Melvin Yong Yik Chye
Singapore
“But with greater autonomy must come stronger support and safeguards, especially for those who may be less equipped to navigate these decisions. At CASE, we strongly believe that consumer empowerment must go hand-in-hand with consumer protection.”
“Thank you, Sir. I have three questions on the balance between punishment and rehabilitation. One, how will schools be guided to balance disciplinary action with counselling and restorative practices? I think the Minister mentioned it. Whether MOE will track recidivism rates to assess if these rehabilitation efforts are effective?”
“Sir, I thank the Minister of State for his reply, and we are heartened. The Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) will be happy to work with MAS on consumer protection measures. For consumers, we often use GIRO when we want to so call, "set and forget", recurring payments.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary have we done a study on the profiles of those PMETs who have been retrenched and also, what are the types of jobs that the market is looking for?”
“Unlike support for persons with disabilities, there is currently no dedicated funding mechanism to incentivise employers to provide workplace accommodations for workers returning to work after serious non-work-related illnesses or medical conditions.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for her answers. I have two questions. First, whether IMDA currently mandates stress testing or simulation of failover systems under peak or adverse conditions and if not, whether such requirements will be introduced following IMDA's review.”
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“While I commend the Ministry's ongoing efforts to provide a voluntary accreditation scheme to facilitate a seamless transition to the new licensing framework, how will the introduction of the new regulation affect the supply of ambulance services in Singapore? Will regulations be too onerous for smaller players to invest and upgrade their existing fleet of ambulances to serve as emergency ambulances? What will happen in cases where someone calls for a medical transport service, but the patient’s condition worsens along the way and it becomes an emergency? Finally, I would like to voice my support for the Bill's proposed safeguards to apply background checks for certain licensees, to protect vulnerable patients and those who require long-term stay. This is certainly important, as any case of patient abuse would severely damage the trust that the public has for our healthcare industry. I would like to clarify if the provisions under section 28 will apply to all professions of workers employed or hired by the licensee, or will the safeguards only apply to those directly involved in the delivery of healthcare services. Also, how will the background checks be conducted if the worker in question is a foreigner? Mr Deputy Speaker, the healthcare sector is poised to undergo disruptions brought about by the advent of new technologies. The proposed licensing framework and measures under the Bill are timely and will help to strengthen Singapore's position as the premier healthcare hub of the region. However, as we transit to the new framework, it is important that we ensure that we keep regulatory costs low and not overly onerous to smaller players.”
“The Labour Movement stands ready to work with the Ministry to engage mental healthcare practitioners working across the entire spectrum of the mental healthcare industry, and work towards drafting the implementation and regulatory details, and to park this under a sandbox regime to provide all parties with the necessary flexibility. Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Bill's proposal to strengthen governance over licensees by ensuring that they have competent and effective governing bodies. This is especially vital for medium and large corporations which are responsible for the healthcare delivery of tens and hundreds of thousands of patients every year. However, while bigger companies will be able to easily adapt to the new governance measures, smaller players, such as our local GPs will find it much harder to comply. Under the new measures, licensees must appoint those with the appropriate skills and competencies in the areas of finance and business management. How will this new regulatory requirement affect the operations of our 1,700 GP clinics, many of which might just be a small team of one doctor and a few clinical assistants? Will GPs be allowed to double, or even triple-hat, as the Licensee, Principal Officer and Clinical Governance Officer? Another new area of regulation which may impact smaller players more disproportionately than larger players is in private ambulance services. Under the Bill, private ambulance services will have to classify themselves either as Emergency Ambulance Services or Medical Transport Services and comply with the respective sets of requirements. Medical transport ambulances, for example, will not be allowed to be fitted with sirens and blinkers, while emergency ambulance services will be held to higher standards of emergency care.”
“With this sandbox, we have the opportunity to actively shape telemedicine regulations and answer the tough questions surrounding AI-related liability questions in the healthcare sector. I urge the Ministry to do so, so that we can pave the way for our businesses to remain as innovative leaders in the region. Another opportunity for adaptive regulations under this Bill is to create a sandbox for the regulation of the entire spectrum of professions which provide Mental Healthcare Services. Industry practitioners within the mental healthcare space, such as psychologists and psychotherapists, have been providing me with feedback on their wish for the entire industry to be fully regulated as a healthcare service. From what I can understand, only psychiatrists are fully regulated today, as they are considered doctors. But mental healthcare services span across a wide spectrum of professions, many of which lack full regulations. An example of this are psychologists. Although classified by the Ministry as allied health professionals, psychologists are yet to be regulated under the Second Schedule of the Allied Health Professionals Act which was passed in 2011. Other professions within this industry that are unregulated include counsellors and psychotherapists. The lack of regulation among the many professions within the industry is troubling, as members of the public do not know the differences between counsellors and psychologists, and may seek treatment from someone without the proper certification and expertise. We should support the industry's call for fuller regulations. Perhaps the Ministry could consider regulating the entire industry as an allied health service under a sandbox, to be implemented in the final phase of the Act's implementation.”
“Even if the switch to the new framework will only result in an increase in licensing costs for a small number of operators, there is still a strong case to be made for the Ministry to consider absorbing the increase, as it is not uncommon to see prices increase across the industry just because someone in the market has raised their charges. Mr Deputy Speaker, I am glad to note that the Ministry will provide ample flexibility in the Bill to help with the onboarding of newly regulated services, such as the creation of a regulatory sandbox for telemedicine services. The sandbox will be beneficial to help us in adapting our regulations as telemedicine technologies evolve. The introduction of 5G technology will see telemedicine and tele-surgical services become the next key growth drivers in the healthcare sector. Already, news reports out of China have emerged, claiming that doctors in the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital have carried out China's first 5G-based remote surgery on a patient 3,000 kilometres away. I am sure that it is only a matter of time before such technologies are trialled here in Singapore, and having our own telemedicine regulatory sandbox will help strengthen our position as one of the leading healthcare hubs in the region. However, new technologies will also bring about new questions pertaining to liability. Will the scope of the telemedicine regulatory sandbox be wide enough to provide a sandbox liability regime? With the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) revolutionising how illnesses are diagnosed, will our sandbox regulations differentiate between decisions made by human doctors and those made by AI? If so, who will be liable for decisions made by AI?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill, which seeks to strengthen governance in the healthcare sector amidst the rapid evolution in the industry, to ensure better patient safety and continuity of care. However, I do have a few questions and suggestions. First, I support the proposed services-based licensing framework, as it addresses the limitations of the current PHMCA, which only regulates services provided at brick-and-mortar healthcare facilities. The introduction of Industry 4.0 and fifth generation (5G) telecommunications are already beginning to disrupt existing modes of healthcare delivery. New healthcare services can now be delivered entirely through mobile and online channels. The Bill’s new licensing framework is, therefore, timely as it will provide healthcare providers with the flexibility to "modularise" and apply for relevant licences based on the services that they provide, rather than be confined to a physical premises. However, while the new framework provides much needed flexibility, I am concerned with the corresponding licensing costs – how will they be impacted under the new regulatory regime? Can the Ministry provide licensees with a way to cluster and package their applications, to help them manage their licensing costs? We should bear in mind that the end-consumers would inevitably bear the brunt of any cost increase, and businesses often have an easy excuse to raise prices once regulatory costs increase.”
“I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for his answer. I have two supplementary questions. My first supplementary question relates to these illegal vapes also being sold in our neighbourhoods. Besides online sales, according to news reports last month, illegal vaporisers are also being sold in our neighbourhoods, including busy shopping districts such as Orchard Road. Buyers and sellers, according to the news report, used code words, such as "cartridges" or "juices", to facilitate all these under-the-table illegal sales. Can I ask that we also step up our enforcement in these areas, especially in the neighbourhoods? My second question relates to a recent study done in the United Kingdom (UK) on adults attending the UK National Health Service's Stop Smoking Programme. I would like to ask what are the Ministry's views on this randomised controlled trial that compared e-cigarettes and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation.”
“From my policing experience, I have often noticed that once an area has reached a certain threshold of such outlets, syndicates tend to gravitate towards the area as their next business opportunity, resulting in a quick surge of illegal vice activities. Lastly, we must not forget about providing a safe reporting channel to the women who have been exploited and forced to work as sex workers. I read with concern about a report published by the US State Department earlier this year, which claimed that there were 16 trafficking cases in Singapore in 2018, of which 10 involved sex trafficking. I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary if this indeed is accurate, and what are the measures provided to women who may be in such circumstances and would need a safe reporting channel. Mr Speaker, the proposed measures under the Bill are a step in the right direction as it will provide the Police with the legal tools necessary to combat vice activities and vice syndicates operating through online media. However, while we pit our wits against these syndicates, it is vital that our anti-vice officers recognise the shift in such trends, which are abetted by new encrypted messaging technologies and short-term rental platforms. I also urge more enforcement action to be done to ensure that such seedy businesses are not co-located in mixed-use residential developments, where there are many young children residing. With that, I support the Bill.”
“While we tackle the rise of vice activities perpetuated through new media, it is vital that we continue to take action against the business operations of unsavoury establishments that masquerade as public entertainment outlets in residential areas, especially those with young children. During my time with the Clementi Police Division, my officers regularly took enforcement actions against the massage parlours suspected to be offering illegal sex services in mixed-use developments, such as Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. But despite our constant enforcement actions, seedy establishments continued to operate – many times out of the same shop unit – as syndicates were able to find locals to register themselves as new owners of the massage parlours and act as their fall guy. In our colloquial terms, we term this as "finding a tua pek kong". Now, as a Member of Parliament, I receive regular complaints from residents about the seedy public entertainment and massage outlets located in mixed developments, such as Orchard Towers. Members would agree with me that such seedy businesses should not be co-located in residential areas, especially those with young children. How would the new definition of "brothel" and the amendments to section 148 tackle the "tua pek kong" phenomenon and eradicate such seedy public entertainment and massage outlets in mixed-use developments? Can the Ministry also consider imposing a cap on the number of such outlets in a specified area, particularly in areas where there are many residences? This is a point that I have raised before here in Parliament.”
“Messaging platforms are also introducing new technologies that will make it harder for our anti-vice officers to catch vice syndicates. The recent furore over the SG Nasi Lemak chat group has exposed the use of Telegram as an encrypted messaging platform, used to disseminate both obscene and pornographic content, including the offer of sexual services. Telegram also has a "self-destruct" feature, which users can set their messages, photos and files to be deleted on both the sender and the recipients’ devices. With the constant evolution of such digital platforms, it is crucial that our enforcement officers be updated regularly on the latest technologies that are being used to circumvent the detection of vice syndicates in Singapore. Mr Speaker, the vice syndicates facilitating sexual services in Singapore are often based overseas. I am, therefore, happy to see that the proposed amendments to the Women’s Charter have introduced extraterritorial jurisdiction to section 146A. While this plugs a legal gap by allowing the Police to take decisive action against any overseas person using remote communication services to facilitate the provision of sexual services in Singapore, I would like to ask how will this be feasibly enforced? To deter people from committing such offences, could the Senior Parliamentary Secretary provide a concrete example of when a person based overseas would be in breach of the new section 146A, and how would the Ministry act against such a person who is not physically in Singapore?”
“Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill, which seeks to strengthen the laws against online vice activities and to enhance the Police’s levers against vice syndicates. However, I do have a few questions and suggestions for the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. The proposed amendments to the Women’s Charter are timely as the sex trade in Singapore has been evolving in tandem with new technologies. As a former Police commander, I have seen firsthand how illegal vice activities have moved from brothels masquerading under the guise of massage parlours, to online messaging applications like WeChat which utilise geotargeting technologies to allow anyone to find sex workers in their vicinity. The confluence of the popularity of such messaging platforms and the rise in short-term rentals, perpetuated by platforms like AirBnB, will increase the difficulty of enforcement against vice syndicates. Through short-term rental platforms, syndicates now have easy access to a large inventory of locations that they can hop around to offer prostitution services. As of last week, a simple search of such services on an infamous online forum easily yielded over 1,800 listings that offer massage and sexual services, mostly by foreign nationals here on social visit visas, in various "discreet apartments" across Singapore. My suspicion is that many are operating out of apartments rented on a short-term basis, to avoid detection. Therefore, while I am supportive of the proposed amendments to tackle irresponsible leasing of premises for vice activities, this only deals with home owners who legally rent out their premises. How will our Police Officers enforce against the syndicates that tap on illegal short-term rental platforms to offer vice activities?”
“I believe that with the right support in place, many would go on to find a fulfilling second career. While I note that the Ministry has a five-year career transition roadmap to support retiring officers in their career transition, I would like to know if the Ministry has targeted programmes to help officers enter high growth segments, such as cybersecurity and fintech. Perhaps the Police co-operatives would like to consider working together with the National Trades Union Congress to do more to assist retiring officers with job placements in these high growth segments. Mr Speaker, the proposed amendments to the Bill are timely as they serve to follow best practices in the investment management industry. But I believe that we can further improve the retirement adequacy of our Home Affairs uniformed officers by decoupling the closure of INVEST Fund accounts with their continued employment, to provide our retired officers with an option of benefiting from a longer investment period. We also need to provide better support to help them transit to a second career. With that, I support the Bill.”
“Could the Ministry, therefore, allow such officers with the flexibility to remain invested in the Fund and enjoy the returns from their sizeable accumulation of savings? Decoupling the closure of the INVEST account with an officer's employment in service will also allow the INVEST Fund managers to use the additional funds to grow its investments, thereby benefiting all its members. I would also like to seek a clarification on what would happen to the INVEST Fund monies for ex-officers who have had their service terminated. Under current regulations, officers may have their INVEST Fund monies forfeited if they are dismissed from service following a disciplinary proceeding. While I understand that the Ministry treats such dismissals very seriously, since the INVEST Fund is principally meant to function as a retirement fund, perhaps we could afford to be more lenient towards such officers who have already been punished by having their service terminated. One suggestion is to consider pro-rating their returns and put it into the officer's CPF Special Account rather than a complete forfeiture. Mr Speaker, uniformed officers retiring at 55 years of age will have many more productive years ahead of them, and we should do more to help them successfully transit to second careers. I would like to know the placement success rate for the Ministry's Home Team Career Resource and Transition Office. And on a yearly basis, how many retired officers fail to embark on their second career six months after retirement? Home Affairs uniformed officers are equipped with a wide variety of skillsets, have ample experience in handling difficult situations and would be valuable assets to any organisation.”
“Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill which seeks to improve the management and governance of the INVEST Fund by following best practices in the investment management industry. However, I do have a few questions for the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. Singaporeans statistically have one of the longest life expectancies in the world, at 84.8 years old. However, on average, 10 of those years will be spent in poor health. With the combination of these two trends – increased life expectancies and extended periods of ill health – it is important that we ensure that our Home Team officers, many of whom have dedicated their lives to ensure law and order in Singapore, have sufficient retirement funds to see them through their silver years. Today, Home Affairs uniformed officers are required to retire at 55 years old. Consequently, their contributions to their INVEST account will end. I understand that the Ministry is currently reviewing the retirement age of Home Affairs uniformed officers. Could the Senior Parliamentary Secretary provide an update on the review and will the age limit for officers’ contributions towards the INVEST Fund, therefore, increase in tandem with their retirement age? In addition to aligning contributions to the INVEST Fund with any change to the retirement age, I would like to request the Ministry to review the mandatory closure of INVEST accounts for retired officers. Mr Speaker, the INVEST Fund was created to help Home Affairs uniformed officers build up an adequate retirement fund, considering their earlier retirement age as compared to the normal retirement age in the Civil Service. With many officers opting to continue with a second career post-retirement, they may not have any immediate need to utilise their retirement funds.”
“The Centre can establish a central registry of WSH practitioners, share industry best practices and showcase the use of new technologies to strengthen safety and health standards. Our small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would be the greatest beneficiaries of such a Centre of Excellence, as they have limited resources and would benefit from such knowledge sharing. Finally, in addition to ensuring safeguards to prevent fraudulent rejection of WIC claims, MOM should also use the data from WIC claims to aid in inspections and enforcement. By analysing the data from a large enough sample size of claims, MOM would be able to derive the sectors and subsectors that are lagging in their WSH practices and conduct more targeted inspections. Mr Speaker, the proposed amendments to WICA will benefit both workers and employers. As we put the pieces of the new legislative framework in place, we need to be mindful that WSH needs to be tackled holistically. Only by focusing equally on preventing workplace accidents and on Workplace Health initiatives can we truly achieve Total WSH. With that, I support the Bill.”
“The question is: what are the safeguards that MOM will put in place to ensure that insurers do not diminish the adequacy of such insurance coverage through these exclusion clauses? Mr Speaker, while the Bill focuses on WIC, we cannot achieve Total WSH without a strong focus on the prevention of workplace accidents. As I have mentioned earlier, 2018 saw a total of 12,810 workplace accidents reported across all industries. Every accident that happens, even the minor ones, is a danger to our workers. Inherent in every injury is the risk that it may worsen and result in a tragedy. Seemingly minor injuries at the first instance can worsen into a major injury and a major injury can lead to death. Unfortunately, in 41 of the accidents that happened last year, the victims succumbed to their injuries. Here, I would like to reiterate the calls that I have made on how we can step up on prevention, as well as provide MOM with a suggestion on how to use the data from the WIC claims to help in conducting targeted inspections and enforcement. The prevention of workplace accidents requires a strong company culture geared towards safe workplace practices. Therefore, we should make it mandatory for every company to have at least one trained WSH representative. Today, only certain sectors are required to have a WSH officer. Having a mandatory WSH representative in every company will certainly go a long way in making Total WSH more pervasive and help prevent accidents from happening. Earlier this year, I had proposed to set up a National WSH Training Academy that doubles up as a WSH Centre of Excellence. I hope that the Ministry can reconsider this suggestion.”
“For instance, those companies with staff canteens can provide healthier food options for their workers. The canteens operated by the National Transport Workers Union (NTWU) have done exactly this through our Brown Rice campaign, which has been a big success across our 46 canteens island-wide. We have also tried to promote sugar-free drinks, such as Kopi-O kosong and Teh-O kosong. Unfortunately, this has not been as successful as the brown rice initiative, but we will try again. Through constant experimentation, I believe that we will be able to find the right initiatives to encourage healthy eating among our workers. What we eat is key to what we turn out to be. The Labour Movement stands ready to partner companies to introduce more initiatives to promote healthy eating and achieve Total WSH. Mr Speaker, this Bill proposes to license insurers that sell and process WIC claims, to create a faster and simpler compensation process. This is a good idea and we need to ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place. Insurers may have vested interest in reducing the number of work injury claims to reduce the compensation that is paid out. Therefore, it is vital that MOM set up channels for workers to seek redress if they disagree with the insurer’s assessment on the validity of their claims. Beyond MOM's proposed role as adjudicator of any WIC disputes, MOM should also have levers to penalise insurers who indiscriminately dismiss claims as non-work injuries. Under the proposed licensing regime, MOM will accredit WIC policies based on a core set of standard terms and conditions to ensure adequate WIC insurance coverage. However, insurers would still be permitted to offer exclusion clauses.”
“Such measures will, undoubtedly, enhance the protection of employees in the area of workplace safety. However, we also need to look at WSH holistically by placing equal emphasis on workplace health, which is the latter – and often overlooked – half of the WSH equation. I have some suggestions on how we can do exactly that. Our workplaces are becoming increasingly desk-bound, particularly for many of our PMEs. Studies have shown that sedentary jobs give rise to new forms of occupational diseases, many of which are not covered under WICA. For example, long working hours, coupled with a stressful workplace environment, can result in mental health issues, such as workplace burnout, which is now a recognised occupational phenomenon by the World Health Organization. "Feeling burnout" is a common phrase we hear from our workers, among our workers, but little has been done to learn more about its longer-term health issues. Such occupation-related mental health issues can lead and have led to negative physical health outcomes. Can the Ministry consider expanding the list of occupational diseases covered under WICA to include mental health issues arising from the workplace? If we are not ready to do so, we should at least initiate more studies on the effects of such workplace work-related mental health issues. Mr Speaker, mental health issues arising from work are a real and ever-present danger at the workplace. We can quip about how to label such mental health issues, whether it is an occupational phenomenon or a work-related disease. What is clear, however, is that we need to protect our workers who may be suffering in silence. For WSH to be pervasive in every industry, companies must also embrace Total WSH and encourage their employees to lead a healthy lifestyle.”
“Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill. According to statistics from MOM, the number of workplace injury cases is rising. Last year, 2018 saw 12,810 workplace injury cases, up from 12,498 cases in 2017. The statistics showed also that although fatal injury cases had decreased, the number of major and minor workplace injury cases saw an increase. The proposed amendments to WICA are, therefore, timely as it seeks to provide a faster and better way to compensate employees in the event of an unfortunate accident occurring at the workplace. However, I have a couple of questions. Let me start by recognising the pro-worker amendments to the Bill, which MOM had jointly formulated with the Labour Movement. Over the past year, I have been advocating for differentiated WIC insurance premiums, based on companies’ risk profiles and claims records. I am, therefore, glad to see that this suggestion has been adopted. Differentiated insurance premiums will incentivise companies with strong workplace safety practices to continue their focus on creating a safe working environment and encourage companies with poor track records to improve their workplace safety practices. Nudging companies to focus on their workplace safety culture is important as this will directly result in a better safety outcome for our workers. The Labour Movement has also worked closely with MOM on other key measures in the Bill that will result in enhanced protection for employees. These include expanding the coverage of compulsory WIC insurance to more employees and extending WIC to include employees on light duty who may be paid significantly less than usual due to their work injury but are not eligible for medical leave.”
“From the investigation into the past PMD-related fires, I would like to ask if SCDF has found any useful patterns or any early warning signs of high fire-risk PMDs. If so, can we focus our inspections on these devices? Mr Deputy Speaker, fire safety is the joint responsibility of everyone in the community. So, while we increase the regulatory powers of SCDF as part of our periodic review of the fire safety regulations, it is important that we extend support to those impacted. I urge the Ministry to do more in helping owners of older buildings to become compliant with new regulations, and to engage our unions to employ experienced officers as supplementary enforcement officers. With that, I support the Bill.”
“Beyond training, another way to reduce issues associated with outsourced enforcement officers is to engage officers, individuals, who already have a wealth of relevant experience. This is where the Labour Movement can come in. Our unions have many members who are retired fire wardens, safety officers and facilities management officers, many of whom will be keen to return to work with some form of training. I urge SCDF to work closely with our unions and engage these experienced officers as possible supplementary enforcement officers. Mr Deputy Speaker, while we had a lengthy discussion earlier on PMDs, I would be remiss if I do not raise the issue of fires relating to the charging of PMDs and power-assisted bicycles (PABs) in a debate about fire safety. With the recent spate of PMD-related fires, it is important that we continue to educate the public on the need to ensure that their PMDs are compliant with the safety standards, and on safe charging habits. While I note that SCDF has infographics about fire safety tips for PMDs and PABs on their social media channels, more work needs to be done to increase awareness, in particular, for those who are not on social media channels. Perhaps, the supplementary enforcement officers could double up their roles and educate the public on proper fire safety practices, when conducting their inspections. SCDF and the Land Transport Authority should also work closely with vendors of these PMDs and PABs to educate their users on the proper charging of their devices at the point of sale. While education and awareness are important, they alone are insufficient. I do agree with Er Dr Lee Bee Wah that with so many non-compliant PMDs in our housing estates, there is a risk of a PMD-related fire every day.”
“This presents the building owners with an extremely prohibitive cost, when all they want is to simply build a lift to cater to the mobility needs of their ageing occupants. So, they tell me, "We cannot install the lift because, if we install the lift, we need to comply with the latest Fire Code. But if we do not install the lift, then we are in compliance with the old Fire Code." Can the Ministry look into how we can help these older buildings lower the prohibitive costs of fire safety compliance when undergoing such A&A works? Mr Deputy Speaker, I support also the provisions in the Bill that will provide SCDF with the ability to appoint authorised third parties, called supplementary enforcement officers, to conduct routine fire safety enforcement checks and building inspections. Singapore is a dense city-state. While there is no official census on the number of buildings in Singapore, a study done by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2005 estimated that there were close to 160,000 buildings in Singapore. I am sure this number has grown significantly in the 14 years since the study was concluded. Allowing SCDF to outsource routine checks would, therefore, allow the agency to better optimise its resources. However, outsourcing comes with the risk that poorly trained enforcement officers would tarnish the reputation of SCDF. Members would have heard of various issues associated with outsourced enforcement officers. Therefore, it is important that we provide these supplementary enforcement officers with the appropriate training, both in terms of technical skills and the soft skills of engaging building management and members of the public. Could the Ministry, therefore, share more on the training that these supplementary enforcement officers would undergo?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill. Although the number of fire incidents has remained stable in recent years, every fire poses a significant risk to lives and properties. It is, therefore, imperative that we review and update our fire safety regulations periodically. While I support the Bill, I have a few questions. First, I support the new provisions in the Bill to empower SCDF to mandate building owners to install fire safety critical upgrades, if deemed necessary for public safety. Currently, changes to the Fire Code can only be applied prospectively to new buildings, and to existing ones that undergo A&A works. But when a fire breaks out and spreads, it does not discriminate between older or newer buildings. Therefore, we must ensure that occupants in all buildings are safe. However, the costs involved for building owners to comply with the latest Fire Code can be significant. As indicated by the Senior Parliamentary Secretary earlier, there are some 500 buildings that would be required to undergo such fire safety upgrades. These buildings have not undergone any A&A works for some time, and some predate even the 1991 Fire Code. It is likely that some of these buildings may require a substantial overhaul to comply with the latest Fire Code. Will the Ministry provide assistance to these building owners to help them become compliant to the latest Fire Code? Due to our ageing population, these older buildings, some of which are in my constituency, are looking at installing lifts to better serve the needs of their elderly occupants. But since they have not undergone any A&A works previously, major overhauls, such as having to build an entirely new fire escape stairwell, are needed to comply with the latest Fire Code.”
“Mr Speaker, I would like to pursue the issue of mandatory third-party insurance. Although several measures have since been implemented by the Ministry, I think we can all understand due to the sheer number of PMDs and the lack of sufficient enforcement resources on the ground, it is almost impossible and also impractical to police errant PMD users. When accidents happen, victims suffer, not only suffering the pain and inconvenience of injuries but having to foot large medical bills, not to mention the loss of earnings as well. Without insurance, it is difficult for the victims to seek appropriate compensation. Taking the errant PMD user to Court may be fruitless, not to mention the high cost of litigation which the victim can ill afford. A general search of the insurance market reveals that the premium for a basic third-party insurance policy, if made mandatory, may not be exorbitant. An indicative estimate may cost somewhere between $50 and $80 per annum, depending on the potential volume of PMDs that we have. This would be an affordable price to pay to ensure proper and adequate compensation to victims of accidents involving PMDs as well as the fire risks from non-compliant devices. So, given the large number of non-compliant PMDs still in use out there – and we still have many more months to go – I urge the Ministry to seriously reconsider the introduction of mandatory insurance in light of this real and imminent risk exposure.”
“Mr Speaker, Orchard Towers is in my constituency. I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for his answer. I have three supplementary questions. Last Saturday, I visited Orchard Towers with my grassroots leaders and officers from the Police, the National Environment Agency and the Land Transport Authority. I understand that there are currently more than 30 public entertainment outlets within Orchard Towers. Can I request that the Ministry consider setting a cap on the number of public entertainment outlets within one property development, especially within a mixed development comprising many residential units? I would also like to ask the Police to consider not renewing some of the Public Entertainment Licences at Orchard Towers when they are up for renewal, especially for those with poor public order records. During my walkabout at Orchard Towers, we saw a number of beauty salons there. From the look of the shopfront, I would be suspicious of the sort of treatments they provide. While I am glad to hear from the Senior Parliamentary Secretary that the Police have taken action against massage establishments, those with licences, at Orchard Towers, I believe the Police have also stopped issuing massage establishment licences there. I understand that these beauty salons do not require any licence to operate. I would, therefore, like to ask if the Police are taking any actions against these beauty salons to ensure that they do not circumvent the licensing regime and engage in vice activities.”
“Some would even manoeuvre at a fast speed zig-zagging across lanes and in between vehicles. This puts them at risk of being side-swept by vehicles if they are in a blind spot. More needs to be done to educate our motorcyclists on the dangers of riding between lanes. Correspondingly, we need to educate other drivers on the importance of checking their blind spots constantly before making a turn or making a lane change. Next, I would like to make another pitch again to disallow cyclists from plying our bus lanes during operating hours. Many cyclists do not cycle in a single file and, even if some do, the bus lanes are simply not wide enough to provide a safety distance between the bus and the cyclist. Many bus drivers that I have spoken to, tell me that it is very difficult to manoeuvre the big bus past a cyclist, more so if it is a group of cyclists. It is obvious that it is practically not possible to keep the bus within the bus lane and get past the cyclists. Let us, therefore, separate the big bus from the small bicycle before we end up with another tragic accident. Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the need to enhance our regulatory regime against errant drivers and to deter irresponsible driving. However, we can only accomplish so much just by raising penalties. We need to go beyond our business-as-usual mentality and relook at some of our previously held assumptions and conclusions regarding road safety. I hope the agencies would consider my suggestions which I believe would serve to further make our roads safer. With that, I support the Bill.”
“This is not my first time raising this and I note that LTA, in their reply, said that they had conducted a small-scale pilot at the junction of North Bridge Road and Rochor Road over a period of six months in 2003. In that pilot, LTA found that there were no significant improvements to road safety. But many countries have since implemented such countdown timers as they view that it improves road safety. In 2017, a study published by the Oregon State University had also found that such countdown timers lead to safer responses from drivers as it reduces mistakes made in what is called the "dilemma zone", which is the area in which a driver is not sure whether to stop or keep going when the light turns yellow. We need to revisit the conclusion of the pilot trial that LTA had conducted over 15 years ago. I believe that the experiences of other countries are sound and there is potential for such countdown timers to further reduce traffic accidents, given the increase in red-light running violations. I hope that the Traffic Police and LTA can conduct a new trial of traffic countdown timers. Perhaps, the agencies can consider Orchard Road, which is within my constituency, which has many traffic junctions – at least eight – and which has significantly heavy traffic flow, for this new trial. Mr Deputy Speaker, statistics have also shown that cyclists, motorcyclists and their pillion riders are most at risk of injury and fatality in the event of a traffic accident. We need to do more education to teach both cyclists and motorcyclists on the importance of defensive riding, as they are our most vulnerable group of road-users. It is not unusual to see motorcyclists riding in between lanes, especially during peak-hour traffic.”
“Such drivers are required to take a breathalyser test installed into the vehicle, prior to being allowed to start their vehicles. Such devices would help lower incidents of drink-driving, especially by repeat offenders. I would, therefore, like to suggest that we emulate this by mandating the installation of such ignition-interlock devices for vehicles owned or driven by past drink-driving offenders. Mr Deputy Speaker, while I recognise that the intent of this Bill is to tighten our regulatory regime to deter irresponsible driving, the truth of the matter is that raising penalties can only accomplish so much to prevent road accidents from happening. We need to go beyond our usual business-as-usual practices of raising penalties and conducting enforcement operations. I propose that we look at how to improve the safety of our roads through enhancing road infrastructure. An infrastructure enhancement that we can make is in the area of our traffic junctions. First, let us simply do away with discretionary right turns. Two high profile accidents in 2018, one along Clementi Road and another at the junction of Jalan Anak Bukit and Jalan Jurong Kechil, which saw two separate fatalities, bring to mind the dangers of discretionary right turns. In both cases, the drivers appeared to have had an error of judgement in making the right turn. Earlier, we have also heard similar cases by Members Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and Prof Lim Sun Sun. So, while I am encouraged that there are plans to install more non-discretionary right-turn arrows, I would like for us to go one step further and convert all right-turn arrows into non-discretionary. This would certainly go a long way in making our roads a safer place. Second, we should include countdown timers at all traffic junctions.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill. According to the annual road traffic accident situation report issued by the Singapore Police Force, while there were fewer road traffic accidents in 2018, the number of fatal road accidents had increased when compared with 2017. The Police also noted an increase in the number of drink-driving accidents, as well as red-light running violations and related accidents. These are serious traffic offences and are often a result of irresponsible driver behaviour. The proposed amendments to the RTA are, therefore, timely as the harsher punishments would help deter irresponsible driving. However, I would like to provide additional suggestions to help make commuting on our roads safer. I support MHA's proposal to enhance criminal penalties to deter irresponsible driving, such as those who drink and drive. Drink-driving incidents are preventable 100%. We just simply do not drink and drive. And I believe that we can do more to deter people from driving under the influence of alcohol. Currently, the proposed measures in the Bill only target the driver. I propose that those who knowingly assist incidents of drink-driving, such as handing a drunk person the keys to the car, should also be made culpable of aiding and abetting drink-driving under the law. This would serve as both a legal deterrent as well as shape societal dynamics by making it a joint responsibility for others to stop someone from drink-driving. Technology can also be a key enabler in preventing drink-driving. Countries, such as Australia, the Netherlands and the US, have passed laws to mandate the installation of ignition-interlock devices in vehicles of convicted drink-driving offenders.”
“I thank the Senior Minister of State for the response. I am glad to hear that the Ministry is looking into compulsory registration of drones. I hope that this could be done sooner rather than later. So, can the Senior Minister of State provide an estimated timeline when drone registration may take place? My second question is we need to go beyond registration. We know that some of this technology allows the operator to fly the drones beyond a certain distance. Given Singapore's small land space, this can even be operated outside of Singapore. I would like to ask if the Ministry has plans to put in place an unmanned aerial traffic management system to track all drones that are in operation within our airspace in real-time so that it can facilitate the authorities to go after any errant operators before it reaches within the high-risk areas, such as the airports.”
“I thank the Minister for his reply. According to media reports, the Johor Chief Minister Dr Sahruddin Jamal had announced yesterday that the state government is looking into relocating their high-risk chemical factories. I would like to ask if Singapore is actively engaging Malaysia on this to ensure that any relocation does not inadvertently place us at an even higher risk of resultant air pollution.”
“Ministers with the domain expertise must be able to be in a position to speedily conclude whether a statement of fact is false and what course of action is in the public interest. Nothing stops the original author nor the platform nor anyone else from commenting on the original post or the evidence provided by the Minister, or the Correction Direction itself. If Ministers cannot intervene early, in a calibrated manner, falsehoods can quickly erupt into violence, as we have seen in many other countries, which will then warrant more drastic measures for us to take. And when that happens, damage, some of which may be irreversible, would have been done. And that, to me, will, indeed, be chilling. Mr Speaker, I support the Bill.”
“Mr Speaker, the proposals in this Bill are unique. The Government's approach to countering fake news is different from other countries and, in my view, different in a positive way. Rather than requiring all originators of fake news to immediately take down the questionable content, which is what Germany has done, this Bill focuses on ensuring that facts are stated accurately and that readers are aware of the inaccuracies on a timely basis. I hope that through this, our society will grow to be more media-literate over time. But media literacy cannot be achieved just from this Bill alone. All levels of society will need to partner one another to make this happen. Social media sites must recognise that they owe a responsibility to ensure that their content is factually accurate. But that, in itself, is a big challenge as some of the existing models thrive on news virality. The public must also arm ourselves with the necessary skills to decipher between what is real and what is fake. The Government has done much in recent months on public engagement and I hope that such efforts continue unabated. Mr Speaker, let me conclude by saying that fake news is not a new phenomenon. History provides many examples of misinformation being used for malicious purposes. What is new is the advent of technologies that help to spread such fake news at a rate faster than ever before. This Bill, therefore, provides us with new tools, new measures to fight against deliberate online falsehoods and manipulation. Things that aim to harm our society. The Government must be able to take swift action. The Government should have the powers to take swift action.”
“It is, therefore, important for the Government and Members of this House to continue reassuring the public on what happens if they are unwitting pawns of a purveyor of fake news. I think the short answer is, nothing happens. Mr Speaker, since the First Reading of the Bill, there have been concerns about stifling freedom of speech and individual rights. Even in this debate, we have heard from Members of the WP that the Bill will have a chilling effect on free speech. I am, therefore, glad that the Minister has corrected these misconceptions: one, that the Court will be the final arbiter of what is to be considered true or false; two, that the Bill only pertains to statement of facts, not opinions, not criticism nor satire; and three, that the Bill is targeted at falsehoods that affect public interest. However, the definition of public interest under the Bill is rather wide. While I acknowledge the need for the most workable version of defining public interest, such a wide definition could still be constantly challenged. Would the Courts be the final arbiter of whether an issue is of public interest? Does the Minister foresee many legal challenges on this front and what will be done to educate Singaporeans on what constitutes public interest? The Government will also need to work together with the Courts to put in place a simple and expeditious appeal process. How fast will it take for an appeal to reach the Court? Will there be a fee imposed? Can a person seek a review of a Correction Direction without needing to engage a lawyer? These are all important operational concerns that need to be articulated to the public, to assure Singaporeans that the exercise of powers under the proposed legislation is subjected to proper oversight by the Courts.”
“If the correction is put up too late, we risk having the correction just as a token measure as the misinformation has already spread and few, if any, will read the correction if it is put up too late. When it comes to increasing the reach of the corrections, social media sites must play their part. While the Bill requires online platforms to help alert users to the correction, sites will need to review the way they manage the original post to raise awareness about the correction. One example is the "share" function on Facebook. I propose that following a correction, all shared posts be applied with a filter, similar to the violent content filter that we already have, to alert users that there is an attached correction to this particular news. This way, new readers can be made aware that the content contains certain falsehoods. Mr Speaker, another important aspect to consider is that often, the most convincing fake news are half-truths. Stories that are peppered with blatant false facts can be easily identified. But stories with just the right mix of facts and false statements can be hard to distinguish, and individuals do share these stories with their friends. The Minister has mentioned on more than one occasion that the Bill does not make it an offence for a person who unwittingly shares an online falsehood. But there is still much confusion on the ground, especially among our more elderly residents. They are worried because some people are telling them that they will get into trouble with the new law. So, they are worried, what if I forward something on WhatsApp to my friends? What if I shared something on Facebook or Instagram? Will I get into trouble?”
“Mr Speaker, much has been discussed yesterday and today, and the debates seem to dwell, in my view, disproportionately on freedom of speech and silencing of the Government's critics. I would like to go back to why we are having this Bill. Online falsehoods can lead to very serious law and order concerns in a very short time. This is because purveyors of falsehoods prey on our societal fault lines, such as race and religion, in order to exploit social media algorithms, draw eyeballs and go viral. Around the world, we have seen a pattern of falsehoods proliferating in the wake of serious public order incidents. These falsehoods seek to exacerbate social divisions. And various examples have been cited in this House by various speakers. Mr Speaker, Singapore is not exempt from fake news, too. Clearly, we need speedy, targeted tools. In some other countries, the lack of these tools has led the government to resort to disproportionate measures. We saw this in Sri Lanka, where in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings, the Sri Lankan government moved to ban various social media sites, including Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram among others, to pre-empt divisive misinformation. The ban was only lifted one week later. While I support the Bill, I would like to highlight some ground concerns and also to seek some clarifications from the Minister. The key recommendation by the SC was to disrupt online falsehoods by breaking the virality of the fake news and increase the reach of corrections. The Bill has put in place clauses requiring online platforms to spread the corrections. While this is a good move, the key to making this work lies in its implementation. How fast must a correction be put up? Viral stories spread quickly.”
“I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for her answer. I have two questions. One, why is the Work Permit for FDWs fixed at two years? Will MOM consider reviewing this permit term duration? My second question is, I find HSS rather interesting, rather novel, but it is currently confined only to cleaning services. Can MOM actually consider extending this pilot scheme to, perhaps, caregiving as well, that is, for households requiring caregiving services?”
“I thank the Senior Minister of State. Many of the private condominiums in my constituency – and I have many – are stepping up anti-mosquito fogging. It has come to a point where there is some kind of fogging almost every day. The residents tell me, "If I do not fog, then the mosquitoes next door will come over to my side". So, I have two questions. One, can the Ministry explain if this fogging is useful and effective because I have some understanding that the mosquitoes will eventually become resistant to some of the chemicals being used. That is one. Two, because there is so much fogging taking place and it is becoming like a competition, can NEA consider coordinating such fogging activities in private estate clusters where there are quite a number of condominiums and they are all fogging at some point in the week. And if it is effective, then I think we should do something about it. In fact, if somebody coordinates, then if we can aggregate demand, it may also bring the costs down for the area or for the estate.”
“I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the answer. I have a couple of follow-up questions. First, based on the case data, does MOH know, especially for the new cases, at what stage do they seek medical consultation? Is it early on or is it later because that is followed by my next question: are MOH's current public awareness, current measures to contain local cases effective? Of the 1,565 new cases reported last year, that is, 2018, more than two-thirds, or about 1,130, were at least 50 years old. More than half of these were males. So, I am not sure whether some of the efforts can be more targeted to focus on these vulnerable and higher-risk groups. My last question is: with an ageing population and based on what the Senior Parliamentary Secretary just said, would MOH expect the incidence rate to continue to increase due to our ageing population?”
“I would also like to thank the men and women in the PCRC for the hard work put in over more than two years to put together this Bill. Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Bill.”
“The ages of these children are also getting younger. Statistics from MSF show that for those between 11 and 12 years old, the number of BPC cases increased almost three-fold from three in 2016 to eight in 2018, while those in the age band of 13-14 years old saw an increase of more than two-fold, from 24 cases in 2016, to 56 cases in 2018. According to recent reports by MSF, we are also seeing BPC cases involving children 10 years old and younger. In my previous life as a Police officer, I was always concerned to see young offenders, especially who were still in primary schools. Mr Deputy Speaker, this upward trending of BPC cases goes against the proposed increase of minimum age for criminal responsibility. I worry that it would lead to a phenomenon where unruly, unsupervised young children can possibly commit crimes without liabilities. We must watch this trend carefully. We need to pay close attention to young at-risk children, as well as the number and age of young offenders arrested for crime. More importantly, are there plans to effectively arrest the trending increase of BPC cases? Lastly, the proposed amendments to the Penal Code have generally resulted in increases to the maximum jail sentences. This would possibly lead to a corresponding increase in jail time meted out to offenders. What would be the impact on our prisons, and does our Prison Service have the resources, both in terms of infrastructure and manpower, to support this? Mr Deputy Speaker, I will conclude by reiterating my support for the proposed amendments in the Criminal Law Reform Bill. The amendments are essential to ensure that our Penal Code continues to remain relevant in today’s context.”
“In 2016, two-year-old Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser died after five weeks of abuse by his mother and her boyfriend. In 2017, a couple tortured 26-year-old waitress Annie Ee Yu Lian who had intellectual disabilities for eight months. She subsequently died. In both cases, the victims were vulnerable and abused by their caregivers. The new provision proposed in section 304C would apply to both the person who committed the unlawful act as well as to someone who witnessed the abuse but stood by and did nothing to stop the abuse. While this deterrent will provide greater protection to vulnerable people by putting the onus on witnesses to report the abuse, what if the witness was also a victim of abuse, either mentally or physically, by the perpetrator? For example, take the case of a mother who is a victim of abuse herself and, out of fear, she did nothing to stop the abuse to her child. She would have been liable under the new proposed section 304C. I would, therefore, urge that we consider such circumstances and the mental state of the individuals before we consider prosecution. Mr Deputy Speaker, another proposed amendment is to raise the minimum age for criminal responsibility to 10 years old, up from the current seven. I note that this was a recommendation by the PCRC, which was of the view that raising the minimum age would not be a significant risk to public safety. While this change might seem reasonable if we compare the minimum age to global benchmarks, I have my concerns and ask that we could perhaps also look at things in a local context. Let me explain. Locally, we are experiencing an increasing trend of reported cases of children beyond parental control (BPC). The number of cases has risen from 71 in 2016, to 108 in 2018.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill. The proposed comprehensive amendments to the Penal Code are timely and will serve to ensure that our laws remain relevant in the new digital era. However, I would like to seek clarifications on some parts of the Bill. First, I strongly support the proposed amendment that targets voyeuristic activities. As MHA and MinLaw have noted, there is a bustling online marketplace for upskirt photographs and videos. Unfortunately, the current law we have is inadequate to address the problems brought about by the advancements in micro camera technologies and the prevalence of such cameras to the general public. There is a need for targeted laws to outlaw the act of observing or recording a person without their consent. But while this will serve to protect victims of voyeurs, some private investigators (PI) have expressed concerns. How would they be impacted by this new offence? Can the PIs continue to conduct surveillance operations to collect evidence for their clients? Next, I am in full support of the repeal of marital rape. This is a long-awaited change. Married women should have the same access to protection as unmarried women. But there remain practical challenges in implementing this. Some of my residents have also spoken to me to voice concerns over potential false allegations of rape by an estranged spouse. This is not inconceivable for strained relationships. I would, therefore, like to ask what safeguards there are to ensure such allegations are carefully dealt with. Mr Deputy Speaker, I also welcome the proposed new section 304C which makes it an offence to cause or allow the death of a child or a vulnerable person. Notable cases in recent years have made this change necessary.”
“The union stands ready to work with the Ministry and the transport operators to help our workers keep up with technology changes and ensure that they are well-prepared to handle future challenges in this sector, but we need the Government's support for this. One key technology that Singapore has been exploring in recent years is the use of autonomous vehicles (AVs). There are several ongoing trials for AVs, including autonomous buses, with the most recent being the Nanyang Technological University's (NTU's) collaboration with Volvo to test self-driving electric buses in actual traffic conditions. At a recent focus group discussion where Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Baey Yam Keng were also present, our public transport workers and union leaders expressed strong concerns over the uncertainty of their jobs due to the impending adoption of autonomous buses. In fact, I have also raised these concerns at every COS since 2017. We need to take action sooner, rather than later, to help our public transport workers transition into a driverless world. There are more than 10,000 bus captains, of whom many have been driving as a livelihood for decades. I, therefore, urge the Ministry to set up a tripartite committee to work with the union and the transport operators to oversee the impact of the development of AVs on transport workers in Singapore. Safe and Healthy Journeys”
“I hope that the Ministry can consider extending the ODPB trial to the Dunearn and Bukit Timah estates which are currently located within my constituency. There are many elderly residents living in these areas, and having such a service would be useful for those who may find that the nearest bus stop or MRT station is quite a distance to walk. Finally, the ODPB concept is not entirely flawless. Some of the bus captains I spoke to shared that they were not able to adapt well to the rigours of being always on demand. They preferred to work on fixed and scheduled routes. I, therefore, urge the Ministry to also consider drivers' stress, drivers' fatigue and work with the union and the public transport operators to look after the needs of our bus drivers who are plying on such ODPBs. Developing a Future-ready Workforce I sit on the LTMP Advisory Panel and we have recently announced our recommendations on LTMP 2040. Harnessing technology will be key to realising some of the recommendations made by the panel. However, the flipside of harnessing that very same technology will have the potential disruptions to the livelihoods of many of our public transport workers. Here, I declare my interest as the executive secretary of the National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU), and I would like to ask the Ministry to shed more light on the impact of the LTMP 2040 recommendations on public transport workers. 1.45 pm Are there plans to ensure that our public transport workers are ready to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalisation?”
“Chairman, technological advances will allow us to reinvent and reimagine our land transport system. One good example is the introduction of on-demand public buses. LTA recently launched a trial of On-Demand Public Bus (ODPB) services which allow commuters to request pickups and drop-offs at any bus stop within defined areas, using a mobile application. The intention of such a trial is to evaluate the feasibility of operating public bus service with routes and schedules based on real-time commuter demand instead of following current fixed routes and predetermined timetables. Last week, LTA announced that about 6,000 trips have been taken in the first two months of the trial with about 20,000 app downloads. I recently visited Shenton Way Bus Terminal to learn how the trial at Marina Downtown area has been progressing and to also talk to our bus workers operating the service. From what I observed, there are clear benefits to this system. By being more responsive to the real-time changes in commuter demand, we can reduce empty mileage quite significantly. Currently, the trial operates only during off-peak hours. I would like to ask if the Ministry can extend the trial to peak hours to test if the benefits apply as well. I would also like to suggest for the system to incorporate the use of virtual bus stops. With technology, we can increase convenience for commuters by allowing them to select their pickup and drop-off points along certain designated zones instead of confining to current traditional bus stops. The ODPB concept will certainly be useful in areas where there is low financial viability to deploy fixed and scheduled buses due to a low population density, such as private landed estates of which I have plenty in my constituency.”
“Mr Chairman, it has been quite a few years since MOH declared war on diabetes. I would like to ask the Ministry to provide an update on the progress of our fight against diabetes, and what were some of the most effective initiatives that have been rolled out thus far. Singaporeans spend a lot of time at the workplace. Therefore, promoting workplace health is a key battleground in our fight against diabetes. We are what we eat, meals with reduced salt and oil, and drinks with reduced sugar are some simple steps that workers can take towards forming healthy eating habits. Employers, too, can play a vital role in encourage healthier eating habits. The National Transport Workers Union (NTWU) and Singapore Bus Services Transit (SBST) have collaborated to do just that. Today, 43 NTWU canteens offer healthier brown rice meal options. As an employer, SBST has contributed $150,000 to support this initiative. More than 10,000 SBST staff can get a stamp with each brown rice meal they buy. Every five stamps can be exchanged for a $2.50 meal voucher. Since we started this initiative, our transport workers have taken more than 50,000 brown rice meals at our NTWU canteens. I hope that MOH can continue to encourage and support more such collaborations at our workplaces. Tobacco Control”
“Mr Chairman, there is an increasing need to ensure that we make mental health services more accessible to support those with mental health conditions. A distinction is often made between mental and physical health. But the mind and body are inextricably linked. The two are inseparable and we need to pay attention to both to achieve wellness and not fall into illness. Our workplace can be a very stressful environment. A 2017 study by Willis Towers Watson found that 44% of local employers identified stress as their No 1 health issue, while 60% of the employees admitted to having above average or high levels of stress. Prolonged exposure to such stress can potentially lead to mental health conditions. But there remains a societal stigma when it comes to dealing with mental health issues. Many are unwilling to openly talk about such issues. And a 2018 survey conducted by the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) revealed that over half of those surveyed were unwilling to live or work with a person with a mental health condition. Mental health issues affect Singaporeans of all ages, in particular, our youths and millennials. Some have started calling them the "burnout generation". Yet, addressing such issues remain a stigma in Singapore. I would like to ask how MOH is making mental health services more accessible to support persons with mental health conditions, especially among our youths. Community Mental Health and Wellness”
“Mr Chairman, the digital age has revolutionised the way we live, work and play. However, it is not without its dark side. Young and impressionable youths are easily influenced by social media, sometimes going to extreme lengths to get more "likes" and "follows". The presence of the dark web is also concerning if there is a lack of adult supervision and, sometimes, even with adult supervision. Managing our youths' exposure to social media and the Internet is important, as they are the most susceptible to undue online influences. Statistics recently released by MSF have also shown that cases of children beyond parental control have reached a 10-year high. This is a worrying trend. I hope that MSF can look at how to better protect this vulnerable group, in particular, those that belong to at-risk groups. While latest figures have shown a drop in the percentage of youths that re-offend within three years of their incarceration, from 20.3% to the current 16.7%, this is still a high figure. I would like to ask what plans MSF has to better help youth offenders reintegrate into society. To help at-risk youths break away from the vicious cycle of crime, the National Committee on Prevention, Rehabilitation and Recidivism was set up in April last year to look into how we can intervene upstream and adopt a more preventive and integrative approach towards at-risk youths, young offenders, as well as their families. Can MSF provide an update on the committee’s work thus far?”
“Mr Chairman, it is not uncommon to find restraint of trade clauses in employment contracts to protect the interest of the employer, by restricting a former employee from competing in the same industry and jumping to a competitor. Such restrictions are currently not governed by legislation. As a result, we hear of instances of unreasonable restraint clauses built into contracts even for workers, such as cleaners, construction workers, preschool teachers and even drivers. It often states that the employee cannot work in the same or similar industry for one year after leaving the employment of the company. Such unreasonable restriction of trade clauses jeopardises the livelihoods of our workers. I urge the Ministry to introduce measures to protect the interest of vulnerable segments of our workers, including low-wage workers and junior PMEs.”
“Today, distressed migrant workers are unwilling to come forward when they have disputes against their employers, for fear of repatriation. While MOM has made key changes to the employment transfer system for Work Permit holders to specifically address this, migrant workers often do not have the correct network or assistance to search for new jobs. To exacerbate matters, workers who have lodged complaints are seen in a negative light by recruiters. These factors contribute to a persistently low rate of successful job placement for this group of vulnerable workers. I hope that the Government can continue to work with NTUC to improve the migrant worker employment system such that there is better end-to-end support for migrant workers involved in disputes with bad employers. Employers, too, need to recognise that employing such workers can be advantageous, as these migrant workers have already acclimatised to local culture and work habits.”