Mah Bow Tan
Singapore
“The previous generation of Singaporeans overcame huge odds together to create this improbable nation which we call home. Let this generation work as one to define our country for the next lap of our journey. Sir, on this note, I fully support the amended Motion. Page: 143”
“Like all upgrading programmes, there is a certain budget, and a certain pace at which we will build. We have completed the LUP and now we are going on towards the HIP. The Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) is ongoing.”
“For those who cannot afford home ownership, we will provide rental flats. For the rest where there is hardship involved, that is where the safety net comes in. I do not think we should make the safety net so wide as to bring in everybody.”
“Building a studio apartment is no different from building any other HDB flat. If a person applies now and the building works start now, he can get it in two-and-a-half years to three years. We have stepped up the building of studio apartments over the last couple of years.”
“Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Health (a) how many people have signed an Advance Medical Directive (AMD) and how many have revoked them since; and (b) whether there is a need to review the current rules on AMDs which do not require a person who has revoked the AMD to inform the Registrar, thus causing uncertainty for hospitals t…”
“Parents who wish to exert more control over the maximum mobile service charges incurred by their children may consider service options such as mobile pre-paid cards. IDA is aware of the public's concerns on mobile subscriptions, and will continually review policies and look into measures to further protect the interest of consumers.”
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“In this respect, I am glad to note that SAFECO has already entered into MOUs with a number of overseas environmental business associations, including those from Australia, from Canada, and the United States. This is a positive development. We will continue, together with SAFECO and other agencies, to help local companies in their efforts to export their expertise to countries in the region. With regard to the question by Dr Lee about the ISO 14000 certification, I would like to assure her that the Government is monitoring the developments in this area very closely. We have formed a committee to promote the awareness as well the adoption of the standards in Singapore. The Committee will conduct seminars and lectures for the business community at the appropriate time. But let me just add that the ISO 14000 standards have yet to be promulgated by the International Standards Organisation. So I am afraid it is a little bit too early at this stage to respond to her comments about whether fiscal and training incentives will be made available. However, the Committee will certainly address these issues when the ISO 14000 standards are more fully developed. Sir, may I ask Mr Abdullah Tarmugi to respond to the questions from Dr Soin and Mr Low.”
“Singapore's environmental technology and the application of environmental technology in keeping Singapore clean and green - the success of these efforts are there for people to see. So we can be a model or a demonstration of what can be done, as it were. And this is extremely useful for countries which are trying to establish the fact that the technologies that they have on offer can work. That is the first point. Secondly, of course, is the fact that our businessmen are in the position, because of the familiarity with conditions in countries in the region, to be able to interface between the suppliers of technology and the areas where such technology can be implemented. It is because of this role that we can play that we have successfully entered into bilateral agreements with several countries, like Germany and Australia, to jointly promote the transfer of environmental technology. We have another bilateral agreement with Vietnam to share Singapore's own experience in environmental management and control. The Government's active involvement in regional environmental activities and cooperation has led to increasing local private sector interest in this business, especially in the Asia-Pacific market, as Dr Lee has correctly pointed out. It has also resulted in the formation of SAFECO (which is the acronym for Singapore Association for Environmental Companies). SAFECO's objective is to promote tie-ups between environmental technology companies from developed countries with our local companies, and together to market this technology into the region. We will continue to help open doors for local environmental technology companies and also to provide them with useful contacts overseas.”
“My officers are now discussing the new terms with their unions and I should be able to give him more details very soon. Sir, corporatisation will not in itself lead to higher refuse fees. My Ministry will control the fees that this company can charge and any increase will have to be fully justified. I would like to turn now to the issue of environmental technology which was raised by both Dr John Chen and Dr Lee. The Government recognises the importance of promoting Singapore as an environmental technology centre. In fact, this forms one part of our vision under the Singapore Green Plan. Dr Lee suggested a steering committee to spearhead our efforts in this direction. May I inform her that my Ministry is now taking the lead in collaboration with several other Ministries and agencies, including MTI, EDB, TDB as well as the private sector in this effort. Various programmes to promote environmental technology include profiling Singapore as a convention centre and in this way to attract conventions and exhibitions on environmental technology to be staged here in Singapore and also promoting Singapore as a base for the transfer of environmental expertise from developed to developing countries. 5.15 pm I think these programmes, although they have only started recently, are beginning to bear fruit. They are beginning to help to generate interest in environmental technology in the region. Let me cite some specific examples. Over the last two years, we have organised more than 10 regional environmental conferences and events which have brought representatives from developed as well as developing nations together to share expertise. We can play several roles in this regard. One is obviously the fact that we have gone through the process.”
“But it certainly does not call for a jail sentence. The fact that none of the 300-odd persons who were punished with CWOs have committed the same mistake again is clear evidence that it is effective. Mr Sinnakaruppan and Mr Othman Haron Eusofe both asked about corporatisation of our refuse collection service. I would like to inform the House that my Ministry is finding it increasingly difficult to recruit workmen who are prepared to work in our refuse collection service. We have an ageing workforce and the quantity of refuse generated is expected to continue growing. So we have got to find a solution to this manpower problem. I am hoping that with corporatisation, the company will be freed from civil service rules and be able to use its resources more efficiently. Just to give Members an example, we are now unable to attract workers to work in the afternoon or evening shifts because we are unable to offer them attractive enough terms. As a result, much of our fleet of vehicles are now not fully used in the afternoons and evenings. I would like to take this opportunity to assure the Member for Marine Parade GRC that we will do our utmost to ensure that there will not be a decline in the standard of cleanliness and public health with this change. In fact, I am confident that the service will be more efficient. My Ministry will set standards for the company to ensure that service quality will be at least as good as what it is today and, hopefully, that it should be better. Mr Sinnakaruppan has also asked about the welfare of the existing staff. May I inform him that all existing staff would be invited to join the new company. The terms and conditions are being finalised but I can assure him that these will not be less favourable than what they are enjoying today.”
“To make the message meaningful, we will organise activities with grassroots organisations and town councils in the months leading up to the "Clean and Green Week". The Member for Jalan Besar GRC, Mr Peh Chin Hua, feels that the punishment in the form of the Corrective Work Order is shameful and humiliating and, more importantly, it is not effective in the long run. I think his thinking may have been based on the perception that the CWO is dished out very liberally. This perception is not quite correct. I would like to inform the Member that only recalcitrant offenders and those who commit serious littering offences are made to do CWOs. In 1994, only 7% of littering cases were given CWOs, the rest were fined. CWOs are therefore not dished out liberally. Indeed, it is my hope that over time there will be less and less CWOs and that they could even one day disappear altogether. Is the punishment humiliating? The CWO is intended to make the offender realise that what he has done has an adverse impact on the environment and the community. The purpose of the CWO is to reform him, make him realise the damage done and the effort needed to correct it. It may be humiliating for the offender, but if it serves the purpose, then it is for a good cause and it will be an effective deterrent. There is really no reason for anyone to litter in the first place. If he chooses to, then he must be prepared to bear the consequences. Mr Peh suggests that a $5,000 fine or a two months' jail term would be just as effective. Sir, I am not sure whether the Member is suggesting that we replace the CWO with a $5,000 fine or a two months' jail, but I think we should not over-react on this. Littering is an anti-social habit. There are fines for littering, but not as heavy as the Member has suggested.”
“So there is no reason why anybody should throw rubbish in his neighbourhood. We must instill this sense of belonging and pride. I agree with Dr John Chen that we should encourage the community at large to speak up against this anti-social habit. Only when people who litter realise that their action meets with the disapproval of the community at large would there be effective peer pressure against the habit. Of course, we must continue with our enforcement effort against hard core litterbugs. Those who deliberately break the law and show no respect for the well-being of others must be made to bear the consequences. I welcome Dr John Chen's suggestion that my Ministry work closely with grassroots organisations and town councils to curb littering. In this regard, Mr Chin Harn Tong's suggestion that payment of S&C charges should be linked to cleanliness of housing estates is worthy of serious consideration by town councils. In fact, if I am not mistaken, some town councils are already looking into this suggestion. So town councils and grassroots organisations should be part of the solution. They can assist my Ministry to a large extent by targeting our public education efforts on some of the more litter-prone areas in housing estates. They can voice their disapproval of anyone seen littering. My Ministry is even prepared to empower responsible residents to help police against littering. This way, we can build up pride and a sense of belonging to the estate. When residents are proud of their estate, they would take care of it and not dirty it. In addition, my Ministry will make anti-littering one of the main themes of this year's "Clean and Green Week".”
“Sir, let me address the points raised by Dr John Chen and also other MPs, including Mr Chin Harn Tong and Mr Teo Chong Tee. They have all expressed concern that littering is on the increase. There is no concrete evidence that this is so. But, nevertheless, I share their concern because after so many years of anti-littering campaigns, littering is still prevalent. The good news, of course, is that it is not the work of the majority of our population. The majority do not litter. My Ministry commissioned a survey which was conducted by a team of management consultants earlier this year. In this survey, the majority of respondents indicated that they valued a clean and litter-free environment, that they themselves would not litter and, more importantly, they would feel upset if they saw someone else litter. Our public education campaigns have been effective and they should continue so that we can reach out to more people and reinforce the message among the "converted." So who are these people who persist in littering? Mr Teo Chong Tee has described some of them. They clearly are those with very little concern for the environment and for their fellow residents. I think they are well aware that littering is an offence. They know that others in the community frown on them for littering. They know that littering spoils the environment for others and yet they persist. So how do we deal with them? We will start by stepping up our education campaigns and efforts. We must convince residents that public places and common areas are really part and parcel of their homes and that it is their responsibility to keep them clean. Nobody wants to live in a dirty home. Nobody goes around throwing rubbish in their house.”
“I thought I have answered that question already. Perhaps he should refer to my answer in Hansard.”
“So where do we end, Sir? Why stop at North-east line? Why not have an MRT extension to Lim Chu Kang, to Pulau Ubin? Forget about the viability, after all this is a public service? If we carry on like that, then I think the Finance Minister will not be able to report those kinds of surpluses.”
“Sir, who is going to pay for the unprofitable service?”
“Sir, I have explained at great length why it is not a good idea to build when operating cost cannot be met. When he asked why we can do that for buses and not for trains the simple answer is that if a bus route is unprofitable and it comes to a stage where the bus companies are no longer able or willing to cross-subsidise that route with other more profitable routes, they will apply to the Public Transport Council and say, "Look. I don't want to run this service any more." We cannot do that with an MRT line. You cannot say that because the North-east sector line is losing money consistently, there is no sign that it is going to make money at all, therefore, we just uproot all the viaducts and un-build the station. It is not possible and this is the main reason why before we build, we have to make absolutely sure that there is at least some hope that the line is going to be viable. I thought that was perfectly clear.”
“So not only was it cheaper to build but it would also be viable because it could tap passengers from the HDB new towns of Woodlands and Sembawang. On the other hand, HDB then had not yet firmed up its development plans for Punggol and Kangkar. Without the Punggol and Kangkar new towns, the North-east line would not be viable. When URA and HDB updated development plans along the North-east corridor, including the Punggol and Kangkar new towns, my Ministry asked the MRTC to review the feasibility of the North-east sector line. This is what the MRTC is currently doing and I expect the review to be completed in a few months' time. Mr Charles Chong asked about train noise. The wheels of the new trains ordered for Woodlands Extension will be fitted with what is known as noise damping wheel element. These special wheels will result in a permanent reduction in noise produced by passing trains. The SMRT will also retrofit the existing trains with these new wheels in stages over the next few years. But in the meantime, MRTC and SMRT will continue with regular preventive maintenance measures on a more frequent basis to reduce train noise. These measures include wheel grinding to smoothen the rails, levelling the rails and re-profiling of train wheels to eliminate rail noise.”
“The Government is prepared to provide the capital to build an MRT line on the condition that there is sufficient ridership to support the financial viability of the line. Why? If there is a shortfall, if revenues do not cover cost, where is this shortfall going to come from? From other passengers who will eventually end up having to pay higher fares. So why should somebody who is travelling on the North-South or East-West line have to pay a higher fare to justify passengers travelling on another line, for example the North-East line, if it is not viable? Sir, the decision to build an MRT line is a decision which has to be considered very carefully, not only because it is a heavy investment of public funds but also because it is permanent. Once you build it, you cannot simply un-build it, you cannot move it away, unlike bus routes. I have mentioned earlier that the Government has spent money on MRT. The first phase of the MRT system cost $5 billion. The Woodlands Extension is going to cost us another $1.3 billion. The North-east sector - the Government says yes, we will build, it is a question of when. Dr Michael Lim asked why the Woodlands line was built earlier than the North-east sector. Let me explain. In 1990, when the two major arteries - in other words, the North-South and East-West lines - were completed, the MRTC reviewed its next phase of development. And at that time the Government faced two choices - to proceed with the North-east line which would have cost $4.3 billion based on 1990 prices; or, to start work on the Woodlands Extension which would have cost $1.3 billion. So given HDB's plans to develop new towns at Woodlands and Sembawang and given the fact that this was a cheaper line to build, the Woodlands line was the clear choice.”
“First of all, I just want to remind Mr Heng that the Government helps all companies to make money, not only bus companies. Companies like property development companies and food and beverage companies also benefit from political stability and good infrastructure. Sir, Mr Heng and Dr Lim, among others, have asked when the North-East line is going to be built. Mr Teo Chong Tee, as he has put it, has again raised in this House for the umpteenth time when the MRT extension to Changi Airport will be built. Sir, I just want to inform the House that feasibility studies for both the North-East line and the MRT extension to Changi Airport are now being carried out and will be completed by the middle of this year. The studies will enable the Government to decide on the timing for the construction of these two MRT lines. Mr Teo has also asked whether the MRT line to Changi Airport will be extended to the Cargo Complex. This is a question which will depend very much on the projected traffic pattern in the area. Mr Low Thia Khiang says that we should build the MRT line to the North-East because we have collected so much money. If that were the only criterion, then the question arises: why should we build only in the North-East sector? Why not everywhere else as well? There must be some criteria for deciding where we build MRT lines. If we build just because we have got the money, then I think the MRTC will be spending all its time looking at feasibility studies all over Singapore. Is that the only criterion? 4.15 pm I have explained in this House many times before how the Government decides where it should spend the money to build MRT lines.”
“But, nevertheless, I will ask TransitLink to see whether they can do more. In so far as the lowering of the age of concession from 60 to 55 years and extending the hours of concession are concerned, I will have to refer this to the operators to consider, bearing in mind the fact that any concession that the operators give will eat away at their revenue base. So I will pass this suggestion from Mr Choo to the operators and see whether they can find a way to accommodate this request. Sir, if I may, could I take a few other points that were raised in the earlier cuts which I did not have time to answer?”
“Similarly, I will ask PTC to consider Mr Teo Chong Tee's request for bus service between Simei and Changi Airport, in particular, the re-routing of some services through Simei. But I would just like to mention here that, in any re-routing of service, in order to serve one section of the population, it usually necessitates the inconveniencing of another group of passengers. What will happen is that the group of passengers who have the service taken away from them will either have to look for another service or, in some cases, they may have to travel longer distances and pay an extra fare. But, nevertheless, I will ask PTC to look into this particular request of the Member for Changi and to see preferably whether there is a justification for a direct bus service so that there is no need to re-route any service. Similarly, Sir, I will ask PTC to look into Mr Choo Wee Khiang's request for additional shuttle services in his constituency. Finally, Sir, I believe Mr Choo has asked whether we can help senior citizens to lower the cost of travel for them and also to minimise the inconvenience. On the points raised by Mr Choo about making it more convenient for senior citizens to get their senior citizen passes and also to renew them, I fully sympathize with his point of view. I will ask TransitLink to make sure that senior citizens are not inconvenienced when they want to apply or renew their passes. In fact, I am told that TransitLink accepts applications for senior citizen concession cards by post. So this is one way where senior citizens can minimize having to travel to a particular sales office. Also, besides the TransitLink office at Buona Vista MRT Station, applicants can also pick up their cards at any of the other eight MRT stations all over Singapore.”
“Sir, Mr Peh Chin Hua raised this fundamental issue of whether we should have free competition in the provision of bus services. As I have explained a few minutes earlier in the House, we have adopted the current system of regulated competition because it allows us to impose universal service obligations to ensure wide coverage of bus services as well as to regulate bus fares. There is no evidence to suggest that free-for-all competition automatically leads to better service. In fact, our experience in the 60s and 70s showed us that an unregulated bus service leads to unreliable service and poor coverage as bus operators understandably choose to ply only the profitable routes. I think Mr Peh and I are around the same age, maybe, give or take 5 or 10 years. If so, he will recall, as I did, that in those days, buses were old, poorly maintained and frequently broke down. I remember, as school children, we had to run after the buses, jumped onto the buses, hoped that there was a spare foothold, hung on for dear life and made sure that the school bags on our backs stayed there. The point, Sir, is that we had free-for-all competition and it did not automatically lead to better service. Sir, Mr Peh may wish to know that, currently, the PTC does allow operators to run bus services provided these do not duplicate the main bus services. In the last five years, PTC received 36 applications from private operators and approved 28 of them. Dr Wong Kwei Cheong complained about bus services in his constituency, in particular, I believe, Service 131. I will ask the PTC to conduct a thorough investigation into Dr Wong's complaint as well as his request for more services and to let me have a report as soon as possible.”
“Sir, Mr Heng asked earlier whether we can make the new bus service standards more explicit and transparent. I will ask the Land Transport Authority to look into this and, specifically, I will ask them to work towards a situation where major bus stops will display bus schedules so that these will help commuters to plan their journeys better. I believe commuters would be more interested in what time the next bus is going to arrive rather than the global standards which the PTC has currently set. What the global standards can do, however, is to ensure that when we monitor the services, we are able to determine whether the bus operators have complied with the standards on a global basis. I also agree with him that an important element in the enforcement process is to have adequate feedback from the public so that the regulators can zero in on the problem areas for investigation. Earlier, the Nominated Member, Dr Lee Tsao Yuan, has suggested that the PTC set up a hotline. This can serve as an alternative feedback channel for members of the public who are not used to giving written feedback. The PTC tells me that they already have a hotline. In fact, the operators also have their own hotlines. But what I will do is to ask the operators to post at bus stops and interchanges the hotlines of TransitLink and the bus-MRT operators as well as the PTC. At present, the TransitLink guidebook also contains the operators' helplines. My advice to commuters is to give their feedback directly to the operators first because they are in the best position to take immediate action. The PTC can be called upon for redress in cases where operators have failed to respond to complaints.”
“Thank you, Sir. So I would just like to say that we will take this approach. We will start off on a modest scale and aim for minimal disruption. As I have announced, we will be implementing in June this year a pilot project on the road pricing scheme (RPS) at the most congested section of the East Coast Parkway (ECP). The road pricing scheme will operate for only one hour during the morning peak from 7.30 am to 8.30 am, Mondays to Fridays, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. An RPS licence will cost $1 for all cars, including company cars, trucks and so on. For this pilot project, any ALS licence for the day will also serve as an RPS licence. In other words, if you have an ALS licence you need not pay for an RPS licence. This is a pilot project. Motorists will need a bit of time to get used to a new method of road pricing, which is different from the cordon pricing for the CBD. We will review it next year, and if traffic conditions have stabilised by then and are acceptable, we will wait for the introduction of the Electronic Road Pricing in 1997. If this minor surgery works, and we can tackle the problem before it gets worse, then there will be no need for a major surgery later on.”
“He also asked about what are the reasons for traffic congestion on the expressways. The reason is very simple. The number of vehicles on our roads keeps increasing every year. Before we had the quota system, they were increasing at something like 6%-7%. After the quota system, it is still increasing at about 3%-3(r)%. More cars inevitably lead to more congestion when people all want to use the car, which I suppose is the reason why they buy cars in the first place. Unless we can also increase the road capacity by the same amount every year which is physically impossible, we are going to face a situation where our roads, including our expressways, are going to become more congested. So we have to tackle the situation in various ways. As I have indicated in Parliament last week, we need to continue to spend to build more roads, to improve traffic junctions and so on. But the equally important step that we have to take is that we must manage the use of our roads. We can use non-monetary methods, for example, the odd-even method. Many countries have done it this way. Without fail, they have all given up after a while, because it simply does not work. There are just too many ways for clever people to circumvent the rules. We can do it by increasing taxes generally, eg, by increasing fuel tax, but this is going to affect everybody including those who do not use the congested roads. It will have other undesirable consequences such as raising the cost of road transportation. Or we can introduce road pricing, but only for the affected roads. This would be equally effective and less disruptive. 3.00 pm”
“Like the HDB upgrading programme, we will also have to consider how residents can most benefit from the enhanced mobility to be provided by LRT systems, how they can also co-participate in the LRT programme. So long as we have budget surpluses, we are in the happy position of being able to choose among different options - bus, LRT, MRT. But that does not mean that we forget completely all the basic rules of prudence. The Government spent $5 billion on the first MRT lines because it was satisfied that they would be viable and on the understanding that fare revenues would be more than sufficient to cover operating costs. The Government will spend another $1.3 billion to build the Woodlands line on the same understanding. The Government is now considering whether and when to spend another $4 billion to build the north-east line, also on the same understanding. The programme to build LRT lines is part of this programme to invest for a better future. Sir, Mr Heng asked about traffic congestion in the CBD. I would like to inform him that surveys have been done in the restricted zone. And these surveys are meant to measure how traffic conditions compare with a set of service standards which have been drawn up by the PWD to serve as benchmarks. When he asked the question what constitutes acceptable traffic conditions, there are a whole series of benchmarks which PWD uses. Some of these standards obviously refer to things like vehicle speeds, bus speeds and so on. I would not go into the details at this stage. But if he is interested, I can give him a whole list. My Ministry will continue to monitor traffic conditions in the city centre and will take appropriate measures to keep the traffic free flowing.”
“So we would need to see how taxi companies respond to this challenge, how they intend to improve the level of service, by improving their radio despatch service, for example. In so doing, I believe that they can reduce the empty cruising. They cannot eliminate totally, but they can reduce it and in so doing, help to ease the congestion on the roads and also, at the same time, help to reduce their operating costs. Until these issues are settled, we will continue to monitor the taxi service closely. Sir, Mr Charles Chong has asked about the progress of the LRT. The MRTC has shortlisted eight tenderers to participate in stage two of the LRT tender. This will involve feasibility studies on the financial and technical viability of the proposed LRT system for Bukit Panjang and Buona Vista. The MRTC will give more details after stage two tenders close on 29th May this year. Whether the projects will proceed will depend on the results of the stage two tenders. Sir, the LRT system will be superior to the basic bus system. It will provide a more comfortable, a more convenient, a more reliable service. It will cost the Government much more to build. MRTC estimates that it can cost as much as 10 times more to provide an LRT-based feeder service compared to one that is provided by buses alone. But it is worth doing, not only because it will be a significantly better way of moving people around but, as the Prime Minister said last weekend, LRT systems can also be regarded as part of our asset enhancement programme. The question of where and when to build is now being studied by my Ministry. One obvious criterion must be ridership. To justify the Government spending such large sums of money to build the LRT, the line must at least meet its direct operating cost.”
“Results should be out by the middle of this year for Government to decide when to start building the line. Dr Wang questions the intention of my Ministry to reduce the empty cruising of taxis. As I have stated in Parliament, taxis are an important component of our total land transport system. But where do they fit into the spectrum of service? Are they a public transport system? Should they be priced as a public transport system? Or are they actually equivalent to a car? And indeed when a taxi is running on the road, it occupies as much space as a car. It creates as much congestion as a car when it is travelling in congested areas. And if you include the amount of empty cruising that they do - I do not care whether it is 20%, 30% or 40% - the fact is that they do cruise around empty looking for passengers. And if we take that into consideration as well, I would say that they create even more congestion than a car under certain circumstances. Our policy will be to price taxi services at the appropriate level, peg it close to that of a car. Because the cost that it imposes on our infrastructure is similar to that of a car. If we can price the taxi service correctly, then we can let the supply and the availability of taxis be determined by market demand. Our long-term policy will be to deregulate supply and fares. But I would like to see all the operating parameters properly settled before we take that step. For example, one of the things that we would need to settle will be to let the taxi service adjust to the electronic road pricing system. Because under the ERP system, what is going to happen is that taxis will have to pay every time they pass the gantries, which is unlike the situation today.”
“Sir, there have also been comments from various Members at this sitting, and several sittings before this, about the feeling that competition will automatically lead to better service. We have several choices when it comes to setting the industry structure for buses. First, allow free for all competition, as suggested. This may lead to a better level of service for commuters along the most popular routes, because everybody will want to serve these routes. Many operators will come in. They will, in fact, rush in. Initially, commuters will be spoilt for choice. Some of the operators will succeed, some will not. Eventually, the situation will stabilise. But what happens to the not so popular routes? Who is going to serve them? The second option is that we adopt a policy of duopoly. We have two main operators providing the bulk of the services, supplemented at the fringes by smaller operators. This has worked reasonably well, because with this kind of structure, we can insist on universal service. In other words, we can insist that operators run services to places which they would not normally run if left on their own. And we can regulate the fares to keep them affordable. Sir, based on our past experience and the experience of many other cities, the second option remains our better option. It is not perfect and we will need to continue to fine-tune at the edges. There have been several other comments about specific services. Mr Goh asked about service 105. I will ask the PTC to look into his complaints about this service and I will ask the PTC to feed back the results of the investigations to him. As regards the MRT extension to the north-east sector, I informed Parliament last week that a feasibility study is ongoing.”
“Just let me very briefly run through the composition. The PTC currently has nine members. The members come from Residents' Committees, university, professionals, employers and national servicemen. They also comprise people from the Chartered Institute of Transport, the professionals from the ROV and transport economists. Yes, we can have a greater number, we can expand the composition of the Council. But I think that is not the point. The point is: are the members of the Council aware of their responsibility especially their main responsibility? And their main responsibility essentially is in two areas: (1) to safeguard the interests of commuters; and (2) to make sure that in doing so, it allows the operators to continue to run and provide a reasonable return. This is a delicate balancing act. I can assure the Member that when the PTC meets to consider requests for change of routes, extension of routes, deletion of routes, all the members, whether they are bus commuters or not, look at the problem with these two considerations in mind. And I have every confidence that the Chairman and members of the PTC are exercising this responsibility in the best way that they can. 2.45 pm There is greater need for commuter participation, I agree. But there is no lack of feedback channels for commuters. We can enhance the channels of feedback to the Council. Channels of feedback are available directly to the operators. Channels of feedback are available through the Feedback Unit. If the Member feels that these channels are not sufficient, I am prepared to consider further expanding these channels. But I believe that the PTC is doing its job and doing it well.”
“So what the PTC will ask the operators to do is to improve service frequencies of feeder buses to shorter than the 10-minute interval. The extent of improvement will be announced subsequently after May when operators have addressed the current shortcomings in the feeder service to meet the basic standards. Sir, there have also been questions about the MRT-bus integration. This is something which the operators have embarked upon and it is one of the reasons why both Dr Vasoo and Mr Goh have noticed that the number of buses has come down. With the introduction of the MRT, there was overnight virtually a quantum increase in the capacity of the public transport system. If there was nothing done about integration, if there was nothing done about reducing or rationalising and removing the wasteful duplication of capacity between bus and MRT, we would have had a situation where neither the bus nor the MRT would be able to meet their operating cost. The reason is very simple. If you keep running the same number of buses when some of the commuters have gone off to MRT, you will end up with a situation where the trains would be half empty and the buses would be half empty and, pretty soon, both operators will come back to the PTC and say, "Look, I am afraid I have to ask for fare increase." And if the PTC looks at the numbers, I think it will be faced with a very difficult decision. If it does not accede to the request, we will end up with a situation where our major bus operators will run into the red and this is something which is unacceptable. If it does accede to the fare increase, commuters will end up with higher fares soon after the introduction of a new mode of transport. Dr Vasoo also questioned the composition of the PTC members.”
“What the Public Transport Council has done is to set benchmarks for measuring the quality of bus services and the key indicators they have used include service frequencies and bus loadings, whether buses are crowded, over-crowded, accessibility of services, directness of journeys. So this will serve as the basis for the Council, bus commuters and bus operators to agree on what constitutes a good service at today's fare levels. They are the minimum standards. They are the minimum standards which PTC feels commuters deserve at today's fares and they are also the standards which the operators can provide and still earn a reasonable return for their shareholders. The PTC has given the operators six months from last November to comply with the new standards. The PTC and the ROV will conduct regular surveys and audits to monitor service levels and ensure compliance with the standards. Straightaway, I am told that three trunk services and 12 feeder services will need immediate improvement. Bus companies have until May to do so. The result of PTC and ROV's compliance audit will be released to the public for their information and they also intend to publish regularly the results of their surveys for the benefit of commuters. But I said that these are minimum standards. What the PTC will also do is to encourage the bus operators not only to meet the minimum standards but also to try and exceed them. Dr Vasoo may wish to know that one of these areas where the bus operators would be encouraged to exceed standards would be in the area of feeder bus services. This is an area which has caused a lot of concern to commuters based on the feedback that we have received.”
“Sir, first of all, let me thank Mr Heng Chiang Meng for his support for my Ministry's efforts to increase mobility for all Singaporeans by, particularly, improvements in public transport. He has qualified that the improvements should also take into account the comfort, convenience and the cost of public transport. Of course, I agree with that. He has also suggested that we should consider abolishing the tax burden on public transport by looking at private and public transport as a whole and reducing the tax burden for taxis. Sir, the objective of setting up the Land Transport Authority is precisely to look at land transport in totality and by land transport, I am talking about the whole spectrum of land transport, ranging from basic bus services, airconditioned bus services, deluxe bus services, mass rapid transit, taxis and, of course, private cars. The issues which Mr Heng mentioned are important issues which the Land Transport Authority will look at, especially the question of what is a proper tax structure for the various modes of transport - bus, MRT, taxi, private car - appropriate in the sense that it is commensurate with the level of service which is provided and the benefits which it brings and the cost which it imposes on our infrastructure. Dr Vasoo and Mr Goh asked about improvements in bus services. Sir, the improvements will take time but they must start by all the parties involved agreeing on what constitutes a reasonable bus service. Because if you do not start off on a common basis, there will always be disagreements about what is good enough, what is reasonable. So for this reason, the basic bus service standards were drawn up recently by the Public Transport Council.”
“Under the present regulations, town councils can merge into a larger town council. This is not a healthy way of doing things. I feel that the town councils should function on the basis of the constituency it represents. We should not allow the merger of one single constituency with another single constituency, one single constituency with a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) or a GRC with another GRC, because if one of the constituencies should be lost to another political party in future, then you will have to have a separation. So this merger and subsequent separation will cost a lot of money, such as the changing of signboards, directional signs, logos, letter-heads and other stationery, and accounts have to be settled before handing over. All these will cost a lot of public funds to be wasted. I hope that the Government will pay attention to this. As a matter of fact, I have no objection to cooperation between town councils, but I do object to their merger. Cooperation between town councils will save on expenditure, particularly in making purchases and contracts. There are quite a lot of benefits in such cooperation between town councils. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to raise two other points with the Government with the hope that they will attract the attention of Government: 1. I have noticed that when contractors are drawing lines on our public roads, they dirty the road surface by causing paint to spill and stain on the roads. This makes the roads very unsightly. I hope that the PWD will take the necessary action to prevent this staining on the roads; 2. Vacant flats in the various constituencies should be let out or sold to the people as soon as possible. Mr Speaker, Sir, on the whole, this year's Budget is not bad.”
“I guess the Government's increase on water charges this time may have something to do with this matter. Water is precious. We should not waste it, but we must try to promote the conservation of water at all times, and not just before the increase in water charges. The effect of just one "Save Water Campaign" is not enough. We must start from the school and the family to educate our children and family members on how to save water. Only when we have enhanced the water saving awareness among our people, and cultivated in them the good habits and correct methods of water usage, then can we achieve the desired results. In the long-term, apart from saving water, we should also actively develop our own local water resources. I think this is a better way. In yesterday's debate, I was very happy to hear the Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Yeo Cheow Tong, telling us that the Government had already carried out such plans. In the short-term, I think the most effective way is to continue to get water supply from Johor. In view of this, to maintain and improve relationship with Malaysia is very important. In this regard, the Government has been doing well and I am very happy about it. However, there is one thing that puzzles me. On one hand, the Government is stressing the preciousness and importance of water, yet on the other hand, it has covered up part of the Lower Seletar Reservoir for the construction of the golf course for Orchid Country Club. This is ironical. Because of this country club, the area of the reservoir has to be reduced by about one-quarter. Why is the Government so inconsistent? Let me now deal with the merger of town councils, because this involves the wastage of public funds.”
“True enough, as expected, the Minister for Finance announced the increase in the water conservation tax by 5% for both domestic and non-domestic use, citing prevention of water wastage as the reason. With the increase in population and more activities in commerce and industry, consumption of water is inevitable. Water is precious and it should not be wasted. In Singapore, which is lacking in water resources, this is certainly true. But increasing the water conservation tax will increase the burden of the people, especially those lower income and larger families. This is very unfavourable to them. Water is essential. We cannot live without water. The question lies in the habit and method of using water. Good habits and correct methods are important. For example, when you are not using water, the tap must be turned-off; when you are using water, the tap should not be turned on full blast; and when you wash your car, you should use a pail instead of running a hose, etc. These correct methods of water usage can save water. I believe that nobody wants to burn his own pocket by deliberately wasting water. They are in fact lacking in the cultivation of good habits and neglecting the correct methods of using water. Therefore, we must promote the education of water conservation, rather than resorting to the imposition of a water conservation tax. As more than 50% of our water resources are dependent on the water supply from Johor, the reduction of water consumption will not have much effect on our water supply. The only thing is that we may lose more foreign exchange. That is the real problem. According to the report in the Lianhe Zaobao on 11th March 1995, the Johor State government had intended to discuss the new water prices with the Singapore Government.”
“During the debate on the Presidential Address in January 1994, the Member for Braddell Heights, Mr Goh Choon Kang, quoted a Chinese proverb used by the wise men of ancient China to advise their rulers: `fang min zhi kou, shen yu fang chuan' ( ), loosely translated, it means that governing the people is more difficult than guarding against the water level in a river. In essence, what Mr Goh meant, I believe, was that the principles of taming a river resemble the art of governance. He added that to prevent a river from over-flowing and flooding requires more than damming. Dredging and providing outlets are equally important. If I may paraphrase Mr Goh, in formulating our land transport policy, my Ministry will not only dam, but also dredge and provide alternative outlets. We will improve mobility for all Singaporeans by extending the range of public transport services available and upgrading the quality of service; managing vehicle usage to sustain a higher vehicle population; giving due priority to public transport; and coordinating all efforts to improve our national transport system, through a newly-established Land Transport Authority. Mr Cheo Chai Chen (Nee Soon Central)( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to raise two main points today. One is the question of saving water and the other is the merger of town councils. At the PAP Cadre Members' Conference on 15th January 1995, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong stressed the need to arrest the trend of rising water consumption and indicated that the Government would implement measures to conserve water. I then expected that in the 1995/96 Budget, water tariffs would be raised.”
“It will be formed by merging the Roads and Transportation Division of the PWD, the ROV and the Land Transport Division of the Ministry of Communications. It will also merge with the MRTC so that planning and implementation of both road and rail infrastructure will be under one roof. This will not be done immediately, but should be achieved within two years. A single integrated agency, given the mission and the responsibility of meeting the nation's transport needs, will be better able to identify alternative infrastructure and policy options and evaluate the trade-offs between them. It will ensure that transport projects and measures undertaken complement each other in the most effective and cost efficient manner. This in turn will help us achieve an optimal national transport system, providing better service to commuters and value-for-money for the nation. MINCOM expects to establish this Authority within six months. Details are being worked out and will be announced in due course. Mr Speaker, Sir, the challenge facing us now is not how to give every Singaporean a car. This is not possible even if our roads are congestion free. The real challenge is to meet the aspirations for increased mobility. We will provide commuters with more choice. We will create a more comprehensive range of public and private transport modes, ranging from buses, LRT, MRT, taxis to private cars. The individual can then choose the mode of travel to suit his preference and his pocket.”
“However, we will make one slight adjustment. In response to requests from retailers in the CBD and members of the public, and in view of the traffic survey results, we will be shortening the ALS hours on Saturdays by one hour to end earlier at 2.00 pm instead of 3.00 pm with effect from 2nd May 1995. Vehicle Quota for Next Quota Year With road pricing schemes like ALS and ERP, we can keep expressways and trunk roads which provide vital links to economic activities relatively free-flowing even during peak hours. However, it is impractical to price all roads. With increasing vehicle population, we cannot sustain free-flowing traffic conditions on all roads at all times of the day. Traffic conditions will worsen over time. With Whole-Day ALS, we could, and we did, increase the COE quota. With ERP, we should be able to increase the COE quota further. We will evaluate the Road Pricing Scheme in a year's time, and then study whether additional COEs can be released pending the implementation of ERP. In the interim, growth of the vehicle population will be fixed at 3% per annum. The quota allocation for the next 12-month period from May 1995 to April 1996 will be 45,552 COEs or a monthly quota of 3,975 COEs. Further details on the breakdown by vehicle categories will be released shortly by ROV. Land Transport Authority Finally, to coordinate our efforts to improve our public transport system and to manage traffic more effectively, the Government will set up a new statutory board to be known as the Land Transport Authority (LTA). The LTA will integrate the functions of planning, development, implementation and management of all public and private transport infrastructure and policies.”
“Road Pricing Scheme So far, the ALS has been confined to the CBD. The Whole-Day ALS allowed us to increase the COE quota. When the Electronic Road Pricing system is ready in late 1997, we will also be able to relieve congestion on roads outside the CBD and release additional COEs to allow more Singaporeans to own cars. The expressways are potential candidates for ERP. Surveys conducted by PWD show that certain stretches of our expressways are already congested during the morning peak hours. Traffic volumes on these stretches are very heavy, and they have exceeded the design capacity. Vehicle speeds have fallen to as low as 17 kph, in contrast to the average speed of 55 kph recommended by PWD. The Government will be implementing a pilot Road Pricing Scheme (RPS) for a short stretch of the East Coast Parkway during the morning peak period when traffic there is at its heaviest. A pilot project will start in June this year. Gantries will be erected at the stretch of the ECP between Fort Road junction and Rochor Road towards Jurong. Another will be at the entry into the ECP from Ophir Road, again in the direction of Jurong. We have chosen the East Coast Parkway because the area around the gantries has adequate bypasses and is also well-served by public transport. Motorists will be required to purchase and display an RPS licence to pass through the gantries. Details of the pilot RPS will be announced shortly. Whole-Day ALS We started Whole-Day ALS in January 1994. A comprehensive traffic survey in January 1995 showed that the traffic situation in the CBD remained unchanged since the last survey in May 1994. Since the Whole-Day ALS has kept traffic conditions in the CBD at an acceptable level, no adjustments will be made to the ALS fees for the time being.”
“This policy is sound provided we correctly reflect the cost of taxis as a highly personalised form of transport. For example, a taxi occupies as much road space as any other car, but unlike a car, it causes more road congestion because of empty cruising which is unproductive and wasteful. To ensure that commuters receive the high quality service they expect, the ROV will introduce an operator licence for taxi companies. Taxi companies will be held accountable for the service provided by their drivers. ROV will monitor indicators on customer service provided by each taxi company, for example, number of complaints, ability to meet taxi despatch bookings, accident rates and roadworthiness of taxis. These service indicators will be published regularly for the benefit of passengers. It will serve to encourage those companies with good service quality and put the rest on notice that they have to pull up their socks. ROV will also discontinue the current practice of issuing and renewing taxi licences of taxi companies liberally. Instead, taxi companies will be benchmarked regularly according to performance indicators that emphasise productivity increases and reductions in empty cruisings. Only taxi companies which meet the performance targets will be able to renew taxi licences or granted new ones. The ROV will announce details soon. Managing Private Vehicle Usage The Government recognises that there will always be Singaporeans who will prefer to travel by car, notwithstanding any improvement to the public transport system. We also recognise the growing desire to own cars. These are legitimate aspirations of an affluent society. To accommodate these aspirations without congesting the roads, we will need to optimise vehicle flow through vehicle management and usage measures.”
“Passengers can use their time better if there is real time information on departure and arrival times at bus stops and nearby MRT stations. If the real time information is available to him, the commuter can decide whether he should rush or whether he can afford to take a leisurely stroll, or do something else. When I visited a Transport Co-ordinating Centre in Frankfurt recently, I was told that they have done surveys which showed that passengers perceive waiting time to be shorter if they know exactly when their bus will arrive. Our bus companies are now studying the feasibility of implementing systems which can monitor the location of buses on their roads, provide real time passenger information and also correct deviations of buses when they stray from schedule. On its part, the Government will consider providing the necessary infrastructure at bus stops and MRT stations for bus operators to display relevant passenger information. We will also spruce up selected bus stops and provide more amenities. New bus stops will be better designed, and some will have sheltered linkways to the nearest building. We will look into providing bus stops with amenities like telephones, food and drink dispensing machines. So if Dr Tan Cheng Bock has got any good idea, I will be happy to hear it from him. Taxi Service Taxis constitute the high-end of the spectrum of public transport modes. A high quality taxi service must provide the convenience of a car with the personalised service of a chauffeur. It must also be of a consistently high standard and it must be generally available on demand. MINCOM's policy is to price taxi service correctly and let supply and availability of taxis respond to market demand.”
“They want additional short services to alleviate over-crowding on major demand corridors and they are concerned with long travelling time on buses. The PTC will ask the bus companies to consider providing special buses which can meet the demand for a higher level of service. As these services are optional services requiring additional buses, passengers who want such a service must be prepared to pay a premium. Priority for Public Transport We will seek to make public transport more convenient. We will smoothen transfer between buses and MRT, and further integrate bus and MRT facilities. We should work towards reducing total journey times, by speeding up bus journeys as well as minimising the waiting time, both real and perceived, in between connections. We intend to accord efficient road users greater priority in the use of road space. For example, buses compete with other vehicles for limited road space. Buses carry 80 people; cars typically carry one or two. If you compare with double-decker buses, for example, the illustration is even starker because double-deckers can carry up to 120 people. So it is only fair for buses to be given priority over other road users. Measures to give priority to buses will include more B-signals and more bus lanes. These measures, I am confident, will lead to speedier bus travel and more reliable bus schedules. Another area we will look into is waiting time. Waiting is inevitable. We cannot eliminate it totally. But we can transform waiting into a more acceptable experience. We will begin by managing the psychology of waiting. By this, I mean we will reduce the cost of waiting and reduce the uncertainty of bus arrival times.”
“Whether the projects will proceed will depend on the results of Stage 2 of the tender. If feasible, LRT system studies will be initiated for other HDB towns, both existing and planned. Bus Service The MRT and LRT cannot serve every area. Buses will continue to play a key role in the public transport system. The Government's policy of allowing a duopoly of bus companies to provide the bulk of bus services, with smaller companies providing services at the fringe, remains our best option. It allows the Government to insist on universal coverage and also to regulate fares so that the public's access to basic bus services remains good and affordable. The Public Transport Council has established a set of comprehensive bus service standards, which defines what is a basic bus service, at today's fares. The setting up of standards is an important step in our efforts to further improve services. What these standards mean is that operators are put on notice that these are the standards that they must meet. Commuters know that if they do not get such a service, they have cause for redress. The Public Transport Council knows exactly where it stands in settling disputes and in deciding on new services. It does not mean that all services are up to par. For example, three trunk bus services will have to be upgraded to within 12 minutes of peak headway, and 12 feeder services must be upgraded to within the 10 minutes peak headway specified in the standards. The bus operators have until May this year to achieve this. We will also encourage bus companies to exceed current service standards instead of just simply meeting them. Feedback indicates that commuters want higher frequency of feeder services.”
“(4) We will integrate and optimise the planning, development and management of our land transport system. Rail Please allow me to elaborate. The MRT has allowed our city to be developed to a much higher intensity. It is the backbone of our public transport system. We intend to make the rail network more extensive. We expect to ultimately extend the present 67 km of MRT lines to about 160 km of MRT and LRT lines by the year 2030. This estimate excludes possible LRT feeder systems in HDB new towns. My Ministry is currently undertaking feasibility studies for a new North-East Sector MRT Line, and also for an MRT extension to Changi Airport, and an LRT system to serve the Marina Centre area. Results of these studies should be completed by the middle of this year. We will also study whether it is feasible to have additional LRT lines. Recently, I led a delegation of transport specialists and town planners to Europe to look at various LRT systems. We were shopping for ideas, not hardware. So we did not come back with any particular system. But what we saw convinced us that the technology is available to bridge this gap between bus and MRT. The technology is available that can offer a level of service which approaches that of the MRT in terms of reliability and comfort and, at the same time, has almost the same flexibility and accessibility as that of the bus. The question is whether this technology is cost effective. The MRTC has called for tenders for the provision of LRT systems in two areas: Bukit Panjang and Buona Vista. Results of Stage 1 of the tender will be released soon. Stage 2 of the tender will involve the financial feasibility of the projects, including the cost to build and to operate the system, the fare structure, and so on.”
“We can build more viaducts, we can build more spaghetti junctions which are also very costly, very pollutive, very noisy. We will continue to build as far as possible. Over the next few years, our road building programme will add 225 lane-km of roads. Government will invest heavily on new roads, expressways and viaducts and we will spend, instead of $200 million a year, something like $250 million to $300 million a year, or roughly $1.1 billion for the next five years. At a later stage, we may have to embark on an underground road system. We will also relieve bottle-necks, for example, by building interchanges as we are now doing for junctions like the Holland Road/Farrer Road/Queensway interchange, and by extending the expressways like Tampines and Seletar Expressways, and by upgrading certain trunk roads into expressways like Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim. We will also apply intelligent traffic management techniques to improve traffic flow. By 1997, all traffic lights would have been linked to the GLIDE computer which will provide more green waves. We will also install systems which can warn motorists of traffic jams and accidents ahead. But all these investments in road building and road management alone are not enough. To further improve our transport system to meet the aspirations of Singaporeans for greater mobility, within the constraints of limited land, my Ministry intends to take the following additional measures: (1) We will increase the spectrum of public transport services and, more importantly, service levels. (2) We will improve the management of vehicle usage to sustain a higher vehicle population while preserving mobility for both motorists and public transport commuters. (3) We will give due priority to public transport.”
“But Singaporeans expect more, and why not when rising income levels and uninterrupted improvement in living standards for more than two decades have conditioned Singaporeans to expect that life will get better year after year. But is it sustainable? The answer lies in whether we can temper our expectations with a sense of reality, and whether we can free ourselves from conventional wisdom and look for new and innovative ways of meeting these expectations. The aspiration of many Singaporeans to own a car must be tempered by the reality that ours is a small country, with limited land, which has many competing uses. The frustration at seeing car prices rising over the years must be balanced by the realisation that this is because more and more Singaporeans are doing well. In 1980, 5% of every Primary One cohort became graduates. Today, the figure is 19% and is growing. If you include diploma holders, the figure is coming close to 60%. So the reality is that we cannot all expect to own a car. The Government cannot create more land to build more roads to meet this aspiration. But the Government can, within the constraints we face, provide an efficient transport system that keeps Singapore and Singaporeans on the move, so that you and I can enjoy a good life and business can make money. This is a realistic goal. This is one which the Government can and will fulfil. How can we enhance the mobility of Singaporeans and meet our transportation needs into the next century and beyond? The approach of simply increasing road capacity is not sustainable. Many roads are already built to the limit. We can build underground tunnels to relieve congestion, but they are very costly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this year's Budget has been described as a development budget. It is in line with the Government's philosophy of investing in our future to "lay the foundations for sustained growth into the next century", as the Finance Minister said in his Budget speech. A good and efficient transport system, where goods and people can move about freely, with minimum hassle and minimum cost, is a very basic, although sometimes taken for granted, pillar of a modern economy. The Government has never hesitated to spend on transport infrastructure. In the last 10 years, our spending on road infrastructure was $2.3 billion, and on public transport and rail infrastructure, including the construction of the MRT, another $5.2 billion. This year alone, we will spend $216 million on roads and another $325 million on public transport and rail. What have these massive investments achieved? 20 years ago, many roads were narrow and congested. Only 17% of households owned cars. Today, 31% of households own cars. 20 years ago, the vehicle population was 280,000. Today, it is 614,000, more than double. Yet, we have managed to keep our roads relatively free flowing. We have achieved this through timely infrastructure building and better traffic management. Road capacity was increased significantly. New traffic demand management measures like GLIDE and ALS have kept traffic flowing in the CBD. The MRT was introduced in 1987 and it ushered in a new era in public transport. Our transport system is now the envy of many cities around the world, many of which suffer from grid-lock and chronic traffic jams.”
“In that year, there were 16,600 cubic metres of liquid chemical wastes and 1,250 tonnes of solid chemical wastes. In 1994, there were 55,800 cubic metres of liquid chemical wastes and 4,400 tonnes of solid chemical wastes. WOODLANDS INDUSTRIAL PARK E 8. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Acting Minister for National Development whether there are any plans to redevelop Woodlands Industrial Park E and if so, whether alternative sites will be provided for the sitting tenants of the Industrial Park.”
“The operational hours of the Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) in the Central Business District were determined based on traffic pattern in the area. The objective of the Scheme is to achieve a relatively smooth flow of traffic during these hours. We have received several requests from members of the public for the operational hours of the ALS to end earlier on Saturdays. These are being looked into and will be taken into consideration in our current review of the ALS. CHEMICAL WASTE 7. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for the Environment (a) whether the quantity of hazardous chemical waste produced by our industries has increased significantly from 1985 to 1994 and (b) how is the disposal carried out to ensure long-term safety. Mr Mah Bow Tan: Factories either treat their chemical wastes in-house or send the wastes to approved treatment facilities. Factories with in-house treatment facilities treat their liquid chemical wastes to required standards before discharge into the sewers. Factories are allowed to send their chemical wastes to approved treatment facilities where a large proportion of the liquid chemical wastes is recovered for reuse. The chemicals recovered for reuse are mainly solvents and etchants. The remainder is treated to required standards before discharge into the sewers. Solid chemical wastes are treated in-house or in approved facilities, and rendered suitable for disposal at our landfill. New production processes that generate chemical wastes will be allowed only if the wastes can be properly treated and disposed of. ENV monitors chemical wastes which are transported out of the factories for disposal or treatment at approved facilities. Statistics on such wastes were first compiled in 1987.”
“Bus services in the Jurong Industrial Estate were revamped by SBS, after consultation with the MPs and grassroots leaders in the Jurong area, the Jurong Town Corporation and the Singapore Manufacturers Association on the public transport needs of the area. The new set of bus services was introduced in January 1995. It provides wider coverage, brings commuters closer to their workplaces, shortens journey times, and provides higher capacity with the deployment of more buses. Double-decker buses have also been introduced on those services to provide more seats for passengers. At present, the MRT serves Jurong with three stations - Chinese Garden, Lakeside and Boon Lay. The MRTC will study the feasibility of further rail extensions in the Jurong area. The URA and PWD have also drawn up plans to improve the road network in Jurong. These changes will smoothen the flow of buses entering and leaving Boon Lay bus interchange, relieve current congestion spots, and improve circulation within the Jurong Regional Centre. Access to Jurong from other parts of Singapore will also be improved through the opening of the Kranji Expressway and the upgrading of certain roads within Jurong to expressways and semi-expressways. Additional road links with the PIE are also being examined to improve access to the area. WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS GOVERNMENT ADVERTISEMENTS 1. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Finance, with regard to the money spent on advertisements over TV and in newspapers (a) what are the allocation guidelines for the various Ministries which his Ministry follows; (b) what is the amount of money spent from 1992 to 1994; and (c) how his Ministry assesses the cost-effectiveness of these advertisements.”
“Sir, the Ministry requires cooked food stalls to display prices. We do not check on the prices and we have no means to ensure that the prices are not raised. In fact, the same survey also shows that prices in some stalls that have not been sold have also raised their prices. Ultimately, it is a question of whether stallholders themselves feel that the customers are prepared to pay the higher prices. If they feel that the customers are not prepared to pay and if customers themselves send a signal that they are not prepared to pay these high prices and that they are willing to take their custom elsewhere, then that is the surest way of making sure that prices are not raised. PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION 14. Mr Imram Bin Mohamed asked the Minister for Education (a) whether he has statistics of children in the relevant age group who do not attend pre-school classes; (b) whether, by not attending a pre-school class, a child will be seriously disadvantaged when he or she enters primary school; and (c) if there is any plan to formalise pre-school education so that standards can be maintained and places are available for every child regardless of the means of his parents.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the first phase of the Stall Ownership Scheme involved four centres. All four centres had cooked food sections while only two centres had markets. Based on the latest price survey carried out by my Ministry in mid-February, the majority or 86% of the cooked food stalls that were surveyed have not raised their prices. The rest have raised their prices by 10 cents for drinks and between 20 and 50 cents for cooked food. These prices are comparable with those of similar cooked food stalls elsewhere. Market produce prices are subject to seasonal fluctuations. Prices in the two markets under the Stall Ownership Scheme were found to be comparable to prices in other markets.”
“Sir, I would refer the Member's suggestion to the Minister for Labour. PAYMENT OF MEDICAL BILLS (Difficulties faced by patients) 8. Dr S. Vasoo asked the Minister for Health how many patients faced difficulties in paying their medical bills for the year 1994 and what was done to assist them. The Minister of State for Health (Dr Aline K. Wong) (for the Minister for Health): Sir, at the Government and restructured hospitals, patients who have difficulties in paying their medical bills will be referred to the medical social workers for assistance. Hospitals may also arrange for the patients to pay their medical bills in instalment upon request, or to apply for help from Medifund. Hospitals may also remit the medical bills incurred by needy patients who are not eligible for Medifund help such as residents who are non-Singapore citizens. In 1994, 21,180 applications for assistance from Medifund were received. In percentage terms, 1.8% of the admissions to Class B2 and C wards in the acute hospitals and 1.4% of the subsidised attendances at the Specialist Outpatient Clinics applied for Medifund assistance. A total of 21,104, or 99.6%, of the Medifund applications were approved. For the remission of hospital bills, 1,880 applications were approved in 1994.”
“Sir, I have explained the rationale why we had the VEP Scheme. I think it would be very difficult for the Government to explain to Singaporean motorcyclists and car owners why they have to pay such high fees for using our roads when the Malaysian motorcyclists and car owners pay very much less. This is the first point. And, secondly, if we do not equalise it, I think there will be other side effects, particularly the temptation for Singaporean motorists to start using Malaysian vehicles. Land transport policy is a major consideration as far as our VEP regulations are concerned. The point that the Member has brought up about the labour situation has to be addressed in other ways and not via this route.”