Koo Tsai Kee
Singapore
“Sir, I will forward the suggestion from Dr Wan to JTC because the Chinese Garden and the Japanese Garden are currently managed by the Singapore Leisure Industries Pte Ltd, which is a subsidiary of JTC. The National Parks Board manages a wide variety of public parks to meet the recreational needs of all Singaporeans.”
“Over the years, BCD has made sure that planning approvals have been speeded up. On building defects, this is something that the management corporations must sort out with the developers. If we ask developers to deposit more money with the Government, then this cost will be passed on to the home buyers.”
“Anything that stands on HDB land belongs to HDB. You are not supposed to remove, paint or vandalise it. But it is a small incident. We have to enforce it legally. Otherwise, it will become a precedent. If he wants to put up any signboard, he can just write to HDB.”
“Unless I have not done so, he can seek clarification. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Koo Tsai Kee]. Bill considered in Committee. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] Clause 1 -”
“Sir, if Mr Chiam has any suggestion, we will be happy to look at it. SENIOR CITIZENS' CONCESSIONARY TRAVEL ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT 13. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang asked the Minister for Communications if he will consider lengthening the period for senior citizens' concessionary travel on public transport which is 10 am to 4 pm in the day time to 9 am t…”
“Sir, I think we are going off tangent here. These are upgraders. Your sympathy should lie with the first-timers, should you not? If we encourage upgraders to upgrade all the time, then the first-timers will be left behind. So we are talking about people who have already taken the first bite of the subsidy cherry.”
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“Sir, I will forward the suggestion from Dr Wan to JTC because the Chinese Garden and the Japanese Garden are currently managed by the Singapore Leisure Industries Pte Ltd, which is a subsidiary of JTC. The National Parks Board manages a wide variety of public parks to meet the recreational needs of all Singaporeans. There is also a role for privately-run parks and recreational facilities like the Mandai Orchid Garden, Haw Par Villa, Japanese and Chinese Gardens. The National Parks Board cannot justify acquiring privately-run parks on the grounds of improving utilisation and giving free admission.”
“Over the years, BCD has made sure that planning approvals have been speeded up. On building defects, this is something that the management corporations must sort out with the developers. If we ask developers to deposit more money with the Government, then this cost will be passed on to the home buyers. It is true that the quality of construction in Singapore can improve and we will work on that. We need the help of everybody, including SCAL. Assoc. Prof. Low Seow Chay: Sir, I beg to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, on behalf of the Minister, I want to assure the House and everybody in Singapore that eating pork is very safe. In fact, tomorrow, I will invite my good friend, Dr Low, to eat bak ku teh again. The Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease is a viral disease which is spread by mosquitoes. It is potentially fatal to humans. The disease, however, cannot be contracted through consumption of pork, provided the pork is cooked. So it is a mosquito related problem, rather than a pig related problem. Of course, the pig is the carrier. The Primary Production Department is taking all measures to make sure that mosquito breeding in the hog auction market and the place where they load and unload pigs will be safe. So we will fog the place once a week. We have been fogging the place once a week and we have been spraying insecticide twice a day. We ensure that all the operators there will be vaccinated against JE. Again, eating pork is safe. Please carry on eating pork. Earlier on, in my rush to answer some questions, I forgot to answer two points on building regulations and building defects. On building regulations, we are not waiting for the BCA to be formed. In fact, right now, BCD and CIDB are looking at ways to trim the regulations. CIDB has commissioned a consultant's report a few months ago to make sure that our regulatory or compliance cost is low. In areas where we can trim the regulations, we would do so. BCD is now looking at the new Building Control Act to make sure that the building regulations are in line with modern standards, and unnecessary regulations will be discarded. I want to add that BCD has done very well, even though there is a perception out there that BCD is the depository of rules and regulations, and making construction cost high.”
“Unless I have not done so, he can seek clarification. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Koo Tsai Kee]. Bill considered in Committee. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] Clause 1 -”
“So he is convinced that we are giving Town Councils the flexibility of charging different rates for the same flat type because we find that upgraded flats cost more to maintain than older flats. We also recognise that for different group of flats, for example, we have standard 4-room flats, 4-room design-and-build flats and 4-room design-plus flats, the design-plus and design-and-build flats actually cost more to maintain than a normal standard 4-room flat because they are more luxurious and have more landscaping and things like that. Whether the Town Council wishes to charge different rates, we leave it to the Town Council. Since he mentioned about sinking fund, we find that some Town Councils are less than diligent in collecting their arrears from the residents. In other words, if they are supposed to collect Y$ from the residents per month in S&CC, they only collect X$, so they have a shortfall. What they do is they send a portion of the X$ into the sinking fund. We find the sinking fund is growing very slowly. We fear that when the time comes for cyclical upgrading, like re-roofing or changing of lifts, there may not be enough money in the sinking fund. This comes about because the MPs may want to be popular and may be less than diligent and he may not want to antagonise the residents. So we want the Town Councils to now reflect the arrears portion in the financial statements. So the residents and the public will know that there is a significant amount of arrears which were not collected and that amount should go into the sinking fund. In other words, we are going for a collectible system and the accounting should be in an accrual system. The Minister will direct on that. I think I have covered most of the points raised by Mr Chiam.”
“I think you are wrong there. I think you have read the part on the sinking fund.”
“It does not ask certain Town Councils to be a bit more diligent or pay more. We think that that is wrong. From now onwards, we look at individual Town Council and say, "If you are more responsible, if you clear the debris quickly and if there are less fire incidents in your Town Council, we will ask you to pay less or maybe even nothing." If there are a lot of fires in a particular Town Council, the Town Council has been negligent in clearing all the debris and fires keep on occurring at the same few blocks, then we have to penalise that Town Council. We have not worked out the exact co-payment part. But we will make sure that it would be equitable, transparent and affordable, and I can come here and defend it. So I hope he is convinced that we are not going after Potong Pasir Town Council. The culprits could be a PAP Town Council, I really do not know. On S&C charges, Mr Chiam See Tong said that S&C charges should be left to the Town Councils. That is what it is. It is up to him to levy X$ for 3-room type, Y$ for 4-room type, and Z$ for 5-room type. And we have not changed that principle. It is up to him. We do not tell him how much to charge. What we do is to give him the flexibility to charge different types of rates on the same type of flats. Let me give an example. When the Town Councils Act was enacted, we thought that the older flats would cost more to maintain. So we gave more grants to HDB. HDB gave more grants to Town Councils for older flats. But over the years, we find that when we upgrade an old flat, let us say, an upgraded 3-room flat, the cost of upgrading and maintenance goes up because we put in more lifts, faster lifts, more landscaping and more lighting points. So it would cost more.”
“In that particular incident, the CCC did seek the permission of HDB but they did not seek the Town Council's permission because it is the managing agent, but not the landlord. So that is the technical legal point which he conceded and he put back the signboard. Anyway, that is not a very serious allegation he has made. There are other more serious ones. On the insurance of common property, he said that it goes against the spirit of the Town Council. He said that the common property belongs to HDB, so HDB should insure the common property and not ask the Town Council to share this premium burden. Over the last few years, from 1991 to 1997, the fire claims had gone up almost two-fold, from about $315,000 to $776,000. A lot of the fires were actually caused by debris collected in the common areas, like lift lobbies and corridors, and the debris should have been removed by the Town Councils. It is due to the negligence of the Town Councils that these fires were started in the first place. There is a moral hazard here. If we do not ask the Town Councils to bear a part of the premium, then the Town Councils will not remove the debris diligently. No doubt, the Town Councils have no control over who throws the debris, but nonetheless it is the duty of the Town Council, as the managing agent of HDB, to remove the debris whenever they occur. There is a moral hazard there. If we do not ask the Town Councils to pay part of the premium, they will just sit back, take it easy, and more fires will take place and the premiums will snowball. When HDB insures the Town Councils against fire risks, HDB insures it board-wide, that means, it will take up insurance for all the common property owned by HDB. It does not discriminate against certain Town Councils.”
“Anything that stands on HDB land belongs to HDB. You are not supposed to remove, paint or vandalise it. But it is a small incident. We have to enforce it legally. Otherwise, it will become a precedent. If he wants to put up any signboard, he can just write to HDB. And if they are not objectionable, I do not see any reason why he cannot put it on Government land.”
“It is not, as Mr Ang misunderstood it, to manage the non-common property land itself. The land belongs to the State. HDB is made an agent of the State. We are saying that we allow the Town Councils to use the money to repair, maintain, improve and even replace those facilities that stand on non-common property. So I think that is quite clear now. But I will take up Mr Ang's suggestion and ask HDB to liaise with Land Office and see what we can do. The other point I want to clarify is that the non-common property land usually belongs to the State, which is reserved land, and the State will have some use for the land in the long term. So it would be difficult for the Government to allow Town Councils to manage the land. I hope those points will clarify Mr Ang's queries. Now, I come to Mr Chiam See Tong. Mr Chiam is very suspicious. He thinks that this Bill is to fix him. Far from it, it is not. Because what fixes him, fixes all the other 14 PAP Town Councils. So we are actually suffering more than him. But I will go through some of his points. First, he said that we treat him differently. In fact, the treatment is the same. If any PAP Town Council wants to do any permanent work on the common property, it has to seek the land owner's, which is HDB, permission to do so. Usually, HDB does not say no, provided certain conditions are complied and provided the Town Council funds the project. So this applies to him at the same time. The recent incident which he brought up was when he put up a signboard without seeking permission from HDB.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank the two Members, Mr Ang Mong Seng and Mr Chiam See Tong, for raising relevant queries. I want to thank all the Members of Parliament who are still sitting around and listening carefully at this hour of the day. Mr Ang Mong Seng raised three points. The first is whether we could allow Town Councils not just to repair and maintain but also to manage vacant land. I think there is a misunderstanding here but I will clarify later on. The second point Mr Ang raised was to allow Town Councils to issue TOLs for use of such vacant lands so that Town Councils can collect the fees for functions held on non-common property. The third point he raised was whether we would allow IUP and MUP funds to be extended to works on non-common property. When the Town Councils Act was enacted on 29th June 1988, the objective was, and still is today, to control, maintain, manage and improve the common property. That has not changed. But over the years, some things have changed. For example, we have IUPs, we have extensive use of CIPC funds. On rare occasions, will the CCCs seek permission to fund a project from a common property to a non-common property? For example, a short linkway from a HDB block to a bus stop. That linkway crosses from a common property to a non-common property, ie, crosses into State land. In these circumstances, funds are available for the Town Council, acting on behalf of the CCC, to build the linkway using IUP or CIPC funds. But the Town Council could not maintain or manage the part of the linkway which stands on non-common property. So this Bill serves to allow Town Councils certain flexibility to use the operating funds to maintain and manage the facility on non-common property.”
“Sir, if Mr Chiam has any suggestion, we will be happy to look at it. SENIOR CITIZENS' CONCESSIONARY TRAVEL ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT 13. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang asked the Minister for Communications if he will consider lengthening the period for senior citizens' concessionary travel on public transport which is 10 am to 4 pm in the day time to 9 am to 5 pm.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if Dr Vasoo knows of such cases, could he please write to the Ministry and we will look at them carefully. CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND (Financing of budget deficit) 5. Mr Ong Kian Min asked the Minister for Finance, in view of the fact that measures to reduce business costs will lead to a loss of revenue for the Government, whether he will ensure that (i) Central Provident Fund (CPF) money will not be used to finance any part of the budget deficit that may arise; and (ii) sufficient safeguards are in place to prevent such uses of CPF money.”
“There is a huge demand in the resale market. Members must have read in the newspapers that the resale demand for this year has shot up to about 50,000 units. So there is no shortage of demand. The cases that we hear of people having difficulty in selling their 3-room flats boils down to price and location. For location, we can always discount it and sell it at the right price. There is always a clearing price for everything. Does he not agree?”
“The first criterion will be price. If Mr Low Thia Khiang's residents are selling a 3-room flat for $250,000, then the answer is no straightaway. But if the price is reasonable, then the next criterion is whether the 3-room HDB flat would be of use to somebody else, because we cannot keep empty stocks of 3-room flats around. These are taxpayers' monies. So we must buy a flat which is reasonably in demand. But we give the benefit of the doubt to the future buyers. In other words, we think that there will be a demand for this particular unit bought back from the market.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there is no truth in the allegation, as HDB actively buys back all good 3-room flats because we recognise that there is always a group of people who need 3-room flats even though their aspirations may be 4- or 5-room flats. So there is no truth in that statement.”
“Sir, the word "discourage" is not quite right. We give preference to first-timers, people who have never had the first bite of the cherry. For people who are living in 3-room flats today and want to upgrade to 4-room flats, we understand their aspirations. That is the reason why 4-room flat prices are benchmarked very affordably. BUY BACK SCHEME OF 3-ROOM HDB FLATS (Stepping up of purchase) 4. Dr S. Vasoo asked the Minister for National Development if the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will step up the purchase of 3-room HDB flats under the Buy Back Scheme. Mr Koo Tsai Kee (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Selective Buy-Back of 3-room Flats Scheme was introduced on 19th May as one of the four measures taken by the Government to help low-income families own HDB flats. Eligible low-income families with household income not exceeding $1,500 per month can purchase the 3-room buy-back flats at heavily subsidised prices. In addition, some of these flats bought under the scheme are also offered for sale to lessees affected by SERS and tenants affected by Relocation Exercises, and for letting to rental applicants under the Transitional Rental Housing Scheme. HDB will continue to buy 3-room flats from the open market under the buy back scheme to cater to the demand from the low-income families and the housing needs under the other various schemes. Based on the current demand, there is no need to step up the purchase of such 3-room flats.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Government policies are never static. We always review policies as situations change. I thank the MP for Tanjong Pagar for his advice.”
“Sir, I think we are going off tangent here. These are upgraders. Your sympathy should lie with the first-timers, should you not? If we encourage upgraders to upgrade all the time, then the first-timers will be left behind. So we are talking about people who have already taken the first bite of the subsidy cherry. Why are we crying for people who have got a big bite of the cherry already? When a 3-roomer sells his 3-room flat and applies for a 4-room flat, the 4-room is sold at a heavy subsidy too, but the subsidy is now smaller because of the 22.5% resale levy. I think he did not get his perspective right, Mr Speaker.”
“Yes, correct, it is money and money is hard-earned. But maybe the Member for Hougang did not hear me. The resale price for a 3-room flat today is about $150,000-$180,000. The original selling price of a 3-room flat for those who are eligible to sell their flats today was only about $44,000. If you do a simple calculation, the capital gain is huge with over $100,000. Out of the $100,000 capital gain, which is tax free, you just pay 20% to the Government. You need not pay this amount until you get your new flat.”
“Sir, the resale levy for a 3-room flat is only 20%.”
“Sir, because the selling prices of new HDB flats are still lower than the resale flats in the market today. Yes, resale prices have fallen by about 25% from the peak in 1996 and we have consequently adjusted the selling prices of new flats. But there is still a big gap between the price of a new flat and the price of an old flat. In view of the substantial market subsidy, the resale levy should stay.”
“Sir, I think the Member did not hear me correctly. If you sell your first flat which you purchased from the HDB some years ago, at least five years ago, and now you want to buy a resale flat, you do not pay the resale levy. You only pay the resale levy when you queue up and buy the next flat direct from HDB. Resale flats have indeed fallen in prices. So as a percentage of the smaller selling price, the absolute amount of the resale levy is already smaller. Apart from that, people who are eligible to sell today have already occupied their flats for at least five years. For those who are eligible to apply for a second flat, they would have stayed in the flat for 10 years. In other words, they would have bought their flats either in 1988 or 1993. In 1993, the price of a 3-room flat from HDB was only $44,000. In 1988, the price of a 3-room flat from HDB was only $41,000. Today, the resale price of a 3-room flat is approximately between $150,000 and $180,000. If you do a simple sum, there is a sizable capital gain, ie, $150,000-$180,000 minus the $40,000-odd and multiply that by 20% resale levy, which he need not pay until he gets the new flat. Of course, if he chooses this option he has to pay a 5% interest annually. In other words, my short answer is that no, we are not going to lower the resale levy.”
“Sir, HDB has just released their Annual Report and the CEO of HDB conducted a press conference last weekend. May I refer Members to the financial review pages and they will get all the relevant statistics. In particular, may I refer the Member to the balance sheet and the income statement. The income statement shows quite clearly the losses incurred by the Government in the sale of new flats and this figure was also highlighted by the CEO of HDB. For the year 1997/98 it amounted to $591 million. This is something like 60% of the total deficit incurred by HDB, which was about $1 billion.”
“Sir, we have debated this before in the House. I have to remind the Member for Hougang that the prices of new flats are heavily subsidised compared to market prices of equivalent flats in the market today.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for moving to these two very green pastures. How do we inject life, soul and spirit into the Singapore Botanic Gardens (SBG) and Fort Canning Park? These are the issues which are focusing the minds of the National Parks officials. They will take up some of his ideas. Over the years, they have been doing quite a lot. The fact that these two places are tropical parks makes it a little bit difficult compared to, say, temperate parks like Hyde Park or Central Park, because the weather is against them. If we mount a cultural show or a Shakespearean play in the afternoon, very few people will go there. So we are limited to narrow time windows, in the evenings and public holidays. The Member's points are taken and we will see how to make these things come alive at Fort Canning, and how to make SBG more exciting. As for some of the items that we have done, eg, we have opened up SBG up to midnight. I think we can do a lot from the evening to midnight. Since 1995, performances have also been staged at the Symphony Stage, located at Symphony Lake. These, I understand, have been attracting very appreciative and sizable audiences. The School of Horticulture in the Singapore Botanic Gardens has been conducting gardening courses and guided tours. All these help to inject some life and culture into SBG. Fort Canning Park is a different kettle of fish. It is on a hill. It has a lot of historical potential and we will work with Mr Zainul Abidin to see how we can make it more exciting. Of course, now the Battle Box is there, not well used and not well known but it is there. Maybe we should encourage schools to conduct more visits. Dr Ong Chit Chung is not here. Maybe I will ask him to facilitate, as he is involved in the Battle Box.”
“Sir, the operating deficits were published in the auditor's statements. These are published statements. If the figures are wrong, his auditors should make a clarification, because these are published statements and readily available to the public. He has run two operating deficits. Will we change the system? The answer is no, because the system is working. He has to work with Mr Andy Gan. He has to work with the Sennett Residents' Association. I think a lot of things can be done in the Sennett private estate. I have driven through Sennett Estate and for parts of it things can be done. He has not made an attempt to do so. Has he talked to Mr Andy Gan? Mr Gan tells me that if Mr Chiam would talk to him, he might sit down with him over a cup of coffee. Sir, the answer is no, we will not change the system, because Mr Chiam has not made an attempt to talk to Mr Andy Gan.”
“Sir, I have suggested how he can get the CIPC funds and, that is, to work with the grassroots organisations. Some time last month, he asked me in this House whether I have received the submissions for walkways proposed by his town council. I have not received that. I was thinking that even if he follows the proper channel, goes through the CCC, CCC approves and it comes to me, I am not sure whether he has the money to do the walkways. Because I said in this House last year that most CIPC-funded projects come with a co-payment portion. The CCC may use the town council as the agent. For some projects like walkways, the co-funding is 10% by the town council. So CIPC pays 90%. Walkways are very expensive. The per foot run unit cost is something like $1,000-$2,000. 4.45 pm I have been looking at his balance sheet and income statement, and he has been running operating deficits for two years. For 1995-1996, the operating deficit was $150,000. For 1996-1997, the operating deficit was $195,000. I wonder how the Member can run a town council. His accumulated deficit is $114,000. I told him last year and I will tell him again that he should not be asking for projects. He should be cutting projects. He should be finding ways to make his town council viable, because he is two years in the red.”
“First of all, Mr Chiam, being a longer Member in this House, knows better than I do that CIPC is an extension of the Urban Rural Services Committee which was set up in the early 1960s to do gotong royong projects. The arrangement then was that the CCCs would work together with the grassroots organisations and put up submissions to the Ministry to get funding. Since the formation of town councils, we have stuck to this arrangement because his jurisdiction as a Town Council Chairman only extends to the HDB estates' common areas. It does not extend to areas like Sennett Estate, where the CCC can rarely reach out to the non-HDB estates' common areas which are outside his jurisdiction. That is the reason why the CCC is still the best vehicle for applying for CIPC funds. If I were Mr Chiam, I will work with the Sennett RA and the various grassroots organisations. The important thing is to get the disbursement through. If he jumps on the right vehicle, then he may get the CIPC fund.”
“Sir, it has been a long day. It is always interesting to listen to Mr Chiam. He asked whether all elected Members are entitled to a share of the CIPC funds. My answer is all CCCs, all Singaporeans are entitled to the CIPC funds, which is more important. All CCCs, including Potong Pasir CCC, have benefited from the disbursement of CIPC funds. It is important to work through the channels of CCC. Mr Chiam is very welcome to work with some of the grassroots organisations like, for example, the Sennett Residents' Association which is, I am sure, apolitical and, being a private estate Residents' Association, it is likely to be politically sympathetic to Mr Chiam. It is not true that all PAP MPs have an easy time getting CIPC funds. I have on many occasions turned down requests from many of my colleagues. Each project is evaluated based on its cost benefit analysis. If it benefits your residents and if the cost benefit ratio works out, then it does not matter whether you are a PAP MP or an Opposition MP. In fact, his Potong Pasir ward has benefited from the CIPC programme. So has Mr Low Thia Khiang's ward which has benefited enormously from the CIPC programme. And this was after the 1991 election.”
“But HDB sells shops according to various criteria, ie, geographical spread, age, need and potential land use. So the sale of shops programme has not arrived in the Queenstown ward. But I will ask HDB to look at his request again.”
“Sir, first, I would like to give Members of this House an update of the 30-year lease shop sale scheme. The HDB has received 95 written enquiries on the conversion from 99-year lease to 30-year lease. Out of these, 52 shopowners are actively pursuing their applications. HDB is processing these applications and will inform them of the buy-back process for the existing leases and the selling prices of the 30-year leases soon. These shopowners would then have to decide whether to proceed with the conversion. Mr Ang Mong Seng asked whether the Ministry will consider giving 99-year lease shopowners more time to convert their 99-year lease to 30-year lease. We have given a four-month window for existing 99-year lease shopkeepers to convert to 30-year lease. The announcement was made on 1st December 1997 and the closing date is 31st March 1998. Anybody will consider this reasonable. Nonetheless, since the Member has made an appeal, we can consider extending it. But it is not the intention of HDB to keep this window wide open permanently. In view of the current economic slowdown, an introduction of the 30-year lease and also the picture as to whether the conversion of 99-year or 30-year lease is very welcomed or otherwise, HDB will reduce the sale of shops programme to two sales a year, that is, about 200 shops in each sale. HDB will review this number periodically and respond to the sale of shops accordingly. The Member has made a passionate plea to HDB to sell some of the shops in his area to the shop tenants. I will ask HDB to keep in mind his appeal. Mr Chay has asked whether HDB has forgotten some of the older estates like Queenstown. The answer is no. Because he is in Tanjong Pagar GRC, I will never forget him.”
“Sir, as I said earlier on, we do not deal with "ifs", we deal with "whens".”
“Sir, that is a hypothetical question and I do not give hypothetical answer. As I said earlier on, it is unlikely that the Avian flu of any kind would contaminate Singapore chickens. When it comes, we are ready. We will then talk about the compensation issue when it comes. Assoc. Prof. Low Seow Chay: Sir, I think the Parliamentary Secretary refers to the Avian influenza case. But for other cases, we did in the past destroy tens of thousand of birds, either young chicks or even the chickens in the farm. It had happened in the past, and I believe it will still happen continuously. So the question is that if in future, there is such a case, would the Ministry consider compensation?”
“It is not true, because he is saying that bigger yolk must correlate with higher cholesterol. A skinny person can have high cholesterol. A fat man may have low cholesterol. So what appears to be may not be.”
“Sir, I have heard similar tales that some of the locally produced eggs contain low cholesterol. I am not a veterinarian, I am an agronomist. But I tend to believe that there is a possibility, a real likelihood, that our locally produced eggs contain low cholesterol because the cholesterol content in the chicken and the egg depends on the chicken feed. And I am told that Singapore farmers, through advice given by Dr Low, use good chicken feed. It is just like humans. If you take a lot of pork fat, teka, you have cholesterol. But if you take vegetables, fresh fruits, you may have lower cholesterol. So I am assured that our local chicken farmers use good chicken feed. So do not complain that chicken egg is slightly more expensive in Singapore.”
“If it is a local egg, or you import it, you label it accordingly. This is to enable PPD to take the necessary action. If eggs from any particular consignment are found contaminated with harmful pathogens or residues, we can stop the eggs if we discover something irregular. Eggs sold in Singapore are inspected and monitored by PPD very regularly. We consume something like 3 million eggs a day. So it is an important health matter for PPD. Imported eggs especially are checked to ensure that the consignments of eggs are clean and labelled with a unique farm code and logo of the exporting farm. If a consignment of imported eggs is found to have mislabelled eggs, or if more than 5% of eggs in a consignment are unlabelled, then PPD will take action. This ranges from a warning to a total ban. PPD has on its own also received feedback that some imported eggs have the word "Singapore" branded on them. PPD will intensify these checks and take corrective action. But to help consumers differentiate local eggs from imported eggs, the PPD, with the help of local farmers, will be introducing a Singapore Quality Egg Scheme by June 1998. The scheme will allow local farms which meet prescribed standards to use a quality mark on their eggs. But at the same time, I urge the Member to also inform his egg farmers that the egg farmers themselves must be proactive. They must market their eggs to local consumers. So local consumers are aware that this egg is imported, not so good maybe; this egg is locally produced, maybe very good. So I think the marketing aspect must be done by the local farmers. And only then will loyalty to local brands be established in the long run. But I thank the Members, Dr Low and Mr Zainul Abidin, for raising this important issue and I hope the House is reassured.”
“It is, therefore, easy to contain any outbreak, like bird disease, compared to other countries like Hong Kong. But Dr Low and Mr Zainul Abidin have raised very valid issues. Is it at all possible for Avian flu virus to invade Singapore? There are no guarantees. But given the surveillance programme we have in place, it is unlikely that any Singaporean will be contaminated with Avian flu in Singapore from imported poultry. They may get it on holiday in Hong Kong, I do not know. Nonetheless, we will take note of the lessons learned in Hong Kong. Mr Zainul Abidin asked what we were doing when the outbreak was at its peak in Hong Kong. Singapore sent three representatives to Hong Kong to study the situation there with the hope of learning important lessons and preventing an outbreak at the same time in Singapore. At the moment, PPD is looking at the surveillance system and coming out with an exercise plan that just in case an unknown virus were to come to Singapore, we will know what to do. Because it is a multi-agency task, we need to coordinate with Environment Ministry; we need to coordinate with the Ministry of Health; we need to coordinate with the media. So the programme is in place. And I want to assure the two Members and all Singaporeans that if the virus does come, which is unlikely, we are ready. On the egg problem, this is Dr Low's cut in three successive years. Imitation is the best form of flattery. So I think our chicken farmers must have done something good because foreign egg farmers are now, according to Dr Low, putting the Singapore logo onto their eggs. But this is not prevalent. Let me explain. Since January 1997, PPD requires both imported and local eggs to be labelled. So if it is a foreign egg, you label it accordingly.”
“Sir, the hon. Member for Chua Chu Kang is a good friend of mine. He is an automotive engineer but he seems to have a fascination for birds and eggs. He is becoming an expert on birds. I would warn him how the Chinese press will translate that. But jokes aside, Sir, he and Mr Zainul Abidin raised a very serious issue about the possibility of Avian flu invasion into Singapore. I want to reassure him that he should not, like all the economists, classify Singapore as among the emerging countries. Singapore is not Hong Kong. We are four to five hours flight away. Singapore is Singapore, and we are very safe. Let me elaborate. Singapore is free from bird or Avian flu and other bird-related diseases that can cross from birds to humans. The risk of the introduction of Avian flu into Singapore is negligible as the PPD has in place an effective farm and plant accreditation programme and tight import control systems to prevent introduction of such diseases. PPD has an on-going surveillance programme to check for Avian flu in imported and domestic poultry. Unlike Hong Kong, Singapore does not allow the slaughter of poultry at wet markets. We did this sometime ago. But it is no longer done today. Live poultry in Singapore is assigned directly to the centralised slaughter houses for slaughter within one day. The public does not get a chance to come into contact with live poultry and the potential for infection is thus drastically reduced to almost zero. Further, the poultry in Singapore is confined to seven farms. Dr Low is the advisor to some of these farmers and he understands better than I do, that these farms are well regulated, hygienic, clean and they are well monitored by PPD.”
“Unfortunately, the Auctioneers Act is not under the Ministry of National Development. It is under the Ministry of Finance. Recently, the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers also lobbied me to have some kind of regulation over real estate agents. I have passed the note to the Minister for Finance and I am sure his officials would be looking into it. The Act that governs the activity of housing agents is rather old actually, a rather old piece of legislation, dating back to 1962. Perhaps some modifications can be made, but that is up to the Ministry of Finance to decide. But HDB monitors the performance of the Licensed Housing Agents Scheme's agents closely. So far, after this new scheme has been in place, the standard of services provided by the LHAS agencies are generally better because now they have to sit for an examination, they are more qualified and they know HDB rules much better. Nonetheless, HDB will tighten the scheme and, with feedback from MPs like Mr Choo, we hope to close many of the loopholes. The third part of his question was whether HDB will relax the present rule which prevents singles over 35 from buying HDB resale flat in the central area, like my area in Tiong Bahru and his area in Whampoa. Under the present ruling, as the MP has pointed out, a single is not qualified to buy. HDB will look at this issue again to see whether there is a need to relax. But, in the meantime, if he feels very strongly about this case or any case that is deserving, HDB is willing to look at it on a case-by-case basis and give a waiver. So this is an exception. I hope the Member is satisfied with the answer.”
“Sir, the Member raised the issue last year. Perhaps I can give him an update on the situation today. Today, there are 501 housing agencies in the scheme. We started with 27. These agencies are handling almost half of all resale transactions. When the scheme was implemented in December 1995, its aim was to encourage housing agencies to conduct resale transactions in a professional and honest manner. The minimum criteria set for admission was that at least 50% of the agency's housing agents must possess the relevant qualifications recognised by the IRAS. In July 1997 the scheme was tightened because of feedback from MPs like Mr Choo who said that many agents are unqualified. They misrepresent the buyers or the sellers. They are unclear about HDB policies resulting in misery to both buyers and sellers. Thus we tightened the scheme. But for those agencies which had already been admitted before July 1997 we give them a grace period until June this year to get all their agents qualified. The qualification is to pass an examination set by IRAS, and we call it the Common Examination for Housing Agents. In fact, the qualification to sit for this examination is rather low actually. It requires 3 GCE "O" levels to sit for this examination. I have made enquiries. The pass rate so far is rather dismal. Only 20-30% of candidates passed at their first attempt. But of course those who fail can re-sit the examination whenever IRAS sets the next examination. The second attempt pass rate is much higher and more satisfactory, at 60%. The Member has alluded to the fact that HDB flats represent the most important asset for almost all Singaporeans and therefore only qualified agents should be allowed to transact HDB flats. I fully agree with the Member.”
“Contractors working on MOL projects or MINDEF projects are usually working on smaller projects like building an army camp or a small building. So they can take care of the construction materials themselves. As HDB is dealing with something like 30,000 flats a year, its first priority must be to protect the construction materials for its core contractors. On deep sea fishing, so far, we have not detected any diseases in the fish that are growing off St John's Island. In fact, during the last visit of the GPC, we heartily tucked into some of these (jin mu lu) fish or what the Australians call barracuda. Dr Teo and I are still healthy. I think the problem is not so serious. It is not real. I do not think it is a problem here.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for giving me a chance to clarify some of the points which I forgot to clarify. He asked whether unused land space in semi-mature estates can be converted to car park spaces. I think it is not fair to convert empty land spaces in semi-mature estates to car parks unless we can establish that there is a real shortage of car parks in the grouping system. The reason is that most people in the semi-mature estates do not own cars. So they enjoy the greenery, the space and the comfort of the openness. If you block their visual comfort, they will come to you and me and say, "You block my fong shui. You block my geomancy." There are cases like that which have come to me. So my immediate reaction is that we have got to be very careful about taking away open space and putting a concrete block there unless there is a real need. Whether we need to plant so many different kind of plants along central dividers, I do not think we crowd the central dividers with too many hybrids of plants. For a very simple reason, if you over plant, you will find that the plants will not flourish. We want to plant the optimum number so that you will get the most beautiful bloom. I do not think there is over planting. On the question of bulk purchase and whether contractors for MINDEF or MOL projects can tap into HDB's supplier of sand and granite, I have got to ask HDB whether they have spare capacity or not. My understanding is that HDB has a very tight schedule in completing all the HDB flats for so many people. Right now, we have something like 130,000 people on the waiting list. So I think HDB's first priority is to build the flats for people in the queue.”
“We believe that the PWD Corporation will be able to set new standards of engineering and architectural excellence in Singapore after corporatisation.”
“The water depth in the area where we put the deep sea netcage exceeds 10 metres and the currents there exceed 1 knot. The netcages are spaced out quite evenly apart to prevent overcrowding. The British Columbian problem came about because they put the aquaculture netcages along the migratory path of the salmon, especially in the mouth of the rivers where the salmons return to spawn annually. So that is the reason, because you disrupted their mating habits and their migratory patterns. And I have been told that although the British Columbian problem may be real, in the Scandinavian countries, they have no such problems. Intensive farming, whether it is fish stock, chickens or pigs, comes with a higher risk of diseases. However, with good veterinarians in the PPD, good disease control techniques, good management and good vaccines, I think the problem can be minimised, if not eradicated altogether. On corporatisation of PWD, the last topic raised in the series of cuts by Mr Lew Syn Pau, PWD Corporation is likely to be corporatised or privatised next year. And I want to assure the Member that his suggestion will be taken up, namely, that PWD Corporation will cooperate with private sector architectural companies, engineering companies and quantity surveyor companies. Of course, PWD Corporation must also compete with them and provide a benchmark for an integrated engineering and architectural services to take on regional infrastructural projects. Why corporatise? Because the corporatisation of PWD will allow a leaner and trimmer Government to concentrate on delivering essential public services, such as regulatory and planning functions. So we will keep the regulatory arm of PWD which is the BCD.”
“It is necessary for the watering vehicles to be mobile to water the central divider plants and we do so during non-peak hours. So it is unlikely that such watering routine will cause traffic jams. Dr Teo seems to forget that accidents can be caused by both parties. So it is also pertinent to remind all of us that when we travel on the highways, we should be on the look out for stationary vehicles, especially those with cones behind them and big yellow arrows flashing about. We should also adhere to the safe speed limit. If these conditions are observed by all of us, I think there should be very, very few accidents involving National Parks watering trucks. On deep sea fishing, I think Dr Teo might have scared all the Teochews about eating fish, and I remind the House that there are many Teochews in the Cabinet. Here, I would like to reassure the House that the fears are unfounded. So you can carry on eating fish. Our deep netcage fish farms are designed based on the Norwegians' 20 years' experience. He mentioned about the Canadian experience. Fortunately, we do not model after the Canadian. We knew the problem. So we went to Norway and also Greece. In fact, the Norwegian fish farming technique is so advanced. They have leapfrogged from a minor salmon breeder to a major salmon exporter. In fact, most of the salmons you find in Singapore, in NTUC Fairprice, come from Norway. And I am sure that you will enjoy the taste. There is no problem. The experience of British Columbia in Canada is therefore not relevant to us and I will explain why later on. In Singapore, our deep sea netcages are sited off St John's Island in deep open waters. The waste built up within the cage can be readily dispersed in the open sea by the currents.”
“The National Parks Board came in to green up the central dividers for the pleasure of all Singaporeans. Singapore has earned the reputation as being a Garden City mostly because of its kerb side greenery. So you will find that the idea to remove plants, flowers and trees along the central divider will not go down well with most Singaporeans. The tree planting along the central dividers softens the harshness of the concrete jungle that we live in. I am sure that many members of the public who drive along the ECP and AYE will enjoy the cool comfort provided by the trees. But, of course, the National Parks is aware of the points raised by Dr Teo and they are very mindful of the safety aspects in maintaining the greenery along major roads and expressways. 3.15 pm In this respect, National Parks has worked very closely with LTA. It is not just a problem of National Parks. It is also a problem of LTA. We are working on roads and the National Parks is taking the prescribed measures of public safety. The National Parks will continue to enhance the safety measures where possible and viable. Dr Teo raised the point that the fitting of a truck mounted attenuator (TMA) actually encourages vehicles to crash on to it. This is an exaggeration, to put it mildly. The fitting of TMA will not eradicate the hazard but it does minimise the loss of lives when the time comes, hopefully, never. National Parks has strict criteria on when to water the plants along the central divider and how to water them. For stationary vehicles, National Parks staff and contractors are required to comply with a whole set of provisions, for example, they have to place cones and make sure that the yellow arrows are lighted.”
“Hence, the CIDB, together with HDB and PWD, is currently finalising the mediation clause to be included into public sector conditions of contract. But Dr Teo wants us to go one step further. He wants us to put this clause in all Government land sales. I think this is not possible. We do not want to encumber the prospective buyer with more and more clauses. If the developer is enlightened, he will encourage mediation and he will look for a contractor who is pro-mediation. So I think putting the clause in land sale is unwise. Nonetheless, CIDB will work with REDAS and the Singapore Institute of Architects to have similar clauses for private sector construction projects. He raised several points in his speech. He wants grants for construction- related personnel to understand the use of mediation. I ask him to lobby the Minister for Finance and the Minster for Trade and Industry. He hopes to have more support for the SMC. CIDB will work closely with SMC. Dr Teo went on to the next topic - landscaping along roads and expressways. I think, first, we must settle a very important issue here. The National Parks Board does not want the central dividers there. The central dividers are there for a very important reason, and that reason is safety. The primary purpose of central dividers along expressways and other major multi-lane roads is to separate opposing streams of traffic. They travel at high speeds. So if there is a head-on collision, it will be a serious accident. The provision of the central dividers is necessary to prevent head-on collision and reckless overtaking. This will ensure the safety of drivers. Since the central dividers are there, we might as well make good use of them. And that is where the National Parks came in.”
“In 1995, HDB designed the recess laundry area where a ledge with railing is provided for flat owners to place their condensers. The provision of such a ledge further prevents air-conditioners from falling. So these are various measures that are in place. However, all these will come to naught if the flat owners do not take ownership and responsibility for the air-conditioners. Ultimately, it is the flat owner's responsibility to check and ensure that the air-conditioners and the supporting structures are in good condition. In 1994, HDB sent out letters to remind flat owners that they are responsible for checking on the air-conditioners and to maintain them in good condition at all times. So HDB has done its job. We have reminded the owners. Very often, the owners ignore. In addition, HDB has advised flat owners how to go about maintaining their air-conditioners. And HDB will continue to advise flat owners to take immediate action if they spot any air-conditioners that are not properly maintained during the inspection round. Arising from the incident highlighted by the Member, the Building Control Division of PWD will look into the possibility of legislating the requirement for window air-conditioning units installed in high-rise buildings. I now turn to Dr Teo Ho Pin's comments on construction dispute resolution. I want to thank him for the many ideas that he has given us. I want to say that the Government supports the Member's suggestion and will encourage the use of the mediation process to settle construction-related disputes, because the process is less costly, not adversarial, and takes less time than arbitration. Moreover, the cordial relationship between the two parties is also retained, so that the construction work can progress quickly to completion.”
“Definitely it is used as a boarding house. While we have no numbers for a private home owner on how many people he can rent out to, we have some numbers for HDB flats. For example, JTC flats which are used to rent out to workers, it says that for 3-room flats, we do not allow more than 10 workers in a 3-room flat; in a 4-room flat, we do not allow more than12 workers. For the dormitory housing scheme, we have certain norms. In a 1-room, maximum six occupiers; 2 rooms, maximum eight occupiers; 3-room, 10 occupiers; 4 and 5 rooms, maximum 12 occupiers. But I urge the Member to be a bit tolerant about the foreign worker housing situation. Because these workers are here to contribute to Singapore's economy and they are not like what the MP said, prisoners housed in worse conditions in prisons. On old air-conditioning units in high-rise buildings, Mr Goh Choon Kang has pointed out the problem. Currently, HDB flat owners must obtain HDB's approval before they can install air-conditioners. If the air-conditioner has been mounted on the exterior of the flat, flat owners are required, under the Building Control Act, to engage a CIDB trained installer. This was done last year. So we are moving one step towards regulating the installation of air-conditioners. And over the years, HDB has also taken measures to further secure the installation of air-conditioners. Since 1990, all the supporting brackets for new installation of air-conditioners are to be made of stainless steel which is more resistant to corrosion than the former mild steel brackets. In 1992, HDB introduced the service balcony for flat owners to place the condensers of split air-conditioned units.”