Josephine Teo
Singapore
“The Government's risk-calibrated approach to data security in artificial intelligence (AI) systems was explained in a written reply, given on 9 January 2024, to related questions asked by Dr Tan Wu Meng and Mr Gerald Giam.”
“Access to frontier models is helpful for specific use cases, such as advanced research and cybersecurity. However, these form a small proportion of artificial intelligence (AI) demand. For most industry, Government and research uses, capable models are already available.”
“The Government tracks the development of technical standards for identifying artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content, including watermarking and digital provenance approaches, as part of broader efforts to manage AI-related risks.”
“Upon receiving a valid report of intimate image abuse, the Commissioner of Online Safety is empowered by law to direct Online Service Providers (OSPs) to disable access by Singapore users to the specified harmful online material. This direction may be extended to cover identical copies found on the platform.”
“The Government is committed to keeping children safe online. We have announced plans to extend age assurance requirements to designated social media services, including requiring platforms to keep users under 13 off their services.”
“Under the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025, the Commissioner of Online Safety is empowered to issue directions to platforms to remove specified harmful content, including intimate image abuse.”
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“Of course, the officers need training to reskill and reorientate and they are getting that retraining. They learn X-ray image analysis and also how to do security profiling using analytics. About 40 officers have been trained so far. Mr Desmond Choo asked how retiring officers are being supported in job placement. To remind the House, the retirement age was raised from 50 to 55 in 2013. The Career Transition Office for Home Team officers was set up in 2016. It is helping retiring officers to find employment within the Home Team or public sector agencies as civilian officers, or with private sector companies, for example, security firms. It organises networking sessions with prospective employers. It also recognises that, for the officers, adjustments are needed. So, the officers can try out potential job opportunities, whether at public agencies or private sector companies. For up to three months prior to their retirement, they will continue to receive salaries from the Home Team, even as they try out these new jobs. Mr Desmond Choo also suggested further ideas for transforming the Home Team. They are all good ideas and we will seriously consider them. 2.30 pm Dr Tan Wu Meng asked about plans to transform the private security industry. The Security ITM was recently launched and it is a tripartite effort among the Government, security service providers as well as the buyers and the union. The core idea is this: that we want to transform service delivery through four things: intensify the use of technology and innovation; promote smart buying, and for the Government to take the lead in doing so; align regulations as well as upgrade skills and career advancement of opportunities. The benefits are real.”
“If it is found to have been grievous, they will take action against the perpetrators. But the resources we have are limited and the public should also play its part – do not borrow from unlicensed moneylenders in the first place and to advise family and friends against doing so, and also to seek help through other means. These are just some of the examples that the Home Team is using technology to counter emerging threats and enhance our effectiveness. As a result of these efforts, technology investments will increase significantly. Our annual investment in technology infrastructure alone – and, by that, I am referring to sensors and sense-making, for example, the Command, Control and Communication systems – is projected to triple over the next two years. It demonstrates our resolve to remain effective, even with rising terror threats and manpower constraints. But technology alone is not enough. The value of technology lies in how it is used. The man-machine mix must be effective. Mr Desmond Choo alluded to this. Job redesign will, therefore, be a big part of this effort. It will help to ensure that Home Team jobs remain relevant and challenging and will allow our officers to maximise their value-add. One example is the ICA's Buss Scanning Project. You can find it at the Tuas Checkpoint where two radiographic imaging scanners are being installed. What these two scanners do is to scan all the arriving buses to detect anomalies, such as hidden compartments. How does it help the officers and the Home Team? Well, their time and attention are freed up. They can use the scanning results to perform targeted checks instead of performing checks on all the buses. What this means is that it gives the real criminals a harder time.”
“Unlicensed moneylending cases involve damage to property and these cases have fallen by more than 80%, from more than 7,600 cases in 2012 to just about 1,000 cases in 2017, an 80% drop. The Police have been coming down very hard on unlicensed moneylenders and they have successfully curtailed all of these cases that I have mentioned, especially those that involved physical harassment or confrontation because they caused damage to property. The Police have been relentless and, as a result, the unlicensed moneylending syndicates have been forced to change their modus operandi and find other methods of harassment. Assoc Prof Daniel Goh spoke about the spike in moneylending harassment in 2013. These were mostly cases that did not involve damage to property. They involved non-physical forms of harassment, such as through text messages and social media. They are not necessarily a sign of heightened loan shark activity. It could simply be due to the proliferation of online messaging services, and also the easily available technological tools to mask the identities of the senders. But naturally, the victims are distressed and the harassment by text messages and online means are much harder to prevent and to crack. We deal with them in a few ways. First, people should know that unlicensed moneylending is illegal and, if they borrow from unlicensed moneylenders, they risk becoming the victims of harassment. Second, if the borrowers are harassed by unlicensed moneylenders, they get protection from the Harassment Act. This provides a means for victims to seek protection. If harassment involves threats, hurt and property damage, the victims should report the cases to the Police and the Police will investigate.”
“Secondly, the speed of detection is much quicker. You can get results within three hours. Compared to traditional screening methods, you need four times as long, 12 hours. It has also been tested elsewhere in Singapore, at large-scale public events, and when epidemic outbreaks elsewhere are at risk of reaching our shores. But thankfully, no incident of bio-terrorism agents has been detected so far. But we have developed the capability and, in case it happens, we can take preventive or mitigation measures more quickly, so as to reduce the spread of viruses and diseases. Technology is also being used to improve our operational effectiveness. It is cutting down time spent on routine tasks. It is helping our officers to do more with less, and it is helping to reduce the exposure of our officers to dangerous situations. We take SCDF, for example. Since 2014, they have been using something called an unmanned firefighting machine (UFM). What this UFM does is that it can shoot giant jets of water to extinguish fires, and it is remotely controlled. Therefore, it can go deep into dangerous areas and it is much less risky than deploying our officers to do so. It has proven its usefulness in fighting major fires at Sungei Kadut, Jurong Island and Tuas. SCDF is also developing Exo-skeletons. It can help SCDF officers lift heavier loads, so that they can sustain operations for a longer period of time. Another game-changer in Home Team Transformation is something we are all, as Members of Parliament, quite familiar with, and that is the Police Camera (PolCam) initiative. This was launched in 2012. It is welcomed by many residents. The footage has helped to solve more than 900 cases of unlicensed moneylending.”
“One, to counter emerging threats and, two, to improve our effectiveness. Let me say a little bit more about emerging threats, in particular, biological attacks. Terrorist groups are seeking to develop such capabilities. What they plan to do is to use viruses or infectious diseases as weapons. How do we know that this is happening? The Al-Qaeda has an encyclopedia of Jihad, and in the 11th volume of this encyclopedia of Jihad, it is entirely devoted to chemical and biological weapons. And, of course, when terrorists are captured, the reports also show that they admit to such plots. The question is why are biological weapons attractive to terrorists? The reasons are because they are hard to detect, it is not immediately observable that a biological attack has taken place and, by the time it is known, there will already be many victims. It can cause widespread panic and the public could be gripped by fear. They could either self-quarantine themselves or they want to avoid contact. That poses a major risk for a place like Singapore where many people pass through our borders. We are a global and regional hub for business, finance, aviation and maritime matters. It can mean a total shutdown for Singapore and we had some experience of that, like during the period of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). How can we deal with this threat? MHA has implemented a Bio-surveillance Programme. This is taking place at our borders. We have laboratories and we have equipped them with state-of-the-art Lab-on-Chip systems. Mr Desmond Choo will be happy to know that this Lab-on-Chip system that is in use at our borders is developed by a local company Veredus Laboratories. This system is superior in two ways. First, it can test for multiple biological threats, not just one.”
“We started them because it was the festive season. They are armed with submachine guns. If something happens, they can intervene more swiftly and effectively until the other forces arrive. Mr Christopher de Souza, Ms Rahayu Mahzam and Mr Desmond Choo rightly pointed out that the preparedness must go beyond the Home Team. Every Singaporean has a role to play, and that is why community partnership is a key part of the Home Team's work, and also why we launched the SGSecure movement. We are now moving into the next phase of SGSecure. What that means is that from awareness, we now focus on preparedness. One focal point is workplaces because everyone goes to work every single day. They are very much a part of our lives. We spend quite a lot of time at the workplace. So, we launched the SGSecure Guide for Workplaces and this was in September last year. It provides tips and resources for employers. There are advisories that the employers can distribute to their staff. And what it does is to guide people on what they can do in an attack – where to hide safely, how to perform improvised first-aid because you will not have all the essential materials that usually are associated with first-aid, you have to improvise. Overall, we are making good progress in enhancing deterrence and preparedness. But we cannot let our guard down and we must continue to press on. Let me turn to Home Team Transformation. Mr Desmond Choo has asked for a progress update. The Home Team Transformation has to be a multi-year effort but with a clear and consistent purpose and, that is, to renew and strengthen our capabilities, so that we can remain a prepared, effective and trusted force. Technology is a big part of that transformation journey. We are using technology in two areas.”
“Thank you, Sir. Members spoke about the different challenges that the Home Team faces. I will expand on MHA's responses in three areas. First, counterterrorism; second, Home Team transformation, and that is not just in technology but also in manpower; and third, on the private security industry. Let me deal, first, with terrorism. Mr Christopher de Souza and Ms Rahayu Mahzam spoke about this. The threat to Singapore is at its highest level in recent years. It has not abated; it has probably intensified. And how do we deal with it? Essentially, there are three strategies. First, to guard against social fault lines, and segregationist tendencies are of the biggest concern. The Minister has already explained how we go about it. Second, to make it harder for the terrorists to carry out attacks. Make them think twice, thrice if possible, before they target us. Third, be well-prepared to respond. When it happens, we will be shocked, but we must not be immobilised. I will expand on the latter two strategies. We have made significant moves to enhance preparedness and deter attacks. Our laws are being updated. Last year, we amended the Public Order Act. We introduced the Infrastructure Protection Act. Later this month, Parliament will debate the Public Order and Safety (Special Powers) Bill. We are coming to Parliament to seek Members' support because the Police may need the additional powers to protect public safety for serious incidents like a terror attack. This does not mean that the Police is not, at the same time, doing other things, such as enhancing operational response capabilities. In December last year, we put in place In-Situ Reaction Teams. These are officers who patrol the areas of high human traffic, for example, Orchard Road and Marina Bay.”
“The empirical evidence for Assisted Reproduction Technology success rates is quite stark. For women aged between 35 and 39, the success rate is 18%, in other words, less than one in five. Once you cross into the next five-year band, from age of 40 to 44, it is less than 8%, which means less than one in 10. The challenge for the Government is that if you make the support available to those above the age of 40, it does give the impression that there is a reasonable chance for you to succeed. Otherwise, how is it that the Government can justify using taxpayers' money to subsidise this? This is something that is of great concern to us, whether we give the misimpression that there is a chance of succeeding even though that chance is very low. So, for the time being, there will be no change.”
“The short answer to that question is that I am really open to suggestions. If you know of a way in which the Government can do this without coming across like nannies and without being thought of as being very intrusive in people's private affairs, I think we are certainly keen. The Social Development Network, under the charge of MSF, continues to support the private dating scene, primarily from the point of view that this is not always something that is the Government's core competence. Expanding the network where private sector players have the right creative ideas to bring people together, that continues to be an emphasis. I just want to reassure the Member that the Social Development Network is continuing its work. It has not stopped its work at all.”
“Mr Louis Ng asked whether the unpaid leave for unplanned emergencies can be legislated. In fact, legislation is always an option. We legislated paternity leave. But as Mr Seah Kian Peng pointed out, even with legislation, the utilisation is only 46%. When you consider that South Korea legislates paternity leave, in fact, of a much longer duration than we have, the utilisation is, if I am not mistaken, just about 2%. So, the real question is not whether we can or we cannot legislate. The real question is why, even with legislation, utilisation is not always 100%. I think that has got to do with the fact that, at workplaces, people do not always feel that they can use their entitlements. And that also has got to do with culture, whether there is a comfort that there will be no push back from the employers, that performance appraisal is not impacted, that co-workers are not unhappy because you go away. These things do not happen overnight. They take time to change. What we have attempted to do is, when there is a new leave type, perhaps we start with a tripartite standard first. Let the employers who are ready and willing, come on board, and then expand this group. Because what you really need to do is to promote a new culture. This culture of support is harder to try and bring about, but it is the right thing to do.”
“Thank you. I will try my best. If we take a look at our female labour force participation rate for Singapore, we reach the highest level up to the age of 29 and then it drops and it does not recover. Japan actually is lower than us at the younger ages; the black one is below the red line but after the drop it recovers and there is a double hump. Let us take a look at Sweden. It remains high, all the way up to women in their 50s. So, how do we address this in the case of Singapore? It is the reason why the current priority is: one, more preschool places near homes, near workplaces to enable women to continue working and have that peace of mind; two, sharing of parental responsibilities that Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin spoke about − more support for not just mums but also dads, more workplace support, FWAs, and I will share more during the COS debate on MOM.”
“We all developed rapidly around the same time, and it had that sort of an effect on our TFR. What other causes? I shared last year during the COS debate quite extensively so I would not attempt to repeat everything in its entirety. But I would say that based on my recollection, we did highlight that in the case of South Korea, there is a very extensive programme of support and it, too, has not achieved the same results as the countries that it drew inspiration from when designing those support programmes. So, the upshot is that we cannot conclude that financial, legislative support alone is enough. On the other hand, we must be cognisant of what could have happened without the support measures. Could it be possible that TFR in South Korea and also Singapore would have fallen further without these support measures? What matters appears to be that, more than a package of support measures, society as a whole needs to make marriage and parenthood achievable, enjoyable and celebrated. All three things have to come together. For millennials, this is the part we are very mindful of. I think we must recognise that they have career aspirations. Most of them want to remain active in the workforce. They want to achieve their potential. Especially for the women, there is so much more room for us to improve. Mr Chairman, if you let me show a slide, I hope to illustrate the point.”
“Mr Chairman, I want to thank the Member Mr Melvin Yong for his question. Earlier on, I was talking about Russia and the Order of Parental Glory. Deputy Prime Minister Teo pointed out to me that the Order of Parental Glory that Russia has, requires seven children, before you can make it to the Kremlin to receive this Order. But in Soviet times, actually you need 10 children in order to receive the Hero Mother of Soviet Union Award. Our package of support does not require 10 or even seven kids. One kid will do! We provide quite a wide-ranging suite of schemes. I distributed the compilation earlier. The handout will show that it is quite comprehensive, and the schemes have also been progressively enhanced. If you add them all up, it is about $3 billion each year. But I think in addressing the question that Mr Melvin Yong brought up, it is perhaps useful for us to take a step back and ask what has happened to our TFR over a longer time horizon. If we did that, we can make two observations. The first is that TFR has been below the replacement level of 2.1 for about 40 years. And the second is that it has stabilised at around 1.2 since 15 years ago. So, let me try and say a bit more about each one of those two observations. First, on the decline of TFR. The sharpest decline we experienced was in the 1960s and then the 1970s. That period coincided with rapid urbanisation as well as economic growth, and the pattern is quite similar to the developed East Asian societies and even in the Nordic countries. So, quite a similar pattern. The second observation that TFR has stabilised around 1.2, that is also a level that is quite similar to the East Asian societies of South Korea, Taiwan, Japan.”
“No, Mr Chairman. I agree and I hear the Member's question. I will certainly respond to him later during clarification time.”
“Agencies have been planning ahead to create a vibrant and endearing Home in which Singaporeans can live, work and play. These include plans to build new towns, such as Tengah and Bidadari, and extend our rail networks. The Downtown Line has fully opened, and more lines, such as the Thomson-East Coast Line, Jurong Region Line and Cross-Island Line, are on the way. The size of our population will be an important input for planning. Given recent trends in foreign employment and the current pace of immigration, we expect that (a) by 2020, total population is likely to be below six million; (b) by 2030, the total population is likely to be significantly below 6.9 million, as Prime Minister Lee announced previously. Our long-term infrastructure plans are well in place and being steadily implemented. The respective Ministers will update on the progress of the plans under their charge. Mr Chairman, to conclude, we have planned ahead to address our long-term challenges of an ageing population and low TFR, to ensure a healthy population profile that improves the lives of each generation. Together, we can work towards a bright future in 2030 and beyond: (a) where Singapore remains a great home to build families and grow old together; (b) where our economy is vibrant and able to create good jobs for Singaporeans; (c) where society is open yet cohesive; and (d) where there is quality infrastructure to meet our needs. Our strategies have Singaporeans’ interests at heart. We are well prepared for the future and have a strong foundation upon which to keep building up a nation that we will always be proud to call home.”
“Today, one in three marriages are between a Singaporean and non-Singaporean. Just as Peiru's family opened their hearts and welcomed Kenny into their lives, so, too, can Singapore continue to welcome people who are able to contribute, and certainly those who are committed to sinking roots here. And in the same way that Kenny has won over Peiru's family through his words and deeds, Singaporeans hope that newcomers can adapt to our local cultures and social norms and, for immigrants especially, to fully embrace our way of life. To facilitate this process, the National Integration Council works with its partners in the community, workplaces and schools to help newcomers settle in better and appreciate Singaporean values and way of life. Over the past three years, the Council, under the leadership of Minister Grace Fu, has supported more than 320 ground-up integration projects by 150 organisations. These projects encourage immigrants and locals to bond over various interests, such as sports and volunteerism. Companies and schools have also stepped up to organise events on their own. Ultimately, integration involves all of us. Integration will always be a work-in-progress and take time. As Ms Rahayu Mahzam correctly points out that while we seek to preserve the character of our society, we must also maintain a sense of openness to those joining us. This duality must firmly remain embedded in our DNA. It is the foundation on which we can build a harmonious, multiracial and multicultural society that stands the test of time. Mr Chairman, I have outlined our approach for achieving a healthy population profile. We are also investing in building up quality infrastructure.”
“The PR population remains largely stable at around 530,000, with 31,849 PRs granted last year. But as I said earlier, it is more than just the numbers. We are selective about the profile of our immigrants, because it affects how we grow a strong national identity. This is why we prioritise not only those who can contribute, but those who are also prepared to sink roots in Singapore and can integrate well here. A significant proportion of citizenships granted each year have family ties with Singaporeans and/or lived here for some time. Kenny, whom I mentioned earlier, was born in Malaysia, and he came here to study when he was 18. There are many examples like him and Peiru, where a Singaporean marries a foreigner and both have chosen to settle in Singapore to raise their young ones. Mr Darryl David and Ms Rahayu Mahzam asked what more can be done to strengthen integration. It starts with how we see ourselves and how our nation was built up. As Prime Minister Lee reminded all of us in his New Year Message, "Our forefathers came from China, India, the region and beyond, leaving their families behind, to seek better lives here. They came as sojourners, with no intention to stay. But slowly, this changed. They brought their families over or formed families here. They built hospitals, schools, mosques, temples and churches for their communities. They brought their own cultures and traditions, interacted with one another, and wove these strands together into a rich and diverse tapestry. Over time, out of their shared experience grew a Singaporean identity, a shared sense of being rooted in Singapore", end quote. The journey of integration starts with this understanding and is deepened though relationships, which have to go both ways.”
“Without immigration, not only will our working age population shrink rapidly, the total number of citizens will eventually decline. This is why, each year, we take in a carefully balanced number of new immigrants. Last year, 22,076 Singapore Citizenships were granted, about the same as in the past few years. Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked if our immigration policy will change, given our low TFR. I would like to show another slide. If our current citizen population was able to replace itself with a TFR of 2.1, we can have a stable citizen population well into the future. What you see on the chart is that our citizen population is 3.4 million today, or as of 2017. And if you project well into the future, assuming a TFR of 2.1, then even without immigration, the citizen population is stable. But, at the current TFR, and if there was no immigration at all, our citizen population will shrink in the long term. You see that through the blue line which assumes a constant TFR of 1.2 and no immigration. At around the current rates of immigration, we are close to achieving the same effect as if we had full-replacement TFR. 3.45 pm The dotted lines, one that shows immigration of about 15,000 Singapore Citizenships granted a year; the other dotted line higher on the graph, 25,000. Members will see that between those two dotted lines, we will be able to mimic the situation as if we have replacement TFR. Therefore, we do not expect any major changes to our immigration policy presently. In other words, with a moderate level of immigration, we can prevent the citizen population from shrinking in the long term. We have also taken in a steady number of Permanent Residents (PRs) each year, many of whom take up citizenship eventually.”
“The Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) sets out clear expectations for companies to practise fair hiring. The Human Capital Partnership Programme supports progressive employers who are committed to strengthening local-foreign complementarity. A new Capability Transfer Programme will support businesses, associations and professional bodies for the specific purpose of building up local capabilities through the help of foreign expertise. By focusing on local-foreign workforce complementarity, we continue to see good employment outcomes for Singaporeans. Employment rates for those aged 25 to 64 are on an upward trend. Unemployment rates have generally remained low. And over the last five years from 2012 to 2017, real income at the median and 20th percentile of full-time employed citizens grew by 3.9% and 4.3% per annum. There is more to be done. For example, we can better match local jobseekers to occupations with significant vacancies and help them access new jobs that are being created. This will benefit both businesses and the local workforce. MOM will provide a fuller update later in the debate. From now till 2020, workforce growth will be around 1% to 2% per year. This is significantly less than in the past. From 2010-2020, we are looking at 1% to 2% growth. Compared to the previous decades, you will see very clearly that workforce growth will slow significantly in this decade. Having said that, we think that it is a more sustainable pace going forward. We appreciate businesses' efforts to make adjustments, and the economic agencies will continue providing strong support through various schemes and programmes. While managing foreign workforce flows to complement the local workforce, it is also important that we carefully manage immigration flows.”
“Our third strategy to achieve a healthy population profile is to maintain a careful balance in foreign worker as well as immigrant flows. Our total population growth has slowed considerably. Growth was 1% per year over the last five years, compared to 3% per year for the previous five years. Mr Chairman, I would like to show one slide and this has got to do with our working-age citizen population. Our working-age citizen population will soon shrink. Even with immigrants, the number of Singaporeans aged 20 to 64 is projected to peak at 2.2 million around 2020 and then it will decline thereafter. Without immigration, it would have started to shrink earlier and decline at a much faster rate. Recognising this trend, we have started transforming our economy towards lower manpower reliance and more productivity-driven growth. Recent results are encouraging. As Minister for Finance shared last week, last year's productivity growth was the highest since 2010. We should press on to raise productivity in all sectors of our economy. However, to sustain a healthy growth momentum that provides good jobs for Singaporeans, some workforce growth is still necessary. Therefore, we will continue to support higher labour force participation among locals and balance these efforts with a calibrated flow of foreign workers that complements our local workforce. From 2013 to 2015, foreign employment grew but at a much slower pace than the earlier years. In fact, since 2016, due mainly to cyclical factors in the Construction and Marine and Offshore Engineering sectors, foreign employment fell even as local employment expanded. MOM has also stepped up efforts to emphasise complementarity between the local and foreign workforce.”
“Our fourth enhancement is to introduce a new Tripartite Standard to encourage employers to provide caregiving leave in such instances. To promote voluntary adoption by employers, such leave will be unpaid and kept to four weeks. The Standard also provides up to two weeks of unpaid leave for employees with immediate family members who are hospitalised. So, this Tripartite Standard will really help the sandwich class, that is, those who have to look after the young as well as the seniors in their homes. The fifth enhancement is to extend and enhance the Work-Life Grant. We will provide more support to businesses to encourage the adoption of FWAs, in particular, job sharing. These will make it easier for employers to implement practices that enhance family-friendliness. I will share more in a few days. Besides these policy enhancements, employers, co-workers and the community can also provide strong support. For example, Mr Alex Yam will be glad to know that the PA's Embracing PArenthood Movement, which celebrates young families, reached out to 30,000 parents and caregivers across 250 celebrations held nationwide last year. I have attended some of these very joyous occasions that signal to the new parents that you are not alone and that the whole community is here to support. And so, through this Movement, several parent support networks have also been formed. We will continue to strongly support Singaporeans to start families sooner rather than later. Making Singapore a Great Place for Families is a continuous effort. The Government will do its part and work with employers and community organisations to keep up the momentum. Mr Vikram Nair and Mr Henry Kwek asked about our foreign workforce and immigration policies.”
“We will continue to enhance our policies where possible. Today, I will outline five further enhancements. First, we will do more to help couples own a home faster. As announced by Minister Heng Swee Keat last week, we have enhanced the Proximity Housing Grant to provide more support for couples who wish to live together with or near their parents. Some young couples are ready to settle down earlier in life and wish to apply for a BTO flat. We will provide more flexibility in our grant and loan processes to better support them in owning a home. Minister Lawrence Wong will share more later in the debate. Second, we will provide more assistance for couples who face difficulties conceiving. This is also what Ms Rahayu Mahzam suggested. Today, eligible couples receive co-funding of 75% of the costs of Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) treatment. From 1 April 2018, we will raise the maximum support available, from $6,300 to $7,700 for fresh cycles; and from $1,200 to $2,200 for frozen cycles. Third, we will enhance healthcare assurance for young families. Today, all newborn citizens receive a MediSave grant of $4,000 that can cover their MediShield Life premiums up to age 21. We will go further and extend MediShield Life to cover serious pregnancy and delivery-related complications so that expectant parents can have less to worry about. MOH will share more details in the coming months. Next, we will strengthen work-life support. While we have significantly enhanced parenthood-related leave provisions, there are sometimes unexpected caregiving needs that put families under stress, for example, congenital conditions or sudden illnesses among infants, or in cases of multiple or pre-term births.”
“The take-up is encouraging. We have got more than 80 staff who have taken it up. It is still a bit too early to form a view. But I think the feedback from these staff who have taken the extended leave is that the leave has been very helpful. We will also continue to encourage more fathers to make use of the enhanced leave provisions to care for their children. Since Paternity Leave was introduced five years ago, take-up rates have increased from 25% to 46%. As Mr Seah Kian Peng pointed out, there is still room for improvement. The Government pays for the Paternity Leave in full and we hope it helps employers to be supportive of employees who are new fathers. In addition to parental leave, we have strengthened support for workplace flexibility. More than 350 employers, covering about 250,000 employees, have adopted the Tripartite Standard on FWAs. This was launched just about six months ago. Three in four of these employers are from the private sector, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs). I believe Ms Sun Xueling will agree that this is a good first step, as a society, in moving towards encouraging FWAs. But there is much more to do. We will encourage more employers to sign on to this Standard to distinguish themselves as employers with progressive workplace practices. I will speak more on the issue of FWAs during the COS debate for the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). At the same time, these support measures would not work if employees do not have the confidence to tap on them because of unsupportive supervisors or co-workers. This is why the Government takes a multi-pronged approach to helping Singaporeans achieve their marriage and parenthood aspirations, including by encouraging employers and community organisations to lend strong support.”
“At the same time, we will continue to safeguard the safety and well-being of children in preschools, including through regulation on space norms, which Ms Sun Xueling asked about. MSF will elaborate more on ECDA's preschool efforts later in the COS debate. Mr Darryl David and Ms Sun Xueling asked about the progress made in encouraging more family-friendly workplaces. We have, indeed, strengthened work-life support to help working parents achieve both career and family aspirations. Today, a working couple can access 20 weeks of paid leave and two weeks of unpaid leave in their child's first year. Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin suggested increasing leave support for fathers and extending adoption leave to adoptive fathers. Today, adoptive fathers already enjoy the same Paternity and Shared Parental leave provisions as biological fathers. We have also progressively enhanced our leave provisions for fathers over the years. For instance, we introduced Paternity Leave in 2013 and doubled it to two weeks in 2017. Similarly, we increased Shared Parental Leave from one to four weeks over the same period. In total, fathers, including adoptive fathers, can tap on up to eight weeks of leave to care for their children in the first year of birth. Our unions know that each time parenthood-related leave is enhanced, there is some risk of inadvertently denting the employment prospects of parents and causing some friction with other employees. Given the recent enhancements to the legislated leave provisions, we will give businesses some time to adjust. In the meantime, the Public Sector is piloting an additional four weeks of unpaid infant-care leave, for both fathers and mothers, to test the general viability of longer parental leave. It is only six months since we implemented that pilot.”
“First, we helped more couples get a home of their own more quickly. Since 2015, more than 50,000 new BTO flats have been launched, with priority allocation for first-timers. The vast majority of couples like Kenny and Peiru that applied for a BTO flat in a non-mature estate were able to select a flat by their second try, and all were able to do so by their third try. To provide faster access to housing, HDB will start to launch 1,100 flats with shorter waiting times of around two and a half years this year. And I understand that there is another batch of 2,000 to be launched in 2019. Second, we enhanced preschool support to give parents greater peace of mind that their children are well taken care of while they work. Ms Sun Xueling and Ms Tin Pei Ling had asked whether we can do more. The Government is committed to ensuring that every parent who wants a preschool place for their child will be able to have one. Over the past five years, we increased preschool capacity by 50%. There are now about 7,800 infant care places and 140,000 childcare places. We also ramped up affordable, quality places through the Anchor Operators (AOPs), Partner Operators (POPs) and MOE Kindergartens, with a focus on new estates with many young families. 3.30 pm Today, a median-income family who enrols their child in an AOP pays about $350 a month for full-day childcare, after Government subsidies. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) will continue to increase provision of affordable and quality infant care and childcare places. Over the next five years, there will be 40,000 new full-day preschool places to meet the needs of parents.”
“These are personal decisions. But we can help those who are ready to settle down. Mr Alex Yam spoke about the Government's support for Singaporeans to marry and have children earlier, and we thank him for his suggestions. Since 2001, we have invested significant resources in a comprehensive Marriage and Parenthood Package. We recently strengthened support, especially for young Singaporeans, in three main areas. Mr Chairman, may I have your permission to distribute a compilation of the Government's key support for marriage and parenthood?”
“One couple who managed to start a family, while pursuing their interests, are Kenny and Peiru. They are a sporty and adventurous couple who enjoy travelling and exploring the outdoors. As they were about to get their keys to a new Build-To-Order (BTO) flat in Punggol Waterway, they planned for their wedding. They knew that they wanted a meaningful occasion with family and friends and decided this was achievable without over-spending. Soon after getting married, Peiru found that she was expecting, and the couple put their sports and travel plans on hold. However, as soon as Peiru was out of confinement, they resumed their active lifestyle but, this time, with a new focus – making sure that baby Faith is part of it. In fact, they recently took Faith on a family-friendly coastal hike in Perth, slightly less challenging than what Kenny and Peiru are used to, but it is a start. Just like Kenny and Peiru, young Singaporeans today have many opportunities to pursue their passions. They may also prefer having their own home or establishing themselves financially before settling down. These factors have contributed to Singaporeans marrying and having children later. Two decades ago, the median age of Singaporean women at first marriage was around 26. Today, it is around 28. The median age of mothers at first birth has accordingly increased from 28.6 to 30.5. However, couples who marry later are more likely to face difficulties conceiving. Medically, it is well-established that one's chances of conceiving diminish sharply after the age of 35. For some couples, it is not that they set out to marry late. It is just how their lives unfold. The Government cannot interfere with how people go about finding a partner, or whether and when they start trying to have children.”
“This chart shows our citizen population by five-year age groups. From the 1950s to mid-1960s, we experienced a "Baby Boom", where births reached elevated levels. These cohorts are now in their mid 50s to 60s. When many of these "Baby Boomers" married and started having children, we saw an echo effect in the late 1980s and 1990s where births also reached elevated levels. These are the cohorts which Mr Alex Yam spoke about. Today, many of these "echo Baby Boomers" would be about 20 to 30 years old. They are included in the denominator used for calculating TFR. But they are only just entering the peak child-bearing ages. Compared to earlier cohorts, more of them are not yet married or have not started having children. When they do, we can expect the numerator, which is the number of births, to increase further. TFR could then also increase. Like Mr Melvin Yong, Members may wonder if our TFR will further decline, as parenthood competes with other priorities. Or could this dip be more like that of the year 2010, where it appeared to have been due to couples holding back parenthood plans in 2009 because of the Global Financial Crisis? We cannot say for sure. But based on many interactions with young people, I remain convinced and optimistic that we should continue to strengthen support for young families. Consistent with my own observations, our surveys show that a large majority of young Singaporeans want to marry and have children. However, what is also very clear is that these are not their only life goals. Half of the singles aged 21-35 whom we surveyed in 2016 wanted to focus on their career or studies before marrying. Almost eight in 10 said that travelling was an important life goal.”
“This is why our second broad strategy to shape a healthy population profile is to make Singapore a Great Place for Families. This means strongly supporting Singaporeans' aspirations to marry and have children so that both are achievable, enjoyable and celebrated. Singaporeans continue to value families, and the pace of family formation remains strong. Over the last four years, the number of citizen marriages and births has been above the past decade's average. But as Mr Melvin Yong and Mr Gan Thiam Poh highlighted, our TFR has remained low. It has hovered at around 1.2 in recent years. Last year, our TFR fell to 1.16. Why this apparent contradiction, when the number of births has been higher in the past few years? With your permission, Chairman, may I display some slides on the LED screens?”
“About six in 10 of active CPF members are now able to set aside the Basic Retirement Sum in their Retirement Accounts when they turn 55. By 2020, this proportion is expected to increase to seven in 10. But as Senior Minister of State Dr Amy Khor shared last month, we must continue to deepen our efforts at three levels: at the individual level, to enable seniors to continue pursuing their passion or causes, to work as long as they wish to; at the family level, to empower caregivers to give better support to our seniors to age-in-place; and at the community level, to build stronger communities of care, to complement family support for seniors. We also want our seniors to stay healthy as they live longer. With good health, more seniors who wish to work can do so. That is why we raised the re-employment age from 65 to 67 last year. We also provide employers wage offsets through the Special Employment Credit to encourage them to employ seniors. Last year, under the Adapt and Grow initiative, we enhanced support for mature professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) jobseekers, to make it more compelling for employers to hire them. We also recognise that with extended longevity, families worry about their ability to manage should serious disability strike. This is why, having introduced MediShield Life, MOH is reviewing ElderShield to strengthen support for seniors requiring long-term care. We will continue supporting Singaporeans to lead active lives well into their silver years, contributing to the economy and society while enjoying strong bonds with their families and communities. At the same time, we should find meaningful ways to support families who are bringing up the next generation.”
“At the same time, we face two long-term challenges as we shape our strategies: first, a rapidly ageing population; second, our low TFR, which many MPs have spoken about. Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Mr Henry Kwek asked about the Government's strategies to secure a bright future for Singaporeans in view of our demographic challenges. In this debate, I will provide an update on our population strategies and outlook, how we are planning ahead, as well as further measures to support marriage and parenthood. Mr Chairman, we have three broad strategies to shape a healthy population profile. First, to enable all Singaporeans to age with purpose and grace. Second, to make Singapore a Great Place for Families where marriage and parenthood are achievable, enjoyable and celebrated. And third, to maintain a careful balance in our foreign worker as well as immigrant flows. Let me start with the first strategy, which relates to a Motion debated in Parliament last month. Members will recall that the debate reaffirmed that "seniors are a gift to society", and we need a "whole-of-Singapore effort" to build a "nation for all ages". Our ambition is to enable all Singaporeans to age confidently with purpose, grace and dignity. We are making good progress. Today, Singaporeans are living an average of 74 years in good health, compared to 67 years three decades ago. Many who wish to continue working past the legal retirement age of 62 have been able to do so with our re-employment policies. More than four in 10 residents aged 65 to 69 are employed. This is the fifth highest employment rate when compared against the 35 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.”
“Mr Chairman, I thank Members for their thoughtful questions and suggestions. I am very pleased, of course, to know that several Members are contributing to our TFR – Mr Henry Kwek and his wife, Mr Alex Yam, Mr Desmond Choo recently and Ms Rahayu Mahzam and Mr Louis Ng, not so long ago. And I do echo the Chairman's exhortation that everyone else who can help, please chip in. Mr Alex Yam has shared with us what is happening in Russia. And, as it turns out, they have established the scheme called the Order of Parental Glory and they did so in 2009 because Russia also has severely low rates of birth. And what happens is that to receive the Order of Parental Glory, you go to the Kremlin and the President presents it to you. But in order to qualify, you have to have seven children. So, I think if we can get there, I am sure something can be arranged at the Istana. At last year's COS debate, I focused on how we can support Singaporeans to marry and raise a family. Today, I would like to take a longer-term view and share more broadly about how our population strategies prepare us for the future. We want to work towards a Singapore population that can, one, support a vibrant economy, so Singaporeans can earn a good living; two, enable a cohesive society, where people from different backgrounds can live in harmony; and three, sustain a stable citizen population over the long term, where citizens have a strong sense of national identity. It is a delicate balancing act to meet all three objectives. This is more than just the numbers. It is also about sensitivity towards how connected people feel with our evolving society.”
“Mr Speaker, the Member is right that we also want the self-employed persons to be able to keep up with all the changes that are happening within our economy. Where there are associations, for example, the sports coaches or the National Taxi Association, there have been mechanisms for outreach and we can certainly intensify the efforts. The plan is to do so. I will be talking about this during the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of Manpower. Where there are no associations, it becomes a bit harder. The reason is because if you look at the landscape of self-employed persons, although the numbers have been largely stable over the years, the occupations are very varied. There are at least 100 occupations among all self-employed persons. They keep changing as well. One assurance I can give to the Member is that where there is an association, where the self-employed persons have come together and they can identify common needs among themselves, then there is a way in which we can work with them to enable more of them to keep up with skills development.”
“The sources are Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club themselves. The information is from surveys done on the users of their services.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Member for her questions. Actually, for SkillsFuture, the Minister is seated right here and he is better placed to answer that question. But I will try my best. We work as a team. Indeed, if you consider the fact that SkillsFuture is a relatively new movement, the fact that so many people know of its existence is, to my mind, quite remarkable. Notwithstanding the fact that the one thing that is on their top of mind recall is the $500 credit. I think, increasingly, individuals are beginning to learn more about SkillsFuture. If you look at the perspective of the students, if the student is in a Polytechnic, he would know that there are programmes, such as Earn and Learn, which is one of the SkillsFuture programmes. If they are already in the workforce, SkillsFuture has launched two major initiatives. One is an advisory for individuals; second, there is an initiative to reach out to businesses to help them, in turn, help their own employees make better use of the many schemes that are available under SkillsFuture. Of course, at the same time, the Member correctly pointed out we would need to do things like roadshows and reach out to as many people as possible to help them understand how they can take advantage of the schemes. I should add that, in addition to SkillsFuture, likewise, we also conduct outreach on Adapt and Grow initiatives because, depending on individuals, whether they are actively looking for a job or they are just seeking to replenish their repertoire of skills in order to be ready for a transition in the future, I think it is worth our while to reach out to all of them. Many different types of approaches and channels will have to be exercised for that purpose.”
“Speaker, Sir, I would like to assure the Member that if and when the Police do decide to make an arrest, it must have grounds to believe that the person is not wrongly accused. If the Police's investigation leads them to the conclusion that there is nothing untoward about the person's conduct that would warrant an arrest, then they would not go ahead with an arrest. I do not know the specifics of the case that the Member has brought up. But I want to give the assurance that the Police only go ahead with an arrest if they have reason to believe that the person has committed an offence that is arrestable. If upon further investigation, they draw a different conclusion, that is a separate matter from them having to make the arrest in the first place. But to make an arrest in the first place, the Police must have reason to believe that an arrestable offence has been committed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I cannot say more about what will happen to the S-League clubs under investigation, but I can say that where the operations of the clubs are concerned, certainly, in terms of how they run the fruit machines, we have made progress. In fact, in the 2016 Committee of Supply debate, as far back as that, the Ministry of Home Affairs had announced that we were reviewing the regulations of fruit machines. In July 2017, we announced the outcome of the review, with new regulations to ensure that the fruit machines remain only an ancillary part of a club's broader suite of recreation and social offerings. Since July 2017, these new regulations have been in place and have to be observed by clubs, including the football clubs. They include more stringent criteria for fruit machine permits and a reduction in the availability and accessibility of fruit machine offerings. Insofar as the operations are concerned, there are more restrictions as well as stronger safeguards to protect individuals from the potential harms of fruit machine gaming. We have gone ahead with those measures even though investigations are still ongoing.”
“Mr Speaker, I do not have the detailed breakdown. But suffice to say that they would have to reflect the profile of the foreign student population in Singapore. By and large, unless my memory serves me wrong, I think a good majority of them come from Asia. The important thing to point out is that in assessing whether an applicant should be granted PR or Singapore Citizenship, an important consideration is the applicant's ability to integrate with the local population as well as his potential to contribute to our society. These considerations apply to all applicants, including the foreign students. 11.30 am”
“Can I ask Mr Saktiandi to repeat his question? I did not quite hear it.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his question. It really depends on what kind of support they are getting from the SSO. For example, if they are receiving ComCare long-term assistance, then, in fact, it would not affect their eligibility for a Silver Support payout and vice versa. But there are recipients of ComCare Support who are receiving the support for only an interim period, for the short term. This is temporary relief. As a result, the SSO will take into account all of the incomes that they have, including what they may be receiving under SSS. So, it really depends on the individual circumstances. The best way, if Mr Png has encountered specific residents with such a question, is that they can refer the question to the SSO, who would be quite happy to explain to the ComCare recipient the circumstances that are unique to him and how the payouts are determined.”
“It is a very good question. I believe Mr Ang, together with colleagues from the Ministry of Manpower, are part of a tripartite workgroup that have been looking into this issue for the past eight to nine months, if I am not wrong. In fact, I am very much looking forward to the recommendations from the tripartite workgroup. But since the Member has asked the question, I would like to point out that, today, freelancers or self-employed persons can also make use of the CPF scheme to help build up their healthcare and retirement adequacy. For healthcare adequacy, they are already required to make annual contributions to their CPF MediSave accounts. There is no such requirement for freelancers to contribute to their Ordinary Accounts or to their Special Accounts. But there is nothing to prevent them from making their own cash top-ups to the Special Account and to enjoy the benefits of doing so, for example, the very attractive interest rates. What more can we do? I think we can have a meaningful discussion once the tripartite workgroup provides its recommendations. I believe we would not have to wait much longer for that.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his supplementary question. In fact, we are not depending on the WIS Scheme alone to help low-wage workers build up retirement adequacy. Aside from WIS, we have taken various steps to help low-wage workers. This includes higher interest rates of up to 6% on the first $30,000 of CPF balances for members age 55 and above. We have also liberalised our CPF transfer rules to enable members who have met their BRS to support their spouses and parents with lower balances through CPF transfers. So, in other words, if you are a WIS recipient, you can also get help from other members of the family. In 2016, we introduced the Silver Support scheme to supplement the retirement incomes of the bottom 20% of the elderly who earned lower wages through life and currently have little or no family support. Overall, it is an approach that encourages individual effort, as well as family support, supplemented by Government top-ups and schemes which strengthen social protection. As to the Member’s concern about inflation, under the CPF LIFE Scheme, CPF members, not just those who do not meet the BRS, can opt for the CPF LIFE Escalating Plan. What that would enable them to do is to accept a lower monthly payout when they start but, over time, to have the payouts increase to meet their spending needs. The CPF LIFE Escalating Plan started on 1 January 2018.”
“Mr Speaker, I shared earlier in my response that the licensees are regularly inspected. In the case of Shell Bukom, they were, in fact, last inspected in December 2017. At that time, they were found to have met with the compliance requirements of the licensing conditions. The matter is before the Courts, so I cannot say very much more, except that the investigations seek to reveal how the thefts occurred, and this may or may not have anything to do with the adequacy of the security measures. So, the best thing for us to do is to let the Police complete their work and then we can have a meaningful discussion on what more can be done to prevent such recurrence.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank Mr Patrick Tay for the feedback. It is well noted. The CSP has been on-going for just about two years. We accept the fact that we can improve on outreach and enable more employers to know about the help that is available to them, and will certainly strengthen the outreach, particularly to SMEs. As it stands right now, the outreach to the SMEs, or at least if you look at the numbers, SMEs take-up is not too bad – it is about half. To his question, if I understand correctly, on whether we can detect that a person has been employed and so, automatically provide a CSP assistance to his employer. The difficulty with that is: how do we know that there was a wage gap? It is only when, if the person has been employed, one assumes that the employer was happy to pay whatever was finally agreed upon. So, it is not something that we can presume, and there are so many cases where people have entered into jobs, and the employers are happy to settle on a certain level of payment. So, we should not assume that there was a wage gap to begin with. At the same time I think, given what has been discussed in this House in the last couple of days, when disbursing grants, even in terms of wage support, we want to make sure that it is in cases that are really deserving. Can we improve on the application and the processing; can we make sure the employer does not have to wait too long? The answers to those questions are indeed, yes, but always maintaining a certain rigour in the assessment.”
“So, for example, there may be jobseekers who are struggling to cope emotionally with job loss and they have to cross that barrier before they be effective in job search. The Career Recharger programme does that for them – it is one-on-one counselling. There are those who have overcome that barrier, but they want to share tips with other jobseekers who are looking for work in the same field. The Career 360 programme does that for them. Then, there may be those who have not quite sorted out what they really want to do at that stage of their career. The Career Catalyst programme again provides one-on-one counselling to help them to do that. So, there are a whole range of programmes available, and we remain very open to what other interventions will help jobseekers regain employment more quickly, and we will continue to improve upon them.”
“I thank the Member very much for that supplementary question. Mr Deputy Speaker, the CSP is one of many programmes that the WSG, together with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), leverage on to help jobseekers, whether they have been unemployed for a short period of time or if they have been employed for extended periods of time. Obviously, the needs differ, and so, we do not use one programme exclusively. In the case of the CSP, it is very targeted. It addresses a specific issue with wages. In other words, the person is more or less job ready. The employer is quite keen to take him or her on. But the salary remains something that they cannot find agreement on. So, the CSP comes in specifically to address this issue. The Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) addresses a different set of issues. Under those circumstances, the jobseeker may be attractive to the employer, but there is a certain gap in the range of skills that he has that causes the employer to think a little bit harder. And so, the PCP comes in to intervene and encourages the employer to give the jobseeker an opportunity to close that skills gap. So, CSP takes care of wage gap; PCP takes care of skills gap. Within the whole range of programmes under the Adapt and Grow Initiative, there are yet others. For example, the P-Max programme deals specifically with the needs of SMEs. For some PMETs that are transiting from different work environments, the cultural context of operating in an SME may require them to have a longer period of adjustment. So, the P-Max programme does that. I should add that at the Careers Connect centres, which WSG operates, there are a whole range of other programmes that deal specifically with issues that jobseekers may have, and they are not confined to training intervention.”
“Deputy Speaker, to clarify, 70% remained in employment. But as it turns out, of those who remained in employment, 70% remained with the same employer and 30% moved on to another employer. But so as not to confused matters, we just stick to 70% remained in employment.”
“I should also add that it is not just spouses who can make transfers and cash top-ups. We made it easier for children to do so. This is all part of enhancing the family support for retirement adequacy.”
“To some extent, members can already exercise an option to do so, so that their spouses who they expect to outlive them can have better income streams after they pass on. What we have done is to make it easier for members to transfer their CPF savings and to make cash top-ups to their spouses' accounts, so that the spouses too can get their own stream of income or larger stream of income payouts in retirement. What I can share with you is that the various enhancements that have been made to the rules surrounding transfers and cash top-ups have had an effect. If you look at the data in 2012, the transfers and top-ups to spouses amounted to about $50 million. And then, if you fast forward to 2016, that amount of cash top-ups and transfers had quadrupled. It is certainly more than $200 million. The number of cash top-ups and transfers received by spouses in 2016 came to about 15,000. A good number of them, as a result of these transfers and top-ups, were able to achieve better retirement adequacy. To the Member's question, if I understand correctly, what about the remaining stream-outs that a member could have received, had he stayed alive? Can that be transferred? I think from an actuarial standpoint, that would be very difficult. Because then in that sense, what the actuaries will have to take into account is not one person's expected lifespan but two persons' expected lifespans. And that would differ from couple to couple. It is already challenging enough to try and estimate for each person. When you add the complexity of a couple, I think that makes it much harder. But I think what we will continue to do is to review the rules from time to time and where it is possible to do so, make it easier for people to make cash top-ups or transfers to their spouses.”
“I really want to thank her for raising this very important point about citizens' active participation because that can be the crucial difference in ensuring Singapore’s security. We started the SGSecure movement in 2016 precisely to raise public awareness of the threats we face and to increase their level of preparedness in the event of a terror attack in Singapore. Members of the public can certainly play their part in identifying potential threats in their neighbourhood or surroundings. At the checkpoints, they should not hesitate to inform the ICA officers and the Police if they come across anything suspicious. Members of the public can also report suspicious activities to the authorities via the SGSecure app, and I am glad to say that we regularly get such alerts. Mr Deputy Speaker, I hope I have addressed our MPs' questions and concerns. In conclusion, the Immigration (Amendment) Bill will strengthen the security of our checkpoints by enhancing the overall operational effectiveness of the ICC. With the support of this House, Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mrs Josephine Teo.] (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”