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.”
The complete record
Every one of 3,030 lines we hold for Mah Bow Tan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 53 of 61.
“Sir, I believe this income ceiling is rather generous. But if the Member has a case, we will certainly consider it. HAZE PROBLEM The following Question stood in the name of Dr John Chen Seow Phun - 11. To ask the Minister for the Environment if he will give an update on the haze problem and how it will be dealt with in the future.”
“At the moment, the income ceiling is, I believe, $3,000 per month.”
“Sir, I believe the scheme is already very generous in the sense that the criteria are rather generous ones, and any person who fulfils the criteria with, of course, the strong recommendation from the VWOs themselves will be entitled to these exemptions.”
“I think the Member may be aware that, currently, there is already a scheme in place whereby disabled persons who are gainfully employed and are medically certified to be unable to take public transport and who also satisfy several other criteria, including an income criterion, are eligible for exemption from all the taxes as well as COEs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government recognises the vital role played by voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) in helping the less fortunate members of our society, like the disabled, and the elderly sick. Currently, some VWOs are exempted from paying registration fee and Additional Registration Fee for their vehicles. However, they still need to bid for Certificates of Entitlement (COEs). In view of appeals from Members of Parliament and VWOs themselves, and in recognition of the social service that they provide, my Ministry has reviewed the scheme in consultation with the Ministry of Community Development and has decided to exempt the VWOs' vehicles from COEs as well. Only those vehicles which are directly involved in the provision of welfare services will qualify for this exemption. VWOs applying for vehicle tax and COE exemptions can submit their applications to the National Council of Social Service or to the Ministry of Community Development.”
“The Fisheries (Amendment) Bill will enable the Primary Production Department to effectively regulate the fishing industry to protect consumers and introduce stiff penalties to discourage the illegal imports of dangerous species of fish. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Lim Hng Kiang]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE MAINTENANCE OF PARENTS BILL”
“The Bill seeks to empower the Minister for National Development to make rules pertaining to the prohibition, regulation or control of piranhas and other prescribed dangerous species of fish. Contravention of these rules will be punishable with a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment up to one year. These heavy penalties are to deter any would-be offenders and will help to ensure that dangerous fish species are not illegally brought into Singapore. To facilitate enforcement of penalties, the Bill seeks to make officers of a corporation liable for an offence committed by the corporation if these officers are found to be involved in the commission of the offence. The Bill also seeks to empower the Subordinate Courts to impose a full penalty for any offence under the Act or its rules. The present Act gives fishery and police officers powers of search and seizure with respect to fishing vessels and vehicles. For more effective enforcement action, the Bill seeks to extend these powers to include any place or premises. This is necessary to enable authorised officers to search places, such as, fish farms for piranhas and other dangerous fish species, and cold storages for contaminated fish and fish products. To further facilitate investigation, the Bill also seeks to enhance the powers of authorised officers to enter and search, without warrant, any suspected place or premises. This is important because it may be necessary to seize the contaminated or illegal consignments immediately to prevent them from being removed, distributed or sold for consumption. In order to safeguard the interests of consumers and the general public, it is timely to introduce amendments to update the Fisheries Act.”
“The Act was amended once in 1973 to increase the penalty for illegal trawling in Singapore's territorial waters. Over the past 28 years, the fishing industry has changed considerably. Following a review, my Ministry has found it necessary to amend the Fisheries Act to update it to meet the current needs of the fishing industry and to achieve more effective implementation. Over 90% of fish consumed locally is imported. The Primary Production Department (PPD) regulates imports to ensure that all imported fish are safe for consumption. The present Act contains provisions to regulate the import of fresh fish but not processed fish. Currently, the import of processed fish is administratively regulated by PPD. Processed fish may be contaminated through poor manufacturing practices, or improper handling of products. To adequately ensure that all imported fish are safe for consumption, the Bill seeks to extend the provisions of the Act to include processed fish. Mr Speaker, Sir, currently, the maximum fine for offences committed under the Act or its rules for which no special penalty is provided is $1,000. The existing composition fine is one-fifth of the maximum fine for that offence. In today's context, these fines which have not been revised since 1966 are not adequate as deterrents. For the fines to have deterrent effect, the Bill seeks to raise the maximum fine and maximum composition fine to $10,000 and $1,000 respectively. The present provisions of the Act and the prescribed penalties for offences relating to the keeping of piranhas are inadequate. Piranhas are prolific breeders which may endanger public safety and our ecology.”
“But I think the current design and the current operation of our hawker centres do not really lend itself to the definition that we have followed so far. So at the moment, it is not the intention of the Ministry to include hawker centres. But if there is a genuine need and if there is a demand for it, we will certainly consider to do so. As far as the National Stadium is concerned, I would like to inform the Member that the Ministry of the Environment has discussed with the Singapore Sports Council to introduce house rules for the National Stadium. We hope that these house rules which prohibit smoking, which discourage smoking in the National Stadium, will work. We have done so in certain other places, for example, in the queuing area of bus interchanges and, so far, their reports seem to indicate that the commuters are respecting these rules. So we hope that similar response will be obtained from the people who go to the National Stadium. But if it does not work that way, then my Ministry will work towards gazetting the National Stadium and other open air stadia as places where smoking is prohibited as well. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Mah Bow Tan]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. FISHERIES (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. The Acting Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Fisheries Act was first enacted in 1966 to provide for the protection and conservation of fisheries and the regulation of the fishing industry in Singapore.”
“As far as the tourist industry is concerned, the current legislation already prohibits smoking in many of the places that are frequented by tourists. The proposed amendment to the legislation does not affect tourists in any way. It merely adds places like air-conditioned workplaces, factories, recreational areas, and so on, areas which tourists do not normally frequent. So therefore the impact of this Bill on the tourist industry is minimal. But, nevertheless, we do recognise that there is already current gazette notification of many places that tourists go to, and this is something that I think most tourists have already accepted. They know that there are places in Singapore where smoking is not allowed. There are provisions made. In restaurants, for example, there are places where if you wish to smoke, there are open-air areas that you can smoke. There are no air-conditioned restaurants in Singapore where smoking is allowed. But there are many non-air-conditioned restaurants, open-air restaurants which such tourists can visit. Mr Chew can look for such places and he can bring his businessman friends to such places. As far as sympathy is concerned, I think if we have sympathy for the smokers, it is also incumbent on the smokers to have sympathy for the non-smokers. So if they wish to smoke, please do so, but not in front of non-smokers. That is all we ask. Finally, Dr Toh Keng Kiat asked for the list of places to include hawker centres. At the moment, based on the criteria that I indicated earlier, we do not intend to include hawker centres as part of the list. It is an open-air eating area. Yes, there are many families who go there. Yes, the majority of the people are non-smokers.”
“There is already representation made to the US Congress as to whether tobacco should be classified as a controlled drug. If and when that occurs, it follows then that tobacco sales will be restricted, and it therefore follows that smoking will not be allowed in the open. But until such time, it is not tenable, it is futile for us to ban smoking in all these places because the enforcement exercise alone will be quite unthinkable. So that is a clarification that I would like to make. Mr Chew Heng Ching, while supporting the Bill, speaks, as he says, on behalf of the small group of smokers. As I said, it is not the intention of this Bill to stop the small group of people who insist on smoking from doing so. As I have already explained, we do not have any intention of prohibiting them from smoking in HDB void decks and car parks or making it illegal for them to have a smoke as they step out of their car. So I think that fear can be allayed. But, nevertheless, let me make the point that we would like to gradually extend the areas where smokers are not allowed to smoke, where such areas are also areas frequented by non-smokers for the reasons that I have stated at the outset of my Second Reading speech, which is, that we have to protect the non-smokers from the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. So while Mr Chew would dub this Bill before Parliament as an overkill, perhaps it might be better in such an instance to have a little bit of an overkill if we are able to protect non-smokers from the obvious hazards of tobacco smoke. I think that is an overkill which I do not think any thinking Singaporean, who is a non-smoker, would object to.”
“In other words, it is places, for example, like air-conditioned workplaces, where it is unreasonable to expect the non-smokers to move out because the smoker wishes to have his puff. These are the broad guidelines. And within these broad guidelines we gazette specific places where smoking is prohibited. So you will notice in the notification, each and every department store where smoking is prohibited has to be named. This provides sufficient protection, as it were, to make sure that we do not willy-nilly gazette all sorts of places where smoking is to be prohibited. And this is where I think the report in the Straits Times, which created quite a lot of apprehension, and which stated that we are going to ban smoking in HDB void decks, car parks, tennis courts, and so on, was a misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Government's intention. There is no intention whatsoever for us to prohibit smoking in HDB void decks, HDB car parks, and so on and so forth. While the Act says we can prohibit smoking in public places, we have to gazette these public places. So this is a distinction that I would like to make. If we were to ban smoking in HDB car parks and in public places, that would be tantamount to banning smoking completely in Singapore. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked whether it is the intention of Government to do so. Currently, because we allow smoking, we allow the sale of cigarettes, it is not tenable for us to ban smoking in all the public places in Singapore. But there is already discussion in some countries, for example, the United States Food and Drug Administrator is already thinking or talking about prohibiting the sale of tobacco as a controlled drug. There is currently discussion going on in the United States.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank all the speakers for their comments and support of the Bill. I presume Mr Low Thia Khiang also supports the Bill because I do not think there was any point raised against it. First of all, let me address the concerns of Dr John Chen. He made the point that the existing law is not broad or wide enough in that the places that have been gazetted do not sufficiently cover those areas of concern. Let me clarify that the current legislation already allows the Ministry to gazette open-air public places where smoking is not allowed and this includes the place that he has mentioned - the sports stadium. In other words, under the current legislation, we could gazette open-air sports stadiums as places where smoking is not allowed. However, the current legislation does not allow us to do so for air-conditioned premises, workplaces, recreational areas, and so on. Hence, the Bill that is before Parliament today. Having made that clarification, let me say that the Ministry uses three general guidelines when it comes to gazetting places where we believe that smoking ought to be banned. Firstly, they are places where families and children gather. Secondly, they are places where the majority of people who go to such places are non-smokers. There are of course establishments where for one reason or another smokers tend to congregate. I think, for obvious reasons, it is not the business of the Ministry to go and ban smoking in places where smokers want to go. Thirdly, we only gazette places which are enclosed or places where it is obviously difficult for non-smokers to get away from the smokers.”
“We will constantly review our own laws to keep abreast with the developments in these countries. In conclusion, Sir, I would like to reiterate that the Bill is first and foremost intended to protect the interest of the majority of Singaporeans who do not smoke. The Bill will ensure that non-smokers will not be forced to breathe in harmful second-hand tobacco smoke against their will. If, at the same time, it also encourages some smokers to give up the habit, perhaps because of sheer inconvenience, this will be a bonus. If smokers still choose to smoke, they should do so in a place where no harm can be caused to non-smokers. They should be considerate to those around them who share the same space but who do not share the same desire to smoke, by refraining from smoking in the prohibited areas. Sir, I beg to move.”
“The new law will make managers responsible to ensure that employees do not smoke in the office or factory floors. The management or employer will be required to put up signs and inform his employees not to smoke. Any employee who believes that the no-smoking rule is not being observed may bring the matter up to the manager of the workplace. The manager will then be required to investigate the complaint and warn the offenders to cease smoking. If the manager is unable to resolve the matter, he can then refer it to my Ministry. Managers who fail to take action may be prosecuted. Managers themselves are also not allowed to smoke in an air-conditioned workplace. Employees may lodge complaints to my Ministry if they find their managers not complying with the no-smoking rule. The new law will also allow the smoking prohibition to be extended to the common property of residential premises. My Ministry recognises the problem faced by residents in private residential premises using facilities provided in enclosed or air-conditioned common areas. By this, I mean the lobby areas, function rooms, reading rooms or games rooms in condominiums. Non-smoking residents, especially children, using these premises have a right to be protected from second-hand tobacco smoke. Non-smokers frequently suffer in silence for fear of offending smokers, especially if they are their neighbours, should they tell them to stop smoking. We will continue to monitor developments in other countries which recognise, like us, that second-hand smoke is a serious health hazard, and countries which are prepared to act to protect their citizens from the dangers of second-hand tobacco smoke. Such countries include the US, Canada and Australia, which have already introduced laws to prohibit smoking in workplaces.”
“But when non-smokers are exposed to the same risks, sometimes even despite protests, then the Government has a responsibility to step in to protect them. The debate on banning smoking in public places was initially characterised by loud protests from smokers, about abuse of their rights. The debate has now swung around to the belief that non-smokers have as much right to smoke-free air, especially when the dangers of second-hand tobacco smoke have been so clearly established. Sir, my Ministry is committed to creating a tobacco smoke-free environment. The current legislation allows my Ministry to prohibit smoking in public places as well as in public service vehicles. Over the years, we have progressively prohibited smoking in a number of enclosed public places where people congregate, in other words, places like air-conditioned restaurants, cinemas, departmental stores, and so on. Today, many of our air-conditioned public places are smoke-free areas. There are, however, many offices and factory floors that are not smoke-free. We have tried to encourage managers of offices and factory floors to introduce house-rules to control smoking within their premises. I am afraid not many managers have introduced such rules. Non-smokers, who are in the majority, have had to continue to suffer the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. Many of them find it very difficult to persuade their colleagues not to smoke in the office, especially when the CEOs or managers themselves smoke. The proposed Bill will allow my Ministry to prohibit smoking in any commercial, industrial or recreational premises. This is to protect our office and factory workers. With its enactment, we can proceed to prohibit smoking in all air-conditioned offices and factory floors.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, it has now been clearly established and recognised that smoking is harmful to our health, and that it is addictive and therefore in our national interest to curb smoking. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is responsible for the National Smoking Control programme. MOH organises an annual campaign and enforces measures to curb smoking like banning tobacco advertisements, health warning labels on cigarette packs, prohibition of cigarette sales to under-18s' and so on. The Ministry of the Environment's role is to protect the public, the overwhelming majority of Singaporeans who are non-smokers, from the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. There is now enough scientific evidence to prove that a non-smoker who breathes in second-hand tobacco smoke also faces serious health risks. The US Environmental Protection Agency has a classification system for carcinogens, in other words, substances that cause cancer in human beings. They classify carcinogens into four groups: Group A, which is a known carcinogen with sufficient human and animal evidence. Group B1, which is a probable carcinogen with limited human evidence but sufficient animal evidence. Group B2, a probable carcinogen with inadequate human evidence but sufficient animal evidence. Lastly, Group C, a possible carcinogen with inadequate human evidence and limited animal evidence. Mainstream smoke or smoke that is inhaled by smokers is classified as a Group A carcinogen. The second-hand smoke that is inhaled by non-smokers is also classified as a Group A carcinogen, in other words, in the same category as mainstream smoke. When smokers light up, they know the risks that they face.”
“No, I am afraid I do not have these figures offhand. If the Member would like to have these figures, I will be pleased to provide them. FATAL MISHAPS IN SHIPYARDS AND CONSTRUCTION SITES (Preventive measures) 8. Mr Chia Shi Teck asked the Minister for Labour (a) whether the many fatal mishaps in shipyards and construction sites were caused by human error and can be prevented; (b) whether the errors were committed by new and raw foreign workers; (c) whether all local and foreign workers of contractors and subcontractors have to undergo some stringent safety training before being assigned to work; and (d) what are his Ministry's plans to prevent or minimize such disasters. ACCIDENTS IN SHIPYARDS (Compliance with safety measures) 9. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon asked the Minister for Labour, in the light of the latest accident at the Sembawang Bethlehem Shipyard which resulted in loss of lives and injury of workers, in spite of industry reviews of safety systems and implementation of updated safety rules following previous accidents in other shipyards, what further steps his Ministry will take, together with shipyard managements and their contractors, to enforce compliance with safety measures.”
“I suggest that the Member makes representations to the inspection centres not to charge for the second inspection. It is up to them whether they wish to take these views into consideration. As for the small vehicle owners not being able to detect the faults, I know that there are many vehicle owners who do not have to go for a second inspection. Presumably, they must have had other means of checking to make sure that their vehicles pass the first time.”
“ROV did not ask these two organisations to charge. ROV has made provisions to set the limits so that organisations which are allowed to inspect vehicles, do not charge more than a certain limit. They have deemed it reasonable to set it at $40 for the first inspection and $20 for the second inspection. So long as these inspection centres do ot charge more than what has been prescribed, they are free to do so. It is not correct to say that ROV asked them to charge this amount. In fact, as I understand it, for many years, 1982 to 1994, these inspection centres did not charge anything for the second inspection. So I presume it must be because there are too many vehicles which are using the first inspection as their own quality check, and then coming back for the second inspection. I presume this must be the case. Nevertheless, it is up to them whether they wish to charge or not.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, under the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles Test) Rules, the Registry of Vehicles sets the maximum inspection fee which inspection centres can charge. Since 1982, this ceiling has been set at $40 for the first inspection and $20 for each subsequent inspection. The inspection fee of $20 for repeat inspections which VICOM and the Automobile Association introduced in January 1994 is in accordance with the limits set by ROV in 1982.”
“We use the World Health Organisation Long Term Goals and the United States Environmental Protection Agency Primary Air Quality Standards to assess our air quality. Both the World Health Organisation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency have short-term (hourly, 8-hourly and 24-hourly) and long term (3-monthly and annual) air quality standards for individual air pollutants. From 1991 to 1993, the air pollution levels in Singapore have not exceeded any of these short-term or long term air quality standards. However, with increasing fuel consumption, the amount of pollutants emitted into the air will inevitably increase. My Ministry is studying measures to ensure that the levels of these pollutants such as suspended particulates and sulphur dioxide will ontinue to remain within acceptable levels prescribed in international standards. SWIMMING LAGOON AT EAST COAST PARK 17. Mr Chia Shi Teck asked the Acting Minister for Community Development what are his Ministry's plans to develop the swimming lagoon at East Coast Park and whether he will consider converting the area into a public park.”
“The Sale of Food Act requires locally manufactured pre-packed food products to be labelled and show the name and address of the manufacturer or packer. This has been in force since 1974. For imported pre-packed food products, the name and address of the local importer, distributor or agent, together with the name of the country of origin must be shown on the labels of the imported prepacked food products. The name and address of the foreign manufacturer are not required. The information provided on the label will be sufficient for the Food Control Department to trace the source of the food supply. Regular checks are made on the labelling of food products when our officers visit retail outlets on inspection rounds, or when complaints are received. Those who violate this requirement can be fined up to $1,000 for the first offence and up to $2,000 for the subsequent offences. INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR AIR QUALITY 16. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for the Environment how many times in a year, from 1991 to 1993, have we breached international standards for air quality.”
“The Weekend Car Scheme was introduced on 1st May 1991 to enable more Singaporeans to own cars without creating more congestion on the roads. The objective of the Scheme has largely been met. As at July 1994, 9,493 new cars have been registered as weekend cars (WECs). Of these, 93% are owned by owners who do not own another car, and 90% are small and medium sized cars below 1600 cc. However, recently more big cars above 1600 cc are being registered as WECs. The number of such cars forms about 34% of WEC registrations this year compared with 6% last year. This trend can be attributed to the increasingly larger difference in COE premiums between WECs and big cars. As a result, owners of big WECs enjoy large savings which in some cases more than compensate them for the cost of day licences and allow them to use their cars like normal cars. This is not the intention of the WEC Scheme. If this trend is left unchecked, the WEC quota will be dominated by the big cars. My Ministry is therefore reviewing the WEC Scheme to ensure that the objective of the WEC Scheme is preserved. PRE-PACKED FOOD PRODUCTS 15. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for the Environment whether he will ensure that all pre-packed food products have the manufacturers' names and factory addresses on their packaging.”
“The main bus operators are expected to provide a mix of profitable and unprofitable services. Unprofitable services to low-demand areas are cross-subsidised by profitable services elsewhere. More unprofitable services mean more cross-subsidies and eventually all commuters will have to pay higher fares to cross-subsidise these services. Hence, low-demand services are carefully considered before implementation. In this regard, there are no grounds to give special preference to private housing estates over other areas in the provision of unprofitable bus services. The Public Transport Council welcomes private operators to provide shuttle services to link up private housing estates to nearby bus interchanges or MRT stations. For example, the Clementi Park Condominium runs such a service to the main road and the Clementi MRT station for their own residents. Recently, a TIBS/SMRT joint venture company launched two pilot services under the Bus-Plus project to serve residents in Bayshore Park and Faber Hills. WEEKEND CAR SCHEME 14. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Communications how his Ministry intends to plug the loophole in the Weekend Car Scheme.”
“The ROV stopped issuing taxi licences to individuals in 1975 because individually-owned taxis were poorly maintained and provided poor service to passengers. Since then, taxi licences were issued to taxi companies only. Taxi companies are in a better position to capitalise on economies of scale to ensure better maintenance of vehicles and to organise the taxi service to provide a higher quality of service, for example, the provision of capital-intensive radiophone taxi despatch systems. At present, taxi service is provided by yellow-top taxis and five taxi companies, viz. COMFORT, SABS, Singapore Commuter, SBS Taxis and TIBS Taxis. As announced last year, my Ministry will consider deregulating the taxi industry to allow more operators to provide taxi service after the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) has been implemented. This will enable us to take into account the impact of ERP on taxi operations. FEEDER BUS SERVICES 13. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for Communications if he has any incentive schemes to increase the number of feeder bus services to private housing estates.”
“There is no intention to revise the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) on cars in the near future. Although a reduction in ARF will not affect our control on the vehicle population, it will have implications on the bidding for COEs by buyers of different categories of cars, as well as COE prices. Unlike COE premiums, ARF is a progressive tax. It is calculated as a percentage of the Open Market Value of a car, which means buyers of more expensive cars pay more ARF. A reduction in ARF would result in more savings for buyers of more expensive cars. Therefore, a reduction in ARF will give buyers of more expensive cars an advantage over buyers of cheaper cars in the bidding of COEs. A reduction in ARF is likely to lead to an increase in COE prices. Existing vehicle owners will be adversely affected as they have to pay more when they revalidate the COEs of their vehicles. TAXIS 12. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for Communications whether individuals and small companies will be allowed to own taxis.”
“Motor traders are not allowed to bid for COEs under our current regulations. I presume the Member is referring to the practice of some motor traders where I am told that there may be so-called proxy bids made in the names of somebody which are then transferred to their customers upon the sale of a car. This is the so-called double transfer. We are currently monitoring the situation and we will look at it and see what the impact of this is on the prices of COEs. But the fact is that double transfers are part and parcel of the current regulations, that is, it is a legitimate practice. It is a practice which we need to have in order to ensure that people who wish to dispose of their cars for whatever reason can do so without being inconvenienced or restricted. HDB MULTI-STOREY CAR PARKS (Reduction of season car parking charges) 13. Mr Chng Hee Kok asked the Acting Minister for National Development if he will reduce season car parking charges in Housing and Development Board multi- storey car parks to the level of open space car parks. The Acting Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member asks whether we will reduce season car parking charges in multi-storey car parks to the level of open space car parks. The answer is no. The long term objective is to recover the full economic costs of providing car parks. The present level of season car park charges for surface car parks is below the full economic cost of providing such car parks.”
“The actual values are made available. That is what my answer referred to. They are made available for public viewing and if anybody wishes to see them they can do so.”
“Sir, a list of all the successful bids each month is available for public viewing at the Registry of Vehicles. Any member of the public can obtain this information at ROV's information counter. ROV has also made such information available to the media and I believe, from time to time, these have been carried in the press.”
“When I used the word "basket", I am referring to the services which we compare with. Obviously, Hong Kong is one of the major countries with which we compare. The NIEs and the other financial centres, including London and New York, are also within this comparison table. CERTIFICATE OF ENTITLEMENT (Details of bids above strike price) 12. Dr Wang Kai Yuen asked the Minister for Communications whether he will make public the details of Certificate of Entitlement bids above the strike price in each vehicle category for June, July and August 1994.”
“There is a basket of services which TAS uses to compare Singapore Telecom's rates with those of other countries, in particular, as I mentioned just now, those of the major financial centres and the NIEs. It is not possible to be the cheapest in all categories for various reasons, for example, exchange rate fluctuations. Nevertheless, the objective of this is that we must be among the lowest for a broad range of services within this basket. I think that is currently being achieved by Singapore Telecom. If they are not, they will be asked to make changes quite quickly.”
“That is exactly what I have asked TAS to do. I have given instructions to the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore that in those areas where exclusive rights are now given to Singapore Telecom the Act should be interpreted in as wide and generous a manner as possible so as to ensure that there is as much room and flexibility as possible for other operators to work. The net result of all this is that there should be better service to Singaporeans.”
“It has introduced services like Singnet even though offering Singaporeans access to Internet will potentially erode Singapore Telecom's IDD revenue. I am confident that Singapore Telecom will continue to take bold steps to revise its rates and to upgrade its services in line with changing market conditions.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore needs a comprehensive, competitive and efficient telecommunication system if we want to be an attractive financial and business centre. We cannot afford to have telecommunication services in Singapore costing more than other financial centres. Nor should the range and the quality of these services be inferior to what is available elsewhere. Even though Singapore Telecom has been granted exclusive rights to operate basic, domestic and international telecommunication services, its pricing of these services is subject to the control of the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore. TAS has a price control framework which ensures that Singapore Telecom's charges for basic telecommunication services are among the lowest compared with national telecommunication operators in major business and financial centres as well as the NIEs. TAS will review the price control framework regularly to keep pace with world trends and to ensure that Singapore retains its competitive edge as a business hub. There is no evidence to suggest that exclusive rights given to Singapore Telecom had impeded the implementation of advanced technology. Telecommunication is a technology-driven industry. New technology has spawned new services which transcend national boundaries with the world as the market place. We can neither go against, alter nor shut out global competition. Singapore Telecom recognises that to stay ahead in business and to compete globally they will have to continually invest and implement new technology. Singapore Telecom is also responding to competition through better service and more aggressive pricing. That is why Singapore Telecom has progressively reduced its charges, including its recent substantial IDD rate reductions.”
“As I said, on the one hand, the ROV has to make sure that the people who drive taxis on the road do have a clean record in order to ensure that commuters are able to take taxis with complete ease of mind. At the same time, we do recognise that there are special circumstances and because of that, we do grant special dispensation. But this has to be done on a case-by-case basis. It cannot be a blanket regulation. HDB DESIGN-AND-BUILD SCHEME (Progress) 11. Dr Toh Keng Kiat asked the Acting Minister for National Development whether he will give an update on the progress of the Housing and Development Board design-and-build scheme.”
“Sir, taxi drivers go for medical check-ups and beyond a certain age, the medical check-up becomes more and more thorough in order to make sure that they are able to withstand the stress of driving taxis.”
“I am afraid I do not have the figure offhand, but I can make it available.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in order to make sure that the public can take taxis and other public service vehicles without worrying about their safety, ROV ensures that drivers of these vehicles have clean and safe driving as well as criminal records. However, it does not mean that applicants with adverse records are barred forever. ROV considers such applications on a case-by-case basis, depending on the severity of the offence and other special circumstances. Since January 1992, based on the recommendations of the Central Narcotics Bureau and the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association, ROV has approved 88 applications for taxi driver's vocational licence from former drug addicts.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the closing times of post offices vary according to demand for their services. Most post offices close at 5.00 pm on weekdays, 1.00 pm on Saturdays. However, six post offices in Orchard, Ang Mo Kio, Jurong, Toa Payoh Town Centre open till 8.00 pm on weekdays. Most sub-post offices and postal agencies operate up to 9.00 pm on weekdays and Saturdays, some open on Sundays and public holidays as well. The General Post Office at the CBD area is open 24 hours every day, 365 days a year. Singapore Post did open all their 88 post offices till 8.00 pm one day a week. This was a few years ago. They have now reduced this to 13 because of low demand for postal services after 8.00 pm. Because of low demand, it is not cost effective to extend the closing hours of post offices to 10.00 pm. Customers who need to buy stamps after 8.00 pm can go to stamp vendors or make use of postage vending machines and ATMs which dispense stamps. Other postal services after 8.00 pm are available at postal agencies and at the General Post Office. FORMER DRUG ADDICTS (Grant of taxi licence) 10. Encik Harun bin A Ghani asked the Minister for Communications whether he will consider giving a taxi licence to remorseful or repentant former drug addicts after they have led a drug-free life for at least five years after their release from drug rehabilitation centres.”
“The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act is amended by inserting a new section immediately after section 16 to provide that any judgement given against any shipowner for any oil pollution damage by a Court in a country which is not a party to the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (or CLC 69), which was signed in Brussels in 1969, may be recognised and enforced by a court in Singapore only up to the limit of liability prescribed by section 6 of the Act which are the limits prescribed under the CLC 69. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Mah Bow Tan]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. REPORT OF COMMISSION ON PARLIAMENT STAFF”
“Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, Singapore is a party to the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969, otherwise known as CLC 69. This Convention seeks to unify the legal regime in respect of shipowners' liability with regard to oil pollution damage. It imposes a strict liability on an owner for any damage caused by the discharge or escape of oil from a ship which is carrying oil in bulk. It also allows the owner of a ship to limit his liability if the discharge or escape occurred without his actual fault or privity. The owner can limit his liability to an upper limit of 14 million SDR (which is equivalent to about S$30 million). The owner of the ship which carries more than 2,000 tons of oil in bulk is also required to have insurance coverage for his liability under this Convention. The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act (Cap. 180 of the 1985 Revised Edition) gives effect to this Convention. Under the rules of private international law, it is possible for a judgement creditor to have a foreign judgement recognised and enforced in Singapore courts. In such a case, the limits of the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act do not apply. The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Amendment) Bill is intended to remedy this lacuna in our law. In order to develop and promote Singapore as an international maritime centre, we need to provide a stable and predictable environment for shipowners to operate from. Otherwise, it sets back our effort to encourage shipowners to relocate to Singapore. It might also encourage existing owners to look elsewhere for a more conducive base for their operations.”
“The air quality at the Singapore side of the Causeway is not satisfactory. Although the level of air pollution is within permissible limits established by the World Health Organisation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, nevertheless it is higher than other parts of Singapore. My Ministry has been working with the Malaysian authorities, through the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment (MSJCE) to control pollution from vehicles crossing the Causeway. Since its formation in 1991, the MSJCE has embarked on several programmes to educate owners and drivers of diesel vehicles on preventing smoke emissions. At the same time, Malaysia and Singapore stepped up enforcement action, including the turning back of diesel trucks and lorries that repeatedly exceed the smoke emissions standard. Recently, the MSJCE expanded its educational campaign on smoke emissions to include motorcycles. On our part, Singapore has already tightened up emission standards for Singapore registered motorcycles. Most two-stroke motorcycles cannot meet the new emission standards. To be consistent, these standards must apply to all motorcycles being used in Singapore, whether or not they are registered here. The Ministry is currently studying how to apply the new emission standards to foreign motorcycles on our roads. SALE OF HDB PROPERTIES (Cheating by housing agents) 34. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Acting Minister for National Development what steps the Housing and Development Board is taking to reduce the incidence of cheating by unscrupulous housing agents in the sale of HDB properties.”
“The sulphur content of the fuel used by our power stations is limited to 2% by weight. There are no plans to reduce the percentage of sulphur in the fuel as the current levels of sulphur dioxide in Singapore are within international safety standards. However, my Ministry will continue to monitor the situation. AIR POLLUTION AT SINGAPORE SIDE OF CAUSEWAY 33. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for the Environment (a) what is the level of air pollution at the Singapore side of the Woodlands Causeway during peak hours in view of the large number of Malaysian motorcyclists commuting to Singapore daily; (b) whether the pollution will have any effect on the health of residents living in Woodlands; and (c) whether the traffic police are instructed to turn back motorcycles and other vehicles emitting excessive exhaust smoke.”
“I believe the operators are now working out the routes. I am sure that they will work out routes which will be viable. If the routes are not viable, I do not think the scheme will be on. CHILDCARE OPTIONS (Study on preferred types) 14. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Acting Minister for Community Development, in view of the fact that there has been a doubling of dual career families in the last 10 years, whether he will commission another study on the existing and preferred types of childcare options that working parents would like for their children.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, a Bus-plus pilot scheme will be launched later this year to gauge public response to the scheme. The introduction of the Bus-plus scheme, which will include both scheduled bus and maxicab services, is to provide a wider range of public transport services to meet the different demands of public transport users. The Bus-plus scheduled service will cater to commuters who are willing to pay higher fares for a better quality of service than the basic bus/MRT service, while the Bus-plus maxicab service will cater to bigger families and groups who would otherwise need two or more taxis. Last month, ROV briefed all interested operators, including the private bus operators, on the proposed Bus-plus pilot scheme. Following the briefing, a joint venture company is being formed by SMRT and TIBS to participate in the pilot project. The joint venture company will be acquiring 20 mini-buses for the pilot scheme, and plans to operate three routes. The proposed routes and fare structure are being worked out and, when ready, will be submitted to the Public Transport Council for approval. If the pilot scheme proves to be successful, the Public Transport Council will consider licensing more operators to run Bus-plus services. Dr Vasoo: Sir, would competitive routes be given to individual operators rather than routes which nobody wants to ply, and therefore unprofitable routes are given to these operators?”
“In using the computer balloting system, HDB has built in all the controls necessary to ensure that the system is fair to all applicants. The system itself, as well as the actual balloting carried out every quarter, is audited both by HDB's internal auditors and by independent private auditing firms, selected by way of open tender. The auditors check for system integrity, and ensure that the balloting is carried out impartially and in accordance with HDB's flat allocation policies. Since the balloting process is done through the computer, I am not sure what or how the Member wants the public to witness in this processing. In any case, HDB distributes information leaflets on the Booking System to all flat applicants. The public is also kept informed of the priority accorded to the different categories of applicants, through the mass media. In addition, the number of flats offered each quarter, the results of balloting, and the success rates for each new town are advertised by HDB in all the major newspapers.”
“Sir, as I said, it is more accurate to have a full picture of what is happening when the situation stabilises. Right now, everything is still in a state of flux. HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD (Computer balloting of flats) 7. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Acting Minister for National Development whether the Housing and Development Board will (i) enlighten the public on how its computer balloting of flats is conducted; (ii) assure the public that no computer fraud can be attempted under the system; and (iii) invite the public to witness the process of computer balloting. The Acting Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Sir, HDB flats are offered for booking in two types of estates: non-mature and mature estates. In the balloting for non-mature estates, where there is more land available for development, priority is accorded to new applicants over upgraders. New applicants, who have never bought a flat direct from HDB before, are given higher chances of success than upgraders. Applicants who have been unsuccessful for many times are also given greater chances of success than applicants who have tried for fewer times. For mature estates, priority is given in the balloting to resident over non-resident applicants. Resident applicants are defined as those who have been residing in the mature estate of their application for more than five years. In the computer balloting for mature estates, resident applicants are accorded higher chances of success than non-resident applicants. The actual number of flats apportioned to each category, of course, depends on the total number of flats available, and the number of resident and non-resident applicants.”
“Sir, the purpose of the review is to give us a picture of the real situation after the traffic situation in the CBD has stabilised. If we were to conduct a trial run, as the Member suggested, I think it would only confuse the picture and we would not have the true picture of what actually is the result of the whole-day ALS.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member's proposal will be taken into consideration when we review the whole-day Area Licensing Scheme (ALS). This review will be done after the PWD completes a comprehensive survey of the traffic situation in the Central Business District in the next one or two months.”