Lim Biow Chuan
Singapore
“Sir, just two short supplementary questions. First, currently, the United Nations define seniors as 65 years whereas we have set ours at 67 years. So, would the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) consider reducing to 65 years for the age eligibility criterion for getting the concessionary rate for the MDW?”
“In light of this, the existing practice of the Ministry, which disallows the repeated renewal of shorter term COEs, should also be eliminated to preserve the maximum flexibility for EV drivers to extend the use of an environmentally friendly car.”
“Sir, in June last year, the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) was launched. Sir, let me express my gratefulness to LTA for the TEL line, as there are three TEL MRT stations within the Mountbatten constituency. The TEL line has facilitated travel for many residents in my constituency.”
“Sir, I receive many queries from Polytechnic and GCE "A" level students wanting to know about their enlistment dates, asking about their Physical Employment Standard (PES) status prior to enlistment for. Sir, I also receive queries about NSmen hoping to study overseas.”
“MFA has said on several occasions that Singapore supports the right of Palestinian people to a homeland of their own. Singapore delivered not one, or two, but a total of six to seven tranches of humanitarian aid for Gaza in January 2025.”
“Even in Parliament, Sir, our Clerks and other staff work such long hours because MPs debate long hours, spend time debating Bills until late in the evening and sometimes until late at night. Sir, I have on many occasions, received emails from Ministers late in the middle of the night.”
The complete record
Every one of 802 lines we hold for Lim Biow Chuan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 13 of 17.
“Section 20 provides for the organisation to notify the individual the purpose for collection of the personal data and any other purpose for the use or disclosure of the data. Sir, supposing an organisation buries details in small print in its lucky draw or survey forms, that they are collecting the personal data for sale to third parties and that the individual, by completing the form consents to the disclosure and sale of the personal data, is that allowed under this law? My concern is that many consumers do not actually read the small print which may be found at the back of the page or that it is simply too small print. Some years ago, when I bought a sofa set, I was given 15 lucky draw forms to complete. At that time, my focus was simply to quickly fill in the forms, much less read the small print terms and conditions. I have since stopped filling in lucky draw forms. Sir, section 22 of the Bill provides that an individual may request an organisation to correct an error or omission in the personal data. May I ask whether that individual can also request that his data be deleted? Page: 878 Section 26 of the Bill provides that an organisation shall not transfer any personal data to a country or territory outside Singapore except in certain circumstances. Suppose a rogue organisation breaches this section and sells all the personal data to another organisation outside Singapore, how would such a breach be established? Secondly, if the buyer of such personal data were to operate from overseas to trade in the data, what would the Government do? With the current Internet technology, it is really not too expensive to call from overseas using Internet platforms like Viber.”
“In this computerised age, it is so easy to replicate and sell the data list again and again to different organisations trying to launch their new products or services. In fact, feedback from many consumers suggest that their details are being circulated amongst timeshare companies as these consumers receive repeated marketing calls from different timeshare companies. Page: 877 For these reasons, Sir, I strongly support the introduction of this Personal Data Protection Bill. It is the right thing for the Government to regulate the collection, use and disclosure of personal data and to ensure that once collected, the data cannot be used for different purposes or reasons unless express consent from the individual has been obtained. I also support the setting up of the Do Not Call registry at Part IX of the Bill. I accept, Sir, that there is a need to balance the social benefits and economic advantages of some form of electronic advertising. It is also not in the interest of society to absolutely ban all forms of electronic advertisement, some of which may be educational in nature, some of which may promote a charitable cause and some of which may be for research. Thus, the definition of specified message at section 37 of the Bill with the exclusions at the Eighth Schedule is acceptable for the moment. These may have to be reviewed at a later date as technology and the norms of the world change. Sir, allow me to seek some clarifications on the Bill from the Minister. Section 13 of the proposed Bill provides for the organisation to seek consent from individuals before collecting, using or disclosing the personal data.”
“Sir, I rise in support of the Bill. Over the last few years, many consumers have complained about the proliferation of unsolicited calls and SMSes which they received. These calls and SMSes generally try to sell them a service or product which they did not ask for. For example, I am not looking for a house. Yet, each month, I receive several SMSes promoting the sale of houses and the launch of new housing developments. In addition, I also receive cold calls from advertisers trying to sell me hotel packages, financial products and timeshare package. Sir, some of these calls were made at odd hours and some calls were made whilst consumers were overseas. Many consumers complain that they get very irritated each time they are overseas and received unsolicited calls or SMSes from advertisers. They then may have to bear the extra overseas telecom charges for these unsolicited advertising calls and SMSes. It is a waste of their time and disruptive to their work to have to answer to such calls or to read SMSes when they are busy or at a meeting. I have also heard from a friend that once, when he tried to cut short the telemarketer and said that he was not interested in the product, he received a string of expletives and the caller then hung up the phone. Unfortunately, the marketing call was made from an unlisted telephone number and he had no recourse to complain. Sir, the general consensus is that much of the information which is available to commercial advertisers is derived from data which consumers innocently gave whilst filling in forms for lucky draws, for some VIP or privilege cards or completing survey forms. These data are then compiled and then traded for sale. Thus, if we search the Internet, we will find that some 5,000 names can be sold for as little as $250.”
“Sir, may I ask the Senior Minister of State whether he would agree that young children attending Primary school should not have to travel long distances to their Primary schools? Secondly, in such a case, would the Ministry of Education consider making changes to the P1 Registration Scheme such that children under Phase 2A, which takes into account parents' ties, should not have priority to a Primary school unless they live within a reasonable proximity to the school? Sir, to give an illustration: if I live in Jurong and I am an alumni of the school in the East, I get priority to that school even though I live a long distance away. It would go against the spirit of encouraging parents to recognise that within their own neighbourhood, one of the schools is a good school.”
“With the proposed new safeguards, who will bear the added administrative costs of setting up conveyancing accounts or engaging the new conveyancing money service of the Singapore Academy of Law?”
“Thus, for small value tenancies, for example, tenancies with very low rentals and the stamp duties are also very low, the housing agents or lawyers may not wish to be involved in the holding of such small sums of stamp fees and to e-stamp the tenancies for their clients. Is the Stamp Office prepared to handle increase of cases where the stamping of tenancies is handled directly by landlords or tenants at the Stamp Office? Next, Sir, where there are disputes between parties and adjudication is required, may I ask who is expected to bear the additional charges and late interest payable during the period of delay whilst the parties seek adjudication? During the initial period where parties' areas of responsibilities are not clearly set out and the law in this area is not distinct or fully developed as yet, would it be fair for one party to be held responsible for the delay because he wished clarity by submitting to adjudication? Finally, Sir, what is the intent of section 73D(2)(h) of the Act, where there is fraud or criminal breach of trust, the lawyers involved would inevitably be charged under the Penal Code? Would the Public Prosecutor charge lawyers for minor or technical breaches of law due to carelessness or inadvertence and, in some cases, incompetence? I hope the Minister can clarify these concerns so that lawyers have a better sense of the intent of the law. Sir, with this, I support the Bill. 4.34 pm Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan: Sir, I rise in support of this Bill as it serves to safeguard conveyancing money of buyers and sellers of property. I have only one query for the Minister. This Bill would bar lawyers from holding conveyancing money in their regular clients' accounts.”
“The draft rules have introduced a two-party authorisation for the withdrawal of conveyancing money from special conveyancing bank accounts. Thus, any withdrawal of money from this special conveyancing bank accounts would require the authorisation from two lawyers. One concern which many lawyers have raised is the duty of the counter-signing lawyer for a Category "C" payee. Sir, this is a category of payees who are not Government agencies like the Stamp Office, CPF Board or discharging mortgagees. The question is whether the counter-signing lawyer is required to verify the identity and correctness of the Category "C" payee. What if the vendor solicitor directs that the entire balance of sale proceeds is to be paid to the housing agent or some third party whom he claims is his relative or a creditor? Is the counter-signing lawyer obliged to make further enquiries even after the vendor issues a statutory declaration to authorise such payments? Or is the vendor obliged to disclose more details when asked by the counter-signing lawyer? What if he deems the information to be confidential? Is the counter-signing lawyer obliged to make further enquiries as to whether there is any illegal moneylending transaction? What if the vendor refuses to disclose that he is indebted to some third-party payee for fear of embarrassment? Sir, I believe it to be useful for lawyers to understand more about their obligations as a counter-signing lawyer. Sir, the proposed rules also cover the prohibition of the holding of stamp fees for tenancy agreements.”
“Sir, allow me to declare my interest in speaking on this Bill as a practising conveyancing lawyer. Sir, this Bill seeks to introduce new rules to protect clients' money and to prohibit lawyers from holding conveyancing money in their clients' accounts. I understand that the Bill came about after several cases where dishonest lawyers had absconded with their clients' conveyancing money ranging $32,000 to $6 million to $11 million. Many lawyers that I have spoken to have expressed great disappointment whenever they read about these cases of cheating or criminal breach of trust by lawyers because these cases affect adversely the reputation of many other honest lawyers. Sir, the proposed rules make quite drastic changes to the way conveyancing has been practised. As a lawyer who has been practising conveyancing for more than 20 years, I found the changes quite difficult to adapt to. Nevertheless, I welcome these new rules as these measures will assist to protect innocent members of the public from being cheated of their hard-earned money which are intended for either their purchase or for the sale of their properties. Many lawyers that I know have also expressed support for the new Bill and new regulations. In fact, some lawyers have expressed that they would rather not hold on to any client's conveyancing money as it is additional administrative work for them, with no benefits in holding such money. Sir, section 73D of the Bill provides for the Minister to make rules. I understand that these rules have been drafted to prohibit lawyers from holding conveyancing money save in certain situations. The draft rules have been circulated to many law firms and two pilot trials have been conducted as the Minister has said.”
“I thank the Minister of State. Sir, I receive frequent complaints about the poor maintenance of drains as leaves and branches are frequently dropped into these uncovered drains. May I ask the Minister of State whether there are plans to step up the cleaning of these drains until the drains are covered, which may be in 2015?”
“How about telecommunication signal strengths when shopping inside underground buildings like ION Orchard, or at nex at Serangoon or when driving in underground tunnels or when one is near the boundaries? Would consumers be assured that they will be able to receive phone signals? Consumer protection”
“Each year, the Consumers' Association of Singapore receives several complaints from consumers who have received hefty phone bills from their telcos for overseas data roaming charges. These are consumers who are not aware that they need to turn off their data roaming function when they travel overseas. As a result, they were shocked when they receive bills ranging from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. I myself received a bill for a few hundred dollars when I was on a three-day family holiday in Thailand. I was not surfing the Internet nor was I checking my email. My phone was just receiving data when it was idling in my pocket. May I ask the Minister whether the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) would consider imposing a requirement for telcos to automatically cease the supply of data roaming when a customer is overseas? This is similar to a phone line without the auto-roam function. The data roaming should be activated only when a consumer contacts the telcos to activate the data roaming when overseas. Perhaps, IDA can also review the charges imposed by the telcos for such data supplied. Sir, I have also received complaints from residents about poor mobile signal coverage resulting in dropped calls or simply no available phone lines. For residents living near the sea, their complaints were that they were being billed for Indonesia overseas calls, just because they were living in Marine Parade. I understand that the IDA will be reviewing the standards for telecommunication in-building and island-wide coverage. May I ask the Minister whether IDA will require the telephone companies to improve their reception signal strength so that there will be fewer dropped calls?”
“May I ask the Minister, what else is MOE doing for our weaker students so that the jewel in these students can be polished to shine through? Does MOE devote enough resources, for example, could MOE consider having more teachers, allied educators, more counsellors, or motivators in the schools to ensure that all students who are keen to learn, can complete their secondary education and have adequate opportunities to progress to either ITE or polytechnic or other educational institutions? Is there any possibility of MOE providing specialised tuition programmes for the weaker students so that we can try to help them overcome their fear of academic work and examinations as early as possible?”
“Sir, everytime I read the newspapers about students who have aced their GCE "O" levels or have scored 8 or 9 As for their GCE "A" levels, I wonder what about those who do not do so well for their examinations. How do students who barely scrapped through their examinations feel, when faced with such widespread national celebration of the fantastic results by their fellow schoolmates or classmates? Sir, I am a firm believer that every child, every student has the potential to be successful in their own way and to do well in life. Whilst we celebrate and rejoice with the top scholars, we must not forget or leave behind the group of students who may not be academically inclined, or who may be slow developers, or who, due to family circumstances, are unable to perform to their best. Hence, I am very glad that schools like NorthLight School and Assumption Pathway School exist to help weaker students complete their secondary education. The Principal of NorthLight School, Mrs Chua Yuan Ching, gave me a book when I visited her school, "Transformed by the Mission ", a very nice book. One quote from the book touched me: "as educators, we need to look out constantly for the jewel in every student who comes our way". Another quote is from Ms Angeline Tan, a Mathematics senior teacher, who said that "NorthLight had taught me to see the value in each child, unique and special, in his or her own way". Thus, Sir, this school does not have any bright superstar who will score lots of As to make the school shine. Nevertheless, the school devotes its attention to ensure that every child is not left behind and to provide education to the child to prepare them for the workplace.”
“Or is it the intent of the school to keep the students busy with homework or preparing for tests the next day such that they have no other time to relax or learn life skills elsewhere. May I ask the Minister whether MOE reviews the curriculum of each subject in primary school on a regular basis; whether it is necessary to cover such a wide range of topics bearing in mind the "Teach Less Learn More" policy? Could the Minister explain the reasons why schools feel the need to teach school subjects outside school hours instead of concentrating on character development of the child like learning to say "thank you" after receiving an award? Could the schools teach more life skills to equip the young children on how to cope with life?”
“Sir, the Singapore education system is one of the best regarded in the world. In the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study which the Minister referred to earlier, Singapore was ranked well in Reading, Mathematics and Science. Sir, let me say that I am very proud of the many achievements of our education system. However, despite this excellent education system, I receive frequent feedback from parents that our students in primary schools are simply working too hard. Parents question whether it is necessary for the primary school curriculum to cover so many topics; whether it was wise for children at that young and tender age to be drilled in so many subjects day in and day out. As a parent of two primary school children, I can testify that some of the topics that my children are learning in school surprised me. Recently, there was a hue and cry about some primary schools conducting near "compulsory" supplementary lessons for lower primary school after school hours. Parents asked whether we are stripping away the joy of learning from young primary school children. Whilst MOE may impose guidelines for formal school hours, what about the homework given out by the schools which take up the child's leisure hours? By giving young school children homework everyday, are we really preparing them for life? Where is the joy of learning by playing? Do children have time to develop other interests outside the school curriculum? Is there time for parents to bring their children out to the park for a walk, for a game of soccer, for young children to learn to clean the dishes at home?”
“The CDC can then work with these residents to assist them to learn to operate a cooked food or market-produce stall. NEA can also impose strict conditions like not allowing subletting and any interested stall operator must agree to the price cap and submit the prices of their food to NEA for approval. In this way, we can help the lower-income or poorer in our society to learn to make a living; at the same time provide alternative to residents and also help place some pressures on other food or market stalls to keep food prices affordable, similar to what NTUC FairPrice is doing for groceries. Sir, I recognise that there are many issues to be resolved and, in a certain sense, we are interfering with the free market. But why not try the scheme on a limited basis for stalls given up under the HUP and see how this works out? 3.15 pm Enforcement laws”
“Rising costs of living are a concern for Singaporeans. One area where many of the lower-income citizens are affected is the rising cost of food and drink prices in hawker or food centres. It has been reported that cooked food at some foodcourts at ION Orchard, Nex and Marina Bay Sands are sold at more than $10 a plate. It has also been reported that prices of coffee, tea and soft drinks have also increased in many other hawker centres. Recently, NTUC FairPrice announced its "Stretch Your Dollar Programme" to help consumers cope with inflation. This is most commendable because this programme places a certain downward pressure on the market for the cost of certain groceries to be contained. In this regard, I would like to call on NEA to reconsider its policy not to build anymore markets and hawker centres. I also urge NEA to reconsider its policy of tendering cooked food and wet market produce stalls at market prices. If such stalls are allocated at subsidised prices to the less educated or lower-income Singaporeans, NEA can impose price caps on the food sold by these stalls. I understand that this is what some schools ask of their stall operators in their schools or what some commercial companies do – impose price caps on the food sold in their staff canteen as a form of service to their workers in the factory. Sir, there are currently several stalls which have been given up by stallholders during the Hawkers Upgrading Programme (HUP). There is scope for these stalls to be set aside and allocated for Singaporeans who are lower income or less educated. NEA can work with the CDCs to see how they can allocate hawker stalls at subsidised prices to lower-income or poorer Singaporeans.”
“Are there any plans by NEA to reduce such incidences of littering which provide breeding grounds for the mosquitoes? Could the Minister also provide an update on the dengue situation in Singapore? Is it better or worse than the past years? Littering”
“Sir, NEA has been organising its Clean and Green campaign for the past years to instil in Singaporeans a sense of pride and ownership in the environment. In November last year, Marine Parade Town Council also organised a "Let's Clean Our Town" campaign for the entire town. For two hours, grassroots leaders and the MPs, myself included, picked up tissue papers, cigarette boxes, cigarette butts, plastic bottles, advertisement flyers, etc. It was back breaking and I could imagine the hard work by our Town Councils' cleaners in having to do this everyday. It appears to me that despite all our efforts over the years, the littering problem is unresolved. May I ask NEA for an update on the progress of the anti-littering campaign? How successful is the campaign today? Has the amount of litter decreased over the years? How many summonses and CWOs have been issued for littering? Sir, on my visits to the landed properties in my private estates, I received many complaints that the drains and roads are not swept regularly. Residents tell me that they spot plastic bottles, drink cans, tissue papers in the drains which have not been cleared for weeks. Could the Minister share with this House how are cleaning contracts in private estates awarded? Are there any standards set for the frequency of cleaning to be carried out? Does NEA check whether the cleaning companies have performed their contracts? Can the cleaning contractors provide a cleaning schedule to the residents? What about leaves and litter in the drains? Who is responsible for clearing these litter or leaves? Would the Minister also agree that some of these litter, like plastic cups and bottle caps, if not cleared in a timely manner, may become possible dengue sites and mosquito breeding grounds?”
“Mr Chairman, HDB has a policy of aligning rentals based on the total household income of residents. If the household income of the residents is less than $800, the rental for a 2-room flat will be between $44 and $75. If the household income is above $800 per month, the rental for a 2-room flat will be increased to between $123 and $165. This is regardless of how many persons live in a rental flat and how many people in the flat are not working and dependent on the said household income. Sir, this policy ought to be reviewed. I have come across residents whose income is in excess of $800 but have to provide for family members who are either physically handicapped or suffering from some other illness. In such a case, even with an income of above $800, they can hardly make ends meet. The cost of looking after a physically handicapped person or a person suffering from some illness like cancer can be very high. I have written multiple appeals for these residents but to no avail. May I urge HDB to exercise compassion for such cases: allow rentals to be computed based on the per capita income of the household. Thus, the rental for a resident who has to provide for more dependants in the household living in the same flat should be reduced to the lowest rental rate. This would be fairer than the current policy of aligning rental based on the entire household income without considering the living and medical expenses of the family.”
“Hence, whatever action taken by the Government should not result in the collapse of the property market. I can still recall a friend of mine who bought his property at $1 million in 1996. He had to sell the property five years later at a price of $550,000, representing a huge loss of $450,000. It wiped out his entire CPF savings which he had built up over 20 years of hard work. A drastic drop in property prices is not something which should be the end result of any measures taken by the Government to keep the prices of the properties stable and affordable.”
“I have checked the URA website recently and was surprised to find out that as at fourth quarter 2010, there were 65,699 private residential units in the pipeline, of which 32,776 units were still unsold. According to the website, this is the equivalent of three years' supply based on the take-up rate of 11,400 units per year. Sir, how is this information disseminated to the public? Has the data been buried amongst the many other data being published? If the public know about this data, why is there a rush to chase up the prices of property? How about having more land sales, Sir? For the sale of state land, will the Government consider scraping the minimum bid for state land? In my view, if there is a minimum bid for state land, the Government is basically setting the minimum price for the state land which will in turn cause the developers to price the sale price of their properties at a higher price. Could the state consider allowing free market to determine the market prices of state land? Impose a shorter time line for developers to build and sell properties. Impose a higher holding tax or property tax on these developers who have built but not yet sold their properties within six months after TOP. This will be the disincentive for them, so that they will not hold back their properties simply because they have better holding power. For HDB flats, is there a better alternative to the BTO flats? Is there any way we can shorten the waiting time for these BTO flats? Is HDB building more BTO flats to meet the increasing demand? Sir, whilst I wish the Government to monitor the supply of private properties and HDB flats, I also wish to caution that there are many home owners in Singapore.”
“Sir, the Government has taken a series of measures to maintain a stable and sustainable property market, most recently in August 2010 and January 2011. I support these measures taken to ensure stable property market. I will also call on the Government to ensure that the younger generation would also be able to afford the HDB flat or private property. I have conversations with residents who are from the younger generation, and they have worked for a few years. They are keen to set up a family and they always often express their concerns that they cannot or are unable to afford the cost of either a resale HDB flat or private property. Many are unwilling to wait a few years for a BTO flat because they simply wish to start a family quickly. They are also not able or sometimes, not willing to stay with their parents due to this desire for greater privacy, or their parents' flats are too small. Others say it would appear that despite as several measures to cool down the property market, the prices of properties are still on the uptrend. May I ask the Minister whether there are other measures to ensure that the property market remains stable, that prices do not fluctuate too widely? Or will action be taken to discourage speculation in property market and to discourage the flipping of properties? May I ask the Government to consider the publication of data on the unsold or available units in each development on a monthly basis? Just to say we list down the number of available units in each development in the URA website, so that the members of the public wishing to buy properties in development would know the supply available.”
“Could we not set aside more money to spruce up the common areas within private estates, create more walkways by covering up drains, carry out more repair to drains or railings separating the drains or build more rain shelters or taxi stands, beautify the parks and increase the frequency of cleaning for private estates? One of the most frequent complaints I receive whenever I visit private estates is that the drains and the roads are not cleaned regularly. Sir, doing all these to improve the environment of private estates is to enable citizens living in private estates to enjoy the fruits of economic development in Singapore as well. With that, Sir, I support the Budget. 2.37 pm”
“On the topic of inflation, the Minister has laid out various measures in the Budget Statement to help tackle inflation. Most of the increases in prices are due to increase in the cost of supplies, increase in the costs of manpower and increase in the cost of rentals in all properties. With the increase in foreign worker levy and the increase in CPF, these will likely lead to more price increases as businesses will have to raise prices to cope with the increase in manpower cost. How else does the Government intend to deal with inflation? Can we not try to keep the cost of land lower? How about shorter leases for commercial or industrial properties so as to make properties more affordable? Could we also have a freeze on all Government fees or charges for the next two years so that this does not add to the rising costs? The Government should be aware that once their fees or charges are increased, it will signal to businesses to also increase their charges. I also call on the Government to review all its current fees and charges to ensure that these charges are fair and reasonable. Just yesterday, a grassroot leader informed me that he was slapped with a bill of $3,850 just to connect gas to his home and barely six months ago, the connection cost was $2,750. I cannot understand how the charges for connecting gas can be increased by more than one $1,000 within six months. Finally, Sir, the Government is spending $10 billion over the next 10 years to rejuvenate estates. The bulk of the money will be spent on the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) and Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP). May I ask the Minister whether there are plans to upgrade private estates as well?”
“However, would the Minister consider extending the eligibility criterion from $1,700 to $2,000 a month? The reality is that with inflation and higher cost of living, the sum of $1,700 is not adequate if there are many dependants in the family. We should use WIS to put more money into the pockets of the lower-income and the lower middle-income so that they can manage their own lives with greater dignity and with knowledge that they have earned their wages. We should seek to make them financially independent albeit with some Governmental help instead of asking them to stretch out their hands and seek financial help from ComCare. Could we also not exclude bonuses in the computation of average gross monthly income? Bonuses are given by most companies at the end of year to reward their staff for their hard work. If the bonuses cause the average monthly income of the worker to exceed the income criteria for WIS, this will have the strange result of making a worker unhappy when he receives bonuses at the end of the year. Sir, I call upon the Government to refine the WIS policy to help the lower-income workers earn more through the WIS. For the elderly and pensioners, other than the small increase of the Singapore allowance by $20 per month, they will have to manage on their own to cope with inflation. Could the Minister consider doing more for this group of people to help them cope with inflation? I recognise that there are Medisave top-ups, but how about some extra Growth Dividends at the end of the year, not just through Medisave but perhaps in cash for seniors aged 60 years and above to acknowledge their contribution to the development of Singapore over the past years. This will help them adjust to the inflationary pressures as costs of living increase.”
“Sir, I join the chorus of voices to compliment the Finance Minister for an outstanding Budget. In particular, I support the Government's decision to return to the reserves the sum of $4 billion which was withdrawn to fund the Resilience Package last year. It is a financially prudent decision and we should also spend within our means. Sir, having so called "borrowed" from the reserves during difficult times, it is only right that we return the borrowed amount when we have recovered from the crisis. I also support the Government's plans to strengthen our economy and society for the future. Although we had an exceptional growth last year and had accumulated respectable surpluses, we should not simply spend or distribute the bulk of the surplus to the people. Too much cash in the market system would simply add to inflationary pressures. It is a far better solution to plan for sustainable growth over the long term and to grow income and to build up our resources. Hence, to me, to set aside $3.2 billion for the Grow and Share Package and $3.4 billion for longer-term social investments is just about right. Although there have been various feedback to ask for more to be distributed under the Grow and Share Package, I think we should strike a balance and not simply ask for more to be given so that we have more to spend. I am of the view, Sir, that we should emphasise to our citizens the fact that the Growth Dividends is partly to help Singaporeans cope with inflationary pressures and not for them to buy another electronic item or splurge on a holiday to an exotic place. Sir, allow me to make some suggestions on the Budget. Like the hon. Member from Tampines GRC, Ms Irene Ng, I support the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS).”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as a last resort or otherwise, if HDB allows the lessees to sell at market value before acquiring the flat, then why not just compensate them at market value? Why allow them to sell at market value and yet, when HDB does decide to acquire the flat, it chooses to pay them 90%. That 10% is lost by the lessee. We should be fairer to them.”
“May I ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, if the cases involved are lessees who are unable to pay their mortgage instalments on time, would it be more fair to the lessees for them to be compensated based on 100% of the market value? After all, the Land Acquisition Act does provide for compensation to be paid at the full market value when the State acquires land. So, why should HDB be any different?”
“Mr Speaker, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State, in that case, whether unmarried PRs would also be allowed to buy a flat because HDB is discontinuing the scheme to allow Singapore citizen siblings to buy a flat.”
“For cases involving children, are the Courts empowered to order unsuccessful litigants not to voice his or her unhappiness through emails or over the Internet? Sir, I notice that this is becoming quite a recurrent practice where parties resort to writing emails to various Ministers, Prime Minister, MPs, and so on, voicing their side of the story or they come out onto Internet to tell their side of the story. And, invariably, this embarrasses the spouse and many a time the children involved. How does the law protect the innocent party against abuse over the Internet? Sir, I support the Bill. 5.17 pm”
“Do we have enough experienced counsellors who could help parties see reason when they have disputes about their children? For example, where I say the father behaves violently towards his wife, he then insists that his children visits him regularly. How is the councellor expected to persuade the children to want to see the father in the face of extreme violence in their presence? Sir, what are the success statistics from the past cases which have gone for counselling? Does the counsellor know what power he has and what he is able to do? What if one party repeatedly fails to attend the counselling? If cost is awarded, how does a non-defaulting party expect this cost to be paid? My understanding is that the Court normally awards nominal cost of between $200 and $300. No litigant would actually incur further expenses just to enforce payment of nominal cost. Is there any other practical way to enforce order of cost against a defaulting party? Next, Sir, what are the options for the Judge if counselling or mediation is not successful? Currently, many lawyers feel that the Court bends over backwards to help parties seek an amicable resolution of the matter. However, this may cause delay in the closure of a painful period in the parties' lives. Both parties are inconvenienced time and again because of the Court's desire to send them for repeated counselling when clearly this will not be productive. Children are also sometimes ordered to attend counselling when they are unwilling to do so. Are there any guidelines for the Courts as to the minimum number of attempts at counselling before the Court makes an appropriation order regarding access or custody of the children.”
“Next, Sir, I understand many recalcitrant maintenance defaulters do make payment when threatened with a jail term. By allowing this softer option, would Judges take the easier route or sentencing defaulters to perform community service instead? How about the arrears of maintenance? If arrears remain unpaid, any sentence of community service is of cold comfort to the party waiting for payment of the maintenance, especially if there are children involved. Not only do they not receive payment of the maintenance, they are sometimes not eligible to apply for financial aid because of this imputed income that they are supposed to have received through the maintenance. In some cases, they may even have to pay taxes on the maintenance. Sir, I am not unsympathetic to parties who default in payment of maintenance due to financial difficulties. However, for any party who faces financial difficulties due to job loss, medical crisis, or circumstances beyond control, then in such a situation, the Court should advise them that they should apply for variation of the maintenance order, instead of frequently disobeying a Court order. Next, Sir, allow me to seek a clarification on clause 5 of the Bill. Having practised as a family lawyer, I notice that mediation and counselling is not the silver bullet that would solve disputes between spouses. Frequently, parties ordered to attend counselling are unwilling to do so. Or one party goes for the counselling with the mindset that he or she is the aggrieved party, and the other party is the wrong party. And that person would frequently insist that the counsellor orders the spouse to follow his or her wishes. May I ask the Minister what is the intent of this clause 5?”
“Sir, let me declare my interest as a practising family lawyer. Sir, I support the Bill to amend the Women's Charter. In particular, I support the proposal to make it mandatory for certain classes of people to attend marriage preparation courses. Given the increasing number of divorces in Singapore, as alluded to by Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, I will even advocate that marriage preparation courses be made mandatory for all couples who wish to get married. They can have a better idea of what to expect in a marriage. They can understand that the concept of "living happily ever after" is a fairytale concept and that it requires a lot of effort, mutual give and take to keep a marriage healthy. However, may I ask the Minister how does the Ministry intend to monitor this if the parties decide to register their marriage out of Singapore? I also ask the Minister to clarify clause 6 of the Bill. Sir, I support the proposal to offer other sentencing options for a person who defaults in paying maintenance pursuant to a maintenance order. In particular, I support this proposal to allow the Court to order the person to provide security against future default. In my view, this will help to ensure less default, especially among recalcitrant defaulters who are able to pay, but unwilling to pay despite the maintenance order. I am, however, concerned about clause 6(b)(f) that allows the Court to make a community service order in lieu of other orders. I am worried that this may be seen as a soft option for the Judges. Firstly, if the defaulter is an unwilling party to pay, he will be usually unwilling to perform such a community service order. This will make a mockery of community service where such defaulters do their community service grudgingly.”
“Sir, it was reported in the newspapers that the perpetrators of the fraud were driving opulent and luxurious cars. I find it difficult to understand why no one in the Government agencies had noticed that mid-level executives were driving such cars. Could the Minister clarify whether any measures are being introduced to ensure that regular checks are conducted by either the Chief Executive of the statutory board or other agencies if they detect any suspicious ownership of high-value assets by their staff?”
“Sir, the feedback I have is that there have been so many changes in the rules that they have caused quite a lot of inconvenience to the residents. Can I ask the Minister whether the HDB has studied the benefits of having so many policy changes versus the inconvenience caused to the many residents that we have? Can there be a step-by-step increase in the measures taken instead of having so many steps at one go, including the increase in MOP, the stamp duty as well as the restriction on ownership of foreign properties? Can there be a more staggered approach rather than so many policy changes at one go?”
“I hope that the training that the estate agents or the salespersons undergo not just be about how to market or sell a property or about geomancy, which I think, currently, a few associations conduct. I hope that the training will touch on the rules of ownership and rental of HDB flats so that estate agents or salespersons who are specialising in their field will have adequate knowledge about these rules. Sir, finally, may I urge the Minister to have the Bill implemented as early as possible so that adequate protection is afforded to consumers. Sir, I support the Bill. Thank you. 5.02 pm”
“How will the Council also check that there is no collusion between salespersons to deceive their clients? Next, Sir, sections 31 and 32 of the Bill provide restrictions on the estate agent and the salesperson from holding a moneylender's licence. May I ask whether restrictions will also be extended to the immediate relatives of the estate agents or the salesperson? What is to stop the estate agents or the salesperson from asking his spouse or parents or children to operate a moneylending business and then make that connection on their behalf? Third, what is the effect of a reprimand or a fine imposed under section 36(3) or section 52 of the Bill? Does this mean that the estate agent or salesperson can still proceed to sell properties in the industry despite having an adverse record? Fourth, in section 44 of the Bill, it provides for an estate agency agreement to be in a prescribed form for estate agents. May I know what kind of prescribed form will this be? Will there be any prescription of the commission to be paid to estate agents? The Consumer Association still receives complaints that many estate agents insist that their commission is fixed at 2% of the sales price when, really, it is up to the consumers to negotiate the commission with the agents. I believe that fixed commission have been abolished under the Competition Act. Also, Sir, how far do we want to micro-manage the real estate market by having standard forms in respect of such agreements? Finally, Sir, may I ask the Minister to explain more about how the Ministry intends to ensure the estate agents receive adequate training so that they will have better knowledge of their scope of work and that they can advise consumers correctly on the policies and procedures of HDB rules in respect of HDB flats?”
“In the event that the loans are not paid on time, the estate agents put on their hats as moneylenders and pressurise the flat owners to sell their flats. I believe that such unprofessional, incompetent or rouge agents are in the minority. As a conveyancing lawyer and as a consumer who has bought and sold properties in the past, I have dealt with many knowledgeable and professional salespersons, however, I have also encountered a salesperson trying to close the sale of a residential landed property to a foreigner, who is in breach of the Residential Properties' Act. As properties and flats represent the largest expenditure item of most people, the Government should take action to regulate this industry to inject a greater professionalism in the industry and to protect vulnerable consumers or flat owners who are in the lower-income group or illiterate. Sir, allow me to ask a few queries on the Bill. First, may I seek a confirmation from the Minister that the code of practice, ethics and conduct under section 42 of the Bill will adequately address the current shortcomings in the Bill? Currently in the Bill as it stands that there are no illustrations as to what this would cover. Will there be sufficient enforceable guidelines to ensure that estate agents or salespersons will not act unprofessionally or in breach of their duties to their clients? For example, I am glad to hear the Minister said that the rules prohibit a salesperson from representing two parties. How would the Council ensure that salespersons do not hide important information from their seller clients and that they comply fully with the Code? Will there be regular checks on this compliance by the salesperson?”
“This is a clear case of conflict of interest where the agent collects his fees from his seller client but does not act in his client's interest by representing both parties; (c) The owner appoints an agent to rent a property. The agent then asks the owner to sign a tenancy agreement. The estate agent then asks the owner to agree to pay the agent a commission if the tenancy is renewed one or two years later. Hence, the agent receives a commission even though he may not have done any work to secure the renewal of the tenancy; (d) The estate agent advises flat owner to sell flat and informs the flat owner that they can cash out and later rent a flat from HDB. This was referred to by the Minister in his speech earlier on. The agent then fails to advise flat owner that they are debarred from renting flats for 30 months. Or that some of these home owners may not be able to obtain a subsidised loan from HDB after selling their flats. The result, the owner is left without roof over his head and I am sure many MPs in this House would be aware of such similiar instances where the owner then comes to see the MP to ask for help to rent a flat even though they are within the 30-month debarment period. There are many more complaints about the poor or wrong advice given by estate agents which has resulted in flat owners either losing their deposits or losing their opportunity to buy or to sell their flats. There have also been complaints that some estate agents act as moneylenders to flat owners, then ask the flat owners to use their flats as security for the loans, and they ask these owners to sign a Power of Attorney or an option to purchase in advance.”
“Sir, allow me to declare my interest in speaking on this Bill as the Vice-President of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE). Sir, I rise in support of the Bill. The Bill is timely as over the past years, there has been increasing number of cases where consumers and property owners complained that they have been deceived or taken advantage of by unscrupulous agents. According to statistics from CASE, there have been 1,017 complaints by consumers against estate agents in 2008 and 982 complaints in 2009. And in the first seven months of this year, there have been 678 complaints. Many of these complaints are either about the unprofessional conduct of the estate agents or misrepresentation by these agents. It is, hence, critical that the Government introduce legislation in order to protect the interest of the consumers, especially the less educated and vulnerable consumers as well as to regulate the conduct of estate agents. Sir, allow me to cite a few examples of the common complaints lodged by consumers against their estate agents. (a) The owner of a flat appoints an agent to sell the flat. The potential buyer calls in response to the agent's advertisements and is told by the agent that unless he agrees to pay the agent's commission, he will not be allowed to view the flat. This is unfair to the seller and an abuse of the agent's fiduciary duty to his client; (b) The seller appoints an agent to sell the flat. The agent then finds a buyer but asks the buyer to pay him a commission. The agent then negotiates a better price for the buyer despite being the seller's agent.”
“If they are staying in their own HDB flat, why are they required to dispose of their private properties during this period that they are staying in the flat? So if a flat owner buys a flat, he is staying in it for the first five years but he is now required to –”
“Minister, let me try to understand this better. Why would an HDB flat owner be required to sell his private property if he is going to stay in his own HDB flat during the Minimum Occupation Period? Is the Minister suggesting that Singaporeans should not be encouraged to upgrade or buy HDB flats for their own investment during these five years? If they have the money, why can they not use their money to invest in private property, while they are staying in the flat during these five years?”
“Section 76 of the Bill provides that there should be "no unnecessary restraint" when a person is arrested. However, everyday in Court 26, accused persons are handcuffed regardless of what offence they have committed. Is it necessary for handcuffs to be used even if the person is charged for some minor offence like, say, affray? The process of handcuffing a person reduces his dignity especially when he may be eventually acquitted. However, in the meantime, he is treated like a common criminal. Is there any intention to change this policy of handcuffing accused persons when they are in Court? Sir, I would be grateful to receive clarifications from the Minister. On that note, I support the Bill.”
“I would also urge the Minister to consider setting a time limit, maybe one year, for the Courts to issue a show cause notice, failing which the surety or the bailor should not be asked to carry a burden indefinitely. May I also ask whether the burden imposed on the surety under section 104(1)(b) too onerous? How is a bailor or surety expected to keep in contact with an accused person everyday, if a six-week adjournment is granted for representations to be made? If we make the duties of a surety too onerous, then the surety is likely to say no to being a bailor. In such a case, would the accused person have to stay in remand longer until the case is dealt with? Next, Sir, section 123 of the CPC. Frequently, when an accused person consults a lawyer, he usually does not have a copy of the charge sheet stating the essence of the charge against him. As a lawyer defending an accused person, I usually have to ask the Court interpreter for a copy of the charge sheet and, in some cases, the District Judge asks me to apply to the DPP for a copy of the charge. The criminal charge against an accused person is very serious – surely, the Police or Prosecution ought to ensure that each accused has a copy of the charge to be issued against him or her. It should be given as a matter of course instead of having the Defence Counsel ask around or being directed to apply for the charge sheet. If an accused person appears in Court 26 and he is not represented when he attends Court, then he would not be given a copy of the charge sheet at all. This is an absolute waste of time, Sir, as his lawyer would have to waste time applying for a copy of the charge sheet to find out what are the charges against him. Finally, Sir, on arrest.”
“Sir, section 85 of the Penal Code provide that intoxication in certain circumstances shall be a defence in any criminal charge. If the person charged did not know that such Act or omission was wrong, or did not know what he was doing, Sir, does the law recognise that there are occasions when an accused person may be insane or not in control of his senses due to intoxication? With respect, this Explanatory Note, Sir, seems to go against the principle that any statement made by an accused person should be admissible only if it was made of his own free will or voluntarily. In similar vein, Sir, may I ask the Minister, why do we allow statements to be admissible, even though it was made in consequence of a deception practised on an accused person? Does a law like this not encourage deceptive behaviour amongst police officers? Is it acceptable for the Police to deceive an accused person as long as the end result is a conviction of the accused person? Sir, perhaps, it is also timely for the Ministry of Law to review section 29 of the Evidence Act to see whether this law is still relevant today. Sir, let me speak about section 104, which are the duties of the surety. A couple of years ago, a few residents saw me to appeal against a show cause notice against forfeiture of bail. The accused person had jumped bail many years ago. Thereafter, this same accused person was arrested, jailed and later released after serving his sentence. The bailor was asked to show cause why he should not have the bail sum of $5,000 forfeited. Sir, I urge for some form of protection for such bailors, such that they do not have to show cause once the accused person has been arrested, convicted and sentenced.”
“In the New Paper on Sunday, it was reported that there have been several cases in the past where police officers have strayed onto the wrong side of the law. Sir, I am not in any way suggesting that our Police Force is not to be trusted. However, the reality is that we do have rogue police officers once in a while. And if such a rogue police officer were to record a statement in a prejudiced manner, then there is a possibility that innocent citizens may be wrongfully charged, convicted and deprived of their freedom. Surely, Sir, it would be better to err on the side of caution, to require independent interpreters to witness and to explain the statement to any accused person. Next, Sir, let me talk about admissibility under section 258 of the CPC. I thank the Minister for clarifying the intent of Explanation 2 of section 258. And whilst I accept that the contents of section 29 of the Evidence Act is somewhat duplicated in the CPC, however, whatever the reasons for section 29 of the Evidence Act, the question I have for the Minister is whether we should allow any statement made by the accused person whilst he is drunk, to be made admissible. If an accused person makes a statement whilst he is clearly drunk, surely it is a risk to admit his statement which was made when he may be incoherent or not in control of his senses. How is any judge able to determine how drunk the accused was, when he made the statement to the Police? How is any judge supposed to determine how much weight to be given to such statements? And many of us in this House have heard drunkards bragging about their prowess. Could anyone here say with certainty whether the drunkard was simply bragging or was he telling the truth?”
“For example, in a neighbourly dispute, where one neighbour commits a minor offence against the other, it may be more suitable for a Community Service Order to be made instead of imposing a fine. The key question, Sir, is really whether rehabilitation can be provided for offenders who have committed minor offences. I do have some other queries on the CPC Bill, which I would like to seek clarifications from the Minister. Section 23 is a caution statement and it provides that if a statement is made by the accused, it should be signed by him and if he does not understand English, then the statement should be interpreted to him in a language which he understands. Sir, I would urge the Ministry to consider having an independent interpreter to translate the caution statement into a language that the accused can understand. Justice must be seen to be done. Having the same Investigating Officer (IO) take the statement and then interpret the statement to the accused seems unfair. This is especially so, if the IO is already convinced that the accused had committed the offence. As a practitioner, I have come across cases where the accused person had signed a statement in English. However, he denied that the statement which contained a confession was ever translated to him. In such cases, the Investigating Officer said the statement had been interpreted to the accused who voluntarily signed the statement, but the accused denied that he was told about the confession before he signed. Who should the Courts believe? Unfortunately, the Courts would invariably believe the Investigating Officer. The odds are usually stacked against the accused person.”
“Surely, it ought to be fairer for all relevant statements to be produced. The role of the prosecution should not be just to secure convictions, but to ensure that justice is done for all persons, including the accused person. Next, may I ask why is it that conditioned statements from witnesses under Section 176(4)(d) are only required for trials in the High Court and not for trials in the Subordinate Courts? Finally, on this part, where the public prosecutor fail to serve the case for the prosecution, Section 169(2) provides that the Court may order a discharge not amounting to acquittal. However, if the prosecution is taking its time to prosecute its case, why should the accused be penalised? If the prosecution delays proceeding with the case, for say two or three years, surely it would be difficult for any accused person to find witnesses who can recall what had happened on that day of the offence. Would it not be fairer to set a time limit for the Prosecution to complete its case, failing which a discharge amounting to an acquittal should be granted? Sir, I also fully support the introduction of community-based sentencing as provided for in Part XVII of the Bill. Sir, community-based sentencing allows the Courts greater flexibility to impose suitable punishment for minor offences. And there are many occasions where a more suitable punishment for some kind of minor offences is proper psychiatric treatment. Likewise, I would submit that it will be beneficial for the Courts to have the power to order Community Service Order or Community Work Order if the circumstances are suitable.”
“When I confronted my client, he was unable to recall whether he indeed signed the confession as he could not read English. He claimed that he was not told what he had signed. As Mr Hri Kumar said yesterday, many people are unable to recall what they have said to the Police, whilst they are under stress of investigation. Had I been aware that my client had signed a confession, I would have advised him differently on whether he should proceed with his defence. And this would have saved prosecution and the Court precious time and also save the accused person additional legal cost. This new procedure of criminal case disclosure would thus ensure greater transparency in criminal cases and would allow every accused person to have a fair chance to the best defence accorded to him or her, according to the law. There is no reason why the prosecution would be afraid of disclosing their evidence to the defence. The role of the prosecution should not be to secure conviction at all cost, but to ensure that any party who has committed offences is punished, according to prescribed law. In fact, Sir, I would urge the Police to give a copy of every statement signed by an accused person immediately after he has signed the statement. There are few matters in this Part IX and X of the Bill which I would wish to seek clarification from the Minister. Section 162 (e) of the Bill requires the prosecution to produce any statement made by the accused which the prosecution intends to adduce in evidence. May I ask why is the prosecution not required to produce all the statements made by the accused? Are there any other statements which the accused had made but which the public prosecutor does not wish to show because it may weaken his or her case?”