Ong Ye Kung
Singapore
“The Ministry of Health (MOH) recently enhanced the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) dental subsidies, which are tiered by income, for common preventive and restorative procedures.”
“Healthier SG GP clinics may also refer their enrolled patients to Active Ageing Centres and Community Health Posts to fulfill their social prescriptions and for subsidised services, such as medication management.”
“Public hospitals, such as the National University Hospital, the Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, have deployed robotic-assisted surgical (RAS) systems for minimally invasive soft-tissue surgeries.”
“The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) welcomes drug producers to choose Singapore as part of their first-wave filings. As long as a pharmaceutical product is approved by at least one regulatory agency, such as China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), it would also qualify for the abridged route.”
“A decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate in patients with diabetes can be due to multiple reasons. Doctors will first investigate the underlying cause before determining whether the patient should be referred to a specialist. Some causes are reversible and cause transient reduction in renal function.”
“Information on the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) cannot be made visible on the National Electronic Health Record system as it is protected under the Mental Capacity Act. Such information may only be disclosed by the Public Guardian to specified persons upon satisfactory submission of evidence(s) required under the law.”
The complete record
Every one of 2,932 lines we hold for Ong Ye Kung, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 41 of 59.
“Members may be wondering what these are. They are not the latest emojis, they are different kinds of plugs for EVs used around the world. And we have settled on two of these plugs, the one that is with a red border around it, which is Type 2 for AC charging and CCS 2 for DC charging. These are the most widely adopted now internationally, and we will adopt these as our national public charging standards. The set of technical standards and safety precautions that governs the EV charging systems in Singapore is called the Technical Reference 25 (TR25). It is administered by the Energy Market Authority (EMA). To give dedicated focus to this work, we will amend legislation to transfer the role of regulator of EV charging systems from EMA to LTA. LTA is also leading a comprehensive review of TR25 in partnership with industry players and various stakeholders and experts. We expect the review to be completed by end of this year. The idea is to make TR25 friendly to industry development, while ensuring safety. While the review is on-going, LTA plans to set up regulatory sandboxes for commercial players to test and introduce new charging solutions. It is very important we get this right, because it will determine the level of private sector involvement in finding solutions to build up the infrastructure and drive EV charging and adoption. A couple of Members also raised the issue of disposal and recycling of used EV batteries. This comes under the regulation of NEA and will be addressed at the MSE's COS speeches later. But this leads us to the third point, which is how to expand the EV charging network, and is a point raised by several Members. We are doubling our 2030 targets, from 28,000 to 60,000 by 2030.”
“I have been reminded by the Clerk to tell Members that you may also access these materials through the SG-Parl MP mobile app. That will save paper. So, we will merge the current electric car road tax bands of 30-90 kilowatt and 90-230 kilowatt, merge them into one band and subject them to the current road tax formula of the lower band, the 30-90 kilowatt band. The long and short of it is, we will bring down the road taxes of electric cars in the upper band. Using the examples earlier, a Hyundai Kona Electric will see its annual road tax fall from about $1,400, to $1,100. That of a Tesla Model 3 will drop from $2,300 per year, to $1,500. And this will make their road taxes comparable to ICE models with a similar look and feel. Some car enthusiasts have observed that for big electric cars, those 230 kilowatt, 300 kilowatt, the road tax schedule is also a bit off. To illustrate, some have told me an electric Porsche Taycan is subject to significantly more road tax than a Porsche Cayenne. I acknowledge the concerns. But these are all big luxurious cars. I prefer to leave them alone for now. What is important is that we have now established the principles and policy for charging road tax on electric cars. As more models emerge, we will review the road tax schedule further, with a view not to over-charge electric cars vis-à-vis ICE cars. The second area of work is to improve our regulations and standards. With your permission, Mdm Chairman, may I show an illustrative slide on the LCD screens please?”
“To illustrate, let us compare a 105 kilowatt MG EV, that is the most popular EV in Singapore now, and a 1,800 cc Renault Megane. Both are medium-sized family cars. Both subject to similar annual road taxes of around $1,000. But for the slightly larger, mass market segment cars, it becomes a bit off. To illustrate again, a 150 kilowatt Hyundai Kona Electric Standard Utility Vehicle (SUV) is subject to about the same road tax as a 2,000 cc Audi Q5 or Q7. But I think Members will agree with me, the level of luxury between the two models is quite different. Similarly, an entry model of the Tesla, which is the 225 kilowatt Tesla Model 3, and 3,000 cc Porsche Cayenne are subject to about the same road tax. So, also a bit off. This problem exists because we have thus far linked the road tax schedules of electric and ICE cars by propulsion power, so quite scientific. And hence, we have inadvertently penalised the more power-efficient electric cars. To address this, we will adjust the road taxes further for electric cars in the 90-230 kilowatt band. With your permission, Mdm Chairman, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a handout showing the current and new electric car road tax schedules?”
“Since the start of the year, there have been about 100 new electric car registrations in Singapore. It is a small number, but we will ramp it up. Many mass-market electric car buyers still cannot benefit from the full $45,000 rebate, because there is a minimum payment of $5,000 for the ARF. So, to enable mass-market electric cars to benefit from the full rebate, we will remove the $5,000 minimum ARF. As for road tax, it is a more complicated matter. We just implemented a significant downward revision for electric cars from 1 January this year. For certain models, the reduction is significant, as much as 40%. Notwithstanding this, we decided to review the matter further. Let me explain why. A large part of road tax is a luxury tax. But luxury is subjective and hard to measure. So, for a long time, we have been using engine capacity as a proxy for luxury. The bigger the engine, the bigger the car, the higher the road tax. The same approach can be applied to electric cars. They do not have engine capacity, but we can design the road tax schedule based on propulsion power, measured in kilowatt-hour, as a proxy for luxury. Then, we should set the electric car road tax schedule such that electric and ICE cars with roughly the same look, feel and level of luxury are subject to the same road taxes. And this is inherently a subjective exercise and would not be very scientific. But it reflects the policy objective, which is that a large part of road tax is a luxury tax. And if we take that approach and we then eyeball through the models of ICE and electric cars using their prevailing road tax schedules, we find that for the small and medium electric and ICE cars, their road taxes are quite comparable. But for the larger cars, they are a little bit off.”
“Several Members have asked what steps will be taken to encourage the take up of EVs in Singapore and meet these targets, the 2030 and 2040 targets. Some Members have asked whether there are further interim targets. We used to have a 2040 target; we have just set a 2030 target. So, give us some time. When we gather momentum, maybe we can have more interim targets. For now, it is just these two. I think three aspects will make a difference: taxes, regulations and chargers. Let me talk about them in turn. First, vehicle taxes. The objectives of the COE system and upfront vehicle ownership taxes such as the Additional Registration Fee (ARF), are mostly to manage congestion, to which there is no difference between ICEs and EVs. Therefore, it is not appropriate to waive all or almost all vehicles, on electric cars, as suggested by Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Mr Ang Wei Neng, Mr Lim Biow Chuan. Technological advancement is narrowing the price differential between ICEs and EVs rapidly. Experts think price equalisation will happen in 2025 or earlier. To give Members an illustration: the main cost of an EV is in the battery. In 2010, the cost was about US$1,000 per kilowatt-hour of battery power. By now, it is about US$140. So, it fell, in 10 years, from US$1,000 per kilowatt-hour to about US$140. Experts feel that when it reaches about US$100 per kilowatt-hour, this is the tipping point when there will be price equalisation between EVs and ICEs. In the meantime, while the prices are falling, we will offer tax incentives to EV owners. We introduced the EV Early Adoption Incentive this year. Together with the enhanced Vehicular Emissions Scheme, the cost of owning an electric car can be lowered by up to $45,000.”
“Mdm Chair, I will be talking about electric vehicles. Throughout my speech, I will refer to electric vehicles as EVs, then as for traditional vehicles running on fossil fuels through an internal combustion engine, I will just refer to them as ICEs. Let me start with Prof Koh Lian Pin’s question, which is the net carbon savings due to transition from ICEs to EVs. There is a net carbon abatement by switching from ICEs to EVs, even if the electricity is generated by fossil fuels. In Singapore, where most of our power is generated from natural gas, the net carbon savings by switching from ICEs to EVs is about 50%. You halve it. Today, in aggregate, vehicles on the whole emit about 6.4 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year. If the subset of light vehicles all ran on electricity, the total net carbon abatement would be about 1.5 to two million tonnes per year of CO2-equivalent per year. So, this abatement is about 4% of our total annual emissions, so not insignificant. 12.45 pm Hence, the Singapore Green Plan includes a push for EVs. We have a 2040 target to phase out ICEs and have all vehicles run on cleaner energy. To realise this vision, and given that COEs for cars last for ten years, we will require from 2030 all new car and taxi registrations to be of cleaner energy models. They can be electric, they can be hybrid, hydrogen fuel cell cars, and so on. As these technologies are evolving rapidly, we will monitor developments closely, and finalise the definition of registrable models well before 2030. To further pave the way for greener vehicles, we will also cease new diesel car and taxi registrations from 2025. As we know, diesel cars emit PM2.5 and they are even more pollutive.”
“Mdm Chair, I will try to get all my dates and all my numbers right.”
“I mentioned just now, I keep reminding people to practise cyber hygiene, but that is by no means the only thing that we do. As I mentioned, there is a system that strikes a balance between the liability on the banks as well as on the part of consumers. In fact, for consumers, so long as they are not negligent, they are responsible, they report quickly, the losses they suffer is very much minimised and these are all encapsulated in the industry Code of Practice for Banks on Credit Cards. As I mentioned in my reply, it is also being reviewed. So, I know we are all plagued by cyber crimes and scams. We are all victims of it. Every day, we open our emails, we see some of them. So, we will continue to be there and we will continue to have to strike a balance – educating but at the same time protecting consumers, but also to be fair to banks and the industry. This is something that is evolving and we will continue to work on it.”
“We will continue to monitor the fraud situation and ensure that banks do their part to provide their customers with clear steps to take in order to protect themselves from such losses. In addition, the industry Code of Practice for Banks on Credit Cards issued by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), sets out the liability of cardholders under various circumstances, is currently being reviewed to consider emerging scenarios for fraud and further risk mitigating measures. Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response and for sharing with us about how the system is being continually refined. I have just one supplementary question for which some motivational context behind the original question, I think, would be useful. The US has the Fair Credit Reporting Act which, by limiting the liability on consumers, has actually shifted a significant part of the burden of fraud detection and policing away from the consumer and government, and back toward credit card providers. Even, as the Minister had shared, we have some elements of this in place, I think the routine reporting of fraud and in our own Meet-the-People's sessions, when we have residents coming into us, fearful for the loss of their life savings due to fraud, makes me feel that consumers are often still in lurch for liability for unauthorised transactions on their credit card accounts. So, to build on my question, I wonder if the MAS has considered other forms of regulation that would potentially shift the burden of responsibility away from consumers constantly just improving their cyber hygiene, and toward better deployment of fraud detection technology and tools by financial institutions because they are held more liable for fraud-related losses.”
“Assoc Prof Jamus Lim asked if banks and credit card issuers should be encouraged to obtain wholesale insurance cover for card fraud losses, so that they can write-off smaller losses incurred as a result of fraud. There is little demand from credit card issuers to purchase insurance to cover fraud-related losses arising from their credit card portfolios. Instead of insurance, which will lead to higher costs for consumers, it is more important for credit card issuers and customers to play their respective parts in preventing fraud. Credit card issuers such as banks have invested considerable resources in building fraud surveillance systems and controls to combat card fraud. These systems have been enhanced over the years in response to changing technologies and methods used by the fraudsters. Today, major banks share fraud trends with one another, enabling them to continually refine fraud rules to tackle the latest fraud techniques. Customers should keep their cards safe and immediately report to their issuing banks if they lose their cards. A timely report will cap a customer's liability at $100 unless he is subsequently found to have acted fraudulently or negligently. For online payments, customers should not disclose credit card details or One-Time PIN, or OTP, to anyone, and should practise strong cyber hygiene such as by regularly updating the security patches and anti-malware software on their devices. I find myself repeating this in Parliament and reminding people: practise good cyber hygiene. For unauthorised payments to merchants that are not secured by OTP, banks have the right to recover the lost amounts fully from the merchants, and hence customers will not bear any loss.”
“The 3 kilometre stretch along Sengkang West Way and Sengkang West Avenue has 10 traffic light crossings and six pedestrian overhead bridges (POB), i.e. an average of a crossing every 200 metres. All the traffic light crossings are barrier-free, as is one of the POBs. Residents who need a barrier-free crossing can typically reach one within a reasonable walking distance. We will continue to prioritise constructing lifts at pedestrian overhead bridges at locations that will benefit large numbers of seniors and commuters with mobility challenges, where there are fewer alternatives, and with a focus on those near public transport nodes and healthcare institutions.”
“Prioritisation of fitting of lifts to pedestrian overhead bridges are broadly guided by two considerations. First, the number of seniors and commuters with mobility challenges that will benefit from the lift, and second, whether the overhead bridge will help better connect them to public transport nodes and healthcare institutions. These considerations are needed to ensure public funds are put to the best use to benefit the most number of people, in the most meaningful way. As such, it is not appropriate for LTA to base its considerations on the proportion of seniors, instead of the absolute number of seniors living in the vicinity. In the case of Anchorvale, lifts have been provided at the pedestrian overhead bridge outside Sengkang General and Community Hospital for the benefit of the many senior citizens and patients visiting the hospital. The bridge at Blk 333D next to the hospital is also currently being fitted with lifts. LTA will continue to periodically review its programme for lifts at POBs and explore other ways to provide barrier-free crossing for those who need it.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has recently received requests from owners of recumbent bikes and trikes to use their devices on public paths and roads. They are currently allowed on footpaths and cycling paths/park connectors only if they meet safety requirements. LTA is currently reviewing the requests, bearing in mind that the safety of riders and other road users is its over-riding consideration.”
“I would like to thank the Member for the question. We will be addressing the question together with other related questions on public transport financials at the MOT Committee of Supply debate in early March.”
“The Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) operates on a gross cost model during the initial years. This means Government takes the fare revenue risk, as it collects the fare revenue and pays the TEL operator a service fee for operating and maintaining the line. TEL opened on 31 January 2020. For the financial year ending on 31 March 2020, the TEL fare revenue collected by LTA was about $0.2 million while the service fee paid to the operator was about $23 million. During this same period, the operator, SMRT TEL, incurred an operating loss of about $0.13 million, based on its first two months of operations. This is expected, as TEL is opening in phases and ridership will take time to build up. By doing so, we are better able to iron out teething issues and ensure that the system is more stable and reliable.”
“Since 2013, LTA has been working closely with the nature groups to address their concerns on the impact of the Cross Island Line (CRL) on the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR). LTA has also engaged an advance engineering consultant in early 2020 to look into the optimisation of the worksite at A1W1, to reduce the potential impact to the Raffles Banded Langurs. The study and engagement have led to two significant changes. First, LTA has further optimised the worksite and reduced the footprint by over 50%. Second, LTA secured the agreement of the management of the Singapore Island Country Club to move part of the A1W1 worksite into the premise of the club. With these measures, the worksite will be significantly further away, at approximately 150 metres instead of 30 metres, from the area where the Raffles Banded Langurs are known to roam. The key representatives of the nature groups have reviewed the optimised A1W1 worksite and they are supportive of the changes. LTA will continue to work with them on further measures to mitigate any potential environmental impact at the A1W1 worksite when construction of the CRL begins, so as to strike a balance between preserving the environment and wildlife, and improving transport infrastructure for the benefit of Singaporeans.”
“I will elaborate more on these plans in the upcoming Committee of Supply for the Ministry of Transport.”
“Vaccination has given hope that countries may be able to reduce the risk of infection and hence, step down border measures such as testing, quarantine and Stay-Home Notice (SHN) requirements, and progressively restore international air travel in a safe manner. However, for that to happen, we need more scientific data, data that needs to be available as a basis of study, so that health authorities can determine the extent to which vaccines can reduce the likelihood of an individual infecting others. Until then, it is premature to decide if border measures can be reduced for vaccinated individuals, and whether for purposes of implementing border measures, there should be differentiation between vaccines. Notwithstanding this, a no-regret step to start working on now, is a system of mutual recognition of vaccine certification between countries. Singapore has put in place a system of digital vaccine certification that is tamper-proof and verifiable. This system relies on HealthCerts, a set of digital standards for issuing digital COVID-19 test result certificates developed by GovTech and the Ministry of Health. We are in discussions at the International Civil Aviation Organization and with various countries on the mutual recognition of such certificates. Such bilateral consultations and discussions will take some time. Over the past year, we have been able to allow some travel to take place, without requiring vaccinations as a condition for entry into Singapore, so in answering the Member's question, we have no plans to now impose the requirement that: unless you are vaccinated, you cannot travel. No plans to impose that requirement. Instead, we continue to use test and SHN requirements to ensure that travellers do not bring the virus into our communities.”
“Some observers have noted that in the recently announced Green Plan, not all the initiatives and targets are new. It is a fair and accurate observation and, in fact, it is only right that the Green Plan comprises existing as well as new initiatives. Because, as a nation, we have been implementing strategies to preserve our environment and combat climate change for many years. What the Green Plan does is to try to consolidate and synergise all that we are doing, all that we are planning to do, and elevate their importance. Each initiative under the Green Plan is a major multi-year undertaking. For MAS, our strategy is to develop Singapore into a leading centre for Green Finance and that was announced in November 2019. If we can successfully mobilise capital and new investment into the green economy, we can bring about a virtuous cycle of economic growth, creation of jobs and opportunities that are environmentally sustainable. In the coming years, we will need to work very hard with the industry and all our partners, to build environmental risk resilience into the financial system, of which, quality disclosures play an important part; expand green finance solutions and markets; and leverage innovation and technology. The work is cut out for MAS and the financial services sector. Thank you, Mr Chairman.”
“Notwithstanding that, in certain areas – and as pointed out by Mr Leon Perera – such as in the area of environmental sustainability, current corporate disclosures are still not where they need to be, because international standards are still evolving. The basic problem is that there are various sustainability disclosure standards globally. So, this reduces the reliability, consistency and comparability of ESG disclosures across jurisdictions and even sectors. That undermines the purpose of the disclosures, which is to facilitate capital allocation decisions across competing investments. MAS and SGX RegCo are, therefore, carefully studying international initiatives on harmonising sustainability disclosure standards. One major initiative happening is that significant international standard setters are now coming together to develop unified global standards and we will monitor the developments closely. SGX RegCo will be consulting this year on enhancements to its sustainability reporting requirements. It will incorporate recommendations from the TCFD. In the meantime, MAS and SGX RegCo will continue to work with the Singapore Institute of Directors to help boards raise their sustainability reporting standards. 6.15 pm Mr Chairman, to conclude, let me say this. As an international financial services centre, Singapore can contribute to the global climate change movement by mobilising capital towards low greenhouse gas emission solutions and climate-resilient development. These can be investments in renewable energy generation, battery technology, carbon-efficient and food production methods, so on and so forth. The ability to achieve this and not disclosures alone, is what will move the needle and make a significant impact that is beyond Singapore.”
“Another significant development in the financial services sector is the evolution of its role in promoting the larger social good. In this regard, Mr Desmond Choo and Mr Leon Perera asked about disclosures and sustainability reporting. We share the Members’ desire to see companies providing high-quality reports on their efforts to promote sustainability and in social contribution. We also want to see continued improvements in how our companies disclose their broader social and environmental impact, on top of their financial performance. Such disclosures are important, especially given the heightened social and environmental consciousness amongst investors. It will facilitate capital flows towards investments more aligned to the investors’ preferences, objectives and standards. Since 2016, Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) has required SGX-listed companies to disclose material environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities that could influence the decisions of investors. These include information, such as greenhouse gas emissions, skills and gender diversity of senior management and their board members. In addition, the Code of Corporate Governance requires listed companies to disclose their board diversity policies, one aspect of which is gender diversity, and the progress in implementing the policies. For financial institutions, MAS has set out its expectations with respect to the governance, management and disclosure of environmental risks. These disclosures are in accordance with international reporting frameworks, such as recommendations by the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).”
“Adoption of QR payments by merchants has also surged. There are 200,000 SGQR labels islandwide, with 120,000 deployed in 2020 alone. And as more people switch from cash to e-payments for their day-to-day transactions, the usage of cheques has fallen. The ratio of cheque volumes relative to e-payment volumes has dropped from 32% in 2016 to 18% in 2019 and then 12% last year. The absolute number of cheques used fell by a record 10 million in 2020. Similarly, the ratio of ATM cash withdrawals to e-payments has also been falling, from 47% in 2016 to 24% in 2019, to then 17% last year. These ratios should decline further as more people get used to accepting e-payments. And there are Singaporeans who are less familiar or face difficulties with e-payments and we will not leave them behind. The “Seniors Go Digital” initiative – Members are familiar – helps seniors acquire skills to transact digitally. Seniors can receive personal lessons at SG Digital Offices around the island and they will be handheld, people will guide them, and I believe MOE is still pressing ahead to equip every child with a bank account and digitally-enabled bank account. Furthermore, it is important that cash continue to be widely accepted in Singapore. There will continue to be ATMs and cash withdrawal points across our island. Today, there are 4,100 of these touchpoints, compared to about 3,700 five years ago. As for PIN-only bank cards requested by Mr Dennis Tan, the local banks do offer customers the ability to disable the contactless feature of their ATM and debit cards, or the option of ATM cards without the contactless feature at all. We are not aware of any bank's initiative to do away with PIN numbers. We will remind the banks to explain this option to customers who may need it.”
“9% of total in-force policies. This is partly due to the industry’s COVID-19 relief measures, which allow customers to defer paying for premium up to six months. The applications for premium deferment have since fallen sharply by 80% between Q2 and Q4 of 2020. We should note not all policies surrendered are due to financial hardship. Some policyholders choose to terminate their policies because they no longer serve their needs. Whatever the case may be, it will benefit policyholders to be able to sell the policy in secondary market, which typically fetches a higher value. Let me now talk about a couple of key developments in the financial sector, starting with e-payments. Ms Jessica Tan has asked for an update and expressed some concerns. So, let me state at the outset we cannot be dogmatic about this. We are promoting e-payments because it is efficient, convenient and green, but we are not aiming to be a cashless society. Cash will continue to be a familiar and convenient way to transact, as Ms Jessica Tan has experienced. The adoption of e-payments by Singaporeans has been steadily increasing in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of e-commerce have accelerated this trend. Registrations for PayNow, for example, rose by 1.6 million last year, bringing the total number of registrations to 4.9 million. Registrations for PayNow Corporate doubled last year to around 240,000 business users. This means that 80% of residents and businesses are now on PayNow. This has driven PayNow transaction volumes to over $5 billion for the month of December 2020, which is double the volume a year ago. We expect this growth to continue, as users can now also send and receive PayNow transfers via non-bank e-wallets, such as GrabPay and Singtel Dash.”
“The Anti-Scam Taskforce under the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) has a specific workstream focusing on educating the public against scams. The Anti-Scam Centre under the Police, works closely with banks to freeze the bank accounts of recipients of scam monies to enable police investigations. However, once prosecution commences, it will be the Courts that decide when the seized monies can be returned, depending on factors, such as whether seized monies remain relevant for the purposes of investigation or trial. MAS understands and shares Ms Lim’s concern, and this is something we will have to consult the Police to see what is possible. Mr Murali Pillai asked about fraud prevention and anti-money laundering efforts in the commodities trading sector. MAS is working closely with other Government agencies on this. This includes strengthening banks’ credit risk assessment on firms in the sector, and digitalising trade financing to reduce fraud risk. ABS, with the support of various Government agencies, has issued a code of best practices to enhance commodity financing standards in Singapore. It covers the trading companies’ corporate governance, risk management and disclosure practices. Banks will use it to set standards for lending and this will be fully implemented by July this year. MAS is also working with ABS to establish a secure central database for banks to access records of trade finance transactions in Singapore. This will enhance transparency of transactions and mitigate the risk of duplicate financing. Mr Derrick Goh asked about surrendering of insurance plans and secondary trading of insurance policies. In 2020, despite the economic recession, the number of policies surrendered hit a five-year low of 153,000, representing 0.”
“Mr Chairman, on behalf of Senior Minister and Minister-in-charge of MAS, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Let me start by addressing the issue of public trust, which is the bedrock of the financial services sector. I will then talk about two important medium term developments for the sector asked by Members. One is e-payments and, two, is promoting greater social good, such as sustainable development. First, it is absolutely important for us to preserve and enhance the trust in our financial system. Ms Sylvia Lim asked if banks can work with the Police for more expeditious return of monies belonging to victims of scams. This is, indeed, a concern, especially when scam cases are on an uptrend. The banks have various measures to protect consumers. There are various caps, daily transaction limits, ATM withdrawal limits, contactless payment limits. Ms Sylvia Lim asked whether there could be a cooling-off period, but it is really not so practical. The cooling-off period applies more in circumstances where you buy something and you find that it was an impulsive buy, you return it and you get your refund. But for day-to-day transactions, I think there are serious practical limits to impose a cooling-off limit. But I think the most important safeguard is to practise good cyber hygiene and take personal precautions. So, for consumers, this means updating security patches and anti-virus software on your electronic devices promptly; and never giving away online banking login credentials, whether it is your user IDs, OTPs and PINs, to anyone. This includes not responding to seemingly legitimate requests for your personal and banking information, whether via email or SMS. No matter how genuine they look, never give that away.”
“A pair of lifts costs around $300,000, but extensive civil works are needed to install them. This brings the average cost of constructing a pair of lifts at a pedestrian overhead bridge to $2 to 3 million, typically, including costs such as site investigations, technical studies and design, or even service diversions and extra structural works. It typically takes 14 to 22 months to fit in a pair of lifts, and the construction duration varies according to site conditions. More time will be required if there is a need to divert affected utility services.”
“The construction cost of covered linkways ranges from $200,000 to $300,000 per 100 metres. High covered linkways that enable heavy vehicles to pass under, cost around $600,000 per 100 metres. It typically takes around nine months to complete construction of a typical covered linkway of around 400 metres long. This can of course vary depending on site conditions. Covered linkways provide convenience and are very welcomed by residents. That is why LTA has built hundreds of kilometers of linkways over the years. But to ensure prudent use of public funds, we should build them when they connect large numbers of commuters to major public destinations, and in the context of LTA, these will be transport nodes like MRT/LRT stations and bus interchanges. In evaluating proposals, LTA takes into account usage patterns, site constraints and safety requirements.”
“Thank you. Why are 30% of retail bank managers still foreigners? Because we are a global financial centre. We are 70% and a much larger pie with a larger share. That is the essence of being an open and international financial centre. So, I think I have also come to the same conclusion as Minister of State Gan Siow Huang that actually the PSP's position is that you want Singapore to close up and protect the jobs. Which is fine. It is entitled to that view, but I think the Government and MAS have a different view. But thank you for the apology. Apology accepted.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir. Mr Leong and I had this exchange during the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address. I gave a full speech, recorded in the Hansard, the efforts that MAS has taken all these years and decades, opening up Singapore, establishing ourselves as a financial hub, creating many jobs, allowing many of our young now to go to University, receive a good education and enter the financial sector; how Universities have now become a very good hunting ground for financial sectors to hire very good talent. And they know that Singaporeans are able to do the job. And how Singaporeans – because we are now a regional and international hub – are now able to take up international roles overseas in other financial centres around the world, and then holding our own. But competition is tougher. Of course, we always wish there is a manual that says we get all the jobs, but yet no competition. But I am sorry, there is no such manual. The manual is to open up, allow for more competition, but we build capabilities so that we can seize more opportunities. All these, we have gone through during the Debate on the Motion on the President's Address. So, I am a little bit disturbed when I hear Mr Leong grandstanding, saying that all these building up, growing our own timber, localisation, building our own talent is not in MAS' KPI. I think that is grossly unfair and ignores everything that we have discussed earlier.”
“In determining the extent of parking restrictions to introduce, LTA engages closely with Advisers, grassroot leaders, and residents. Our over-riding consideration is to ensure roads are safe and traffic is smooth. However, LTA does not maintain data on the proportion of roads in private estates that have a single continuous white line, broken line and no lines.”
“Our car road tax structure is designed to be progressive. Engine capacity and power rating are used as proxies to tax luxurious cars more. There is however no correlation between the number of embedded safety features in cars and the cars’ engine capacity or power rating. We are not planning to provide road tax exemptions for private hire cars with added safety features. To ensure road worthiness before the vehicles are registered for use, all vehicles in Singapore must meet stipulated safety requirements, which are in line with international standards.”
“The Government wants to help this group of drivers. But there are inherent problems to do so through the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system. This is because COE is a market-based mechanism to allocate quotas for private vehicles. If we were to have a system that provides concessions for the vehicles based on who is using them, we will need to cater to many groups, and have to introduce more restrictive rules to verify and prevent abuse. Instead, the Government has introduced targeted support measures to better channel our assistance, such as the Home Caregiving Grant and the Foreign Domestic Worker Levy Concession schemes, to defray the costs of caregiving for persons with disabilities (PwDs). There are also schemes to facilitate PwDs’ mobility and access to transport services, such as the Disabled Persons Scheme, and the Taxi Subsidy Scheme.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is currently in the process of investigating the root causes of the trip coil failures which led to the MRT disruption of 14 October 2020. This involves detailed forensic tests and can take about six months to complete. We will release the findings, including any remedial actions, once they are ready.”
“Customers play an important part in preventing scams, because guarding against online threats starts with practising good cyber hygiene. This includes keeping passwords secret and promptly updating the security patches and anti-virus software on computers and mobile devices. It is very important that consumers treat their online banking login information, including OTPs, as they would their ATM PINs. We cannot emphasise this enough to the public. Never reveal your login information, including OTPs, to others. Employees of financial institutions will not ask for such information. So, if you are asked for it by a third party, do not provide it. Consumers should also heed the security email advisories, notices and alerts disseminated by their banks, MAS, the Singapore Police Force and the National Crime Prevention Council, and share them with family and friends.”
“In 2020, the Police received 1,848 reports of unauthorised online banking and card transactions involving criminals phishing for banking and card details from the victims before performing these unauthorised transactions. The cases are, unfortunately, on an upward trend. In 2018 and 2019, there were 114 and 329 cases respectively. I think this really reflects the advent and the growing number of electronic transactions that we are seeing. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) requires banks to implement controls, such as multi-factor authentication using one-time passwords or OTPs, to keep online transactions secure. Unfortunately, multi-factor authentication cannot eliminate all scams. Many victims have been tricked into revealing their user IDs, passwords, OTPs or credit card details to scammers. Recently, some account holders have reported successful online card transactions when no SMS OTPs were received, or when no SMS OTPs were revealed to others. The Police and banks are following up on these cases and investigations are on-going. As a precaution, the banks have put in place additional measures, such as rejecting card payments made to some commonly disputed merchants, or placing limits on the transaction amounts that customers can transact with such merchants. So, if you suspect that you have been a victim of fraud or cybercrime, the first step is to make a police report and contact your bank immediately so that investigations can take place promptly. If an unauthorised transaction was due to the bank’s lapses or non-compliance with MAS’ rules, the customer will not bear any financial loss provided that he has practiced proper cyber hygiene and had not been negligent.”
“On short squeezes, the short positions in Singapore compared to the US, are much less. As to the reasons why, there can be a few hypotheses. One, maybe, it is the culture of investors here. Two, it is also the level of disclosure; so, if you are a listed company, there is a high level or standard that you have to abide to in disclosing your business and if anything that is happening that is material to your business. So, because of the transparency, investors have more information to act on. And thirdly, there are also mechanisms in the US such as having single stock options – you can have many puts, for example; it is equivalent to short selling – that also exposures themselves to more short positions, resulting in short squeezes; which we do not have here. So, for various reasons, plus all the measures I mentioned earlier – enforcement, being alert to such price surges, implementing circuit breaker. All these contributed to it. We will continue to be on the alert to prevent such events, such short squeezes from happening. As for platforms, you know how online platforms are. It is hard to control. So, I think, ultimately, it is still about having a good, transparent, efficient regulatory regime and functioning of the market to prevent such things from happening in the first place.”
“MAS and SGX RegCo have recently issued statements advising investors on the risks of trading in securities based on discussions on online forums. Investors should refer to these advisories and be alert to the risks of trading in a volatile market.”
“They can make profits by covering their positions after prices have fallen. Our safeguards address such scenarios in three ways. One, providing market transparency; two, curbing any sharp price movements; and three, enforcing against market misconduct. Let me describe each of them briefly. First, providing market transparency. When there are unusual price movements in a company’s securities, SGX RegCo may issue a query and the company must publicly clarify if it is undertaking any activity that would warrant such a price change. If market rumours are influencing stock prices, the company is required to provide a prompt and full response to any allegations. As an early warning to investors, SGX RegCo may also issue a “Trade with Caution” alert on securities where there is potential for disorderly trading. In addition, aggregated short positions and trading volumes are published for each security. These measures provide transparency to investors, allowing the market to self-correct where there is excessive trading that is not backed by business fundamentals. Second, to curb the effect of a sharp movement in the price of a security, a circuit breaker may be triggered that temporarily suspends trading. SGX may also impose additional conditions such as restricting specific market participants from trading or requiring investors to place more collateral. In extreme cases, affected securities may be suspended from trading altogether until further notice. Finally, firm enforcement action will be taken against persons who breach the law. In particular, it is illegal under the Securities and Futures Act to disseminate misleading information or use manipulative and deceptive practices.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, happy new year to everybody. There have been no signs that discussions in online forums or social media chat groups have led to any significant increase in the trading of securities listed in Singapore. Notwithstanding this, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) are on heightened alert to such activities. Recent events in the US have highlighted the risks of excessive trading driving sharp movements in price. There are important lessons to learn from this experience, and we need to be alert to similar risks potentially occurring in our own markets. While investigations by the US authorities are on-going, the triggers for the recent event were not unfamiliar to the industry. Certain investors had accumulated large short positions, exerting downward price pressure in the affected stocks. This was followed by online discussions amongst retail investors to buy the stocks, which increased their prices. These prices have since fallen from their peaks, raising a new issue of whether the price increases were sustainable. We have various safeguards in place to address such risks. There are, by and large, two scenarios we are safeguarding against. One is the “pump and dump” scenario, where certain parties incite trading to push up prices, including through online forums and social media chat groups. Once prices rise to specific levels, they may sell then the securities which they had accumulated earlier. When prices eventually fall back down, other investors could suffer quite heavy losses. A second scenario is the “short and distort” scenario, where certain investors take a short position on certain securities and use false or misleading information to encourage more short-selling.”
“In 2016 and 2020, LTA completed major upgrades of commuter and staff facilities at Bukit Batok Bus Interchange, including the extension of shelters at the berths. With the recent upgrades, there are no immediate plans to redevelop Bukit Batok Bus Interchange.”
“In the past five years, there have been about 200 cases of vehicle fires per year. Majority of them are due to overheating or faults in electrical components. Given that vehicular parts are badly damaged in most cases of vehicular fire, the SCDF is not usually able to pinpoint the cause of the fire to mechanical failure or lack of maintenance. To ensure that vehicles are roadworthy, vehicle owners must send their vehicles to LTA-Authorised Inspection Centres (AICs) for mandatory periodic inspections. Older vehicles, as well as commercial and point-to-point passenger transport vehicles are subjected to more frequent inspections. Vehicles that fail the inspection will not have their road tax renewed, and cannot be used on our roads. LTA also checks for illegal modifications to vehicles, as these could compromise vehicle safety. These checks are conducted as part of the mandatory periodic inspections, and during LTA’s regular enforcement efforts on our roads. Under the Road Traffic Act, any person who is convicted of an illegal modification to the vehicle can be fined up to $5000, imprisoned up to three months, or both. The penalties will be doubled for repeat offenders. LTA and SCDF have developed joint advisories on how to prevent and handle vehicle fires, for example, through regular servicing and checks for fluid leakages that could lead to engine overheating. These advisories can be found on social media, or at motorist touchpoints such as petrol kiosks, LTA-AICs and customer service centres.”
“80 new bus services were progressively introduced as part of the five-year Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), which was fully implemented in 2017. Two of them serve Woodgrove, and complement the other 27 services in the constituency. They connect residents to amenities such as the town centre, the polyclinic and community clubs, as well as to the city and other towns. Although not part of BSEP, there have also been new services introduced in Woodgrove in recent years, such as Service 913M, which was introduced in March 2019 to link residents to the new Marsiling Mall and other amenities along Woodlands Avenue 1. Express variant Service 960e was introduced in November 2018 to provide Woodgrove residents with a faster connection to the city.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I have addressed them in my reply at the 1 February 2021 Parliament sitting.”
“Singapore agencies have and will work closely with regional counterparts to combat piracy. Vessel owners and crew also have a role to play in the fight against piracy. MPA has been advising vessels travelling through the Strait of Singapore to implement preventive measures to reduce the risk of piracy attacks, such as the installation of surveillance and detection systems, putting in place access control measures, and using radio and alarms to alert the authorities in the event of an incident. We also urge the shipping community to report incidents in a timely and accurate manner so that littoral states can take prompt remedial actions.”
“In 2020, there were 34 reported sea robbery incidents in the Strait of Singapore, which comprises the territorial waters of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Out of the 34 incidents, 29 were petty theft involving unarmed perpetrators. Four incidents involved armed perpetrators, but no crew was physically harmed. There was one incident where the perpetrators were armed with knives and one crew member sustained a minor head injury. None of these 34 cases occurred within or originated from Singapore territorial waters. Mr Tan asked about the frequency of incidents over the past three years. There were 31 sea robbery incidents in the Strait of Singapore in 2019, seven in 2018 and eight in 2017. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) works with the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Police Coast Guard (PCG) to closely monitor vessels around and within Singapore’s territorial waters around the clock. Should any suspicious vessel enter our territorial waters, our maritime security agencies will respond swiftly and robustly to safeguard Singapore’s security. I have confidence in the capabilities of our security agencies and our frontline officers. The pirates must know this too, which was probably why they avoided coming into Singapore territorial waters. Based on internationally established rules of engagement, our agencies do not generally intervene in piracy and sea robbery incidents that take place in other countries’ waters. We had previously explained in this House that the fight against piracy requires close collaboration among all regional partners, to share information and conduct coordinated patrols. Countries in the region have also taken enforcement action against pirates who are found within their boundaries.”
“Our assessment is that an additional surcharge on owners purchasing their second vehicle will not likely have any impact in terms of promoting cleaner vehicles. General incentives and surcharges on cleaner or pollutive vehicles respectively, without linking to the number of vehicles owned by the buyer, will be more effective. The objective of any surcharges on second vehicles is more like a wealth tax. But it will be a policy fraught with problems. It is difficult to judge when a second-time buyer is less deserving than a first-time buyer. For example, a bigger family with many children and grandparents may genuinely need more than one car. There will also be loopholes, such as buyers registering the car in the name of another family member. We will have to introduce many more rules, which would add to the complexities of the COE system.”
“As of January 2021, there are more than 1,900 electric car charging points in Singapore. This includes around 1,400 charging points in public carparks.”
“Users of bicycles, power-assisted bicycles (PABs) and personal mobility devices (PMDs) are required to display a front white light and a rear red light or reflector on their devices when riding on all public paths, including park connectors, from 7pm to 7am the following day. We strongly encourage all active mobility device users, including cyclists, to wear helmets while riding on all public paths, for their own safety. But we have thus far decided not to make this mandatory, because unlike riding on roads, bicycle and PAB users on public paths do not ride alongside larger and faster vehicles. The current rules are a result of the Active Mobility Advisory Panel’s 2018 review, where the Panel conducted a nation-wide public consultation exercise featuring diverse groups of active mobility device users.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I have addressed them in my reply at the 1 February 2021 Parliament sitting.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) enforced against 1,123 cases of illegal noise-related vehicle modifications in 2018, 1,686 cases in 2019, and 1,650 cases in 2020. The majority involved motorcycles. The National Environment Agency (NEA) sets the noise emission standards for new and in-use vehicles under the Environmental Protection and Management (Vehicular Emissions) Regulations, and these standards are internationally benchmarked and reviewed regularly. LTA will continue to enforce strictly against vehicles with illegal noise-related modifications. This include conducting targeted enforcement actions, and ensuring that vehicles comply with the stipulated in-use noise emission standards during the mandatory periodic vehicle inspection.”