared well for the workforce, with nine in 10 of them able to get a job within six months of graduation. With MKs and NIEC, we are also seeking to improve access to quality preschool education. Our efforts to provide space for exploration and applied learning in schools will benefit all students, regardless of their background. In the higher education space, as well as in our future economy, it is about the diversity of pathways that recognise and reward different strengths, as well as investments in continuous learning and relearning that will ultimately serve our mission of ensuring that social mobility is maintained in this nation of ours.”
“MOE had worked with the Health Promotion Board (HPB) to survey our students' nutritional habits, and also in the rollout of the Healthy Meals in Schools Programme. Under this programme, canteen stalls prepare food with healthier ingredients and use healthier cooking methods. Since January 2017, all mainstream schools have come on board this programme. Our schools also recognise that students benefit from meal breaks so that they can sustain their energy and focus. Students have two meal breaks a day, with a longer lunch break if there are afternoon programmes. We also help our students understand the importance of a healthy and balanced diet. Primary school students are taught to read food labels, to plan healthy meals and the importance of eating enough and eating right. As MOE and HPB continue to work to build up their knowledge and their habits, I must stress the vital role that parents play in reinforcing these healthy habits at home. Sir, MOE's efforts are, ultimately, part of our Government's commitment to a society where people have the opportunity to do better and progress, regardless of their starting point in life. Ms Sylvia Lim asked about MOE's tracking of social mobility. Last week, the Minister for Finance updated the House on the Government's efforts to study social mobility as measured by the incomes of adult Singaporeans as compared to their parents'. On MOE's part, we track closely the progress of all students in our education system. Like other countries, we do pay close attention to those from more disadvantaged family backgrounds. We monitor how they fare in school, including at key milestones of education attainment, their progression to post-secondary institutions, including the polytechnics and universities.”
“If I may return to some of the questions that Mr Leon Perera asked, he took a particular view about labels and perhaps my labelling of his comments has partisan politics. Sir, I provided those words not as a label but as an explanation of what he was asking for. Perhaps, I may need to expand upon why I believe that is an apt explanation for what he is asking for. The Member himself has acknowledged that he has attended schools in a non-partisan, non-political capacity. There is no obstruction to him doing so. What he is asking for, is for him to be allowed to attend in any partisan political capacity. There is a difference. He seems to believe that he has previously attended in a non-partisan political capacity, but I am assuming that the reason he is asking to attend in a partisan capacity, because he is assuming that everybody else attends only in a political partisan capacity. This is a level of hubris that is really quite remarkable. If he can attend in a non-partisan, non-political way, I think the assumption should be, in good faith that other people can do as well. What he is asking for, what he is implying, is for him to attend in a partisan political way somehow provides balance within our existing framework. That is not so. What he is asking for is a fundamental shift that we bring partisan political debates by elected MPs into the schools. That is not what we do currently, and so it would be inappropriate for an invitation to be extended to him in his capacity as a member of a political party and as an MP. It is not a label, Mr Chairman. It is an explanation that what he is asking for is inappropriate. Assoc Prof Daniel Goh asked about our students' nutritional health.”
“The school is looking to deepen this practice in their Character and Citizenship Education periods, so that students have the time and space to explore their convictions and reflect upon such issues. Our students may not always agree with one another, Indeed, in Bendeemer Secondary School, the session that I witnessed, there was a lively debate. They may not even agree with their teachers, but we do want to ensure that there is space for respectful conversations and that we nurture in our students open-mindedness, respect for one another and that they develop the skills for critical thinking. The second group of interventions is that we will facilitate citizenship experiences which empower our students, allowing them to find their own meaning as citizens. There are already milestone experiences throughout a student’s journey in our schools, such as the NE Show for all primary students, subsequently, things like the Outward Bound School. Schools like Ping Yi Secondary School decided to try something different. Their 15-year-old students receive their National Registration Identity Cards (NRICs) in a special school ceremony that emphasises that despite their different backgrounds, these 15-year-olds must stand together and understand the shared privileges and responsibilities of being Singaporean. We look forward to making more of such cohort or school-based experiences meaningful and available for our students. Educators are critical to any learning experience. So, a third thrust of our efforts supports teachers. They have been doing well and, going forward, we will include more professional development opportunities and involve experienced educators in spearheading pedagogical innovation.”
“Our recommendations centre on nurturing a sense of belonging to our country and community, a sense of Singapore's realities and challenges, and a sense of shared hope and aspirations as a nation. Our efforts to refresh and improve NE will then be driven by three groups of interventions. First, just as learning must evolve to remain relevant, NE discussions must take on contemporary issues, as well as the perspectives of different Singaporeans, including our students themselves. This will enable our students' shared appreciation for the ever-evolving Singapore story. Mr Leon Perera asked about how we expose our students to diverse perspectives. This is already happening, is already done in subjects like Social Studies, History and Geography. Students undertake learning journeys, they come to Parliament to visit and witness Parliamentary debates. Their learning is well-supported by educators. Our students examine evidence and different viewpoints before arriving at informed and reasoned conclusions. This includes exploring the rationale behind policy decisions, and the pros and cons of alternatives. In General Paper (GP) lessons, students consider different perspectives and learn to differentiate between fact and opinion. One of the NE Review Committee's recommendations is for students to discuss contemporary issues on a more regular basis and not just during the subject periods that I have just mentioned. Bendemeer Secondary School is a school which already makes a conscious effort to do so and provides an example of how we can develop the process further. When I visited the school, I saw students have lively discussions on their own on issues relevant to Singapore, such as the environment, a car-lite society, technology and future jobs.”
“The DSP programme, together with EIPIC, is organised by MSF and I need to defer to them to talk about those interventions. But there are three MKs that offer the DSP programme and we will study how we can do that better. To Ms Denise Phua's questions, all teachers since 2005 have been equipped with SEN training during their pre-service training at the National Institute of Education (NIE). Each school also has a group of teachers who have undergone certificate level training in special needs at NIE. These are known teachers trained in special needs. 4.45 pm [Deputy Speaker (Mr Lim Biow Chuan) in the Chair] On top of that, there is at least one Allied Educator (AED) for Learning and Behavioural Support (LBS) looking at the behavioural needs rather than educational needs in every primary school. We are recruiting more of these AED (LBS) and our target is to ensure all primary schools will have a baseline provision of two, and 95% of secondary schools will be given a baseline provision of at least one AED (LBS). Mr Ang Wei Neng asked about National Education (NE). There are people who feel that the storyline is worn and tired, or, as Mr Ang Wei Neng expressed it, that NE is propaganda. Sir, MOE recognises that we have to be open to doing NE differently. We must empower our students to discover what being Singaporean means to them personally − not because the syllabus or a textbook says so, but because they themselves know so through a process of discovery and the creation of a strong sense of their own identity. This was the basis for the work of the NE Review Committee, where my MOE colleagues and I, together with colleagues from community organisations and the private sector, had the chance to hear from over 2,000 students and educators.”
“For now, MOE takes a targeted approach. We are enhancing the professional development for our staff and are also looking at how to better support students with SEN at key transition points, like when they enter schools. Strong partnership between MOE and the community has also enabled the sector to make significant improvements. Over the past year, MOE has worked with our Government-funded SPED schools to ensure the smooth implementation of compulsory education for children with moderate to severe special needs. We are confident that students who can benefit from such specialised support will receive quality education in these schools. Yet, as Ms Denise Phua has pointed out, our efforts must go beyond legislation. MOE and our partners must continue to look for ways to do better, to deliver affordable, quality Specialised Education for our students. Grace Orchard School, an early participant of the School-to-Work Transition Programme (S2W) did several new things to ensure that their students benefited from the opportunity. They reached out to the private sector for job opportunities; they updated their curriculum, so that the students could start their job training in their last years within the school. The S2W programme has seen positive outcomes, and we are working with MSF and SG Enable to scale it up. We are also looking into lifelong learning opportunities for those with special needs. Our SkillsFuture Credit course directory is continually updated with new courses. We also have a SkillsFuture Study Award for Persons with Disabilities to recognise those who demonstrate resilience and perseverance in pursuing lifelong learning. I can address a few of the specific queries that Miss Cheng Li Hui and Ms Denise Phua brought up.”
“Sir, our education system is evolving. To prepare each of our students for the future, MOE has to be prepared to do different things, and to do things differently. I thank Ms Denise Phua and Miss Cheng Li Hui for their encouragement as we continue with our efforts to support our students with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Some of this expertise did not traditionally reside with MOE. Decades ago, we tried something different. We partnered VWOs which had deep expertise in SEN support. And as both sides learnt from each other, these partnerships evolved to strengthen support for our students. One good example of this is our relationship with AWWA, with whom we work on different service models. The partnership extends to mainstream schools, where Asian Women Welfare Association (AWWA) provides training and consultation services to our educators, supporting students with physical and visual impairments. Today, 80% of our students with SEN are enrolled in mainstream schools. I say that again to make sure we are all clear – 80% of our students with SEN are enrolled in mainstream schools. They are supported not just by allied educators, but also by educational psychologists and suitable intervention programmes, including those provided by organisations, such as AWWA. As our students move on to the post-secondary space, they are supported by SEN Support Offices in each of our IHLs. To prepare for entry into the workforce, students with SEN can participate in SG Enable's IHL Internship Programme, as well as the RISE Mentoring scheme. We are also looking ahead and constantly seeking ways to better support our students to realise their potential. There are different ways to do this, including the suggestion of an academy for those with special needs and all who support them.”
“He is a Development Operations Engineer in the Application Design, Development and Deployment capability centre. He earned a Master’s in Information Systems at the Singapore Management University (SMU) and now works on the Hive Agile Testing Solutions (HATS). They have developed an inhouse automated software testing tool, reduced manual testing costs and developed more robust and stable Government digital services. He worked on the Business Grants Portal. The Government will ensure that there is sufficient technical talent like Rong Hwa and Zui Young to achieve our Smart Nation ambitions. We will launch a Smart Nation Scholarship later this year to attract passionate and capable technologists to the Public Service. This scholarship aims to attract and groom a pool of talent for a technical leadership career in the Public Service. The scholarship will be open to students who have completed their junior college or polytechnic studies and are keen to pursue a full-time infocomm-related degree in either a local or overseas university. This career pathway for scholarship holders will include working in technology agencies like GovTech, the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). I encourage budding technologists with a passion for public service and an eagerness to take on the technical challenges of the digital age to apply for the Smart Nation Scholarship. More details will be released later this year. In conclusion, Mr Chairman, the initiatives that I have shared today will all come together as part of the broad Digital Government Blueprint, complementing the Transformation of the Public Service, and moving Government services to be truly digital end-to-end and, most importantly, citizen-centric.”
“This approach will also assist in raising the capabilities of officers across the Government. For example, the Data Science and AI capability centre designs curricula, and partners training providers to help provide public officers the tools to learn about data visualisation and machine learning techniques. The officers can then more effectively analyse their data for better policy outcomes. Talented and competent professionals are crucial to deepening these public sector capabilities. We need to recruit Singaporeans who have committed themselves to applying technology for the public good. If I may, allow me to highlight two such engineers, Mr Chong Rong Hwa and Mr Lim Zui Young. Rong Hwa is the older of the two, mid-career, and is a Lead Cybersecurity Specialist in the cybersecurity capability centre. He previously worked as a Senior Manager in FireEye, a Cybersecurity and Malware Protection company in the US, and currently leads a team of hackers that "red-team" to identify security issues in Government systems before others do, so that we can pre-emptively resolve them. He has had prior experience as a junior officer in the old Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), before going overseas. He has then had years of experience overseas in the private sector within the cybersecurity industry, and now he is playing a key role in making our digital services not just agile, but also secure and resilient. He came back to Singapore and to the public sector for several reasons, including family considerations, but also the opportunity to have a career development pathway around deeper technical skills, not just management skills. Zui Young is much younger. This is his first job and he was hired immediately after graduation.”
“The GovTech API Exchange was used in the MyInfo pilot that was just described, to allow banks to onboard new customers using Government-verified data. Compared to using more traditional development methods which would have taken typically more than a year, this pilot was developed within just four months and at a lower cost. Ms Sun Xueling, Ms Thanaletchimi, Mr Darryl David and Mr Desmond Choo also asked how we are building digital capabilities and developing talent within the Government. Our vision for digital transformation is only possible if we deepen our existing engineering and digital capabilities, build new capabilities and also attract the best technical talent to the public sector. To achieve this, we will be developing a Centre of Excellence in IT and Smart Systems within the Government. The Centre of Excellence will have capability centres in a number of fields: data science and AI, application design, development and deployment, ICT infrastructure, cybersecurity and sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT). These centres will house multidisciplinary teams of data scientists, software developers and designers who are experts in their respective domains. This Centre of Excellence will provide an in-house pool of technical experts to implement innovative projects within the Government and deal with challenging problems, for example, the design and architecture of IoT infrastructure solutions as part of the Smart Nation Sensor Platform. The team also collaborated with the Municipal Services Office to build the OneService mobile app, providing its expertise in user experience design and software prototyping to create a better way for citizens to give their feedback on municipal issues.”
“But this is to be expected in the pursuit of innovative solutions. Ms Sun Xueling had asked for details on the Government's digitalisation efforts to support our Smart Nation vision. Beyond designing services to be more user-centric, we will also design them to be digital end-to-end. Our aim must be for citizens and businesses to be able to interact with paperless Government services from start to finish anytime, anywhere and on any Internet-enabled device. To achieve this is not a matter of simply putting services online. It requires the re-engineering of Government processes and our digital infrastructure. It is a significant undertaking and we are committed to making it happen. One example of how we will re-engineer our digital infrastructure is the Government Technology Stack. The Tech Stack adopts the same platform approach used by tech and software giants, such as Google and Amazon, where common software and hardware services are shared across the organisation. In our case, by all Government agencies. These common assets are reusable and modular. There is a built-in resilience and it allows agencies to quickly develop and improve new digital services in a cost- and manpower-efficient manner. More importantly, citizens and businesses will experience a more consistent and connected user experience across the spectrum of Government services, since they rely on the same infrastructure. We are still developing the Tech Stack, but some foundational pieces are already in place. One example is the application programming interface (API) Exchange. An API is a common “pipeline” which makes it possible for information to flow between different software applications.”
“The engagement with businesses streamlined the application process by at least 15%. The second user-centric service I would like to highlight is at the other end of the development process. The Business Grants Portal is mature. It has been launched, tested and has had many modifications. The service I am about to describe is very nascent. We are designing it and beginning the journey. We are trying to develop a Digital Medical Certificate (DMC). Patients today have to store and submit paper MCs to their employers. This can be inconvenient for both parties. The employee has to take the trouble to submit a copy and potentially an extra form. The business has to process the paper copy and also store records properly. Instead, digital MCs stored securely online can be easily retrieved and shared as instructed by the patient. Apart from convenience, this will also save costs from printing and processing. At SingHealth institutions alone, more than 1.1 million paper MCs were issued in 2017. The design challenge, of course, is to separate the MC from the existing health records, and to make sure that it does not in any way impinge upon the delivery of healthcare services. It will take some time to get this design right. We will start testing this concept at one SingHealth clinic in May 2018. We will start a small pilot to monitor the user experience, learn quickly what works, what does not, what is easy and what is more difficult, before expanding to more clinics. Start small, iterate quickly, have a bigger vision in mind. This is the approach we intend to apply to other Digital Government projects. This will allow the Government to be more agile in harnessing technology. Not all the projects will succeed, and some may evolve to be quite different from the original concept.”
“Mr Chairman, many members have spoken about the unprecedented pace of technological innovation we are experiencing today. Singapore’s Smart Nation effort seeks to seize the opportunities presented by these changes to create jobs and improve the lives of our people. The Government will lead the way by transforming itself to become even more digital and data-driven. Digitalisation is also a key component of the Public Sector Transformation efforts. Our vision is to be a Government that is digital to the core. We will release a Digital Government Blueprint in the middle of 2018. Today, I would like to explain just a few of the initiatives that will form part of this blueprint, in response to Members' questions. Ms Jessica Tan asked how the Government is making its digital services more citizen-centric. In the design and delivery of our services, we have and will continue to drive a user-centric approach. If I may just share about two of these services with Members. The first is the Business Grants Portal. Launched in January 2017 at www.businessgrants.gov.sg, it brings different Government agencies' business grant applications to one interface. This portal removes the need for businesses to approach different Government agencies separately for grant applications and avoids the need to repeatedly provide similar information for each grant application. Instead of an agency-centric approach, this platform has been designed around the needs of businesses. During the development process, engagement with businesses and their feedback have resulted in modifications and improvements to the portal, for example, the ability for company information to be automatically extracted from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) for grant applications.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank Mr Perera for providing some clarity over and above his initial Parliamentary Question, that what he is hoping for is for MPs to attend and speak at school events in their political capacity. This is not appropriate. Schools are to be kept free of partisan politics. The framing that the Member made in the supplementary question suggests that, actually, the intention is for him or whoever he is speaking on behalf of, his party, to attend and represent political views. The words he used were "political debate". This is not the intention of what we do in schools. If the Member would like to make a case as to why there should be partisan politics in schools, then I think that is the case that he should make. We take the view that partisan politics should be kept out of schools.”
“Schools are to be kept free of partisan politics, so people should not be speaking in their capacity as a member of a political party attending a school for an event.”
“Mr Speaker, our schools are places of learning that cannot be used as platforms for partisan politics. Schools do not invite or accede to requests by any Member of Parliament (MP) or political party to speak at school events.”
“First, we have over 30 senior-friendly infocomm learning hubs island-wide, including at community centres (CCs) and libraries that offer a customised curriculum to train seniors. These are known as Silver Infocomm Junctions (SIJs). Second, the "Seniors for Smart Nation" series of courses, run by the "Senior Academy" programme of PA. Third, the "IM Bonding" programme at Senior Activity Centres focuses on lower-income elderly and involves a significant aspect of social interaction. Fourth and last, the Silver Infocomm Wellness Ambassador is a programme to train and support seniors to teach and encourage their peers about technology. All of these programmes, and many others, help seniors to become familiar with technology, to develop confidence to conduct transactions and interact online, to connect with one another and their families using digital tools, and to ultimately enjoy the benefits of technology. These programmes are available in English and vernacular languages and, over the last 10 years, have helped 150,000 seniors. Sir, MCI agrees with the concerns raised by Members. Although there has been a lot of work ongoing for the last 10 years, much remains to be done. We are all ageing, technology will continue to develop at a rapid pace, and making sure the elderly benefit from the progress of our society must be something we always pay attention to.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank colleagues for raising the important topic of support for the elderly, especially with respect to ensuring they benefit from the technological progress we make as a society. The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) agrees with the concerns raised by Mr Henry Kwek, Ms Tin Pei Ling, Ms Joan Pereira and other Members. MCI supports the Motion and last year convened the Digital Readiness Workgroup to examine the current status, engage stakeholders and partners, and to develop strategies relevant to future opportunities and challenges. This workgroup has representatives from the public, private and people sectors. Later in the year, we will be explaining in more detail our strategies to help all Singaporeans, especially the most vulnerable, to understand and enjoy the benefits of technology. In the interim, we have agreed on some broad principles that will inform these strategies and plans that we develop. First, our programmes, initiatives and products must be user-centric and designed for inclusion of everyone. Second, we must go beyond the provision of access, to equipping people with skills that enable them to participate actively and meaningfully. Third, the greatest reach and impact in this space will be achieved only through the deep collaborations between the people, public and private sectors. Mr Deputy Speaker, even as we plan for the future and develop new strategies, these ideas are building on a strong foundation. MCI, together with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and its predecessors, has been working on these issues for more than 10 years, through a national programme called the Silver Infocomm Initiative. I would like to highlight just a few of the programmes it supports.”
“Mr Speaker, in contrast to my previous answer to the Member's supplementary question, the short answer is yes. We have, indeed, built ahead of demand with respect to both the data centre capacity as well as the submarine cable carrying capacity. Today, our capacity has not yet been fully utilised but we will continue to engage with making sure that we have the capacity to meet all the functional needs of the various consumers/stakeholders in this space.”
“The opportunity to celebrate and commemorate the heritage of the schools that are being merged is something that we want to leverage on. Schools will be developing heritage corners, looking at opportunities for students and alumni to become involved in the development of material, whether on display or for reference for future generations of students. The effort will be personalised and localised through the schools, the alumni associations and the School Advisory Committees. I do not think there is a going to be a one-size-fits-all because the historical trajectories of the various schools and the various alumni groups are quite different. So, we will work with both schools, both sets of alumni to try to find some way of commemorating the heritage and history of both schools.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in naming merged schools, the Ministry of Education (MOE) considers a group of factors, including the schools’ history and heritage, stakeholders' interest and the sentiments of the schools involved. This results in three naming approaches to considering the unique situations of each pair of merging schools: retaining one of the two names, adopting a new name, or having a combination of names. For primary and secondary schools, MOE also considered the age profile of its students. The combination of both schools’ names may also be repetitive, for example, North View and Northland Secondary. Hence, where it is meaningful to do so, MOE has combined the English names of both schools, for example, Loyang View Secondary School, which is a combination of Greenview and Loyang Secondary School. For the junior colleges (JCs), a similar group of factors, including the age profile of the students, was considered. On balance, a decision was made to have a combined name to allow the merging JCs to move forward as a combined entity. MOE worked closely with the schools to take into account the interests of stakeholders, including staff, students, alumni, parents and the School Advisory Committees. The school leaders engaged stakeholders on various key elements of the merger, such as the programmes and values to be retained, as well as the names. We will not revisit names which have been announced. We should let the schools focus on their teaching and learning programmes to benefit their students.”
“Indeed, we are aspirational around AI. We think it has a significant possibility of enabling both the Smart Nation vision as well as significant benefits for our economy and society over the next 20 years. As for Asimov's Laws, they are a fictional device used in science fiction, but nevertheless inspiring for how we should think about these types of problems. We are a long way away from the situation predicated in the Asimov literature which is where a strong AI is sentient, conscious and able to understand issues around harm, human beings, the rank order of relative issues between society and humanity and morality. So, today, as far as Asimov's Laws are concerned, we have no need because we do not have sentient-strong AI. Neither have we the technical capability to programme in such laws today. But they are a useful thought experiment about how we should think about the regulations around this space. Of note, the literary device of Asimov's Laws in his writing was often used as a way to describe what happens when they fail and what happens when poor regulations or poorly thought-out laws fail in terms of the opportunities around robotics and AI. So, in much of the literature, the day was rescued by Dr Susan Calvin, who was a brilliant engineer. I think the salient lesson is that if we can recruit more females, more young women into engineering, it would serve our Smart Nation and AI vision far more than the use of his three laws today. [Applause.]”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for the questions. For the first question, indeed, we are continually studying various frameworks and trying to draw up drawer plans. But it is hypothetical and we will have to look at the technology as it emerges. There is no specific individual plan for AI. AI is a big basket of different types of technologies and opportunities. There is a plan or strategy for the investment around R&D. But in terms of the regulatory and legislative space, we will have to look at the capability and its impact on the various domains. So, we will continue to do so. The example the hon Member brought up in the second question around multiple algorithms colluding, the regulatory framework would be no different from today, because those algorithms would have to have someone who had owned them, written them, supervised them and benefited from the collusion and criminal activity and so on and so forth. So, the existing legislation and laws would need to apply to the humans or the corporate entities that own and operate such AI. This then leads us to the hon Member's second supplementary question, which is that criminal law for AI would be an issue if we had what is described as "strong AI" ‒ AI that is sentient, conscious ‒ that is, a general purpose AI where it is able to take its capabilities developed for one task and direct it to another possibly criminal task. We are a long way away from that. AI, in today's use, is what we call "weak AI" or task-specific AI. So, any criminal issue, we would have to ask the legal faculty around us, but I presume will be directed at the person who owns, operates or benefits from such a device or tool of technology. The hon Member's third question was about the aspirational issues around AI and Asimov's Laws of Robotics.”
“Mr Speaker, the Member will be reassured to know that many of the sectoral-specific bodies, whether they are trade or professional associations, are already interested in this process and have begun such discussions either in terms of their public consultation or in collaboration internally with the Smart Nation Office and other offices. This is likely to be an ongoing discussion and attempt to look at the issues that are thrown up by new forms of technology, such as AI. The issue is to make sure that we make this process fit into the existing domain's specific laws, operational issues and regulations. So, we have a multitude of issues going on. The Smart Nation Office will continue to study the matter and, especially as new technology and technological opportunities become available, we will continue to become engaged with the various regulations and domain-specific partners.”
“Where we see the need to step in to protect the public’s interest, we will implement domain-specific safeguards. AI is a key enabler of Smart Nation. To exploit its use and manage its risks well, we need people with a deep understanding of the technology. We intend to continue to raise such capabilities within the Government, industry and our research and development (R&D) institutions.”
“Sir, as artificial intelligence (AI) applications become more pervasive, it is being applied to different domains with very different types of risks specific to the domain concerned. The regulatory approach would thus also have to be domain-specific. For example, in transportation, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Traffic Police require autonomous vehicles (AVs) to first pass a rigorous safety test within a controlled environment before they can be tested on public roads at specific times and places. This progressive testing allows developers to advance the technology without exposing other road users to safety risks. Conceptually, this is similar to how a human driver has to be trained and tested before being given a driving licence. In addition, LTA requires mandatory motor insurance for AVs to cover third-party liability and property damage to protect the interests of all road users and property owners. Developers are also required to share key data with authorities to allow them to monitor the progress of the trials. In the Government, we have developed machine learning algorithms that can detect and identify trading accounts suspected of syndicated activities. This is unlike AVs, where there are issues of physical safety. However, we still need to rigorously test the software before use, as well as maintain and update the AI engine continuously, by performing human checks on the results from time to time. For example, before any account is suspended, there will still be a human process to check through and ensure that the punitive action is justified. In other sectors, the Infocommunications Media Development Authority (IMDA) is working with sectoral regulators to discuss issues of AI governance and study the policy and legal implications.”
“Mr Speaker, again, preliminary data suggests no, the Earn and Learn Programmes are doing quite well, with benefits being observed and appreciated by the students, the employers and also by the faculty supervising the process. It is early days in terms of the shifts with respect to the behaviour I described in the first part of my answer, so we will continue to study it. But so far, the Earn and Learn Programme appears to be doing well.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for the question. Our preliminary analysis and the information that we have, suggest that the trends are reflective of the behaviour and aspirations of students as well as the opportunities that are being made available, rather than a specific push as a result of the factors described by the Member. But we will continue to study the matter to ensure that there are factors that we can address to benefit the students as best we can.”
“Sir, with respect to the second question I do not have the data with me. I would be happy to follow up with Ms Lim or she can file a separate PQ on internal data. The information I have is related to the OECD report and I would like to address the first question. What the OECD study found was that in Singapore, the higher performing students outperformed the OECD average by a wider margin than the lower performing students in the lower SES homes. So, our lower SES students do outperform the lower SES students in OECD countries. But our higher SES students outperform the higher SES students in other OECD countries by an even larger margin resulting in the differential that she talked about. So, our lower SES students are doing well. Our lower SES students are outperforming the OECD average. The higher SES students are outperforming the higher SES students in the OECD by a larger margin, and so the difference in the outperformance of all our students is greater than the OECD average. So, if one chooses that as the measure of equity, which the OECD has chosen to do, then the mathematical result is as Ms Lim has demonstrated. However, it does not mean that our lower SES students are under-performing their OECD counterparts. That is not the case. I hope that answers Ms Lim's question.”
“Other efforts include targeted needs-based financial assistance schemes across all schooling years. But we do not rest on our laurels. It takes constant hard work to enable every student to achieve their potential during their educational journey, especially those from more challenging home circumstances. MOE will therefore continue to work closely with other agencies and community partners to provide the necessary support for students who need it most.”
“Sir, Ms Lim's question as stated is factually incorrect. It is not true that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds in Singapore are more likely to under-perform than their Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) counterparts. In fact, the data from the OECD report show that students from lower socio-economic status (SES) homes in Singapore have higher average Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 scores than their OECD peers from comparable SES backgrounds in all the three domains measured − Reading, Mathematics and Science. Notwithstanding this, if I can presume to read into Ms Lim's underlying concern, it is indeed something that the Ministry of Education (MOE) is focused upon because it is important that the students from the lower SES homes are able to overcome their circumstances and do well. The same OECD report has found that about half of our students from the bottom 25% SES in Singapore performed much better internationally than what their home circumstances would predict. OECD calls such students "resilient students". Our proportion of resilient students is substantially higher than OECD's average of about 30% in the PISA 2015 study. Our efforts to support the learning of students who need more help are working. MOE has put in place various programmes to provide additional support targeted at specific learning needs of students. We have a special reading programme for Kindergarten 2 children with difficulties learning English; and the Learning Support Programme in English and Mathematics for Primary 1 and Primary 2 students. At the higher grade levels, there are corresponding programmes such as those that provide reading remediation or help students improve their confidence and numeracy skills.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for the question. There is always going to be a need to balance out the availability of spaces for proximity as well as to make sure that parents have some opportunity to send children to their alma mater or if the sibling is already in that school and the family has relocated. So, there is always going to be a balance that we have to strike between these varying needs. We will always be tracking the data around Primary 1 admission very, very carefully.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank Ms Tin for her questions. With respect to the first issue about the transition into biometric systems, for any of the transitions, we are not aiming for nor planning a complete cut-over. So, whatever solutions and processes that are in place, it will be a gradual phased transition. For any given platform, service, product or process, there is likely to be a transition phase where there will be multiple pathways. You should be able to use various ways to authenticate and verify identity. You will have that parallel process for some time. So, it will be a very phased transition. This will also allow us to make sure that whatever new solutions we put in place are robust, user-friendly, effective and we would be able to update the technology over time. It also requires us to put in place some discipline about how we design our solutions to make sure there is significant interoperability among the standards. This feeds into the second question that Ms Tin asked. The various systems, including PayNow, are designed to be interoperable. We want that interoperability to extend into the private sector as far as possible. Private sector players would, of course, have to then comply with the various regulations that we impose. Effectively, it is in the private sector. The banks are private sector players and they are riding on PayNow. So, we do expect and hope that more and more of our Smart Nation platforms will extend out from the public sector to the private sector.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is hard to be absolutely sure that 100% of every single webpage in the public sector is compliant at this point in time, because there are continually updates, that is, new pages, new sites, new services, just as some sites are taken down. The audit is ongoing. On a cyclical basis, we will get through all the agencies' websites. Over the last three years, 90% were compliant and those that we detected that were not compliant, they became compliant. I have a reasonably high assurance that almost all our Government websites are compliant. If there are any that the Member comes across that are not compliant, please direct them to us and we will help to ensure that they become compliant.”
“Mr Speaker, managing this issue and managing the space have their challenges, given the many different types of platforms and services that are offered, as well as the fact that many of the scammers operate overseas. So, there is a necessary consideration on how we will interface with other telecommunications regimes and services. We continue to study the matter and there is, at this point in time, no regulations that are being planned.”
“Indeed, Mr Low's point is spot-on. We do have to ensure that e-payments are secure and have security behind them, and people trust in them. In terms of the Smart Nation initiative moving forward, the question is what are we comparing these e-payments to? If we care comparing them to cash, then e-payments are certainly more secure. Because you can track, you can trace, you can authenticate identity and provenance and so on and so forth. But if we are comparing them to, for example, credit cards, EZ-Link, Network for Electronic Transfers (NETs) − these are all non-cash e-payment solutions that we have had for some time. We have some experience in operating and regulating these systems and monitoring these systems, and in detecting and deterring threats and theft associated with these systems. When we engage with citizens and, especially with the elderly, we should highlight that, actually, we have had e-payment solutions in Singapore for a long time. I have just highlighted some of them − NETS, EZ-Link, credit cards. What we do not have is a unified, unfragmented ecosystem and that is what we are moving towards. We have a lot of e-payment transactions that are occurring today. MAS has a number of systems and processes in place to detect and deter fraud as well as threats. We must increase the level of trust that we have in the security of our systems. It is a very important question and we have quite a lot of work going on in exactly that realm.”
“All Government digital services must also comply with the Web Content Accessibility guidelines which are an international standard for making web content accessible to persons with disability. For example, the size of the text, the contrast ratio, providing captions, providing spoken language options as well. So, we have a variety of standards and we are taking a whole-of-Government approach to this.”