Low Thia Khiang
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, my question is for the Minister for Health. The official communication channel to the people who subscribe to the WhatsApp group quoted the Prime Minister saying that "Experts think that the Wuhan virus may be less deadlier than SARS". So, can we have some verification whether this is true so far?”
“In Mandarin, Sir. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] So, Member Mr Gan Thiam Poh meant to say that although the Minister has the decision-making power under this Bill, you can still go to Court to challenge the decision.”
“Mr Speaker, clarification in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I have stated clearly that the Government already has a lot of power under existing legislation. They can even shut down websites.”
“(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] First and foremost, you must follow the Minister's decision to take down the message, you cannot go to Court. According to this Bill, you must comply with the Minister's order. Otherwise, you will be charged.”
“In Mandarin, Sir. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Our Secretary-General is in the Committee. He told us about the contents of the Committee's discussion, so we know what was discussed in the Committee.”
“(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] You assume that the Minister will not do this, but is your assumption correct? It may be correct now, but will it be correct in the future? Even the Minister cannot guarantee that, he said he cannot be sure that future governments will not abuse their power. Can you be sure?”
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“In other words, the GIC did not discover these breaches prior to the findings of the Auditor-General. BG Lee Hsien Loong: Mr Speaker, Sir, as I have explained, in one case, it was a technical interpretation whether to use the nominal value or the market value of the bond to calculate the exposure limit. In the other case, it was a matter of judgment whether an instrument which is guaranteed by the Government needs to be explicitly guaranteed or can be implicitly guaranteed. I presume the management must have felt that these were within limits. The Auditor-General disagreed. We have decided to follow the Auditor-General's interpretation.”
“Sir, prior to the findings of the Auditor-General, did the management of GIC know about all these breaches of credit limits and the buying of securities from unauthorised issuers? BG Lee Hsien Loong: I presume, Mr Speaker, Sir, that these were items which were discovered by the Auditor-General in the routine course of his audit.”
“Sir, what were the merits of the case? And what principles were involved in withdrawing the charge against the boy? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, as I said just now, the Police will look at all the circumstances of the case, particularly if the offender is a young person, like the case in question, and also the fact that he is a first offender. These were the circumstances. On top of that if restitution is made, as a factor, it is also considered in deciding whether or not to withdraw the charge. NETS POINT-OF-SALE TERMINALS (Installation of additional terminals at HDB Branch Offices) The following Question stood in the name of Mr Lau Ping Sum - 8. To ask the Minister for National Development whether additional NETS Point-of-Sale terminals will be installed at Housing and Development Board Branch Offices to facilitate cashless payments. Mr Teo Chong Tee (Changi): Question No. 8, Sir.”
“Sir, I refer to the case of a British schoolboy, John David Raven, whose charge was withdrawn by the Attorney-General. I would like to know what were the merits of the case and under what circumstances was the charge withdrawn. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, the case referred to by the Member is of a 18-year old British national who was charged for theft in July 1996. His counsel made representation where he expressed remorse for committing the offence and he also made full restitution to the victim. So the DPP, in accordance with normal guidelines, looked at it and handled it as a routine matter and withdrew the charge.”
“Sir, may I have confirmation from the Minister that the Government is considering to bring projects like halfway houses into the so-called approved projects, thereby they will be eligible for financial assistance from the Government, especially the operating costs and recurrent costs?”
“Sir, is the Minister's assessment on the current number of halfway houses sufficient to house families who are in need? Because it was reported that families were turned away by halfway houses owing to lack of space. Mr Abdullah Tarmugi: Sir, according to our statistics, the total occupancy for the six crisis centres that we now have - the seventh is in the pipeline - has not at any one time reached 100%. In other words, they have, at one time or other, some vacancies at their premises.”
“Sir, why is the Ministry of Community Development not providing such shelters? What are the reservations? Secondly, does the Ministry of Community Development provide support in terms of building and operating costs to these VWOs who operate such halfway houses?”
“What is the proportion and ratio for the different COE categories?”
“Sir, I would like to know how does the Ministry allocate the number of COEs for the different categories that will be available for bidding? Is it on an equal number basis?”
“What happens when a patient says that he does not want to apply for Medifund? Because, to qualify, he has to meet the criteria. If a patient does not qualify for Medifund and his intention is that he wants to stay in a C class ward, but he is being upgraded and asked to pay B2 rate, is this fair? Because it is not the patient's choice. Because of circumstances, he is upgraded and thereby asked to pay a higher rate. Is this fair?”
“Sir, for instance, at the time of admission, a patient was upgraded to B2 class and stayed for three days. On the fourth day, he requested to be downgraded to C class. Altogether, he stayed in hospital for five days. For the total hospital bill, will he be charged based on C class rate or B2 rate? Dr Aline Wong: For the first three days when he stayed in B2 class, he is charged at B2 rate. For the last two days, when he was in C class, he is charged at C class rate.”
“Sir, I do not quite agree. Because if you know the exact figure for a year, then you can track the trend, rather than per day or based on admission. Sir, the Senior Minister of State has mentioned just now about patients who are upgraded to B2 or higher class if C class beds are not available and, of course, they can apply for Medifund or waiver. My question is: if a patient at the time of admission requested to be admitted to a C class ward, and because there was no C class bed available and was put into a B2 class ward, will he be charged at C class rate?”
“Sir, my second question was whether the Ministry segregates the figures of patients who were upgraded at the time of admission due to unavailability of C class beds and the other situation where certain treatments were not available in C class.”
“Sir, my question was: what was the total number in 1994 and 1995? The question was very clear and I do not understand why the Senior Minister of State gave me an average, and I do not think I could see the full picture in terms of the number and whether there are sufficient C class wards. Anyway, I would also like to ask whether the Ministry of Health segregates the figures of C class ward patients who were admitted to B2 or higher due to (1) either there was no bed available at the time of admission; or (2) because certain treatments were not available in C class ward. Will the Senior Minister of State be able to highlight this?”
“Sir, my question was: what was the number in 1994 and 1995? I think the answer the Senior Minister of State gave was on the number of patients per day. But I would like to know what is the total number in 1994 and 1995.”
“Sir, it seems to me that just now the Prime Minister wishes to offer some suggestion on the date of the election in connection with the question I asked. I would appreciate it if he could proceed to tell us.”
“Would the Committee be asked to look into the possibility of increasing the number of constituencies?”
“Is the Prime Minister saying that the Committee would need a minimum of two months to complete its work?”
“How long does the Committee expect to complete its work -- three months or six months?”
“Sir, is the Prime Minister saying that if the Committee is appointed it will take such a long time to complete its work by next April?”
“Further clarification, Sir. The Deputy Prime Minister mentioned about the return of the discounts to the Government. How did he weigh between the possible perception of the deal and against the discounts which he had issued a cheque and returned to the Government? How did he weigh that? BG Lee Hsien Loong: I do not understand. How do I weigh the perception against the money? They are two different things. I have to judge what would be a reasonable thing to do in the circumstances. Firstly, preserving my position that this was a perfectly legitimate, open deal; secondly, to demonstrate and achieve a political objective, to show that we are not in this for small money; money was never part of the consideration. We took views - some said, yes; some said, no - we weighed them out, I decided. How do I decide? I did not have a pair of daching to weigh. You do it in your head.”
“Sir, the Deputy Prime Minister said that he did not know whether there was any discount when he bought the property. But did the Deputy Prime Minister, by virtue of the fact that he is a Deputy Prime Minister, think or expect at that point of time when he was offered the price, that he probably would have got some discount from the developer? As the Senior Minister said yesterday, because they know you are Lee Hsien Loong and you are the Deputy Prime Minister. Did that sort of thought arise? BG Lee Hsien Loong: I expected the developer to give me a proper price and I would decide whether I would accept the price. As I have explained, for Nassim Jade, I knew that there was 7% discount when he first offered me a unit. When he changed the unit, he quoted me a dollar price which I accepted. The discount was irrelevant. I worked it out later on. For Scotts 28, no discount was ever mentioned. There was no reason for me to ask. I expected him to look after his interest. I look after my own interest to get the deal at a fair price and without any hanky-panky.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I seek clarification from the Deputy Prime Minister?”
“Sir, the Member mentioned that the Workers' Party's statement has called to look into HPL, and he says that the issues are peripheral and not directly related. If they are not directly related, why is there a need for the Senior Minister to meet the management of HPL and ask them to hold a press conference before 10.00 am yesterday? Would he explain that?”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek clarification from the Member?”
“Would the Minister give an estimated schedule of when such works will commence and confirm whether the LTA will link the bus stops to the nearest building, as stated in the White Paper on "A World Class Land Transport System"? RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, the works I mentioned have commenced. For example, in areas like Outram Park and Bishan, they are under construction. Works in several other areas will go on until June 1997. Mr Speaker, Sir, the LTA does not provide linkways between HDB blocks and bus shelters. In general, this is done by Town Councils, and in cases where the linkways fall beyond the boundaries of the Town Councils, the Town Councils are able to apply for Community Improvement Project Committee (CIPC) grants from the Government. Mr Low Thia Khiang: Clarification, Sir. Is the Minister saying that what is stated in the White Paper, that LTA will construct linkways from the bus stop to the nearest building, does not refer to HDB blocks? What building does it refer to? RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, HDB blocks are under the management of the Town Council and Town Councils all over Singapore have already been constructing such linkways. In high traffic areas, which are high priority areas, LTA will begin to construct linkways between bus stops and buildings. ORDER OF BUSINESS 1.00 pm”
“Sir, the first supplementary question is: while it may enhance the security of the residents, will it also discourage visits by neighbours from the next block? And secondly, will it be socially desirable to fence up -- it now seems that not only private properties are fenced up but every HDB block is going to be fenced up - and will it encourage social interaction?”
“Is the Minister saying that this principle of financial independence applies only to sons and other relatives, and not the wife?”
“If a wife is independent financially from the husband, for example, and she buys a property, would the transaction require the shareholders' approval?”
“Sir, I recall the same statement issued by SES which cited a grant of waiver of shareholders' approval to HPL for the transaction by the Senior Minister in Nassim Jade and, subsequently, the same principle was applied to Scotts 28. The reason given was that SM was financially independent from the brother who is the non executive director. I would like to know from the Minister what is the Stock Exchange's definition for "financially independent". Are there any guidelines and what do they mean by "financially independent"? Also, I would like to ask whether the principle for granting the waiver, based on financial independence, is a prudent guideline.”
“Sir, so far, how many applicants have rejected the flats because they are not in the location of their choice? Mr Lim Hng Kiang: As I explained earlier, the take-up rate is about 58%. So 58% would choose the flats when they are offered to them. The remaining 42% will reject the flats. But we give them a second chance to choose again. Many of these flats are sourced from the open market. So there is no guarantee that we can match accurately the supply with the demand. We roughly know the locations where the applicants prefer and we try to source the flats in those locations. But again it depends on the availability of such flats in the open market. When they are offered the flat in the same location they may not choose it because of facing, floor height, and other reasons. But they have a second alternative. They can go out to the open market, buy the resale flat on their own in the location which they want, and the Government will help them with the $40,000 CPF housing grant or $50,000 CPF housing grant if they are staying close to their parents. STOCK EXCHANGE LISTING MANUAL (Guidelines relating to interested party transactions) The following Question stood in the name of Mr Stephen Lee Ching Yen:-- 3. To ask the Minister for Finance whether the Stock Exchange of Singapore will provide a set of guidelines to exclude certain transactions from Rule 10-10 of the Stock Exchange Listing Manual relating to interested party transactions.”
“Sir, what is the stock of such 3-room flats that HDB has for sale to the applicants? Would the Minister consider buying back these flats based on the demand of applicants rather than buying them in, say, Woodlands or Chua Chua Kang, when most applicants would prefer Hougang or Toa Payoh?”
“Clarification, Sir. Would the Minister consider allowing aged parents who are living with their children to let out the whole unit?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, while most of my concerns have been raised by Dr Tan, I have one request for the Minister to consider. Since there is a demand to house foreign workers, and we recognise that foreign workers have been contributing to the economy of Singapore, and the Ministry will allow JTC to buy HDB flats from the open market and rent them out, would the Minister also consider allowing the existing HDB dwellers, especially aged parents who are living with their children, who may not need to occupy the whole flat, to let out the whole flat to foreign workers as well?”
“It is better to be in the Budget book, because it has a wider circulation. If the Minister will supply me with the salaries of political appointments, I assure him that it will be published in the Hammer. 1.30 pm”
“I think it is necessary for the public to know and the figures should be restored in the Budget book. The public would know the exact figures.”
“Would the Minister agree to restore them in the Budget book?”
“The figures are not published in the Budget book. If they are published in the Budget book, there is no need for me to ask a question. Why should I ask a question to specifically request for the detailed figures if they are in the Budget book? Why omit them?”
“Sir, is the omission due to the pegging of Ministers' and senior civil servants' salaries to private sector benchmarks? It would not be nice for Singaporeans to know exactly how much Ministers and senior civil servants are drawing, and hence the omission.”
“Does the Minister of State not agree that if we were to give a rebate to encourage car dealers to bring in cars with such safety devices, Singaporean drivers will enjoy higher safety standards?”
“Does the Minister of State agree that many car dealers choose not to install these safety devices such as airbags and ABS because they will jack up the price of the car as they are subject to import duty?”
“Sir, why should the discretion lie with the Ministry when the identity cannot be disclosed publicly? Would it not be better for the court to decide and for the other party to show to the court that he is not involved at all and that his vehicle should not be forfeited?”
“Two supplementary questions. First, Sir, I know that the Australian government has allowed foreigners to invest freely in the property market but has imposed certain restrictions on sale of property. They could only sell to Australians, not foreigners. Will the Government consider some measure to that effect in the future, if there is a need? The second supplementary question is: would the Minister reveal the number and percentage of foreign ownership of private residential condominiums in districts 9, 10 and 11?”
“Sir, how about looking from the parameter of our CPF savings?”
“The Minister mentioned just now that one of the factors which has resulted in the increase in private residential property prices is that loans are readily available. Looking at the nation as a whole and that the financial sector is prepared and willing to give the loans, are we as a nation over-invested in property?”
“Sir, the Minister has not answered my query on air bags and ABS for private cars?”
“Is there a need, according to your assessment?”
“Sir, I am happy to note that both capital grant and cyclical maintenance grant for VWOs have been increased to 90%. I would like to know what is the percentage of Government's subvention to VWOs on operating expenditure now, and whether the Minister will consider increasing such grant to 90% and, if not, why not. Secondly, Sir, does the Minister see a need to request the educational institutions in Singapore to conduct diploma courses in social work for those `O' level holders who are interested to be social workers?”
“Would the Minister indicate the price range of the flow sensor which HDB is manufacturing? In my speech just now, I also asked whether the HDB would consider retrofitting those low-rise flats which have concrete roof tiles which were used during the construction stage. Because of the porousness of the concrete, there is a lot of leaking in the roof tiles. If you were to replace them with concrete roof tiles again, I think the problem will recur. To retrofit with some other zinc roof or metal roofing will cost the town council a substantial sum. Therefore, I would ask the Minister whether HDB will consider including this project under the specific works programme.”
“A clarification, Sir. Would the HDB consider installing the new device or sell the device to the town councils at a discount?”