Steve Chia Kiah Hong
Singapore
“A similar prohibition would apply to the videocasting, or video streaming of explicitly political content. At this point, the Government has no intention to amend the legislation regulating Internet campaigning during an election.”
“Sir, may I clarify with the Senior Minister of State? He did not answer my question exactly. My question is this. From the "positive list" of the websites that are approved and registered, a concerned citizen downloads all these materials and prints them out on his own, using photostating machine or whatever, and distributes them to the m…”
“Sir, with regard to chicken farms and especially slaughter house workers, I believe they must be well trained and briefed on the precautionary measures to take. But are they insured under the Workmen's Compensation Act or any other kind of insurance in the event that they are afflicted with the bird flu virus?”
“Sir, I hope that the Minister of State understands that suicide is basically an attempt to cry out for help. In that time, if they do not have an easy number to remember, like SOS' 1800-2214444 hotline, can they call 999 or 995 and be redirected to the SOS in the event that they are thinking of suicide?”
“The clarification is that this individual, whom we do not know, is not our election agent or election helper. This is an individual in the constituency who wants to download anything and distributes it to the residents in the contested constituency. Is it an offence?”
“Active political recruitment has been going on inside and outside the RC and PA s organisation and premises. Although grassroots leaders are under no compulsion to join the PAP and can opt out if they want to, Straits Times' Forum writer, Ms Yee, had correctly pointed out that "joining a grassroots organisation seems to be a sure way for…”
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Every one of 543 lines we hold for Steve Chia Kiah Hong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 8 of 11.
“00 pm As for juvenile delinquency, the Minister for Home Affairs has responded earlier that the rise in youth crime is part of the overall increase in crime rate. We agree that juvenile delinquency, problems of families at risk, and out-of-school youths are best addressed through a coordinated inter-agency approach. That is the key focus of the Inter-Ministry Committee on Youth Crime (IMYC) chaired by Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee. As further support of a coordinated approach, my Ministry is also working with our strategic partners to build integrated case management systems. The systems will enable service providers to consult with each other on the common families whom they are working with. This will reduce duplication of work and ensure there is better coordination among the service providers. Of course, the principle of confidentiality will govern the workings of the systems. Sir, my Ministry agrees with Dr Maliki on the importance of identifying and helping potential premature school-leavers. For pupils who have persistent tardiness or truancy, the schools will undertake a pastoral role in providing advice and counselling. Schools may also refer such pupils to external agencies, such as self-help groups or voluntary welfare organisations for their assistance. Programmes, such as Project Reach and PAL are coordinated efforts by various agencies targeted at early school-leavers who are at risk youths. Since the Children and Young Persons Act was amended in October 2001, parents of about 124 juvenile offenders have been given mandatory orders. We are in the process of assessing whether such mandatory orders are successful. The assessment will focus on whether there is an improvement on the parent/child relationship.”
“Let me turn now to the points raised by Dr Maliki, Mr Gan and Mr Charles Chong regarding our youth and juvenile delinquents. Youth, aged 10-30 years, forms about 28% of our population. We must see how we can help them develop their potential and mature into socially responsible citizens, with a strong sense of belonging and rootedness in Singapore. Like youths the world over, our young people are of a diverse group, with different needs, depending upon their age, education and interests. As Mr Gan has pointed out, their aspirations and expectations are changing rapidly and are quite different from those of the older generation. How we engage our youths must therefore be tailored to the segment that we want to reach. Thus, many players, Government, non-government and even private sector organisations, are involved in a wide range of youth programmes today. Mr Chong, Mr Gan and Dr Maliki have expressed concerns about juvenile delinquency. Dr Maliki has also raised about teenage pregnancies, out-of-school youths and families at risk. Over the last five years, about 2% of the total number of births were from teenage mothers. I wish to assure Dr Maliki that the numbers have not been increasing. In fact, it decreased from 953 in 2000 to 849 in 2002. Nevertheless, MCDS, together with the community partners, will continue to conduct relevant programmes that target both the teenagers and their parents. For example, we have two sexuality education programmes, which I have mentioned earlier, that promote abstinence until marriage and are designed to help people develop positive character traits and to assist parents to work with their teenagers on sexuality issues. 1.”
“PPOs for children are also available to protect them from adult perpetrators, without having to remove them from their homes. And in the case of severe violence, the Police will not hesitate to apply the Penal Code to bring the perpetrator to task. So the example of the Australian practice that Dr Maliki gave, we already have the provision for the Police to handle such cases. As research has shown that not all perpetrators or victims benefit from counselling, there is a set of criteria to screen out those who are less amenable to counselling. Their outcomes of counselling are monitored, and these will be reviewed against the criteria to ensure that it is indeed targeting those who will turn over a new leaf with counselling. As Dr Maliki is aware, we adopt a multi-agency approach in addressing domestic violence. The established Family Violence Dialogue Group and Networking System allows anyone to access help through any of the agencies that they get in touch with. The system also focuses on preventing domestic violence through on-going public awareness and education. The latest effort in public education, for example, addresses dating violence as a preventive measure. Sir, we will continue to learn from other countries on how to address domestic violence and what measures work and what do not, so that our efforts will help to reduce violence in the families, as also mentioned by the Member. On the point of the protocol and the specific questions regarding Police action, I think these questions can be directed to the Ministry of Home Affairs. I will be most happy to assist the Member to redirect the questions to MHA for us to provide a more comprehensive answer on some of the queries which have been raised by the Member.”
“My Ministry and the National Council of Social Service will be most happy to advise and work with the providers to better improve their effectiveness. Sir, I would not go into the details of the Programme Evaluation System. I would be most happy to provide this to Dr Maliki, and there are about eight FSCs known to MCDS which are not funded by MCDS but some of them are funded through NCSS. So, there is a way for us to work with them on how we can improve their effectiveness. On the issue of domestic violence, I am glad that Dr Maliki sees it as a form of terrorism. I would be most happy to provide some of the specific details to Dr Maliki's questions. But let me address some of the concerns on a more general note. Dr Maliki's questions about domestic violence centre on three main areas: firstly, the trend in domestic violence in the last five years; secondly, how Police handle domestic violence; and thirdly, how cases of non-spousal violence are handled. Sir, between 1998 and 2002, the number of Personal Protection Order (PPO) applications averaged 2,866 cases per year. More than half (about 52%) are issued with PPOs. The number of breach of PPOs averaged at 147 cases per year. The average number of persons placed on counselling is 770 per year. I would just like to add that as a result of the downturn, the number of casework and counselling cases that we have seen through the FSCs for 2001 was 10,300 and it went up to 11,200 families in 2002. This is an increase of 9%. Breaches of PPOs are considered offences and the perpetrator is liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment or both. The Police investigate all cases of breach and either issue warnings or put the perpetrators in the lock-up. For persistent perpetrators, the Police will institute prosecution.”
“Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I thank Dr Maliki for raising some of the issues. Let me take them one at a time. As we would know, Family Service Centres (FSCs) are neighbourhood-based focal points of family resource. They provide services such as casework and counselling, information and referral, and family education. Sir, MCDS supports 35 Family Service Centres island-wide. One more FSC will start operating in Chua Chu Kang this year. Each FSC serves an average of 20,000 households within a neighbourhood. Last year, the FSCs served an average of one out of every five households within their service boundary. Sir, to enhance the effectiveness of the FSCs, my Ministry, together with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), introduced the Programme Evaluation System (PES) and Customer Satisfaction Surveys in all FSCs in 2001. Sir, I am pleased to report that 80% of the FSCs have met the standards set by MCDS and NCSS. We are currently working with NCSS and FSCs to develop a set of best practices and service quality standards. Sir, as part of the standards, we expect FSC services to be open to all families, regardless of socio-economic class or race or religion. Our records show that FSCs' clients generally do not face language barrier when seeking help from FSCs. Moreover, we expect all funded FSCs to operate on a secular basis to help families who come to them. There are, however, some family service providers which do not receive funding from MCDS. They have been set up as community initiatives to serve the specific needs of their target group in the locality. My Ministry does not monitor them. However, they will have to ensure that they meet the needs of their constituents who support their programmes.”
“Sir, I am quite happy to receive this MCDS booklet on "Key Social Statistics - Singapore 2002" recently. On its back page, it has 19 toll-free hotlines to various services that Ministries offer. However, I cannot seem to find a crisis hotline number. Is there no such service or is the service not important? I remember that a crisis hotline is available and widely publicised inside army camps for soldiers having problems in crisis or feeling suicidal. I believe that that service counselling hotline has been effective in reducing suicides for soldiers having suicidal thoughts. When citizens are faced with violence, crime or disorder, they know how to call "999". When faced with fire or the outbreak of fires, they know how to call "995". But when overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness and contemplating suicide, there is no easy number to call to for help. An easy to remember hotline number like "444" or in Chinese, "si, si, si", meaning "die, die, die" should be made available for citizens in crisis to call to for help, especially when they are contemplating suicide. Manned by trained professional counsellors, such a last call for help could be a matter of life and death for that suicidal person, overwhelmed by that sense of helplessness and loss. While I understand that such crisis helplines are provided by VWOs, like the SOS, the number is not well-publicised nor easily remembered. An easy-to-remember and well-publicised national helpline number should be set up to supplement the works of the VWOs. This is especially critical in these difficult times, as we observe a higher incidence of elderly suicides. I hope the Ministry can look into this request and provide this additional and important service. Assoc. Prof.”
“Sir, may I take the opportunity to clarify on what the Minister said earlier about pornography. With regard to pornography, I am actually asking about a light form of nudity where it could be allowed under brown bagging, and not the hardcore pornography, as what the Minister may think. Sir, I will go on to my speech on e-mail spamming. As e-mail becomes more popular, many users are receiving an increasing amount of the unsolicited commercial mail known as spam. Not only does spam make it difficult to identify valid e-mails, some spams contain offensive message and images. While I understand the difficulty of regulating spammers and catching them, we should guard against their growth within our community. As I understand it, there are private individuals and Singapore registered companies that are collating e-mails ending with dot.sg and selling them for a profit. Such marketing of private individual e-mail addresses is equivalent to the selling of our private telephone and fax numbers to telemarketers who will call us up and try to sell some redundant products. We need to guard against this proliferation as it will cause great inefficiencies and a breakdown of our e-mail communication system. As a Straits Times forum reader puts it, "as a company with 10 e-mail addresses, imagine our daily frustration as our mail servers have to cope with the same junk e-mail multiplied 10 times." In this rare instance, I am in favour of legislation banning the sale of private e-mail addresses. At the same time, IDA needs to seriously do something to stop the growth of the spamming industry. I look forward to the Ministry to come out with a creative solution to a difficult problem. Meantime, can the Ministry explain what course of action can victims of spamming take?”
“Zoning classifies geographical areas when works of certain ratings are restricted to certain parts of the city or certain areas within a bookshop, video shop or retail shop. Belting classifies time period, like on television or radio or types of media, such as newspapers or restrictive circulation like magazines, according to reach, imposing stricter limits on time period and media with greater reach according to the rating. So, for objectionable materials, like what Mdm Halimah has quoted earlier, it should be shown at a later time belt on TV. Three, the principle of brown-bagging should be applied for printed works which fail the general rating test. It should be appropriately wrapped so that the material on the cover would not be inadvertently seen and brown-bagged. This protects those who do not wish to come across such material. Sir, I hope that MITA will take these three principles into consideration in the censorship review process.”
“Sir, I would like to speak up for the arts community concerning censorship laws. Our censorship laws fall short of what our vibrant society deserves. In any case, the Internet has made censorship almost irrelevant because it allows almost unrestricted access to all materials. Censorship should be replaced by regulation with a light touch. Arts requires a free environment to flourish and any set of rules which is too restrictive will undermine the renaissance city goal. The following three principles, as proposed by the arts community, in favour of rules, should be considered. One, the rules should acknowledge the diversity of modern Singapore and, in fact, allow for the greatest possible expression of that diversity. That requires a climate of reciprocal tolerance, which means an acceptance of other's right to express and receive certain ideas and actions, and others accepting that we have the right not to be exposed against our will to one's expression of ideas and actions. Two, classification by rating, supported by zoning and belting. Diversity requires tolerance. Tolerance enables choice. That exercise of choice is based on the principle of limited access and exposure, rather than total blanket bans or censors over any questionable material. A regulatory system which bans nothing, but allows everything, through regulating the distribution and access, should be set up. The model should be based on a system of rating, zoning and belting. Rating classifies works, like films, books, plays, magazines, etc, according to their content, and imposes age limit, like the current film ratings that we have. Under this system, no work is banned outright.”
“Madam, point of clarification. First of all, I am expressing a concern about admission and not that I am upset. So I would very much appreciate the Minister for not putting words into my mouth and saying that I am upset. The other point is I am not xenophobic about foreigners coming to study in Singapore, but rather when I called up and asked about the criteria for admission, I was told over the phone that it was because there were many foreigners who applied and there was no space for us - it is not so much that I applied - and so Singaporeans do not get to go in for that matter.”
“Sir, the Minister has not answered my question regarding the advertisements overseas to recruit all these so-called foreign skilled talents to come to Singapore to work. Why are we doing that?”
“Sir, there are genuine international talents and there are skilled and unskilled foreign workers. Except for the high bonuses paid for their early departures, our population generally has less objection to bringing in good international talents, if it is to help build our economy, nor do they have any objection to bring in the unskilled workers to do the jobs that most Singaporeans do not want to do. However, most working citizens are having objections to the entry of lower paid skilled foreign workers. The Government should make an effort to differentiate skilled foreign workers more clearly instead of lumping them together as international talents, for they are not. These skilled foreign workers are just workers on a lower pay and come in to compete with the majority of our Singapore workers for their jobs. In view of the high level of unemployment that we have, the Government must clearly justify why it is advertising aggressively overseas for these skilled foreign workers to come in and compete with our citizens and allowing them to displace our workers in the process. Will the Government allow and encourage foreign politicians, like Bill Clinton, to come and compete with them for their political jobs? I do not think so. In any way, I hope that the Minister can address the concerns of working Singaporeans on the aggressive recruitment of skilled foreign workers to come to Singapore. To reply to Minister Ng, it is not closing our markets to foreign workers, but about proactively recruiting skilled foreign workers, or talents overseas, to come here and compete with our locals.”
“Sir, a point of clarification. Can the Minister clarify whether nominal funding is no funding at all or still a small bit of funding? By his words, are GLCs not doing a good job too? So, that is why the Yellow Pages rule is imposed on the GLCs and not on the NTUC cooperatives, because the NTUC cooperatives are doing a good job.”
“00 pm Other than the last three mentioned, the Government should rein in these business cooperatives before they start killing our smaller local businesses and increase the unemployment figure.”
“Sir, the case about $41,000 and the car loan is about empowering the individual to be responsible for their decision. I will move on now to the role of NTUC. I speak with concern regarding the role of NTUC. It is a highly respected national institution, and receives funding from taxpayers for its work, through the Ministry of Manpower. Yet, it engages in politics, and publicly declares its symbiotic relationship, not as a principle with the Government of the day, but with the governing political party, the PAP. This symbiotic relationship implies that, if the ruling PAP party were to lose in a general election, the NTUC will set itself up to go against the government of the day, and go against the express wishes of the citizens in a democratic election. This is terrible. This is political subversion. The role of NTUC is to care for union workers, elect good people who can represent them to negotiate with the employers and not to play politics. By removing democratically elected leaders who are not with the PAP, it is playing politics. It is shameless of NTUC for being unprofessional in carrying out its charter. Until it repents and retracts its stated symbiotic relationship, it should not continue to receive any financial aid from the Ministry of Manpower. Also, our motion on the role of GLCs last year, when it was agreed that the Government and GLCs should not set up companies that can be found in the Yellow Pages, should be extended to all NTUC cooperatives. We have NTUC cooperatives running coffeeshops, casket agents, contractors, print media, sound systems, entertainment business, property development, etc, other than the more commonly known and accepted NTUC Fairprice, Comfort taxi and bus services. 2.”
“If the Government is prepared to free up car loans totally for consumption, then it should not worry unnecessarily about the problems of retirement savings or 401K, as highlighted by Deputy Speaker, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua. Remaining employed is more important than having enough retirement savings for the moment. 1.30 pm”
“Sir, as I said during the Budget Statement debate, Government must correct the perception - it may not be a statutory requirement but a perception - that one must retire by age 62 or 65, as what Mdm Halimah has said earlier. Otherwise, people like Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Chief Justice Yong Pung How are way overdue for retirement. But this has not been the case, and will not likely be the case with an increasingly knowledge-based economy. In Singapore, one can only retire if one has money and can afford it. We read of successful individuals who decided to retire at the age of 40 or so. They can afford it. But for many others, life will need to go on after 65, and to continue working helps to keep them mentally alert and to keep illness away. As such, the concept of retirement at age 65 needs to be dropped. I ask the Government not to force compulsory retirement on those who can, who want or who need to work, especially those in the civil service. This can be done by adopting a flexible wage structure and moving away from a seniority-based wage scheme to one that is more economically viable. And if this proposal is adopted, the concept of CPF savings for retirement can be revised to CPF savings for rainy days, where members can draw on their savings on difficult days, no longer just for retirement purposes. This will allow the Government to free up the compulsory CPF contribution for older workers to something that is negotiable between the employer and employee, as I have explained earlier in my speech. The objective is to help save jobs for older workers and reduce the unemployment rate.”
“Sir, as the Minister has explained earlier, many older workers are finding it hard to retain their jobs. Many are getting retrenched as their companies resize or relocate. Once jobless, they are likely to remain jobless for a very long time. Retaining jobs is thus more important than creating new ones. To retain jobs, we need to look at the two biggest components of business cost: wage and land costs. Since this pertains to the Ministry of Manpower, I will just touch on wage cost. If we have high CPF contributions from employers, the fight to retain jobs will be hard. While the Government takes the ERC proposal to cut the employers' contribution by 4%, it is not going to help much in retaining jobs. It is also unfair to those aged workers who are still highly valued by their companies. Instead, the Government can be more flexible and stop micro-managing, and free up the CPF contribution rates for employers and employees to negotiation between themselves. If he is a valuable employee, the company would be more than willing to offer him a higher contribution rate. But if the wage cost is still too high, the employer would have the option to negotiate with the employee for a lower or even no employer contributions at all. It is still better to have a job than going jobless for a very long time. Some employees would be more than willing to forgo their employers' contributions, if they can retain their current jobs. So, the Government should not make it mandatory for them to be retrenched by forcing a standard contribution rate. Let the employer and the employee negotiate.”
“The Minister has not answered my questions. Who actually monitors the use and proliferation of the ERP technology, not the issuance of the cashcard? And the second clarification is: can the Minister assure citizens that it will not happen, and not to say that it is not likely to happen? Mr Khaw Boon Wan: The ERP technology is licensed by LTA. Therefore, we own the licence. When the technology is expanded to include parking charges, they have become our licensees. So through that system, you have some sort of control. But cashcard, as I explained in my answer, is regulated by the Banking Act. The Member talked about a new technology and whether somebody can come around and swipe away cash from our cashcards. I am not aware of such technology. So I cannot talk about whether somebody will come out with such an idea; I do not think so. Assoc. Prof. Ngiam Tee Liang: Clarification, Sir. I did not say it is a make or break factor. But it is one of a number of factors that will help in the overall decision of the older persons seeking employment.”
“Sir, can I seek your permission for two clarifications?”
“Sir, I speak with concern regarding the proliferation of ERP technologies currently adopted by several private car park managements. At these car parks, a person does not need to do anything. A camera somewhere above records his entry and deducts from his cash card automatically when he exits. He does not even get a receipt. Sir, what is there to prevent abuse and fraud when such technologies become easily available? Can anyone easily duplicate or get hold of such a deducting system or machine and then go around car parks or somewhere and illegally collect money from unsuspecting car owners? I hope the Minister can address this public concern.”
“Sir, since we are in good time, may I seek your indulgence to do one cut, just two minutes?”
“Sir, first, I would like to thank the Ministry for the efficiency and speed of approval. The two clarifications I want to make are these. Where the gathering is five or more people, do we need to apply for a permit? Because under the law, it is considered illegal assembly. The second question pertains to this. When we are talking and meeting residents at coffeeshops, and where some topics become interesting, you can get a crowd around you and the crowd size can actually increase to quite large, and in this case, while we are addressing and talking to them, do we need to apply for a speaking permit, in a sense? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: On Mr Chia's first point, if somebody is organising a gathering for purposes as follows: to demonstrate support for or against a particular view, to publicise a cause or to commemorate or mark an event, then it comes under the Miscellaneous Offences Rules, and he will have to apply for a permit. The second point is if people gather in coffeeshops, it is not an unlawful assembly, unless the people have got criminal intent and, indeed, go on to commit an offence. Because, then, the unlawful assembly provision in the Penal Code comes in. So, that is different. That is another provision altogether. But if people gather to watch a football game on TV, say, in the S-League - Woodlands Wellington against Home United - the law will not come after them.”
“For example, last year, about 50 of such conveyors were arrested by us. We have, in fact, tough laws, particularly against such smugglers. As for conventions, I think, again, this is a very specific point. Really, different conventions come under different Ministries. I think the conventions she has mentioned relating to the children are under the purview of MCDS. If she wants to ask a specific question, she should file a Question.”
“Of course, like I have said, in MHA, we always see whether we can improve our processes. So, here, Police is currently looking at computerising its licensing operations. When the system "PLUS" is ready later this year, we can expect the processing time to be further reduced to seven working days for establishment licence applications. Let me assure both Mr Chandra and Mr Steve Chia that when licences or permits are imposed, they are for good reasons. If they are no longer necessary, we will modify them or, in some cases, even remove them, and this is an on-going process. Ms Braema Mathi has made several points which are not quite in line with her topic, because she made quite diverse points, for example, whether or not we can act against brothel owners in Bintan and Batam. I am sure she appreciates that Bintan and Batam are out of Singapore's criminal jurisdiction. Certainly, in terms of what our Police can do, we cannot do anything. What, of course, we can do is we can discourage our men from going to visit these places. I think, here, families can play a part. The other point is whether or not those who come to Singapore are being trafficked. Yes, indeed, many illegals come to Singapore; others overstay. But those illegals who come to Singapore, they come on their own or some of them are smuggled in. But that is not the same as trafficking, because trafficking means that you are brought in against your will. In the case of foreigners who enter Singapore illegally, they all come voluntarily looking for a better life. Some are smuggled in. As far as Singapore is concerned, I think she knows that we take a very tough position against all illegals who come, as well as smugglers or conveyors, as they are called.”
“If Mr Chia sits back and thinks about it, there is every reason why we should require these licences, not that they are not granted. When the conditions are met, they are granted. For example, control over computer games arcades and pubs are required, so that on application, Police can look at it and see whether, eg, they are in residential areas, too near to HDB areas, thus posing social concerns and possibly too accessible to the young people. Or, for example, whether or not large outdoor entertainment events could be held at a certain place, it is necessary to consider whether or not there will be disamenity caused to the residents, traffic problems or law and order problems. I am sure he will appreciate that, over the years, he would have seen MHA assess the relevancy of licences and, where possible, we have done away with some of these licences. I am not sure whether he was in the House in the year 2000, when I moved a Bill to amend the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act. Part of the scheme of the Bill was to introduce an exemption scheme where certain activities were exempted under class exemption. Hence, under this amendment to the Act, we exempted 10 categories of activities. And, indeed, the Speakers' Corner also arose from this exemption. People who speak at the Speakers' Corner will not need to apply for a licence. 3.45 pm In July last year, Police implemented a one-stop public entertainment licensing centre (or OSPEC). I think Mr Chia is also aware of that, particularly in helping people who want to start entertainment activities, pubs, for example. So OSPEC, in fact, as a one-step centre, has helped to bring down processing time to two weeks. That was about a year-and-a-half ago.”
“And like I have said, from the figures and from our approach, in fact, we are pro-societies. Of course, the Registrar of Societies must have the discretion to act against societies; hence, even constitutionally, law and order and other parameters are set out. Mr Steve Chia has talked about permits. Like I have explained just now, there is a need for us to control gatherings of large people in Singapore. Therefore, there is a need for a permit if you want to hold a large meeting in public. As shown by the figures given just now, it is not difficult to apply for a permit and, particularly, in the context of meeting rooms and sports stadiums, they have been granted before. He asked about licences. Here again, MHA administers this matter with a light touch. For example, Police, currently, administers licences and permits under nine pieces of legislation. We have considered whether or not such pieces of legislation are necessary and we have found them to be so. Let me give you an example of the Arms and Explosives Act. There is a need to control the importation and possession of arms and explosives. I think Mr Chia will agree that we need to continue with this regime. Likewise, the Private Investigation and Security Agencies Act, so that anyone who wants to be a private investigator or security guard will have to be screened. So, there is every reason why a permit is required. How about public activities, which Mr Chia has focused on? Let me say there are 15 types of public entertainment licences catering to entertainment businesses and to those who wish to organise ad hoc public entertainment. These licences are, for example, for performance of public talks and for operating billiard saloons and games machines.”
“Moving forward and taking a pro-active stance, ROS has been experimenting since January 2002 with a fast-track registration scheme for societies that pose minimal law and order, safety and security concerns. These societies can be registered on the basis of the applicant self-declaring that the society meets certain criteria. For instance, its objects and activities must not relate to politics, religion and ethnicity, and it must not have foreign connections. These are well grounded reasons. Now, we are considering whether and how we can allow eligible societies to be registered automatically. So, we are trying to improve all the time. I think that is something that Mr Chandra Mohan and others like him should appreciate. So, there is really no need to hold a big seminar where we take feedback from everybody, because we are always open to feedback. I myself, I am sure he would know, have also met some groups to discuss the Societies Act. Mr Chandra Mohan suggested that the Registrar of Societies should play a bigger role in enhancing and, indeed, even in financing the activities of NGOs and civil society groups. I think he should think carefully about this call, because it is really not a wise move. Why? Because these NGOs who seek help from the Government may lose their credibility. Civil society groups must make themselves relevant and be able to engage and convince citizens to identify with their causes. It is not true that NGOs find difficulty in getting premises to hold meetings and so forth. Over the past few years, civil society in Singapore has grown, and NGOs espousing various causes have sprung up. So, I think we should leave them be. There is space for them to grow. The ROS is certainly not an instrument to clamp them down.”
“I think we must maintain this position. In fact, other countries probably look at us and wonder how we do it. So, before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, let us have a care. And for these reasons, Singaporeans enjoy a great sense of safety and security. Of course, in terms of history also, we recall turbulent times in the past. Though those times may be many years away physically in terms of number of years, but given the make-up of our society, it can resurface if we are not careful. Mr Chandra Mohan also asked about the Societies Act. Here again, the Societies Act has been applied with a light touch. In fact, in MHA, I have said earlier on when I answered earlier questions, we review our Acts and measures all the time to see how they can be improved. And, in the same vein, we have also looked at the Societies Act. Rarely has the Registrar had to refuse registration. When he does, it is for very good reasons. The Registrar, in fact, cites the relevant ground of refusal provided under the Act and which clause it comes under, eg, that the society is likely to be used for unlawful purpose or for purposes prejudicial to public peace or order. So the rejected applicant will know on what basis the rejection has taken place. Between 1998 and 2001, the Registrar approved 888 applications and rejected only 7 applications. Last year, 263 applications were approved and only 3 applications, from two religious groups and a third group suspected of being involved in secret society activities, were rejected. So, indeed, the number of registered societies has grown from 5,377 in 1999 to 5,642 as at end of last year.”
“Having said this, I think we must give credit where it is due, and this is that the Police and the Registrar of Societies exercise their discretion judiciously under the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act, the Miscellaneous Offences Act and the Societies Act. Police and the Registrar of Societies administer these Acts even-handedly and with a light touch. Let me cite some figures. Over the two-year period, 2001-2002, Police approved 1,403 applications for public talks, and rejected only four such applications. In other words, a high approval rate of 99.7%. Of the four applications, three were rejected because of law and order concerns, while the remaining one was rejected because the application was made on the eve of the intended event. Mr Chandra Mohan must surely appreciate the fact that rules have been relaxed, and I say this also to Mr Steve Chia who made that point because, over time, Police also reassesses changed conditions and where the possibility of relaxation comes in, that can be considered. For example, since September 2000, Singaporeans can speak at the Speakers' Corner without the need for a public entertainment licence. That is a major relaxation. And, indeed, recently, a political association held an installation art exhibition at the Speakers' Corner. Mr Chandra Mohan asked how other countries handle public expressions and what the international community and media think about us. Like I have said, we have to formulate rules to fit Singapore because, basically essential and ultimately, it is the safety and security of Singaporeans that really matter and, of course, for investors and tourists who are here. Here again, I think Singapore has scored very well in terms of public safety for many years at international polls.”
“And, indeed, every country has to strike a delicate balance between these fundamental liberties on the one hand, and law and order concerns on the other. Therefore, it is not just a matter of saying why can other countries do it, why can we not do it. Because circumstances are different, eg, our historical experiences are different. Mr Chandra Mohan asked why can we not have peaceful demonstrations. There is, in fact, contradiction in terms there, because large gatherings of people can start peaceful but can turn violent, particularly if it is on matters of race, religion or politics, where different people may have different opinions and different groups may gather, then you will have clashes. And, indeed, even in other countries with regard to this latest spate of gatherings on the possibility of a war in Iraq, some of the demonstrations have turned violent. So, I think we have to be careful there. Hence, our position all these years has been clear. Police will not allow public talks on matters such as race, religion and politics to be given in open spaces as they may cause disaffection or elicit mock response when inflammatory speeches are given. But meetings can be held indoors or in sports stadiums where the conditions are different and there is better control, and the concerns of law and order can be better taken care of. The Police also disallows public assemblies if public order may be compromised. Likewise, the Registrar of Societies will refuse registration of groups that are prejudicial to public order or national interest.”
“However, it is Traffic Police's responsibility to process the summonses, impose demerit points and also attend to appeals for such violations. This is clearly undesirable, as the agency responsible for defining the rules should also enforce the rules to ensure consistency from policy formulation to downstream enforcement. Hence, by integrating all traffic issues under a single agency, the enlarged LTA will be able to offer better service to all road-users. LTA will then have a direct hand in influencing road-user behaviour, and strengthen its own mission of creating an excellent land transport system. MHA officials and officials from the Ministry of Transport have made good progress at the working level and we will announce specific details of the transfer when these are ready. Let me now address Mr Chandra Mohan and Mr Steve Chia's points. Both Mr Chandra Mohan and Mr Steve Chia made a call, for example, for more opportunities for Singaporeans to speak in public. Mr Steve Chia's point is that of the number of licences and permits that must be applied for. First, I want to say this. As Mr Chandra Mohan himself has said, yes, we do have fundamental rights and liberties in the Constitution, and he has mentioned some of these. But, at the same time, the same Articles in the Constitution also set parameters - security, public order, morality. I think Mr Chandra Mohan, in his speech, also recognises that Singapore is a unique society, special in a very small country physically, compact, and we are also multi-racial, multi-religious. Therefore, working the Constitution, we have to derive positions which take into consideration and recognise the situation in Singapore.”
“Other than the reason that if we take away Traffic Police from MHA agencies, MHA would then be able to concentrate more on law and order problems, the more positive rationale, and one which would benefit Singaporeans, will be that there will be greater synergy if this is done. Let me cite a few examples. First, duplication of technology can be avoided. Today, LTA locates cameras at the traffic junctions and the expressways and tunnels to monitor traffic flows. Traffic Police, on the other hand, separately operates the red light and speed camera systems for surveillance against specific traffic offences. There is much potential therefore in streamlining these systems. For example, a camera system can be developed for both the monitoring of traffic at major junctions and for surveillance against red light offences. Duplication of systems can therefore be avoided, resulting in cost savings. Second, enforcement can be streamlined. Today, Traffic Police enforces traffic violations such as speeding. On the other hand, LTA enforces illegal modifications to vehicles. However, illegal modifications also compromise road safety. So there is some overlap there. For instance, a driver who has installed tinted glass windows may find it hard to see on-coming traffic clearly and thus overtake dangerously. It is counter-productive for Traffic Police or LTA to enforce against one offence, whether it is reckless driving or illegal modification, without also having the authority to enforce the other. Such gaps only compromise safety on our roads. 3.30 pm Thirdly, the setting of rules and the downstream enforcement of these rules. For example, as part of LTA's measures to encourage usage of public transport, it is an offence to drive in a bus lane during peak hours.”
“Sir, I join the call earlier by NMP Mr Chandra Mohan. I find it strange that we need so many permits in Singapore - permit to speak, permit to entertain, permit to march, permit to protest and even a permit to gather. It is absurd if your group has more than five people, you can be charged for illegal assembly. Many Singaporeans would be guilty of that offence. Rules, permits and licences are mental roadblocks that restrict the growth of a creative and vibrant society. This point has been well-hammered into the minds of the Government and the civil service over the last few days by many MPs. I do not think I need to go any further since the DPM has personally pledged to cut down on the number of rules, permits and licences. I just hope that the Home Affairs Ministry would cooperate fully by removing those unnecessary permits and laws that are archaic and no longer relevant. Stop using the standard excuse of public safety and security as the awe-inspiring reason to keep these rules and regulations. The Government can do better than giving us a standard reply. It is time to return more freedom to the citizens so that they can learn to exercise greater personal responsibility. Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, first let me respond to Prof. Chin's point. His point is very specific. He has made a renewed call for Traffic Police to be merged with the Land Transport Authority. Let me inform him that his call has not fallen on deaf ears because discussions are now underway between MHA and the Ministry of Transport and we plan to effect the transfer by the middle of this year. As Members are aware, traffic management and control today come under two agencies, namely, LTA and the Traffic Police. This has resulted in unnecessary coordination issues.”
“Sir, I am not quite sure the Ministry of Home Affairs is the correct Ministry to address my point. But since it is redirected from the Prime Minister's Office to this Ministry, here it goes. As I explained recently in the Budget debate, there must be greater benefits for our citizens than foreign nationals working here. Singapore citizenship must entail greater privilege than just legal status, rights and responsibilities. We need to offer citizens more than what non-citizens can get. Encouraging citizens to develop a sense of emotional rootedness to Singapore cannot be effective when the Government is actively encouraging skilled and semi-skilled foreign workers and talents into Singapore to compete with Singaporeans for that premium jobs. This is especially so when unemployment is at its highest. And for male citizens, they have to give up 21/2 years of their lives to protect our land. On top of that, there are a few weeks of reservist training every year. Sir, there must be strong economic and social reasons for Singaporeans to be proud to want to remain as a Singapore citizen. My proposal is, Sir, over and above the tax rebates, the ERS and the New Singapore Shares, citizens should also get a few percentage lower in personal tax rate than non-citizens working here. For men with active NS liability, they should get another 2% off their personal tax rate. This would give stronger meaning to the idea of citizenship, that citizens have their privilege and show the Government's greater appreciation of our citizens. As for social reasons, the Government will do well to go beyond electoral politics to uphold the principles and ideas enshrined in our National Pledge. This will greatly inspire pride in our citizens and give meaning to what we truly stand for as a society.”
“Sir, I would like to request that the current recording of parliamentary sittings be webcast live over the Internet. Current technologies can support such webcasting at very low cost. This will help our citizens and others interested to follow the proceedings without having to come down personally to Parliament House to observe the sitting from the Strangers' Gallery above. Let me say that sitting up there is not comfortable and not time-productive. Viewing the whole proceedings, from commencement to adjournment, over television is the best. But it is not cost effective and thus not done, except for important statements by the Ministers. The alternative is to use webcasting technology to show the proceedings over the Internet. This will encourage citizens to log on to the website and follow the arguments for a better understanding of national debates and policy discussions. This will bring about a more informed and knowledgeable society. 3.15 pm”
“Sir, I would like to question the expanded functions of the Elections Department and its intention to implement electronic voting in Singapore. With electronic voting, the process of vote count is designed by computer programmers commissioned by the PAP Government. Where are the safeguards? There is no independent body to monitor vote rigging and audit the results in the event of a dispute. What is at stake is a move from voting with a paper audit trail to voting without an audit trail. The voters must trust the technology and the organisation behind it to ensure that their voting intentions are correctly recorded. There is no feedback, confirmation or guarantee that the voters' intentions are properly translated into digital impulse. Current technologies do not allow voters to verify that their votes have been properly recorded and counted. In the last US Presidential Elections in Florida, thousands of electronically recorded votes disappeared and in the absence of paper backups, they were never recovered. The effect may have affected the outcome of the elections. The loss of computing cannot allow anyone to be certain that the complex software needed to support e-voting is fully secure and error-free. Electronic voting systems are inherently open to fraud. A fraudster could easily bury two lines of code among the millions of codes and it would affect the way votes are recorded. My question, Sir, is whether it is necessary to spend $21.5 million for the electronic voting system when paper voting is still the safest and most efficient method for carrying out an election.”
“The question is: why is there not much thought given? And is there a new system coming forth in a few years' time to replace the iris system again? Are we spending too much money on this?”
“Sir, why was there not much thought given to the IACS system when it was set up? Is it because the Ministry has been given too much money, so they spend on this, and then later they find that another system ---”
“Sir, since the Senior Minister of State agrees that Singapore is a very small market, is it not more cost-effective to allow individual households to install satellite dishes instead of having a second agency to do that? The second question relates to the Senior Minister of State's reply about regulation of undesirable content. There seems to be a contradiction here, because if the Ministry does not seem to be able to regulate and control undesirable content on the Internet, especially with the advancement of broadband, why is there a need to control satellite? Is there not inefficiency or a contradiction in the policy here?”
“It would also facilitate the development of convergent applications and increase the sophistication of the Singapore marketplace. Consumers could benefit from new and improved pay-TV service offerings. As for our satellite dish policy, this has been debated several times in this House before. The installation of satellite dishes for households was disallowed to keep out undesirable content that is at odds with our multi-racial and multi-religious society, and to prevent the influencing of Singapore politics from a distance. This was why we built up the cable network, so that Singaporeans would nonetheless be able to enjoy a wider range of programmes. Households have therefore not lost out on programming variety by not having satellite reception. But the reasons why we should not allow undesirable contents from easy access to the living rooms of Singaporeans through satellite dishes remain. Security challenges faced by the region, such as the uncovering of terrorist networks here in Southeast Asia, have brought home the reality that we must continue to be vigilant against influences that may split or divide our society.”
“Question 2, Sir. SECOND PAY-TV AND SATELLITE DISHES 2. Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong asked the Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (a) what are the reasons allowing for a second pay-TV operator to enter our small domestic market, when satellite dishes will have been more cost-effective; and (b) when will satellite dishes be approved for the consumer market. The Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts (Mr Khaw Boon Wan) (for the Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts): Mr Speaker, Sir, Mr Steve Chia is correct in saying that Singapore's broadcasting market is small. There are only one million households. This small market is further divided among various racial and language groups. That is why the Government's broadcasting competition policy cannot simply copy those of others. The approach we have taken is to introduce competition incrementally. Over the last seven years, we have had a single pay-TV operator. That has allowed Singaporeans to enjoy a much wider range of programming than before. The question now is whether the market can support a second pay-TV operator. Our industry consultants have studied the problem and concluded that the market could support one more operator. This is why we have decided to offer just one additional pay-TV licence. Even then, we cannot be sure that there is market interest in this licence, or that if awarded, the second licensee will be viable. However, this is an assessment best left to interested industry parties. The upside of having a second pay-TV operator is that the competition would help to build a more dynamic and vibrant media industry in Singapore. It would encourage greater innovation and experimentation.”
“Sir, owners are not sure whether they want to buy a second subsidised flat but it is very certain that their first subsidised flat that they bought from the HDB was at a higher price when the market was very high. Subsequently, five years later, when they sell the flat, it is actually below their purchase price, effectively, making a loss. If they are not very sure whether they want to buy a second subsidised flat, then they would need to pay the levy upfront. For such a case, will the Minister of State consider waiving the levy? Because, effectively, they made a loss from buying and selling a subsidised flat.”
“Can the Minister of State explain why it is not allowed?”
“Whether the houseowner has the option to return the $50,000 grant if the grant is actually lower than the resale levy that he has to pay.”
“Sir, the Minister of State has not answered my question on the unit subsidy per flat for those flats that are sold for almost $1/2 million. The Minister for National Development had been quoted in the papers as saying that a $150,000 new flat is very affordable in the market. So, what is the subsidy that the Government is giving for this flat? The other question that the Minister of State has not answered me is: will the Ministry consider waiving the resale levy when the houseowner actually makes a loss when selling his subsidised flat?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, four supplementary questions. First, in view of new flats being sold for almost $1/2 million in the market, what is the Government's subsidy per unit for a flat costing almost $1/2 million? Second, where the subsidy is through a Government grant of up to $50,000 for staying near the parents, the resale levy imposed can be seen to be more than two times the grant given for bigger units. The question is: is HDB aiming to profit from this grant if the levy is more than $50,000? Can the homeowner have the option of returning the grant instead of paying the levy? Third, for owners who are not sure whether they want to get a second bite of the subsidised cherry flat, but they are not making a profit from the subsidised flat, can this resale flat levy policy be waived for them?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to clarify. I never said "handout". I said that we ought to tell Singaporeans not to look to the Government for handouts or support or help, because they are not going to get any.”
“The third point is that the MP can disagree with my comments but these are comments from the citizens that are reflected to me, and I am reflecting the concerns of the citizens. The MP can disagree with that. I have no problems with that.”
“Sir, I have three points of clarification. First, with regard to the criticism that there are no plans to help business and private individuals, I think the MP for Hong Kah has failed to listen to my speech carefully. I said that there was no big deficit plan to help business and private individuals, and not that nothing was planned. The second point is with regard to chronic deficit. Is the MP telling us that the Government is not going to increase GST when there is a series of deficits in the future to recover when the economy recovers?”