Sylvia Lim
Singapore
“Thank you, Speaker. I have a supplementary question for Senior Minister of State on PF. It was pointed out in the FATF report that representatives of foreign flag states have a very low understanding of their PF obligations.”
“Thank you Speaker. I have noted what the Minister is proposing that the House do. I am not standing up to object to it. But I think it is important for me to also state that my response on some of the issues that she mentioned, I have made them on 14 January during the debate on the Motion of the Leader of the Opposition, and I do not thi…”
“Thank you, Speaker. A clarification for the Minister. I think it is quite clear that we are not denying that services were provided and residents had benefited from the services. I also would say that we do appreciate that MND did this internal review to undercover this problem, if I can say that.”
“Thank you, Speaker. I have one clarification for the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, and that is on the necessity for the retrospective legislation.”
“Sir, regardless of which country may have primary jurisdiction over a particular case, both governments may feel pressured to retain cases involving their own nationals. This could be for various reasons, such as the differences in law and punishments or to give their nationals better access to justice in their home countries.”
“One clarification for the Minister. This is in relation to when Singapore may have to give up its primary jurisdiction to Malaysia to investigate incidents and particularly on clause 39(2).”
The complete record
Every one of 1,794 lines we hold for Sylvia Lim, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 31 of 36.
“Sir, one more clarification for the Senior Minister of State. I hope I did not hear what he already answered. He mentioned that there were 315 offenders who are now serving LT2. How does that relate to the number of the people who have been released from LT1? How many have been released from LT1? 1.15 pm Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, the figures were computed last year. Out of the total number of 1,883 arrested last year, 315 or 17% went into LT2. For you to go into LT2, you must have been out from LT1. This is the number of people last year who had been to LT1 and who were then re-arrested and then went to LT2.”
“The LT scheme not only is a deterrent for those who have gone in from re-offending, it is also a scheme where those who have been taking drugs and who possibly may influence others to take drugs, they are taken out of the system for a few years. In that sense, they will not contaminate the ground. So, first timer sent to DRC; second timer sent to DRC and then we have got LT1 where you are in for three-and-a-half years after remission and after that, LT2. This is a system that we have employed. As I have said in my speech, about 13% of those who were arrested last year had been through LT1. In terms of the numbers for last year, the total arrested was 1,883 and those who went onto LT2, because they had been through LT1, was 315 (17%).”
“For example, community groups out there are roped in, because community groups, like Mr Shanmugam has said, understand the ground situation better. For example, for the Malay drug addicts, both MENDAKI and AMP and even groups like 4PM, Ain Society, and working with halfway houses like Pertapis and Jamiyah – all these are roped in. Even in terms of the messaging, I think Ms Lim will know that over the years, the messages sent to prevent people from taking drugs or prevent people who have gotten onto the drug slope to get out are very direct. This is also because some leeway is given to the National Council Against Drug Abuse to produce messages that have impact, not overly sophisticated which will hit even people with low education background and who may not as sophisticated. Let me assure Ms Lim on this point that we do take into account the target group when we devise programmes. The other point Ms Lim talked about is repeat abusers. Yes, this is something that we are grappling with. I have mentioned that, perhaps, because arising from our very successful preventive drug education programme, the percentage of new abusers is very low. I think this is quite right because it is a slippery slope and once you get on to the slope, it is not easy to get off. Some succeed but others may not. And we know that heroine, from research, is a very addictive drug. So this is one area which the Ministry has been working on together with all the other agencies. That is also why after the Committee came up with its report about 15 years ago, that was in 1994 or 1995, shortly after that, we implemented the LT scheme.”
“Sir, I have two clarifications for the Senior Minister of State regarding drug abuse. The first is: in his response earlier, he mentioned that of the heroine abuses arrested, about 17% were previously released from long-term imprisonment. I wonder whether he can also tell us if we use those offenders who had been released from long-term imprisonment (LT) as a denominator. How many of those who had been released from long-term imprisonment actually have gone back to drugs? Does he have that data for us, ie, the percentage re-offending after coming out of LT? A second clarification is regarding the socio-economic profile of the heroine arrests: he mentioned that four in 10 were employed, meaning that six in 10 were unemployed. He also mentioned that 80% had criminal antecedents. I would like to ask him whether this actually indicates a real problem with re-integrating people who have previously been involved in crime or drugs back into society. Where is the source of that problem lies? Is it to do with the offender's physical condition, perhaps? Is it to do with employers or a lack of skills? Is the Ministry satisfied with this situation or is it the aim of the Ministry to try to improve the socio-economic re-integration of people involved in crime and drugs? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, I take the second point first. I think the point is taken in terms of the socio-economic profile of those who take heroine that many are unemployed. Even those who are employed, they are on low-paying jobs. And some, in fact, do not have family support. These are people who are hard-pressed. Perhaps that is the reason why some of them take drugs. In devising programmes for these people, yes, the target group and how the programmes can relate to them, that is taken into account.”
“Do they live with their families? (3) How many repeat abuses had been re-arrested after serving LT? (4) Has the Subutex episode legalising and then criminalising worsened the drug situation overall? Lastly, regarding inhalant abuse, what is the social economic profile of the youths arrested? I noted that CNB had prevention literature targeted at parents. How many of these youth have parents who can be engaged? Criminal records”
“Madam, tracking the annual drug situation reports from 2002 to 2009, I have made the following tentative observations: (a) the heroin situation has significantly deteriorated. From 2004 to 2006, when heroin only accounted for about 10% of arrests, the last three years has seen heroin arrests going up from 31% in 2007 to 58 per cent last year. (b) During the years when heroin abuse was lower, synthetic drugs were drugs of choice. In those years, the arrests consisted mainly of younger offenders, majority Chinese. (c) Subutex abuse led it to it being gazetted as a controlled drug. While CNB has been working to tackle Subutex abuse, heroin abuse rose, showing clear displacement effects from Subutex to heroin. (d) In the last three years, Malays formed the largest ethnic group arrested. This coincided with the upsurge of heroin as the drug of choice. (e) In the last three years, the age of offenders arrested was skewed towards older offenders aged 40 and above. This year's overlapped with the release of long-term imprisonment cases for repeat drug abuses. Madam, for inhalant abuse, the CNB reports of 2008 and 2009 revealed more than 600 arrests. This is much higher than the previous peak of 400-plus in 1996, though of course we do have a larger population now. Of great concern is that youth below 20 years old accounted for more than 70% of the arrests. While Chinese still accounted for the largest group arrested for inhalant abuse, the number of Malays arrested has gone up. I would like to ask the Ministry the following questions: (1) is the drug and inhalant abuse situation affecting the Malay community more severely now than five years ago? (2) what is the social economic profile of those arrested for heroin abuse? Are they employed? Do they have criminal records?”
“Madam, I would like to seek clarification from Deputy Prime Minister Wong on his response to my cut. First, regarding the contents of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee Report. Would the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) take up my suggestion to require the Report to at least give some reasons for changes to the boundaries? This would be something the voters, I think, would appreciate very much, to give credibility to the process. Secondly, regarding the timing of the release of the Report. I believe we are expected to make constitutional amendments to give effect to what the Prime Minister announced last year about the changes in configurations to the constituencies. And I think the Prime Minister has also mentioned previously that this would be tabled some time after the Budget. Would I be correct to assume that the Committee could only be appointed after those laws have been amended? My last clarification is: earlier Deputy Prime Minister Wong mentioned that the Boundaries Committee would take two to four months to complete its work based on historical experience. Based on that, would I be reasonable to assume that the new boundaries can be expected some time later this year, maybe end of third quarter or fourth quarter? 6.00 pm”
“In the last Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) Report, the terms of reference were very generally stated as reviewing and recommending the new constituencies and boundaries taking into account significant changes in the distribution of voters due to population shifts and housing development. As a basis, the 2006 report calculates the MP to voter ratio using the total number of voters nationally divided by the number of parliamentary seats. This led to a conclusion of one Member of Parliament (MP) for every 26,000 voters. The report then states that a 30% variation is allowed, leading to a possible voter range of between 18,000 and 34,000 per MP. Sir, reading the report raises more questions than it answers, for example, how was it derived that the 30% variation was permissible? Why were Ayer Rajah SMC and Bukit Timah SMC dissolved when they still had the number of voters in the acceptable range for SMCs? How was it decided that the new replacement SMCs would be Yio Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang, and so on? Sir, such changes could not have been at the whims and fancies of the EBRC. There must have been a certain methodology employed or other factors considered. As this is a matter of public interest, could the next EBRC Report go further into the reasons for dissolving or creating SMCs or changing the boundaries of GRCs. Sir, the Government must know that Singaporeans are skeptical about the redrawing of boundaries. It would be an improvement to have advanced notice and some transparency in this process.”
“Sir, in countries like the UK, electoral boundary revisions are carried by an independent Boundary Commission under the charge of a High Court Judge. Proposed boundary changes are also open to public scrutiny and objection. In Singapore, however, the boundary revisions are done by a Committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, reporting to the Prime Minister. Sir, despite my belief that the PMO should not be in charge of boundary review, the focus of my cut is how the current process may be improved for transparency and accountability. I would like to touch on two points. First, the timing of the release of the report. Second, the contents of the report. Sir, as far as release of the report is concerned, it is noted that in GE 2001, the revised boundaries were released about one week before Nomination Day. In the last GE, they were announced about seven-and-a-half weeks before. I would call for the Boundaries Review Report to be released at least six months to one year before Nomination Day. This is especially important because of the unique situation in Singapore where there are GRCs and SMCs. GRCs can be chopped and changed and SMCs can be created and dissolved with the stroke of a pen. For the coming election, we are expecting some significant revisions due to expected increase in the number of SMCs from nine to 12 as some GRCs are being reduced in size. Having good notice would give voters confidence in the boundary redrawing process. It will also give a reasonable time for political parties to do more focused groundwork and consider their candidate line up. My second point relates to the contents of the report.”
“Sir, earlier, the Member referred to my speech especially the part about HDB resale prices and the effect of permanent residents (PRs). I would like to clarify why he says that it is an unreasonable assumption and, in particular, if he could clarify the following points. First, does the Member agree that pricing is a matter of supply and demand? Second, does he not also agree that the PRs have contributed to this demand? And we know, from some real estate companies that they report that about 20% of their resale business actually comes from PRs. And, third, is he not aware that there have been very high prices paid by some PRs for resale flats in certain areas? Assoc. Prof. Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Sir, like I said earlier, if you look at the modelling of real estate prices and values, there are many factors that are involved. Firstly, in looking at the prices, you have to look at the property on its own. If we look at a property, it is a special asset – it is an imperfect market, relative to other assets. And there are other factors that affect these prices, locally and externally. And if you look at the real estate market, if you refer to any study that models real estate prices, you will find that there are many factors that the researchers attempt to find, on what affects the real estate prices. As I have said earlier, if you relate to the researches that have been done, it is certainly premature and unreasonable to pinpoint a single factor – that is, PR and foreigners – and I find that it is certainly inaccurate. 2.45 pm”
“Sir, may I clarify with the Member? Mr Speaker: Yes.”
“Yes, that is right. Because she asked whether I was asking the question of whether we would be indiscriminately increasing our population to 6.5 million. My point was not whether it was discriminate or indiscriminate. My point was about space. I believe that even Minister Mentor himself had expressed reservation about this 6.5 million. In fact, if I recall correctly, he said that his gut feel was that between 5 million and 5.5 million would be optimal for comfort. So I think the Member has misunderstood my point.”
“Sir, I would like to clarify. I do not think the Member was listening to my speech very carefully.”
“In a recent book entitled, "The Spirit Level", where greater equality makes societies stronger, British social scientists, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett note that what makes a society cohesive is not whether it is overall rich or poor, why economic inequality fosters social breakdown by boosting insecurity and anxiety, leading to prejudice between the classes, rampant consumerism and all manner of mental and physical suffering. Singapore was not mentioned in flattering terms in the book. Sir, if inequalities in Singapore continued at such levels, we should seriously question whether our policies of promoting equality of opportunity are really working. So our ultimate aim of growth is to improve the welfare of all citizens. I have touched on why GDP is not an adequate indicator and how the Government's pursuit of growth in recent years has had serious side effects on the quality of life and social cohesion. We should go for a piece of growth which will enable us to remain united as a nation where we can say even our most vulnerable has a good standard of life. If Singapore aims to be a distinctive global city, Singaporeans must believe in it too. 1.21pm”
“While I agree that we need foreigners here to augment our population and talent pool, the pace and scale of the influx in the last few years was wrong. I had cautioned against this at the opening of Parliament in 2006. The Government should have done better planning, graduated the inflows and planned for space and resources. To many Singaporeans, the quality of life has actually fallen. Meanwhile, there emerges a group of Singaporeans who just cannot keep up with the relentless pace of growth. Our Gini coefficient has been rising steadily throughout the last decade and is now at 0.478, or 0.453 after Government transfers. This puts us in the league of developing countries and way below other developed Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea, increasing numbers of distressed families are applying for rental housing, rising numbers are flocking to the CDCs for assistance and the number of homeless is on the rise. Poor families are also much more likely to have relatives in prison or on drugs. I have seen how some of my own students struggle to concentrate on their studies when their families run into serious financial problems and they have to sell their homes. Sir, we should not dismiss increasing inequalities as inevitable. Well, some inequality is needed to encourage ambition, greater inequalities have been shown to be linked to higher divorce and crime. If inequalities are serious and prolonged, it will reduce inter-generational mobility, leading to children born into poverty, with little hope of getting out.”
“First, from 2006 to 2009, just a short span of three years, the percentage of Singapore citizens in the population fell from 70% of the total population to just 64% lower than two-thirds. Overnight, Singaporeans felt like strangers in their own neighbourhoods, surrounded by people with different lifestyles, habits and accents. Second, our population density, at five million currently, is about 7,000 persons per square kilometre. The crowds on public transport, the roads and entertainment outlets are overwhelming. Indeed, it was reported in the New Zealand Herald newspaper in January that the New Zealand government intended to target Singaporean migrants, using various reasons including our high population density. Do we really need to grow our population to 6.5 million as Ministry of National Development is planning for? Some of the most competitive economies in the world such as Finland and Denmark have populations of just over 5 million. Third, there is competition for jobs, allowing in unskilled foreign workers depresses the wages of the lower skilled Singaporeans, especially the older and more vulnerable. Fourth, the surge of foreigners has increased demand for housing exponentially, pushing up flat prices as well as rentals. Though permanent residents make up only 4% of HDB flat owners, certain real estate firms report that about 20% of their business is made up of PRs wanting to buy resale flats. Private property owners too see resale HDB flats as good investments, due to the high demand for rented accommodation from foreigners working and even studying here. Such a huge inflow of people in a short space of time, showed up in surging rental costs and worsening congestion.”
“To measure this, the Commission advocated tracking how much of GDP was made up of net national disposable income. In an article in July 2009 entitled "Reassessing Singapore's economic future", economist Manu Bhaskaran noted that Singapore had one of the highest per capita incomes in the world at US$37,500 in 2008. But Singapore also had a very unequal distribution of the high income. Profits took about 46% of GDP, which was very high in comparison to most developed countries. The available data also showed that foreign owned companies received almost half of the extraordinarily high profit share. That left, "an unusually low share" of the GDP cake for the average Singapore citizen, whether he is an employee or a business man. Third, the Stiglitz Commission recommended a shift of emphasis from production oriented factors to focusing on the well being of the current and future generations, that is, towards broader measures of social progress. In this light, other important factors to track include living standards for families, environmental conditions, both present and future, and the levels of economic insecurity in the population. How unequal a society was, must also be watched seriously. Sir, in our quest for economic growth, we should really reflect on what has happened to Singapore over the last five years. The Finance Minister hailed the period of so-called high growth from 2005 to 2008 as one which saw median incomes rise. However, that was also the period of overheating when business cost escalated, for example, CBD office rents tripled during the period. That period also saw nearly 700,000 more people added to the population, mostly foreigners. On a tiny island of 700 square kilometres, such an influx must create stresses and problems.”
“Sir, each year, the Government has certain GDP growth targets and plans the Budget and policies around it. This year, the Government has put in place a productivity target recommended by the Economic Strategies Committee. Whatever measure is used, the ultimate aim of growing our economy must be to forge a higher quality of life for all our citizens. Though not everyone has the same talents and capabilities, our growth must provide every person with a good standard of living and a sense of physical and economic security. We may be a small country geographically but within our borders, citizens should feel at home and valued as persons, and not just for economic contributions. Sir, there has been growing expert opinion that GDP does not measure social progress adequately. In 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy appointed a Commission headed by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz to identify the limits of using GDP as an indicator of economic performace and social progress. Additionally, they were to advise on what alternative tools or information should be used which would be more relevant and helpful. The Commission noted that GDP measured market production, but a larger GDP figure did not always mean that people were better off. For instance, more traffic jams will lead to higher consumption of petrol and increase GDP but the quality of life would have actually deteriorated due to pollution and inefficiency. Secondly, it was important to look not just at the headline GDP figure but to analyse where the benefits of GDP were going. If GDP is ultimately for citizens' welfare, then one important question is how much the local population benefited from the GDP versus foreigners.”
“Will doing away with housemanship compromise on patient care by our specialists? How will fresh medical graduates be able to make an informed choice of specialisation if they had not had the taste of what each field involves? Will this chance lead to a drop in standards and in patients being short-changed?”
“Given the importance of the task at hand, the investigator should be someone with suitable knowledge and experience to understand medical practice as well as patient interest. The proposed section 60(A) defines the investigator as being "a Member or employee of the Medical Council, any public officer or any person appointed by the Medical Council". Since the definition is very wide, it will be good for the Minister to elaborate on the likely persons to be called upon to fulfil this role. Will public officers from other Ministries, for example, become investigators? Will law enforcement investigators be called upon? Will the choice of investigator vary, depending on the nature of the complaint? Second, Sir, the Bill proposes to recognise the degree conferred by Duke NUS Graduate Medical School as a Singapore degree. By doing so, I understand that Singapore would also be accepting the post qualification training requirements of Duke. While I note that Duke is well-known, there is local concern about its post qualifications training requirements, specifically the removal of the year of general housemanship and allowing graduates to choose their specialisation immediately upon obtaining their medical degree. The one year of housemanship, with rotations among different fields of medicine, has been compulsory for medical graduates in Singapore for many years. Even for doctors who aspire to be specialists, housemanship was required to get an overview of the breadth of medical practice and knowledge of the realities of practising in the various fields. Patients here have had the assurance that their specialists generally have some clinical experience in other fields of medicine, which is useful in diagnosing health concerns which are often multifaceted.”
“Sir, it is indeed important for the public to have confidence in the standards and disciplinary processes of the medical profession. I wish to seek clarification on two points from the Minister. First, concerning Part VII on disciplinary proceedings; and second, the implications of the decision to recognise Duke NUS Graduate Medical School requirements on doctor training. Sir, the new Part VII makes some drastic changes to the disciplinary regime concerning doctors. Besides the Complaints Committee and the Disciplinary Tribunal, it introduces a intermediary core and investigator. Under the proposed section 42, any Complaints Committee who believes that a complaint against the doctor should be investigated further, must appoint an investigator to do so. Under section 44, it is the investigator who will now write to the doctor enclosing the complaint, and asking him if he has any written explanation to give. Under section 48(2), the investigator must put up a final report to the Complaints Committee, which should include a recommendation on whether a formal enquiry by Disciplinary Tribunal should be convened. The investigator is thus earmarked for a very important and almost pivotal role in the disciplinary procedure at the complaint stage. He will be the one who interfaces with the doctor complained against, conducts the investigation and puts up the report on its findings to the Complaints Committee. He will also recommend to the Complaints Committee whether the doctor should face the second stage of appearing before the Disciplinary Tribunal, which decides whether the doctor should continue to practise.”
“If you have this kind of direct feedback to the public, then it will result, I am sure, in an increase in voluntary participation and it would invoke a more conducive research environment in Singapore. Finally, this Bill supports the principle that data should be shared – between Government agencies and Chief Statistician. I would like to leverage on this, and propose that perhaps, a central repository of data be created where data sets derived from commissioned research can be shared, not just within the Government but with academics, students and interested members of the public. If we share non-sensitive data, it will result only in a win-win situation when you have many pairs of eyes scrutinizing the data set. Through this, we will only empower the community to rely on obtaining facts to inform opinion and decisions. I would like to leverage on this, and propose that perhaps a central repository of data be created where data sets derived from commissioned research can be shared not just within the Government, but with academics, students and interested members of the public. If we share non-sensitive data, it will result only in a win-win situation when you have many pairs of eyes scrutinising the data set. Through this, we will empower the community to rely on obtaining facts to inform opinion and decision, and if Singaporeans can reap direct benefits from research outcomes, they will also be more likely to contribute to research that is commissioned by the Government. With this, I support the Bill.”
“So teenagers are encouraged to participate and HPB assures all respondents that the aim of the study is simply to appreciate the motivators that push a teen to take up smoking. But if the data is later used by law enforcement agencies to locate hot-spots where underaged smokers are likely to hang out, then that would be a serious breach of ethics. Subsequently, there will be a greater reluctance, if this should happen in a community to participate in research commissioned by public agencies. My final point relates to growing a conducive culture for evidence-based research. If we are going to move towards a culture where we are going to use more data to advance policy and inform policy, then we have to ensure that there is good quality data that is amassed by researchers on the ground and this has a lot to do with cultivating a positive culture and appreciation for research by Singaporeans. For us to be able to leverage on the rich details present in the data that is collected through a professionally conducted research, we must nurture a community that is appreciative of this kind of social research. So it is critical that researchers in Singapore are able to establish a relationship with potential respondents that is based on trust and respect. Currently, in most of the researches done, there is no direct feedback to respondents on the outcome of the studies that they participated and co-operated in. To overcome this, we should have better accountability to the public on how the statistics are used. One simple way is to achieve a meaningful connect between respondents and research outcome is the provision of an Executive Summary. So, maybe the Minister might want to consider making this mandatory in the research that is funded by Government agencies.”
“And second, as we grow a keen appreciation of evidence-based research and acknowledge the relevance of data in informing policy, we should enable the Chief Statistician to facilitate the use of data to advance the important work of policy makers. While I stand in support of this Bill, I have three comments. The first relates to the quality of data. As we move towards a culture that embraces quantitative research and the outcomes of surveys, we must reconcile the quality of data, especially those from survey research. For example, large scale survey projects that rely on quota sampling or convenient sampling like straw polls to obtain data are not able to generalise trends that are representative of community. May I ask the Minister, what plans his Ministry has in place to ensure the quality of data before it is used to inform policy? For example, will research conducted by Government agencies be governed by instructions from institutional review boards? My second concern relates to the implications of this Bill on ethical considerations in research. For example, a respondent agrees to participate in a research commissioned by a public agency and is given the assurance that the data collected will only be used to advance appreciation of a specific set of social issues. Should this data be later used to reflect other concerns that were not spelt out in the original research agenda, this will compromise the issue of informed consent that in pivotal in any ethics consideration. To overcome this possible ethical dilemma, may I suggest that data obtained from public agencies be used within the context of the original research objectives. Let me illustrate with an example. Health Promotion Board (HPB) commissions a research on teen smoking.”
“What this Amendment Bill appears to do is to repeal the third shadow altogether, which means that these five sensitive departments are now grouped together with the entire government machinery as public agencies. Under the new section 6, the Ministers-in-charge can exempt their agencies from disclosing certain information to their statisticians. However, the safeguard of requiring the five agencies to specifically give written approval before release of their data, has been removed. Instead, in the new section 7(3), it is the Chief Statistician or the Director of the research unit, who can imposed conditions on the use of the information supplied. Is this change a compromise on the safeguards of the confidential data gathered? With due respect, the Chief Statistician or the Director of the research unit, may have no specialist-knowledge of the subject matter nor the public expectations at the time the data was gathered. I would like the Minister to clarify, why it was necessary to remove this additional check by the five departments which clearly gathers sensitive information? 3.25 pm Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan: Thank you, Mr Speaker. This Bill gives the Chief Statistician a lot more authority to amass data collected through Government agencies. The assumption is that relevant data will be used where appropriate to advice and inform policy. In principle, I agree with the amendments spelt out in this Bill for two main reasons. First, as research commissioned by Government agencies is done using public monies, there should be better consolidation of knowledge and information to avoid replication and inefficiency in research.”
“Sir, there is a need to balance the public interest in gathering information and the right to individual privacy. Thus, I would like to ask whether the Bill will facilitate more data gathering, but makes compromises on information safeguards? Specifically, the Bill has gotten rid of a safeguard which is present in the existing section 7(6) of the Act. Under the existing section 7, information that may have been provided under confidential circumstances to the Census Department, CPF Board, Comptroller of GST and Comptroller of Income Tax, had two layers of checks. The first check was that the Minister-in-charge of the department which gathered the data, has the power to put restrictions on what the statisticians can disclose after obtaining the information. There was an additional check under section 7(6) that no information furnished by them to the Chief Statistician or Director of any research unit, could be disclosed without the written permission of the agency itself. Sir, the departments referred to in the current section 7(6), indeed collect sensitive tax information, personal data and a person's employment details. They may also have gathered the data under obligations of secrecy. The importance of this additional safeguard on privacy by the agency itself was, in fact, highlighted in Parliament in 1990 and again, in 2004, when amendments to the Statistic Act were debated. It was stressed by two different Ministers that due to the sensitivity of those data, the approval of the agency itself, whether the CPF Board, Comptroller of GST or Comptroller of Income Tax, etc, should be obtained before statisticians release it. This is over and on top of the Ministers' right to restrict the disclosure of the information.”
“Clause 8 introduces the offence of making an incorrect return or giving incorrect information. This becomes an offence under new section 149A and it is punishable with the following – a penalty of double the tax underpaid due to the error, and either fine or imprisonment or both. This section is worded very generally and does not distinguish between errors which are deliberately or recklessly made, and errors made after due diligence was exercised. By contrast, the corresponding provision under the Income Tax Act, section 95, clearly distinguishes between the two types of errors – those made under due diligence are punishable only by a penalty equivalent to the tax which was underpaid. Under the proposed section 149A, errors made after due diligence will also potentially attract double tax and fine or imprisonment. Why does the provision not distinguish between the two types of errors? Finally, Sir, regarding Exclusion Orders, I am glad to note that the new section 165A provides for the blanket exclusion of undischarged bankrupts, from entering the casino, rather than a cumbersome case-by-case approach. This blanket exclusion for undischarged bankrupts, in effect, adopts a suggestion made by the Member for Hougang, Mr Low Thia Khiang, in 2006, when the Bill was first debated.”
“Sir, the public was asked to accept the potential social fallout from casinos due to their projected economic benefits, including tax revenue. Thus, it is interesting that the Bill introduces clause 7 which allows the Minister to remit the tax on gaming revenue if he considers it just and equitable. I am aware that a similar provision exists in other tax legislation, such as the Income Tax Act and the Property Tax Act, giving the Minister power to remit those taxes if he considers it just and equitable. However, in the context of the Integrated Resorts, under what circumstances would it be just and equitable to forgive the casino tax due from a casino operator? Could the Minister clarify whether there is concern about the viability of the IRs due to the mixed projections put forth by the various analysts? Another provision which should be clarified is clause 4 concerning the new section 146B. In particular, section 146B, sub-section (5), provides that if a casino operator does not submit tax returns for two consecutive accounting periods, then the Comptroller of Income Tax can take this into account in making his assessment. In particular, it is provided that the Comptroller can take the failure into account and make an assessment of "an amount of casino tax greater than that which he would otherwise have considered to be appropriate." Does this mean that the amount of tax is going to be over-assessed because the casino operator failed to file returns? This does not seem to be an appropriate response. By contrast, other tax legislation, such as the Income Tax Act, makes it an offence not to file returns, which attracts certain penalties and fines which, on principle, seems more justifiable.”
“We look forward to the enthusiasm and strong support of each and everyone in Singapore to make the ABC Waters Programme a success.”
“Seven more tenders are scheduled to be called within this financial year, including Kallang River at Bishan Park, MacRitchie Reservoir Phase Two and the Geylang River Phase One. For the remaining projects, PUB and its consultants are in the process of planning and designing them. Sir, the Member has asked if there were any plans to upgrade the Ulu Pandan Canal and Park Connector parallel to the Mount Sinai Estate. I am pleased to inform that the stretch of Sungei Ulu Pandan in the vicinity of Mount Sinai is one of the 28 projects that will be implemented. The proposed site is within walking distance to the estate, about 500 metres downstream of it. A key feature of the project will be a constructed wetland that will provide a habitat for urban biodiversity and enhance the surrounding environment. There are also plans to integrate the canal and park connector with the nearby Centre for Aquatic Science Research that is being set up by PUB, NUS and Deltares. Together with the wetland, these will create new recreational and educational opportunities for the residents. They will be able to get closer to the water, enjoy it and learn more about it. Other details of the project are still being worked out. Later this year when the options are more developed, we look forward to consulting Mr De Souza and his community leaders in ensuring that the eventual design meets the community’s needs. Construction on the project is scheduled to start in the third quarter of next year. Beyond engaging the community in the design stage, we also look to the community to take ownership of the project over time, eg, in organising activities at the project and helping to keep the waters clean.”
“Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) if he will give an update on the progress of the islandwide ABC Waters Programme; (b) whether the Ulu Pandan Canal and Park Connector, parallel to the Mount Sinai Estate, will be upgraded; and (c) what are the specific plans for the Ulu Pandan Canal and Ulu Pandan Park Connector. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, the Active, Beautiful and Clean (ABC) Waters Programme seeks to transform our drains, canals and reservoirs into beautiful, vibrant and flowing streams, rivers and lakes. In creating these new social and recreational focal points for the community to enjoy, we hope that they will develop a bond with water, and hence cherish and keep our water resources clean. Under the initial phase from FY 2007 to FY 2011, 28 projects will be implemented progressively across the island. For each project, PUB will develop the details of the design and seek the inputs of the community before implementing it. Thus far, the PUB has completed three demonstration projects at Kolam Ayer, Bedok Reservoir as well as MacRitchie Reservoir which was recently launched in end July. I am heartened to note that the amenities and features are well-utilised by Singaporeans. For example, community events such as the National Day Observance Ceremony, Mid-Autumn and Chinese New Year festival celebrations have been held at these waterfronts. Sir, construction works are ongoing for nine other projects and these include a floating island at Sungei Punggol, as well as a water performance stage and a heritage bridge at Lower Seletar Reservoir. Both projects are scheduled to be completed next year.”
“So there is nothing to prevent Indonesia from taking the necessary action in dealing with whoever is responsible for illegal logging. The third question as to whether or not the slash-and-burn has gone unabated, the hotspot counts have been increasing. So if you use that as a correlation, that means it has gone "unabated" if you want to use that word. But at least in those areas in which Singapore and Malaysia are collaborating with the Indonesian provinces, their numbers seem to be coming down or at least it is holding steady. So what it means is that there are alternative means to removing, clearing land, and so on. So the challenge is really for us to share best practices and that is why we have agreed to host the MSC forum at the end of October where we hope to invite heads of the various provinces across the region to come together and learn from both the experiences of Singapore and Malaysia so that they can then go back and decide as to whether or not they want to adopt those practices. I think that is one of the better ways in which we can achieve an outcome – to get some of the local regional heads to decide. If Jambi can do it with Singapore, if Riau can do it with Malaysia, perhaps they can also do it. We have offered our assistance in terms of training but beyond that, if there are other things that they have to do, they have to find their own sources. In terms of expertise, we are prepared to share with any other provinces that are prepared to work with us in this area. ABC WATERS PROGRAMME (Update) 8.”
“And so we hope that Indonesia will ratify the agreement as quickly as possible and therefore put in place programmes which they have done so because they have a plan of action, and therefore all of us can work together to ensure that we keep our house in order so that this problem can be under control. But having said that, even though Indonesia has not ratified, we have moved forward because we realise that there are challenges for which we cannot wait. So when the last haze in 2006 came about, we felt that it was important for at least the five ASEAN countries to come together and deal with this collectively. Thus far, both Singapore and Malaysia have made progress by collaborating with some of the local provinces in Indonesia. So our collaboration, for example, in the Jambi Province has proven that it is possible for us to work together with the provinces to come up with an alternative plan to deal with this challenge. As I mentioned in my reply, so far the hotspot counts coming from the area in which we are collaborating seemed to be low as compared to the other fire-prone areas. So I think it is important for the agreement to come into effect but at the same time we cannot wait and therefore we have to move and find other channels, other platforms to deal with the challenge. The issue of illegal logging is an on-going discussion. It is not an issue that has been discussed among the Environment Ministers but I am sure it has been debated in the other forums. But as far as Singapore is concerned, we keep telling the Indonesian counterparts that if they have come across anybody who has done illegal logging, they should be prosecuted based on the laws of the country.”
“Sir, three supplementary questions for the Minister. I would like the Minister to come back to the ASEAN Haze Agreement which he mentioned earlier. Three years ago in the House he said that Indonesia should show its political resolve by signing the ASEAN Haze Agreement. However, as he mentioned, to-date it has not been done. And I would like the Minister to comment on whether he thinks that this is a must-have in order to comprehensively resolve the issue or can significant progress still be made even if the agreement is not signed? Second question: some Indonesian parliamentarians have spoken to the media and they have said that one of the reasons why they do not want to ratify the agreement is that they feel it should be tied in to banning illegal logging which they say Indonesia has been losing revenue and has benefited other countries instead. So I would like the Minister to tell the House whether this issue is also on the ASEAN agenda. Are they looking into the issue of illegal logging or not? And the last question is this. There was a recent Straits Times report that assessed that slash-and-burn in Indonesia "continues unabated". I would like the Minister to comment on whether he agrees with that assessment and what he thinks is the root cause of that. Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, the ASEAN Haze Agreement is an important agreement. It means that all the 10 member countries have agreed to put together their own domestic plans to deal with the haze problem. So if you ask me whether we must have it, we must because we agreed to have it.”
“Supplementary questions for the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. I do not know whether the Senior Parliamentary Secretary is aware that there were hawkers who have this year received notices that their rentals would be doubled from $1,000 to $2,000 per month, and there has been feedback from them that they will not be able to cope with this increase. Secondly, the questions that are being asked are: why the Government chooses to do so at such an economic situation that we have now? If there is a need to increase it, can you not make it more gradual and perhaps defer it to a time which is more favourable. Thirdly, would the Senior Parliamentary Secretary agree that eventually the price of cooked food will go up in tandem with the rentals?”
“But an inmate can ask for a change of cell. He will be interviewed by the housing inmate officers and if the request pertains to his safety, particularly if he feels threatened or intimidated, that will be acceded to. One additional resource that has been put in arising from this incident is that an additional officer has now been deployed in the housing units so that more patrols can be carried out. Because, at night, especially after lights out, or even before lights out, after the muster check at 6.30 pm, there is skeletal manning and the prison is in locked-down mode; so you do not have that many prison officers around. So, perhaps, some of these wrong-doings can be prevented. Amongst younger inmates, there could be very well be a code of honour where you do not report on other people. I think Ms Lim alluded to that, but I would say that if you feel threatened, if you are the affected victim, you have no cause not to report, and no fear in reporting. That is the key point because no one in prison wants to get into trouble by reporting on things that happened in other cells. With this extra officer who will patrol the cells at night, I think, such incidents will be reduced.”
“In fact, all inmates will know this. Should there be a report, like I have said, the various steps are taken – send for medical attention, separate him from the perpetrators and maybe, like I have said, even to send him to another institution and firm action is taken against the perpetrators. And I believe for this case, because it is so serious, the circumstances and facts would be publicised to the other inmates currently in Changi Prison so that everybody knows this has happened and if this happens again, what the wrong-doers will face. Of course, Ms Lim could be right, because we are talking about assaults that are reported and these are major assaults where there are serious injuries caused. There could be undetected fights and assaults that took place. I would not say significant – the term she used – but who is to say, there could be other fights, especially among the younger inmates, because I understand they are of that temperament. But the point is, should an incident take place, first, there is a reporting system and there are checks in place. In this case, like I have said, the prison officers did everything that was required of them but there was no detection of the injuries and also no suspicion aroused from the behaviour of this victim. That point is clear. Cell-sharing – three to four is about a good arrangement. If you are alone, anything can happen to you. So, high-risk prisoners are housed alone, for example, death penalty inmates, or those who are subject to institutional discipline. Two also is no good because it is one to one. It is either three or four, in this case, four were in the cell. If an inmate wishes to change his cell, again, there is a system in place. Of course, not all requests can be entertained.”
“The final question, Sir, on cell-sharing, I would like the Senior Minister of State to clarify whether the cell-sharing arrangement is a deliberate policy. In other words, we would require our medium security prisoners to share cells and, arising from this incident, is there any thought of reconfiguring the numbers of people sharing the cell, say, instead of four people, would it be for example, three? Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Ms Lim said she has two queries but ended up with having four. First, let me say that prison authorities are, of course, concerned that in prisons, they provide a safe and secure environment for its inmates. In fact, this is in the mission and vision statements – safe and secure custody of inmates. It is not just mouthing a slogan. In fact, from May 2006, the Prisons implemented a system where they take monthly random feedback from inmates. Forms are left in the common areas in four languages. The inmates can actually fill up the form. I have seen the form myself and there are important questions like: Do inmates generally feel safe? Do inmates have any problems talking to prison officers? And the feedback generally is that inmates do feel safe and they have no problems talking with the prison officers. It is for this reason that Prisons instituted this system of a personal supervisor so that the inmates can feel comfortable with a particular prison officer with whom they develop a rapport. Like I have said, 10,000 inmates come out of the prison gates every year, and our recividism rate is now only 25%. It has come down a long, long way. So, many inmates have come through the prison system, feeling safe and, in fact, being rehabilitated. So, you really have to ask the inmate or the victim in question, why he did not report?”
“In court, he testified that he felt he could not tell anyone because he still had to go and face his cell-mates. So, even though the Senior Minister of State earlier said that if there was an allegation of trouble in the cell, he would be removed immediately, that does not appear to be the perception of the victim who has been in and out of penal institutions before. So, would the Minister like to comment on whether there is a gap here in terms of the inmates' confidence in that procedure?”
“Supplementary questions. Sir, earlier the Senior Minister of State recited these figures of assault in our prisons and compared them internationally to other countries and said that they were low. But, Sir, during the trial, it was quite obvious from the testimony of the inmates in the cell as well as those in the neighbouring cells that, generally, they do not resort to reporting as a first recourse when they hear something suspicious or something has happened to them. Some of them said in the court that they did not want any trouble even though they heard something in the neighbouring cell, they did not want to report it for avoidance of trouble. So, does the Minister not agree with me that actually those figures that we have are only the figures that we know of and there is probably a significant under-reporting of such incidents in our prison? On the second point, the Minister mentioned that the Director of Prisons has done a review of the case and found that no prison officer was wanting. I am not in a position to say that they are but the question is, there appears to be some gap in the procedure. If the inmates in the neighbouring cells can testify that they heard beatings and cries over quite a number of days from 6.20 pm in the evening to 2.00 am, how come the prison officers did not seem to detect that? Also, with regard to the injuries on the victim, even if he had a dark complexion, they consisted of 10 fractured ribs, fractured chest bone, fractured spine vertebrate, lacerated kidney – would it not be reasonable to assume that he would not be behaving normally with such kind of injuries? Thirdly, Sir, it was mentioned that the victim himself is to be blamed, in a way, because he had ample opportunity to raise this matter and he did not.”
“Sir, I would like to seek some clarifications from the Minister on his response. First of all, in relation to what the Minister attributed to my comments about smaller firms, what I actually said was that firms with limited scope of work would be somehow disadvantaged in getting training contracts. I did not mean that they were inadequately resourced. What I meant was, for example, firms specialising in, say, divorce law, since the report mentioned that there should be scope for transfer of trainees to different kinds of work, would such specialist firms, for example, be somehow disadvantaged in getting trainees under the Training Contract scheme? Secondly, Sir, I would like the Minister to clarify whether he agrees with me that under the new regime, the Board of Legal Education is, in fact, significantly weakened in its decision-making power?”
“Otherwise, we lose them. To encourage the brightest of our future generation to be active stakeholders in Singapore, we need to take time to explain to them the rationale for these macro shifts, and understand how these may impact them at the individual level. And we need to assure them that we know it is hard, and that we will continue to place their interest at heart. With these comments, I support the Bill. 4.05 pm”
“We must explain to our youths why the local law schools cannot grow their intake beyond a certain critical level, and why we cannot just rely on expanding quota each year to meet industry demand. And we should lay out the expansion plans for NUS Law and SMU Law. For example, now that NUS Law has arrived at an intake of 250, the quota projected as optimum in the Report by The Third Committee on the Supply of Lawyers, does it mean that the quota will not increase anymore? Third, we must have a viable second route for acquiring legal training in Singapore. This allows the truly passionate an opportunity to live their dreams. In this regard, SMU's Juris Doctor (J.D.) programme is an excellent development. My fourth and final concern is with the significant attrition in the local bar. Why are our law graduates not progressing as expected? Idiographic accounts suggest that work conditions in the legal profession are challenging, with long hours cited as a big deterrent. The Law fraternity may want to look at these and other triggers for attrition in greater detail. It is difficult to change normative expectations in the profession. This is especially so if senior partners and supervisors went through similar rigour when they were young legal officers – and they survived the challenges. It may be hard for them to understand why their younger mentees should not make similar sacrifices and put in extended hours at the office. But if attrition remains high, something must be done. For the cost of each attrition is too high to bear, given the opportunity cost that someone else could have taken that place instead. We teach our children to dream and to nurture aspirations. It is equally important to ensure that they can actualise these ideals in a reasonable manner.”
“For these are our future leaders, and the next generation that will continue the good work achieved by this Government. This time of the year is particularly tough on many of our youth and their families. As we manage the massive admissions exercise at the universities, we also have to manage missed aspirations. How do you tell an 18-year-old who has faithfully slogged away at his books, only to find that his close to perfect scores are not good enough? While intake into NUS Law and SMU Law has increased over the past few years, it is nonetheless a very small quota compared to the volume of qualified applicants. Coming from the Faulty of Arts and Social Sciences, I for one am truly appreciative that not every top scorer lands a place in Medicine or Law – it is critical and important for Singapore to have capable scholars in all disciplines. But we are, at the end of the day, talking about missed aspirations of our talented young. While we can appreciate the benefits and rationale for the arguments laid out in this and preceding Bills on the Legal Profession, we must also be aware of the indirect effects. There are four broad concerns that we should take note of as we expand the parameters on who can practise law in Singapore. First, we must be cognisant that there will be a social class divide. Among those who fail to secure a place in our local law schools, there will be the lucky group who can still achieve their aspirations by enrolling in a law school overseas. And who will now be able to return home to practise law here with less structural constraints. In relation to this, my second concern is with communication.”
“Paulin Tay Straughan (Nominated Member): Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts on the Bill. I appreciate the rationale underlying the proposed amendment, which follows the extended debate on the need to urgently increase the number of lawyers in Singapore. In addition to the proposal for foreign trained lawyers to serve a practice training period in place of a pupillage (tabled in this Bill), we have also gradually increased the pool of locally trained lawyers and enabled Singapore law firms to recruit outstanding foreign lawyers. All these, to grow a sufficient pool of high calibre legal professionals, so as to facilitate the positioning of Singapore as a legal services hub for the region. As I speak in support of this Bill, I would like to seek your indulgence to reflect on how these developments may impact our youth – specifically, those who had aspired to enter the local law schools but failed to secure a place. In earlier debates on changes made to the legal profession in 2007 and 2008, much of the emphasis was focused on the implications of the changes to the practice of law and on the practitioners. Very little had been raised on how these liberalisations to the practice of law in Singapore may have been received by students who aspired to be lawyers, but failed to secure a place in our local law schools. From the perspective of our youths who, after struggling through 16 years of hard work, find out that they did not earn a coveted place in the NUS or SMU law schools, it must be very frustrating to read of this severe shortage of lawyers in Singapore. Mr Speaker, as an educator, I am very concerned with how we manage youth aspirations.”
“At the same time, failure of the firm to carry out a training contract does not seem a fair reason to delay a trainee's call to the Bar. Will there be measures to ensure that training contracts do not become just a formality? Sir, I next move on to the enhanced powers of the Minister regarding admission of lawyers. The proposed section 15A gives the Minister powers relating to the admission of lawyers to the Bar and take these powers away from the Board of Legal Education. These powers are whether to exempt potential lawyers from requirements such as undergoing the six-month training contract, attending any course of instruction or sitting for prescribed examination. Under the current Legal Profession Act, these powers are vested in the Board of Legal Education, which Ms Ellen Lee before me had already touched on, comprises 11 persons standing, the Attorney-General, President of the Law Society, Deans of the Law Faculty and Law School, lawyers and the Singapore Academy of Law. On such an important matter as to whether to exempt persons from mandatory professional requirements, the collective wisdom of the Board would be most instructive. Under the Bill, the Board's decision-making power is reduced. As far as admissions go, it will only have the power to exempt a person from dining requirements which is the least onerous of all the requirements to be called to the Bar. Sir, would it not be prudent to continue to let the Board handle exemptions from admission requirements rather than to give this power to the Minister acting alone? While the Bill says that the Minister can consult the Board before he makes a rule about such matters, it also makes clear that the Minister can retain absolute discretion to decide on exemption cases. 3.59 pm Assoc. Prof.”
“Sir, I would like to seek clarification on the parts of the Bill relating to the practice training period and the Minister's enhanced powers. First, the practice training period. The intention behind abolishing pupillage and replacing it with a practice training period is a good rationale. For many generations, a pupil's experience varied greatly and there was no common baseline with which to assure the public or profession on what the pupil had learned during the six months with his master. The change proposed is to require a firm or possibly an individual partner to undertake specific responsibilities to ensure that the trainee is exposed to relevant skills. In the Report of the Committee to develop the Singapore Legal Sector, it is mentioned that the training contract will ensure that the trainee is given certain basic skills, for example, advocacy skills and rotated among different departments. According to the Ministry of Law, the training contract may be served out with any Singapore law practice. Sir, our law firms are diverse, both in size and type of work done. Given this situation, it is foreseeable that the trainee's experiences in the different firms will continue to vary greatly. Will firms with limited scope of work be less likely to be able to manage training contracts? Sir, there will be concerns about how onerous the new regime will be on the law firms or lawyers. Does it envisage the checklist to be filled out to ensure that trainees have done a list of different tasks? While employers may agree in principle to expose trainees to certain types of work, this may not be carried out due to a variety of reasons, for example, the law firm's priorities during the period and economic cycles as well.”
“Sir, two supplementary questions for the Minister. MAS has decided that as punishment for the offending financial institutions, they will receive bans from selling the structured products. But given that the market for such products has totally collapsed, would the Minister agree that actually such a punishment is actually no punishment at all, because there is no demand for such products at this point in time? Secondly, in the MAS report, it was stated that there is on-going investigation into regulatory actions to be taken against individuals and I presume that would be individual relationship managers (RMs) for mis-selling. But the investigation report documents very clearly that some of the RMs in fact were more or less victims in the process. They may have been given wrong instructions by the banks themselves, allowed to sell the products even though they did not go for training. So would the Minister not agree that actually the banks bear a large responsibility for the mis-selling part of the whole fiasco and really stiffer action should be taken against the banks rather than punishing individual RMs?”
“Nevertheless, overall, the Workers' Party believes that the changes announced yesterday are improvements over the current system. Finally, Sir, as the ultimate beneficiaries of such changes should be the people and not political parties, the people's views on these changes should be actively sought before they are finalised. With that, Sir, I thank the President for his Address.”
“Next, the indication that the size of GRCs will be reduced overall is overdue. It will ensure that each candidate identifies more with the voters and is more accountable for outcomes. It also lowers the barrier for electoral competition, which should in theory increase the likelihood of contest and enable more people to vote. However, this will mean extensive reconfigurations of existing boundaries, which will cause confusion among voters and affect the work of political parties. As such, the new configurations should be made known and justified many months in advance of the elections. Next, I refer to the proposal to assure at least nine Opposition Members in Parliament through the NCMP scheme, up from the current legal default minimum of three. Though this can never replace having elected Opposition MPs, it is overall supportable because it will give greater recognition to the desire of voters who cast votes for opposition candidates in significant numbers, which would otherwise be shut out in a pure "first past the post" system. It will also facilitate Opposition parties serving the people in Parliament based on the results obtained at the General Elections. Sir, regarding the Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) scheme, the Workers' Party continues to be against the scheme as we believe that MPs must contest the election as an essential pre-condition to obtain some sort of mandate from the people. Sir, there are still other unsatisfactory aspects of political elections in Singapore which we believe should be changed. These include removing the Prime Minister’s Office from being in charge of elections and having an independent elections commission. Also, the need for greater transparency and public accountability in the way electoral boundaries are drawn.”