Vivian Balakrishnan
Singapore
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“I totally agree with the Member that as Punggol continues to grow, the demand for cooked food will grow and we have to address this shortfall. I cannot give her specific numbers and dates yet, but I hear the Member and we will certainly look into meeting this need. On recycling, I agree with her that the design of the bins, the frequency of collection, the convenience and the overall infrastructure need to be looked at, and we are trying to improve that. We are working together with the public waste collectors to do so. Even for some of the demonstration projects in Punggol, you will be aware that we have tried having separate chutes and all that – one for disposable waste and another one for recycling waste. But it is really trying to persuade people one at a time, households at a time, to adopt recycling as a way of life. We will continue to work on public education and improve infrastructure.”
“We will have to deal with the owners who, in a sense, are the people who currently have some locus standi for the stall. Our condition is that once we take over, we will insist that it be operated personally. If the owner is not in a position to operate it personally, I would expect that he or she would transfer that stall to someone who is willing to subsequently personally operate the stall. So, the key principle is personal operation of the stall. The changes to our policies for the last two years on hawker centres have been to remove the element of property speculation and arbitrage from it. I think this is a principle which I probably say all Members of this House support, so that it is not property play. Hawker centres are about good, cheap, hot, wonderful food and a relaxed place for all of us to get together. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: Mdm Chair, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The Minister mentioned that the new hawker centres will be completed on schedule. I would like to ask if the new hawker centre at Yishun can be completed ahead of schedule. While the scheduled completion date is 2015, yet three new BTO projects will be completed in 2014 in Yishun and a lot of residents will be moving in.”
“In fact, it is NEA that has to pay the Government on the basis of what the Chief Valuer assesses is the rate for it. Foodfare's role is that of a managing agent. They do not own the place. They will not decide the policies of the place. But I want them to inject social responsibility, I want them to inject new ideas, I want them to try out new experiments and I want them to be able to manage the hawkers but still maintain the personal operation − the personal to holder nature of our hawker centres. So, it is a pilot and we will see how that has gone. We have had extensive negotiations at arm's length on what, in effect, NEA has to pay them to perform this managing agent's role. I now look forward that we have got at least another nine in the pipeline, to see who else put up their hands and enter this field. I would stress, however, that all these are pilots and just because we award a contract for three years does not mean this will go on ad infinitum. So, it is my standing invitation to anyone here or if you know of people, both with a good heart, business experience and want to enter this field, please send us your proposal and we will look at it favourably.”
“Let me first deal with the very interesting social enterprise model which has been developed in Simpang Bedok. First, this is a purely private initiative. It is not a NEA hawker centre. Nevertheless, a group of people, good-hearted, business-minded, passionate people got together and said, "We want to operate a hawker centre." They negotiated with the private Page: 47 landlord for the space which had not been very well utilised and they started it. I had the honour of opening it. I was very impressed with what I saw. What impressed me most is not the physical infrastructure but the attitude and the cohesiveness of the hawkers there − people who were given a second chance to start life anew, to start a business, to explore some new concepts, new ideas. And the fact that this started in a private area completely without subsidies, or, indeed, without even any urging or pushing from me, is to me something to be celebrated. So, that is for the centre at Simpang Bedok. For the one at Bukit Panjang, Dr Teo will know that − he has been campaigning for a new hawker centre in Bukit Panjang for, I think, well over a decade. When we announced that we would re-start the building programme, to me, it was an obvious choice that I should accede to a longstanding request. Having said that, the next point was the choice − I could either operate it directly as another NEA centre or, I said, "I want to try out new models and give social enterprises an opportunity." Because it was the first one, at that point in time, in fact, Foodfare was the only game in town. The people who started Simpang Bedok were not yet available. The role, however, is that it is NEA that is developing the centre. It is NEA that is paying for the cost of construction of the centre.”
“Page: 45 Let me conclude by reiterating our core principles – that this is about human beings, our responsibility and our vulnerability, that we are all in this together and that we have to plan for the very long term. I want to thank Members of this House and all Singaporeans for sharing ideas and for working so passionately with us to ensure that this beautiful, precious and fragile home of ours is sustainable and will be protected for the long run.”
“But why is it green? It is green paradoxically because we are so high-rise, because nearly 90% of us live in apartments. The point I am trying to make is that if you really think about sustainability in the long run, the answer lies here. And in Singapore, we are building a working model of the future. Of course, this working model of the future has to take into account long-term threats like climate change. The Member asked about whether we are worried about rising sea levels. Yes, we are. We are anticipating that they could go up anything from between 24 and 65 centimetres or more. That is why in 2011, we changed our platform levels for all reclaimed land, and added another metre. All reclaimed land now will be at least 2.25 metres above the highest recorded tide level. This is buying insurance for the future. If it does not happen, treat it as a sandbank. If it does happen, we are prepared and we must be prepared to adapt faster and to be aware of what is going on in Science. That is also why the Meteorological Services Singapore (MSS) has established the Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) which will officially open later this month. This Centre will collaborate with researchers from all over the world in order to spearhead studies, and their academic output and scientific output will be the basis on which we make plans for the future. We initiated the first Climate Change Vulnerability Study in 2007 to give us a better sense of what is going on. This study, conducted over two phases, has just been completed and we will be embarking on the next study soon. This will be a joint project between the CCRS and the UK Met Office Hadley Centre.”
“This concept about "Reuse, Reduce, Recycle" – it used to be in our values system. All of us can remember our parents saying "Don't waste." But somehow, perhaps as we became more prosperous, we have forgotten that imperative. In the future, the era of cheap energy, cheap resources, cheap food is going to come to an end and we will have to rediscover the wisdom of our grandmothers of not wasting. Having said that, I also support her idea that we can promote more community-generated solutions for this. I will give you one example. NEA is organising a "Clean & Green Hackathon" next month. Basically, we will be setting aside a time, and we award prizes to people who come together and devise apps which can be used on smartphones. It basically creates a platform for people to share ideas and to use these ideas to improve the environment. Page: 44 Let me quickly touch, in the last few minutes, on a Sustainable Singapore. There is just one point I want to make which is counter-intuitive. A very dense well-planned city is actually the most sustainable way of life for human beings. Many people think being green means living in a rural area. But if you stop to think about it, living in a dense city is the cheapest way of providing food, water, healthcare, education, jobs, entertainment, ideas, cultural exchange simply because you have to move around less. We now have seven billion people around the world. More than half of the people live in cities. By the turn of the century, 80% of us will live in cities. A dense well-planned connected city is the greenest and most sustainable way of life for our future. And Singapore can take the lead. One key unique feature about Singapore is if you fly over Singapore, you will see a lot of it is green. Almost 47% of Singapore is green.”
“We will continue to work with companies, incentivise them and provide schemes like the Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies (GREET) as well as extend the Singapore Certified Energy Manager training grant. All these Page: 43 will enhance capability and technology. PUB will also continue to encourage non-domestic users to develop and submit Water Efficiency Management Plans to help them analyse usage and potentially save water. Let me quickly move on to households – energy and water usage. The Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme (MELS) and Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) have been effective in expanding the range of energy-efficient appliances on the market, making them more affordable. Quite frankly, people will save money in the medium to long run if they buy more energy-efficient appliances, whether it is air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines or the like. We need to encourage people to look beyond just the initial sticker price to the total cost of ownership. Let me move on to reducing household waste. Our recycling rate in households, to be honest, is still not good enough. In fact, in survey after survey, people have said they want to recycle but for some reason, this is not translated into practice. We will continue to try to make recycling facilities more convenient for households by enhancing recycling infrastructure in neighbourhoods. In some new HDB flats, we have even tried to pilot projects with dual-refuse chutes or recycling chutes in order to make it more convenient. There is some early data which shows that this perhaps may increase our recycling rates. I want to agree with Miss Penny Low's suggestion about trying to promote a less wasteful culture, and a more sharing culture.”
“I cannot predict what the future cost of water will be without knowing what the cost of energy will be. But what I can say is that, on our current trajectory and with the hard work that is being done by PUB, there is no need to raise water prices this year. Let me move on to waste which Ms Faizah Jamal has raised. We have made some changes. We have reduced the number of Public Waste Collection sectors from nine to six in order to improve economies of scale. Again, I am trying to bring the cost of waste collection down, whilst recognising that the cost of energy, cost of transport, trucks and all that is going up. We are also building a new Waste-to-Energy incineration plant in order to maximise resource recovery and to reduce the landfill space. If I could show the picture of Pulau Semakau, Members would see that we already got that area marked out for Phase 2. Again, I can give this House the assurance that we are good to go until 2035. We are not going to run out of space. But, in fact, the beauty of Pulau Semakau is that it is probably the only landfill in the world that is a tourist attraction. Just last December, Prime Minister himself went there. If you go to his Facebook page, you will find some beautiful pictures of that site. The point is that it can be done. It will be there for the long term and it can be beautiful at the same time. Dr Teo Ho Pin asked about water and energy efficiency, and for an update on the Energy Conservation Act (ECA). This Act requires large energy users to implement energy management practices. It will come into effect in April this year for the industry sector and it will be rolled out to the transport sector subsequently.”
“30 pm Let me quickly move on to water. Water is an existential issue for us. That is why the two water agreements were part of the Separation Agreement that marks our Independence as a nation. We have obsessed about water for five decades. Our water story is one of political will, meticulous planning, long-term planning, technology innovation and sound economics. Finally, today, we have the four national taps and we are in a secure position. I can give assurance to this House that we will certainly be water independent well before the expiry of the last agreement with Malaysia. I can even go further than that and assure Ms Faizah Jamal that, in fact, water is not going to be the limiting factor. You can produce as many babies as you like, you can build as many houses as you like, water will not be the limiting factor. We can continue to produce more than enough water for Singapore for the long-term future. The second big desalination plant in Tuas will be ready in July this year and that will add another 70 million gallons of water per day to our capacity. In the Page: 42 long run, desalination will meet about 25% of our water demand. We are also commencing on Phase 2 of our Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS). This is a superhighway for used water that will drain water from the western part of the island to a new water reclamation plant in Tuas which will also produce NEWater in the future. I will also just quickly address this point on the cost of water and the need for water conservation. I agree that water needs to be correctly priced to reflect its scarcity value. It needs to facilitate long-term investments in this sector. There is a need, therefore, to constantly invest and the key variable in the future for the cost of water is the cost of energy.”
“I am pleased to inform Er Dr Lee that the planning works have begun on the 10 new hawker centres – five will be completed between 2015 and 2016 or thereabouts, including the one at Yishun. It will be on time, do not worry. Page: 41 Mr Seah has also asked for an update on wet markets. That was in his earlier speech. The new hawker centres like the one at Bukit Panjang will have wet markets selling fresh produce. But I want to sound a caution here that whilst I am very confident that there is a demand for cooked food, the demand pattern for wet markets is not so clear cut. So, this is something which will evolve as time goes on and we will respond according to demand. Let me now just touch on another point which, I think, Er Dr Lee brought up. The nearly 2,000 hawkers who bought their sold stalls about 20 years ago, their leases are coming to an end over the next few years. All of these centres will continue to operate after the leases expire. There may need to be a short period where we do refurbishments, renovations, or redevelopment, but I will ensure that there will be centres thereafter. All stallholders who are interested to continue their businesses will have the option to do so. Stallholders who were previously on the subsidised scheme, I intend to emplace them back on the subsidised scheme and they will only pay the current subsidised rental rates. For those who were not previously subsidised stallholders, I will give them the option to continue but they will pay the prevailing market rate. In other words, I am doing my best to ensure that we are fair to everyone concerned and that these centres will continue on a not-for-profit basis, and hopefully, the residents will continue to patronise them and enjoy the food options that they provide. 12.”
“Successful tenders, as low as $21 for cooked food stall at Taman Jurong and $5 for a market stall at Changi Village, have emerged. That said, I want to make this point, that rent is only one component of a hawker's operating costs. In fact, raw materials and cost of labour are higher component costs of a hawker centre. Rents are important but not the key determinant. In fact, I went to check on the vegetarian bee hoon that Mr Png Eng Huat highly recommended. I went there yesterday; unfortunately, it was closed at 2 pm. I then did research. I identified nine other vegetarian bee hoon stalls along Jalan Bukit Merah; and guess what? The two stalls selling at $1.50 are paying market rates; the three stalls who are enjoying subsidised rents are charging more than that. I think it makes the point that rental is important but not the key determinant of prices. Ultimately, hawkers will charge what they think the market will bear and to reach out to the volume of work that they are aiming for. Besides the rent policy, we also changed the rules on subletting and assignments because we wanted hawkers to personally operate their stalls. We will uphold this principle even as we pilot new not-for-profit management models. I think Mr Seah Kian Peng in his Budget speech gave a very eloquent explanation for the special role of cooperatives like the NTUC FoodFare and I cannot add to what he has already said. Having said that, I want to say that FoodFare will not have a monopoly on the new hawker centres. And, in fact, I hope to see several different not-for-profit operators enter this space. NEA will continue to be the regulator, the developer and exercise oversight over all hawker centres in Singapore.”
“So, hawker centres are an essential part of social infrastructure. More than half or 53% of our cooked food hawkers today currently pay subsidised rents. What this means is that these are the original hawkers, or their immediate family members who have inherited the practice from them. They were, as I said earlier, re-settled from the original mobile stalls. For the more recent hawkers, that means the other 47% of people who have come in later in the decades since then, one question then is: on what basis do you allocate these stalls? The newcomers have been allocated stalls on the basis of open tenders in the interest of fairness. Their rents, therefore, vary according to location. So, for instance, if you are going to bid for a stall in Newton Hawker Centre or Maxwell Food Centre, it is going to be much higher than a stall, say, in Taman Jurong or elsewhere. It varies according to location, food type, traffic, size, frontage and business conditions overall. In 2011, we announced that, after a hiatus of 26 years, we would re-start our Hawker Centre Building Programme, and I announced where the new Page: 40 hawker centres will be. In case you ask me on what basis we chose those locations, those were areas which are relatively under-served with respect to cooked food. My objective of re-starting this programme and injecting supply was to put downward pressure on rentals. In addition to the fact that there is new supply coming on, we also changed policies. For instance, we removed reserve rents and this has led to falling tender prices. Fifty-five percent of the stalls awarded in the past one year were awarded at below the previous reserve rents.”
“I am pleased to update Mr Heng Chee How, who has asked obviously for his own constituency, that PUB will explore another ABC project along the stretch between Whampoa Drive and Kim Keat Road, taking into account the opportunities that will open up when there are new developments, such as the new HDB project opposite the Whampoa Community Club. Page: 39 There are three more ABC projects which are due for completion later this year – Sungei Pandan, Sungei Ulu Pandan and the Geylang River. Construction will begin at another five projects later this year at Sungei Tampines, Sungei Api Api, the Kallang River next to St Andrew's School and Siglap Canal. Between 2014 and 2017, construction will commence on new projects at the Kallang Riverside and the Jurong Lake. Let me now move to a topic which Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and indeed many Members of this House have focused on. This is something close to our hearts. Actually, more accurately, it is closer to our stomachs – hawker centres. They are a source of livelihood for hawkers and a space where all Singaporeans have access to delicious, freshly cooked food at affordable prices. We started off as a hygiene project to move mobile hawkers with no running water and questionable sanitation into centres where they will have running water in order to improve public hygiene. But over the years, hawker centres have become part of our uniquely Singapore identity. The fact that we can go there in slippers, shorts and T-shirts, it reflects the informality of life in Singapore. The fact that all of us, including politicians on both sides of the House, go to hawker centres to meet people also reflects that multi-cultural cohesion and that uniqueness of Singapore life the way it is today.”
“Working with our fellow Ministers and Ministries in ASEAN, we are trying to put pressure on these companies by the use of technologies such as digital geo-referenced concession maps, satellite and other mapping technologies so that, ultimately, we can name and shame the culprits who are engaging in such anti-environmental and anti-social activities. Let me now turn to the ABC Waters Programme. I totally agree with Dr Teo Ho Pin. This has been a programme which has been very welcomed by members of the public. They have gained access to our reservoirs. We have converted canals into riverine attractions in their own right. I will take his suggestions about improving car parking, toilets and facilities, and catering facilities specifically to different segments of our population – the seniors, the children as well as the long-distance joggers. We will make sure that we will interconnect these blue ribbons of water with the national green Park Connector Network, so that you will be able to have access throughout the island. You can run many marathons along these routes. We have completed 20 projects so far, but the good news is that we have identified about 100 sites that could potentially be developed over the next 15 to 20 years. I am not saying we can do all 100, but I am saying that there is potential to do many more sites. The ABC Waters Programme has encouraged new lifestyle activities in many of our waterways and the surrounding lands, such as the Sengkang Floating Wetland Project at the Punggol Reservoir and the urban wetlands at the Alexandra Canal. PUB will work with NParks to do more of such projects including mega projects like the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.”
“It is very small – there are only about 3,400 such vehicles on the road. Over the years to come, we hope that with these new standards in place, the fleet will gradually be replaced. Speaking of replacement of the fleet, we currently have 38,000 very old diesel commercial vehicles of pre-Euro or Euro I emission standards. Commercial diesel vehicles have a statutory life span of 20 years, so that means they actually have a very long tail. MOT and my Ministry will be implementing an Early Turnover Scheme which will incentivise the owners of these old commercial diesel vehicles to retire them early and to upgrade them to vehicles that meet the Euro V emission standards. We will provide more details of this scheme within the next two months. We also need to deal with motorcycles. There are more than 143,000 motorcycles in Singapore, and most of them are of the Euro I standard. We will be raising the emission standards for all new motorcycles to the Euro III standards with effect from 1 October 2014. These new motorcycles will emit less than a fifth of the pollutants compared to the current fleet. Page: 38 Finally, we also need to address air pollution from beyond our shores, as Mr Nicholas Fang and Mr Charles Chong have emphasised. This is a chronic recurrent problem, and as I have said before, in fact, this is a commercial problem. It is cheaper, unfortunately, for oil plantation owners to clear land by burning forests and, unfortunately, a lot of these lands are peatland which continue to burn subterraneanly for weeks or months thereafter.”
“We quibble here about the PSI being 10 or 20; but over there, we talk about a PSI of 500. You will appreciate it when you miss it. Mr Charles Chong and Mr Nicholas Fang asked about measures to improve air quality. Last August, we announced that Singapore would adopt new air quality targets pegged to the more stringent WHO Air Quality Guidelines by 2020. Page: 37 You will notice from this slide that we have not yet reached those targets. That is why we need to step up our game and enhance standards. So, for instance, in order to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions, MTI and MEWR are jointly working with the major emitters – and as Mr Nicholas Fang has said – there are only six suspects in the room as far as sulphur dioxide is concerned. We are working directly with the power generators as well as the oil refineries to improve their processes and to invest in appropriate technology. Quite frankly, technological solutions are available. It is a matter of cost and viability. In the case of the electricity-generating companies, the switch to natural gas has been a big benefit for the environment. We are also concerned about Fine Particulate Matter, in particular what we call PM2.5, smaller than 2.5 microns. The paradox here is, in fact, it is the stuff that you do not see that is more dangerous, because PM2.5 is inhaled deeply into the lungs, embedded in those tissues and often never leaves our bodies. Vehicles account for 57% of all PM2.5 that we have in Singapore. We have progressively tightened standards for diesel vehicles for the past six years, and we will next impose Euro V standards for all new diesel vehicles with effect from 1 January 2014. I think Mr Charles Chong asked for the percentage of Euro V-compliant diesel vehicles that are currently on the roads.”
“We all breathe the same air, drink the same water, eat the same food, and are susceptible to the same dengue, leptospirosis or all the other diseases. So the point is that we are all equal before the environment and, in fact, one very gratifying point is that I am glad that in this House there has been bipartisan support for the work of this Ministry. The third principle is that we have to think long term. For water and for waste, and in fact, for all the major infrastructural projects of our Ministry, we think 50 years and beyond. We have to make long-term investments and we cannot just kick the can down the road. 12.15 pm Allow me now to address some of the specific issues which Members have highlighted. We set very high environmental standards for Singapore, not because this is an ideological obsession or because it is fashionable, but because this is an obligation in the governance of a dense city-state. Paying attention to the environment is an investment in our future and our health. Even our economic viability depends on it. For instance, our high quality environment is a key competitive strength, and it is the reason why companies and people decide to base their families and situate their headquarters in this safe, secure, liveable and lovable city called Singapore. It is not a trade-off between the economy and the environment. In fact, it is a virtuous cycle. A clean environment starts with the air we breathe. I know we often take this for granted but we have not experienced scenes like these [Slides were shown to hon Members]. The first is from the volcanic eruption in Iceland. I remember that because I got stuck in London; I could not fly for a few days as a result of that. The other scene you will recognise is the smog in Beijing.”
“Thank you, Mdm Chair. The Ministry's mission is to secure public health, to upgrade the quality of life for all Singaporeans, to foster an inclusive society and to ensure Singapore's resilience in the long term – the very long term. As a doctor, I am always reminded that, actually, it is the engineers and the staff of PUB and NEA that have saved far more lives through the provision of clean water, modern sanitation, clean air, safe food and public hygiene. These staff save far more lives than doctors like me curing patients in a hospital. This is something which we should not take for granted and I hope Members of the House and, in fact, members of the public will also give due recognition to all these engineers, all these staff, all these cleaners, who work so assiduously to protect our environment and, ultimately, protect our welfare. I believe it is worthwhile spending a few moments contemplating the key principles behind all the work of the Ministry. First, our primary concern is really the welfare of human beings. I know many people talk about protecting Mother Earth, protecting the environment. But let me be quite frank – the Earth will survive human beings no matter what we do to it. What is at greater risk are human beings and the welfare of human beings. So, really, human beings are both responsible for protecting the environment as well as being exquisitely vulnerable to the damage that we cause to the environment. The point I am making is that we do all these for the sake of ourselves. When we protect the environment, we are protecting ourselves and our children. Page: 36 The second key principle is that we are all in this together. This is ultimate democracy.”
“The supply base has been there since 1970. A lot of the residential developments have only occurred there after the year 2000. The point is that we need to make sure that our regulations are practical and realistic. Secondly, we need to make sure of having established standards to enforce those standards. We make the companies embark and invest in the necessary infrastructure as well as the re-engineering of their work flow processes in order to meet these standards. I am not in a position to move offshore bases and businesses and factories from their premises. I think this clearly illustrates the need as we go forward in the future, that as people's expectations raise, and we also want to elevate standards, but at the same time, we need to achieve an appropriate equilibrium so that businesses can still pursue activities and hopefully arrive at a win-win outcome. I do not think we have the luxury of chasing our businesses out from many, many places in Singapore. This is something which requires balance and judgement. Page: 37”
“NEA has also taken enforcement action against TOPS for discharging industrial effluent into a drain. The Government will continue to monitor the situation at LOSB and work with all the users of LOSB to minimise the environmental impact of their activities on the surrounding area. We will also work closely with the residents and local MP if further problems arise. We will not hesitate to take all the necessary actions to resolve this.”
“The LOSB is located at Loyang Crescent and currently operated by TOPS. It was established in 1970 and consists of port facilities, offices, warehouses, storage facilities and workshops. As part of its operations, TOPS must comply with the Environmental Protection & Management (Boundary Noise Limits for Factory Premises) Regulations which we have imposed, and insisted that these companies take appropriate mitigation measures to minimise noise generated at the premises. In January 2011, NEA directed the company TOPS to provide quieter external generator sets for large ships berthed at Loyang Jetty and TOPS has complied. TOPS also installed a noise meter for the real-time monitoring of noise levels at the Jalan Loyang Besar area. Between January 2010 and January 2013, NEA took enforcement action against two cases of noise violations at LOSB, which occurred on 1 April 2011 and 12 January 2013. NEA has also required TOPS to put in place the following measures: first, to schedule ship repair work to complete earlier and not to carry out the more noisy activities late into the night; and secondly, to install another online noise monitoring meter nearer to the jetty. If these measures are Page: 36 insufficient, we will take further measures against the company. NEA and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) also ensure that all companies and ships comply with the relevant water and air pollution regulations. For example, the MPA port inspectors patrol our port waters round the clock and monitor the ships in port to ensure strict compliance. Between January 2010 and January 2013, MPA took enforcement action against eight cases of vessels for emitting black smoke at LOSB.”
“I thought I will show this chart. It goes back to the 1960s. In the earlier years – in the 1960s and 1970s – there was very low incidence of dengue. It picked up mainly in the 1980s and 1990s. Before Members jump to the wrong conclusion and say that this is a Singapore problem, this is a global problem. For some reason which we still do not fully understand, there has been a global increase in dengue, particularly in areas of the world bounded by 35 degrees north and south of the Equator. Dr Lam is absolutely right. The only long-term resolution to this problem is a vaccine. There have been some trials going on, but I would say at this point in time, it is not yet ready to be rolled out on a full scale basis. Basically, my strategy in Singapore is to keep buying us time; keep intensively eradicating mosquito breeding within our city; and then, if and when the vaccine is ready, we can embark on mass vaccination. At that point in time, Page: 35 NEA can redeploy the 1,000 inspectors who are currently knocking on doors every day, checking on mosquito breeding. I also want to make this point that I am very grateful to the residents and citizens of Singapore for cooperating with this effort and for their patience over these years. Once the vaccine is ready, we roll that out, and we build up immunity in our population, then this problem will be resolved.”
“The human beings are the reservoir for the virus. Of course, we will take the human-centric point of view. I just want to emphasise: take all sensible measures to protect yourselves, your family and your neighbours; eliminate all breeding areas. If you have any doubts about your own potential to be infected, please do the responsible thing: Get yourself diagnosed and take appropriate measures to isolate yourself from your friends, families and neighbours with mosquito nets and repellents.”
“The next point is, if you have been diagnosed or if there is a significant possibility that you are infected, your responsibility, first, is to get well yourself but, equally, remember you do not want to pass on that same virus to your family members, so prevent yourself from being bitten by mosquitoes using repellants or even good-old-fashioned mosquito nets. In the past, we used to do that but, nowadays, you hardly ever see a mosquito net. I think you probably have to go to the Beach Road surplus stores to find a mosquito net which we used from our army days. But, in fact, mosquito nets are very effective barriers to the transmission of the virus by mosquitoes. And I am not talking about preventing you from being infected but preventing you from infecting other people; similarly, with the use of insect repellants. The Member also asked a question on the use of fogging. We do not believe in fogging as a first-line of defence. Page: 34 Study after study has found that source eradication of breeding areas is the most effective way of dealing with the problem. In extremely high risk areas where we think that there is a significant pool of adult mosquitoes which are infected, we would use fogging in a concentrated and targeted manner. Generalised fogging – where you see more smoke rather than real impact – is not something that I would recommend. The question on ovitraps, we actually use that more as a surveillance because it will give us some idea of the prevalence of mosquitoes and whether those mosquitoes that we trap are infected with the dengue virus. I just want to conclude that in fact, although we focus on mosquitoes, actually the real primary host for dengue is us, human beings. If you were a mosquito, your perspective would be that human beings are the problem.”
“I thank the Member for those very relevant questions and also for reminding me that he is an interested party, as a resident in a hotspot. The first set of questions was: what else can you do? As I said, the most important strategy is still source eradication. So, you will be surprised at the creativity of the mosquitoes in finding new breeding spots. I will give Members an example. Even if you were to take a holiday for five days, and your home toilets are uncovered and unflushed, mosquitoes will happily breed in your toilet bowl. They will happily breed in gulley traps. They will happily breed in roof gutters if you have not secured them and you have not cleared them. And it only takes five to seven days. And it just shows you that you may think they have done a complete clearance, but there is always a possibility we have missed something, and there is always a possibility in that space of five days to a week, another life cycle has begun. The second point is that this is, in a sense, a proximity disease. As I said earlier, mosquitoes do not fly very far. Therefore, you catch dengue from a neighbour or a family member. If you have a fever, it is worth remembering that you are a potential reservoir of infection. And this is relevant because, in fact, the majority of people who may carry the virus may not be diagnosed with dengue. And it is a clear reminder that if you have a fever and you are living in a hotspot, please see a medical professional who can make a specific diagnosis. And nowadays with the more sophisticated tests which are available, a diagnosis can be made within the space of hours or a maximum of a day.”
“Let me conclude by saying that this is a clear and present danger confronting Singapore. Remember that mosquitoes do not usually fly very far − on average, 150 metres, 200 metres. What this means is that if you have a dengue infection, you almost certainly caught it from another family member or neighbour living close by. The mosquito is simply a go-between. What this means then is that it requires individual and collective responsibility to eliminate mosquito breeding in your own home and in your own neighbourhood in order to protect yourself, your family members and your neighbours.”
“To complicate matters further, we have now seen more cases of Dengue Type 1 and Dengue Type 3 cases emerging over the last two months. This potential change in serotype has contributed to the latest spike in dengue cases. The largest dengue cluster recorded so far is at the area around Telok Kurau and East Coast Road, and this is a Dengue Type 1 cluster. Seventy per cent of the breeding sites in this cluster were actually in residential homes. NEA has worked very closely with the local grassroots organisations and, in particular, with the local Member of Parliament, Mr Charles Chong, who has tirelessly knocked on doors to urge residents to empty their flower-pots, pails, containers and so on, in order to protect themselves and their neighbours from dengue. Page: 32 NEA has sent out advisories to all residents and put up dengue posters in the public areas. We have also sent SMS alerts to the residents and visitors in the area. Breeding sites can also be found in other outdoor spaces, like construction sites. We have alerted LTA, HDB, PUB, NParks and Town Councils as well the local contractors, to step up their inspections of the areas under their respective charge, and NEA has helped to coordinate these efforts through an Inter-Agency Dengue Taskforce. We have been paying particular attention to construction sites, and there have been a few cases of irresponsible contractors failing to take adequate measures and we have subjected these contractors to composition fines, starting from $2,000 for first offence, and escalate thereafter. In fact, repeat offenders can face a maximum court fine of $50,000 and/or a jail sentence not exceeding six months. Last year, 900 mosquito-breeding offences were detected in construction sites, of which 626 were first-time offences.”
“Mdm Speaker, there has been, unfortunately, a significant increase in the number of dengue cases over the past two months, particularly in the eastern part of Singapore. Please allow me to share some medical facts to set things in context. There are four types of dengue virus. If a person has been previously infected by one, he would usually develop life-long immunity to that particular serotype, but not to the other three. In fact, if that person is subsequently infected a second time, but by a different dengue serotype, the chances of complications become much higher. A change in the predominant dengue serotype that is circulating in our population can often lead to an epidemic because, by definition, if there is a change, the population lacks the immunity to this new circulating serotype. In the past, in fact, we had observed that the probability of a major epidemic breaking out increases every time you detect a serotype switch. This occurred in 2005, when Singapore had the worst incidence of a dengue epidemic. At that point in time, in 2005, the predominant serotype changed from Dengue Type 2 to Dengue Type 1. Two years later, in 2007, we saw a smaller scale dengue outbreak when the predominant serotype switched from Dengue Type 1 back to Dengue Type 2. Thankfully, in the years since 2007, we have managed, through some very intensive efforts, to prevent a major dengue epidemic from breaking out. However, I must stress that this very success poses a potential problem because it means that the Singapore population has relatively low herd immunity against dengue and, therefore, each passing year that goes by without an epidemic paradoxically means our risk of developing an epidemic increases.”
“The breakdown of employees in the National Environment Agency is as follows (correct as at 15 January 2013):”
“NEA currently manages the cleaning contracts for 25 hawker centres directly, while the respective Town Councils (TCs) and Hawkers' Associations (HAs) manage the cleaning contracts for the remaining 82 hawker centres. From 1 April 2013, new hawker centre cleaning contracts called by NEA will only be awarded to cleaning contractors accredited under the Enhanced Accreditation Scheme (EAS). The EAS requires the accredited companies to, among other conditions, adopt progressive wages for their local cleaners. This means that full-time local cleaners hired under the NEA's new contracts will be paid starting basic wages of at least $1,000 per month. We share Mr Zainal Sapari's vision for all hawker centres to engage only accredited cleaning companies. We are currently engaging the TCs and HAs to encourage them to appoint only accredited cleaning contractors for general cleaning and table cleaning activities respectively. We have also been sharing our cleaning contract tender specifications with the TCs and HAs and will continue to do so. We hope that the TCs and HAs will be able to see the value in engaging accredited cleaning companies which are able to meet the demands of the hawker centres. Page: 128”
“The Corrective Work Order (CWO) regime was introduced in 1992 as a means to punish recalcitrant littering offenders and to increase the offenders' awareness of the broader impact of littering, including the difficulties faced by the cleaners. NEA's data shows that the CWO has been an effective deterrent against recalcitrant litterbugs as only 2.5% of those offenders who had served the CWO were caught littering again. On Member Lim Biow Chuan's suggestion to impose a CWO on the first-time offenders, we had, in fact, considered this option recently when we reviewed the penalty regime for littering. After much consideration, we decided to impose a higher fine on first-time offenders and to retain the CWO as a punishment for more recalcitrant litter-bugs who require harsher measures to get them to change their behaviour. Since 2012, CWO has been performed at places where the littering offences take place for greater visibility and awareness. They have also been scheduled on weekdays instead of weekends, to make the CWO more onerous. My Ministry will continue to persist with our education efforts, monitor the situation and review the penalty regime for littering again, if necessary. Page: 158”
“The National Environment Agency (NEA) works with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to enforce against foreigners engaged in illegal hawking. Over the past five years, the number of foreigners caught for illegal hawking was 1,057 in 2008, 659 in 2009, 549 in 2010, 671 in 2011 and 665 in 2012. Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act which was recently revised by MOM and which came into effect in November 2012, foreigners convicted of working or being self-employed without a valid work pass will be fined up to $20,000, or imprisoned for up to two years, or both. My Ministry will continue to work closely with MOM to address the issue of illegal hawking through regular checks and inspections.”
“NEA currently manages the cleaning contracts for all the 25 MEWR-owned hawker centres directly. These cleaning contracts cover three categories of cleaning, namely general cleaning, toilet cleaning and table-cleaning. For the 82 HDB-owned hawker centres, the respective Town Councils (TCs) manage the contracts for the general cleaning and toilet cleaning functions, while individual Hawkers’ Associations (HAs) manage the contracts for table-cleaning services. For new cleaning contracts called from 1 April 2013, NEA will only engage cleaning contractors accredited under the Enhanced Accreditation Scheme (EAS). This would apply to all MEWR-owned hawker centres. The EAS, among other conditions, requires accredited cleaning companies to adopt progressive wages for their resident cleaners as recommended by the Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners. This means that full-time resident cleaners under the NEA’s new contracts will be paid starting basic wages of at least $1,000 per month. The TCs and HAs of the HDB-owned centres make their own decisions as to who to award cleaning contracts to. Nevertheless, NEA will work with the TCs and HAs to encourage them to contract cleaning only to companies accredited under the EAS, so that their cleaners will have ready access to the suite of benefits, including wages that match their level of skills and training and a progressive wage system.”
“The whole idea of making it attractive and beautiful is to give access. The only caveat I would put is the issue of safety. So, for instance, if you recall the Bishan canal which was converted into a river, it is especially designed to be low lying and people have access and can even walk across the river. However, during times of intense storms, the water can spread out very rapidly along the sides and that is why you see we have got various alarm systems and markings on the ground, in order to emphasise safety. So, we have to get the balance right between access and public safety. Page: 1457”
“So, I have asked for the slide to be put up for his viewing as well as for the other Members of the House to see. This is how we intend for it to look like when it is completed. The concept behind this particular project was for it to be a river classroom for the many students in the area to get a better appreciation of ecology, to understand the importance of the quality of the rainwater run-off from the surrounding catchment, and therefore, also a plea for maintaining cleanliness of the surrounding environment. It will also enhance local biodiversity and we will look for specially selected native plants to be planted in the area thereabouts. Mr de Souza will be glad to know that we have accepted suggestions from residents to build well-designed shelters at the community deck. We will keep the residents updated of the progress of the project through regular briefings and newsletters. We hope that the local community will feel a strong sense of ownership because they have helped to design and to implement this project. I am glad to say that the ABC Waters programme has been very well-received so far in all the different areas that it has been implemented in. We will continue to engage Singaporeans in order to create a beautiful and healthy environment which they have a real stake in.”
“I thank Mr Christopher de Souza for the question on the Active, Beautiful and Clean (ABC) Waters programme. This was a programme launched in 2006, and it aims to transform our drains, canals and reservoirs into beautiful streams and lakes and ultimately to serve as focal community points. Let me take a step back and explain the principles behind which our plans for drainage are conducted in Singapore. First, it is about water catchment. Two-thirds of Singapore's land area today is water catchment and eventually it could go up to 80% or 90%. What that means is that every drop of water on the ground or in the drain has a very high chance – a 90% chance – of ending up in the glass of water that you would drink. The second point is that it is also about flood prevention and mitigation. So, it is in our interest to make sure our drainage system is well-maintained and functions accordingly. The third is that we do want community ownership. Because our drains are in the community, in our neighbourhoods, and the integrity and the cleanliness of drains is important, it is important therefore for our local neighbourhoods to feel a sense of ownership and participation in the maintenance and in the implementation of activities in and around our waterways. Fourthly, if our waterways are transformed into beautiful and scenic spots, that also enhances values for the properties in the vicinity. Page: 1456 The programme has so far been completed in 20 different vicinities and there would be another three which would be completed in 2013, and that includes the project the Member is referring to in Sungei Ulu Pandan. There will be another 31 projects implemented by public agencies and developers over the next few years. Mr de Souza has asked for an artist's impression.”
“There is scope for commercial pressure to be applied. Corporate behaviour is most effectively shaped by market forces. If consumers become increasingly environment-conscious and demand products that come from sustainable sources, companies would have little choice but to align their production and supply chain practices in order to protect the fragile eco-system and to avoid damaging public health of millions of citizens. Therefore, stakeholders such as manufacturers, retailers, non-government organisations, investors, bankers and consumers, all have a crucial role to play in resolving this chronic problem. Page: 1158”
“All ASEAN countries have ratified the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, except for Indonesia. A sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution has been meeting regularly since 2006 to co-ordinate projects to mitigate this problem. At the recent 14th MSC Meeting on 31 October 2012 in Bali, MSC Ministers agreed to facilitate more deterrent and effective enforcement measures. Ministers agreed to explore the sharing of digital geo-referenced concession maps and leverage on satellite and mapping technologies to monitor hotspots in order to hold plantation companies and land owners accountable for their land-clearing activities. A technical task force, comprising technical experts from the forestry, meteorological services and environment sectors of the five MSC countries4, would be formed to study the implementation details. All commercial companies, regardless of ownership, must comply with the laws of their host countries and be held accountable if they cause transboundary haze pollution. All ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, already have domestic legislation which prohibits the use of fire for forest clearance. The gathering of evidence and prosecution will be most effective if assiduously pursued by local authorities. Unfortunately, commercial companies will take advantage of situations where there is weak enforcement on the ground and a lack of political will at the national level. There are currently no legal sanctions which Singapore can apply against plantation companies whose extra-territorial actions affect our local environment. However, we will support the investigation and prosecution of errant companies in their host jurisdictions, and will co-operate fully with the relevant authorities to do so.”
“For companies, the Energy Efficiency National Partnership (EENP) has been successful in promoting energy efficiency through learning network activities, provision of energy efficiency-related resources, incentives and recognition. There are also about 200 projects that have been completed or are ongoing under various energy efficiency incentive schemes which reap energy savings. For example, the Design for Efficiency (DfE) scheme has identified potential annual energy savings of about 10% to 25% per project, while the Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme (EASe) and Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies (GREET) schemes have resulted in an estimated $58 million in annual energy savings. Going forward, more will be done to improve energy efficiency. The Energy Conservation Act (ECA), which will come into effect in 2013, will require large energy users to implement energy management practices and report on their energy use. This data will help us develop targeted interventions to raise energy efficiency among companies. For households, the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for air-conditioners and refrigerators will be further raised in 2013, and the current Labelling Scheme is being reviewed to better enable consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing household appliances. Page: 1157”
“Singapore has achieved significant improvement in our recycling and energy efficiency efforts over the years. Our recycling rate3 rose from 45% in 2002, to 59% in 2011. The proportion of households taking part in the National Recycling Programme also increased from 33% to 68% over the same period. To improve these rates, we have been providing more recycling infrastructure to make it more convenient for households to recycle. Recycling bins are now more common in housing estates, shopping malls, hospitals and Government buildings. Since July 2011, the NEA has required all new Public Waste Collection contracts to provide one recycling bin for each HDB block and put in place incentive programmes for recycling. For example, Veolia Environmental Services has implemented the GRIN scheme (Grow your Recycling Incentives Now) in Pasir Ris-Tampines while Sembwaste has Cash-for-Trash in Bedok. NEA also provides co-funding to encourage companies to undertake recycling and waste reduction projects. We will also continue to promote good practices in communities and schools through initiatives, such as Clean and Green Singapore, Recycling Week, and the School Recycling Corner Programme. Our target is to achieve a 70% recycling rate by 2030, as set out in the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint (SSB). Page: 1157 As for energy efficiency at the household-level, there has been higher adoption of more efficient household appliances. In 2011, about 70% of air-conditioner models and 90% of refrigerator models sold were of the generally more energy efficient 3- and 4-tick models. This is a significant improvement from the 50% level for both appliances in 2008, when the Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme (MELS) was first introduced.”
“Other options to reduce exposure include using hands-free kits, keeping calls short, making calls where the network signals are strong, and choosing a phone with a low specific energy absorption rate (SAR) value quoted by the manufacturer." Page: 1134 The levels of mobile phone radiation permitted in Singapore complies with the ICNIRP standards mentioned above. The Centre for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Science under the National Environment Agency (NEA) has published information on non-ionising radiation on its website. The NEA will continue to closely monitor developments in this area and work with the Ministry of Health and other relevant authorities to evaluate any new findings from scientific studies on this matter. Page: 1134”
“In May 2011, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO/IARC) announced the classification of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as "possibly carcinogenic to humans", that is, a Group 2B classification1. Dr Jonathan Samet (University of Southern California, USA), overall Chairman of the Working Group, indicated that "there could be some risk, and therefore we need to keep a close watch for a link between cell phones and cancer risk." The IARC Director, Christopher Wild, emphasised that "it is important that additional research be conducted into the long-term, heavy use of mobile phones. Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure, such as hands-free devices or texting." In April 2012, the UK Health Protection Agency reported that a study by its independent advisory group indicated that there was still no convincing evidence that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields exposure below the current guideline levels recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) would cause adverse health effects on adults and children. Nevertheless, it recommended continuing with a "precautionary approach" and suggested that "Excessive use of mobile phones by children should be discouraged, while adults should make their own choices as to whether they wish to reduce their exposures, but be enabled to do this from an informed position. Moving the phone away from the body, as when texting, results in very much lower exposures than if a phone is held to the head. Also, the use of the more recent 3G mode of transmission instead of the older 2G mode will produce much lower exposures.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the answer is yes. Page: 1133”
“The Member is right that especially the first one-third of the diversion canal, in fact, goes through some heavily populated residential areas, including landed estates. And there is a part of the canal which actually goes underground. In fact, it becomes a tunnel. We have had to even move some residents out of their own homes during the construction phase in order to ensure safety. We have, of course, made the appropriate compensation to these residents. So, he has my assurance that we will take the interest of the residents as paramount. We will ensure safety. We will also have the appropriate monitoring equipment in place to ensure that there is no damage to property. Or even if there is a risk to that, we detect it early and we address it promptly. Page: 969”
“I would like to assure Members that apart from upgrading, we also need to pay attention to maintenance and, in particular, to cleanliness within the canals. Because, clearly, if litter accumulates at the entrances to the canals, or indeed accumulates within the canal itself, we will also have flooding situation. So if members of the public notice any clogged drains or litter accumulating in any area, please inform us and we will take the necessary action on an immediate basis.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Mr de Souza for the question, fiercely protecting his constituency. The Bukit Timah Catchment area measures some 3,000 hectares, and is served by the Bukit Timah Canal from Upper Bukit Timah Road all the way down to Balmoral Road. Due to its low-lying nature, this area continues to be at risk from flashfloods. In particular, the section that is demarcated by Blackmore Avenue down to Maple Avenue is at exceptional risk. So because of that, works started actually in December 2010 to upgrade that stretch of the canal. And this involves both deepening as well as widening the canal in order to increase its capacity. There is another major piece of work that involves upgrading the Bukit Timah First Diversion Canal. This is a diversion canal that stretches from the junction of Maple Avenue and Bukit Timah Road and goes all the way across the hills of the Holland area to reach the junction of Ulu Pandan and Clementi Road. This is a 3.2 km diversion canal that diverts water from the Bukit Timah Catchment into Sungei Ulu Pandan, and thereby not only reduces the risk of flooding in the Bukit Timah area but also reduces risk of further flooding downstream – Balmoral and Newton Circus in the Rochor area. This upgrading will be completed in 2016. And we hope that it will lead to a substantial reduction in the risk of flash floods in that area. In addition to that, we are also making sure that there is more timely information available to stakeholders and to the residents. For instance, we provide alerts on flood situations, including information on water levels in all our major canals to the public. This is available through the website, through tweets as well as through the smartphone apps that PUB has published.”
“About a third of the cases are on cleanliness of areas that were previously under the care of other agencies, and the DPC worked with these agencies to resolve them expeditiously, mostly within two working days. Less than 1% of the cases were more complex and took longer to resolve as they involved multiple agencies or review of existing policies and processes. We are happy to note that the initial public feedback from the cases handled so far has been positive given the greater ease in reporting cleaning lapses and the more responsive follow-up actions. Page: 908”
“The Department of Public Cleanliness (DPC) was set up in April this year to integrate the cleaning of public areas, including roads, pavements, drains, parks and vacant lands. These cleaning functions were previously undertaken by various agencies, such as the NEA, PUB, HDB, NParks, SLA, URA, LTA and JTC. Since its formation, the DPC has set up a one-stop contact centre to handle and coordinate all public feedback on cleaning as it progressively works towards an integration of all the agencies' cleaning contracts. The first phase will involve the integration of cleaning for expressways, followed by road and pavement sweeping, together with drain cleaning, and, finally, the cleaning of parks, park connectors, vacant lands and URA carparks by 2016. The frequency of cleaning for areas with higher human traffic and volume of litter will also be reviewed. The DPC will seek to raise cleaning standards by strengthening the audit regime, leveraging on technology, and improving litter bin infrastructure. The DPC will also work with the cleaning contractors to put in place a more robust system of checks on the quality of cleaning works carried out. For example, the DPC has initiated a pilot to outfit its contractors' mechanical road sweepers with GPS tracking devices, sensors and cameras to enable the DPC staff to monitor their cleaning performance remotely. Page: 908 Since its formation, the DPC has fronted all responses to the public through the DPC hotline, 1800-600-3333, email or the new smart phone application CleanLah. To date, the DPC has received and worked on more than 10,000 cases of feedback since 1 April 2012. This translates into about 60 cases per day.”
“Vendors currently sell second-hand goods at the Sungei Road Temporary Hawking site from 1.00 pm to 7.00 pm daily on a first-come-first-serve basis. The area has been zoned for residential and commercial development. These developments are expected to commence after completion of the Jalan Besar MRT Station in 2016. The vendors will be given advanced notice to cease their operations on the site once the detailed implementation timeline is confirmed. NEA has already advised the vendors to anticipate the redevelopment and to make alternative plans. Vendors who wish to continue their business may bid for Piece and Sundry stalls in hawker centres during the monthly tender exercises. NEA, WDA and the CDCs will assist those who wish to exit the trade with job opportunities and financial assistance where necessary. Page: 906”