Lee Boon Yang
Singapore
“6 The other guidelines are that there must be a post office sited within 5 km of every private residential estate and within 1 km of any commercial or industrial estate. MAID LEVY CONCESSION (Applications by the disabled) 32.”
“Madam, can I quickly respond to the point on assistive technology? Certainly this is an area of interest. We cannot say that we have the capability at this juncture but we will certainly look into what is possible and work with our ICT sector.”
“Nevertheless, if the spouse of the homemaker is working, he will be eligible for WIS if he satisfies the criteria. Husbands of homemakers are further eligible for tax relief.”
“Sir, I do not think it is quite correct to say that we always expect our own artists to perform for free or do public service. There are, of course, occasions where we do seek Singapore artists and arts companies to contribute to the national causes. For instance, when we went international for Singapore Season in China.”
“Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for National Development (a) what checks does the Ministry or the National Environment Agency have in place to prevent mistaken payments to hawkers who cease operations due to upgrading works at hawker centers; (b) how did the mistaken payment of $18,000 to Mdm Lee Ah Muey come about; and (c) what will the…”
“While it was also true that initially the reaction or the response of the licensing authority was that foreigners should not participate in such an event at the Speakers' Corner - because there is already an existing prohibition against any foreigners taking part in any activities at the Speakers' Corner - subsequent assessment resulted i…”
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“On the convergence of IT and media sector, this provides another opportunity for Singapore to become a trading and distribution centre for digital assets - films, advertising, online games as mentioned by Miss Penny Low, and printed materials. We have successfully piloted digital cinema distribution as an example. So instead of having rolls and rolls of films being carted around, you can now distribute the films through the digital broadband network. IDA is also exploring opportunities in IT security, web services, grid computing, utility data centres. To tap regional opportunities, IDA is working with the Singapore Info-Comm Technology Federation to bring a cluster of local infocomm technology companies to explore the China market. So far, 20 companies have already signed up for this collective effort. We are in the process of finding a home in China for this cluster. Public Communications”
“But Singapore is still attractive for higher-end process outsourcing and services such as business continuity, disaster recovery, IT strategy and security implementation and logistics supply chain coordination. Singapore is also well-placed to serve as a hub for managing, coordinating and monitoring outsourced services that are delivered out of lower-cost regional countries. So although we may not be able to do the outsourcing work, we can be the higher- level nerve centre to coordinate and to manage these outsourced services. In fact, we offer extensive connectivity, high band-width, strong technical capability and a conducive environment to service such needs. IT service companies, such as IBM, EDS, HP, Satyam and Scandent recognise our advantage. They use Singapore as the location to fulfil regional shared services contract awarded by their clients. In 2003, Singapore attracted over 30 shared service business process outsourcing projects. With over 7,000 MNCs and a strong base of supporting infocomm technology companies, we offer a huge potential for companies to expand their activities and to grow. Our advantages have also helped us to persuade companies such as SAP and Credit Suisse First Boston to locate their back-office and service support centre here in Singapore. Companies like Polaris and IBM have also sited disaster recovery operations here. They joined companies like Citigroup, BASF and Exxon Mobil in building Singapore as a strong centre for shared services and business continuity activities. Sir, IDA will work with EDB, MAS and IE Singapore to strengthen Singapore's position as an ideal location for selected BPO services and to develop the BPO industry in Singapore.”
“Dr Tan's question and similarly Ms Indranee Rajah's point, was what is the impact of this trend of business process outsourcing (BPO) on Singapore. How are we going to compete with BPO giants that have emerged on the landscape like India, for instance, Ms Indranee Rajah asked whether there is a role for Singapore in this new business sector. I overlooked responding to them but I would like to give the response now. Basically, Singapore's infocomm industry remains one of our key engines of growth. First, the EDB pipeline for investments remains strong. Last year, the infocomm and media cluster was the second strongest contributor to EDB's investments commitment in the service industry, with $623 million of total business spending committed. When fully realised, these investments would generate $544 million of total value-added and 2,163 professional and skilled jobs. Secondly, the infocomm sector revenue is expected to have grown by 4½% in 2003 and projected to grow by 7½% this year. Thirdly, along with improved business turnover, we are also seeing a turnaround in job market for infocomm professionals. The Ministry of Manpower's quarterly labour market survey showed a year-on-year increase of 2.2% workers employed in the infocomm sector in 2003. This was in comparison to a decline of 2.7% for the same period between 2001 and 2002. Dr Tan and Ms Indranee are both right that areas like business process outsourcing and the convergence of IT and media represent new opportunities but they come with many new challenges. When it comes to business process outsourcing, Singapore cannot compete with India on costs.”
“Sir, earlier on, in my haste to comply with the time limit and I know you wield a very sharp guillotine, I apparently omitted responding to Dr Tan Boon Wan's point on information technology. May I have your permission to respond? Actually I omitted responding to Dr Tan Boon Wan and Ms Indranee Rajah. With your permission, Mr Speaker, now that we have a bit more time, can I respond to them?”
“Rather, we will recalibrate our censorship guidelines and framework sensitively, even as we foster an environment conducive to encouraging creativity and developing our cultural capital to bring about a more innovative and vibrant Singapore. 2.30 pm Next, I turn to Miss Penny Low. She has expressed a valid concern, particularly advertisements that pop up in the HDB heartlands or even the non-HDB heartlands, advertisements that may offend some people. I think Mr Zainudin also reflected one feedback on such an advertisement. First, let me state that our laws clearly prohibit any obscene or objectionable content in any medium. The MDA regulates content in the print, broadcast and film medium. Contents in other mediums, such as billboards or posters in public places, are placed under the purview of the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS). ASAS maintains a code of advertising practice, which emphasises that advertisements should be legal, decent, truthful, and not misleading. They also emphasise public decency and protection of children and that young people's interests should also be safeguarded. As a general principle endorsed by the CRC, stricter contents are applied to advertisements in public places in view of the likelihood of uncontrolled access, as noted by Miss Penny Low. However, difference in interpretation by the advertisers in question may sometimes lead to results mentioned by her, and I take her point. I shall ask MDA to work closely with the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore to eliminate perceptions of looser standards in advertisements appearing in public. We value such feedback on advertisements and will get the relevant stakeholders to act on them.”
“Some changes have already been effected. As I mentioned earlier on, since October 2003, films may be released or re-released under a different rating with the sequential dual rating system. This was, in fact, done with films such as "Love, Actually". As recommended by the CRC, MITA has formed two new Committees in February this year to advise on arts issues, namely, the Arts Consultative Panel and the Arts Appeal Advisory Committee. In April, the revised film classification system will be introduced. This is the film classification that will provide for an introduction of an intermediate category known as M18 category, between the NC16 and R(A) which will become R21 rating. In May, MITA will lift the ban on the magazine Cosmopolitan and exempt more genres of arts entertainment from licensing requirements. This will be followed in June by video classification and cable programme classification for NC16 and M18 on StarHub Cable Vision's Premium tiers. Mr Yeo also asked if MITA could share its thinking about the pace of change regarding censorship guidelines. I would like to assure him that the Censorship Review Committee, in making its recommendations after extensive consultations, was mindful that the pace of change must take into account our multi-racial and multi religious society and the need to protect our core social values, especially for the young. Their recommendations were made after comprehensive research and public consultation with a diverse range of focus groups. Their approach was to proceed at a measured pace that our society is comfortable with. Hence, in implementing the recommendations, we will not move too far ahead of the majority.”
“However, the producer chose to make additional edits within the gang chants or songs, thus increasing the number of edits to 27. I think it is unhealthy for public officers who were carrying out their duties to be subject to unwarranted ridicule even if it is just for a laugh. More so when such decisions were taken only after extensive consultations. The producer may think it is funny, but I am afraid I do not appreciate such unbecoming attempts to undermine the standing of a public institution. Making fun of the Board of Film Censors will not cause us to change our censorship framework to suit the agenda of those with vested interest or an agenda of their own. In fact, I understand that "Cut" may be passed by the Board of Film Censors uncut, even though it has gross inaccuracy and misrepresented the Board of Film Censors. I emphasise "may be" because the Board of Film Censors has not quite finalised its decisions. I agree wholeheartedly with Mr Zainudin that we should not allow the vocal minority to drown out the concerns and interests of the vast majority of Singaporeans. I also like to assure Mr Loh Meng See that even as we refine our censorship guidelines, we will not neglect our key social values, high moral standards and public decency. The Board of Film Censors will continue to serve and uphold the majority's view in the context of our Asian society and our national interest. May I now turn to Mr Yeo Guat Kwang who asked whether we could update this House on the implementation of the Censorship Review Committee's recommendations. The Media Development Authority is implementing the Censorship Review Committee's recommendations in phases. This is because some of the recommendations involve further study and consultations with the public and the industry.”
“There is also an appeal process that provides a check on the Board of Film Censors. Should any distributor or film maker be aggrieved by the Board of Film Censors' decision, he or or she can seek redress through the Films Appeals Committee. This again is a citizens committee set up by statute, which acts as the final arbiter. Take the film "15", for example. To assess this film, the Board of Film Censors conducted screening for no less than seven different focus groups before deciding to approve the film under the R(A) category with certain edits. The distributor appealed against the Board of Film Censors' decision to the Films Appeals Committee. After viewing the film and deliberating carefully, the Films Appeals Committee unanimously upheld the Board of Film Censors' decison. This shows clearly that such decisions are not taken lightly. They are, in fact, taken after much consultation and deliberation. Sir, the Board of Film Censors takes criticisms in their stride, even if such criticisms are unfair and unjustified. But it is one thing to criticise and another to publicly misrepresent the Board of Film Censors and to lampoon its staff. I read with dismay last week's Sunday Times' article which reported that Mr Royston Tan was traumatised by the Board of Film Censors' demands of 27 cuts for his film "15" and has set out to satirise the Board of Film Censors and lampoon one of its officers by making a new film called "Cut". This is an example of misrepresentation of the Board of Film Censors. I asked the Board of Film Censors whether they required or insisted on 27 cuts. Actually, the Board of Film Censors only required 10 cuts, out of which nine were to remove mention of teenage gangs and chants used by these gangs, as advised by the Police for law and order reasons.”
“The recent Censorship Review Committee survey shows that these are clearly the views of the minority. The majority, represented by 70% of the respondents to the survey, supported our censorship policies, with over 70% accepting our standards for violence, sex and nudity, coarse language and homosexuality in each of our film ratings. To protect the young, 74% supported more censorship for contents targeted at the young. We should not disregard their concerns even though they might be a relatively silent group. Even in western societies, such as the United Kingdom, the US or Australia, censorship is practised to reflect social mores. The recent public backlash in the US from Justin Timberlake's and Janet Jackson's breast-baring wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl half-time show, and the subsequent implementation of a technologically advanced five-second tape delay in the live broadcast of this year's Academy Award is a case in point. It illustrates that there is a large school of opinions and concerns in every society, even in the US, who will object to some form of display that is made available to all and sundry. They in their own way also establish some standards of public decency. Sir, I would like to emphasise that censorship decisions are not made on the whims and fancies of public officers. There is an established mechanism that involves the society in deciding on censorship issues. The Board of Film Censors regularly consults the Films Consultative Panel, a citizens committee with broad representation from society, including professionals, businessmen, educationists, social workers and community leaders. The Films Consultative Panel assists the Board of Film Censors to decide on film ratings or censorship.”
“Sir, I thank the hon. Members who have spoken on censorship from various perspectives. First, I will respond to Mr Zainudin who asked me to enlighten the House on the role of the Board of Film Censors. Since 1953, the Board of Film Censors has been serving an important role in our society. It ensures that films exhibited here are in accord with the level of public decency accepted by our society and do not undermine our national and public interests, such as law and order and racial and religious harmony. The Board of Film Censors also administers the film rating system that gives Singaporeans more choice in entertainment whilst, at the same time, protecting our young from undesirable content. Over the years, the Board of Film Censors has shown flexibility in adapting to the changing environment while, at the same time, preserving and protecting our social values. Its guidelines have evolved and it has extended its system of public and industry consultation. Such consultation ensures that the Board of Film Censors is in tune with changes in societal values. Hence, it has developed a film rating system to accommodate individual choice. Recently, it has introduced sequential dual rating for films where different age groups can watch different presentations of the same film, thereby giving viewers more choice. The Board of Film Censor's role is not an easy one. It has to balance the expectations of the majority and the wants of the minority. Even with the more flexibile guidelines, its decision will not satisfy everyone and there will be some who dislike the Board of Film Censors for what it does. Sir, but the majority do support censorship. Some people hold the view that censorship is obsolete and people should be able to see anything they want.”
“Sir, I thank Mr Chiam for his clarification. If, in fact, the strict environment is not conducive, how is it that we are already seeing successes popping up? Mr Chiam See Tong rose ---”
“Broadcasters already carry a wide range of interesting business and corporate programmes which both inform consumers and investors. They are high quality productions, such as Channel NewsAsia's Money Mind, Singapore Business Tonight, The Business Tree and We Mean Business. Channel i also has similar business programmes, such as The Making of an Entrepreneur. And Channel 8 has a magazine series called Money Week and also Evergreen Brands. Channel U carries a programme, such as Smart Investment which serves as investor education and to ensure that people who buy shares in a company know what they are doing and they are aware of a company's operations and prospects. So I am sure that our broadcasters will know how to respond if demand for more business programmes builds up. I think I have covered all the points.”
“The scheme has already made 13 grants to support four Singaporeans taking up media studies in the local Institute of Higher Learning and nine Singaporeans in renowned overseas institutions, such as the University of Southern California and the New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. Another scheme is the Capability Development Scheme which has already benefited over 200 media professionals sent for training courses or overseas attachment. We will explore other avenues to nurture and develop our media talents, even as we try to attract international media players to locate their operations in Singapore. Mr Ang Mong Seng suggested that the TV stations should provide more coverage of constituency events and these would help them to gain viewer share or win more viewers to the channel and, also, TV broadcasters should consider airing more programmes on local enterprises. I agree with him. I think our TV stations are already providing coverage for local events and the business sector. Our broadcasters have been covering local community events and they do have business programmes in their regular and special programmes. And some of these programmes are in fact public service broadcast, supported by the Media Development Authority. These programmes cut across all four languages and fall into genres such as news, information and current affairs. While we encourage media competition, coverage and programming should be left to the commercial players to decide based on their station's positioning and branding. Our TV stations are well aware of viewers' interest in programmes with strong local flavour, whether it is for information or entertainment. They will be well advised to cater to such demands if they wish to retain viewership.”
“Even if we are unlikely to be the location for the next Lord of the Rings type of epic, we can offer a location where media services and projects can be conceived, developed, financed, traded and distributed to the international media market. And in the process, as we go along each step of this value chain, it will create opportunities for Singaporeans, both to contribute at the creative level and also at the supporting level. We recognise that India and China also offer enormous opportunities for our film makers here in Singapore. So MDA is making plans to visit both China and India to discuss co-production possibilities. Next, I turn to Mr Loh Meng See. He asked what is the progress of the plan to develop a Media Hub Fusionpolis at One-North and how will it fit into our overall development plan for the media industry. Let me clarify. Fusionpolis is planned as a home for a vibrant community of researchers, creative entrepreneurs, content creators, financiers and industry players from the creative media and info-communication sector. Many will be Singaporeans but we also hope to attract such talents from overseas to add to the buzz at Fusionpolis. It will provide a work, live, play and learn environment to facilitate networking and cross pollination of ideas across the diverse discipline of arts, design, media, business and technology. Fusionpolis is expected to be ready by end 2005 and will bring us closer to the overall vision of developing Singapore as a vibrant and creative hub. He also asked whether we have sufficient media talent. As I have explained in the earlier response, we have a scheme under the Media 21 to support the development of media talent.”
“Participating in such international projects will help raise the level of movie-making in Singapore. It is important for locally produced movies and films to find a marketplace in Singapore to sell their products. Therefore, over the past two years, MDA has been organising the Asia Media Festival which encompasses a Film Market to attract international buyers and sellers to Singapore. Last year, at the Film Market, a total of 6,000 participants from 34 countries attended the event to sell and to buy international media content. Such efforts are crucial if we are to develop and to build up the reputation of Singapore as a vibrant, global media city. 1.30 pm To help local film makers, MDA will continue to facilitate the participation of our local movie companies in leading international markets, such as the Cannes Film Festival, American Film Market and Hong Kong Filmart. And to explore new opportunities, MDA also led film industry missions overseas. For instance, there was a business mission to New Zealand last year, arising from which we are hoping to conclude a Singapore-New Zealand Co-production Agreement some time this year. This will add to the existing Co-production Agreements that we already have with Japan and Canada. Such agreements will open doors for local film makers by helping them to expand their market, collaborate on international projects and tap more resources and talent. Mr Zainudin also drew a comparison with New Zealand and its success in the Lord of the Rings. To be realistic, we do not have the expansive and the breath-taking landscape for movies, like the Lord of the Rings or Last Samurai. But we do have the infrastructure and capabilities to become a media city.”
“In total, the MDA has nine schemes that Singapore film makers here can tap on, and we have set aside $25 million of the earlier mentioned $100 million Media 21 fund to develop the local film industry. For example, in the area of talent development which Mr Seng had mentioned the importance of having talent to support the growth of the film industry, MDA's media development scheme has already awarded 13 scholarships to our students in both reputable overseas universities and also local tertiary institutions. In addition, to encourage and support local budding talents keen to work on movies, we offer grants to help them produce short films. It is through the production of such short films that they can acquire the skills and expertise and experience, and go on to make full length feature films. In December last year, MDA also introduced a new scheme to help these budding film makers to develop their story ideas into feature film scripts. As part of Media 21 strategy, MDA is also actively seeking co-production as a way to create content that will appeal to a global audience. For example, recently it participated in the production of a Hong Kong-Singapore movie, "Hainan Chicken Rice" with an international cast, including Sylvia Chang and Martin Yan. MDA has also partnered MTV and a local company, Mega Media, to produce a first made-by-Singapore TV series, "Rouge" for worldwide distribution. This 14-episode series will cost $2 million, with 75% of the budget spent in Singapore and will employ media talent for direction, production and acting. Last year, MDA struck a 10-film MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with local Raintree Pictures and also collaborated with Discovery Channel to produce documentaries.”
“Sir, I thank Mr Seng Han Thong for speaking well of the local film industry, unlike Mr Chiam who, during the Budget debate, wrote off the creative sector and the film industry as one that has got no potential. Indeed, Jack Neo has shown how a local film can reach out to regional audience. He has shown how he can make a commercial success out of a Singapore product. In fact, to succeed, our film industry must look outward. This is quite obvious because of the small size of the Singapore audience. If you want to make any impact at all, you really have to make movies not just for Singapore audience but also movies that can travel to the four corners of the earth and be seen, appreciated and welcomed by audiences everywhere. I agree with Mr Seng that we need to take a holistic approach in promoting the film industry. Last year, as part of our creative industry development strategy, MITA and the Media Development Authority (MDA) adopted the Media 21 report as the blueprint to develop Singapore into a global media city. The Media 21 blueprint aims to double the economic contribution of the media industry from about 1.6% currently to about 3% of our GDP and to create more and better jobs for Singaporeans in the media industry by the year 2012. Under Media 21, a five-year $100 million fund was established to support, develop and spur the growth of local media industry, including the film industry. The scheme covers the entire value chain of film production and distribution, from the development of content, manpower, talent and infrastructure to marketing of content locally and overseas.”
“So a judicious combination of public education, industry self-regulation, international cooperation and techno logical assistance, like anti-spam filters, will be the most likely combination of measures that could have some impact on this nuisance. IDA is, in fact, conducting a review on dealing with spam. I believe I have covered all the Members' points. Local Movies”
“For instance, in the recent MS Blasterworm virus incident, the SingCERT works closely with Government agencies and companies to contain the virus and to minimise any disruption. Dr Tan also asked about our plans to ensure privacy of information that is held in computer networks. The Government is mindful of the need to protect personal information. Besides our Computer Misuse Act, we have sector specific legislation such as the Medical Registration Act, the Banking Act and the Income Tax Act to protect sensitive personal data, including a person's medical and financial record. We also have a model data protection code that is benchmarked against internationally accepted standards. The code is available for adoption by the private sector. It has been embedded in the TrustSg programme, which is a nation-wide trust mark initiative supported by the IDA, to build consumer confidence to transact online and to live an e-lifestyle. I believe the Member also mentioned spam. Spamming is a worldwide problem, not just a problem peculiar to Singapore. Only the other day, I read in the newspapers that some American Internet Service Providers, like AOL and Microsoft, are suing alleged spammers. So, you can see that it is actually a global problem and it has, in fact, continued to rise despite increasingly aggressive effort by the Government to tackle the problem. IDA has been studying various measures to curb e-mail spams. Anti-spamming legislation is one possible measure, but legislation is not a magic bullet because more than three-quarters of the spams that are received originated from overseas sources and are well beyond the reach of our laws.”
“This is a much more comprehensive phase of the project. Even more Government services will be made amenable for e-delivery to our citizens. It will take advantage of the fact that we are providing extensive training for all our citizens to enable them to use infocomm technology. As a two-pronged approach, more and more Government services will be made amenable for e-delivery to our citizens. More and more citizens will be enabled with the skill to use the latest infocomm technology to access such e-Government services. This is the way that we are approaching this effort to have a more e-inclusive society. Dr Tan Boon Wan was concerned with computer security and piracy issues concerning information that is retained on the computer networks. Let me point out that the Infocomm Development Authority uses a multi-pronged approach to safeguard the nation against cyber attacks and initiative to support public, private and people sectors in so far as maintaining cyber security and also data privacy are concerned. 1.15 pm For the public sector, policies and guidelines are already in place to guide each Government agency in managing ICT security. IDA maintains a threat monitoring and incident response capability to ensure that the Government can be forewarned of threats as well as to resolve and recover quickly from an IT security incident. IDA also promotes user awareness to raise and maintain the level of preparedness to deal with such threats. IDA's efforts against cyber attacks for the private sector is multi-faceted. IDA operates the Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (SingCERT) to detect, resolve and prevent security related incidents on the Internet.”
“The five CDCs are valuable partners of IDA in this programme. They help to reach out to the community to encourage more Singaporeans to sign up for IT training. Since its inception in 2001 till end January 2004, the programme has benefited more than 170,000 people. The infocomm literacy rate of Singaporeans aged 15 to 69 increased from 47% in year 2000 to 60% in year 2002. The programme is succeeding to enhance employability of lower skilled workers and build an e-inclusive society by enabling all our citizens to be able to use infocomm technology, beginning with the very basic level. If CDCs come across job seekers who can benefit from such training, we will be very glad to get recommendations from the CDCs and to help such job seekers to access the appropriate training. At the next level, the Infocomm Competency Programme (ICP) equips workers with infocomm application skills for the digital workplace. Courses cover training in work processing, spreadsheet, presentation, data base management and web page design applications. Since its inception in 2001 till end January 2004, the ICP has supported 90,000 trainees. The infocomm competency rate of Singapoeran workers aged 15 to 69 has also increased from 43% in the year 2000 to 60% in the year 2002. Likewise, if CDCs come across job seekers who can take advantage of this infocomm competency training, then please refer them to IDA and we will ensure that they get the relevant training to enhance their employability. There is another point in terms of engaging Singaporeans in e-Government services. Last July, the Government launched the E-Government Action Plan II. This is the Phase 2 of the project to expand and to enhance the e-Government services available to Singaporeans.”
“I am pleased to announce that the Infocomm Development Authority will be setting up a new National Infocomm Scholarship, in partnership with the industry, to develop infocomm professionals and leaders for tomorrow. IDA is setting aside a budget of $9 million to offer up to 90 scholarships over five years. Seven companies have joined IDA in this scholarship scheme. They are Computer Associates, Frontline, IBM, Microsoft, NCS, Oracle and SCS. I look forward to more ICT firms joining the scheme. This partnership with industry is important as it signals the commitment of industry partners. Their participation enhances the scholarship, as National Infocomm Scholars will be attached to local and overseas offices and laboratories of the industry partners. Scholars will gain valuable industry experience. They will also benefit from the mentorship of infocomm professionals from the industry itself. Scholars who perform well will also be sponsored to do their Master's degree. Dr Teo Ho Pin asked what are the targets set to evolve an e-inclusive society and how do we expect to engage Singaporeans in e-Government service, and cooperation between CDCs and IT training providers. Let me begin with the training part. There are already two IDA programmes to provide basic and essential IT skills for the general public and for our workforce. First, the National IT Literacy Programme (NITLP) is a nation-wide training initiative to equip Singaporeans with basic computer and Internet skills, such as information retrieval, e-mailing and conducting online transactions. This training is offered in four official languages, and they are available over 130 locations across the island. The training is provided by approved commercial training providers and also various community organisations.”
“Mr Zainudin asked how can we continue to produce high quality infocomm technology manpower so that we can sustain our competitiveness in this growing sector. I think that is a very important point, because without the availability of high quality infocomm technology manpower, we would have great difficulty making headway, especially now when we are faced with very strong competition from countries like India and China. As it stands, our institutes of higher learning, our universities and polytechnics already provide first-class infocomm technology training to our younger Singaporeans. This effort is complemented by specialised ICT training provided, eg, by the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). IDA runs a programme called Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme (CITREP). This is the main programme to help ICT professionals keep up to date. Since the launching of CITREP, a total of more than 15,000 infocomm professionals have been trained. Last year, IDA announced that it would be injecting another $13.5 million into CITREP to train another 5,000 infocomm professionals by March 2005. The skills and technology areas that are supported under CITREP are reviewed regularly on a yearly basis to ensure that they are properly tuned to the industry's needs. It is very important that when we invest in such training, the training correctly reflects the needs of the industry, and that is what IDA is doing. Even as we hone the skills of the infocomm professionals who are already in the industry, we need to ensure that there is a constant flow of bright, young people to build up our strength and to enhance our competitiveness for the future.”
“Sir, I thank Miss Penny Low for a very comprehensive review of the potential of online gaming sector. IDA is looking into building up Singapore's attractiveness as a games exchange; in other words, the preferred location in Asia where enabling services, infrastructure, capability, combined to enable digital management, distribution and publishing of online games and game services to the region. So far, the results have been encouraging. Currently, there are at least six regional Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). I am not quite sure how these games operate, but they are known as MMOGs. These are managed out of Singapore compared with only two in the year 2002. So, we have tripled the number of such MMOGs in the last one year. More importantly, there are more companies entering our games sector. Today, there are about 40 companies across the computer games value-chain. IDA will continue to obtain industry feedback and work with other promotional agencies to anchor Singapore as the preferred Games Exchange venue for online gaming in the region. To complement IDA's efforts, the Media Development Authority (MDA) will focus its attention on developing Singapore-based gaming companies capable of producing original, exportable and commercially successful gaming content. MDA has seed-funded at least four game development projects, and there is growing interest from the industry to create original game content which includes online game content. For publishing and distributing of online games, MDA will work closely with IDA and the Internet service providers with regional reach, so that they can host and distribute completed games on their network.”
“Phunk Studio, a local graphic collective, has found a way to combine both east and west in their works and has gone all the way to New York. "Designed in Singapore" label for such products will enhance the standing of designers in Singapore. Sir, the third thrust, to catalyse the International Design Centre status, aims to link Singapore with good designs, so that whenever people think of Singapore, they think of design. The Council will make Singapore attractive for local and international design organisations to hub here. MITA will continue to ensure that every effort is made to tap and nurture the design industry as an important contributor to our economy.”
“I am sure that the Esplanade management is aware of the need to price their tickets at a reasonable and affordable level, depending on the quality and the level of the performances that they are presenting. Mr Loh Meng See spoke about the importance of design. I agree with Mr Loh Meng See wholeheartedly that good designs will command premium pricing. In August 2003, MITA formed the Design Singapore Council to develop the design cluster. This is a multi-agency initiative to implement three strategic thrusts: (a) to grow demand for design; (b) nurture an integrated design cluster; and (c) catalyse an international design status. Let me elaborate. The first thrust, to grow demand for design, is to encourage Singapore companies, especially SMEs, to use design to develop distinctively Singaporean products and services for the global market. At the community level, the Council will support programmes to nurture greater awareness of designs so that Singaporeans will better appreciate how designs can enhance quality of life at home, work and play. The second thrust, to nurture an integrated design cluster, aims to raise the standard of designs and the standing of designers and promote inter-disciplinary collaboration. The Council is studying the introduction of a "Designed in Singapore" mark for our products. Already, Creative Technology's Prodikey and Zen Portable Media Centre had won awards in the US-based International Consumer Electronics Show. Singaporean SCDA Architects was named Design Vanguard for 2003 by the influential American Institute of Architects. Song+Kelly 21, a successful home-grown fashion brand, has received world-wide accolades from key fashion institutions.”
“Dr Teo Ho Pin asked how we can encourage younger Singaporeans to pursue careers in the creative industries. Today, our arts colleges and polytechnics are already offering a wide range of arts, design and media diploma courses, as I have mentioned earlier. These courses are always oversubscribed, suggesting that our young people are already keen on careers in the creative industries. As our arts, culture and other aspects of the creative industries grow, it will open up even more attractive and rewarding jobs for Singaporeans. These would be an added incentive for younger Singaporeans to seek careers in the creative industries. Mr Arthur Fong asked whether as a result of budget cut, the Esplanade's programming would suffer. I am glad to inform Mr Arthur Fong that the budget cut will not affect the Esplanade's programming in the coming year. The Esplanade hosted a total of 1,451 arts activities last year. This included 1,107 activities or events which were actually presented by the Esplanade itself. Next year, the company intends to build on the momentum by presenting up to 1,200 performing arts events, which is more than what they have done last year. Similarly, a total of 65 visual arts exhibitions were held at the Esplanade last year. This year, the Esplanade hopes to increase the number of exhibitions to 80. So, all in all, let me assure the Member that the Esplanade will continue with the momentum of its programmes and, in fact, where possible, it will improve the quality of the programmes that are being offered. He asked whether the budget squeeze will result in the cost being passed on to concert-goers or people attending performances.”
“In August 2003, Design Singapore Council was appointed to steer the national design agenda. MITA has also set up the Creative Industries Action Committee to facilitate inter-agency collaboration with key partners such as the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Manpower. What I have described, Sir, is only the beginning of efforts to grow the creative industries and to deploy our cultural capital and contribute to our economy. I am pleased to inform this House that the Government has committed new resources amounting to about $22 million over five years to reinforce existing programmes and to roll-out other creative industry development strategy initiatives. This is on top of the $100 million Media 21 Fund which was announced in July last year. With this new resource, we believe that we can make an even greater impact in catalysing the growth of this promising sector. It is early days yet, and the journey is long. We will continue to work closely with industry players to sharpen our strategies and to harness the full potential of our creative sector. Dr Teo Ho Pin asked how can the arts and culture industry create jobs for Singaporeans. Let me answer by way of an example. Last year, the Esplanade created job opportunities for nearly 15,000 local artistes and support staff. This is on top of their own staff of nearly 500 full-time and part-time employees. The local arts groups and companies, which stage events at the Esplanade, created jobs for actors, dancers, choreographers, script writers and composers. There were also jobs in theatre support and production, such as stage management, lightings, set and sound design, directing, producing and marketing, as well as those in front of house operations, such as ushering and ticket sales.”
“The Esplanade also organises annual community festivals such as Pasta Raya, Kalaa Utsavam and Huayi, as mentioned by the Chairman of the GPC earlier. These events involve local musicians, local performers and also attract many of our heartlanders. The Esplanade has also attracted international attention. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performed in the Esplanade Concert Hall last Sunday. In fact, it asked to perform here because of the very favourable reviews since its inauguration. In the same week that the Vienna Philharmonic performed at the Esplanade, we also have performance by the equally renowned London Symphony Orchestra, the Brazilian Minister for Culture and Grammy Award winner, Gilberto Gil and Jan Garberek, one of the world's top saxophonist. Such intensity of world-class and sold-out performances in a short spell of one week would have been unthinkable pre-Esplanade days. Last night, the Esplanade hosted the world premier of "I La Galigo" - a great Bugis epic from Sulawesi, depicting the creation and destruction of the Middle World. This production will go on to tour Europe and US. This year, NAC will also initiate a major visual arts event, called Seni Singapore. This will feature Singapore, Southeast Asian and Asian contemporary arts. It will be a prelude to a Singapore Biennale in 2006. Sir, our cultural capital has certainly grown over the past decade and we are gaining international reputation for being an Asian, but cosmopolitan city, with multi-cultural resources and multi-lingual capability. MITA has begun to put in place the structures and platforms to support the creative industries. The Media Development Authority was formed in January 2003. Its charter is to develop Singapore as a global media city.”
“In a crowded globalised market, we need to differentiate our products and services to create a niche for Singapore. Cultural capital is therefore not just a key driver of the creative industries, comprising arts, design and media, it also exerts a pervasive influence on everything Singaporean. Cultural capital takes time to build up. So are we on track with our aims and goals? The answer is yes, but we have not arrived. As a young nation, we have some way to go before we can attain first-world standards in the depth and breadth of our cultural capital. We are certainly enlarging our cultural capital and realising our vision of Singapore as a global city for the arts, as I have said earlier. Today, Singapore, once described as a cultural desert, is already transformed. It is now a green oasis, not a desert. We have invested more than $1 billion in cultural assets such as museums, libraries, concert halls, and many other infrastructures and also much software in our cultural development since the 1989 Report of the Advisory Council for the Arts and Culture, and also the 2000 Renaissance City Project which I have mentioned earlier. 12.45 pm As I had mentioned earlier, we are seeing growing arts audience at home. Singapore artists such as Tan Swee Hian, Ong Kim Seng and theatre-master Ong Keng Seng, have also gained international reputation. The Esplanade provides an exciting venue for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, to perform their concerts and Singapore Dance Theatre to perform their ballets. We also offer a venue for recitals by our young musicians and staging of Singapore's musicals such as Dick Lee's "Forbidden City".”
“It also funded the participation of three Singapore artists, Tan Swie-Hian, Heman Chong and Francis Ng, at the prestigious Venice Biennale 2003. As noted by Ms Ng, this year, NAC supported a group of Singapore artistes, including Wild Rice and their production of "Animal Farm" at the New Zealand International Arts Festival as a special Singapore Season. In the coming year, NAC intends to do more to showcase Singapore talents on the international stage. Fourthly, the Esplanade, besides staging events featuring collaboration between Singaporeans and international performers, also organise the Asian Arts Mart in Singapore. This event showcases ready-to-tour works by Asian artists, including Singapore artists, to some 200-250 festival directors, agents and presenters from all over the world. Our arts group, such as Singapore Dance Theatre and Wild Rice had secured engagement in Australia, New Zealand, UK and US through this Asian Arts Mart. Finally, Sir, NAC also regularly engages international cultural network such as the International Society for the Performing Arts and the International Federation of Arts Council and Culture Agencies and foreign arts media to raise awareness and interest in Singapore arts. I next turn to Dr Tan Boon Wan who asked for an update on our effort to develop cultural capital. Dr Teo Ho Pin also asked what are the plans to expand the arts and cultural industry. Sir, cultural capital is the accumulated sum of our cultural resources, national identity, heritage, creative and artistic capability, in other words, it is our cultural DNA. It inspires new ideas and expressions, enabling Singaporeans to bring out a distinctively Singapore feel in our lifestyle, our products and our services.”
“As I have mentioned earlier, many of our Singapore artists and performers are already beginning to make an impact on the global stage. Right now, let me give her just five examples of how MITA hopes to develop or help our artistes to develop the external wing of Singapore arts. First, MITA has signed cultural Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with countries such as China, India and Ireland and cities like Paris and Melbourne. These MOUs allow our artistes to participate in our MOU partners' art festivals and cultural events. For example, through NAC's MOU with Arts Victoria in Australia, two works involving Singaporeans and Australian artistes have been co-commissioned for this year's Singapore Arts Festival. One of the works will be performed in the Melbourne Arts Festival. So it gives an opportunity for our people to collaborate with the Melbourne artistes and to jointly present their work. Secondly, the Singapore Arts Festival Commission's productions that involved both local and foreign artistes working together. One example is last year's "The Global Soul: The Buddha Project", which was a collaboration between local company, Theatreworks, and renowned talents from Japan, Sweden, France, Thailand, Korea and China. The production subsequently toured Germany, Switzerland and Holland with great success. Thirdly, NAC provides funding under various schemes to promote artists internationally. Last year, NAC funded 74 projects at $364,000. For example, the International Touring Grant, mentioned by Ms Irene Ng, funded Dr Adrian Chok's new media work "Gulliver's Box" at Arts Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria. NAC supported violinist Kam Ning's performance in South Korea.”
“My Ministry, together with Media Development Authority, National Arts Council, Design Singapore Council will certainly study the complexity of this value chain and try to engage every player along the way, regardless of whether they are big players or small players - whether they are full-time engaged in the arts or they are only contributing as a part-time participant. Miss Penny Low also asked whether we have got our priorities right by spending so much money on the library development because she noted that a large chunk of the budget has gone towards our library programme. I just like to point out to her that what we spend on developing our library is not at the expense of our other programmes. The budget for the library was already approved some years ago as part of our Library 21 programme. We should bear in mind that libraries are a very important part of our cultural capital. Libraries today are not just places where we go and borrow a book. Our National Library has evolved into a major, social and cultural institution where it provides people with access to information, help people to update themselves with what is going on in the world of science, technology, medicine, culture, arts and social and economic developments, both here in Singapore and throughout the world. We do have to invest on our libraries and we will continue to do so to ensure that our libraries continue to serve Singaporeans in the best interest. Next, I turn to Ms Irene Ng who spoke about the pride that she felt when she saw Singaporeans being able to collaborate with world-class musicians or performers. She asked what else we can do to help our own artistes reach out to the global stage.”
“Sir, my Ministry agrees with the Committee's recommendation that MITA set up an Arts School. We will carefully study its detailed recommendations on the character, features and funding of the school. We note the recommended target to establish the school in 2007. We will release the full report of the Committee later this month and set up an implementation task force. Sir, I believe this is a significant step to strengthen arts education in Singapore. The Arts School will offer an additional option for our students to approach artistic and creative careers. It will groom talents for our arts, culture and creative industries. The Arts School will add diversity to our education landscape and offer young Singaporeans who are artistically talented a new pathway to develop and achieve their full potential. I am confident that the Arts School will contribute to the next phase of our social, cultural and economic development. May I now turn to Miss Penny Low who spoke about the importance of looking at arts development from an ecosystem perspective. I agree with her. In trying to promote the arts, we have to understand that there is a very complex value chain and there are many people contributing to the value chain. I would rather not use those other descriptions that she had used so vividly to describe people who actually contribute to the value chain in growing our arts and creative industries. Of course, in the process, we have encountered, within this value chain, that there are big players and there are small players but they are all important players and they all contribute to creating values for the arts and creative industries.”
“The Committee was of the view that the IB offers a flexible curriculum emphasising critical thinking, breadth of knowledge and inter-cultural understanding that best suits both arts and academic learning. The IB diploma is a widely recognised qualification for university admission. The Arts School graduates will be able to apply for admission to NUS and NTU, and overseas universities. For example, Harvard University and other Ivy League universities in the US accept the IB diploma. Graduates who choose to further their studies outside the arts would also be able to do so with their IB diploma. The Committee recommended that the Arts School be "permeable" with mainstream schools. This means that students of the Arts School who subsequently choose not to pursue arts specialisation can rejoin a mainstream school. Conversely, secondary students from mainstream schools could apply to the Arts School and be admitted if they fulfill the academic and artistic requirements. Finally, the Committee recommended that the Arts School be located in the arts district because of the potential for synergy between the school and the rich resources already available in the arts district. These include the new National Library and the new Drama Centre, the new NAFA, LaSalle and the Singapore Management University (SMU) campuses. We also have the Singapore Art Museum and Asian Civilisations Museum in the arts district. In addition, NAC houses many arts groups under the Arts Housing Scheme within the district. The school will benefit greatly from the proximity to the artists and institutions and other organisations that have an active interest in the arts. We envisage their interaction and artistic collaboration will spark off a buzz.”
“But first let me point out that in its study, the Committee consulted groups of students, parents, principals, teachers, artists and creative professionals, and many other stakeholders. On curriculum content, the Committee recommended an integrated six-year arts and academic programme for 13 to 18-year-olds. The School will offer a range of academic subjects, including mathematics, science, languages, literature and the humanities. So it is not just about arts. Together with the academic subjects, students will be exposed to the various art forms to inculcate a multi-disciplinary understanding of the arts. They will then focus on at least one arts specialty in either visual arts, dance, theatre or music. Given Singapore's multi-cultural society and Asian heritage, the students will also have the opportunity for cross-cultural learning. The School will be staffed by well-qualified and experienced teachers, particularly those with teaching expertise in the arts. The Committee recommended that the Arts School provide learning outside the classroom. The students should have the opportunity to learn from artists and other creative professionals and to participate in projects and performances. These activities will enable students to learn the commercial aspects of the arts and creative industries. This recommendation clearly addresses Ms Indranee Rajah's call for more practical oriented courses to enable the graduates to better cope with the business challenge of an artistic career. I agree with her. The Committee also recommended that students graduate from the Arts School with an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.”
“NTU offers degree programmes in mass communications, and will soon start offering design and media programmes. The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts provide diploma and degree courses in the arts. Polytechnics also offer design and media diploma courses. However, there is a gap at the pre-tertiary level. 12.30 pm Currently, students with an interest in the arts can take arts and music electives at "O" and "A" levels. But, this is only available at a few selected secondary schools and junior colleges. Often, the students face a conflict between their arts and academic commitments. There is no dedicated development path for those who have interest and show early promise in the arts. In 2002, the Committee on Reviewing JC and Secondary School Education recommended that independent schools specialising in sports, mathematics, science and the arts would enhance our education landscape. Last year, the Remaking Singapore Committee recommended the setting up of an arts school at the secondary level. MITA followed up by appointing a Committee to study the desirability and feasibility of a pre-tertiary arts school. Mr Seng Han Thong, Mr Loh Meng See and Ms Indranee Rajah asked for a report on the progress of this study. Sir, the Committee has concluded its study and given me a thorough briefing on its findings and recommendations. The Committee concluded that a pre-tertiary arts school was desirable and feasible. It has recommended that MITA establish an Independent Arts School for students aged between 13 and 18. Sir, I am pleased to announce that MITA agrees with the Committee's recommendation to set up an Independent Arts School to nurture our young talents who have a passion for the arts. I will summarise the Committee's key recommendations.”
“Last year, there was a slight dip, but that was probably because of the disruption caused by SARS. But it is clear that our arts audience has grown dramatically. More importantly, the Renaissance City project has deepened the interest, appreciation and understanding of our arts audience. The Renaissance City project has also boosted the standing and appreciation of our arts talents and their works at home and abroad. For example, Singapore artistes have been invited to participate in the Venice Biennale, Germany's Documenta, Shanghai's Art Festival and the Singapore Dance Theatre has gone as far as Mexico to perform in the Cervantino Festival. Sir, the Renaissance City project has certainly helped to make our arts scene more fun and vibrant. It has contributed to making Singapore more interesting and attractive to live and work, both for our Singaporeans and also for the international visitors and talent whom we hope to attract here. The challenge is to go beyond this achievement of the Renaissance City project. Last year, the Economic Review Committee identified the creative industry as a new and promising sector of our economy. MITA's vision is to both broaden and deepen our cultural assets and to grow the contribution of the creative industry from the current 3% of our GDP to 6% of the GDP by the year 2012. To achieve this vision, Singapore will need many creative talents, including people talented in the performing and visual arts, design, creative media and information technology. Today, our young creative talent can pursue degree programmes in the arts-related discipline at our tertiary institutions. For instance, NUS offers degree programmes in music, theatre studies, architecture and industrial design.”
“Sir, I thank the hon. Members who have spoken on the subject of the arts, cultural capital and design. First, I would like to respond to Mr Seng Han Thong, Chairman of the GPC for Information, Communications and the Arts, who asked for a progress report on the Renaissance City project, which was started four years ago with a budget of about $50 million. The Renaissance City project aimed to establish Singapore as a city for the arts and to provide cultural ballast for nation building. Its main thrust is to develop the software to complement the new and the existing hardware or infrastructure that we have invested in. The budget was deployed for talent and audience development to create a vibrant arts and cultural scene, and to support the internationalisation of our arts and culture practitioners. To this end, MITA and the National Arts Council initiated new grants and training schemes to boost the professionalism and capabilities of our arts companies. NAC enhanced its arts education programmes and launched an arts marketing and outreach programme. To stimulate greater interest in the arts, key festivals, competitions and arts events were upgraded or created, such as the Singapore Arts Festival, Museum Fest and the Arts Month. For internationalisation, we assisted Singapore artistes and performers to gain wider international exposure. Sir, the Renaissance City project has brought about a 26% increase in the number of arts groups in Singapore, from 435 to 549 arts groups, and a 25% increase in the number of arts and cultural events in Singapore, from 4,127 to 5,158, over the last four years. A survey also showed that the percentage of our population who attended arts events rose from 15% to 27%. In 2002, more than one million people attended arts events.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not know whether the number that the Member asks for, covering Punggol New Town, is exactly the same category as I have here. I have asked my staff to provide me with some information and they told me that in Punggol, there are 3,377 homes that are connected. There are 4,082 homes that are yet to be connected. There are another 1,032 homes that have not received the temporary occupation permit, and once the permit is granted, it would then be studied whether the homes can be connected or not. In nearby Sengkang, there are also about 1,737 homes that are connected, and the unconnected homes in Sengkang are 1,110 homes, with another 2,265 homes that are pending TOP. So, in total, in the areas of Punggol and Sengkang, there are altogether about 5,192 homes that are not connected or another 5,114 homes that are already connected. The Working Group, as I said earlier on, will actually be putting a lot of effort and spending a lot of time looking at the homes in Punggol and Sengkang to ensure that they can be cabled up as soon as possible. HDB STUDIO APARTMENTS FOR THE ELDERLY 12. Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many studio apartments for the elderly have been built by HDB since the introduction of the scheme; (b) how many have been taken up; (c) whether his Ministry intends to continue to provide this form of housing for the elderly; and (d) what other measures will be introduced to cater to the housing needs of the elderly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, even if a household does not have access to cable vision, it does not mean that it is deprived of access to television broadcast. In fact, homes that have no access to cable vision can still access free-to-air channels through the terrestrial broadcast. So, there is nothing to stop us from conveying important messages through the free-to-air television channels which are available to all Singaporean households. In the case of the special SARS channel, it may well have been - I am not sure - put out as a free-to-air-channel which is accessible to anybody who is connected to cable vision. Those homes that do not have the connection may not have access, but the messages can also be conveyed through the other channels or free-to-air terrestrial broadcast, radio and, of course, the printed media, the newspapers. So, it is not as if cable vision is the only channel for us to communicate important public information and messages to our people.”
“Moving forward, stipulating a fixed deadline as a condition in SCV's licence is not practical as there will be a constant flow of new HDB and private developments being completed. On my Ministry's policy on fair competition and access to networks, it is important to take note that unlike in the past, our telecommunications licensees are now operating in a highly competitive environment. In line with the overarching goal of enhancing Singapore's economic competitiveness, pro-competition policies and approaches should be allowed to prevail whenever viable. Hence, we must bear in mind that the issue at hand is fundamentally a contractual dispute between two commercial firms. Therefore, ideally speaking, such disputes should be best left to the contracting parties and market dynamics to resolve. However, we also acknowledge that competition alone does not always assure us efficient delivery of services. There are situations when Government regulatory intervention may be needed. But even then, it is imperative that the level of regulation used be judiciously calibrated to achieve policy objectives. In doing so, we must guard against tendencies to fall back on heavy handed regulatory intervention at the first instance. In the rapidly changing and still evolving infocomm sector, excessive regulation could distort commercial operations, stifle enterprise, and even undermine consumer interests in the long run. Hence, it is necessary to strike a balance between regulatory intervention and respect for private contractual arrangements. In conclusion, let me assure the House that my Ministry and the InfoComm Development Authority will continue to work with SingTel and SCV to ensure expeditious provision of cable services to residential properties.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, a decision on the appeal lodged by SingTel against the InfoComm Development Authority's ruling on the dispute between SingTel and Starhub Cable Vision (SCV) was reached in July 2003. This dispute arose from differences in interpretation of key terms in a contract between SingTel and SCV. The decision set out the principles for the resolution of the dispute in a way that fulfilled the consumers' need for cable connection while ensuring that the commercial interests of both parties to the private contract were not compromised. A Working Group comprising senior management from SingTel and SCV with the InfoComm Development Authority playing a facilitative role was formed to guide the implementation of the decision. The Group meets regularly to discuss details of implementation and to resolve the practical and other difficulties they encounter in carrying out their contractual commitments. My Ministry closely monitors the developments at the Working Group and we are satisfied with the progress and results achieved by the Working Group, even if not all issues have been completely resolved at this stage. We note that the Working Group has enabled SingTel and SCV to exercise greater flexibility on operational procedures and interconnection matters. This collaborative approach adopted by the Working Group has enabled 30,800 homes to be connected. The Working Group will continue to ensure that the remaining unconnected homes can be cabled up in the most expeditious manner. The Group has updated my Ministry that this number is around 20,000 homes as at 30th January 2004. Regarding the deadline for the completion of cable roll-out, the initial target of nationwide cable roll-out was attained by SCV in September 1999, as stated in its licence.”
“Unfortunately, it also harbours many dark alleys where unsuspecting people could become the exploited and victims of criminals. No measures that we put in place can be 100% effective in protecting our children from all the danger areas in the Internet. What we can do, short of shutting off access to the Internet, is to prepare every Internet user to face the dangers when venturing into this cyber-world and to equip users with the common sense and values to cope with undesirable elements which may be encountered. To this end, we must join force as the Government, the industry and the community to make the Internet safer and educate and prepare our young for a society where the Internet will become an increasingly common feature in our life. CHINA UNDERGRADUATES' MONTHLY STIPEND 20. Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong asked the Acting Minister for Education if he will give the rationale for the Government to provide undergraduates from China studying in National University of Singapore a monthly stipend of S$500 without any bonds and strings attached.”
“We see Microsoft's recent closure of unmoderated chatrooms as a positive move. We hope to see more of such industry initiatives and the MDA is prepared to support and work with any industry player to facilitate this. However, these precautionary measures, while effective, can only work well for a fraction of the chatrooms available on the Internet. The vast majority of chatrooms accessible to Singaporeans are hosted overseas and beyond our regulation. We cannot prevent the naive and curious from accessing what they wish within their own confines. Therefore, the public, in particular parents, must take their own preventive actions to protect their children. Simple skills governing online behaviour, such as not giving out personal details and not meeting strangers acquainted through chatrooms, are all basic common sense precautions that go a long way in curtailing the problem. Like many other everyday habits, these must be taught and inculcated by parents and teachers in our schools. Hence, the MDA has supported measures to educate the public on online safety. It has made available an Internet Public Education Fund to support projects that raise awareness on the precautions for safe access of the Internet, especially by the young. The fund has supported the work of volunteer organisations such as the Parents' Advisory Group for the Internet (PAGi) which promotes online safety awareness to parents. Since 1999, PAGi has reached out to more than 62,000 people directly through its outreach activities, including campaigns on MTV Asia and Nickelodeon to educate young viewers on chatroom safety. The Internet has opened up many new opportunities and pathways for businesses and individuals to exploit and explore.”
“Mdm Halimah Yacob has expressed concern over the possible use of Internet chatrooms by sex predators to prey on the young and questioned whether the safeguards we have in place today are effective. The nature of the Internet makes it impossible to insulate users entirely from its contents. Experiences in other countries have shown that regulatory controls per se are not effective in preventing the inflow of undesirable content. Hence, we have adopted a pragmatic three-pronged approach to safeguard our young from undesirable content and activities on the Internet and, in particular, chatrooms. This involves legal enforcement, industry regulation and public education. There have been several high-profile cases of men using the Internet to prey on young girls. The Police take a very serious view on such crimes and where offences have been committed, they will investigate thoroughly and prosecute apprehended offenders. While the Police have been successful in this aspect, we recognise that enforcement action only serves as a strong deterrent. Therefore, we established the National Internet Advisory Council in 1996 to work with the industry to reduce the potential for Internet abuse. Our Internet Service Providers have voluntarily provided their subscribers the option of using Family Access Networks to filter out undesirable sites. Under the Media Development Authority's Internet Code of Practice, content providers are required to abide by guidelines on discussion themes when they host chat facilities. The industry has also taken steps that include moderating popular chatrooms, requiring user registration, taking disciplinary action against abusers, and collaborating with the Police in furnishing information on sex offenders.”
“Since 1999, the Parents' Advisory Group for the Internet has reached out to more than 62,000 people directly through its outreach activities, including campaigns on MTV and Nickelodeon to educate young viewers on chatroom safety. 3.00 pm”
“The industry has also taken steps that include moderating popular chatrooms, requiring user registration, taking disciplinary action against abusers, and collaborating with the Police in furnishing information on sex offenders. We see Microsoft's recent closure of unmoderated chatrooms as a positive move. We hope to see more of such industry initiatives and the MDA is prepared to support and work with any industry player to facilitate this. However, these precautionary measures, while effective, can only work well for a fraction of the chatrooms available on the Internet. The vast majority of chatrooms accessible to Singaporeans are based overseas and beyond our regulation. We cannot prevent the naive and curious from accessing what they wish within their own confines. Therefore the public, in particular, parents must take their own preventive actions to protect their children. Simple skills governing online behaviour, such as not giving out personal details and not meeting strangers acquainted through chatrooms, are all basic common sense precautions that will go a long way in curtailing the problem. Like many other everyday habits, these must be taught and inculcated by parents and teachers in our schools. Hence, the Media Development Authority has supported measures to educate the public on online safety. It has made available an Internet Public Education Fund to support projects that raise awareness on the precautions for safe access of the Internet, especially by the young. The fund has supported the work of volunteer organisations, such as the Parents' Advisory Group for the Internet (PAGi) which promotes online safety awareness to parents.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member has expressed concern over the possible use of Internet chatrooms by sex predators to prey on the young and questioned whether the safeguards we have in place today are effective. Sir, the nature of the Internet makes it impossible to insulate users entirely from its contents. Experiences in other countries have shown that regulatory controls by themselves are not effective in preventing the inflow of undesirable content through the Internet. Hence, we have adopted a pragmatic three-pronged approach to safeguard our young from the undesirable content and activities on the Internet, in particular, chatrooms. This involves legal enforcement, industry regulation and public education. There have been several high-profile cases of men using the Internet to prey on young girls. The Police take a very serious view of such crimes and, where offences have been committed, they will investigate thoroughly and Police will prosecute the apprehended offenders. While the Police have been successful in this aspect, we recognise that enforcement action only serves as a strong deterrent. Therefore, we established the National Internet Advisory Council in 1996 to work with the industry to reduce the potential for Internet abuse. Our Internet Service Providers have voluntarily provided their subscribers the option of using Family Access Networks to filter out undesirable sites. Under the Media Development Authority's (MDA) Internet Code of Practice, content providers are required to abide by guidelines on discussion themes when they host the chat facilities.”
“To make Sentosa a more attractive resort destination for both Singaporeans and foreign tourists, SDC is bringing in major new leisure offerings. Under the Master Plan, visitorship to Sentosa is expected to grow from 4.1 million in 2002 to six million in 2006, and eight million in 2012. The Sentosa Express will connect seamlessly with the MRT network, and facilitate this larger movement of visitors to and around Sentosa. Visitors will be able to enjoy greater convenience and much shorter waiting times. The current bus service plying between the mainland and Sentosa will not be able to cater to the growth in visitors without causing congestion at the causeway and the surrounding roads. Similarly, the existing monorail system on Sentosa island, which is 20 years old, has limited capacity and has become increasingly difficult to maintain. The Sentosa Express project costs $140 million, and is expected to fully recover the capital and operating costs in the eighth year of operation. Besides being economically viable in its own right, it will generate spin-offs for Sentosa by allowing more visitors to access the island's attractions, and by encouraging new investments. It is also part of the broader infrastructure that will support a larger flow of tourists to Singapore. WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS TAXES ON MAID LEVIES 1. Ms Braema Mathiaparanam asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance what is the amount of tax forgone from 2000 to 2002 if Foreign Maid Levy relief were to be extended to single men and women.”