Lim Swee Say
Singapore
“The number of reports received via the Snap@MOM app, number of valid reports and number of companies issued with enforcement actions between 2015 and 2017 are shown in the table below: All valid reports have resulted in warnings or enforcement actions.”
“In the case of students from ITE, polytechnics or autonomous universities, employers do not need to contribute CPF if the student is employed by them for training that is approved by their institutions.”
“Together with our tripartite partners at the national and sector levels, we have to do our best to transform across all sectors, for our economy to transform and grow, pervasively, as One Singapore Unlimited.”
“Between April and December 2017, the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) and the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) concluded 3,750 employee salary claims where the employer was ordered to make payment to the worker. Salaries were fully recovered in about 92% of these orders. The remaining claims involved 139 employers.”
“The number of employed residents aged 62 and over, and 67 and over has increased over the last five years (see Table 1 below). Of all employed residents aged 67 and over in 2017, 64% were males; 80% held secondary and below qualifications, 9% had post-secondary qualifications, while 11% were tertiary-educated; 52% of this group of older w…”
“The proportion of full-time resident employees earning below $2,000 who received bonuses, including the Annual Wage Supplement, has remained stable at about 50% over the last decade. Employers and unions share the flexibility in structuring staff remuneration together under our Flexible and Performance Based wage systems.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,231 lines we hold for Lim Swee Say, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 18 of 25.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme (HUP) was launched three years ago in 2001. To date, 25 hawker centres have been upgraded, with another 19 centres undergoing design and construction. This year, another 15 centres are selected for upgrading, bringing the total number of upgraded centres to 59. This accounts for 52% of all centres eligible for upgrading under the HUP. To maintain a good standard of hygiene and housekeeping, hawkers are required to undergo a food-handling course conducted by NEA. NEA officers also make regular inspections to enforce standards. Sir, the overall standards of hygiene and cleanliness have improved over the years. The number of stallholders attaining 'A' or 'B' grades under NEA's grading system has increased from 40% in 1998 to 51% today. For the upgraded centres, the figure is much higher at 89%. Last May, the Singapore's OK campaign was launched to further improve the cleanliness and hygiene of not only the individual stalls, but also the entire hawker centre. Within a short period of nine months, 85% of the cooked food centres and 63% of the wet markets have met the benchmark of the Singapore's OK campaign. This is indeed encouraging. For the remaining centres, NEA is working with them to improve the standard of housekeeping. Besides educating the hawkers on good housekeeping, NEA encourages the Town Councils and hawkers to do regular spring-cleaning three times a year. Cleaners are also being trained under the National Skills Recognition System. Some hawker associations and grassroots advisers have also convinced their hawkers to don aprons and caps to project a neater, more hygienic and smarter image. Sir, in conclusion, we will continue to upgrade the physical environment of our hawker centres.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ovitrap, referred to by Dr Teo Ho Pin, serves two functions. Firstly, it is used to trap mosquitoes, so that the newly-born mosquitoes will not be able to escape into the open. Secondly, the Ovitrap is used to estimate the population size and monitor the population growth of mosquitoes in the surrounding area. Up till now, one drawback of the Ovitrap is that it is not so simple to operate. It is not just a case of putting the Ovitrap in a particular location and it will go into automated mode. The residents would still have to handle the equipment such as replacing the water and destroying the mosquitoes and so on. There are certain steps involved which some of the residents and grassroots volunteers have found quite difficult to follow. I am happy to say that NEA has come out with a simpler design. With this new design, more residents will find it easier to operate the Ovitrap. Our intention is to make greater use of Ovitraps, both to monitor the growth of the mosquito population in certain areas and, at the same time, help to contain the growth. SPORTS SCHOOL (Admission requirement) 7. Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan asked the Minister for Community Development and Sports if he will (a) explain the rationale for the requirement that students admitted to the Sports School must meet the minimum aggregate points required for admission to the Express Stream in secondary school, and (b) review this requirement taking into account the Sports School's recent experience with its admission of the first batch of students who had taken the Primary School Leaving Examination.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Mdm Cynthia Phua for her suggestion. I will ask the NEA to follow up on her idea.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the NEA conducts routine inspections on all facilities in all estates on a regular basis. For example, there is a 2-month roving programme to inspect schools within a certain area. Mr Ravindran asked whether there is a checklist on where to inspect. The answer is yes. But if the question is whether, with a checklist, it is possible for any officer to cover every corner of the roof top, building and so on, the answer is no. Firstly, the area of coverage is big. Secondly, these are preventive inspections. In other words, we conduct these inspections before any outbreak is reported, not after the outbreak. Once an outbreak is reported, there will be a re-inspection and, this time around, they will take much longer time and inspect more thoroughly. We will continue to enhance the checklist and, in particular, we will pay greater attention to those areas where dengue outbreaks are more frequent. Mr Ravindran asked whether the MOH, ENV, NEA and the medical clinics can improve the level of communication. The answer is yes. In the past, the NEA would take about one week to 10 days before they alert the community. This is because the priority of NEA within the first seven to 10 days of an outbreak was to do whatever they can to contain the situation. However, in the case of Serangoon Avenue 2, it was very clear that functioning on its own, NEA took more than three weeks to keep the outbreak under control, whereas the second time round, with the early participation of the grassroots, they were able to do it in 10 days. The NEA has therefore decided that, from now on, on the day of outbreak, they will alert the grassroots organisations as well as all the medical clinics in the area so that we can fight the outbreak as one community.”
“Fogging again was carried out and mosquito-breeding habitats that were found were destroyed. There were far fewer breeding habitats as a result of the heightened awareness this time round. No new cases have been reported in the current cluster. So with the early involvement of the community, the outbreak was more limited and came under control within a shorter time by 29th December, in other words, in 10 days. Sir, Singapore is located in a region where dengue virus and Aedes mosquitoes are prevalent. From time to time, there would be localised outbreaks of dengue. Community support and participation is vital in our efforts to reduce the incidents of dengue outbreaks. NEA will continue with public education. At the same time, from now on, NEA will also draw on greater community involvement much sooner. It will notify the grassroots advisors, grassroots organisations and medical clinics in the affected areas much earlier than its past practice. In this way, the community is alerted much earlier, and can respond more speedily too. Working together, we believe we can reduce the incidents of dengue outbreaks, and bring any outbreak under control as quickly as possible.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on 16th September, the National Environment Agency (NEA) was notified by MOH of six dengue cases in Serangoon Avenues 2 and 3. NEA took immediate action to fog the area to get rid of adult Aedes mosquitoes. Fogging was repeated for a few weeks. On the same day, NEA officers started door-to-door visits to distribute advisory letters and educational pamphlets on dengue prevention to the residents. They also inspected households, construction sites and outdoor places to search and destroy breeding grounds. In total, NEA found breedings in 63 households, a junior college, a construction site and on the roof covers of two water tanks at two HDB blocks. To increase public awareness and to step up public education, NEA contacted the grassroots organisations on th October. More than 30 volunteers from the Residents' Committees (RC) joined in to help distribute the letters and pamphlets to the residents. By 11th October, all households in Serangoon Avenues 2 and 3 and 1,600 households in the surrounding area, including Braddell Heights estate, were covered. A roving exhibition was also held on weekends in the HDB void decks to inform residents about dengue and the preventive measures that they could take. The RC volunteers also helped to put up posters in the lift lobbies of the HDB blocks to raise public awareness. Sir, with the strong support and active participation of the grassroots leaders and residents, the outbreak was brought under control by 12th October. Since then, another outbreak involving four cases occurred in Serangoon Avenue 2 on 19th December. This time round, NEA immediately informed the CCC chairman on the same day and educational pamphlets were distributed again to the residents in the area with the help of RC volunteers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I will be brief. Just to mention two points. Firstly, I think it is incorrect for Mr Chiam to say that the consumption of water in his town council has gone up by 30-50%. I have made a check. In fact, across all town councils, water consumption in the last three months, from March to May, has come down by about 11-12% compared to a year ago, and about 4-5% compared to the previous three months. In the case of Potong Pasir, in fact, the water consumption there has come down by 10% compared to a year ago, and has gone up by 1.5% compared to December 2002 to February this year. So, if we compare this year with last year --- 3.00 pm”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the SARS outbreak has reminded us of the need to keep improving on the standards of personal hygiene, environmental cleanliness and public health. This is why we are seeing more cleaning and washing at public places. However, I want to emphasise that achieving a higher standard of cleanliness and hygiene is not just a short-term concern because of SARS, but also a long-term challenge because we need to remain vigilant against all other viruses and infectious diseases. If we were to lower water charges by 30-50%, as suggested by Mr Chiam, we could end up not only doing more washing and cleaning, but also making less careful use of water at the same time. This combination of using more water and wasting more water at the same time is clearly not the best way forward in our battle against viruses and infectious diseases. So, instead of calling for water to be subsidised, I suggest that we focus on how to make more efficient and smarter use of water. First, if all of us can practise good personal habits and keep public places clean and hygienic, we will be able to keep the frequency of cleaning to the minimum. Second, if we can all use every drop of water more wisely and waste less water, then these savings could help to offset any increase in water consumption for cleaning. In this way, our estates and public places can be cleaner, greener and more hygienic, and hopefully, without a corresponding increase in water and utility consumption.”
“This will help free up more stalls for newcomers, including the hardship cases. So far, about 16% of stallholders have opted for cash grants under the HUP. One example is Dunman Food Centre where six stalls vacated by retiring stallholders had been tendered out so far, with another 10 more stalls up for tender in the next tendering exercise. If this trend continues, we can expect that a steady stream of stalls will continue to become available for tenders under the HUP. BUILDING OF MOSQUE AT SENGKANG The following Question stood in the name of Mr Ahmad Mohd Magad - 12. To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the choice of the site identified for building a mosque at Sengkang East Road is final; and if not, (b) whether there are other alternative sites in Sengkang Estate being considered.”
“Sir, we have 6,990 cooked food stalls in 135 hawker centres. However, the number of vacant stalls is very small, only 46 in total. After setting aside 21 of the stalls for temporary use by hawkers under the Hawker Centre Upgrading Programme (HUP), the number of vacant stalls available for allocation is only 25. These stalls are put up for tenders on a monthly basis. The tender for this month has just closed on 17th April 2003 and the next tender will be on 6th May 2003. Sir, Dr Wang asked whether we would review the allocation of stalls in view of structural unemployment. I presume he is referring to the direct allocation of stalls for hardship cases. Sir, the scheme was discontinued in 1990, about 13 years ago, because, on the supply side, we had stopped building hawker centres since 1985. There is therefore no more new supply of vacant cooked food stalls built by ENV or HDB. At the same time, on the demand side, many of the hardship cases then were not prepared to take up vacant stalls as and when these stalls became available because they prefer to wait for stalls in the more popular centres. In view of the supply and demand situations, the scheme was discontinued and interested stallholders have to tender for stalls as and when they become available. In the past three years, we have allocated 240 cooked food stalls through public tender. On average, each stall attracted about 15 applications. On the whole, the tender scheme has worked well under a market-based mechanism. Sir, even though we have no plans to re-introduce the direct allocation of stalls for hardship cases, we will continue to create opportunities for potential stallholders. Under the HUP, we are offering cash grant to enable some of the first generation stallholders to retire.”
“And I apologise for not replying to him earlier. Just to respond to that point - yes, desalination does take up more energy. It is true, because desalination is more energy-intensive. And precisely because of that, we have decided to diversify our sources of supply. That is the reason why we have four taps. Within these four taps, desalination by the year 2005 will only account for less than 10% of our water supply system. We are fully aware that we should not become overly dependent on energy in our water supply, and that is the reason why we are going for NEWater, which is a lot less energy-intensive. To be precise, the energy needed for NEWater is only one-fifth that of desalination. Such experience in becoming more self-sufficient in water supply without becoming overly dependent on energy is something that we can share with our fellow members as well under the sustainable cities programme.”
“35 billion in the year 2000 to 2.6 billion by the year 2030. This will pose enormous burden on the city environment because there will be growing demands for water, energy and problems with sanitation drainage, solid waste management, and so on. In fact, the ASEAN Environment Ministers decided that we should jointly mount a regional initiative on what we call "Sustainable Cities". The idea is to create a platform so that every one of us - no matter whether you are from Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia, and no matter whether you are from a small or a big country, because small and big countries have cities too - come together to promote sharing of ideas and know-how, so that we can learn and work with each other. In fact, this partnership will involve the participation beyond the ASEAN cities. In fact, our ASEAN+3 partners (Japan, China and Korea) have indicated their interest to take part in this programme as well. What NEA is doing is that we are now designated by ASEAN to play a leading role in this Working Group on Sustainable Cities. NEA had, in fact, submitted a concept proposal, and this was endorsed by the ASEAN Environment Ministers last month in Cambodia. We are now going into the process of implementation. So I would say that this would really be a very useful platform for us to share our experience with our fellow members of ASEAN and beyond. Sir, as we discuss on sustainable cities, one issue that often comes about is the issue of water. In fact, some of these ASEAN Ministers asked us this question - as we move towards NEWater and desalination water - would we end up overly dependent on energy, because all these are very energy-intensive? In fact, that was the point, if I remember, brought up by Mr Iswaran earlier.”
“Sir, Mr Zainul asked what is the progress in the area of regional haze. Since the last haze episode in 1997, the ASEAN nations have been working very closely. In fact, last year, we decided to take another step forward in a landmark regional agreement known as the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. This Agreement will require six countries to ratify before it can come into force. So far, five countries have done so - Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Myanmar. And we hope that at least one more country would ratify this agreement, so that we can bring it into force before the end of this year. 1.30 pm Mr Zainul asked whether we are less affected by haze this year, is it because of this regional collaboration? I hope so, but I cannot be certain as yet. I would say that the next time when we go through another El Nino, I will be able to see what happens. If we are able to survive the next El Nino better than the one in 1997, then I would have the confidence to inform the Member that, indeed, the regional collaboration is working. But until then, I would say that we do whatever we can. Mr Zainul also asked what we can do to share our expertise and experience with the regional countries. Sir, the ASEAN Environment Ministers met again late last year to discuss follow-ups to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. We came to the conclusion that even though the ASEAN countries (10 member countries), with very different backgrounds and in very different stages of development, there are certain areas and common factors that apply to all of us. One common factor is the whole process of urbanisation. In fact, the UN's projection for 2030, which is about 30 years from now, is that in the Asia Pacific, the population in urban areas will double from 1.”
“" Sir, I think if we look at nation building, it is the same thing. When we were doing well, many people out there said, "Look, it is a matter of time that the Singapore economy will run into problems." When we were enjoying full employment, there were people out there who said, "Look, the Singapore growth cannot be sustained. The full employment cannot be sustained. It is a matter of time this will happen." So, this has happened. These people out there will be smiling and saying, "I told you so - MOT." So, what do we do? At hole No. 7, when my partner said, "MOT", I had three options. The first option is, I concede, give up the rest of the game, accept that I am a lousy golfer and play triple bogey every hole. Or I can try to be a good player, play safe, do not take chances any more, go for double bogey, go for bogey, do not go for par, play safe so that I would not lose. Or I can try to play like Tiger Woods who is a great player, play to win, never mind the triple bogey, continue to go for par, go for bogey, better still for birdie, so that I can make up for that triple bogey. Sir, let me say that as far as the implementation of the Singapore Green Plan 2012 is concerned, we are playing to win. We are not taking a defensive approach towards the implementation of this plan. We are going on the offensive to make sure that the environment of Singapore will be sustainable for the long term, and we will make sure that our environmental industry will become a regional leader to contribute to economic growth. At the same time, we will make sure that this industry will provide more good jobs with good pay, so that more Singaporeans can benefit from the social angle of the implementation of the Singapore Green Plan 2012.”
“Sir, we cannot promise Singaporeans that the environmental sector will offer them easy jobs and good pay. But what we can promise them is that we are doing everything that we can to make sure that every job will be a good job with good pay. So, how to turn an easy job, lousy pay, to a good job with good pay is through job redesign, and that is what the ENV is doing. Today, we set up various skills standard committees in collaboration with the industry. Our intention, basically, is to redesign key jobs in the key sectors in the environmental sector, so that, hopefully, over time, as we pursue the objective in Singapore Green Plan 2012, we would not only be able to achieve sustainability, economic growth but, at the same time, social progress through employment creation. Sir, let me end by saying briefly something that I have gone through recently. I am a very keen golfer and, from time to time, I play golf with friends and we have small bets, at every hole, $1-$2. There was one day I played very well on hole No. 1. I par that hole, and my flight mates did not say anything. One of them said, "It is all right. MOT." I looked at him and said, "MOT - Ministry of Transport." I said, "No, I am from ENV. I am not from MOT." He said, "No, I am referring to something else. It does not matter." I went to hole No. 2. I played well again. This time I bogeyed and I played well again. The same guy said the same thing - MOT. And I was wondering what he was talking about. Finally, I came to hole No. 7. I was playing well in the first six holes. At every hole, he said "MOT". When I came to hole No. 7, I fumbled. I hit a triple bogey, and he laughed. He said, "I told you so - MOT." I said, "Please tell me, what is MOT?" He said, "Ah, it is a matter of time.”
“Sir, even though environmental sustainability is a primary focus of SGP 2012 and that economic growth will be one of the priorities of the ENV as the lead agency, I want to say that we are not stopping at two, because a win-win outcome for environmental sustainability and economic growth through industry development is good but insufficient. We want to go beyond that. We want to make sure that SGP 2012 will also contribute to social progress in Singapore. What do we mean by that? We believe that employment is the best way of sharing wealth and the most dignified way of sustaining broadbased social progress. In that regard, I agree fully with what Mdm Halimah mentioned two days ago in this House that we have to change our mindset. And this changing of mindset is not just for workers, but for the employers as well. I recall Mdm Halimah mentioned in this House that she hoped that more employers would pay greater attention to job enhancement and job redesign. I think that is a very important statement that I hope everyone of us would take note of. Take ENV, for example. We are both an employer and the lead agency in the SGP 2012. As an employer, we have a programme whereby we allow our workers, who are more than 62 years old, to continue working as daily rated employees (DREs). In fact, right now, more than 11% of our DREs, or over 100 of them, are workers who are more than 62 years old. What we do, basically, is to make sure that they remain healthy and productive. In that way, they can live a life more meaningfully. And yet, at the same time, we believe, as the lead agency in Singapore for SGP 2012, that there is a lot that needs to be done to redesign the jobs in the environmental sector, so that more Singaporeans will find the jobs more attractive.”
“Today, due to the shortage of time, I will not go into details, except to say that basically what we are trying to do is to help our environmental industry, the waste recycling industry included, to cross two gates. Firstly, to cross the technology gate, and secondly, to cross the market gate. The reason why we have to help them to cross the technology gate is because the environment sector is becoming more and more technology driven. At the same time, we will help them to cross the market gate, because the market today is expanding, not just in Singapore, not just in South East Asia, but in the Asia Pacific. But in order for them to cross the technology gate and the market gate, they must also be able to bridge the gap between the two gates. Because, today, if we look at the market, there is a time lag in the way the industry is able to take full advantage of advances in technology. So the way to bridge the gap between the technology and market gates is what we call the "bridge of innovation". And that is the reason why two years ago, the ENV launched the IES programme. 1.15 pm Dr Teo asked what is the response to the IES programme. I must say that the response has been most encouraging. Over the last 18 months or so, we have received 40 applications, and 10 of them have been at a cost of about $2.6 million; another 12 are now under evaluation and they cover a very wide scope of activities. And we hope that, over time, we will be able to continue to work closely with the industry or 3P partners to strengthen this bridge of innovation, so that our industry can cross the technology gate and the market gate successfully and become a regional leader.”
“With another 330 indicating their interest to upgrade, we expect to see more than half of the 800 public toilets in the coffeeshops to be upgraded by the end of this year. Sir, let me move on to the second part, which is that beyond 3P ownership to achieve sustainability, there is something else we hope to achieve through the Singapore Green Plan 2012, which is the point brought up by Dr Teo Ho Pin. Dr Teo mentioned that there is tremendous economic potential in terms of the environment sector. He is exactly right. Because, at the end of the day, if we focus only on environmental sustainability, but without sustaining economic growth, environmental sustainability does not really make sense. Because at the end of the day we cannot just live on blue sky, fresh air and green land. So economic growth is something that everyone of us should play our part and to make a contribution. Sir, in this regard, ENV, as the lead agency of the Singapore Green Plan 2012, intends to step up our efforts in the area of industry development. We are working very closely with the various economic agencies and industry to speed up the development of new capabilities in our environmental industry and, at the same time, to expand the business capacity in the industry. Our intention is to make Singapore the early adopters in the exploitation of technology, in the exportation of products and services. Hopefully, this would add to our national economy. Sir, Dr Amy Khor asked what we are doing in helping the waste recycling industry to become a regional leader. Sir, many things are happening.”
“So, we are looking into whether it makes sense to have one agency to take care of all the centres, and discussions between NEA and HDB are on-going. But, in the meantime, NEA and ENV will proceed with the development of this long term master plan. Mr Othman Haron asked about the grading of the cooked food stalls. Yes, the programme started in 1997. The whole purpose is to enhance the cleanliness and the food and personal hygiene in our cooked food centres. I must say, so far, the response has been good and we do see a general upgrading of the standard. But the most important thing, at the end of the day, 5-10 years from now, is whether the upgraded centres will remain an attractive place for the public. That, I think, depends on our 3P partnership. Sir, let me move quickly to the upgrading of the public toilets. Again, I take the feedback from Dr Amy Khor in positive light. I agree with her that the ladies do take longer in using the toilets, and it is very often that at such places we see a long queue for the ladies. We will see what we can do. But, as far as toilet upgrading is concerned, I want to point out that we are not upgrading public toilets all over Singapore. This programme is basically focused on public toilets at the coffeeshops. And whether the coffeeshop owners will find it necessary to have more cubicles for the ladies versus the men, I think we will have to leave it to the coffeeshop owners to decide. But what NEA and ENV are doing is that we are sharing the cost of upgrading. The response so far has been very good. In fact, about 50 toilets have been upgraded and we have committed $250,000. 80 more are in the course of being upgraded.”
“Today, we have about 1,000 vacant stalls, but these are mainly in the wet markets, where the demand is not that strong. But, I take Mr Othman Haron's suggestion positively. In fact, I have asked the NEA to work with the HDB, the Retail Promotion Centre (RPC), as well as the various CDCs, to see whether we can do something to reconfigure some of these vacant stalls in the wet markets and turn them into a useful asset for the unemployed workers to do some small business. We are just starting this idea. In fact, we are learning from the North East CDC Retail Incubator Programme and we hope that there would be something going on in the next few months. Sir, various Members, Dr Teo Ho Pin, Ang Mong Seng, Cynthia Phua and others, touched on the need for the Master Plan to guide the future upgrading of hawker centres. Sir, again, I fully agree with the Members because, as we upgrade the hawker centres, it is very important that we upgrade the centres at the right place. There is no point in upgrading a centre if there is no market demand for that location. Likewise, there is no point in upgrading a hawker centre simply because the piece of land is not affected by redevelopment, but rather we should ask ourselves whether we should start building new hawker centres again. If so, where, when and why. What NEA is doing is to relook into this whole concept of long-term development of the hawker centres and we intend to answer all these questions. Another important question we intend to answer, as part of this overall planning, is the whole concept of whether the management of all hawker centres and cooked food centres should come under one agency. At this moment, one-third of the hawker centres and cooked food centres is under the NEA, two-thirds under the HDB.”
“We are doing our very best in working with architects to design the most suitable form of hawker centres, not just in terms of look and feel but, more importantly, the user-friendliness, usefulness, maintainability, and so on. Therefore, I welcome these feedback and comments from Members, and I assure this House that NEA, as the agency spearheading the Hawker Centres Upgrading programme, will continue to take inputs from the grassroots advisers, the stallholders and members of the public and will make sure that every new centre that is being upgraded, hopefully, will be better than the previous one. Sir, Dr Teo Ho Pin made a very important point that, as we upgrade these hawker centres, we must make sure that the rental remains affordable to the stallholders. He is exactly right. In fact, on the part of the NEA and ENV, we are very conscious of that. So, that is the reason why we focus a lot of functionality in our upgrading, rather than spending on things which are not necessary. In fact, at this moment, we have about 17,000 stallholders at the various hawker centres and markets, with 60% of them enjoying subsidised rental. So, even after the upgrading, all 60% of them will continue to enjoy subsidised rental. The remaining 40% are on market rental. By now, Members are already aware that we have introduced a 20% rebate of rental to every stallholder. For those whose rental is above the market assessed value, they can have a further 20% rebate, which means up to 40% of rental rebate. Mr Othman Haron Eusofe asked whether we can set aside some of these stalls for hardship cases. Sir, if you look at our hawker stalls today, as far as the cooked food stalls are concerned, for most hawker centres, they are fully taken up.”
“In the last 10 years, 25 hawker centres were closed down because they were affected by redevelopment. In fact, some of us may wonder whether hawker centres will die a natural death at the way things are going. I want to assure the House that the answer is no. There is no intention at all, on the part of the Government, to allow the hawker centres to die a natural death. In fact, that is the reason why the Government has decided to set aside $420 million, a lot of money and resources, to upgrade the various hawker centres. Dr Amy Khor and other Members asked about the progress under the Hawker Centres Upgrading programme. Sir, so far, 16 centres with 1,580 stalls have been upgraded at the total cost of more than $40 million. Another 30 more are in progress. In fact, under the Phase I programme, altogether 29 centres would have been upgraded at a total cost of $120 million. In addition to that, another 15 centres had been identified under Phase II. So, this will bring the total number of centres to be upgraded by the year 2005 to 44 centres at a total cost of $190 million. This year, we are going to identify more centres to be upgraded under Phase III, so that over the next three years we would have upgraded more than 60 hawker centres. Some Members have various suggestions and comments on the quality of the upgrading, whether there are enough seats, whether too many seats are in the open area, and whether the design of the new hawker centres would really serve the needs and purpose of the stallholders and the members of public. Sir, I take all these feedback and suggestions in a positive light because at NEA and ENV we are doing whatever we can.”
“In other words, as we pursue the targets set up in Singapore Green Plan 2012, we have to recognise that we can no longer adopt the past mindset of doing more with more, but, rather try to do more with less. How can we do more with less? Sir, that reminded me of a story. Four persons came together for a meeting. These four persons are Nobody, Somebody, Anybody and Everybody. There is a job to be done. Everybody expected Somebody to do the job. Anybody could have got it done but, at the end of the day, Nobody did it. Sir, at the end, we have a situation where Everybody is upset that Nobody did what should be done by Somebody and that could be done by Anybody. Sir, in the case of the Singapore Green Plan 2012, in order to do more with less, we have to make sure that everybody does not expect somebody else to get the Singapore Green Plan 2012 done. In fact, I hope that everybody would do his part. And that is the reason why we emphasise a lot on, not just 3P partnership but, rather, 3P ownership, because ownership is commitment. And, hopefully, with that commitment, it will turn into action and into alignment of efforts. Sir, later on my colleague, Dr Balaji will address the issue of 3P partnership. Let me address the various cuts by the Members regarding hawker centres and toilet upgrading. I would like to relate these two programmes to the concept of 3P ownership. Dr Teo Ho Pin, Dr Amy Khor, and others have spoken of the benefits and relevance of hawker centres in the context of Singapore. Sir, I fully agree. Mr Ang Mong Seng made the observation that we have stopped building hawker centres. He is exactly right. In fact, we have stopped building hawker centres since 1985, about 17 years ago.”
“Under this coordinating committee, there will be six action programme committees, covering various areas such as waste management, clean air, public health, pink water, conserving nature, and international collaboration. All these are key areas towards sustainability. At the same time, to make sure that the Singapore Green Plan 2012 is not a public sector driven plan, we intend to make sure that the implementation will be driven by the 3P partners. So, with that in mind, some 100 members would be appointed to the various action programme committees, and more than 60% of these members will come from the private sector. To make sure that the Singapore Green Plan 2012 will be a living document and programme that will stay relevant to the changing environment, the coordinating committee and the action programme committees would take stock of its progress once every year. It will review the directions to make sure that they remain relevant once every three years. Sir, Dr Teo Ho Pin asked what we really want to achieve out of the Singapore Green Plan 2012. Sir, obviously, the first outcome we aim to achieve out of the Singapore Green Plan 2012 is to enhance the environmental sustainability of Singapore. That is our primary target. But, we have to recognise there must be a change in our mindset in the way that we go about achieving sustainability today versus the past. Because, today, if you look at our population, our people are better educated and they are more aware of the environment, with higher expectations and higher demands on the environment. But, yet at the same time, as a result of the slower growth that we are going through, on the part of the Ministry and the statutory boards, we are going to be faced with a situation of having tighter budgets.”
“Sir, the previous Member touched on the issue of SGP 2012. Dr Teo Ho Pin asked what is the overall progress and whether we have any plans to expand the scope of SGP 2012 beyond environmental sustainability. Dr Amy Khor asked what is the relevance of this SGP 2012 in the context of Singapore. She also asked whether we have come out with our own Environmental Sustainability Index. 1.00 pm Sir, the Singapore Green Plan 2012 stands up on two counts. Firstly, we are shifting our focus beyond performance towards sustainability, and secondly, we have set quantifiable targets in SGP 2012. In fact, there are not many countries that I know of that have set such clear targets towards sustainability. For example, in the case of landfill, solid waste management, we set a target of 60% recycling. We set a target of extending the landfill site life-span to 50 years. In the case of supply of non-conventional water, we set a target of 25% by the year 2012. So, clearly, these are performance measures which are quantifiable and which will contribute towards sustainability. Sir, I want to reassure Members of the House that when we talk about sustainability, it is not a slogan for ENV, NEA or PUB. It is for real and, in fact, we have committed ourselves to achieving all these. However, Sir, I want to emphasise that just setting targets is only half a step there. What is important is for us to transmit this commitment on paper into real action on the ground. In that regard, I am happy to say that we are now going one step further by operationalising the SGP 2012. We have decided to form a SGP 2012 Coordinating Committee. This committee is chaired by the CEO of NEA.”
“Can I just make it very clear that any additional cost in raw water would add to the cost of treated water because raw water is an input for the production of treated water. What we said earlier was that, if not for NEWater, we would have to pay another 30 cents per cubic metre and another 62 cents per cubic metre for raw water. All these would translate directly into the cost of treated water. So the comparison that I mentioned earlier was a direct comparison. Secondly, Mr Low Thia Khiang said that, in the case of NEWater, because we do not charge for the input water, the secondary effluence, we are able to keep the cost of NEWater low. Sir, I am not too sure what Mr Low Thia Khiang is suggesting. Is Mr Low Thia Khiang suggesting that we should cost the secondary effluence, add them to the cost of NEWater, jack up the cost of NEWater so that we could increase the price of PUB water?”
“Sir, Mr Low Thia Khiang asked about Mr NEWater and Miss Raw Water. [Interruptions.]”
“If we are able to extend the life-span of Phase 1 of Pulau Semakau to 50 years, then, together with Phase 2 of Pulau Semakau, we would have a landfill site available for Singapore's use for the next 100 years. And if we succeed in moving towards zero landfill, in fact, the day may come when Pulau Semakau (Phase 2) will become unnecessary.”
“What we have to do is to, firstly, continue to reduce the amount of waste going to incineration plants; secondly, continue to reduce the amount of incineration bottom ash going to landfills; and, lastly, divert away those wastes which are going directly into the landfill site. Mdm Cynthia Phua asked whether the system today is cost effective and sustainable. Dr Amy Khor suggested why do we not have separate chutes for the HDB blocks so that we do not have to do door-to-door collections and so on. I agree fully with the view expressed by Mdm Cynthia Phua and Dr Amy Khor. The door-to-door collection does provide a convenient service for members of the public, but the cost of collection is high, because it is labour intensive. So, in the NEA, in fact, we are now in a discussion with the HDB to explore the possibility of having a separate chute for recyclable wastes along the corridors of some of the HDB flats. When will this be done? Once we have sorted out the details, I am sure HDB and NEA will provide more details when they are ready to do so. 12.00 noon Sir, let me, in conclusion, come back to the most important question, which is asked by Mr Iswaran, ie, at the rate we are going, whether we are going to have one or two more landfill sites, and where are these landfill sites. Will Singapore run out of landfill sites by 2030? Let me assure him that this will not be the case. Firstly, as I mentioned, we have now extended the life-span of Pulau Semakau, through recycling and waste minimisation, to 35 years. And we intend to continue our efforts so that its life-span can be extended to 50 years. Secondly, Pulau Semakau still has got room for further expansion. In fact, Phase 2 of Pulau Semakau is as big as Phase 1 of Pulau Semakau.”
“As we continue in our programmes, one of our future thrusts would be the condominiums as well. So far, we talk about HDB estates and private estates. Right now, in Singapore, there are about 1,500 condominiums. I am happy to say that from April last year, only one in 25 of these condominiums took part in recycling. But at the end of last year, it has gone up to one in seven, and our target for this year is to go up to one in four. At the same time, we are also increasing the setting up of recycling at public places. Dr Amy Khor suggested that we should have one recycling bin to two trash bags at public places. I am not sure whether that is doable. But I am happy to share with Dr Amy Khor that the number of recycling bins at public places has been on the increase. In fact, in the year 2001, we had 1,700 of them. Last year, it went up to 3,800. And our target this year is to go up to 4,500, ie, a three-fold increase over a period of two years. If need be, and if it is viable, we will try to move towards the target as proposed by Dr Amy Khor. Sir, my conclusion here is that because of these various recycling programmes, we have extended the lifespan of Pulau Semakau from 25 years to more than 30 years now. In fact, our assessment at this moment is that Pulau Semakau can now last for 35 years because of the reduction in waste and the increase in recycling. But we are not going to stop here. Even 35 years in our view is not good enough. Our target is to increase the national recycling rate to 60%, so that Pulau Semakau, in its current form, can be stretched to 50 years rather than 35 years.”
“I believe that by working together, Singapore will have enough water at affordable prices for a long time to come, and we have to work together to make sure that Singapore will forever be on the right side of the global water divide. Sir, let me move on quickly to the area of solid waste management. Mr Iswaran asked whether the landfill site at Pulau Semakau at this moment can last for 25 years. He also asked what will happen post-2030. Mr Iswaran's concern is a valid one. Because, in the past, our plan was to build a new incineration plant every 5-7 years and find a new landfill site the size of Pulau Semakau, which is as large as Sentosa island, every 25 years. Then we came to the conclusion that it is not sustainable. And that is the reason why, as mentioned by Mdm Cynthia Phua, we are now moving towards zero landfill. Dr Teo Ho Pin asked what were the achievements so far. Dr Amy Khor also asked whether the target we set in the national recycling programmes is realistic. I am happy to say that at the national level, in fact, the levels of recycling is on the rise from 40% about five years ago to 45% last year, and we are now on track to achieve 60% by 2012. One of the key objectives under the recycling programme is to promote recycling in the HDB estates and in the private estates. So far, we have been able to achieve the target of one in three households taking part in recycling at the end of last year. Our target, as mentioned by Dr Amy Khor, for this year, is to increase the participation rate to one out of every two. What this means is that we have to move from the coverage of service to the quality of service, ie, making sure that the recycling system will become more effective, more convenient, to members of the public.”
“Sir, the target of PUB is to keep the water consumption per capita at 165 litres per person per day, meaning that as we continue our economic growth and social upgrading, we hope that water consumption will not increase on a per capita basis. Mr Zainul asked whether the methods that we are using today - thimbles and so on - have been effective. I am happy to say that the PUB launched the water efficient homes in February, just last month, at the Paya Lebar constituency. About 3,000 households in 31 blocks were given bags and thimbles. Later on, after a survey, we found that about one-third of them actually installed those water saving devices that were given to them. I think this is a very good sign. PUB's plan is that over the next 15 months, it will be working with 23 constituencies to reach out to 100,000 homes in 1,000 blocks, and these are mainly the older HDB blocks. Our objective is to help the households, through these water saving devices, to reduce their water consumption by about 5-8% per month. We think this is doable, and we hope that water conservation, over time, will become a way of life. Mr Othman asked whether ENV will consider a separate supply system for households for non-potable use. The answer is no, because we find that it is not cost effective to do so. And as I have mentioned earlier, most of the NEWater is channelled to the industries and to the commercial buildings for non-potable use. There is therefore no need and it is not cost effective to set up a separate system for the households. Sir, on water, let me conclude by saying that on the supply side, we have succeeded in closing the water loop. On the demand side, our challenge now is to reduce wastage and to encourage more conservation.”
“We can try to use less water, because if every one of us here can use less water, then we need to add less water in the future, and thereby reduce the overall cost of water supply. In this regard, let me respond to the question from Mr Zainul Abidin. He wanted to know who are the worst water wasters in Singapore today. I am happy to inform Mr Zainul that on a per capita basis, Singaporeans today consume about 165 litres of water every day, and it has stabilised over the last five years. In fact, at 165 litres per day, the water consumption in Singapore on a per capita basis is one of the lowest among the cities of comparable density. In fact, if we look at household consumption, among the households that consume more than 40 cubic metres per month, the percentage has come down from 10% 10 years ago to about 6% today. What is even more encouraging is that among the households that consume less than 20 cubic metres per month, it has increased from 56% 10 years ago to 65%. In other words, two out of every three households in Singapore today consume less than 20 cubic metres of water every month. I think this is a very good sign. Likewise, in the industries. In fact, many of our companies promote recycling. Take, for example, wafer fab plants. The recycling rate has now exceeded 50%. And for all commercial premises, PUB does require the mandatory installation of water saving devices. On the whole, I think we are conserving, and I do not think there is any major waster, so to speak, in Singapore. Mr Othman asked what is our target in water conservation.”
“We have to reach out for the fruits that are higher up. To reach out for those fruits higher up, we need more effort. We have got to take out the ladder. The same thing applies to water supply. For the local catchment water that we talk about - Marina Barrage and the Lower Seletar Water Scheme - in fact, the filtration method that will be deployed for this new scheme will no longer be the traditional approach, but membrane will be used, because we want to assure the quality. Members are aware of the cost of desalinated water, which is more expensive than what we have today. Even water from Malaysia. Some Members have suggested why not we go back to Malaysia and talk about more water from Malaysia. Again, please do not forget the last offer from Malaysia for treated water. It worked out to RM10.5 per 1,000 gallons, which is $1.05 per cubic metre. At $1.05, the treated water from Malaysia in the future, as demanded by them, will be as expensive, if not more than desalinated water. Let me say that while I share the concerns of the Members that we have to keep the cost of water affordable to Singaporeans, I suggest to Members of the House that, let us not mislead the members of the public. If we give Singaporeans the impression that it is possible for us to lower the cost of water in the future, then I think we are being irresponsible. Because if we look at all possible avenues in the future, there is no way any country, Singapore included, can find a lower cost of water supply in the future. Does it then mean that we have to keep on paying more and more for water? The answer is no. Sir, the answer is no because the real key to our solution in keeping water prices low is water conservation.”
“Low Seow Chay is, yes, we can assure the public that there will be no increase in the water tariff for the next 10 years if Prof. Low Seow Chay can promise us that, over the next 10 years, firstly, there will be no increase in water demand; secondly, there will be no inflation; and, thirdly, post-2011, the water demand in Singapore will remain at where it is today. And without asking Prof. Low Seow Chay, I know that his answers to my three questions will be, no, no and no. Because water demand in Singapore continues to go up. It has to be. The population continues to grow; economic activities continue to expand, so water demand will continue to go up. As long as water demand in Singapore continues to increase, the PUB and the Government will have to undertake the challenge to continue to source for additional supply, whether through adding new supply or multiplying existing supply. And it does not matter where the additional sources of supply are coming from. It does not matter where they come from. One thing for sure is that all future sources of supply will be more expensive than the existing source of supply. It is very easy to understand. Just imagine that we have a tree. This tree bears fruits every day, except that the fruit is in the form of water, because this is a water tree. And what has happened over the last 30-40 years, we have been using all the low-lying fruits every day. Every morning, we go to this tree. We just reach out to the tree, pluck the fruits and we drink the water in the fruits. We have been doing this every day, and we will continue to do it for the next 30-50 years. But the problem is that all the low-lying fruits have been plucked every day, and it is not enough to meet our increased demand in the future. So what do we have to do?”
“" He said, "You tell Mr Low, if not for NEWater, Singapore may have no choice but to find ways to extend the 1961 Water Agreement because, without NEWater, we will not be able to find other cost-effective solutions to reduce our dependency on Malaysia. If we were to agree to the demands by the Malaysians - remember they asked to increase the price of raw water to RM3 per 1,000 gallons - please tell Mr Low that RM3 per 1,000 gallons would translate to 30 cents per cubic metre. In other words, if not for NEWater, if we are forced to agree to the demands by the Malaysian Government and sign that new water agreement starting from 2011, and start paying RM3 per 1,000 gallons starting from today, the date of the agreement, the cost of water in Singapore will go up by 30 cents per cubic metre." And Mr NEWater said, "That is not all, because the Malaysians did not stop at RM3 per 1,000 gallons. Do not forget that their demand went up to RM6.25 per 1,000 gallons, and this is translated to 62 1/2 cents per cubic metre. Please explain this very clearly to Mr Low Thia Khiang and Prof. Low Seow Chay that because of me, NEWater, you are now able to avoid the need to pay another 62 1/2 cents per cubic metre, just for raw water coming from Malaysia." 11.45 am Sir, I think Mr NEWater has a very good point, because the point is that the introduction of NEWater has now reduced the need for the PUB and the Government to increase the price of water. As a result, we are now able to stretch for as long as we can and keep the price of water at the current level. Prof. Low Seow Chay asked whether the PUB can assure the public to keep the present tariff up to the year 2011, meaning no change in the water tariff up to 2011. My response to Prof.”
“Mr Low Thia Khiang asked whether it is possible for the PUB to lower the water tariff so that the benefits of these new sources can be shared with the public. Prof. Low Seow Chay asked whether PUB can fix the price of water at what it is today, until the expiration of the 1961 Water Agreement in 2011. Sir, let me explain very clearly the situation. Members of the House are fully aware that NEWater today has a new home, the NEWater Visitor Centre. There are about 2,000 visitors every week visiting the NEWater Visitor Centre trying to learn more about NEWater. The other day when I talked to Mr NEWater, he was not in a very good mood. In fact, he was a bit down. I asked him why. I said, "Look, you should be in a very happy mood now that you have so many visitors trying to learn more about you at your new home." He said, "Yes, I am very happy, but from time to time I feel that I have been misunderstood." I said, "In what way are you misunderstood?" He said, "I think about 90% of Singaporeans are very happy with me. They accepted the fact that I am clean, I am pure and I am safe to drink. I have no problem with that. But from time to time, I have problems with Members of Parliament like Mr Low Thia Khiang and Prof. Low Seow Chay, who complained, that because of me, the price of PUB water will go up. That gets me very upset." I said, "That is a very good point. I am going to Parliament today, what would you want me to convey to them on your behalf?" He said, "Mr Lim, please tell them that if not for NEWater, Singaporeans will have to pay even more for the water that they are drinking today." I said, "Why? How do I convey that to Mr Low, for example?”
“At this moment, every day we supply about 2 million gallons to the reservoirs and, at the same time, we supply NEWater to the wafer fab park, as well as to some commercial buildings for the cooling of the air-conditioned towers. In fact, for every drop of water today that we channel to the reservoirs, there are another 3.5 drops being supplied to the industry and commercial buildings for non-potable use. So, we are actually making good use of the NEWater. Mr Zainul asked whether we have any plans to make more use of NEWater. Sir, the intention is that by the time when the Ulu Pandan plant is ready, we would have four NEWater plants at four different parts of Singapore. Each of these plants will have a separate reticulation system, bringing the NEWater to the industrial estates and commercial heart within that area, so that, over time, as much of the non-potable use of water as possible would be met through NEWater. In this way we will be able to free up more PUB water for domestic use. Sir, by the year 2005, as I mentioned, we will have four national taps - desalination, NEWater, local catchment and water from Malaysia. Mr Zainul asked whether we are working on other sources of supply. Obviously, PUB would not stop at these four sources. We will continue to monitor advances in technology and, at the right time, we will set up new demonstration plants like what we did years ago with NEWater and, at the right time, going into the fifth tap. At this moment, I am not able to give any indication on when will it happen because, at the end of the day, we want to make sure that the technology is able to produce the quality of water that we need and, more importantly, at a price that is cost competitive. Sir, various Members asked about the affordability of supply.”
“In the case of Singapore, if you had watched BBC World yesterday, it was reported that Singapore is the poorest country in the Asia-Pacific in terms of water availability per capita, meaning that the availability of water per capita, in terms of national resources, we are the worst in the Asia-Pacific. And, if you look at the global picture, how can we solve this problem? If we were to keep on looking for solutions to increase water supply world-wide by 20-30%, I do not think we are going to go too far. What this world needs is an approach to the solution that is able to increase water supply by 200-300%, if we want to be able to overcome this water challenge on a world-wide basis. So, how can that be done? How can we create a quantum leap in the water capacity? The answer is very simple. Firstly, we must all look for new ways to add to new sources of supply and, at the same time, find ways to multiply every drop so that every drop becomes two drops or even more. In fact, this is exactly what we are doing in Singapore. Over the years we have added new sources of supply to our supply system. So the PUB has awarded a desalination tender. By 2005, the plant would be producing desalinated water. PUB is expanding our local catchment areas to add to the supply locally. At the same time, last year, we have succeeded in putting in place a system to multiply the water sources in Singapore through the construction and installation of NEWater plants. Right now, two NEWater plants are in operation at Bedok and Kranji. The third plant is under construction in Seletar and the fourth plant will be built at Ulu Pandan. So together they will produce 55 million gallons of NEWater per day.”
“In Thailand, there were 171 cases of death. In fact, the NEA anticipated this resurgence last year and in 2001 - they did not wait till 2002 to take action - before the resurgence took place, they stepped up preventive measures. NEA worked with the pest control companies to intensify ground surveillance. NEA officers visited more than 48,000 landed properties to advise the homeowners to take measures to prevent mosquito breeding. At the same time, they conducted systematic checks on the school compounds. We even conducted roving exhibitions for the various construction sites. So, because of this combination of efforts by the private sector, the people sector and NEA, even though we could not escape the world-wide increase in dengue, at least, we did well in minimising the impact and we were able to keep the situation under control. So, on the whole, I would say that we have done well in terms of the environmental performance. We see a blue sky, green land, fresh air, clear water and pink health. I guess the next set of questions asked by the Members of Parliament, is how long can the current state of environment continue. In short, is our environment today more sustainable than before? Sir, here I am happy to say that our assessment is, yes. Indeed, the environment in Singapore has become more sustainable. Take, for example, the area of water supply, as mentioned by Mr Zainul. The global community is today attending the World Water Forum in Japan. The concern of the global community is that by the year 2025, which is not far from now, at least two-thirds of the world's population will be faced with water shortage. So sustainability of water supply is now a global concern.”
“Over the last ten years, we have been able to reduce the flood-prone areas by 50% to 172 hectares today. And, over the next five years, we intend to further reduce the areas by one third to 110 hectares. In fact, Members will notice that, in the last three years, there was not a single case of a major flood in Singapore. There was no flood that was more than 0.5 metre deep with a duration of more than one hour and with a flooded area of one hectare, which is about 1.5 times the size of a football field. Even minor floods, which are less than 0.3 metre and short duration, have also come down from 10 in 2000 to 7 last year. Sir, I have talked about the colour of the sky, the air, land, and so on. My officers then reminded me that there is one colour I have not asked. I said, "What is that?" They said, "You should ask us about the colour of our public health." I said, "Very good. So what is the colour of our public health?" They said, "The colour is pink." I asked them, "How can you tell me that the colour of our public health is pink when I know for sure that the number of dengue cases last year has gone up?" They told me that the number of dengue cases has gone up from 2,370 the year before to almost 4,000 last year, an increase of 66%, and I said, "Look, with a 66% increase in dengue cases, I refuse to accept that the colour of our public health is pink." They asked me to listen to their explanation. Having listened to their explanation, I agreed with them that they were right. Sir, what happened was this. Last year, there was a world-wide resurgence of dengue. In fact, if you look at several countries in our region, for example, in Thailand, the number of dengue cases went up by 650%. In Cambodia, it went up by 250%. In Laos, 131%. In Malaysia, there were 54 deaths.”
“They train their workers so that they can make use of this machinery in a most effective and productive manner. For example, one of the two companies, Onix, actually makes use of GPS to track the movement of their road-sweepers. At any point in time, the supervisor sitting in the control room will be able to look at the map and indicate the exact location of these mechanical sweepers. He is even able to tell whether the sweepers were just cruising or actually sweeping because all the information is being transmitted. This is very important because it enables them to make sure that areas that are supposed to be cleaned at a certain time of the day are actually being done. On the part of NEA, our officers likewise make use of IT. In fact, we have this Mobile Investigation Team (MIT) and they are all equipped with PDAs. Using the PDAs, they are now able to download any comments or feedback from the public channelled from our call centre. In fact, right at this moment, every day, we are able to respond to at least two out of three calls within the same day. Sir, as a result, the number of complaints regarding the cleanliness of Singapore has dropped by about 30%. Sir, my message here is that, on the part of NEA and ENV, we will continue to work very closely with the private sector to make sure that Singapore will remain clean and green. Sir, what about water? Water, obviously is clean and clear from the tap that you have and in the reservoirs. But, more importantly, I also want to highlight that even the amount of "brown" water that we have in Singapore has declined. I am referring to floods. In 1992, about 10 years ago, we had about 335 hectares of flood-prone areas in Singapore.”
“So if you were to pay attention to our TV 5 News, for example, you will notice that the weather forecast today - and it has been going on for the last few weeks at least - is a graphical representation showing the weather forecast in the morning, afternoon and evening. So the forecast is now more specific. If you look at today's Lianhe Zaobao, again the weather forecast is represented in nice graphics, indicating the weather forecast for the different times of the day. If you listen to our radio, you will also notice that nowadays they will give you the weather forecast at about 16-17 times a day, and updated based on the latest 3-hour forecast. We hope that by working closely with the media, we will be able to provide better and more useful weather forecasts for members of the public. Sir, let me move on to the area of land. I asked my colleagues what is the colour of our land and they told me, "Minister, yes, it is still green and clean." In fact, in year 2001, the STB conducted a survey among the visitors to Singapore and 99% of them actually rated Singapore as a clean city. PERC did a survey last year for the expatriates. Again, they highlighted that the cleanliness of Singapore is one of the top three most attractive features of Singapore. Sir, the reason why we are able to continue to maintain a high standard of cleanliness in Singapore for public places is because ENV and NEA will never stop looking for new and better ways of keeping Singapore clean. Four years ago, we opened up public cleansing for competition by the private sector. Today, we have two companies cleaning the highways and roads, and they make use of very advanced equipment and machinery.”
“In 1997, we started with five regions and, in the year 2000, it had gone up to 19 regions and, at this moment, they are working on 32 regions. What this means is that you can now actually ask for the weather forecast for a specific region because the whole of Singapore is now divided into 32 regions. Depending whether you are in Jurong or Tuas or wherever, you can ask for the weather forecast which is specific to that particular location. 11.30 am What is even more useful is that, instead of giving a 24-hour forecast, which is quite general and not specific enough, we are increasingly moving towards a three-hour forecast, what we call "now-cast". So far, based on the reaction from the public, it is clear that most of the public find this "now-cast" concept quite useful. For example, businesses are coming to us to ask for weather forecasts for specific areas of business operations. For recreation, there are times you may organise outdoor functions at West Coast Park, East Coast Park, and so on. In fact, we are getting more inquiries regarding the weather forecast for that particular location for the next three hours. Schools, for example, are coming to us to ask for lightning watch, and so on. In fact, last year, about 330,000 hits were recorded on our Internet homepage and 2.1 million Singaporeans actually accessed our hotline. What we are doing now is to work closely with the media to ensure that this improvement in the quality of forecast will lead to improvement in the quality of broadcast. There is no point having all these good forecasts if the information is not being broadcast to the public.”
“And at times, if you were to add too much of the lubrication oil, the motorcycle will end up emitting white smoke. But I was told that the newer two-stroke motorcycles now come with this automatic pump and this pump will ensure that a correct dose of lubrication oil is being added. I want to inform Prof. Low that there is no plan at all for us to phase out the two-stroke motorcycles because we are not aware of any country in this world that has done so. As far as ENV is concerned, as long as any vehicle, whether it is two-stroke or four-stroke, satisfies our emission standards, it should be allowed on the road. Sir, let me move on to the area of weather forecast. None of the Members here asked me about the quality of our weather forecast. But I thought since we are talking about clean and fresh air, it is useful also to say a few words about the work put in by my colleagues in the area of weather forecasting. Sir, I remember sometime ago, we, including myself, often make fun of our weather forecast. Why? Because, without listening to the weather forecast, you and I know that the weather forecast will be "scattered showers at isolated places". Obviously, many of us did not find it very useful. But let us be very fair to our Weather Department because it is very difficult to forecast weather in a tropical island where the weather season is shorter and, therefore, it is very difficult for us to be accurate. But what the weather forecasting officials have done is that, since 1997, they have been fully aware that members of the public do expect a more useful form of weather forecasting. So, in 1997, we divided Singapore into various regions.”
“If not for the regional haze, almost every day, we do enjoy good air quality in Singapore. Sir, I want to emphasise that this clear air and blue sky in Singapore did not happen by chance. Over the years, we have worked very closely with the industries to control emission from the industries. In fact, we are working very closely with the industries to promote the use of cleaner fuel as well. Take, for example, the generation of electricity. In the year 2000, about 19% of the electricity in Singapore was generated using natural gas. It has gone up to 47% last year, which means almost half of the electricity we use today is generated using natural gas, which is a source of cleaner energy. At the same time, we have also stepped up enforcement in monitoring, in terms of vehicle emissions. In fact, over the years, we have progressively tightened up on the emission standards and, together with enforcement standards, I am happy to inform the House that the percentage of smoky vehicles in Singapore has declined from 5.8% 10 years ago to 0.8% last year. So this combination of factors, emission control in the industries and vehicular emission, has led to a better quality of air in Singapore. Prof. Low Seow Chay asked whether two-stroke motorcycles are a problem and whether we can phase out two-stroke motorcycles completely. Sir, firstly, I want to clarify that the registration of two-stroke motorcycles has not stopped. Even today, anybody can still register a two-stroke motorcycle as long as the vehicle satisfies our emission standards. I agree with Prof. Low that the two-stroke motorcycles at times can be a problem because the design of the vehicle is such that the owner needs to mix the lubrication oil together with the petrol in the engine.”
“Sir, I was in China late last year. China right now is going through a very fast pace of change - urbanisation and industrialisation. Some of the officials that I met told me that one of the key concerns they face in China today is that, as they go through the fast pace of development, how do they ensure that the environment is protected so that, in time to come, the environment will continue to be liveable. I asked them, "How do you know? What kind of performance indicators would you use so that you know whether the environment is being protected?" They replied to me in Chinese. They said, "This is our target. Tian kong shi lan de. Yuan di shi lu de. Liu shui shi qing de. Kong qi shi tian de." Loosely translated, what he meant was the sky hopefully will remain blue, the land remains green, the water pure and clear, and the air will remain fresh. Sir, earlier, various MPs, Dr Teo Ho Pin and others, asked for an update of the environmental performance. So I asked my officials at NEA the same questions. I asked my officials, "Tell me, what is the colour of our sky?" And my colleagues in NEA told me, "Minister, we are okay. The sky is still blue and the air is fresh." I said, "On what basis did you come to that conclusion?" He said if we were to look at the pollutant standards index (PSI), in fact, since 1993, on the average, about 70% of the days in Singapore, the PSI is less than 50, which is in the good range. But in the last two years, it has gone up to more than 80%. In other words, the number of days in Singapore with PSI within the good range has gone up and that includes those days where we were affected by the regional haze. If we were to exclude the period of the regional haze, in fact, last year, 98% of the days in Singapore were within the PSI.”
“But just because they are pursuing new areas of research, it does not mean that we should now stop our life today, as we still need to survive. Sir, let me assure this House again that the Government would not have proceeded with the introduction of NEWater if we were not fully confident that the safe consumption of NEWater was beyond any doubt. Let me once again encourage everyone to go ahead and drink our PUB tap water. We have said so before, and we say so again, that PUB's tap water is one of the best in the world today, and it is our intention to continue to maintain this standard. With the introduction of NEWater, the cleanness of PUB water has not only been maintained but has, to some extent, been enhanced. CAR FINANCING (Liberalisation) 6. Miss Penny Low asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what is the rationale for the recent liberalisation of car financing; and (b) whether, with the rise in bankruptcies and unemployment, the timing of the announcement is apt. 7. Dr Wang Kai Yuen asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what is the rationale for relaxing the parameters of vehicle loans for the purchase of automobiles; (b) whether this is a fundamental shift in the guiding principles of consumer loans; and (c) whether the same considerations will be applied to other consumer loans, such as housing loans. The Second Minister for Finance (Mr Lim Hng Kiang) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos. 6 and 7 together?”
“Sir, Mr Chia's first question on evaporation, I am not able to answer it. It is a natural process. Water evaporates when the sun comes up! In any case, it goes up and comes down as rain. It is a closed loop. Mr Steve Chia asked why not wait till the test results are out. Sir, it is very unfortunate that this article has created this doubt in the minds of the public, including Mr Chia. As I said, I was not at the interview. So, I leave it to the two experts to clarify with the reporter whether they did say that the long-term health effect has not been established. But, as I mentioned to you earlier, the international experts, in their report to the PUB, had in fact clearly concluded that NEWater is safe for potable use. This question of long-term health effect of NEWater was never a concern because it has been clearly established. It is unfortunate that the article has now created this doubt. As I said, the experts should clarify the issue so that the public would not be confused. Mr Steve Chia asked, since we are so kiasu, why not wait till the test is concluded. Sir, today, there are many studies going on in the scientific community. Let us say, one study may be on the long term side effect of the sugar we take. Does it mean that the Government should now stop the sale of sugar in the marketplace? There are many studies on-going today saying that many things we eat, many things we drink, even the hamburgers that we eat in McDonald's, might have long-term implications. Does it mean that we should stop selling hamburgers, food and drinks? The answer is no, because, at the end of the day, the job of the research community is to continue to discover new knowledge that we do not know today.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think Dr Wang asked a very interesting question. Assuming that post-2061 there is no new water agreement with Malaysia; assuming that there is no new technology, which is not likely to be the case; assuming that there are no other new sources of water supply; in effect, our four national water taps would have been reduced to only three, ie, local catchment, NEWater and desalted water. Based on PUB assessment, even if we are to be solely dependent on these three sources of supply alone, we will still be able to meet all our water requirements in the long-term and, at the same time, do it in an affordable manner. Dr Wang asked what would be the projected mix for these three sources of water supply by then. Again, our assessment is that, firstly, we do not really have to use every drop of water again, again and again. In fact, all we have to do is to turn every drop of water into two drops of water. That would be enough for us to have a supply that is sufficient to meet our long-term requirements. Bearing in mind what I said earlier that more than 80% of the NEWater would be used directly for non-potable use in industrial and commercial buildings, for a glass of water coming out of the tap, we do not expect the contents of NEWater to be significantly higher than the 10% established in other countries. In the USA today, after 25 years, on the average, they are now achieving about 15-25% of water reclamation in terms of the contents of reclaimed water in the tap water. Based on our current projection, we do not have to come near to their practices. In other words, most of the water coming from the tap will still be water from the sky and the sea.”