Shawn Huang Wei Zhong
Singapore
“I thank the Member for the question. Contractors who are PW Mark eligible are required to obtain and maintain the PW Mark throughout the contract period. They are also required to notify the contracting authorities if there are any changes to their PW Mark status.”
“Mismatches in the labour market may be driven by shifts in skill requirements. For example, firms are expanding technology functions, driving sustained demand for jobs like AI engineers and engineering professionals, while restructuring other professional, manager, executive and technician (PMET) roles that have become easier to automate.…”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. With regard to Parliamentary Question No 16, I would just like to clarify that Career Conversion Programmes provide salary support to employers. Thank you.”
“Mr Speaker, this question for oral answer has been addressed by written reply, to Question No 97 on the Order Paper for the 7 April 2026 Sitting.”
“There are schemes out there, for example, if a platform worker would like to transition to full-time employment or to a different platform, they can always approach WSG with a suite of capabilities, SkillsFuture, as well as the Career Conversion Programmes.”
“In 2025, the gross monthly income from employment, excluding employer Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions, of full-time employed resident professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) was about $4,500 at the 10th percentile, $5,400 at the 20th percentile and $6,000 at the 25th percentile. The median income was $8,400.”
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“Yes. So, the economic potential that could be derived from its development. And two, will there be a cross-Ministry workgroup that coordinates and determines this balanced approach of redeveloping large green spaces?”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for his answer. Mr Speaker, being in Singapore, we have to constantly evaluate the balance of development. Dover Forest was 33 hectares, Jurong Bird Park is 20 hectares. This green space is substantial. As such, I have three supplementary questions. First, what is the determined annual economic potential of the land of Jurong Bird Park —”
“Mr Speaker, I would like to ask Mr Leong Mun Wai one particular question. His story of Ah Gong and Ah Seng is very compelling. But it seems to only include two characters, which is Ah Gong and Ah Seng. In this particular story, has he considered other characters, for example, other family members, friends, visitors who have come to the house to visit, from whom Ah Gong would have collected a fair share of collective to increase the fiscal capacity to further help Ah Seng. In fact, Ah Gong has repeatedly mentioned that for every dollar that he collected from Ah Seng to plan for this future and future generations, he would have collected, collectively, from others and given back to Ah Seng $2 for every dollar of tax that he has paid or in fact, $3 for every single tax dollar. Could he please clarify if he would consider including other characters in his particular story?”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have got two supplementary questions. First, how was immigration clearance conducted during the power outrage? Second, why was it necessary to divert traffic to the Tuas Checkpoint? Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. ICA implemented the contingency immigration clearance process, which involves the officers taking down the travellers' details and then, performing back-end security screening, creating the travel records using what we have recorded. As the clearance rate using the contingency process was significantly slower, an operational decision was made to clear vehicles and travellers who were already on the Causeway travelling towards Woodlands Checkpoint or within the Checkpoint; while ICA worked with the Malaysian authorities to divert the inbound vehicles that had yet to enter the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex. So, we diverted those who had not entered the CIQ to the Second Link. For the outbound vehicles on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Woodlands crossings, they were diverted to the Second Link. We feel that if this was not done, the traffic jam at the Woodlands Checkpoint would have worsened and caused inconvenience to even more travellers.”
“This offensive threat landscape is coupled with an employment gap of over three million cybersecurity professionals worldwide. There is a dearth of talent with the requisite technical skills. As such, the job industry has a high turnover and retaining talent is increasingly difficult, as there are bountiful opportunities to progress. I would like to ask the Minister for Defence how will the DIS plan to recruit, train and retain these talents and if the overall compensation of the skilled personnel will be competitive with the industry to ensure a favourable retention rate within the service. There is much to reflect on as we think of the city of Troy and the Trojan horse, the 300 Spartans and the betrayal at the battle of Thermopylae, and the story of Dune between the Harkonnens and the Atreides. The world has fundamentally changed. Hence, we must change and evolve how we fight and defend ourselves. Like how the US Air Force was formed from the US Army Air Corps, and the US Space Force from the US Air Force, we need a service that can protect our sovereignty in our digital domain. Mdm Deputy Speaker, I support the Bill.”
“This is a difficult operating landscape and will need a flexible, highly adaptable force that has strong partnerships and networks to be effective. May I ask the Minister for Defence how will DIS define the state of war in the digital domain? How will the state of victory and defeat be defined in the digital domain? Similar to the other three services, how does DIS project deterrence in this domain? As we look deep within the core of the mission of DIS, future capabilities, such as quantum computing, can cause disruptions and inflexions to the security landscape. Quantum computing is one of those threats that can break existing encryption keys and pose immense security risks to critical data. The public key encryption is still uncrackable when using very long key pairs with 2,048- or 4,096-bit keys. An advanced quantum computer could crack the code in over a few hours. However, the development of advanced quantum computers today will still require 100,000 times more processing power, with a 100 times improved error rate to be viable. This may be over-the-horizon, but we must continue to invest and be ready to guard against these threats as they emerge. Looking closer to our current state today, an attacker's pathway takes an average of two days to penetrate the company's internal computer systems. Check Point research reported that there were 50% more attack attempts per week on corporate networks in 2021 than 2020. These attempts were predominantly on education and research organisations, followed by Government, military and communications. Today, it will take an average of 212 days to identify the breach and another 75 days to contain it. The total cost? US$3.86 million for the attack.”
“Eventually, the company paid the ransom of 75 bitcoin, or US$4.4 million back then, after which, an IT tool was given to them to restore the system. This event triggered an emergency declaration for 17 states, including Washington DC, to keep the fuel lines open. This attack could have happened in Singapore, especially for our critical infrastructure, such as our oil refineries and port and air services. May I ask the Minister for Defence, as part of the build-up of the fourth service, what are the priorities and areas of focus for the next three years, and how will this focus shift in the medium term? How differently will we safeguard our critical infrastructure with DIS? As digitalisation continues to accelerate and remote working capabilities expand into homes due to the pandemic, companies have increased their digital reach and footprint in homes. Workers today have acquired more digital capabilities to work and operate remotely. With this, every organisation now has a greater variety of connected devices with little protection against a cyber attack. When well-coordinated, other threats, such as deepfakes and disinformation for hire, can cause disruption and deepen the mistrust among societies, businesses and governments. For example, deepfakes have been used to clone voices to authorise the transfer of monies to fraudulent accounts. In other scenarios, it can influence outcomes and views. The digital and intelligence operating domain is vastly different from traditional domains. The spectrum of the intensity of the conflict, the target sets, which include private and public infrastructure, as well as its potential impact, it is dynamic and difficult to attribute. The notions of force and violence will also be less apparent in the digital domain.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, the world is more connected today, an outcome of technological advancements, rapid digitalisation and the proliferation of mobile devices spurred by more affordable mobile devices. We are experiencing an avalanche of innovation, opportunity and progress. For example, today's smartphones are a million times more powerful than the Apollo 11 guidance systems, and a thousand times faster than the Cray-2 supercomputers in the mid-1980s. There were two billion people online in 2015. Today, over five billion people, or 63% of the world, are connected to the Internet. The growing dependency on digital systems over the last 20 years has fundamentally changed how societies function, how communities interact and how individuals respond – everything from how we purchase our groceries, travel and play. Last year, there were over 12 billion IoT active endpoints that manage many critical services and infrastructure, ranging from manufacturing and healthcare to e-commerce. The number of IOTs will double by 2025 to over 24 billion, of which 70% of IoTs contain vulnerabilities that can be exploited. According to the World Economic Forum, cybersecurity measures in place by businesses, governments and individuals today are increasingly made obsolete by the growing sophistication of cyber capabilities. The global risk report states a 435% increase in ransomware in 2020. A case in point would be the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, which impacted the computerised system managing the pipeline and forced the company to shut down operations to contain the attack. This pipeline carries gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from Texas to as far as New York and delivers about 45% of all energy consumed on the east coast.”
“Youths today face a multitude of challenges; in particular, youths who leave school prematurely, after which, it leaves them in a vulnerable state, where they no longer have access to guidance and an environment that can provide them with the right conditions to realise their fullest potential. I believe that every youth should be given more opportunities throughout life. Many are incredibly successful after several attempts. Many success stories would have credited their success to a teacher, a mentor, someone who along their journey was able to guide them to better understand themselves and amplify their strengths. We want all to have such opportunities in life. Can MSF provide a progress update on the mentoring programme? How many mentors and mentees have been recruited thus far and what might success look like, at the end of the programme? Mentoring Programme”
“Mr Chairman, I would like to declare my interest as the founding director of Green SG, a registered charity that aims to catalyse and accelerate green action and develop future leaders for sustainability. The price of natural gas spiked 25% in the UK to hit a record high last Friday. Italy uses natural gas to generate 40% of electricity demands and imports 90% of its natural gas, mostly from Russia. It is looking for alternatives from Algeria and Azerbaijan. In Germany, there were thoughts of cancelling plans to shut down nuclear plants and ramp up coal-powered generators. Heavy industries are affected and are reducing production and shortening of working hours. Energy supplies cannot be replaced overnight. Power generation infrastructure cannot be built over a short period of time. We are well reminded of the 1973 oil crisis caused by the OPEC embargo; the 1990 oil shock caused by the Gulf war; 2001 California electricity crisis caused by market manipulation by Enron. And to remember that peak oil is on the horizon and oil production will go on a terminal decline. We must, therefore, plan our energy transition well, well-diversified with price stability and affordability. How we plan our energy transition will affect future generations and the security of our economy. As such, I would like to ask the Minister to share more on expected challenges ahead and how the Government will ensure a smooth energy transition. What is our latest progress and future plans for our solar deployment? How will our energy transition impact future electricity prices? Efforts to Decarbonise Transport System”
“I applaud the efforts of the Ministry in undertaking long-term infrastructure projects. Joint efforts that use science, technology and our strong engineering capabilities to deliver highly accretive outcomes for sustainability mission. In addition, much effort was also taken to use an ecosystem approach to leverage on the strengths of each project to further enhance outcomes. The Tuas Water Reclamation Plant, an integrated waste management facility are prime examples. In September 2020, PUB and NEA announced the construction of Singapore's first integrated water and solid waste management plant – the Tuas Nexus – consisting of the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant and the Integrated Management Facility. It was mentioned that the Tuas Nexus will tap on the synergies between water, waste treatment and energy – to use water sludge from Tuas when co-digested with food waste will improve bio-gas generation. I support these efforts by SME and the beyond horizon thinking and bold execution of these officers. To follow up, can I ask the Ministry on the progress of the Tuas Nexus and Tuas Water Reclamation Plant. Deep Tunnel Sewerage System”
“Being relevant to the industry is of utmost importance to strengthen employability and continued employment. Mid-career upgrades and continued learning is not an easy feat as one usually has to manage multiple obligations. I know of many who will take time after a long day of work to attend classes or courses. We have a duty of care to them. We must make sure that their efforts will be accretive to their careers and to their personal development. I would like to ask the Minister how is MOE expanding applied learning opportunities in its Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and to ensure that courses are highly relevant to the industry's needs? How is MOE measuring the value of the certification or programme post its completion? How does MOE ensure compatibility or stackability of courses toward an academic or professional certification? Special Education Schools for the Future”
“We need to strengthen the support for mental well-being. We need more early warning capabilities to identify students who need support and to be able to provide these capabilities much earlier. As mental well-being cuts across various domains, we must be able to coordinate our approach together with other stakeholders and parents. We must be able to respond appropriately with a range of responses and capabilities. I would like to ask Minister how are we better supporting the mental well-being of students? How are we building up capabilities to build conducive and supportive environments for higher ends students? How are we assuring that we are nurturing students with special needs today and equip them with skills for life? Education for a Skills-based Economy”
“Advanced digital infrastructure and cybersecurity technologies are important, but we also need to enhance our fundamentals. To get a Data Protection Trust Mark (DPTM), there are five assessment bodies with IMDA which can assess an organisation. Today, an organisation can take up to one year to get the certification, with a queue to start assessment. The certification is demanding and rightfully so. As of 2 March 2022, there is a total of 81 organisations which have attained DPTM certification. ACRA records state that we have about half a million registered entities. In practice, we do not need every organisation to be certified. But, in parallel, we must enhance our understanding of basic data protection law and emphasise the importance of critical data protection requirements. Three questions. How are data protection consultancies regulated in Singapore today? How do we ensure that our data protection ecosystem has the competencies and subject matter experts required to be secure? How can we better build and accelerate our efforts to build trusted, secure and resilient digital infrastructure and technologies? How can we better support businesses and individuals to guard against cyber and data threats?”
“This is only possible if we continue to be diligent in maintaining our skills and update our knowledge and professional capabilities with the latest technologies, solutions and processes. This requires a concerted effort on all fronts and in different phases of our manpower and talent development. How will Singapore ensure that firms here continue to have access to talent they need to support their expansion and operations? What is the Government doing to build a future-ready workforce? How is the Government supporting SMEs to improve the training and upskilling of local workers so that they stay relevant and competitive? Economic Recovery On economic recovery, Mr Chairman, I would like to declare my interest as adviser to SIA's Staff Union (SIASU). Our airline industry has been deeply affected. Our local tourism industry is far from recovery levels. Many working in the tourism sector continue to face many challenges, with reduced incomes and much uncertainty in the months ahead. What is the Government's plan to support the recovery of the hardest-hit sectors in tourism, given the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on the inflow of travellers?”
“Thank you, Mr Chairman. On enterprise development, over the years, the Government has provided much financial and non-financial support to SMEs. Amongst the myriad of options, from capability development and marketing, to internationalisation capabilities at various stages of their development, many SMEs have provided feedback they are appreciative of the robust support but, due to the numerous offerings, they have found it difficult to navigate all available options. As such, to better assist our SMEs to better access the assistance provided by the Government, how can Government schemes be streamlined so that they are more accessible to businesses, especially SMEs? Our heartland enterprises are the heartbeat of our community. For decades, our heartland enterprises remain relevant as they provide us with much-needed daily essentials – fresh food as well as important services, such as hairdressing. However, digitalisation and e-commerce have changed the landscape substantially. This is made more difficult as last-mile delivery becomes more common and affordable. Our heartland enterprises have limited resources to keep up with digitalisation. As such, how can we support heartland enterprises to digitalise and build new capabilities? Manpower and Talent For manpower and talent: as the world is experiencing a wave of digitalisation, deep tech and scientific advancements, there is a global competition for talent. The ability of companies and Singapore to compete globally is highly dependent on the amount of talent Singapore is able to access. This is highly dependent on our Singapore workforce as well. Our workforce must be relevant and have the skills to face the challenges of today and the future.”
“The ongoing hostility in Ukraine is difficult to ignore. The onslaught of cyber attacks that the Ukrainian government is facing shines a light on the nature of warfare in the 21st century. Battles are fought not just in the sea, air and on land, but also in cyberspace. Ukraine is not alone when facing such threats. Recent events have underscored that these attacks can be initiated by non-state actors. Major ransomware attacks have targeted critical infrastructure in different parts of the world, causing serious, real-world disruptions. In fact, Singapore has experienced such cyber attacks as well. In the years ahead, it seems likely that potential cyber attacks will continue to increase in frequency, scale and complexity. If these attacks were to successfully target our military infrastructure and systems, there would be dire consequences. In the light of this, could the Minister for Defence provide views on how threats in the digital domain are evolving and what MINDEF and SAF are doing to better address these evolving threats? Cyber Threats”
“Despite facing the pandemic of a century, the SAF responded admirably. Essential operations were not suspended even during the height of the circuit breaker. The SAF has now vaccinated almost 100% of its soldiers, sailors and airmen. However, last year, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen spoke about delays to major SAF programmes and initiatives due to the pandemic. This would, undoubtedly, have led to an impact on SAF's medium- to long-term capability development plans. COVID-19 has disrupted supply chains around the world. Would it also disrupt the supply chains for building the next generation platforms and technologies that the SAF is seeking to acquire? In the same vein, I would also like to better understand how the pandemic has affected the SAF's ability to develop and test new training doctrines in overseas settings. I am well aware that there are some military manoeuvres that we simply cannot practise in land-scarce Singapore. And I am concerned that the COVID-19 travel restrictions over the past few years may have made it difficult for the SAF to pursue valuable training opportunities overseas. Could the Minister explain how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the SAF's medium- to long-term capability development plans? Training amidst COVID-19”
“To establish a conducive business ecosystem, it is important to ensure that the regulatory and compliance costs are not prohibitive and are adequate to ensure a reliable and robust system. Above all, these processes must be streamlined and avoid duplicative steps; it must be agile. As such, what are some of the measures or programmes initiated by MOF to ensure that we continuously improve the efficiency of our business processes?”
“Infrastructure and construction technology has made substantial progress over the last decade and continues to do so. Construction methods, aided by better technology and materials, can improve built costs as well as increase their useable lifespan. In certain circumstances, a higher initial capital outlay may result in lowering operating costs, which, in turn, contribute to a lower lifecycle cost. As such, how does the Government ensure that our expenditure will deliver us the best value over its entire lifecycle? Market Financing and Faster Payments”
“The last 18 months was the most rewarding journey for me, a journey that is proved to those who are new diverse and can hold good jobs that pay well and have rewarding careers, careers in ICT and cybersecurity, an industry with much promise. I work closely with sister Denise Phua and a team in Autism Resource Centre (ARC), supportive bosses, Delan and Casey, my teammates Zaishao, Arian and Ken Hwee, with leading cybersecurity company Ensign Infosecurity, with the support of Tammy and Steven, it was an open collaborative environment, where ARC identified neo-diverse individuals and together with Ensign Infosecurity, trained them and emplaced them in high-quality jobs and provided them with job support. The Ensign Infosecurity team also trained to make sure there was a conducive working environment for all it. It was a team effort and that was what made the difference, all of us doing a bit more for one another. From a small training pilot programme of four cybersecurity analysts a year, within two months, and because of these individuals' remarkable performance, we will now want to increase hiring by 400% from four per year to four for every quarter. When I heard that the programme was a success, it truly touched my heart. Be bold in investing in our future. Be bold in investing in our people and there will be a place for all of us. Geraldine, on your birthday, papa would like to wish that you have a Singapore that is tech and rich, inclusive and above all, kind, loving and in all we do, fighting for a better Singapore. Majulah Singapore! I support the Budget. [Applause.]”
“It must also be recognised that present and future challenges are complex and multidisciplinary, which would require a team with diverse skills and expertise. We must stretch the potential Singaporeans to enable them over their lifetime on their own time to achieve the highest education and skills potential. It can be a diploma, it can be a degree, Masters or PhD or any other professional certifications, working experience that builds upon skillsets. According to World Economic Forum, percentage of PhDs and higher education OECD average was 1.1% with most innovative countries taking the lead, like Israel, US, Switzerland, Germany at 3%, 1.4% or 2%, Sweden and Denmark. This OECD average is set to increase to 2.3% by advancing knowledge and research across academia and industry. Doctoral students and holders can make economies more innovative. However, I want to caution that this is not a narrative about certifications but macro trend of increasing demand for skills and increasing competitive supply of skills worldwide. We must also be mindful not to be overly concerned with degrees and diplomas as we are all reminded by the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Sean Parker and Mark Darcy. None of them had University degrees, but a good combination of connective, interpersonal, self leadership and digital skills that set them apart from the rest. This opens possibilities across education, experience, skill archetypes, everyone that has a role to play. Most importantly, as we embark on this journey, we leave no one behind. I believe that everyone deserves an opportunity, an opportunity for a good job for every Singaporean. Every Singaporean including those who are neo-diverse.”
“We must seize every opportunity to build long-term R&D partnerships and co-create capabilities with our local enterprises. Fifth, Singapore must be open to attract talent from across the world. In the United States, evidence shows that immigrants are often the most productive innovators and entrepreneurs. They are vital to competitiveness and fuel growth. In the United States, the National Foundation for American Policy finds that 55% of the billion-dollar start-up companies in the United States has at least one immigrant founder. These companies are not only valuable, but they employ a lot of people. Among privately held billion-dollar start-up companies in the United States, those with immigrant founders have created an average of 1,200 jobs per company in the US. The collective value of some of these 50 immigrant-founded companies far exceed the entire stock market of several countries. America's ability to attract international students foster entrepreneurship. About 23% of billion-dollar startup companies had a founder who first came to America as an international student – Slack, Peloton, SpaceX and WeWork are all immigrant founders. The American education system has embraced international students as part of the learning experience and cultural exchange, which results in more robust, vibrant and competitive landscape. Sixth, we must strengthen Singapore's skills and competencies by maintaining a strong supply of skilled workers, provide continued training and skills acquisition throughout their careers, build up alternate entry pathways for those who are doing mid-career switches and recognise the transferability of skills. This will provide the required opportunities for Singaporeans to remain agile and productive longer.”
“Fourth, building local R&D capabilities by supporting local research and development clusters, collaborate, partner and sharpen product and service quality locally, build portfolio and credentials locally for international markets and accelerate growth through regional and global networks. ST Engineering is one prime example. For decades, MINDEF has partnered ST Engineering to develop capabilities in-house. To release R&D and capability development, ST Engineering was able to scale and export capabilities overseas. We can build more of these such champions and there are numerous opportunities. For example, given that we are the largest customers of elevators in the world, there are opportunities to build a regional, if not, global elevator technology champion. Our Singapore water stories, one of the most compelling in the world, building capabilities and overcoming challenges, we have co-developed water technologies and there are opportunities to build a multibillion-dollar, Singapore water technology champion. We had a Singapore company that was a potential unicorn in the renewable energy for Singapore and the region. But today, we are not. Route and building technologies. Healthcare, such as COVID-19 test kits, high-tech hand sanitisers, and the list goes on. I have spoken to some entrepreneurs who have mentioned the difficulty that their products having to face immense scrutiny by local registry or authorities, the skepticism of being a locally made product and the fear of endorsing a product. I think we can do much more to build a collaborative environment that encourages partnerships to help these entrepreneurs navigate through difficult requirements and enable them to build on their capabilities.”
“Given the emerging trends and existential nature of science and technology for Singapore's future, it may be timely to consider re-establishing the Ministry of Science and Technology to bring laser focus on making Singapore scientific, technology and innovation efforts more effective. Next, to succeed, we must keep our pace. In fact, we must double or triple our pace to maintain our competitiveness and relevance. These are important decisions and the choices that the Government takes on research, innovation science and technology will set the future trajectory for Singapore. One of the most important commitments is to increase the total R&D investment. To achieve and maintain global leadership requires sustained increase investments, both from a percentage GDP and also from absolute numbers. Given Singapore's relatively small GDP, we must aim to commit a much larger percent GDP spent on R&D to sustain and keep up with the competition to achieve at least the OECD average of 2.4% today and with a further commitment to increase 3% to 4% of GDP in the next five years. Third, for Singapore to maintain its competitiveness as a business destination for investments in R&D, the Government should review the speed and agility of business execution in Singapore and balance with the risk reward outcomes. Singapore must keep pace with decision cycle and execution agility of businesses today, especially so when added stability will reduce R&D investment risk, enabling businesses to invest in the long term and build innovative partnerships. These investments must be coherent with our ambitions to build up local enterprises, manpower and Singapore's overall capabilities.”
“Today's problems are complex and far-reaching into different domains. There are significant long-term and substantial science and technology endeavours that require a high level of aggregating efforts at the highest level – MTI with a A*STAR and Economic Development Board (EDB); PMO with National Research Foundation (NRF) and GovTech; MCI with Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and IMDA. And depending on the sector or domain, it would require further participation of other stakeholders, such as MAS for finance; BCA for building construction or LTA for transport. Scientific America published an article on the need for the US to establish a Federal Department of science and technology as the STEM-related policies is administered by a bewildering array of entities which dilutes is effectiveness. It stated that the failures of producing COVID test kits, slow and ineffective rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and cybersecurity attacks on government agencies, despite multiple warnings. This reflects the central failure of agencies with science and technology ambitions to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Similar to events leading up to 9/11 in the US where organisational weaknesses were revealed in scattering of multiple intelligence capabilities across agencies and the federal government. As such, there is a need to better organise scientific efforts. More recently, the US has elevated the Office of Science and Technology to a Cabinet-level appointment with plans to establish a new Department of Science and Technology. Many other successful and innovative countries have done so – South Korea, Japan, Israel, India, Denmark.”
“In terms of total IP following activity, Singapore ranks 28th behind Ukraine, Mexico and Thailand. The term "Start-up Nation" was title of a book in 2009 by Dan Senor and Saul Singer about the economy of Israel. The presence of thousands of start-ups and more engineers per capita than anywhere else in the world makes Israel a natural hub for innovation, best known for defence and military-inspired technologies. Entrepreneurs across the nation are now focused on building mixed generation applications, helped by government support, societal acceptance and presence of large numbers of multinationals eager to buy innovative technology from start-ups. Israeli companies are building a wide range of products and services for the world. So, from Creative Sound Blaster Cards to pioneering cashless payments and disrupting the data storage industry, Singapore has journeyed a long way since Independence. We progressed from being and having the ambition for innovation in the 1960s, built up a strong core of citizens in engineering and science, attract technology advanced foreign investments, a national plan for research and development the formation of A*STAR, our research investments into biomedical science or Independent Review Entity (IRE) plans. And more recently, our highly successful Smart Nation initiative and a formation of Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) to better serve Singaporeans in Singapore. Here are a few suggestions I would like to make. First, the breadth and depth for Singapore's research, science and technology capabilities together with our creativity, innovation ambitions are critical in ensuring we remain agile in a disruptive world, navigate global challenges and achieve our strategic and national goals.”
“However, the ability to produce knowledge products and creative assets have been less than ideal. To achieve the high level of productivity we aspire, we must maximise our innovation potential and project tangible and quantifiable results. We must not forget that the science, technology and innovation landscape is constantly shifting. Taking China, for example, China's feat is dramatic. China's global share of research papers in the few of just one AI has vaulted from 4.26%, which is about 1,000 papers in 1997, to 27.68% in 2017. This is global – 37,343 papers, AI patents filed, surpassing any country in the world including the US, a position it continues to hold. China also consistently files more AI patents in any other country. As of March 2019, the number of Chinese AI firms has reached 1,189, second to only the US which has more than 2,000 active AI firms. Many countries are systematically gaining ground with China: Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, India and Philippines, improving their rankings substantially in the last decade. Competition does not stand still. They are constantly on the move, moving at a rapid pace and gaining ground. This is from a whole country's perspective. But in reality, science and technology activities are centred around clusters, tech ecosystems that are usually defined by geographical areas. Some of them are well-known, like Tokyo-Yokohama, which is ranked first. Second, which Shenzhen, Hongkong, Guangzhou followed by Seoul, Beijing and then San Jose, the famous Silicon Valley at the fifth. Singapore is ranked at 29th, behind Dejan, Nagoya, Osaka, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Taipei. Singapore is ranked 47th in in science and technology intensity amongst the top 100 science and technology clusters.”
“With rapid tech cycles and disruptions to industries, we must be courageous in investing and building our future capabilities. One example amongst the numerous is oil and gas. With peak oil expected to occur between 2025 and 2030, we will expect the subsequent decline of oil and gas within the next 50 years. Singapore has substantial investments and revenue from Jurong Island and this is truly one Kodak moment we want to avoid. Avoiding Kodak moments is only one small aspect. There is the imperative to recognise long-term trends and the ability to foresee and, most importantly, is Singapore technologically agile and capable to pivot rapidly? Does it have the ability to build strong networks of ecosystems to solve disruptive and multidiscipline challenges of today and the future? Is our workforce able to build expertise in different ecosystems and networks to spur collaboration and innovative capabilities? The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ranked Singapore eighth in the Global Innovation Index in 2021. It has been top 10 in the last 14 years. More recently, Singapore is second on the Bloomberg Innovation Index. Looking further into the details of report from 2018 to 2020, WIPO ranked Singapore number one in innovation inputs but ranked 15th in innovation outputs. In a sub-segment of knowledge and technology outputs, Singapore was ranked 13th. To note, China, Korea and Japan ranked high in knowledge and technology output within Asia. Singapore produced less innovation outputs relative to its level of innovation investments. Singapore's education system, infrastructure, R&D environment as well as business ecosystems are our core strengths. And we rank very, very high on those categories.”
“94% or an estimated US$6.7 billion. At the same time in 2017, Israel spent US$16 billion on R&D. In 2021, Israel was 4.94%, Korea was 4.53% and Switzerland 3.37%. Slovenia, Czech Republic and Iceland ranked higher for percentage GDP spent on R&D. The OECD average is 2.4%. To further put into context, Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Google, spent US$31.5 billion on R&D; Amazon, US$42.7 billion; and Microsoft US$19 billion, just to name a few. Although highly innovative companies with substantive R&D expenditures provide much opportunities and some form of inoculation, it does not guarantee survival. Much still requires leadership. We know of Kodak, Nokia, Blackberry and Yahoo!. Interestingly, any keen observer will realise that Kodak and Fujifilm were in the same position. Kodak filed for bankruptcy but, in 2010, just when Kodak was close to bankruptcy, Fujifilm posted a 57% revenue growth between the years 2000 and 2010. This was because Fujifilm had the courage to face possible realities, act swiftly and change its business. There was no time to be incremental, no time for quick wins, no time for low-lying fruits. These methods would not have been sufficient to steer a behemoth. The management quickly downscaled production lines, closed redundant facilities and they unified their research efforts, enhanced communications and improved the culture of innovation amongst the engineers. But this was not enough. The President of the company ordered a quick stock-take of all of Fuji Film's technologies and quickly mapped out how existing in-house technologies could be used to power future markets. It was an existential moment for them and Fuji Film survived, moving into pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and functional materials.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Singapore has many notable science and tech achievements. Those of my generation would fondly remember the 1989 Sound Blaster by Creative Technologies' Sim Wong Hoo. It is probably difficult to comprehend why the hype over quality music and sound over a desktop computer. Back then, this was cutting-edge. It was a computer chipboard that enabled users to play and record speech and music, selling more than 400 million Sound Blaster cards worldwide and the first Singapore company to be listed on NASDAQ. Just two decades ago, Trek 2000 International Limited, a Singapore company, invented the thumb drive. Using a USB interface, the thumb drive, the thumb-sized storage device, had a plug-and-play convenience. It was a wave that swept the floppy discs and mobile storage segments. Looking at the trend of mobile payments today, a cashless society and the rise of mobile wallets, Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) started work on their ambition in 1986 with electronic transfers at point-of-sales; the digital or mobile wallet in the form of cash cards was then rolled out in 1996. Singapore was ahead of our time and spearheading technologies and pushing the frontier of fintech. Today, on the list of the world's 10 most valued and largest companies by market capitalisation, except for two – that is – Berkshire Hathaway and Saudi Aramco, all the rest are IT and tech companies. The future economy will be driven by the fourth IR, moving from traditional digitalisation to an intelligent era – smart home, smart factories, lights out manufacturing – a great way to mitigate manpower and environmental issues, in smart cities. The future powerhouses will be driven by innovation. According to the World Bank, in 2017, Singapore's R&D percentage spend of GDP was 1.”
“I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for sharing and I would want to commend MOE and IMDA in the past two years in really equipping students and giving them digital access. One question is, given the proliferation of more digital and online educational resources and the increase in home-based learning, I was wondering whether the Ministry will consider further expanding the provision for Home Access programmes beyond the two years to better serve those in disadvantaged circumstances and give them more accessibility, especially outside of school and having to be at home?”
“The key to any energy transition plan concerning any new energy – for example, hydrogen, nuclear energy, be it fission or fusion – we must develop a clear understanding of the limitations of physics, engineering limitations and, finally, perhaps most importantly, supply chain constraints, both in materials, fuel cycles and operational implementation. I will not go into the details of solar, wind, geothermal, green, blue, grey hydrogen, the intricacies of tritium, deuterium or super-conducting magnetic tapes. Critically, we must see past the hype, drill down to the basics and avoid oversimplification. We must be technically strong to analyse and interpret new technologies. We must be cognisant of the engineering challenges to build, operate and manage a safe, viable, resilient and sustainable system; above all, a system that contributes to the fight against climate change. I trust that this Bill will provide the ability to build capabilities to secure new sources of energy and for our future. Mr Speaker, I support the Bill.”
“Mr Speaker, as COVID-19 measures worldwide ease, we can expect that global demand will soon reach pre-pandemic levels. This is coupled with the energy crunch in natural gas and the recent rising cost of Brent crude. As a country, we must be keenly aware that we import our energy and we must compete with the rest of the world for our energy resource. But this ability to purchase and secure energy is only a short-term measure. We are facing the dawn of the next energy transition. As we rebalance our carbon-based energy, we are faced with several critical decision points to secure our energy for the future. I have a few questions for the Bill. Can the Minister share what are the considerations when determining the value of the security deposit? What are the options available in the event when the security deposit is insufficient to cover its obligations? What are the trigger indicators to determine that a wind-up order is necessary? With the empowerment to build, own and operate, can the Minister share if there will be initiatives to ensure that there are economies of scale and synergies that are collectively accretive to the overall industry? With this amendment, how will the agency better plan the new energy transition that we will face in the near future? How are we building new capabilities and rebalancing our reliance on fossil energy? What is the future for hydrogen, nuclear fission and fusion to provide safe, reliable and clean energy to power the country and our industrious Singaporeans?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I support both the Retirement and Re-employment and the CPF Bills.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Singaporeans are living longer, continue to be mentally active, can and want to remain relevant. Relevant to their families, community and society. Although we have an ageing population, our talent resource in Singapore remains strong. With a more senior and active workforce, we have a strong foundation of capabilities, experience and knowledge for the next generation of workforce to build upon. A strong baseline of core capabilities coupled with decades of experience can enable our senior workforce to become more agile and acquire new skills quickly. But to do this, we need to better map and acknowledge skillsets so that relevant skills can be transferred and applied in a different and dynamic context. We must continue to have an open mind to understand the relevance of past experiences and the transference of related skills in different operating context. To view individuals for their strengths and how their strengths can be relevant and accretive. At the same time, the workforce must continue to adopt a lifelong learning attitude, more so with the objective of being relevant for life. The move to increase the retirement and re-employment age, further removes the barriers and antiquated mindsets of being senior. However, we must also be pragmatic in our implementation, there are realities with getting on with age. But given the speed and depth of digitalisation, the working environment can be highly inclusive. This is a step in the right direction, but there is much work left to be done. We must make sure that we work hard to unlock this potential. With changes to the retirement and re-employment age coupled with the tweaks to streamline the CPF system, I look forward to continued employment with more secure retirement outcomes.”
“We must do more to better control and regulate our greenhouse emissions, be bold and quicken the pace. We are in a race against time. Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Bill. 6.34 pm”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, we must continue our work of reducing carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions and sustain the reduction for decades to come. Under most emissions scenarios that are being modelled today, the global surface temperature will most certainly continue to increase until the middle of this century. In fact, the target of 1.5 degrees celsius and two degrees celsius temperature rise will most certainly be exceeded unless we do more, much more. In the coming years and decades, we will experience changes in our climate system with increase in heatwaves, droughts and more intense storms. Here in Singapore, we will most probably experience heavier precipitation. Throughout the world, we will continue to see the massive loss of sea ice, snow cover and permafrost. Many of such changes were caused by past greenhouse gas emissions and are irreversible for centuries and up to a millennia. These changes and impact are most prevalent in our ice sheets and global sea levels. Today's emissions and the emissions of the future, will further contribute to these irreversible changes: ocean warming, ocean acidification, deoxygenation, melting glaciers and ice sheets, just to name a few. Recently, I visited Pulau Ubin – lovely island. Coincidentally, I was there at high tide. The waves were crashing onto the sides of the rocks near the jetty. It would probably take less than another metre of sea level rise before the seawater would flood the coastal roads. With current estimates, the sea level will rise by two to three metres if the temperature rise is limited to 1.5 degrees celsius and two to six metres if limited to two degrees celsius. At two degrees celsius and a six-metre corresponding rise in sea level, not much of Pulau Ubin would be left above water.”
“Does the Ministry have measures to protect the rights of these individuals, given their significant contribution, to ensure that there is proper attribution and protection of their reputation and commercial interest? On CMOs, the aim is "to build a fair, safe and transparent system where CMOs, rights owners and future generations can reap the rewards of an efficient copyright ecosystem". These proposed changes would benefit all stakeholders. However, due to the transnational nature of the copyright ecosystem, can the Minister share how these new measures affect the relationship between CMOs and copyright owners based in Singapore and overseas, especially when the relationship is between a foreign-based distributor and local freelance creator? Mr Speaker, I support the Copyright Bill. 5.07 pm”
“Mr Speaker, I will highlight three key aspects of the Copyright Bill. First is the right to be identified; second, on computational analysis; and third, on CMOs. I believe in the right for creators to be properly identified and take credit for work done. We must honour the creative work of our authors and performers. As this will be the foundation to build an ecosystem based on recognition, respect and reputation for our Singapore creatives. It is an important step for creators of original content to build their personal reputation and incentivise the creation of new works with more equitable rights. In the digital era where such content may be rapidly replicated and distributed, can the Minister share how freelance creators with little resources can seek legal recourse without delay to better protect their reputation and commercial value of their work? On the amendments for computational data analysis, I welcome the change as we step into the world of data analytics and AI. It is relevant in the information age to enable greater freedoms on the use of information for data analysis to spur a deeper understanding of our world and the domain, which would in turn build a more vibrant and responsible data-driven ecosystem. There is a more critical need for Singapore as we need to continue to be relevant as a global business hub and evolve together with emerging trends and challenges. However, there are scenarios where the work of a creator or collective is pivotal to the outcome of the computational data analysis, for example, if 90% of the data was from an individual or a collective, without their significant contribution, this study would not have been possible.”
“NUS is taking a bold step today for the future. Can I ask the Minister what would the Minister define as success for NUS and the students, given its vision for its interdisciplinary education?”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his answers. I understand that in 2019, an assessment was made that the Tuas South MRT Line has insufficient ridership to support a line there. Three years down the road, based on current estimates, will there be an update for this assessment?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, dementia is close to my heart. It is very likely that each of us has a story to share about dementia. A family member or a friend. It is part of life, because one in 10 aged 60 and above may have dementia. This is not a trivial number. The Mental Capacity Act has continuously updated itself over the years, strengthened its mechanisms to ensure that you, me, our friends and family will be taken care of with respect and dignity, held carefully in the cradle of trust. Yes, trust. And this must be so throughout our lives. More so when we can no longer make decisions, either because of dementia or because of an accident or other illnesses. As we move ahead with the roadmap to digitalise, we must ensure that we continue to build trust in the system as we embark on this journey. I applaud the effort for digital avenues for those who are less comfortable with digital services, to enable more to better understand its mechanisms and to embark on this transit. With the new electronic transaction system, some would have concerns with its security. Can the Parliamentary Secretary share further details on the safeguards that will be deployed to ensure the integrity of the process? I also understand that in the event where there are grounds to suspect fraud or undue pressure used to induce a donor to make an LPA to appoint a particular person to be his or her donee, the Public Guardian may interview the donor. Can the Parliamentary Secretary share more on the measures in place and how the Office of the Public Guardian could have detected such occurrences and take swift action to safeguard the interest of the donor? Mr Speaker, I support the amendment.”
“In other cases, a better understanding of the youths' environment can help identity risk factors and mitigating measure early. Can MSF update on how the youth mental well-being network can help support our youths' mental health and well-being through future crisis and COVID-19 and beyond? Impact of Children and Young Persons Act Amendments 2019”
“Thank you. The community, including the social service agencies (SSAs), community groups and corporates, play a critical role alongside the Government in supporting the social needs of Singaporeans. Amidst the disruption caused by COVID-19, we saw many SSAs that rose to the occasion and adapted to the new operating environment to deliver social services to those in need. However, it was also through this crisis that we have learnt that we will need to have better coordination amongst different SSAs to leverage on one another’s strengthen and expertise to deliver targeted assistance to families to better identify specific needs with the most appropriate solution at the right time. We have also learnt that we need to further strengthen our outreach capabilities and ability to communicate with those in need, especially remotely via teleconferencing. Many SSAs can reap productivity gains if they have had deployed suitable toolkits and platforms within their organisations. However, many lack the resources and the capacity to develop and maintain these capabilities. To build a better eco-system of social and welfare support, what are the plans to help SSAs further unlock productivity and strengthen resilience? Network for Youth Mental Wellness COVID-19 is one of the first major crisis in the lives of many youths. Due to the disruption in routines and social activities, many youth’s mental health and well-being were affected. However, prevention is always better than cure. Education, awareness and timely persistent community support are important aspects to ensure that our youths develop resilience, understanding and pathways to better manage their own mental well-being. Friends, family, loved ones and those around, must have a keen ability to identify symptoms.”
“Mr Chairman, may I take my cuts together? Five minutes apart.”
“Can the Minister for Education share more on how intervention programmes today help our students with their transition as they enter Primary school and Secondary school? Enhancing Support for Students with Special Educational Needs”
“Thank you. Home-based learning, more screen time, online lessons, examinations, CCAs, tuition, extra lessons for a myriad of activities. The fear of failure. A constant struggle. The environment for a student today has become vastly different from the one of the past. I am most concerned for the mental well-being of students. Minister of State Sun Xueling, too, shared similar concerns as she highlighted the importance of mental well-being and shared how crucial it was for those students who suffer not to feel stigmatised. Despite COVID-19 and these evolving challenges, MOE has done well to consistently update and roll out new programmes to better prepare our next generation for the challenges ahead. Recently, there has been an update to the Character and Citizenship Education curriculum. Back in my time, it was called "好公民". Minister Lawrence Wong shared that every teacher is not just a subject teacher but also a teacher of 21st century competencies and a teacher of citizenship and character. This resonates deeply with me as it is important to ground our students with the values and competencies that will put them in good stead to thrive in an uncertain future, to care for our fellow citizens and community. Can I ask the Minister for Education to share more on the updated CCE and how it can support our students' mental well-being? Second cut. Support Students with Special Needs The current curriculum of special education is tailored to support children throughout their education roadmap. As part of any education system, there will be periods of transition between schools and programmes. These periods of transition may not be easy for many students with special needs. When not properly managed, they could cause disruption and much time is needed to adapt.”
“Mr Chairman, may I take my cuts together?”
“Mr Chairman, recently, I received feedback on the challenges of securing a place in a school near where students live. In most cases, it is because the schools nearby are very popular in the neighbourhood. In addition, there are many parents who are also former students who would like their children to be part of the school. Can I ask the Minister for Education how the Ministry views balancing the priority between alumni and students who live in the neighbourhood, and if there is any on-going review? Reducing Class Sizes”