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.”
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“Sir, in a recent public transport survey, it was reported that overall satisfaction with public transport in Singapore in 2021 dipped to its lowest level since 2015. Public transport remains the main mode of commute for the majority of Singaporeans and LTA needs to ensure that our public transport remains, safe, reliable, accessible and comfortable. And, yet, at the same time, I urge the Ministry to ensure that public transport remains affordable, as it is a public service available to all Singaporeans. So, may I ask the Minister whether there is any assessment or evaluation as to the reasons for the drop in commuter satisfaction? What are the steps taken by public transport operators to improve on their performance? Would a report be issued by the public transport operators on their remedial action? May I also ask the Minister whether he can provide the House with an update on the plans to expand the MRT network and how to make public transport more accessible to Singaporeans? May I also ask the Minister for an update to the public transport fare review formula, which is due by next year? Thirdly, may I ask the Minister whether the construction of the Thomson-East Coast Line is on track to be fully operational by 2024? Here, I declare my interest in this Thomson-East Line as there will be four MRT stations located in my constituency.”
“Thank you, Chairman, for seeing my hand at that little corner where I was. Can I ask Senior Minister of State Sim Ann about this Community Advisory Panel? Who is expected to be on this panel? Would it be community leaders? Would it be mediators? Would members of the public be involved in this panel? Also, what about other issues, like second-hand smoke and hoarding? Would Senior Minister of State Sim Ann be able to clarify that?”
“Madam, in the course of my work as a Member of Parliament, I receive many complaints from residents complaining about noise from their neighbours. Many times, it is about heavy steps from the higher floors, noise from shifting of tables, chairs or furniture in the middle of the night. Sometimes, it is about noisy music or children screaming. Sometimes, it is about noisy renovation works. Due to unhappiness about the noise, neighbours do start quarrelling with one another and allegations are made. Sometimes, abusive language is also used against one another and the living environment in the area becomes hostile. It seems that we are helpless to help these neighbours resolve such disputes. The resident has to simply live with the noise. Last year, I spoke about the disputes between neighbours during the Committee of Supply (COS) debate for MinLaw. I asked how CDRT could help to resolve these disputes. However, surely, a better option is to try to nip the problem in the bud before it even gets to CDRT. Is there room for Government agencies to do more to address such neighbourly disputes? Can we do more to promote neighbourliness among residents so that they can build on the relationship with one another and become friends who can discuss issues without having to resort to loud voices against each other or to quarrel? Can such disputes be resolved by encouraging neighbours to be more considerate towards one another?”
“Sir, like Mr Chong Kee Hiong who spoke before me, for the past two years, I have received several appeals from residents of the minority race living in an HDB estate in my constituency asking for waiver of the EIP quota. Some of them wanted to sell and right-size their flat because their children have moved out. Some wanted to sell their flat because they needed a larger flat due to increased family members. However, due to EIP, they are unable to sell their flat to a Chinese family. A few of them wrote to me to say that they have advertised for several months without receiving a single offer from someone of the minority race. Some of the potential buyers for their flat know of the policy and they may depress the prices because they know that there is limited demand for these flats due to the restriction. Sir, I understand fully the need for EIP and the need to ensure that we do not have racial enclaves in our heartlands. However, it seems unfair that existing minority sellers of the flat have to carry the burden of having to accept a lower price for their flat due to a national policy. Like Mr Chong Kee Hiong before me, I am asking HDB if it could review the possibility of allowing some form of compensation to the minority sellers of the flats based on HDB's independent valuation of the flat. This is especially so if he has not been able to sell the flat for several months due to EIP. Ethnic Integration Policy Data”
“Sir, for the past few years, I have been asking HDB to review the policy of not allowing singles to rent flats on their own. This is especially so for elderly singles, some of whom are divorcees or estranged from their spouse or children. For this group of people, due to their age and behaviour, they just cannot get along with another person in the same rental flat. I have come across cases where HDB pairs two total strangers to rent a 1-room flat. However, they are not able to get along with each other due to different habits, different hygiene practices or medical conditions. As a result, sometimes, they quarrel with each other. Sometimes, one of them will move out and sleep at the void deck to avoid further quarrels. Last December, HDB launched the JSS-OR pilot whereby an operator, which is a social service agency, will try to pair up single applicants for rental flats. It has been four months since. May I ask MND for an update on this Joint Singles Scheme Operator-Run Pilot? How many tenants have been successfully paired? What is the feedback on the scheme so far? Were they able to stay with each other without quarrels? What if a quarrel or dispute should break out between the two of them? What if one of the applicants had an unacceptable behavioural issue, like hoarding? Would the operator try to mediate a settlement of the dispute or would the operator try to pair them with another single applicant? Eligibility for BTOs and Executive Condominiums (ECs)”
“Instead, more focus can be placed on how the student can do research or acquire information; how to discern truth from false information. It is the training of the mind to learn how to acquire knowledge that is more important. Can MOE also emphasise on the overall development of a student’s character so that the student can be prepared for life ahead in the real world? 1.00 pm May I ask the Minister how can MOE help our students to develop future-ready competencies through a more varied and engaging pedagogy in the classroom as well as self-initiated learning? Education should be a journey where a student enjoys and takes delight in learning and the discovery of new things which are important to him in life. It should not be a stressful period because of the need to memorise school work and to pass year-end examinations. Teaching Emotional Intelligence”
“Sir, last year, MOE cancelled the year-end examinations for Primary 3 and Primary 4 students to mitigate the disruptions to schooling caused by COVID-19. Many parents and students alike heaved a sigh of relief as they were uncertain of the requirements due to the disruptive nature of the pandemic. Exams do add a huge amount of stress to students. Frequently, students spend hours trying to memorise the content of the textbooks which they had studied during the year in order to regurgitate the answers to which their teachers want to read in the student’s exam script. But in today’s world, knowledge content, while it is still important, is no longer the sole criterion of a person’s ability. The Dean designate of the new NUS College, Prof Simon Chesterman, wrote an Opinion article for The Straits Times in January this year. In his article, he shared that in the past, “teachers and professors were in possession of knowledge, and they were paid by students, or their parents, or the state, to pass on that knowledge to the students. However, today, every student holds a device that can access almost all of human knowledge. Thus, our phones are a portal to vastly more knowledge than will ever fit into any of our brains.” In view of the availability of technology, I urge MOE to review the current curriculum of the students. MOE had previously said that they had reduced 20% of the school curriculum under the “Teach Less Learn More” initiative. However, the previous reduction in curriculum had not resulted in less stress or less workload for the students. Hence, I urge the schools and tertiary institutions to consider reducing the content of the subjects taught to the students.”
“Sir, it has been a painful week reading the various headlines about the war in Ukraine. The destruction and loss of innocent lives caused by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia are simply unacceptable as this is a blatant interference with the sovereignty of another country. Minister Vivian Balakrishnan had issued a Ministerial Statement about the Ukraine situation on Monday. I agree and fully support the stand taken by the Singapore Government. As a small country, we have to insist on the principles of respect for national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and also on the rule of law. As Singapore has already imposed sanctions on Russia, may I ask the Minister, what else can Singapore do to garner support from other countries and, in particular, our ASEAN neighbours, to have all our neighbours agree to uphold international law and to respect each country's sovereignty? What else can we do to promote peace between our neighbours? What else can we do to provide support to the people of Ukraine?”
“Sir, COVID-19 has affected Singapore badly for the past two years. I was hoping that COVID-19, like SARS, would go away after a few months. However, this seems to be far from the case. Part of the reason may be the fact that we are now a more connected world and people who travel between countries are the norm. Many of my residents were affected by the restrictions imposed on them or their relatives due to COVID-19. Children studying overseas had to disrupt their studies to either come back or they had to make a decision to remain out of Singapore. Those residents with business interests overseas were also adversely affected as they cannot travel to their offices or factories in other countries. This means that whatever the COVID-19 situation in other countries will, inevitably, affect Singapore. So, may I ask the Minister how has MFA supported the national and global efforts against COVID-19? Are we in a position to help other countries with surgical masks, sanitisers, vaccines or even test kits in order to build on our relationship with other countries? As a small nation, we need to remain relevant and to have more friends. Non-traditional Challenges”
“Sir, I am a firm believer that our soldiers must train to fight under realistic conditions. Only when our soldiers are competent, can they fight effectively and achieve their mission to be a strong deterrent to unfriendly forces. The war in Ukraine is a stark reminder on the need for realistic training and the importance of National Service. But even as soldiers train under tough conditions, it is vital that they train safely. A strong commitment to training safety will give our soldiers the confidence to focus on honing their skills. It will give parents and family members of our servicemen peace of mind. Without these, there would not be strong public support for defence and National Service. As much as training safety continues to be an area of emphasis, the nature of military activities will always entail some risk of injury. How do we ensure that our servicemen are adequately protected when they perform their NS duties and what are some of the recent efforts to enhance safety management in the SAF? How do we ensure that our commanders take training safety seriously and put it as their priority that no NSmen under their command will suffer any serious injury? External Review Panel on SAF Safety”
“Sir, during my National Service, I was trained as an Infantry Officer. I was subsequently posted to a maintenance battalion, to be converted to an ordnance officer. It was an odd move because I was a Junior College (JC) Arts student majoring in history, geography and economics, with no technical background. But during my National Service, I had to learn about how hydraulics can move a tank turret, how to maintain a 75-millimetre gun in the tank, how to overhaul a car engine and how to replace a clutch disk. On the other hand, some of my friends who are Polytechnic graduates in mechanical engineering, were posted to be storemen. Nothing wrong with these vocations, Sir, but it seems just a mismatch of skills. The skillsets which some of my JC and Polytechnic friends had were not optimised during their National Service. Thus, I was pleased to hear about MINDEF's plans to optimise the deployment of its NSmen. At the last Committee of Supply (COS), Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How shared about reviewing the use of functional assessments to determine our servicemen's deployability in specific vocations. I thought it was a move in the right direction. Technology has changed the way soldiers can be deployed. Mr Heng Chee How mentioned about the trial functional assessments to guide the selection of transport operators. May I ask, what is the outcome of this trial? Are there plans to expand functional assessments to other vocations, so that our NSmen can be better deployed and they will feel that their time spent during NS has been meaningful and useful? Work-Learn Scheme (WLS)”
“Sir, if I may voice my support for the Government's stand on the Ukraine situation. May I ask the Minister, considering China's stand in the United Nations on the invasion of Ukraine, how would this affect our relationship with China? Second clarification is that, would the Minister be able to clarify or explain what MFA thinks about Russia's statement that they will be "putting nuclear forces on high alert". What does that mean? Would Singaporeans who are staying in NATO countries be considered safe or would there be advice that they were to evacuate from those countries as well?”
“Sir, my point is that most adult workers will have at least one credit card or more and many of these credit card companies do charge several hundred dollars for their annual fees. My experience is that if a consumer writes in, the credit card company is prepared to waive the fee. This also means that if the consumer is not savvy enough, then they will have to pay for the credit card fees. So, my question to the Minister of State is whether MAS can regulate the imposition of this annual fee by the credit card companies so that those who genuinely need a credit card do not have to pay the annual fee. Because, at the end of the day, the credit card companies do make money from the fees which they charge to the merchants, so it should not be that only consumers who know how to ask for a waiver gets a waiver and consumers who are less knowledgeable will have to pay the annual fee because they do not know how to ask for it.”
“These people are quick to ask the victims to sue in order to claim for more damages and legal costs. Would this group of people be able to circumvent the law by asking the accident victims to sign the CFA? Third, who will protect the interest of the vulnerable clients if the lawyer has an interest in the outcome of the suit? For example, if a lawyer wishes to settle the case because his legal costs are protected, then that lawyer may then insist on a settlement even though the client may disagree to the terms of settlement. In such a case, the interest of the client and the interest of the lawyer may no longer be the same. Finally, like Mr Murali Pillai who spoke before me, I am concerned about the uplift fees. For uplift fees, will there be a prescribed range of uplift fees allowed? Under what circumstances would the uplift fee be subject to a charge for overcharging made against the lawyer? I hope that the Minister can clarify my concerns because the Court does sometimes look to the debates in Parliament to understand the intent of the law.”
“One of the rules, as stated in Rule 4 of the Professional Conduct Rules, is the lawyer's paramount duty to the Court as an officer of the Court and this duty takes precedence over the legal practitioner’s duty to the legal practitioner’s client. Let me say that again. A lawyer as a paramount duty to the Court as an officer of the Court and this duty takes precedence over the lawyer's duty to his client. So, may I ask the Minister, what are the safeguards to prevent a lawyer from subverting the course of justice if he has a vested interest in the outcome of the legal proceedings? As Lord Denning observed in a 1962 judgment “in Re Trepca Mines (No 2): "The common law fears that the champertous maintainer might be tempted, for his own personal gain, to inflame the damages, to suppress evidence, or even to suborn witnesses." Sir, currently, the amendment defines "prescribed proceedings" to mean proceedings as prescribed in the regulations. However, later, if "prescribed proceedings" is extended to other forms of litigation in the future, will it result in more litigation suits because of the personal stake of the lawyers in the outcome of the lawsuits? In 2008, 21 people were arrested in Hong Kong for champerty, maintenance and conspiracy. These people were recovery agents "helping" accident victims on a "no win, no fee" basis. One of the people arrested in Hong Kong was a lawyer. How would the Police deal with an unscrupulous lawyer or his agents in Singapore who may decide to stake out hospitals to look out for victims injured in road accidents or industrial accidents? I believe there are complaints by insurance companies against lawyers or sometimes their agents who are seen as what we call “ambulance chasers”.”
“” As recent as in 2013, the Court of three Judges suspended a lawyer, Mr Kurubalan s/o Manickam Rengaraju, for six months for breaching section 107 of the Legal Profession Act and, at that time, Rule 37 of the Professional Conduct Rules because he entered into a champertous agreement with his client. In the decision by the Court of three Judges, the Court went through the reasons for the law against champerty. At paragraph 40, the Court said: "Maintenance is defined as officious intermeddling in litigation (see Hill v Archbold [1968] 1 QB 686 at 693) and champerty is a particular form of maintenance where one party agrees to aid another to bring a claim on the basis that the person who gives the aid shall receive a share of what may be recovered in the action". Sir, I acknowledge that quite a few countries have abolished the law against champerty, for example, the UK, Australia and Canada. I also acknowledge the explanations given by MinLaw in its media release on 1 November 2021 explaining the Government’s rationale for amending the Legal Profession Act to allow for the Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). One of the key principles which I agree with is that CFAs help enhance access to justice by providing business or individuals with additional funding to pursue meritorious claims, which they may otherwise not pursue. Another advantage is that it levels the playing field for Singapore lawyers in areas, such as international arbitration or SICC proceedings, where the counterparts in the other countries may have access to such types of funding. Nevertheless, I also wish to express my concern that the rationale for the rule against champerty and maintenance are still very applicable today, even if some countries have already abolished the law.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, like Mr Murali who spoke earlier before me, I declare my interest as a practising lawyer. For many years, lawyers in Singapore are guided by the laws against maintenance and champerty. Section 107 of the Legal Profession Act provides for an express prohibition against a lawyer having an interest in the lawsuit of his client. Section 107 says a solicitor must not (a) purchase or agree to purchase the interest or any part of the interest of his client or of any party in any suit, action or other contentious proceeding brought or to be brought or maintained; or (b) enter into any agreement by which he is retained or employed to prosecute any suit or action or other contentious proceeding which stipulates for or contemplates payment only in the event of success in that suit, action or proceeding. Section 107(3) provides that "A solicitor is subject to the laws of maintenance and champerty like any other person." In Rule 18 of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules, it was stressed that "A legal practitioner or law practice must not enter into any negotiations with a client (a) for an interest in the subject matter of litigation; or (b) for remuneration proportionate to the amount which may be recovered by the client in the proceedings." Sir, the rationale of these rules is based on the conventional wisdom that the “Advocate and solicitor must maintain his independent and professional standing (unaffected by any personal interest in the outcome of a matter) in order to act effectively in representing his client’s interests.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I want to thank the Minister of State for her clarifications. It has given me much assurance of the Government's commitment to the institution of marriage. If I may clarify, if DMA is not accepted by the Court, the Minister of State had said that the Court can direct parties for counselling. However, my understanding is that counselling requires parties to agree and, if the couple refuses to attend counselling, what does that mean for the Court's directions? Will it be mandatory? Will it be compulsory? Or does it mean that the parties would then have to file for divorce based on the other grounds under section 95A of the Bill? My experience is that most couples, by the time they come to see a lawyer, are unwilling to consider counselling. And it gives them great pain to have to revisit that decision; what more if the Court has to redirect them to go for counselling.”
“Sometimes, where parties acknowledge that no one is at fault but they nevertheless want a divorce due to incompatibility or for whatever reason, the advice that can be given to them is to live separate and apart and meet the legal criteria for divorce based on three years or four years separation. Sometimes, parties may want a divorce due to misunderstandings, failure to communicate, quarrels over issues which they feel emotional about. In situations like these, separation may allow parties time to cool down, to review their reasons for wanting a divorce. That separation may not always lead to reconciliation between the parties. But a divorce does have a massive impact on the parties, especially when young children are involved. If parties are open to attending marital counselling during the separation to help them work out their differences, sometimes, the marriage may be salvaged. The Government has to strike a balance between making it too difficult for parties in failed marriages to get a divorce versus making it too easy for couples to give up their commitment and call it quits when they encounter difficulties in their marriage. I seek the Government's assurance that we are not taking the latter approach. I would like to ask the Minister of State to assure Members of this House that the Government is committed to promoting and strengthening marriages between couples and that the Government has no intent to allow couples to give up on their marriage too easily. We can do more to build up the institution of marriage in Singapore.”
“NCCS cited a study that said that after the first “no-fault divorce” was adopted in California, there was a persistent decline in marriage rates, accompanied by more single parenthood and cohabitation. Would allowing DMA result in an increase in divorce rates? What if this amendment does, in actual fact, result in divorce applications going up by a large number in the next few years? Would there be more single parenthood? How would the Government then try to arrest the increase in divorce numbers because it may be impossible to turn back the change? In the media release by MSF, the Government cited that there was strong feedback against having to cite fault against the other party and having to dredge up the past just to prove the facts. However, section 95A(6) still requires parties to state in writing the reasons leading X and Y to conclude that their marriage has irretrievably broken down and their efforts made to reconcile. When parties have to cite the reasons for concluding that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, it will be inevitable that there would be some accusations against the other. I also hope that the Government is cognisant that DMA does not mean that there will not be acrimonious litigation. Parties could still fight tooth and nail regarding custody, care and control over the children. They will still fight over the division of assets and maintenance. Sadly, Sir, divorce is a very emotional process where parties frequently feel betrayed and the acrimony is always there.”
“Sir, the current divorce rates in Singapore have remained fairly constant at about an average of 7,424 cases per year for the last five years. Last year, there were 6,959 divorces and 22,651 registered marriages. And the year before, there were 7,623 divorces, with 25,434 marriages. Given the above facts and circumstances, may I ask Minister of State why is there a need to introduce this new clause to allow divorce by mutual agreement, or DMA? What is the change in circumstances that triggered the need for the introduction of this provision? Does the Government not acknowledge that a divorce may have serious consequences for the children? Some years back, MCCY, as it then was, used to produce pamphlets on divorce: "Before you Divorce", "Divorce" and "How to Survive Children and Divorce". And these pamphlets highlighted the real issues about divorce. One particular pamphlet stood out to me – this is it, for Members of the House who are interested – and this pamphlet says: “At some time in a marriage, problems will arise. Some of these problems seem intractable, others do not. For the problems that seem intractable, people often think that divorce is the answer." And it concluded with the words "Think Again". "Think Again". So, this pamphlet is available to parties who wanted to file for divorce at the time and it really urged couples thinking of divorce to "Think Again". May I ask the Minister of State whether she would agree that allowing a divorce based on mutual agreement may, inadvertently, undermine the marriage vow and parties’ commitment to the institution of marriage? A vow to commit to a marriage can now simply be revoked by mutual agreement to divorce. Has the Government made any study of the experience in other countries which allow divorce by mutual consent?”
“Some Members of this House may recall that in the 1970s, parties applying for divorce based on separation were required to live separate and apart for an even longer period of seven years. So, over these years, there have been changes to make divorce easier by shortening the separation period. Thus, in actual fact, parties can divorce without apportioning fault, except that they need to wait the statutory period of three years or four years. In 2015, the Courts had introduced the Simplified Track for divorce where parties who are able to agree on the terms of divorce and the ancillary matters can have their divorce application dealt with expeditiously. Thus, for parties who wish to settle their divorce cases quickly, the Simplified Track divorce is already an option where parties have to be less acrimonious if they want their divorce to proceed smoothly. They still need to cite one of the five grounds when they file for the divorce. But most parties will come to a compromise on the grounds of divorce. The Straits Times reported on 8 November last year that Simplified Track divorce accounts for 60% of the divorce applications filed. For cases where parties are unable to agree and wish to contest the divorce, the Courts would, usually, call both parties down for what we call a status conference where the judge would invite parties to review their position whether to have an acrimonious contested divorce. Frequently, both parties will, eventually, accept that if the marriage has broken down, then a contested divorce will not serve anyone’s interest. This is because, within a divorce, it basically means that the parties remain married, even though they have undergone a contentious divorce hearing, and that does not make sense.”
“My concern is whether the new section 95A(1)(f) will make it easier for couples who cannot work out their disputes to take the easy way out and apply for divorce based on mutual agreement. In a written response by the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) in June last year, NCCS expressed concern that “some couples may see the amicable divorce option as providing an easy exit that will allow them to run away from their problems without having to assign blame. Thus, instead of trying to find solutions to their problems as a couple that have pledged their lifelong commitment to each other, that husband or wife may simply decide to end their marriage.” Sir, I share the same concern as NCCS. I am not anti-divorce. I recognise that, sometimes, despite the best efforts, marriages do not work out for a variety of reasons. In such cases, the law should allow couples to exit from an unhappy marriage. The current laws recognise that when marriages do not work, parties can file for divorce because the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Currently, there are five possible grounds which constitute irretrievable breakdown of marriage. Three of these grounds are what divorce lawyers commonly call “fault” divorces: adultery, unreasonable behaviour and desertion for a period of two years. These are factors causing the irretrievable breakdown in marriage: a party's adultery, a party's unreasonable behaviour or a party's desertion. The other two grounds are what we call “no fault” divorces which are based on separation for a period of three years with consent or separation for four years even without consent. It is the period of living separate and apart which causes the marriage to breakdown.”
“This new section provides a new ground for parties to apply for a divorce if Parties X and Y agree that the marriage has broken down irretrievably – what is described by MSF as divorce by mutual agreement, or DMA. In 2016, the then Minister for Social and Family Development summed up the Government's policy as follows: “Singapore is our home for family. Strong families are, and must remain, the basic building blocks of our society. In the coming years, my Ministry will continue to strengthen fundamental family relationships and support vulnerable families.” Sir, if you find this familiar, this speech was made by you when you were then the Minister for Social and Family Development. My understanding of a family in Singapore is that it constitutes a married couple with children and they form the usual family structure in Singapore. Thus, if the Government's policy is to have strong families which are the building blocks of society, then I submit that the Government must do more to promote the institution of marriage so as to strengthen the parties’ commitment to marriage. A marriage is a serious commitment by two parties to enter into a union with each other. In most marriage vows, each party will, minimally, undertake or pledge to the other that they will love, comfort, honour the other party in sickness and in health so long as they both shall live. Any couple who has been married for several years will share that it requires much effort by both parties to make a marriage work. Even for happy marriages, there will always be the inevitable quarrels or disputes over finances, lifestyle, upbringing of children and even relationship issues involving the in-laws. And these will shake a marriage.”
“Hence, if the child grew up filled with anger against that abusive parent, he may resist any order for access granted to the parent who was abusive. In situations like this, I hope that a judge hearing such enforcement applications will exercise discretion to interview the child or appoint a counsellor for the child to hear the child’s point of view before making any order of fine or imprisonment. I hope that the Court will be able to discern the circumstances where an access order may not be practical due to an abusive parent. We should not allow an abusive or vindictive parent to abuse the legal process and commit the other parent to jail. Second, on clause 35, may I ask the Minister of State whether we have enough counsellors to help divorcing parents deal with the issue of access? Counselling can be a long-drawn process and, with about 7,000 divorces every year, these counsellors will be stretched if there are not enough trained counsellors to share the workload. When the Family Courts introduced the compulsory Mandatory Parenting Programme (MPP), I thought that MPP would have counsellors who can help couples think through the process before applying for divorce. However, I was told that MPP is a short session to advise the applicant on the need to make provisions for the child of the marriage. I am certainly glad to hear the Minister of State say that MPP would be enhanced to provide more support to couples thinking of divorce. Sir, I urge the Ministry to provide more resources to counsellors so that we can do more to assist couples who are contemplating divorce to review their options and also assess the potential impact on the child before proceeding. Sir, next, I wish to express my concern about clause 29 of the Bill which introduces a new section 95A(1)(f).”
“Sir, situations like these cannot be acceptable because it hurts the innocent child caught in a fight between parents. The child should not be used as a negotiating pawn in disputes between two warring spouses. Any parent who chooses to breach the child access order would have to face the consequences. I also support granting powers to the Court to order Parties X, Y and the child to attend compulsory counselling so that all involved parties can understand that it is in the best interest of the child to grow up with both parents who love and care for the child. This is better than having a child grow up resenting and hating an absent parent who has been deprived of access. Many matrimonial lawyers would have also come across cases where one parent tries to poison the mind of the child against the other parent by constantly saying negative things about that parent without care and control. In such cases, providing the Court with the power to order the parents to attend educational programmes and for the child to attend therapeutic programmes or family support programmes is an option that would mitigate the toxic effect of the poisoning of the child’s mind. So, I have two queries about clause 35. First, the new section 126B(3)(e) provides power to the Court to sentence a defaulting parent to a fine or imprisonment term. In my view, where a parent in default is recalcitrant, the Court’s power to impose a fine or sentence to incarceration will serve as a strong deterrent not to disobey a Court order. However, Sir, I am mindful that there may be occasions when an older child may refuse to see the other parent due to previous negative experiences of being physically or emotionally abused. Or that child may witness his Parent Y being abused by Parent X.”
“Sir, I declare my interest as a lawyer whose practice involves matrimonial law. There are two parts of this Bill which I wish to speak on. First is clause 35, which talks about the enhancement of enforcement powers relating to access to a child. Clause 35 of the Bill introduces new sections 126A and 126B to the Women's Charter. These two sections seek to enhance the enforcement powers of the Court relating to custody and child access orders. In principle, I agree with the provisions of section 126A of the Bill. However, I would caution that before making any order to the bailiff to seize a child, the Court should consider taking action against the parent who is in breach of the custody order. Seizure of a child, especially if the child is of a tender age, must be done in a sensitive manner so as not to cause any emotional trauma to the child who is caught in the dispute between the parents. I also support the provisions of section 126B. This new provision will allow an aggrieved parent legal powers to enforce his or her right of access to the child. I believe that most matrimonial lawyers would have come across cases where one party who was granted access to his or her own child, referred to in the Bill as Party X, had faced difficulties trying to gain access to that child. Sometimes, this is because the other parent, referred to as Party Y, feels that depriving Party X to access is a way of getting back at Party X. And Party Y feels that by not allowing the ex-spouse to see the child, he or she is punishing Party X. There are also cases where Party Y may threaten to prevent Party X from seeing the child unless Party X concedes to the demands of Party Y. In other words, the child is used as a negotiating tool to compel Party X to back down.”
“Sir, I urge the JSC to encourage their judicial officers to widen their life skills in different areas, including being humble, being patient with others, handling nervous litigants or witnesses and showing empathy and compassion wherever needed. Sir, I support the Bill.”
“Sir, the proposed amendments to the Constitution did not specifically state whether LSOs can still be transferred between the judicial divisions or the legal service division. However, I am glad to hear the Minister's confirmation that cross-service secondments will continue to be available on application where useful, to provide selected officers with cross-service experience. Sir, I think it is important that legal officers can still be allowed to ask for cross-service postings so as to deepen their knowledge of the work that they do. For example, if a judicial officer in the Family Court wishes to seek a posting to MSF to better understand how family disputes can be resolved, surely that kind of cross-postings should be encouraged. That judicial officer would then be armed with practical life skills that would make him or her a better judge in the Family Justice Courts. Similarly, a legal officer who had served as a prosecutor or a lawyer who had previously worked as a litigation lawyer is better placed to understand the adversarial nature of disputes. I would also submit that all our judicial officers must have some wide exposure to community work and more depth of experience in life before being appointed as judicial officers. Even as we position our legal service and judicial service officers as what former Chief Justice, the late Mr Yong Pung How, described as the “premier service” in the public sector, I hope that we also remind our judicial officers on the need to remain humble as they serve the wider society in Singapore.”
“Our judicial officers need more specialised knowledge to better grasp the complex laws and facts; they also need equipping to understand the different emotions of the litigant. And that is not an easy task for Judicial officers. I quote Lord Judge, the former Lord Chief Justice in the UK, in a speech which he made in October 2008. He said, “Many qualities are required of a judge… He or she must, of course, know the law, and know how to apply it, but the judge must always be wise to the ways of the world. The judge must have the ability to make a decision." "Decisions can be profoundly unpleasant. For example, to say to a mother that her children would be taken away from her, or to say to an individual that he is going to prison for the rest of his life." "Judges must have moral courage. It is an important judicial attribute to make decisions that will be unpopular with the politicians or the media and the public, and, indeed, perhaps, most importantly of all, to defend the right to equal treatment before the law, of those who are unpopular at any given time.” So, even the person who may be very unpopular or condemned by social media or members of the public, it is the job of a judge to ensure that this person is given the right to equal treatment before the law, even if they are unpopular at any point of time. These are wise words because judicial officers would need to deal firmly with recalcitrant offenders and yet show compassion to an accused person who may have made a mistake due to poor judgement or reacted badly due to a breakdown in emotions. Judicial officers in the Family Justice Courts would have to deal with litigants sensitively, especially where there are young children involved.”
“Today, lawyers and judges alike, would have to adjust to this concept of therapeutic justice in family disputes. Based on the volume of cases handled by the State Courts and Family Justice Courts and the increasing complexity of cases, I would submit that it is timely for us to review the need for our judicial officers to have greater specialisation so as to gain greater depth of knowledge about the latest developments in the law. There has always been a high regard for our judicial system. The Singapore judiciary and our legal system have always been recognised as among the best in the world. Within Singapore, a recent survey by the Institute of Policy Studies shows that 82% of the respondents had either a great deal or quite a lot of trust in our Courts. Minister Indranee Rajah had said in her 2014 speech on the Subordinate Courts (Amendment) Bill, “the public reposes a great deal of trust and confidence in the Subordinate Courts – and, indeed, our Judiciary generally. We trust them to apply the law impartially, uphold our laws and dispense justice fairly.” Our Chief Justice said recently society’s regard for and trust in the Courts are “extremely precious”. For that reason, Sir, I submit that we need to invest heavily in our legal officers serving both in the Judiciary as well as in the Legal Service so that we can continue to earn and maintain the trust of the people in our legal system. Having a separate Judicial Service Commission and a Legal Service Commission is just a step towards recognising the challenges facing our LSOs and allow them to explore greater specialisation and more equipped for the future. Having a personnel board for each commission also ensures that we continue to attract and retain talent to serve in the legal and judicial services.”
“Based on the Singapore Courts Annual Report 2020, the caseload of the State Courts was a total of 187,016 cases in 2020. Out of these 187,016 cases, 143,728 are classified as criminal cases, 31,189 are classified as civil cases and there are 12,099 community and tribunal-related cases. The caseload for the State Courts for 2019 was higher at 249,954 cases. That is almost a quarter million. The caseload for 2018 was even higher at 359,064 cases. Then we go on to the Family Justice Courts. The caseload is 25,633 cases for 2020 and 27,953 cases for 2019. If you add the total caseloads of the State Courts, the Family Justice Courts and the work in the Supreme Court, many of us will agree that the 224 judicial officers, even with support staff, will be grossly overstretched. The Singapore Courts Annual Report also gave examples of significant cases handled by the Courts. There was a case about terrorism financing, a case about defamatory comments made on social media against an F&B company; there are cases about protection to be given to litigants under the Prevention of Harassment Act and even a case about euthanasia of a dog. In a 2020 case involving cryptocurrency, the Court had to make a decision involving cryptocurrency trades and the implications of smart contracts and artificial intelligence. In the not too far future, judges may be called upon to decide who is at fault if there are accidents involving driverless cars. Another example of the evolving law is in the area of family law. In the past, lawyers acting for parties who have filed for divorce would work towards getting the best resolution for their clients. And that is the nature of an adversarial system.”
“Sir, I declare my interest in speaking on this Bill as a practising lawyer. In July this year, my Parliamentary colleague, Mr Murali Pillai, filed an Adjournment Motion on the “Feasibility of Setting up a Judicial Service Commission for Judicial Officers”. I spoke in support of the Motion as I am of the view that it is in the interest of our legal system that we have judicial officers who can be equipped to serve in the various specialised Courts and to meet the challenges of the future. I am grateful that MinLaw supports this need to carry out structural changes to the Legal Service. The Judiciary is one of the three Organs of State. It plays an integral part in upholding the rule of law and ensuring that justice is accessible to all the citizens of Singapore. For that reason, it is important that the Government reviews the structure of the Legal Service to ensure that both judicial officers and Legal Service officers are adequately prepared for the future. In the 2020 Annual Report of the Legal Service Commission, it was reported that there are 806 Legal Service Officers (LSOs) in service as at 31 December 2020. Of these 806 LSOs, 224 were in the judicial branch and 582 in the legal branch. The judicial branch serves the Supreme Court, the State Court and the Family Justice Courts. The legal branch serves the AGC and the legal service departments in various Ministries and Statutory Boards. As an example, the 582 LSOs serve in Government agencies other than AGC, like they serve in ACRA, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), EDB, Health Service Authority (HSA), IMDA, IPOS, IRAS, Office of Public Guardian (OPG), LTA, SLA, NEA, SMC, MUIS and so on. So, it is really a wide scope for these LSOs.”
“Sir, I just want to thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. Sir, I am just concerned that over the past week, the number of deaths had been in the double digits. We had 13 yesterday, 14 the day before; 16, 15, 10, as compared to the end of September, where the deaths were two, three, four. Can the Senior Minister of State explain why has the number of deaths increased by such a large number? Is it due to the relaxation of rules? Is there anything else we can do to cut down on the number of deaths because every life lost is a tragedy.”
“The onus is on us then, as legislators and policymakers, to try to get the balance between the two right.”
“Rather, my contention is simply that as much as intellectual monopolies may provide incentives for innovation, they may also encourage socially-costly rent-seeking behaviour, and we should be aware of this inherent trade-off. In this speech, I have provided a number of examples of potential abuse and overreach. In my view, the only way such overreach may be contained is to ensure that those called upon to resolve contending claims remain sensitive to these trade-offs. To this end, a deferral to the Courts, on a case-by-case basis, of what constitutes fair use may well represent a sound way forward; and this Bill does this. However, I should point out that this is only the case if there are mechanisms in place to ensure that those adjudicating these cases possess the capacity to evaluate potentially highly technical presentations. The risk, so amply demonstrated in the United States' patenting system, is that highly paid attorneys and technical specialists run rings around time and knowledge-constrained public officers. To this end, how will the Ministry ensure that the technical capability to evaluate the merits of fair use provisions is available in cases of this nature? In closing, Members of this House who listen to Taylor Swift’s music may be aware that she recently sought to re-record many of her earlier songs, initially released under the Big Machine Records label, which still holds the copyright to those original recordings. But the need for Tay Tay to re-record her own music was to recover control over what she believed to have been a blatant abuse by the record company of the extant IP regime. This episode is a reminder to us that, at some point, even the biggest megastars were once obscure and subject to exploitation by unscrupulous industry insiders.”
“Put another way, just because the technical specifications for, say, the latest microchip, may be freely available, it does not mean that you or I will be able to launch the next Intel or Motorola. We still need to hire engineers who are, indisputably, not going to work for free, to be able to realise the final product. And there is no guarantee they will do a good job either. Indeed, economic research has shown that innovation could still occur under competitive conditions, even in the absence of IP rights. This would occur if technological improvements enable the quick recovery of sunk costs from the market, for example, when digital-rights management tools can be applied to restrict unabashed replication of books and music, even without the threat of legal force, or when a growing economy reduces the need for intellectual property protection, because growth itself can generate sufficient short-term rents that more than compensate for the opportunity costs incurred in innovation. The case does, admittedly, become more complicated when we extend our mental model to include not just a home country, but also a foreign one. For instance, protecting foreign IP may even turn out to encourage domestic innovation. However, when targeting IP at goods produced in poorer countries may well raise the innovation rate, the converse would result if IP were directed and targeted at rich-country goods. Far be it that I should be perceived as suggesting that we should go ahead and eliminate intellectual property rights and withdraw from the World Intellectual Property Organization. Such a move would be, to say the least, extreme. The Workers' Party supports the recognition of intellectual property in the works of authors and performers.”
“The European Union, in an effort to prevent paying double for publicly-funded knowledge – once to fund the research, another to access it behind a copyrighted paywall – has even gone as far as to mandate that the output of any project that benefits from public funding must remain freely accessible. All these examples underscore the potential for copyright to be abused and circumvented, even when fair use provisions are carefully crafted. Such rent-seeking undermines the scholarly enterprise, which relies on the free exchange of information. In my view, it is generally better to err on the side of permissiveness, insofar as educational endeavours are concerned. Has the Government considered advancing similar legislation here? Allow me to close with a somewhat more philosophical reflection on the entire presumption that intellectual property rights are a necessary extension of physical property rights. The conventional case claims that, since transmission of ideas is free, we must, therefore, confer on them protective rights, because the failure to do so would lead to a collapse in incentives necessary to support innovation and invention. Mr Speaker, it is a fallacy that just because ideas are costless to transmit, they are consequently costless to replicate. Ideas are, ultimately, embedded in knowledge which, as anyone in this House who has slaved over textbooks will know, must be acquired at a cost. By the same token, the ability to develop and embed these self-same ideas into profitable goods and services – the "development" part of R&D – requires a non-trivial and certainly, non-free, amount of human capital to effect the required transformation and a similar costly process of embedding said knowledge into economically-valuable physical capital.”
“Clause 194(1b) allows for a reasonable portion of the work to be copied which clause 197(2c), for instance, specifies as 5% or five pages, depending on the total length of a literary or dramatic work. But five pages may simultaneously be too much and yet too little. Five percent of a volume of collected works or five pages of an integrative scientific periodicals such as Science or Nature may well encompass entire articles, whereas five pages of an involved mathematical article may not even include all the pages of a single proof. While I appreciate that many exemptions of the Bill are for learning purposes in educational institutions, the text is still unclear if this applies uniformly to research exercises as well and whether such use will remain acceptable in a non-educational, but knowledge-based non-profit such as a privately registered think-tank or research institute. Similarly, school-based plays often do charge to cover overheads and possibly raise funds, but are, nevertheless, non-profit in the sense that student actors and backstage crew are unpaid amateurs. Fair use provisions also raise an important meta-question that has plagued academic publishing. Members in this House may be aware that a number of international academic publishing houses have been accused of exploiting free labour from civic-minded academics and subsequently turning around and burdening libraries with expensive subscriptions. It took the University of California, the largest public university system in the world, two whole years of bruising contract negotiations to finally arrive at a deal that would allow its faculty and students open access to Elsevier journals.”
“To see this, it is simply sufficient to observe, for example, that photographers routinely offer package deals where the client may either purchase all images and the associated rights or they may pay a nominal amount for a set of printed images, without the rights, to the images or their soft copies. As a result, the two sets of clauses come across as self-contradictory, at least from a logical point of view. In my view, it is better for the default to vest the rights to the creator and have any rights transfer to the employer along with associated compensation be explicitly drafted into the employment contract. This preserves the transparency of the process while ensuring that the weaker party in the employment relationship, typically the employee, holds the initial bargaining power for their intellectual creations. As a routine consumer and producer of intellectual property (IP), I regard Part 5 governing fair use provisions as central to the business of ideas. This is truly where the rubber hits the road. Permitting usage of IP is crucial not just from an educational perspective, which is dear to my heart as a teacher, but as any researcher will tell you, an entire intellectual edifice stands on the shoulders of earlier discoveries and developments, as Member Lim Biow Chuan has pointed out before me. Set against this is the need to avoid abuse. One only needs to be reminded of the American painter and photographer Richard Prince's notorious appropriation art and the risk that an excessively permissive regime may discourage innovation altogether. That said, the limitations defined in the Bill, as they stand, remain unclear.”
“And there is a risk that stipulate designations such as whiskey with an "e", Ouzo or Grappa cannot be applied to the work of our own craft producers. Division 8 strikes me as self-conflicted. On one hand, clause 135 grants certain authors automatic ownership of copyright over commission works thereby strengthening legal standing of creators over their intellectual property. But, on the other hand, clause 134 defaults ownership of copyright for sound recordings and films to employers, so long as the work was produced over the course of employment. One could argue that clause 134 is simply an extension of the current position to cover other types of works and one could further contend that these are two distinct circumstances. In the former, the author is a contractor performing a one-off service and hence, would retain the rights to their creations; while in the latter, the employees engage in a regular employment contract and hence, is being fully compensated for the energies in producing works on behalf of the employer. But, Mr Speaker, this is an artificial distinction. In both cases, there is payment for services rendered. An employment contract is simply a series of extended one-off commissions and payment for regular employment is paid in lump sum form during payday as opposed to the end of each commission. Hence, these are merely operational distinctions. Whether the rights to a creation resides with the author or the employer should, therefore, be a matter of private negotiation between the two parties. There seems to me to be no reason why the law should necessarily confer copyright to one party versus the other.”
“Would Ministry share how this 70-year duration then was chosen? Clause 121(b) of the Bill provides for copyright and sound recordings and was included to respect Singapore's obligations under the EU-Singapore FTA. However, I should point out that there are consequences to both affording copyright for sound recordings as well as taking EU intellectual property standards as a benchmark. One concern of sound recordings has to do with a practice that is a foundation of modern hip-hop music sampling. This applies especially to drum brakes and modify soundscapes. There is now a large body of precedent cases that have resolved on either side of infringement of fair use, but the point I wish to make here is more general. By admitting sound recordings into copyright protection, we run the risk of shutting down whole genres of emergent creative output. The pertinent question then, is whether the fair use provisions outlined in Part 5 are sufficient to preclude such overzealous applications. Has the Ministry considered how such potential instances of abuse may in fact be managed? More of a strict adherence to EU standards for intellectual property may end up being a slippery slope. Members of this House will be aware of the stringency of EU geographical indications and traditional specialties. It is the reason why we cannot, even if we had the skills, know-how and wherewithal to, produce Camembert or Scotch Whisky. Taken to the extreme, even suggestive terms such as "Parmesan-style cheese" would be prohibited. While these protections almost always apply to agricultural products and hence are largely of academic interest in the Singapore context, we should not be so dismissive of unintended concessions. Singapore has recently embraced artisan beer and spirit manufacture.”
“Inherent in this simplification, however, are a number of implicit choices that, to my mind, raise some questions. Limiting the duration of copyright for anonymous works to 70 years is certainly better than perpetuity, which was the case before. But setting aside minimum terms stipulated in international conventions, why would such a long duration of protection be necessary in the first place? With no identified author, who would be the beneficiaries of a 70-year copyright and more importantly, would conferring such protection generate net benefits for society rather than releasing its use to the public domain? I shall return to this more general point about the benefits and costs of granting intellectual monopolies at the end of my speech. Similarly, it is worth observing that the decision to limit copyright protection to 70 years following the creator's passing as opposed to the date of publication, as was the case previously, amounts to an extension of the period of protection. Again, while I understand why such consistency between clauses may be attractive, we should be aware that this inhibits the free usage of such works for the purposes of teaching and research, which yield benefits of their own instead of extending additional rent to copyright beneficiaries. Before I move on, I would just add that while the comparatively longer copyright duration of 70 years is certainly the norm in most high-income countries, this is by no means unanimous. Canada, Hong Kong and New Zealand have also chosen the lower threshold of life, plus 50 years instead. And it is worth noting that the minimum term in the Universal Copyright Convention is a mere 25 years while Berne Convention's stipulations are either 25 or 50 years, depending on the nature of the work.”
“Thus, individuals and commercial entities that play or broadcast music in their restaurants, hotels, malls, offices or shops would be able to deal with the correct CMO and negotiate for the payment of the royalty in a transparent manner. May I ask the Minister whether there is intent to regulate the amount of royalties or the fees payable to such CMOs. What is the recourse of the individual or business or any entity if the fees charged by the CMOs are unreasonable or exorbitant? Sir, I would welcome Minister's clarification and reiterate my support for this Bill. 3.18 pm Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Mr Speaker, before I continue, I wish to declare that I am a research-oriented academic that both utilises as well as generates intellectual property, which admittedly I often proceed to sign away, and that my family had previously inherited a number of musical copyrights from my late father, which we have since allowed to lapse. I will begin by stating my support for the Bill. However, I will point out a number of residual concerns that I have, notably, on the duration of copyrights, copyrights associated with sound recordings, default ownership of copyright works and fair use provisions. I will conclude by taking a step back and asking the broader question of whether intellectual property law has fulfilled its intended purposes. Clauses 114, 122 and 125 introduced a number of revisions to copyright duration. To the good, it streamlines the expiry of copyrights to a common 70 years, starting either posthumously or from the date of creation or publication, depending on the nature of the work. Such harmonisation and simplification, in general, are certainly welcome in the areas of the law.”
“Next, I wish to talk about commercial dealing in set-top boxes. Clause 150 makes it an infringement of copyright if a person makes a device or provides a service and so on to access works communicated without authority. I understand that this clause 150 refers to the sale of set-top boxes which allows the buyer of the set-top box to gain access to various online audio or visual content. I can appreciate how this clause is intended to stamp out the sale of set-top boxes in some shopping complexes. But the reality is that similar set-top boxes are also easily available in other countries and in particular, just across the Causeway. May I ask the Minister how does the Government intend to stop the consumer from buying such set-top boxes from overseas? Otherwise, it would be a loophole where consumers cannot buy infringing set-top boxes in Singapore but can do so easily overseas. Finally, I support the setting up of a new class licensing regime to regulate Collective Management Organisations or CMOs for short. Currently, CMOs are not regulated. For example, a consumer, who is a video producer, who wishes to use a song for his home-made video as background music, would need to find out which is the CMO which can issue him a licence for the use of the lyrics or the song in the video. He has to enquire whether the CMO is the only organisation allowed to collect the royalty. He then has to negotiate the fee collected by the organisation. As a consumer, he has limited negotiating powers to deal with such CMOs. Hence, I think it is helpful to regulate such organisations that collect royalties or fees so that there is greater transparency as to the ownership of the copyright and the fees payable.”
“This is a reminder that every IP creator is building on works created by those who come before him. Thus, the law should allow for the use of certain types of copyright because it would advance the interest of the public. It is also clear that some creators of current copyright works today are only able to do so because there were other foundational creative works done by people before them. Sir, I wish to seek clarification on clause 204 of the Bill. This clause allows schools and students of non-profit educational institutions to use certain works or recordings or performances available on the Internet. Sir, what if the works, recordings or performances are used by students from institutions which are for-profit private schools, but nevertheless, still for educational purposes? If these private schools have to pay for the royalties, it is likely that they will pass on the additional costs of copyright fees to their students who are also consumers. I know of many Singaporeans who are mature students and pursuing their further education in commercial education institutions, which are for-profit. Has the Government assessed the financial impact of the increased costs of education to these students? In the larger picture, would it not be better for the Government to encourage education by making it less costly? I wish to ask the Government to consider extending the exception under clause 204 to all educational institutions. May I also ask the Minister what if the copying is done by charitable organisations for educational or training purposes? Can the Minister clarify whether Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs), which have been set up as non-profit entities and exist for charitable purposes can be granted the same exemption under clause 204?”
“May I ask the Minister whether the Government can consider allowing agreements to be made orally and not just in writing so that a consumer would not inadvertently lose the copyright to his personal photos or video recording just because he forgot to sign a written contract. Would the Ministry also consider providing a standard template for a written agreement in the IPOS or in the Consumers' Association (CASE) website, so that consumers can easily reply on the template agreement to retain the copyright to their videos or photographs. Sir, this will be a major change in the current position as to who owns the copyright of personal videos or photos. I urge the Government to embark on an education exercise to inform consumers as to the changes which may impact their lives. I believe many individuals may not be comfortable that the photographer, whom they engage to take photos for their wedding, birthday, or social function is entitled to keep these photos in his portfolio. If they are paying the photographer or the videographer, why are they not the owner of the copyright? Next, Fair Use Exception. I support the strengthening of the Fair Use exceptions contained at clauses 190 to 194 of the Bill. Although the concept of copyright is to protect the intellectual outputs of the creator of the works, the Government needs to balance the rights of the IP owner versus the public interest involved or the needs of society to use the works for education or research or certain other purposes as described in those clauses. Ms Ng-Loy Wee Loon, the author of the textbook, Law of Intellectual Property of Singapore, quoted Sir Isaac Newton as saying, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on ye shoulders of giants".”
“Such breach of copyright is not correct because it takes away all the efforts of the authors who had written the books, the songs or the software. It discourages creative work of authors and unfairly allows those who infringe copyright to profit without putting in their effort. The Copyright Bill 2021 is a comprehensive Bill of some 348 pages. I support the Bill but I wish to seek clarifications on some of the changes to the existing Act which MinLaw had highlighted. First, it is about ownership of copyright. Sir, I am concerned about the changes brought about under clause 133 of the Bill. The clause provides that creators of certain type of works like photographs, portraits, engravings, sound recordings and films will by default be the first owner of the works, unless there is a contrary intention in a written agreement. This is a slightly different position from the current section 30(5) of the Copyright Act whereby the ownership of the copyright of the artistic works would belong to the person who engages or commissions the author for valuable consideration. As an illustration, in a case where a consumer engages a photographer to take a video or photographs for a wedding or a birthday party or a family function, he may not be aware that the position has changed and that he need to expressly sign a written agreement to retain ownership of the copyright of his photos or the video. Without the written agreement, the photographer or the videographer may be able to retain these personal photographs of the consumer.”
“Sir, I declare my interest as a practising lawyer. Although I studied the Copyright Act in 1987, I do not practise Intellectual Property in my practice. In his textbook on The Law of Copyright in Singapore, the author, Prof George Wei explained that the justification for copyright protection was to "protect the fruits of an intellectual's activity, labour and investment from unfair appropriation or unfair competition." In an explanatory note about the Copyright Bill 2021, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) explained that the changes to be implemented by the Bill ensure that "our copyright regime continues to provide an environment that benefits both creators and users. It introduces new rights and remedies to provide more recognition for creators to further incentivise the creation of works. It also creates new exceptions for users, allowing copyright works to remain reasonably available for the benefit of society." Sir, I support the principles behind the Copyright Bill 2021. It is only fair that a creator of works who had put in great effort either to write a book, to write or record a song, to perform a dramatic or musical or literary work or to produce a computer game or software program, he should be able to benefit commercially for his or her intellectual efforts. I recall many years ago that a person can easily buy pirated cassettes of songs sold at pasar malam at a fraction of the actual costs. You can find entire books being photocopied wholesale and students using these photocopied books in class. Even when I started working, there are computer sales staff who would offer to load pirated word processing software onto the desktop computer that I bought. Pirated computer games are often copied and sold openly in some shops.”
“May I ask the Minister of State, in light of the Parliamentary Question from Miss Cheng Li Hui, whether the schools would want to encourage parents to get their children to sleep early? I recall that when my kids were young, I used to tell them to sleep early so that they would be able to have more sleep and to wake up early to be able to go to school without having problems. So, instead of getting school to start later, would we not consider asking children to sleep earlier to get their quota of available sleep?”