Sun Xueling
Singapore
“We are deploying electric vehicle (EV) chargers in tandem with growing demand, within the constraints of space and electricity. As EV technology is continuously improving, we are also mindful not to overbuild as chargers can become obsolete quickly.”
“I thank Member Dr Choo Pei Ling for raising feedback from her Tengah residents. Currently, two multi-storey car parks in Tengah have EV chargers, and LTA subsidiary, EV-Electric (EVe) Charging Pte Ltd, is in the process of deploying EV chargers in another eight multi-storey car parks in Tengah.”
“The Government targets to deploy 60,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging points by 2030, which comprise 40,000 in public car parks, and 20,000 in private premises. As of March 2026, there are 30,500 EV charging points deployed in Singapore. We are on track to achieving our 2030 target in tandem with the growing demand for EVs.”
“In 2025, about 30% of Build-To-Order (BTO) blocks were completed earlier than their estimated completion dates at the point of flat booking. On average, these blocks were completed about two months earlier.”
“Yes, thank you. We agree with Dr Neo that it is important to bring together the wider ecosystem and we will consult all stakeholders. The Ministry of Transport's immediate focus is to drive the usage of drones more extensively, especially by the public sector and this is because we already have many potential use cases.”
“I thank the Member for her question. Earlier, I mentioned in my reply that the HDB notifies buyers at three junctures. This is to give buyers adequate time to plan. And that is why it is at the one year before, six months before and three months before.”
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“In the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) review, the IMC will indeed consider the increasingly sophisticated ways by which criminals may seek to exploit our systems and make recommendations to ensure that our anti-money laundering regime remains effective in preventing, detecting and enforcing against such. The IMC will share its full findings and recommendations in the fourth quarter of this year. As for the adequacy of the penalties prescribed in the law, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) regularly reviews such, the last time being just recently in 2023.”
“Yes, Mr Speaker, Sir. I think the Member's question is more in relation to the next PQ in the Order Paper, but I will answer it nevertheless. As the Member, Dr Tan Wu Meng, would know, the Inter-Ministerial Committee was set up in end-2023 to review our anti-money laundering regime. The work of the inter-agency committee is still ongoing and recommendations will be made available in a few months' time. But what I would say is that the inter-agency review will focus on four areas and they are related to what Dr Tan had shared in his supplementary question, which are, we are looking at what more can be done to prevent corporate structures from being abused by money launderers; how financial institutions can enhance their controls and collaborate more effectively to guard against and flag suspicious transactions; and how other gatekeepers in the ecosystem, which involve real estate agents, lawyers, precious stones and metals' dealers and corporate service providers, can better guard against money laundering; and, of course, how we can strengthen our monitoring and sense-making capabilities to better detect suspicious activities. So, I think, potential money launderers, when they look at what Singapore's whole-of-Government approach and whole-of-society approach is towards money laundering, they will make their assessment as to whether or not they would like to continue with these activities at a high risk of being caught.”
“This voluntary forfeiture went beyond the amounts for which charges had been brought against Su. Such additional asset forfeiture, where the Defendants agree to the forfeiture, deprives criminals of their assets, beyond the amounts which are the subject of the money laundering charges.”
“Mr Speaker, this question has been answered in Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA's) written reply to a similar question two months ago, asked by Mr Leong Mun Wai. [Please refer to "Deterrent Effect of Existing Anti-money Laundering Legislation", Official Report, 8 May 2024, Vol 95, Issue 136, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.] We will make some additional points. The Government's role is to consider whether the existing range of sentences is adequate – that has been dealt with in the previous reply. The actual sentences in individual cases are decided by the Courts, based on the facts of each case and based on the submissions by the Prosecution and the Defence. We should look carefully at the specific charges in considering the sentences imposed. Although the media often refers to the $3 billion money laundering case, the amounts and charges involved vary across the different cases. For example, one of the convicted foreigners is Su Haijin. He was sentenced to 13 months' and six months' imprisonment respectively. This sentence was for two counts of money laundering involving about $1.4 million, which were ordered to run concurrently, and a further one month's imprisonment for one count of resisting arrest. This resulted in a total of 14 months' imprisonment for his offences in Singapore. The sentences meted out by the Court for Su and the other Defendants are comparable to sentences imposed in other jurisdictions. The penalties provided for Su's specific offences in law are a fine not exceeding $150,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both. Additionally, $165 million, or about 95% of the assets linked to Su and his wife, were forfeited to the state.”
“Changing mindsets on gender roles requires the partnership of both men and women. And this partnership starts in the family, continues in our schools, workplaces and in the community. We must work together across the whole-of-society, across all domains to change minds, change norms and change lives. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." (proc text)]”
“In the community, we work with our partners and stakeholders to make Singapore a safe and empowering place for all. We note Prof Razwana's point that harmful gender norms can have a profound impact on violent and abusive behaviour by men. A Singapore civil society organisation, United Women Singapore, runs a "Boys Empowered" programme that creates a safe space for males to have conversations on healthy masculinity, male allyship, personal boundaries and the concept of gender stereotypes. It also equips them with skills to de-escalate and prevent situations of violence. Next month, I will be leading an Inter-Ministerial Committee to present our 6th Periodic Report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, or CEDAW in short. We will present the progress that Singapore has made since our last review in 2017. The CEDAW Committee, comprising 23 experts, will assess Singapore’s compliance with the CEDAW Convention to protect and empower women. We will put our best foot forward and present Singapore’s efforts, developments and achievements. We will not rest on our laurels and will continue to strengthen efforts towards gender equality. The White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development is a 10-year roadmap and a framework to guide our whole-of-society effort; we will undertake a mid-term review in 2027 and report back to Parliament. But the intent of the White Paper exercise goes beyond policy and legislation; we cannot force a culture of gender equality through legislation. Rather, it aims to engender consciousness among Singaporeans on what all of us can do to help each other lead fulfilling lives, where a Singaporean, whether male or female, can pursue their aspirations freely and fully.”
“The proportion of male nurses registered with the Singapore Nursing Board has increased, from 8.5% in 2011 to 12% in 2022. At the same time, the number of male preschool educators has increased by about 30% from 185 in 2021 to about 245 persons today. However, male preschool educators still make up less than 1% of the sector. We will continue our efforts to attract talents, both men and women, into growing sectors such as healthcare and education. To quote Prof Razwana, "It is a good thing for men, it is a good thing for women and it is a good thing for Singapore." In the workplace, we must do more to facilitate equal opportunities for both men and women. We will strengthen workplace fairness through the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation. We are also encouraging flexible work arrangements (FWAs) as a workplace norm. This will make it easier for employees, both men and women, to request for FWAs. To empower both women and men to better manage their family and work commitments, we have doubled the number of childcare places, and we recently announced the pilot infant childminding scheme, to provide parents with more options to care for their infants. Beyond legislation and policies, each of us can do our part to foster fair, inclusive, and progressive workplaces. Employers can implement corporate initiatives to empower women at the workplace and nurture qualified women to undertake leadership roles. It is heartening to see more corporate initiatives to nurture women talent, many of which are championed by men. Managers and colleagues can support and help facilitate the re-entry of mothers back to the workforce after taking a break in their career. We must be equally supportive of fathers who need to take leave to care for their children.”
“With men taking a more active role in caregiving within the family, we hope that over time this will help to shift gender roles within the family. This would also encourage more equal sharing of caregiving responsibilities, towards elderly family members. We recognise that women are currently taking up a larger proportion of the caregiving burden. The Government is providing additional support to relieve burden on caregivers of seniors, both men and women through measures such as the doubling of the Home Caregiving Grant, from $200 to $400 a month from 1 March 2023. The recently announced enhancement to the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme will also help boost the retirement savings of older Singapore Citizens, including caregivers, who have yet to accumulate the current Basic Retirement Sum in their CPF. The journey of changing mindsets starts with the family, but does not end there. In schools, the Government has enhanced our Character and Citizenship Education curriculum to address gender stereotypes and teach our children and youth the values of respect and appropriate behaviours in school to shape healthy social norms from young. We also provide our students with Education and Career Guidance to explore a variety of education and career pathways based on their interests and strengths, and to not be limited by gender stereotypes. I am heartened to note that women comprise close to 40% of students studying STEM in our tertiary institutions. In 2020, women also make up 41% of our tech workforce, higher than the global average of 28%. Prof Razwana spoke about empowering men to join the "HEAL", or the Health, Education, Administration and Literacy, professions. We are seeing a higher proportion of men in the nursing profession.”
“Xander’s participation at a CSW exemplifies the fact that in Singapore, we believe that changing mindsets on gender roles matters too and requires the partnership of both men and women. Xander spoke passionately about equal partnerships in parenting and sharing caregiving responsibilities in the family. There are clear signs that men in Singapore are stepping up to play a role to make our society a fairer and more inclusive one. I will share about further steps we are taking to build a culture for gender equality. The journey to shift mindsets towards gender stereotypes and roles starts from the family. Parents are our first role models and examples of partnership and respect between men and women. As parents, it is our responsibility to pass down and instil in our children the right values of respect between men and women, and be role models ourselves through our actions. I am heartened that we are seeing positive mindset shifts towards active fathering. In the 2021 Marriage and Parenthood Survey, almost all married respondents, men and women, agreed that fathers and mothers are equally important as caregivers for children. Many studies, internationally and in Singapore, have also shown that children with more involved fathers have better developmental outcomes. The Government is committed to helping fathers achieve their family aspirations. Earlier this year, we doubled paternity leave from two to four weeks, with a clear message that we want paternal involvement and that, that should be the norm. I hope we can work towards a society where it is just as natural for fathers to take paternity leave and shared parental leave, so that both fathers and mothers can support their children in their early years.”
“Singapore was ranked for the first time last year as among top 10 worldwide and first in Asia Pacific for gender equality in the United Nations Human Development Report's Gender Inequality Index (GII). Singapore was ranked amongst the top 10 again this year. We are very proud of this recognition as the GII is a composite measure of gender inequality along three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment – in terms of education and participation in politics – and the labour market. However, we recognise that there is still work to be done. We embarked on the nationwide "Conversations on Singapore Women Development" in 2020 to hear Singaporeans' views on the challenges and aspirations of Singapore women. Importantly, through the process, the Government made it clear that women's development and progress is not at the expense of men – but in partnership with men. Out of the nearly 6,000 Singaporeans who participated in these Conversations, one-fifth were men. I agree with Prof Razwana on the need to listen to men, and engage and support them to be part of this journey. Men are equally constrained by societal expectations of how they should behave or perform at home, or at work. We should recognise everyone’s individuality and intrinsic worth, so that more men and women can be empowered to realise their aspirations. Last month, I delivered the opening remarks at the Singapore side-event on Singapore's whole-of-society partnership to transform mindsets at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). This is a key inter-governmental platform for UN member states and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to come together to discuss important issues on women’s development. Mr Xander Ong, CEO of Centre for Fathering, was one of the panelists at the side event.”
“I thank Assoc Prof Razwana for moving a Motion on this important topic. Almost exactly two years ago, we had a nine-and-a-half-hour debate on the Motion on the White Paper on Singapore Women's Development. The White Paper, with its 25 action plans, was unanimously endorsed. Members shared their views and hopes for moving Singapore towards a fairer and more inclusive society. I was very encouraged by what Member of Parliament Louis Ng said then, and I quote, "that the action plans in the White Paper are good not only for women, but also for men, as they steer our society towards a healthier, fairer set of norms, cultures and practices". From the very start, the Singapore Government has treated women as the equal half of our society. The Women's Charter, which was passed in 1961, instituted the equal standing of men and women in marriage and ensured the welfare and protection of women and girls in Singapore. Since then, our policies on education, housing, employment, healthcare, and access to justice have been and continue to be gender-neutral. Both men and women have equal access to opportunities and social support. Our laws on issues such as protection from violence and harm, and the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation, apply to both men and women. The Government believes in the fundamental equality between persons and strives to create a society where all can pursue their aspirations freely and fully. Our efforts are reflected in the tremendous progress for Singapore women over the years: we have achieved very high literacy rates of over 95%; three out of four women between the ages of 25 and 64 are employed; in Parliament, we have 30% women’s participation, above the international average of about 26%. We are doing well by international standards.”
“We are currently engaging the operators. Based on the engagements so far, the intent is for the operators to engage the childminders and be responsible for the childminders, because it would be very difficult for MSF to be regulating each and every childminder. So, the short answer to your question is, yes.”
“I thank the Member for his question. Our intent is to have more options for parents, which means that if there is an existing arrangement between a nanny or an infant childminder in the community with a parent, we are not going to go in there and change the arrangements. The informal arrangements can continue. But because we are launching a pilot and when we launch a pilot, we do hope that the results from that pilot will guide us in being able to have it more as a permanent programme. So, we have to make sure then that the parameters are such that it is sustainable and, therefore, we will need to have certain standards in place. So, what I would say is: in the situation that you mentioned, whatever is an informal arrangement right now – if it is something that they are happy with and there is something ongoing, it is something that they have been doing for a long time between the parent and the infant childminder, they can just go ahead with whatever it is that they have right now. But if they should want to be able to be part of this pilot so that the parent is able to make use of the subsidies that the Government is providing, then we would require the childminder to adhere to the standards that I have shared earlier. This is also so that MSF is responsible for the pilot and then we know what are the parameters that would make this work.”
“And very importantly, to be able to work with our parents; the parents of these children with developmental needs. So, where there are specific specialisations, for instance, it could be speech therapy, could be play therapy. Where possible, we would look at bringing in international staff to cope with and to be helpful. But I think we would like to keep a core group of educators in Singapore and we will definitely be training more of these educators because it is important that we are able to take care of these children with developmental needs, with educators who are trained in Singapore and who are trusted by our parents here in Singapore.”
“I thank the Member for her questions. Firstly, yes, I had mentioned that we will be introducing an EIPIC-Care pilot and that this is a training programme for caregivers of two to three-year-olds with developmental needs. And the reason why we want to do so is that the international studies have shown that parents, they are the early educators, early role models in their children's lives and they are in the best position to embed intervention related to social, emotional skills. And this happens, this can happen at home. So, that is the intent. This will be a six-month programme and the caregivers will be learning from professionals through group workshops and individual coaching sessions on how to support their child's development at home. On her second question, I had shared that we are launching more places when it comes to EIPIC, by increasing our capacity by 1,200 places. This was in 2023 and this was already a 26% increase from 2022. And in 2024, we will launch four more early intervention centres and increase our capacity by 1,500 places. These numbers are not small. And if you look at it in terms of percentage, we are expanding our Government-funded places to serve the children from 60% of children who require medium to high levels of early intervention moving from 60% coverage to 80% coverage. So, just think about it in terms of percentage terms, this is already a very, very large increase. And what that means, obviously, is that we have to bring in more professionals into the space; but we are also extremely mindful that these professionals will obviously have to be adequately-trained and they would also have to be aware of the norms that we have in our society.”
“I thank the Member for her questions. First and foremost, this is a pilot nationwide. So, we are not specific about where the pilot locations are. But that said, we are currently engaging operators. It depends on which operators see it as a viable business model and the operators may also have their own geographical focus areas. So, what I would like to say is that it is not intentional from MSF as to where the pilots would be. But depending on who are the operators who are interested in working with MSF on this, we could see a situation whereby we could start in certain locations first rather than others, but it is a function of which are the interested operators. 4.00 pm Where fees are concerned, I shared that we aim to make parents' expenses for childminding services similar to what a medium-income family pays for infant care at Anchor Operators. So, the potential out-of-pocket expenses could be about $700 thereabouts. We just want to make sure that this is affordable and is seen as a flexible childminding option for parents. The last question that she had was with regard to standards. I shared that we would have established processes for incident management because we understand from parents, that safety is very important to them should they wish to consider this option and we will also ensure that childminders undergo basic training in areas, such as basic infant care, first aid training, food safety and hygiene.”
“I thank the Member, Mr Melvin Yong, for his second question. I would like to highlight our findings from the Kinderland case. And this has also been published before. What we have found was that there was inadequate supervision by centre leaders and that there was oversight by the employees. So, this is a learning point. And we have shortened the tenure for the Kinderland centres. We are also actively monitoring, going down on-site to supervise what is happening in the preschool. So, I do not see it as a general insufficient resourcing in the sector as a whole because MSF has very strict requirements on teacher and student ratios. And we have not observed that these were contravened. Rather, these were lapses in the centre. And I think it is a strong reminder to the industry that teachers need to be accountable for their actions. They need to know that they will be swiftly taken to task if they are found to be errant or negligent and that centre leaders have to be responsible and that they have to supervise. The last point I would like to add is that, as I mentioned in my speech earlier, the current levers that ECDA has is limited by our current set of legislation in place. We are reviewing those legislation and we will enhance those levers. It could take the form of enhanced financial penalties so that there is a very clear signal to the industry that we do not take such abuse lightly.”
“This includes laying out what constitutes a safe childminding environment and the respective responsibilities of operators and childminders. Parents of children with development needs also require greater support to help their child reach their full potential. For parents to do this well, they will need to be equipped with the skills to provide early intervention support at home. This is why we will be introducing an EIPIC-Care pilot, a training programme for caregivers of two- to three-year-olds with developmental needs. For children with higher needs, we will continue to increase the number of Government-funded places for children requiring medium- to high levels of early intervention support. (In English): As Minister Masagos shared, all of us must play our part to realise our vision of a family-friendly society and a Singapore Made for Families. We have seen many volunteers who have worked alongside professionals to support our families in need. Ms Marsha Hernatasha and Ms Qistina Mohamed Nasir are friends who are volunteers together for KidSTART Garden Wonders. As volunteers, they welcome KidSTART families, pack and distribute goody bags and engage the children during the storytelling sessions. Ms Marsha and Ms Qistina sees volunteering as an opportunity to do something good and give back to families with young children. As we dedicate 2024 as the Year of Celebrating Volunteers, let us appreciate and recognise the contributions, effort and sacrifice of our volunteers. We are committed in supporting our parents and parents-to-be, so that they are assured that every child can have a good start in life in Singapore and that they have fair access to opportunities to progress in life. 3.15 pm”
“However, we will not hesitate to take firm measures when such restoration is not possible in the immediate term. This includes exercising the full powers of the law to take the perpetrators to task and to ensure the safety and protection of the survivors. Mr Chairman, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Families are the bedrock of our society. We want to give parents and parents-to-be greater assurance in the caregiving of their children. We want to provide every child with a good start in life. This is an important part of our vision in realising a Singapore Made For Families. We will continue to make preschools more accessible and affordable for families. We will further reduce childcare fee caps at Anchor and Partner Operators by $40 in 2025. We will make a final reduction in 2026. We will also increase the number of Government-supported preschool places, so that 80% of preschoolers can have a place in a Government-supported preschool by 2025. We will continue to maintain this 80% from 2025 to 2030. We have also heard from parents that the most challenging period was during their child's infancy. To better support parents in the care of infants, the Government will work with service providers to launch an infant childminding service to provide another caregiving option for parents. We will provide funding to keep the childminding service affordable for parents. To ensure that the infants are well cared for, ECDA will conduct background checks and require operators to meet service requirements to ensure safety of the infants. ECDA will also work with operators to co-develop industry standards.”
“To provide stronger financial support for families of older children with special needs, Deputy Prime Minister Wong announced in his Budget speech that we will make Special Education (SPED) Schools and Special Student Care Centres (SSCC) more affordable for families. We will reduce the fees paid to bring the proportion of household income paid for out-of-pocket expenses closer to that of their typically developing peers. To illustrate, families with a monthly household income of $6,000 will see one-third decrease in their out-of-pocket expenses paid for SSCC, from $500 to around $340. Ms Hazel Poa asked on the use of restorative justice in cases of spousal violence. As families navigate various milestones in their life journey, we want to build strong families and ensure parents are equipped to build safe havens for their children. Unfortunately, some families are not safe when violence happens at home. To strengthen protection for survivors of violence, we moved the Family Violence (Amendment) Bill in Parliament last year. These provisions also strengthen powers for the Government to rehabilitate perpetrators, which is crucial to helping families reconcile once protection and safety for survivors have been achieved. Our social service practitioners also support families at risk of harm or who are experiencing violence to address the root causes for the use of violence and work with the survivor and perpetrator to heal and restore relationships where possible. Support for these families would include counselling. Family members, including children, may attend these counselling sessions to achieve healing and restoration of family relationships where it is safe to do so.”
“Some can be supported in their preschools, while others may require more specialised interventions at centres providing Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC). International studies have also shown that parents are in the best position to embed intervention related to social and emotional skills in their children's daily lives. For parents to do this well, they will need to be equipped with the skills to provide early intervention support at home. This is why we will be introducing an EIPIC-Care pilot, a training programme for caregivers of two- to three-year-olds with developmental needs. During the six-month programme, caregivers will learn from professionals through group workshops and individual coaching sessions on how to support their child's development at home. ECDA plans to launch the EIPIC-Care pilot in the second half of 2024. For children who require more support, we have been increasing the number of Government-funded places for children requiring medium to high levels of early intervention support. In 2023, we launched 13 EIPIC-P centres, which are operated by private providers; and two EIPIC centres, to increase our capacity by 1,200 places. This is a 26% increase from 2022. In 2024, we will launch four more early intervention centres and increase our capacity by 1,500 places. We will continue to expand our Government-funded places to serve 80% of children requiring medium to high levels of early intervention by 2027, up from 60% in 2022. This will help to reduce overall wait times for enrolment into an early intervention centre so that children with developmental needs can receive timely support.”
“We understand that the safety is a key consideration for parents when deciding the care arrangements for their infants. To give parents more assurance under this pilot, ECDA will conduct background checks on operators and childminders and require operators to meet certain service requirements. These service requirements include: (a) assessing the suitability and homes of the childminders; (b) putting in place guidelines for child-safe practices and responsibilities of childminders; (c) disclosing childminders' profile to parents; (d) establishing processes for incident management; and (e) ensuring that childminders undergo required training in areas, such as basic infant care, first aid training and food safety and hygiene. ECDA will also work with operators to co-develop industry standards. This includes laying out what constitutes a safe childminding environment and the respective responsibilities of operators and childminders. This will ensure baseline service standards across the appointed operators and help to uplift the childminding sector in general. The pilot will allow us to assess the receptiveness of parents to infant childminding. As this is a new pilot, we have engaged parents, childminders and childminding operators to hear their views to help us refine the parameters. We will continue such engagements and announce more details in the second-half of 2024. Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked how we will support parents of children with developmental needs to help their child reach their full potential. Children with developmental challenges have diverse and unique needs and require different types of support.”
“Last year, in a work visit to Denmark, France and the UK, I learnt that these countries have put in place requirements, such as background checks on the childminders and financial support to parents, such as subsidies, to make childminding more accessible to parents. Parents can then have greater flexibility to choose what is best for them in terms of their caregiving needs and preferences. For example, parents may prefer a more structured setting during working hours. They may then opt for infant care centres for their infants. Those who prefer more flexible hours or more individualised care in a home-setting may for opt for infant childminding. We will thus launch a pilot and appoint childminding operators and work with them to expand infant childminding services in Singapore. Under the pilot, each childminder will be allowed to care for up to three infants at any one time, at their homes or at a community space. Community spaces, such as community centres, will be in areas of high infant care demand so that parents can conveniently access childminding services. Parents also have more flexibility to discuss their care preferences and requirements with the childminder. To ensure that infant childminding services are affordable to families, ECDA will provide funding to appointed operators to keep the out-of-pocket expenses affordable for parents who use the service for their infants during typical working hours on weekdays. We aim to make parents' expenses for childminding services similar to what a middle-income family pays for infant care at their Anchor Operator. We will also extend the usage of CDA to further defray the cost of childminding under the pilot.”
“For children below three years, what is important is for them to build nurturing relationships with significant caregivers and for caregivers to be responsive towards their needs. Today, most Singaporean parents prefer to play this role and care for infants themselves or rely on the help of family members. Mr Melvin Yong and Ms Ng Ling Ling have asked how we can better support parents in caring for their infants. As mentioned in the Forward SG report, the Government will consider how paid parental leave can be further increased. Currently, around one in five infants are enrolled in infant care centres. We will continue to ramp up centre-based infant care. Currently, around one in five infants are enrolled in these infant care centres and we plan to increase centre-based infant care places by about 70%, or 9,000 more places by 2030 so that more parents can rely on this care option. To complement these efforts, the Government will work with service providers to launch a three-year pilot in the second half of 2024 to provide affordable and reliable infant childminding services. This will be yet another caregiving option for parents. Childminders, some of us may know them as "nannies" are not a new concept. They were more common in Singapore in the 1970s and 1980s. Some childminders look after a few children in their own homes while others travel to a family's home to look after the child. They are less common today, as parents may be unsure of where to look for trusted childminders or they may find childminding relatively more expensive as compared to other caregiving options, such as infant care centres.”
“Where there is negligence from operators, ECDA will take them to task with regulatory fines and levers. Where individual teachers have committed offences, they will be charged by the Police and punished under the Children and Young Persons Act and/or the Penal Code. ECDA's powers are enforced through the Early Childhood Development Centres Act. ECDA will review enforcement levers and fines currently stipulated through the ECDC Act and will not hesitate to enhance the levers through legislative changes to take errant operators to task. We are working on this right now even as I speak. 3.00 pm We give our assurance to parents that where there is evidence that operators and/or educators have been errant, ECDA and the Police will commence investigations immediately, suspend educators who are in a position to harm children and take them to justice. Parents who suspect that their child has been subjected to child mismanagement should report to ECDA and the Police, so that investigations can be swiftly carried out, investigations are not compromised and due process can be taken. During the Forward SG engagements, we also have heard many Singaporeans share their love and aspirations for their children. At the same time, some have also shared about the struggles and anxieties that they faced in raising their children – especially from parents of infants and parents of children with developmental needs. Many parents explained that the most challenging period was during the first 18 months, as parents are adapting to a new phase of life to care for an infant while juggling work responsibilities. As mentioned by Minister Masagos, for children aged three and above, preschools can be the best option to meet parents' caregiving needs while supporting the child's holistic development.”
“Ms Carrie Tan also suggested the SPARK certification process be reviewed to reduce educators' workload. SPARK is an accreditation framework to guide preschools in raising their quality, such as in the areas of teaching and learning and administration and management of centres. The number of SPARK-certified preschools has been growing over the years and stands at 1,000 preschools or 58% of the sector today. ECDA is reviewing SPARK and plans to roll out the refreshed SPARK certification in 2025 to set the next bound of quality for our preschools. To reduce workload on educators, we are exploring various ways to keep the work required for SPARK certification manageable, such as streamlining requirements and tapping on technology to reduce the documentation and administraton work involved. Ms Tin Pei Ling touched on child safety in preschools. Preschools must be a safe and nurturing environment for our children. ECDA ensures that our educators have the necessary qualifications and skills to effectively and safely care for and educate children. Besides basic screening requirements and health declarations, all educators must meet the academic, professional and language requirements before they can be certified by ECDA and deployed in our preschools. As part of these requirements, educators must undergo training programmes where they learn classroom management strategies. ECDA also regularly updates the training curriculum of the teachers. We have recently made it clearer with more specific examples on what constitutes inappropriate behaviour to guide our educators. There are also regular sector-wide briefings and circulars to update educators on the latest research and teaching pedagogies.”
“We are also on track to increasing the number of Government-supported preschool places so that 80% of preschoolers can have a place in a Government-supported preschool by around 2025, up from over 65% today. Mr Melvin Yong asked how we will continue to attract and retain early childhood educators to support the sector. The well-being of our educators is important to us. Our educators dedicate themselves to the nurturing of our children and play a critical role in driving the quality of care and education for our young children. ECDA has been enhancing the career proposition of early childhood educators. We announced the Continuing Professional Development Roadmap in 2021 and the Leadership Development Framework as well as salary improvements in 2022. We will continue to monitor and review to ensure educators' salaries remain competitive. We are also improving the working conditions and well-being of educators. From 2024, similar to Primary Schools, Teacher's Day and Children's Day will be designated as preschool holidays. The existing six days of preschool closure have also been repositioned as "Development Days" to give educators dedicated time to focus on their individual and team development. From 2025, childcare centres are no longer required to operate on Saturdays. With this, preschool teachers will have an additional half-day of rest every week. To attract more Singaporeans to the sector, ECDA is relaunching the "Shape Our Tomorrow" campaign in 2024 to strengthen the public's understanding of the early childhood (EC) sector and recognise EC educators as a respected profession. Since its launch in 2018, the number of EC educators has increased by more than 30% to 25,000.”
“Mr Chairman, I thank Members for their views. The Government is committed to providing every child with a good start in life. Preschools play an important role in supporting our children's development while meeting parents' caregiving needs. This is an important part of our vision in realising a Singapore Made for Families. Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Assoc Prof Jamus Lim asked how we will make preschools accessible and affordable for families. The Government provides funding to Anchor and Partner Operators to ensure that they keep within fee caps, while investing in quality improvements. The Government also provides all parents with basic subsidies, as well as additional subsidies for eligible families. Currently, lower-income families can pay as low as $3 per month for childcare in an Anchor Operator preschool. This comprehensive approach to preschool affordability, where we keep fees charged for Government-supported preschools low and provide childcare subsidies to parents, is more effective than giving vouchers. We will further enhance preschool affordability in the coming years. As announced by Deputy Prime Minister Wong in his Budget speech, we will further reduce childcare fee caps at Anchor and Partner Operators by $40 in 2025. After subsidies, a middle-income working household with monthly income of $8,000, will pay $208 for full-day childcare at an Anchor Operator preschool from 2025, around 18% less from what they pay today. We will make a final reduction in 2026. This will help us to achieve our 2019 National Day Rally commitment where families enrolled in Anchor Operators pay similar expenses to that of primary school and after-school student care, before means-tested subsidies.”
“With growing integration of technology and advanced systems, anecdotally, we do see growing interest from younger Singaporeans and that is very encouraging. On Ms Sylvia Lim's question on the source countries being considered for the recruitment of APOs, the four countries cited by the Member are not the sole sources being considered. All APOs must pass a basic English proficiency test, but it is not the sole requirement. On Ms Sylvia Lim's questions on the limits of duties that can be outsourced from SPF to APOs, I would like to clarify that only Police officers, forensic specialists and medical practitioners can conduct forensic medical examinations, otherwise known as FME. I would like to assure the Member that APOs cannot conduct FME directly. APOs may be involved only to support the conduct of the FME.”
“On the TOPSIS framework – which Assoc Prof Raswana Begum spoke about – the SPF Centre for Protective Security offers training for organisations who are interested to implement the TOPSIS framework at their premises. Both Assoc Prof Razwana Begum and Ms Sylvia Lim asked questions related to the welfare of security officers. MHA and tripartite partners are actively looking at these issues as one of the means to help with the recruitment and retention. We are, of course, also very interested in maintaining the welfare of our security officers. As Members will be aware, wages of security officers have been raised and will continue to increase at a sustainable and meaningful pace through the Progressive Wage Model (PWM). The monthly gross wage of an entry-level, full-time outsourced security officer was increased to $2,650 since 1 January 2024. It will be raised to $3,530 by 2028. More than 40,000 resident security officers will benefit from the PWM wage increases. On shift hours raised by Ms Sylvia Lim, the new PWM wage schedule has already taken the first step to impose a maximum cap of 72 additional working hours per month. The Government – together with its tripartite partners – are monitoring the implementation of the new wage schedule and will review further the working hours and deployment patterns of security officers. Our recent initiatives have implications on resourcing and we will need to monitor the industry's response to these initiatives. Ms Sylvia Lim asked if there has been any change in the demographic profile of security officers. The demographic profile of security officers has remained stable, with the average age of security officers being about 52 years old.”
“It is evident that perpetrators primarily manipulate victims through social means, rather than using complex technological means. Ninety-two percent of the losses in scam cases resulted from scammers using social engineering tactics and fraudulent schemes to deceive victims into transferring monies. In many of these scam cases, victims often transfer monies to the scammers themselves. All of this indicates the importance of enhancing public awareness and maintaining vigilance. For example, adding the anti-scam application ScamShield and anti-virus applications, as well as looking out for signs of scams and double-checking the identity of recipients before making any transfers. We will explore additional measures to protect the public, including those who refuse to believe that they are being scammed. We have made significant progress in preventing and blocking scam calls and SMSes. We are exploring how to better utilise technology to detect scams and make it easier for the public to identify and report scams. We will continue to pool efforts from various parties to combat scam syndicates and recover scammed monies. (In English): I will now briefly speak about the security industry, who is our key partner in keeping Singapore safe and secure. Assoc Prof Razwana Begum asked about the skill development of security officers. Under the refreshed security industry transformation (ITM) 2025, we will continue to drive the upskilling of security officers so that they are better equipped to operate new integrated solutions and models, such as integrated facilities management. We will do so in close consultation with industry stakeholders to ensure that the training provided is accessible and relevant to all officers.”
“The coming into force of the Online Criminal Harms Act, or OCHA, will give Police the legal powers to issue directions to online platforms to prevent scam accounts and content from interacting with or reaching Singapore users. OCHA will also allow us to issue Codes of Practice to put in place systems, processes and measures to disrupt scams affecting people in Singapore. Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked if we will do more to attract investments and incentivise financial institutions to further develop anti-scam capabilities in Singapore. We will continue to drive the industry's anti-scam efforts through the Association of Banks in Singapore's Standing Committee on Fraud to implement robust measures to safeguard customers and reinforce public confidence in the security of digital banking. The transnational nature of scams necessitates international cooperation. Under Singapore's Presidency of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), we have made fostering global cooperation to strengthen asset recovery one of our priorities. For example, we have facilitated the agreement across FATF member countries to strengthen global standards on the recovery of criminal proceeds. These standards will require countries to enhance their laws on the freezing, seizing and confiscation of assets, and international cooperation. 6.30 pm To further forge international partnerships to tackle scams, Singapore will participate in the inaugural Global Fraud Summit in March this year. Mr Chairman, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] In 2023, the total number of cases showed an upward trend. Among all the scam cases, the three most common types of scams with the highest number of victims were: job scams, e-commerce scams and fake friend call scams.”
“They accounted for close to half of the scam cases in 2023, and about 43% – around $280 million – of losses. Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked how the Government works with online platforms to better protect Singaporeans from scams. MHA and SPF have been engaging online platforms, specifically those which account for a large number of scams. We have encountered varying levels of receptivity. Some, like Shopee and Carousell, have been willing and are working closely with MHA and the Police, such as by strengthening their user verification processes. In December 2022, Shopee introduced the seller verification features where sellers were required to verify their identities against Government records. Shopee observed a sharp drop of 71% in e-commerce scams between 2021 and 2023 reported on their platform. Other platforms have been less willing to implement additional measures. For instance, Meta has consistently pushed back against MHA's recommendations for them to put in place safeguards to combat e-commerce scams on Facebook, such as verifying users against Government issued ID and offering a secured payment option for Marketplace users. This is despite Facebook contributing close to 50% of e-commerce scam cases in 2023. It is the only platform amongst those rated in MHA's E-commerce Marketplace Transaction Safety Ratings that has not implemented or commenced implementing the recommended safety features. As a result, Facebook Marketplace was ranked the lowest in the Transaction Safety Ratings for the second consecutive year. I urge Meta to step up to do right by your users.”
“Government agencies acted swiftly with the banks to implement a series of measures to secure CPF and bank accounts, such as Singpass Face Verification for high-risk CPF transactions and anti-malware security features on banking apps. With this coordinated effort, we arrested the spike and, by the end of last year, the number of malware-enabled scams dropped 70% in the last quarter from the quarter before to about 280 cases. But scammers evolve their methods. For instance, to bypass the blocking of overseas calls, more scammers are using Singapore SIM cards to make scam calls and send SMSes. To address this, we will introduce offences to deter the misuse of local SIM cards for scams and other criminal activities. We are also enhancing ScamShield to improve the accuracy of scam SMS detection and allow users to report scams more easily. In the fight against scams, partners are essential. The Government cannot do this alone. As Mr Derrick Goh said, the co-location of staff from banks at the Anti-Scam Command has facilitated faster tracing of scam proceeds and recovery of victims' monies. This initiative was recently expanded to include the co-location of Carousell staff. As a result, the turnaround time for taking down online monikers involved in scams and suspicious advertisements on Carousell has now been reduced from days to hours. We will continue to engage key stakeholders to co-locate at the Anti-Scam Centre. We implemented measures to block scam calls and SMSes, but scammers then pivoted to social media and messaging apps to reach out to victims. Meta products, in particular, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, were among the top online platforms exploited by scammers.”
“The website will include information on what you should do if you think you have fallen prey to a scam, how you can protect yourself, as well as the latest scam trends. It will also provide information on where victims of scams can seek support, which Assoc Prof Razwana Begum spoke about. For example, Police can activate volunteer Victim Care Officers (VCOs) to look into their needs. The VCOs can then direct the victims to community and professional resources for psychological and financial support. The Government is also studying additional measures to better support unwitting members of the public, including those who refuse to believe that they are being scammed. They could be victims of love scams or investment scams where they have invested affection or significant amounts of monies, making it difficult for them to extract themselves out of the situation. Assoc Prof Razwana Begum spoke about the importance of community partnerships in tackling scams. To build a vigilant online community, we will expand existing community initiatives to include cybercrimes. This includes the Cyber Guardians on Watch and Crime Prevention Ambassador (Cyber) programmes which will be launched later this year. As Mr Sitoh Yih Pin has pointed out, scammers are constantly evolving their modus operandi to get around our defences. We have moved aggressively to put in technical defences to pre-empt this. As a result, we saw improvements in the phishing scams situation. The number of reported phishing cases in 2023 decreased by 16% from the year before, and the amounts lost decreased by 14%. In 2023, malware-enabled scams emerged as a scam of concern.”
“As individuals, our optimism bias leads us to mistakenly believe that we will not be deceived. We may also let our guard down, making us vulnerable to our inherent human desire to be loved, to make an extra buck, to seize an attractive looking offer and so on. That is why even younger Singaporeans, who are generally more digitally savvy, fall prey to scams. In fact, Singaporeans under 50 years old made up 73% of the total number of scam victims in 2023. Thus, even as we ramp up our digital and technical defences against scammers, we must not lose sight that public education remains key in our fight against scams. Our best defence is an aware, watchful and discerning public. To help our citizens identify and protect themselves from scams that Mr Christopher de Souza spoke about, we have launched the Add, Check, Tell (ACT) campaign: (a) Add security features, such as ScamShield and multi-factor authentication for personal accounts; (b) Check for signs of scams; and (c) Tell the authorities and others about your scam encounters. Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi and Mr Keith Chua asked how we can better support vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, as part of scam prevention efforts. The Government works with partners to roll out targeted programmes for different segments of the population. For example, to reach out to the elderly, the Police weaves anti-scam messages into "Getai" shows. SPF also works with Silver Generation Ambassadors to educate the elderly on scams. To respond to Mr Gan Thiam Poh, we will further boost our public education efforts by consolidating anti-scam resources into a one-stop portal on scams this year.”
“Mr Chairman, we must press on in the war against scams. In this fight, fellow Singaporeans, residents and Government agencies are on the same battle front, defending ourselves against bad actors who are out to scam Singaporeans of hard-earned monies. Scams are a big problem around the world, not just in Singapore. Australia reported a loss of more than A$3.1 billion in 2022, an 80% increase from 2021. In the United States, more than US$10 billion was lost to fraud in 2023, up by 72% from US$5.8 billion in 2021. The 2023 statistics on scams in Singapore show us where our weaknesses are and where further work needs to be done. The number of scam cases increased by close to 50% in 2023 while amounts lost to scams remained more or less the same since 2021. And 2023 was the first time in five years that we actually saw a slight decrease in scam losses from the year before. The increase in scam numbers was largely driven by scams using social engineering and deception to manipulate victims into transferring monies. These scams accounted for 92% of scam losses, or about $600 million, out of approximately $650 million lost to scams in 2023. In many of these cases, the victims initiated the transfer of monies to scammers. We know this because the top 10 scams in terms of number of victims included job scams, e-commerce scams and fake friend call scams. Victims of these scams believed in the fake job or e-commerce offers promoted to them, or that calls made to them by scammers pretending to be their friends were real. Such scams rely more on social engineering rather than technological sophistication. In fact, one could say that these are old fashioned fraud conducted through online means. Mr Derrick Goh and Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi asked how we can reduce such scams.”
“Failure to comply with the direction or written notice is an offence. We are working with the platforms to comply with the directions within 24 hours. In addition, if an online service is not compliant to the directions, the Government can also issue orders to restrict access to the service or part of the service to prevent the criminal activity and content from being assessed by persons in Singapore.”
“I thank the Member for her supplementary questions. When we look at the number of illegal activities involving the use of online platforms over the past three years, we note that the number of reported scam cases, for example, involving the use of online platforms, in 2023 has more than doubled from that in 2021. In the same period, when we look at the number of suspected drug offenders who use Telegram to conduct drug transactions detected by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), it has decreased by 17%. Let me repeat that. In the same period, the number of suspected drug offenders who used Telegram to conduct drug transactions detected by the CNB has decreased by 17%. For drug cases, the CNB continues to conduct operations against syndicates and persons who use instant messaging services or other social media platforms to facilitate their drug activities. The CNB also works closely with service providers to detect and prevent advertising of controlled drugs on their services. Members of the public can report the content using the in-app reporting function. They can also lodge a police report or notify CNB if they come across such groups online that are selling drugs. To lodge anonymous reports, members of the public can lodge i-Witness police reports, which are anonymous. On the issue of timing, I had mentioned in the main reply that the MHA is progressively operationalising the OCHA since February 2024. The authorities can issue directions to online service providers to prevent accounts or content suspected to be involved in crime from interacting with or reaching Singapore users. The authorities can also, by written notice, require online service providers to provide information to assist in investigations or criminal proceedings.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been working with the Ministry of Communication and Information (MCI) and other enforcement agencies to tackle illegal online activities and protect Singaporean users of online platforms. To this end, we have taken steps to strengthen legislations and impose obligations on online platforms. For example, the Online Criminal Harms Act, otherwise known as OCHA, which MHA is operationalising progressively, empowers enforcement agencies to issue directions to online service providers, other entities or individuals, when there is reasonable suspicion that there is online activity in furtherance of specified criminal offences, such as the sale of prohibited drugs, which the Member has mentioned. OCHA will also allow us to issue Codes of Practice to require providers of designated online services to put in place systems, processes and measures to disrupt scams and malicious cyber activities affecting people in Singapore. We will introduce the Codes of Practice this year.”
“Yes, thank you, Sir. Earlier, in response to Member Mr Louis Ng's Parliamentary Question, I had said that based on my recollection, for applications to render conviction records spent – where they were unsuccessful whether reasons will be given – I have since confirmed that what I said earlier is correct. That is, we do not provide detailed reasons to the applicant and this stance is taken not just for applications to render 377A convictions spent, but for all types of applications to render records spent. [Please refer to "Determining Whether Conviction Records under Repealed Section 377A of Penal Code Should be Rendered Spent", Official Report, 16 February 2024, Vol 95, Issue 123, Oral Answers to Questions section.]”
“I would have to check on the specificity of this. But based on my recollection, MHA does not provide the reasons. But I will check and come back later on this.”
“I thank the Member for the question. In total, there have been 302 individuals convicted under section 377A. It is important to note that the large majority of these cases involved acts committed in public, committed against non-consenting victims or committed against a minor. Such conduct remains criminalised today through other offences. We have not prosecuted anyone for private, consensual homosexual conduct between adults since 2007. We have also previously stated in response to media queries that based on our records, there are 17 persons who were convicted between 1988 and 2007 for consensual, private homosexual acts between adults who are still alive today, and five of these 17 individuals have already had their conviction records automatically spent after the five-year crime-free period. The Police have not received any application from the public to have their section 377A record rendered spent, but the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will consider how the records of these persons can be rendered spent proactively.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) previously informed the House that those whose records under section 377A have not been automatically rendered spent, may apply to the Commissioner of Police to have their records treated as spent. Apart from whether the case was a private activity and whether it was between consenting adults, the other factors that the Commissioner of Police will consider will not be different from how he would have to assess other applications to render criminal records spent. These factors include the severity of the offence and the applicant's conduct subsequent to the conviction.”
“Our programmes are regularly reviewed to ensure relevancy and are updated with new developments and interventions. Mr Speaker, Sir, MHA is a large organisation with about 29,000 employees from different backgrounds. We value and respect the richness such diversity brings and recognise that maintaining a harmonious workplace in the face of such diversity cannot be taken for granted. We put in effort to build trust and acceptance, embrace differences and proactively deal with any bias or racism. In supervisory workshops, sensitivity to and respect of various cultures and races are discussed and reinforced. MHA officers at all levels are reminded of the importance of cultivating a harassment-free workplace and how they should support victims of workplace harassment. There are also team cohesion programmes for officers to bond and get to know each other better. The Home Team Departments also organise celebrations of the various festivals of every race. These celebrations reinforce our appreciation of the differences among us, promote inclusiveness and enhance our understanding of each other's culture. In a multiracial society, everyone plays a part in building a culture of respect. We must keep working at it. The majority must be sensitive to the concerns of the minority and be mindful of our actions and words. The minority must not allow suspicion to colour how we perceive every action and word of the majority. Mr Speaker, Sir, in MHA, our officers operate in teams to fulfil their mission. They must necessarily rely on and count on each other to be successful. We therefore put strong emphasis on team leaders building strong bonds within their teams and ensuring that the officers value and respect the diversity in the Home Team. 1.25 pm”
“The key initiatives include training employees to support and care for their colleagues' mental well-being, training supervisors to recognise common mental health conditions and offering mental wellness programmes to equip employers and employees with the skills and knowledge to better take charge of their mental well-being. In the Home Team, the mental health and well-being of our officers are of utmost importance. As shared in Parliament in October 2022, our Home Team officers are provided with various forms of support. These include MHA's in-house psychological services and peer support programmes comprising officers trained as para-counsellors. There is a 24/7 helpline managed in-house by our psychologists and para-counsellors, as well as external agency-administered services. To provide officers with the assurance of confidentiality and for them to feel safe to come forward, they are not required to report their engagement of such assistance. There are also organisational level initiatives to raise awareness and educate officers on the importance of mental health and how to deal with stressors. For example, we will organise resilience building workshops for newly joined officers and awareness programmes to learn the ways to cope and adapt when dealing with operational and work stresses. There are also courses to train supervisors on how to support their officers. There are communication initiatives to raise officers' literacy on common mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety and suicide, and inform them of the various helplines available. In October every year, the Home Team Psychological Services community organises a month-long campaign to remind officers on the importance of self-care and where to seek help when needed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I will deliver my speech in Mandarin on behalf of Minister Shanmugam. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Minister Shanmugam has spoken at length on the case and the broader issues of workplace discrimination and mental health support for Home Team officers. My statement will be in two parts. First, MHA's efforts in supporting the mental well-being of our officers; and second, fostering a culture that values and respects diversity at the workplace. Let me summarise the outcome of the investigations into the late Sgt Uvaraja’s allegations. The investigations found that most of the allegations, including that he was ill-treated, bullied, ostracised and unfairly held back in his career and that other officers' misconduct had been covered up, were demonstrably false. Where the complaints were substantiated, appropriate actions had already been taken at that time, and errant officers had already been taken to task. The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) had reviewed the findings and decided that no further action needs to be taken against any of the involved officers. Let me now speak on MHA's efforts in supporting our officers' mental well-being. Mental health struggles can affect us all, regardless of age, gender or profession. The pandemic had exacerbated some of the stressors. Based on Ministry of Health's (MOH) National Population Health Survey 2022, the prevalence of poor mental health had increased from 13.4% in 2020 to 17% in 2022. On 5 October 2023, MOH launched the National Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy.”
“During the passing of the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA) in 2021, we have explained that FICA needs to be drafted to deal with the different ways in which foreign actors who want to do us harm can interfere in our domestic politics. We have also seen, both in Singapore and overseas, examples of how these threats can be manifested, including through journalists and academics. Examples were shared in this House. Interactions with Politically Significant Persons (PSPs), which may, at first glance, appear normal, may in fact be a vector for foreign interference. FICA gives us the levers to prevent, detect and disrupt these threats. FICA imposes obligations on PSPs. If a PSP is unsure, the normal process will be to take legal advice – this is what people do when they want to know about how a law applies. They can also refer to the information kit provided by the Registry of Foreign and Political Disclosures. The Ministry of Home Affairs has been interacting with Members of Parliament, including those from the Workers' Party, giving briefings, answering questions and also responding to feedback.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Minister Shanmugam will be delivering his answers to Oral Question Nos 4 and 5 as part of a Ministerial Statement on Allegations Surrounding Suicide of Sgt Uvaraja s/o Gopal.”
“Under the SEPP, there will be an updated risk assessment at the end of the minimum period. The length of the offender’s incarceration, beyond that point, can be calibrated to the specific risk which he poses. He need not be detained for longer than necessary. The purpose of the SEPP is to protect the public. The SEPP regime will be continuously refined as it is implemented in the future, to strike a balance between safeguarding society’s interest and protecting individual's rights.”