Png Eng Huat
Singapore
“This question is for the Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad. I just want to seek clarity on whether these two groups of Self-employed Person qualify for the COVID-19 Support Grant or SIRS. Those SEPs who are not on the Workfare radar, who do not contribute to their CPF, but they do file their income tax returns.”
“Some help measures will only come in May or later, but many affected Singaporeans were already struggling to make ends meet since February. I appreciate the Ministry for working at breakneck speed to roll out these measures. I am happy to note that some of these measures are being brought forward to April. Thank you.”
“Our MRT system is also facing an operating cost deficit which will grow with new rail lines that may well redistribute existing passengers rather than grow new ridership. While the fare formula has added the network capacity factor to address rising operating cost deficits, cost management is also important.”
“In the two new BTO precincts in Hougang, the Town Council had to build extra ramps, footpaths and stairs, in addition to the few designated access points, in order to facilitate the safe movement of residents on the ground.”
“This resident is in his early 60s and was running a regional outfit before he was retrenched. What are the chances of him getting either one of the funding options?”
“Sir, would the Ministry be looking into instituting, say, staggered school or working hours, to ease the concerns of parents, students and workers travelling during rush hours even under the current DORSCON level when more infection cases start to surface?”
The complete record
Every one of 386 lines we hold for Png Eng Huat, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 8.
“Sir, the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) is coming to a close. Many residents in Hougang welcome the new lifts although, for some elderly residents, it came too late. For others, the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) introduces a new set of problems and issues they never had to contend with before. For example, many would have thought that the installation of privacy louvres for the new LUP lift lobbies is a standard feature and a simple process as these are non-structural installations. However, some privacy louvres serve no purpose whatsoever because the gaps between the fins are too wide. Some are not even angled correctly to achieve any effect. In the same block of flats, some lift lobbies have louvres, and some do not. The flow of water along the common corridors is also affected by LUP. Water ponding and flooding became an issue for some residents as the original path of the water flow along the common corridor has been altered or rerouted. One major bugbear of LUP can be found at Block 314, Hougang Avenue 5. Residents living at lift lobby C found out to their disappointment that a new 1.2-metre lift landing bridge was built right beside one of the two benefiting units on each floor without factoring in the proximity of the affected unit and the dry riser. While the new bridge may comply with the statutory requirements, the cement base of the dry riser effectively reduces the clear width of the entrance to less than 950 millimetres at the base level. With the landing valve of the dry riser sticking out substantially, the clear width of the entrance of the lift landing was further reduced at about the shoulder height level.”
“Just a question for the Minister. Would the Minister be open to expand the PSB framework to include the promotion of sports in schools and the local arts scene, using dedicated free-to-air channels and using students' productions, just to encourage our students to start early in the production of quality programmes?”
“Mdm Chair, I would just like to seek a clarification from the Minister of State Mr Chee Hong Tat. He talked about the effectiveness of the outreach for PG. I want to ask if the use of dialects in those promotional videos is a contributing factor, as well as what is the Ministry's stand on the use of dialects in our broadcast in view of reaching out to the elderly in a more effective and engaging manner. 3.00 pm”
“The experience these students acquire in the course of doing that is immeasurable. The arrival of digital broadcasting in Singapore presents a wonderful opportunity for regulators and policymakers to deepen the skillsets of our own talents and broaden the scope of our expertise to become a media hub in the region. It also presents an opportunity for regulators to widen the PSB Framework to include areas which were not given much attention in the past. Next Generation PSB”
“Mdm Chair, the arrival of digital broadcasting in Singapore and the adoption of the Digital Video Broadcasting – Second Generation Terrestrial (DVB-T2) broadcast standard, which boasts higher efficiency, robustness and flexibility, will free up some valuable spectrum when the analogue broadcast is finally switched off. I call upon the regulatory authority to relocate some of this spectrum to support the schools and the arts community under the Public Service Broadcast (PSB) framework. The programming for this dedicated free-to-air channel should be supported and managed by the respective stakeholders. The local theatre and performing arts scene could use a fully funded free-to-air arts channel to help artistes and performers promote their work and labour of love beyond the limited coverage given by the state-owned media. The National Arts Council (NAC) said on its website that it celebrates excellence in the arts, and it will work to make it accessible to all. DVB-T2 will allow the vision to become a reality because everyone can have access to free-to-air channels using the mobile device in his or her hand. Madam, how many times have we seen sports events in our school covered in our free-to-air channels in the course of an academic year? The sports scene in our school will certainly breathe a new lease of life and excitement if such competitive events are covered and broadcast on free-to-air PSB channels. Such programmes can be produced and directed by the many arts and communications students in our polytechnics and universities as part of their curriculum and training. I believe our students would love to take on the challenge to produce such programmes and have their production carried on free-to-air channels.”
“Thank you, Madam. This question is for Acting Minister Ng Chee Meng, still on the subject of class size, but for secondary school. There is a falling cohort size. Would the Ministry consider taking the opportunity to reduce class size then for secondary schools, rather than not posting any student to those secondary schools and eventually those schools got to merge or close?”
“While I urge parents to do their part at home, I urge our schools to teach our children well, so that, together, we can make civic consciousness a way of life. Building Resilience in Students”
“Madam, we have spent the first 50 years of our nationhood trying to clean up the country in every sense of the word. I must say we are making some progress, albeit not to the level of civic consciousness like in Japan or Switzerland. We all know we need to cultivate a mindset of civic consciousness and we need to start young. We all know that but, for some reason, these mindsets get reset rather easily each time we are out in the public. We are taught to clear our own trays from preschool to university, in the army camp and at home, and yet we have so much problem doing that in our hawker centre, food court and even in this Parliament, Madam. I always wonder what is impeding our effort to become a gracious society after 50 years of nationhood. Perhaps, we need to refocus, reset and redouble our effort to achieve that in the next chapter of our history. Last year, I urged the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources to bring back the spirit of the Keep Singapore Clean campaign. This Committee of Supply (COS), I would like to urge MOE to plant the seeds of civic consciousness into our young again. We not only need to teach our young about ownership and responsibility, we also need to make them appreciate how hard our cleaners are working every day, and that keeping Singapore clean is not just the job of the cleaners but everyone else's responsibility as well. Madam, after 50 years of nationhood, we need to make civic consciousness a way of life soon. It has to begin at home and in the school. We have to constantly work to get the mindset right in our young, so that they will lend themselves readily to acts of kindness, volunteer work and philanthropy for the betterment of society when they grow up.”
“For a less popular school with a smaller cohort, the extra funding will come in handy to compensate for the lower economies of scale in the procurement of products and services for their students. These schools will also be able to do more in sports and enrichment programmes which, I strongly believe, are important activities for small neighbourhood schools to build character and instil a sense of belonging and pride in their students. I urge the Ministry to release such funding data so that all stakeholders can have a meaningful discussion over this mantra that every school is a good school. Next, I wish to suggest a fundamental change to the Secondary 1 posting in the context of every school is a good school. I propose that graduating students finishing in the top tier of their primary school based on PSLE results, to be given direct admission to a secondary school of their choice. Currently, primary schools are already recognising their top PSLE students. So, the chances Page: 13 of top students from neighbourhood primary schools going to popular schools like Dunman High, Hwa Chong or Raffles Institution are no lesser than their peers from popular primary schools now and still based on merit at the school level. This will ensure a good mix and spread of students from all spectrum of primary school going into secondary school. This will also prevent elitism from entrenching itself in the feeding primary school and the popular secondary school. This new posting exercise will make every primary school a good school, as the top graduating student in each school will have a direct entry to a school of their choice. For parents who want their children to attend a popular secondary school, every primary school is a good school to start the journey now.”
“So, while we know that every student can be a good student because they are given the same per capita funding, I am not sure if every school can be a good school in the context of funding at the school level. Popular schools with higher enrolment numbers, by default, will have more budget to work with. This, in my opinion, creates an unlevel playing field for less popular schools. I shall confine my speech to primary education to illustrate this point. Let us compare Rosyth Primary School with an enrolment of 2,000 students with Bendemeer Primary School with an enrolment of 1,200 students. Based on per capita funding per primary school, Rosyth Primary School is effectively receiving $7.8 million more than Bendemeer Primary School every year. This disparity is significant and needs to be addressed because smaller schools will always face a budget constraint by default. This disparity will perpetuate year after year as popular schools with bigger budgets will be able to do more for their students, and at a lower cost due to economies of scale. And when schools churn out even more top students, it will be a hard sell to tell parents that every school is a good school because neighbourhood schools will be shrinking in size and disappearing over time. Madam, we are living in a social media world. We do not need the mainstream media to publicise anything anymore. The popular schools will get more popular through the grapevine. Does the Minister not agree that it makes a world of difference for principals and teachers of smaller neighbourhood schools to have a comparable amount of funding as those popular schools to run their programmes each year?”
“Mdm Chair, the seven neighbourhood schools that received no Secondary 1 posting from this year were attributed to the following cohort size. Indeed, the 2015 cohort of 38,600 Secondary 1 students is about 10% lower than the previous year. However, if MOE were to divide the 2015 cohort size by the number of secondary schools, it can easily fill all schools, including these seven schools, with at least five to six classes of 40 students each. Thus, the reality is that all schools are created not equal, as popular schools will continue to attract more students at the expense of neighbourhood schools. These call into question the mantra that every Page: 12 school is a good school. The mad rush to become a parent volunteer, join the Residents’ Committee or even relocate just to secure a better chance in the balloting exercise for admission into popular schools for their children has become a stressful ritual for parents year after year. So, in the minds of parents, every school is definitely not the same. But what do teachers and principals think? I am sure when teachers and principals come together, the issue of funding for their schools will surface somewhere down their conversation. It is my belief that MOE must walk the talk that every school is, indeed a good school by addressing the funding issues first. In a reply to my Parliamentary Question on funding for schools, the Minister said it is not meaningful to compare funding per school but rather we should look at the per capita funding per student. Madam, I believe comparing funding for schools is meaningful because we are talking about every school is a good school at the school level.”
“I asked a resident if it matters for his ageing mother, who is stateless, to become a citizen after all these years. Without hesitation, he said, "Yes, it will make my mother very happy because she will have a sense of belonging finally." Madam, could we not exercise a little more compassion as we embark to write the next chapter in our history and grant these stateless residents − 1,411 to be exact − the citizenship they so rightly deserve? Recognising Stateless Persons”
“This will allow the sellers to update their NRIC without the required documentation and complete the sale of their flats without further delay. This will also stop some sellers from using their old NRIC address to commit criminal offences going forward. Stateless in Singapore My third cut, Madam. We have in our society over 1,000 stateless people aged 50 and above. Some of these residents would have lived through those tumultuous years of nation-building. Many would have worked and contributed to the economy, and some of their children would have attended public schools. A good number of these residents still live in public rental flats. Some of them may belong to the Pioneer Generation as well, if only the colour of their identification card were pink. Page: 53 Last year was our Jubilee Year and I wonder how these stateless people felt living in a country that does not recognise them as citizens despite some of them having lived here for as long as our nation has existed. As SG50 came to a close, I was reminded of the stateless people I met in 2015. There was a resident with mobility issues. He told me his parents and siblings are all Singapore Citizens. He also said he has been receiving assistance from CDC since early 2000. For some unknown reason, he remains stateless. Another father and daughter remain stateless in 2015 despite the father having worked for the Government and was allowed to buy a flat in the early days, according to the daughter. She said her entire family was born in Singapore. Madam, many of these stateless residents are more Singaporean than the thousands of new immigrants who were granted citizenship each year. Some of the stateless residents have lived here all their lives. Some of their children or siblings have become citizens as well.”
“It is another thing to have children going to the same clubhouse almost every day for preschool and enrichment classes. I urge the Ministry to exercise tighter control and management of jackpot licences for clubhouses, especially those with preschool and enrichment centre under one roof. Gambling and education certainly do not mix. Keeping NRICs Up to Date Second cut. Madam, in a reply to a Parliamentary Question, the Minister told the House that there were 61 persons convicted for failure to report a change of residential address within 28 days of the change to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) over a period of three years preceding 2015. In the same reply, the Minister added that such an offence is typically committed in furtherance of other criminal offences. This is bad news for some new home owners. They will find out the hard way when threatening letters, hell notes, paint and graffiti start to appear at the doorstep of their house after they have moved in. Madam, I do see a need for more safeguards to be put in place to prevent ex-owners of properties from using the old address in their NRICs to commit criminal offence and cause misery and stress to the new owners. Although the House was told that ICA does work with HDB to inform property owners of the need for timely update of addresses during property sale transactions, I would like to propose that sellers must update their NRIC by the final appointment date or within seven days after that date to complete the sale of their flats. For sellers who are still homeless at that point in time, I would like to propose that ICA accept personal representation by friends and relatives who are willing to house these sellers as evidence for reporting of change of address.”
“First cut, Madam. The ills of gambling addiction are well documented. More often than not, the people who suffer the most are the family members, not the problem gamblers. This is made evident by the rising number of Family Exclusion orders issued for the two casinos. Such orders are initiated by family members to exclude a gambler in their family from the casinos if the gambler is unwilling to address his or her own addiction. The number of such orders issued rose from 149 in 2010 to well over 2,000 in 2015. As more families are grappling with problem gambling, it does not make sense to see gambling outlets sprouting up in easy-to-access and family-oriented clubs at the same time. The new SAFRA Punggol Clubhouse will open tomorrow. It boasts five enrichment centres for children aged three to 16 years old, the biggest preschool with an enrolment of up to 120 children, children-friendly facilities and a jackpot facility that opens daily from 10.00 am to 1.00 am, and up to 3.00 am on Friday, Saturday and eve of public holidays. How convenient can it get? You drop off Page: 52 your children for classes and go meet lady luck at the same location. In a parliamentary reply in 2000 on the proliferation of betting outlets, the then Finance Minister said, "The locations selected are reasonably far away from places where children will gather − schools, places of worship and so forth. Singapore Pools will exercise due care and not to place outlets at places where children might be attracted to." If Singapore Pools is concerned about children getting exposed to betting activities at a tender age, should the clubhouses not be concerned, too? Madam, it is one thing to operate a clubhouse with jackpot machines for families with young children to visit once in a while.”
“The Acting Minister still has not answered the last question. So, has there been any action taken against such international students for not fulfilling their grants?”
“Mdm Speaker, I have three short supplementary questions for the Acting Minister with regard to those international students who have not served their grant obligations for more than three years after graduation. First, are there any of such students who are classified as not contactable anymore? How many such students are there? The second question is, what is MOE going to do about these non-contactable students? I find it strange that they are not deemed in default of their grant obligation. The last question is, how many international students have been taken to task to date for not fulfilling their tuition grant obligations?”
“We are only second to Japan in keeping our streets clean and sanitary. If we want to emulate Japan's culture of deep social consciousness and strong community spirit, then we need to invest in building that culture over the long term. The Japanese had a 100 years' head-start over us since modernisation began with the Meiji Restoration. We do not want to undermine the development by fostering authoritarian culture of volunteers exercising powers over other citizens in the name of the state. We need to promote an environment of trust between neighbours, reminding each other to do the right thing, not instil fear and suspicion of each other if your neighbour is going to whip up his summons book because you were not mindful of the norms for one second. Let us continue to enlist CVs to keep the conversations going, build up a cooperative culture of community ownership of the environment and leave the dirty work of punitive summons to the state officers who are best equipped to do the job. The Workers' Party strongly supports the CV programme but there is no justification for this Bill in its current form. 3.56 pm”
“Where and when will volunteer auxiliary officers stop their policing of the community? Today is littering in the neighbourhood; tomorrow is proper recycling in the blue bins downstairs; the day after tomorrow is kids playing football in the void deck; and the next day, what neighbours do in their corridors, even inside their own homes, in the name of dengue eradication. This looks like a slippery slope down the road to a police state where neighbours prey on each other and erode the mutual trust that we have painstakingly built up over the decades. Mdm Speaker, the Government has been moving away from a system dependent on punitive fines and corrective work orders to one that combines the fines with nudges of community education. It has worked well. There is no evidence that we are experiencing a littering or spitting or illegal smoking emergency. In a 2009 Sociological Study on littering, commissioned by NEA, which I participated in as one of the three sociologists overseeing the study, the study shows only 1.2% of people surveyed admitted to littering most of the time; 62.6% reported that they never littered and the rest said they littered sometimes and know that it is wrong to do so. The overwhelming majority of litterers just need reminding on the social norms. The study recommended outreach and communication strategies aimed at reminding people of the norms and getting specific groups, especially students and youths, to internalise the norms. The problem with depending heavily on enforcement and the threat of summonses is that people will litter if they do not see officers or other people around. We want them to internalise the norms and not litter even if they are alone. The only way to do this is community education.”
“If this trend goes on, we would indeed create a new culture of caring for the environment which is why I find it very difficult to understand the necessity of giving the volunteers the full powers of an officer of the state. What exactly is the Government's justification, given the encouraging success of the CV programme in the first two years? Is it not an overkill to grant excessive powers to citizens to fine fellow citizens on the spot just because of 10 uncooperative litterbugs in the past two years? Should not the Government allow the programme to run for a longer period before making any assessment of the necessity of appointing volunteers as auxiliary officers? There is a real danger that if the full powers are granted, we will indeed create a new culture; not a beneficial new culture of community ownership of the environmental issues and public health issues, but a new culture of antagonism between fellow citizens. NEA said it would provide the volunteers with the same training that regular NEA officers undergo but we need to understand that volunteers, as much as we should value them, come with a different set of motivation. NEA officers by virtue of their appointment and employment as an officer governed by clear organisational rules and culture will naturally be more circumspect in the use of their powers than enthusiastic volunteers. Already, a couple of the leaders of the stakeholder NGOs have made public statements that suggest that the new powers could be taken too far. One said that he was keen to see the powers extended to booking those who smoke in non-smoking areas and those who puff illegally. Another said that he would like to see volunteers appointed as Block Ambassadors to police their own blocks of flats.”
“When NEA launched the CV programme in 2013, it was envisioned that the programme will involve stakeholders, non-governmental organisations to encourage the community to take ownership of the environment and help tackle the littering problem. Volunteers were trained to approach litterbugs and speak to litterbugs as fellow members of a community, as peers, fellow citizens or residents. Though issued with NEA authority cards, the volunteers could only demand the particulars of uncooperative offenders to hand over the details to NEA officers who will then investigate the cases before prosecution. I believe the limitation of authority was not just meant to safeguard the public interest but prevents any abuse of power or conflicts between citizens. It was also the best way to secure community ownership through the powers of peer persuasion rather than the power to warn and punish. As a leader of one of the stakeholder NGOs said, "The end game is not about us becoming pseudo police officers. The point is, we are trying to get more people to take more ownership of the environment so that when they see ordinary people asking others not to litter, when we start these conversations, eventually we can create a culture that is opposite of being indifferent." The key words here are "not pseudo police officers", "ordinary people", "conversations" and "create a new culture". By all accounts, the CV programme has been successful. In less than two years, 259 volunteers engaged 830 litterbugs and only needed to report 10 uncooperative litterbugs. It goes to show that conversations between ordinary people evoking the morality of living in the same community work 99% of the time. Only in 1% of the time did the volunteers have to act like pseudo police officers.”
“While we need effective enforcement efforts, we also need soft skills to make the message stick in the mind of the people. This, I believe, is more effective to combat environmental issues in the long run. I support the Community Volunteer initiative by NEA to keep Singapore clean, green and safe, but we should leave the enforcement to the professionals. Finally, this Bill will incur extra financial expenditure. I wish to seek clarifications from the Minister on the nature of this expenditure. Will these appointed volunteer officers be paid any honorarium, stipend or payment in kind since they are being called upon to do more now? Madam, I echo the call by my Party Member to send the Bill to a Select Committee for review. In its original form, I do not support the Bill. 3.49 pm Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Mdm Speaker, this Bill seeks to appoint individuals, including community volunteers, as auxiliary officers of NEA to police and enforce the law on public health offences. The Workers' Party cannot support the Bill in this form. Without expressed limits to the powers and without a specific regime, this Bill allows the Chief Executive of NEA to turn Community Volunteers (CVs) into functionaries of the state. I find this objectionable as it goes against the very spirit of involving CVs in public health and in environmental protection. Its effectiveness in resolving public health and environmental issues is highly doubtful. On the contrary, I would argue, it would undermine community ownership for these important issues in the long run.”
“I am deeply concerned that this Bill has the potential to make such disputes end in violence as the summons, deserving or not, will no longer be seen as coming from a neutral party. The potential for such community conflicts to escalate beyond control in this instance cannot be ruled out. This Bill will create confusion by adding another layer of enforcement action undertaken by appointed volunteer auxiliary officers, who are not deemed as agents of the agency in addition to the mandated duties executed by officers of NEA, Town Council and so on. Madam, we are embarking on a slippery road to building more walls instead of bridges in our community if we allow NEA to appoint any volunteer to be an auxiliary officer to assist the agency in the performance of its enforcement functions. But the fundamental question remains: is there a shortage of manpower at NEA to warrant such a move to arm volunteers with enforcement powers? Is NEA losing the battle with litterbugs and dengue? If it is about manpower, will the agency consider hiring retirees and part-timers on contract basis to assist? I do understand that for some policies to be effective, education and enforcement must go hand in hand. However, using volunteers to educate fellow constituents through enforcement is certainly not the way to go because when the enforcement stops, the mosquitoes will return and so will the littering. Madam, educating our society to care for the environment as a way of life is vital to winning the war on litterbugs and dengue and other environmental problems we are facing now. I urge NEA to tap on the volunteers to do more in the area of educating the public on environmental issues rather than to do more in the area of enforcement as appointed officers.”
“Mdm Speaker, keeping Singapore clean, green and safe from mosquito-borne diseases is everybody's responsibility. In a densely populated city like ours, community living is all about respecting shared spaces and taking shared responsibility for the environment we live in. In the area of shared responsibilities, residents can do their part to influence and encourage one another to keep their estate clean, green and safe. The authorities, on the other hand, must do their part to educate the community and enforce the laws when necessary to bring home the message that this Government will spare no effort to make our living environment pleasant for all. Residents are already being roped in as volunteers to help educate the community on environmental issues. However, this Bill has the power to expand the roles of these volunteers to include enforcement powers, which in my opinion should remain the sole responsibility of NEA officers for good reason. Good neighbourliness is built upon soft skills, communication and care for the common spaces. Allowing a resident to be able to penalise his or her fellow constituents now for alleged environmental infringements goes against what community living is all about. Madam, some of these alleged environmental infringements are also potential flashpoints for neighbour disputes. I am sure we have seen a fair share of neighbour disputes in our own constituencies involving alleged mosquito breeding, potted plants, cooking smell, cat feeding and so on. Are we going to allow either party to escalate such disputes to a level where a person can take matters into his or her own hand by issuing summons to his neighbours or charging his neighbour for not providing proper identification on demand?”
“The Ruling party may say that it has given us three NCMP seats but it is the Workers' Party that created the vacancy. To that argument, I agree. But the PAP Government has also enacted the law for such vacancy to be filled in the event that a candidate does not wish to take up the NCMP seat. The Workers' Party respects the wishes of its members and I am sure the PAP will do the same. So, this is what the Workers' Party is doing today and that is to implement to the letter of the law what is provided in section 53 of the Parliamentary Elections Act. Thank you, Madam. 6.02 pm”
“Mdm Speaker, the last time a Motion of such nature was tabled in Parliament was in 1985. Back then, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Community Development Mr S Dhanabalan moved the Motion stating that it is to provide for the filling of the vacant NCMP seat. The PAP then believed that it could define its brand of democracy by allowing up to three Opposition Members in Parliament. So, the law came to pass. Mr Dhanabalan simply added that, "the Motion is just to implement the law." Nothing more, nothing less. The PAP Government of today believes it could retain its influence and power with up to nine Opposition Members in Parliament and amended the law in 2010. Madam, today the Workers' Party is here to move a similar Motion to implement the law pursuant to section 53 of the Parliamentary Elections Act. This Motion does not change in any way the stand of the Workers' Party that the NCMP scheme is not necessary if we had adhered to our original Constitution and reverted to a democracy comprising only Single Member Constituencies. My colleagues in this House have spoken in detail on the Motion so I shall not repeat those points. It is understandable for some PAP Members in this House to want to take this opportunity to score some political points. After all, in the Motion of 1985, Mr Dhanabalan said, and I quote, "politicians are practical people" and that "they look at the practical exercise of influence and power". A distribution of power and influence in this House is so lopsided that the Ruling party can dictate the number of NCMP seats it allows, and at the same time, denying these seats to be filled through its sheer majority. That is the reality in this House.”
“We all want a clean, effective and accountable Government, but not at the expense of less democracy, justice and equality. I am also quietly confident that Singaporeans of all faiths will stand united to reject terrorism and attempts by misguided extremists to sow seeds of discord among the diverse and peace-loving people of Singapore. And finally, Madam, we all know education is not all about classroom and examination. It is a never-ending journey. The Chinese has a saying “活到老，学到老”. The SkillsFuture initiative announced last year is certainly a step in the right direction. However, the values we impart to our young must stand the test of time. Each successive cohort that leaves our classroom must be resilient and, most important of all, must have a sense of belonging, without which we can never have an exceptional nation. I certainly believe that when we get our education right, we will get our security right, we will get our economy right, we will also get our society right, we will get our living environment right and most important of all, we will get our nation building right. We will be an exceptional nation. 2.57 pm”
“In the next chapter, it is my hope that Singapore will produce a Nobel Laureate of our own. Almost 900 Nobel Laureates have been recognised since 1901. Countries such as Azerbaijan, Cypress, Algeria, Guatemala, St Lucia, and Madagascar, to name a few, have all produced a Laureate or two each. Is this Government prepared likewise with the same vigour in our human capital outside of sports? A Nobel Laureate is recognised by his or her own country of birth, so we cannot engineer that by import. Mdm Speaker, in the next chapter in education, I do hope to see a deeper engagement between our institutes of higher learning and local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and government-linked corporations (GLCs) in the area of R&D. Many American universities were intricately involved in the US Space programme from Project Mercury to Project Apollo and to the Space Shuttle programme. The benefits that such deep collaboration brings to the schools, the students and the community at large are immeasurable. I am heartened to read in the papers that six students from Singapore polytechnics have had their invention patented by Boeing and their names listed as co-inventors of the patent recently. Such news is inspiring. I wish our young inventors well and hope that their inventions will go into commercial production someday. The R&D Framework under the National Research Foundation cuts across many Ministries. I am unable to determine who gets the lion share of the R&D budget, but I do hope that our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) will be given ample opportunities to nurture our young Singaporeans into exceptional scientists and inventors if the future. In conclusion, I agree with the President that the political system here needs to be refreshed.”
“The Prime Minister has shared that his biggest achievement as Head of Government was the emphasis he had placed on education when he first assumed office. In his first National Day Rally, the Prime Minister talked briefly about the "Teach Less, Learn More" concept of getting the maximum benefit out of educating our students through quality teaching. The "Teach Less, Learn More" model has found its way into schools in the past decade. Can our educators say for sure that this model really works because our students continue to do well in high-stake examinations, despite being taught less in school? Has the shift to focus on quality teaching instead of quantity teaching resulted in better desired outcomes of education? Or has it merely shifted more of the learning from the classroom to the private tutors? I am sure MOE would like to know the effectiveness of the "Teach Less, Learn More" model, but without a corresponding study into the tuition culture here, nothing can be conclusive. I do urge MOE to commission a study into the tuition culture because it will help our educators to formulate better policy decisions in the next chapter. Moving away from basic education, how far are we prepared to inspire our young to shoot for the stars in the pursuit of their interests at the tertiary level? Is the Government pull out all the stops to attract a Nobel Laureate to take up a research or teaching chair at one of the local universities so that the Laureate can inspire a student to dream big? We need role models in life to inspire ourselves to greater heights. This Government has gone to great lengths to pursue an Olympic medal using foreign talents in the hope that the move will bring glory to the nation and the imported Olympians could be role models for our young athletes.”
“Our work at achieving our unique interfaith, interracial and intersectoral harmony should be told to each successive generation to counter those dangerous and destructive ideologies propagated by radicals with misguided and violent intent. I share Senior Minister of State Ong Ye Kung's observation that it is a sight to behold to see religious symbols of different faiths side by side and opposite each other in our HDB estates. But behind the cold existence of these religious artefacts lie a whole lot of effort in exercising tolerance, consideration and good neighbourliness. These stories must be passed down from generation to generation in all forms and means. We have to start young to sow the seeds of religious and racial tolerance in our classrooms, and hope for the best that our children will be able to discern dangerous ideologies online and reject them outright. We all have a part to play in this – this Ministry, the schools and most important of all, the parents – to make Singapore safe and secure. Finally, the next chapter in education is critical because it is going to churn out the talents and the workforce that will take Singapore to SG100 and beyond. Madam, education is one of the key building blocks of Singapore. The Government has made many changes to our education system over the years, in search of a balanced approach to prep our young for a world that is constantly evolving. The change the educator intends to make in the next chapter must stand the test of time because lives are at stake. It must result in fostering a generation of thinking, self-motivated and innovative, and confident students. We have to invest heavily in our human capital because it is our only hope at becoming an exceptional nation.”
“Mdm Speaker, the President talked about the need to keep our nation safe and secure right at the beginning of his speech for good reason. The ASEAN region has taken a dangerous turn with the terrorist attacks in Bangkok in 2015 and in Jakarta a fortnight ago. ISIS has successfully taken its terror and fight right to our doorstep. Our way of life as we know and enjoy is now under threat. These are indeed dangerous and uncertain times we are living in. A terrorist attack in Singapore is no longer a remote possibility. Thus, I fully support the President's call for Singaporeans to remain steadfast and united under these trying times, when misguided extremists are trying to tear this world apart through violence and fear. While it is reassuring that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will strengthen our border security and tap into technology to help fight criminals and terrorist threats, it is my hope that this Government will also put effort in countering the spread of radical ideologies online. The war on terrorism at our homefront is psychological as well. We cannot influence the people beyond our shores, but we can surely remind our own to value and preserve the peace and harmony we have here. The walk with terrorism probably begins with some form of self-radicalisation, and such activities are impossible to prevent and they usually go under the radar. Self-radicalised individuals will probably pose one of the biggest threats to our security and the preservation of our social fabric. Madam, Singapore has a lot to show the world on what it means to live in racial and religious harmony. Our cultural and religious diversity is a testament to that.”
“Mdm Speaker, the President ended his Address two Fridays ago with a call for Singaporeans to write the next chapter of our future together. The next chapter, in the words of President Tony Tan, will "see Singapore progress as an exceptional nation with a thriving economy and a caring an inclusive society". It is apt that the President has called on Singaporeans to renew our pledge at the half-century mark of our nationhood to build a better Singapore as one people, regardless of race, language or religion. But our pledge goes beyond calling on Singaporeans to merely unite as one people to build a better Singapore. The frameworks of our pledge support good politics and espouse the values of justice and equality to be the foundation of our democracy so that our people as a nation can achieve happiness, prosperity and progress. Although the President did not talk about justice and equality when he spoke on good politics, these values are non-negotiable if we want to get our politics right in the next chapter. The President has reminded us that as Members of Parliament, we all have a responsibility to do our best for our people, regardless of our party affiliation. About 18 months into my first term as Member of Parliament for Hougang, a resident asked me if his child would be given the Edusave Bursary, will the child receive the award from me? I believe all of you know the answer so I will dispense with that. Nevertheless, I thank the President for the reminder, and I can assure the President that the Workers' Party (WP) will do its best for the people while we wait with bated breath the impending improvement to our political system, as mentioned in his Address.”
“Madam, I just want to clarify with the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. This means that there is no scholarship obligation. Once they attain their "A" levels, that is it. That is their so-called scholarship obligation for the students. This means that they do not have to serve or work for any companies in Singapore. Is that the condition of the scholarship for the students?”
“Mdm Speaker, I just have three questions. Just now, the Minister said that there was documented proof for one claim. So, the AGO's Report is wrong, as the Minister was trying to say that there is actually one claim where there are no supporting documents. The second question is about sample size. There are about 1,800 GROs. Can the Minister share what is the sample size and how many were audited? The third question is about the adverse opinion that PA got due to the GRO accounts which were not cited, not presented or included in the PA accounts, and that was why the auditor gave it the adverse opinion. Page: 24 But the Minister said that there were no irregularities. How does the Minister know that, because the auditor has not seen the GRO accounts?”
“The Deputy Prime Minister said that the findings in the AGO's report are mostly not repeated; they are not repeat findings. How did the Minister arrive at that conclusion because AGO, when it does audits, it selects agencies and it may not select the same agencies or Statutory Boards every year. For example, the People's Association, the last time AGO did an audit was quite some time ago. How does the Minister arrive at the conclusion that most of the findings are not repeat findings?”
“Madam, just two questions. Is there any indication as to roughly when the plan will be up? The second question is: what is the standard timeframe between announcement of ROH and implementation? I understand three areas were Page: 41 announced in 2011 and I think the other two areas have made progress already.”
“Madam, I just have two questions. What is the desired intention of this scheme in giving PR to such young foreigners with no roots in Singapore versus giving them an option to work after their graduation and, if they are bonded, they will have to serve their bond obligation anyway? Page: 26 My second question is: is this scheme effective versus allowing foreign spouses of Singaporeans with Singaporean children or who have lived and worked here a long time, a fast track to getting their PR, since one half of their family nucleus is already deeply rooted here?”
“The conductor came, asked the passenger a few questions, unzipped the person's waist pouch, took out a note, issued the ticket and put everything, including the change, back into the person's pouch. Do I see a person with disabilities? All I saw that day was an independent person with special needs going about his life living in an inclusive society. Single Unwed Mothers”
“Sir, the Enabling Masterplan 2012/2016 has identified many issues goals and visions to address the needs of persons with special needs and their caregivers, as we strive towards making Singapore an inclusive society. One of the findings in the report addresses the need to fill the notable service gap after persons with special needs leave school at age 18. Issues brought up include limited vacancies at day activity centres and range of care options to cater for different needs. The report made an interesting suggestion to open up the many conveniently located eldercare facilities to adults with special needs so as to reduce transport costs, reduce travelling time and to enable these adults to go to the centres on their own if possible since eldercare facilities are conveniently located in the heartlands. Many of the eldercare facilities, especially the senior activity centres, have the capacity to do more since the premises are already equipped with elderly and handicapped-friendly Page: 161 features. These neighbourhood facilities can conduct classes and activities for these adults with special needs, some of whom could be highly functional. I wish to ask the Minister for an update on this suggestion to be put forth in the Enabling Masterplan. How many eldercare facilities have piloted such initiative and what type of support the Ministry is providing to these centres to take on the added role of providing care for adults with special needs? Sir, I prefer to use the term "adults with special needs" instead of "adults with disabilities" for good reason. Many years ago, while on a train overseas, I chanced upon a person in a motorised wheelchair in the same cabin where I was seated. The person has limited mobility and he was alone.”
“Let us recycle those old posters, banners, jingles and so on, not just to bring back a sense of nostalgia in our jubilee year but to drive home the message that the community as a whole needs to work together to keep Singapore clean. Dengue Outbreak”
“Madam, the late Mr E W Barker, in his answer to a Parliamentary Question on whether his Ministry would consider launching another "Keep Singapore Clean" campaign because "the bad habit of littering has come back", said, "It has not come back. It has always been with us. It has not gone away." The year was 1978. Almost four decades later, the bad habits of littering are still here. From observations on the ground, Singapore has not become cleaner over the years despite NEA having to spend an average of $3 million a year on anti-litter campaigns and outreach activities since 2010. I do not know how much the late Minister spent on anti-litter campaigns but I can remember those early campaigns. There were no fanciful messages, just "Keep Singapore Clean". There were jingles and commercials broadcast daily over the air. There were posters and banners put up all over the island. The simple campaign message was visible everywhere, especially in schools. Most important of all, the impact of the campaign on the ground was felt. The success of the early campaigns was due largely to the involvement of the society as a whole. From schools to factories to markets, shops, restaurants and so on, every fabric of Page: 120 our society was involved in helping to spread the message – "Keep Singapore Clean". Fast forward to today, how many of us can remember the anti-litter campaign message launched in 2010? The answer to this $3 million question is "Do the Right Thing. Let's Bin It". Therefore, I would like to encourage the Ministry to bring back the spirit of our early anti-litter campaign and to spare no effort in its drive to keep the bad habits of littering at bay.”
“Madam, we have probably witnessed such incidents at signalised junctions where drivers turning right are caught in cross traffic because they have to make a sudden stop to allow pedestrians to cross. These drivers are putting themselves in harm's way at the same time because they are stuck in the middle of the traffic with vehicles having the right of way bearing down on them. Such scenes are repeated every day on our roads but they can be prevented if our signalised traffic junctions are programmed with separate phases of timing for vehicles and pedestrians to pass safely. I noticed some traffic junctions have been reprogrammed to allow vehicles to turn only after the cross traffic and pedestrians have come to a complete stop. This change will certainly reduce the number of accidents involving pedestrians and vehicles at signalised junctions. I would like to ask LTA if there are plans to roll out more of such changes in the future and whether it would be feasible to standardise all the signalised traffic junctions in this manner. We may end up spending a little more time on the road by reprogramming our traffic junctions but I always believe that cultivating a little patience in the interest of safety is a necessary trade-off. Page: 89 Cycling in Singapore”
“Madam, for every responsible cat feeder out there, there are probably more feeders that are ignorant of the safety and hygiene issues cat feeding activities can cause to the environment. A few years back, an elderly resident in Hougang had a nasty fall caused by some cat food left at the void deck. Rotting food, cat urine and droppings are some of the issues residents have to put up with constantly due to the large congregation of cats brought on by feeding activities. I have met some cat feeders who are very responsible. They do pick up after the cats. However, if these cat feeders do not show up one day for some reason, the cats will go up Page: 22 to the flats and park themselves at the doors and window ledges of homes, waiting for humans to feed them, as they are conditioned into thinking. Some cats even venture into the flats uninvited. It is a common sight in some parts of Hougang to see wire mesh nettings lining the main gates, solely to prevent cats from wandering into their flats. Perhaps it is time for the Ministry to review the ban on cat ownership for HDB flats. By doing so, I hope cat lovers can adopt the community cats legally and take them home to feed and care for them as pets. I have friends who are cat lovers and they do take good care of their pets. 12.15 pm We do not allow the feeding of pigeons, dogs, monkeys and so on, because we know the harm it causes to the animals' behaviour and the community at large over time. Hopefully, by allowing people to keep cats in HDB flats, we can inculcate responsible ownership and discourage indiscriminate cat feeding at our void decks and common properties.”
“Sir, many open car parks have large trees scattered around the perimeter to provide shade. While some trees have a sizeable spread offering good shades, others produce sap and fruits that are not suitable for use in our car parks. In some car parks in Hougang, there are mature trees that produce small, round, hardy fruits which pose serious safety concerns for residents. Some days, such fruits can be scattered over a wide area on the steps and walkways leading to the car park. These fruits can cause tiny dents on parked vehicles as well as discomfort if they were to land on the people standing in the car park. More importantly, someone can slip on one of these hardy fruits and sustain serious injuries as a result. The real danger comes at night as the areas around such trees are dim due to the spread of the trees. Some small fruits can be hard to spot at night, especially for the elderly. In the design or upgrading of open car parks, I urge HDB to work closely with NParks to plant trees that do not pose such safety concerns for residents living in the area. Although regular maintenance can mitigate the safety concerns of such car parks, there is only so much a cleaner can do. As we are an ageing society, everything we design or implement must be elderly-friendly to begin with.”
“HIP has evolved over the years and its scope of work has also been enhanced. It is certainly beneficial and economical for home owners to repair their ageing flats under HIP. As HIP is going to be ramped up, I urge the Ministry to look into two issues. First, the scope of the repair work could be extended to cover some basic repairs to the internal walls inside the flats, especially the wall where the bin chute resides. It does not make sense for the HIP workers to do spalling concrete repairs to the ceiling of a flat and leave the same problem at the adjacent wall untouched. Alternatively, HDB could arrange for HIP contractors to offer such non-standard repair work at discounted prices for residents since the estate is undergoing HIP. Second, the replacement of the pipe sockets with an imposing and clunky rack for clothes-drying purpose needs a rethink. It is a sight to behold just looking at the new structure sticking out of each block of flats. The design of the new rack will render repainting works by gondolas difficult. It is also impossible for workers to do facade repairs standing in Page: 148 a gondola suspended more than two metres away from the wall. I am not even sure if one can deploy a gondola safely with the racks sticking so far out of the flat. I am of the opinion that HDB should relook the design of the racks before it further deploys them islandwide under HIP. Perhaps, HDB could engage our Institutes of Higher Learning to come up with an alternative design to address the concerns highlighted earlier. Community Improvement Projects Committee (CIPC) Funding”
“Madam, the resale levy policy was revised in 2006 primarily to address the uncertainty for HDB upgraders created by the previous policy. The revised resale levy is a fixed amount based on the flat type, while the previous resale levy is a moving target based on a percentage of the resale price. Under the old policy, flat owners who sold their first HDB flat without paying the resale levy at the point of sale could end up with a huge compounded levy if they wish to buy another subsidised flat a few years down the road. 5.00 pm Take Mr A, for example. He deferred his resale levy of about $80,000 when he sold his first flat in 1999. He said he will have to fork out more than $180,000 in cash for the compounded resale levy by the time his new BTO flat is completed in 2017. For all the policy intent, Mr A did not enjoy an actual subsidy of $180,000. There is also no opportunity cost to HDB as Mr A would have avoided paying the levy altogether by buying a resale flat instead. In short, HDB is prepared to write off the original resale levy if Mr A Page: 122 takes the resale option. I have no doubt that the resale levy is meant to reduce the subsidy enjoyed by second-timer flat owners and to ensure fair distribution of the limited subsidies. But I doubt the policy intent of the interest charged for the deferred resale levy. I hope HDB can take steps, just like in 2006, to bring some certainty to second-timers caught by the interest issue so that they can finally buy a flat from HDB. Housing Policy”
“Sites like PAYPAL and EBAY provide buyer protection and money back guarantee even though they are just a payment gateway and an e-commerce facilitator respectively. Can IDA make our telcos do likewise? Until the telcos take some responsibilities for the unscrupulous practices happening on their mobile networks, unsuspecting subscribers will always be vulnerable to overcharging by PRS providers out to make a quick buck. Protecting Singapore's Cyberspace”
“Sir, more often than not, victims of unscrupulous Premium Rate Service (PRS) providers are left to fend for themselves when they receive a rude shock from their telephone bills. For every case of PRS dispute reported, I am sure there are many more that had gone under the radar for whatever reasons. A resident of mine related his experience to me. Whenever he tried to make a call, an advertisement would pop up on his mobile phone. He said he was then forced to click on an "OK" button to clear the screen so that he could proceed to make his call. Unknown to him, by doing so each time, he is actually initiating a PRS download. Needless to say, this English illiterate resident of mine was charged exorbitant fees when his telephone bill arrived. The Code of Practice for provision of PRS rightly placed the bulk of the responsibilities on the providers of such services to comply. However, this Code left the duties of billing network operators, namely, the telcos, with minimal obligations although they are providing the all-important payment gateway for these PRS providers. Surely, the telcos cannot be absolved of any responsibility when they are actually running a commercial service that unscrupulous PRS providers can exploit to collect exorbitant payments for products and services downloaded by the young, elderly and illiterate. Should these telcos not play a more active role to ensure the vulnerable in our society are better protected? Although all telcos are required to provide a PRS barring service, such a service is not well publicised and by the time a person subscribes to it, the damage has already been done.”
“Otherwise, the cycle will play itself out again when the younger generation ages with insufficient savings left in their Medisave accounts as a result. I call for the limit on the use of Medisave for outpatient treatments to be lifted completely for senior citizens aged 75 and above. Page: 56 Assurance from CPF in Retirement”
“Thank you Madam. Madam, many elderly Singaporeans will be asked to tap into their children's Medisave when their own limit for outpatient treatments is reached. Some of these retirees will have to dig deep into their pockets if their children are unable to help them. A single parent told me her life savings is been depleting over the years because of regular out-of-pocket medical expenses to treat her chronic illnesses. She said her Medisave $400 limit were maxed out within two visits to the clinic. And an elderly gentleman I met said his only wish is to have fewer restrictions on the use of his Medisave in his twilight years. At $400 a year for outpatient treatments, he calculated his Medisave will outlive him while his quality of life will deteriorate as he has to dip into his life savings to pay for his medical needs. He is 80 years old. The House was told in 2013 that a patient incurred an annual bill of $200 on average for treatment of chronic diseases at the polyclinic, well within the Medisave $400 limit. However, the introduction of the Flexi-Medisave scheme to add another $200 a year for outpatient treatment for senior citizens aged 65 and above, seems to infer that the current limit of $400 is inadequate for the elderly. 1.45 pm Madam, older CPF members should be accorded flexibility in the use of their Medisave for outpatient treatments. Asking them to tap into their children's Medisave to continue their treatments is like asking them to borrow from the future generation to pay for the current generation. This option should be used only as a last resort when the Medisave account of the older member is depleted.”