Wong Kan Seng
Singapore
“We all want a better future for our children and the future generations. Amid the debates, let us not lose sight of what we are working for – we are working for the benefit and future of Singaporeans. Not for growth targets, not for foreigners, but for Singaporeans.”
“Mrs Mildred Tan also suggested doing a longitudinal study on the impact of new citizens on Singapore. I am told that there is a periodic study on the perception of integration and rootedness of Singaporeans and PRs. A study is now ongoing too.”
“All they need to do is simply declare that they meet the residential criteria. EASING IN US ECONOMY (Impact on Singapore) 9. Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Senior Minister what will be the expected impact on the Singapore economy arising from the US Federal Reserve's announcement on 3rd November 2010 of a "quantitative easing" of the US economy…”
“Well, from the data I have here, 553 registered to vote before the 2006 GE and this is the data I have but Ms Lim may be right. There may be 1,000-odd that Ms Lim had mentioned. From what I am told now, we have 1,325 Singaporean overseas who are eligible to register to vote have registered.”
“But, as I said, there are so many other possibilities that they could come in and there could also be many possibilities that we could have missed and they have entered or left Singapore. LAND SWAP AGREEMENT FOR KTM STATION AND RAILWAY LANDS 2.”
“They are also recruiting people by offering them scholarships. So, we hope more of our companies can do that. Hopefully they come here to work for a while and, if they like our place, they may want to settle down. This is a place which they can think about. POPULATION AND TALENT DIVISION 5. Assoc. Prof.”
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“We only have to look at the many examples of self help, from the tsunami disaster, to appreciate how important individual ownership and self-reliance are for personal and national survival. To this end, the Home Team has been actively engaging the public to facilitate their preparedness. And the Civil Defence will continue to train the public on basic emergency preparedness skills. The Police and the ISD will also continue to engage the public and the business sector. As Members know, in January, for example, DPM Tan and I met more than a thousand business leaders and we shared with them our concerns and we hope that they will also do their part. For the building owners, we know that many building owners and managements have already formed their security watch groups and made plans to "hardening" business premises. The Police has also reached out to more than 15,000 people from the various sectors, such as nightspot operators, hoteliers and building managers to apprise them of the need to enhance security. As part of the efforts to drive home the message of preparedness, the Civil Defence recently launched this idea of ready bags for households. I think Ms Indranee herself took an active part in this in her constituency, and I can see the keen response among her constituents. But, of course, the Straits Times' article of 27th February also wondered whether Singaporeans are equipped for a disaster because they thought that even though 80% of those agreed that it was a good idea, they do not see the need to pack a ready bag. This encapsulates their sentiment in one sentence - it all boils down to complacency.”
“This will ensure that they have a common baseline of understanding to deal with a terrorist threat. Within the police, the officers have also adapted to the challenges of fighting both terrorism and crime. So they are now paying full attention to both. They also understand that policing goes beyond crime fighting and maintaining law and order. The Police has set up a new Security and Counter Terrorism Division under the Operations Department of the Police Headquarters, to underscore the importance of counter terrorism work and to coordinate the various counter terrorism efforts within the Force. Members also asked how well prepared are our people concerning the community. We know - and I have said this many times - that the Government, the people and the businesses must share the responsibility for security and being prepared. And I am glad to say that Singaporeans, over the last few years, have taken on this challenge and we have seen an increased interest among Singaporeans to report on suspicious activities of people hanging around their neighbourhood. Last year, for example, the Police received 513 calls about suspicious activities compared to 212 calls in 2003. This is an increase of about 300 calls. This is a positive indicator of the growing vigilance by our people. But Singaporeans must go beyond just looking at some article and think that it is suspicious and that is the end of their role. I think they must go beyond that. What do they need to do? We hope that they will also prepare themselves to react and to respond to an emergency and have the self-confidence and the strength to recover from a crisis should there be a terrorist incident in Singapore.”
“Mr Ahmad Khalis has also asked whether there is a need to review our current security structure since we are facing so many of such problems, and he asked about the work being done by the National Security Coordination Secretariat. We had a long discussion on this last year when DPM Tan talked about the new framework for national security in July in this House. The framework is in place. The agencies are working together and the National Security Secretariat is now fully functioning. They have their complement of staff and they are working very closely with all the Ministries concerned to study the various scenarios and possibilities and events that are likely to hit us. Let me again assure him that this inter-agency approach in dealing with such threats is not just confined to terrorism but also other kinds of national security problems that we may face. Ms Indranee has asked whether our Police has adapted and equipped itself well in dealing with this new kind of threat other than crime prevention. Indeed, let me assure Ms Indranee and our colleagues here that the Police has, over the years, since September 11 in particular, taken many measures to deal with the new scenarios that we are now facing, ie, the threat of terrorism. And terrorism is not just local but also international terrorism, that others may come and perpetuate on us. The Police has worked with other police agencies overseas as well. To ensure that all police officers are fully in tune with this new mindset that is needed of them, ie, to deal with counter terrorism, we are putting all police officers through the counter terrorism course. Counter terrorism will be a common subject in the training curriculum of all our Home Team officers.”
“We have a Homefront Crisis Management System which we have improved since the lessons that we have learnt from managing the Nicoll Highway incident and the Boxing Day tsunami. This coordinating structure, which cuts across various Government Ministries, is both flexible and scaleable to meet the full spectrum of threats that we are likely to face. At the operational level, all Government agencies work together to prepare contingency plans to address various threat scenarios, and there are emergency preparedness exercises to ensure smooth inter-agency coordination and operational readiness. It is not just the Home Team that needs to be prepared. All our Government departments, where relevant to the particular incident, also need to be prepared to deal with any eventual crisis. One example that we ourselves experienced in 2003 was the SARS crisis. Arising from that experience, we decided that we need a more systematic way of coordinating ourselves and to define clear responsibilities for the respective agencies. So we set up the Homefront Crisis Management System together with the Homefront Crisis Emergency Group and also a Ministerial Committee chaired by me. As for the Home Team, the Police and the Civil Defence have enhanced the ability to handle a wide spectrum of emergencies. For example, the SCDF vehicles and the Civil Defence officers are now fully equipped with decontamination capability to handle emergencies caused by chemical, biological agents and other hazardous materials. All our police cars are equipped with bomb suppression blankets to cover suspected bombs pending the arrival of bomb disposal personnel. The Police has also developed a post-blast investigation capability to handle investigations into bombing incidents.”
“ISD has found that both the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Jemaah Islamiyah have made extensive use of pre-paid cards. Some countries, for example, Switzerland, have already put in place regulatory controls to address this threat. We are now studying the issue with a view towards imposing some form of regulatory controls on pre-paid phone cards. Mr Ahmad Khalis also asked whether efforts are being made on the ideological front to deal with terrorism. The Government's approach has been to encourage our Muslim community to police itself against ideological attacks by terrorist groups such as the JI. That is, the community should implement its own measures to prevent radical and extremist individuals and groups from subverting and misguiding our own Muslims, and to ensure that our Muslims are ideologically inoculated against their dangerous beliefs. Such efforts are then less likely to disrupt the legitimate and peaceful practices of local Muslims. Moreover, when Muslims speak to other Muslims about religious ideology, there is credibility and authority. In short, the community is in the best position to ensure that its own members are ideologically inoculated against wrong and dangerous religious beliefs and teachings. As for the JI and the MILF members who have been detained or put on Restriction Orders under the Internal Security Act, they are already undergoing religious counselling by religious teachers from the community, as part of the ISD's overall rehabilitation programme. Ms Indranee also asked whether we are prepared to deal with unexpected disasters. Let me assure this House that we do have systems in place to deal with whatever eventuality that requires a national coordinated response. I think I have mentioned it before.”
“They are supplemented by roving patrols of the Auxiliary Police Officers and frequent visits by the regular Police officers. To further strengthen our security at our MRT stations and trains, we will start a new unit dedicated to patrolling our MRT trains and stations in the second half of 2005. More details on this will be given by the Police at a later occasion. Officers in this unit will complement the efforts of the train operators who have implemented security measures such as the enhanced use of CCTVs and the unarmed security guards at the MRT stations. Let me also emphasise here that the train operators are still primarily responsible of their own premises and their trains. 1.30 pm The police closed circuit TV system will also be expanded to cover other parts of Singapore, including areas of security interest. We are now working with the public transport operators to enhance their CCTV systems and to integrate them with the police system. The Police is also exploring the enhancement of the CCTV system with intelligent software to automatically detect pre-defined suspicious behaviour. At the policy and regulatory level, we are developing a Building Protection Framework to advocate the adoption of target hardening measures in all buildings in Singapore. In tandem with this, we will also create a register of key personnel of buildings. This register will allow us to quickly locate the critical pre-identified staff of the specific building to advise and assist our response forces during an incident. One new area of concern is the pre-paid phone cards. In some terrorist incidents abroad, we know that terrorists had taken advantage of the anonymity provided by the pre-paid phone cards to perpetuate their terror acts.”
“This technology has been proven to be accurate and fast and we could possibly use it for other motorists in future. To enhance our cargo screening at the land checkpoints, the ICA will also be deploying a new generation of radiographic scanning systems, which are essentially drive-through portals for cargo vehicles. This will increase the rate of vehicles being screened and scanned, and enhance our security without causing delays. Next, on aviation security. To tighten aviation security, the Police is exploring the installation of a Regulated Cargo Agent system (RCA) to replace the present Known Shipper Policy system. Under the Regulated Cargo Agent system, only cargo agents who meet the security requirement set by the Police and are audited by the Police will be certified as regulated cargo agents. Cargoes from the RCAs will be subject to a lower level of screening than those from other sources. This will facilitate the screening at our airports. On maritime and port security, we have also enhanced the security of our maritime and port. We have complied with all the security measures adopted by the International Maritime Organisation since 1st July 2004. We will also be taking part in a pilot of the Radiation Detection (Megaport) Initiative (RDI) with the United States. A radiation detection portal will be deployed at a container terminal to detect the trafficking of radioactive material that could be used to construct "dirty bombs". The vulnerability of soft targets is also being constantly reviewed. Since November last year, we have heavily armed police officers from the Special Operations Command to patrol the public areas to inject a strong presence of deterrence to the terrorists and criminals and to reassure our public.”
“This kind of information will help us in ensuring that lost or stolen passports will not be misused, in particular, when we now find that terrorists and other criminal syndicates misuse passports. The validity of the new passports will be shortened from the present 10 years to five years because this is a biometric passport and as technology changes, we have to stay current. The 10-year passport would be too long a lifetime for a passport for it to take advantage of the technology changes. The biometric passport will speed up immigration clearance significantly, as well as to deter people from misusing the Singapore passport, thus upholding the reputation of the Singapore passport and facilitating our citizens' travel overseas. With the threat to Singapore coming mainly from beyond our borders, as Ms Indranee pointed out, the first defence, of course, is our border. So border security is vital. Since last year, a new-generation travel document screening system called the Sentinel is being deployed around checkpoints. The Sentinel is capable of high speed, accurate travel document detection and counter-forging capabilities. Traveller's information can now be checked more comprehensively and accurately at the checkpoints without any increase in the processing time. This will contribute to our on-going efforts to enhance our border security. The land checkpoints will also move towards the full-scale implementation of the use of iris recognition for clearance of motorcyclists. Every day we have thousands of motorcyclists coming in from the Causeway into Singapore to work or to visit friends and we need a faster clearance system than the present passport system or smart card system.”
“So we must be prepared to accept such inconveniences as this is part of the reality that we face today, whether it is at our land checkpoints, airports in Singapore, or when we are in overseas airports which have tightened their security measures. Let me take this opportunity to update our Members here on the kind of security measures we have taken or will be undertaking this year. Ensuring the security and integrity of the Singapore passport, for example, is an integral part of our overall security effort. Our Immigration and Checkpoints Authority plans to introduce the Singapore biometric passport by October this year. This new passport will contain the person's unique facial and fingerprints information. It will make use of an inventory control number as the passport number, instead of the current approach of using the NRIC number. Members would have noticed that when they fill up the passport number on a form, they write their IC number. But we all have one unique IC number. So even when the person loses his passport or when he replaces his passport when it expires, he will retain the same passport number. But that does pose some problems on the tracking of passports, particularly when the passport is lost and has been misused. If we just look at the NRIC number in the passport and consider that as the passport number, then we may have many copies of the passport with the same number. So one idea is to have a control number, which is the issue number of the particular passport, and that will be considered as the passport number, so that whenever a passport is lost, we know that this particular passport is lost and can be invalidated.”
“In other countries, they would have other considerations and, therefore, we cannot take our example and impose it on them that they must apply the same standard. We understand their problems, but we will continue to work with them and share information which would be relevant to all of us. We have indeed been sharing intelligence with foreign security agencies and this has led to the arrest of several JI members in the region. But capacity building is another important area, and we have shared our experiences on counter-terrorism and we have hosted training courses for regional countries. So we do as much as we could. But as Members know, we are small in size, we are limited in resources and we would do as much as we could. We are also involved in various diplomatic initiatives on counter-terrorism and participated actively in many international and regional fora on security. For example, late last year, the ASEAN leaders met and endorsed the ASEAN Security Community Plan of Action to deal with terrorism. We are now also working towards the accession of the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages and the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings. In these efforts, we would collaborate very closely with the Foreign Affairs Ministry. So we will take steps to make sure that we find as many opportunities as possible to work with others. Ms Indranee and my other parliamentary colleagues asked how well prepared is the Home Team. We know that security measures are many. We have to take stock of what we actually need and the kind of threat that we face and then we will apply and enforce them as we see the need. As we impose such measures, we will also impose inconveniences to the members of the public.”
“Several of those involved in the bomb attack at the Australian embassy in Jakarta in September last year, were not from the JI, but members of a like-minded organisation called the Banten group. So this further compounds the difficulties faced by governments and security agencies, as we are now dealing with a loose network of terrorist organisations, which operate independently, but share a common ideology. Disrupting one terrorist organisation is not likely to impact on the operational capability of the others. But at home we have crippled the JI network. Currently, we have 36 persons under detention. Mr Ravindran asked whether there were recent arrests or not. We have 36 persons under detention and we have 17 persons placed on Restriction Orders for terrorism-related activities. The terrorist threat to Singapore has not been completely eradicated despite our successful containment of the enemy within. Given Singapore's dependence on an open economy and open borders, terrorist elements from abroad and the JI fugitives who remain at large in the region, such as Azahari Husin and Noor Din Mohd Top, continue to pose a threat to our security. Ms Indranee, Mr Ahmad Khalis and Mr Ravindran asked how do we cooperate and how well do we cooperate with our regional partners. Indeed, we have many areas of cooperation as we share a common objective. But we must understand that every country has a different social context. So the pace at which they are prepared to deal with the terrorist threat would depend on the political context of the country and I can assure Members that in Singapore we are very firm and determined to deal with this problem.”
“Sir, I thank the Members for asking these questions and also to sketch out their concerns on the threat of terrorism in our region as well as in our country. Before I go into detail to answer the questions, I would just want to say that we have made a lot of progress, internationally, to dismantle the terrorist network. But we know that terrorism remains a global problem which will not go away for a very long time, and terrorist groups will continue to retain their ability to mount surprise attacks. Who knows this may be the calm before the storm. Nobody can tell. I hope nothing happens in Singapore but we must be prepared in the event that anything should happen in Singapore. We also know that last year quite a number of terrorist strikes happened in the railway stations in Spain, in banks in Turkey, in security installations in Saudi Arabia, and the radical ideology embodied by the Al-Qaeda clearly remains attractive and inspiring to many terrorist networks and groups world-wide. Regionally, the Jemaah Islamiyah network has been severely disrupted but they retain the capacity to regenerate and conduct further terrorist attacks. The JI has many fertile recruiting grounds in the region and access to training camps, such as those in Mindanao, to train the next generation of terrorists. There is also evidence to suggest that the JI is leveraging on the hitherto independent terrorist groups which share the JI's vision and ideology. Apart from its links to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Philippines, there are indications that the JI has linked up with other groups to conduct terrorist activities.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2005/2006, and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.”
“Sir, it looks like we have made very good progress indeed and I seek your consent to move that progress be reported now and leave be asked to sit again tomorrow.”
“Sir, I think we are managing our time very well. One of the reasons why we have made some modifications to this year's Committee of Supply, by asking MPs to limit their speeches in the whole Committee of Supply to 18 minutes and 20 minutes for GPC Chairman, is to allow this free flow of debate and questions, for a more interesting exchange. Information could be shared and Members could ask more questions. So Members are encouraged to do so. If Members still have questions, please raise them, but they must be related to the Finance Ministry and, hopefully, related also to the cuts that were being made. If Members ask for some old data, for example, the Ministers may not be able to answer them immediately as they are not walking encyclopedia.”
“Mr Chiam just now cited the British constitutional law and British parliamentary practice. Maybe Mr Chia can take a lesson from Mr Chiam since they are both in the same party, the SDA, and he would have learned that under the British parliamentary system, the Prime Minister has the prerogative to call an election any time.”
“Sir, I have also explained on many occasions the reasons for having the Serial Nos. on the ballot papers. The Serial Nos. on the ballot papers are to make sure that in the event there is an election petition saying that there is fraud, then we can always apply to the High Court for a court order and open the ballot boxes for inspection. Supposing there are 20,000 voters but 22,000 votes were cast, then obviously somewhere 2,000 votes were slipped in. If there is no Serial No., how are we to determine which is a genuine one and which is not? We have very good reasons why we have the Serial Nos. Nobody has ever said that they are afraid of the Serial Nos. and therefore afraid to vote against the PAP. The fact that 25% to 35% of voters voted against the PAP in every election and the fact that they voted for Mr Low, Mr Chiam and, in the past, two other candidates also showed that they were not afraid of the Serial Nos. appearing on the ballot papers. On redrawing of boundaries without consultation with the Opposition, the Committee also did not consult the PAP either.”
“It did not. I am glad he recognises this fact.”
“Did they give Mr Chiam any right to jump the gun?”
“This letter was dated 18th October 2004, addressed to Mr Chiam See Tong, as Member for Potong Pasir. This letter was written by the Director, Property and Land Department of HDB, and, of course, it referred to Mr Chiam's request to plant a tree. It said that, "The footpath linking Blk 147 at Potong Pasir MRT Station was constructed by the LTA in August 2003, in response to the request from the Potong Pasir CCC and residents. As a follow-up programme, the CCC plans to plant trees and install lightings along the footpath. The project is likely to be implemented shortly." Did Mr Chiam see this letter? Mr Chiam See Tong: Yes.”
“Let me see whether I can find something here.”
“But did he know that they were going to plant the tree?”
“He knew that the CCC was going to plant the tree. Right?”
“In the first place, Mr Chiam knew that for that piece of land, TOL was granted to the CCC. Since TOL was granted to the CCC, and when the CCC wanted to plant the tree, they should be allowed to do so. But Mr Chiam got wind of this and jumped the gun and went to plant the tree. In fact, he instructed his contractor to plant the tree, even though he knew it.”
“I think we are belabouring the point. The fact is that we have an Electoral Boundaries Review Committee that delineates the boundaries, and the Committee comprises senior civil servants who know the profile of the demography of our voters. They have been doing this job for years. As for the last general election, there was not very much time even though the election was supposed to be held much later. But because of some extenuating circumstances, like September 11, we had to hold it immediately after September 11. As a result, the publication of the Electoral Boundaries Committee's Report was not put out to the public with enough notice to the Opposition MPs and others. We will try not to repeat that.”
“It is free or fair. It cannot be more free, less free or less fair. It cannot be one way or the other. What are these international bodies coming here to tell us what to do? Maybe Mr Chia can tell us what are these independent or international bodies.”
“Does Mr Chia agree that our elections system is free and fair? I note that he nodded his head. It means he agrees. If it is, then what image are we projecting to the world? It must be that it is a free and fair election system. Right?”
“Yes, when an illegal act is being done, certainly, it can be stopped. Even for Mr Chiam who, as the MP for Potong Pasir, did something on the property that did not come under his management as a Town Council Chairman, he would not be allowed, and I have just cited the example of Sennett Estate. If there is a piece of land, and Mr Chiam says that his residents have asked him to plant a tree there, I am sure he will be told to remove it because he just cannot, as an MP, do as he pleases.”
“Otherwise, on such a fundamental matter as choosing their representatives in Parliament, there would be a huge outcry from Singaporeans if election is not free and fair. They would not stand for this, and the PAP would not have been here since 1959. 4.00 pm What matters is not whether it is an elections department or an independent elections commission. It is the integrity of the electoral system as well as the civil servants and people who run it. Having an independent elections commission does not change anything if officials are corrupt and biased. Our Elections Department is run by civil servants and officials from other Ministries, and they have been doing their job transparently. We all know that this is not the first time that we hear of calls to set up an independent elections commission and it is also not the last time. I am sure we will hear from Members again in future years, and I look forward to the opportunity to reply.”
“In fact, during election time, I heard my PAP colleagues complain about the Elections Department being too strict on them - getting them to remove posters and telling them not to put up this or that if they did not comply with the election rules. Singaporeans know that we have a free and transparent election system that is fair, even though elections are organised by civil servants. And to say that civil servants are beholden to the PAP, I think that is an insult to the civil servants who have served the country so efficiently. Our civil service has always been rated to be very good compared to other countries in the world. I think Mr Chia will surely not believe that he had lost unfairly in Chua Chu Kang in the last election because the Elections Department had not been fair to him. I do not believe that the general election can be more free and fair just by having an independent elections commission. We also know that not all countries with independent elections commission have had elections that were free and fair. In fact, in many countries, there were allegations of fraud and unfair practices, such as ballot box stuffing and vote buying and other kinds of malpractices. Indeed, many of these commissions were set up because of allegations of abuse during elections by the political parties. That is not the case in Singapore. In the past many elections, the fact that 25%-35% of Singaporean voters voted against the PAP showed that they had no fear in doing so. On the other hand, those who supported the PAP testified to the fact that they endorsed what the PAP had been doing, including the holding of free and fair elections.”
“The adviser is the one who has been notified by the HDB. Therefore Mr Sitoh asked the residents if they needed help. I suppose Mr Chiam can always work harder so that the residents in Potong Pasir will benefit from the hard work given, by both Mr Chiam and Mr Sitoh. And if Mr Chiam has to work harder because of Mr Sitoh, then so be it. But if he does not want to, then the residents will decide at the next election. As regards Mr Steve Chia's question on an independent elections commission, he says that we should have one so that we can profile and project ourselves to the world that our election is free and fair. And since we have parliamentary democracy, we must therefore be "seen" to be democratic. I think Mr Steve Chia is probably also aware that our election system has always been free and fair. If not, he would not be here too. And because we have evolved our system to suit our needs, we have even given the opportunity to somebody who had lost the election to speak in this Parliament. As for Mr Chia's suggestion that the Government is afraid of setting up an elections commission, I do not think so. We just do not think that there is a need for one, and we should not just blindly follow what other countries are doing. But if we want to learn from others, we must also choose what is good for us, and we choose wisely what is suitable to our context. The Elections Department has conducted elections for a long time, I believe, even during the British days. That was how we had the Legislative Assembly. Over all these decades, no one has ever said that the Elections Department has been unfair, even though it is under the Prime Minister's Office. The election rules apply to all candidates, both the ruling party - the PAP - as well as the Opposition.”
“Now, he again said that his residents wanted him to plant trees near a footpath on land which is owned by the Government. He thought that it had been unfair that as an MP, he cannot plant a tree. I hope that in his 20 years in Parliament as an MP - or more if he gets elected the next time - he would not just be remembered as an MP who only wants to plant trees for his residents, and is always worried about whether the trees will survive or not. I wonder if Mr Chiam thinks that he can just do as he pleases to plant a tree in an open space, say, in Sennett Estate, and ask his contractor to plant the tree because the Sennett Estate residents want a tree. I do not think so. He will still need to get approval from the Land Office if the land is owned by the Land Office or get approval from the LTA if it is on LTA land. The piece of land which Mr Chiam talks about belongs to the State and has been leased to the CCC on TOL. Therefore, he should rightfully get the permission of the CCC to plant the trees, which he did not. I think he was advised to do so and he still has not. By the way, Mr Sitoh is the adviser. He is not just a PAP candidate defeated by him. Being the adviser of the CCC, he has things to do which include helping the residents, because many of our grassroots organisations also help the residents. For example, during the SARS crisis, we had our grassroots leaders going all out, together with their advisers, whether it is for temperature taking, delivering food or helping those who need assistance during the time when they were quarantined. Mr Chiam suggests that the HDB should allow him to tell the residents about the spalling concrete repair scheme, I think that is quite another matter. The HDB does not need to tell the MP.”
“Sir, I thank Mr Chiam and Mr Steve Chia for raising these two perennial issues and for giving me an opportunity to speak under the PMO Head. Every year, we have to deal with their pet peeves - one about the role as an MP and the other about an independent elections commission. Mr Chiam cited the British example and talked about the British constitution and about the role of the MP. I am sure he knows that, over the years, we have evolved quite a bit from the British system. The British gave us the Legislative Assembly, and then we turned it into a Parliament when we became independent. Since 1984, we have Mr Chiam as an elected MP from the Opposition. We have Nominated MPs, those seated at the last bench, and Mr Steve Chia as a Non-Constituency MP. Mr Chiam thinks that by just being an MP, he can do anything he wants in his constituency. I think he probably misunderstood his role as an MP. There are duties of an MP which all of us have to fulfil, like looking after our constituents, listening to their complaints, filing petitions for them, writing letters to the authorities, and coming to Parliament to raise issues for residents, issues of national importance, and scrutinise the Bills in Parliament, and then cast their votes accordingly. Since the late 1980s, we also have a system that allows the MP to run the HDB estates which they are elected in. That is only for HDB estates. The MP does not manage the private estates. In other words, Mr Chiam cannot really do whatever he wants in Sennett Estate. Mr Chiam talked about the tree that he wanted to plant in 1985 which subsequently, for some reason, disappeared. I do not know what was the cause of its disappearance.”
“The identity card and passport are important documents. In the wrong hands, they can be used for illegal purposes. Singaporeans must take good care of these documents. Their loss cannot be taken lightly. ICA adopts a range of strategies to impress the importance of this responsibility on Singaporeans. Charging Singaporeans who lose these documents a replacement fee is one way of doing so. Nevertheless, when someone loses his identity card or passport, ICA will consider the merits of the case for the waiver of the replacement fee. In situations where the identity card or passport holder was deemed not to be at fault, eg, loss as a result of robbery or a natural disaster like flooding or the recent tsunami, he will only be asked to pay the cost of the document. If the applicant has financial difficulties in paying even this fee, ICA will consider waiving it. In addition, the document fee can also be waived in exceptional circumstances. The recent tsunami disaster is one such example. We have taken the decision to waive the replacement fee as well as the document fee for all Singaporeans who lost their documents in the tragedy. But I must reiterate that the NRIC and passport are very important documents. Hence, every Singaporean should take good care of them. ROAD NETWORK 23. Dr Geh Min asked the Minister for Transport what factors are considered when the Land Transport Authority attempts to achieve a balance between a shorter travelling time and the protection of trees, green areas, heritage or iconic sites and other landmarks.”
“In 2003 and 2004, there were 20 and 23 fatal accidents respectively involving drivers or riders who were work permit holders. The number of non-fatal injury cases involving drivers or riders holding work permits in 2003 and 2004 were 860 and 900 respectively. However, from the data available to us, it is not possible to determine how many of the accidents were actually caused by the work permit holders. Before 2003, the Traffic Police's accident data did not distinguish work permit holders from foreigners with other immigration passes or visa types. The number of summonses issued to work permit holders for driving or riding in Singapore without a driving licence for the years 2000-2004 were 660, 450, 190, 280 and 160 respectively. LOST IDENTITY CARDS AND PASSPORTS 17. Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong asked the Minister for Home Affairs what is the reason for penalising applicants for replacement of lost identity cards and passports due to robbery, theft or natural disasters like flooding and tsunami.”
“Clause 10(2)(a) states: "...where the employee is an auxiliary police". Yes, it may be so, but it may be a drafting matter. If it needs to be corrected, we will correct it. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Wong Kan Seng]. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair]”
“Sir, the corporatisation of CISCO is a key step in the liberalisation of the armed security industry in Singapore which, in turn, is a necessary response to the prevailing security challenges. The corporatisation of CISCO will allow the Auxiliary Police Forces in Singapore to compete on a level playing field. I am confident that the standards of the APFs in Singapore will improve with competition. This would lead to enhanced physical security and protection of our critical infrastructure and key installations, and help to free up the Singapore Police Force to focus on its core duties. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“This will ensure that the new company has the necessary staff and equipment to continue providing its services, so that disruptions to the existing security operations will be minimal. The new company will operate as a wholly Government-owned company and will take over and continue to operate in all the business areas that the CISCO Statutory Board is engaging in today. Going forward, the new company can choose to enter new areas or exit existing areas of businesses based on market forces. MHA will not be giving CISCO a moratorium. This is in the best interests of CISCO, the other Auxiliary Police Forces (APFs) and the armed security industry in general. Today, CISCO is already operating some services commercially. A moratorium is thus not required. The Ministry and CISCO will work with all the relevant parties to ensure a smooth corporatisation. The date of transfer and dissolution of CISCO will be announced when the groundwork has been completed. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, before I conclude, I would like to recognise CISCO's contributions to Singapore as a statutory board over the years. CISCO has played a key role in maintaining safety and security in Singapore all these years, and has been an important member of the Home Team. CISCO has provided security for many of our key installations. Most recently, during the SARS episode, CISCO responded very quickly to our needs, such as when we needed officers to assist in giving out SARS Home Quarantine Orders and in monitoring the compliance of those served with the Home Quarantine Orders. I believe that even after it is corporatised, CISCO, together with the other APFs, will continue to play their role in ensuring the safety and security of Singapore, responding as key partners of the Home Team, when they are called upon.”
“Through regulated and open competition, the standards and performance of the Auxiliary Police Forces in Singapore would be raised, so that they could better support the Singapore Police Force in the provision of armed security service to buildings and premises to raise the overall security of Singapore. Reasons for corporatising CISCO With these changes, it is no longer tenable for CISCO to remain a statutory board under the Ministry of Home Affairs competing with other commercial Auxiliary Police Forces. In June last year, I informed this House that, with the introduction of competition into the armed security industry in Singapore, the Government would be corporatising CISCO. Sir, with its corporatisation, CISCO will be freed from various obligations and restrictions placed upon it as a statutory board under the Ministry. It need not follow the various directives that are meant for Government departments and statutory boards, which might have hampered its ability to provide competitive services. Similarly, the other Auxiliary Police Forces can also be assured that CISCO will not enjoy any preferential treatment. For example, CISCO will no longer share the same insignia as Police and, upon corporatisation, CISCO's Auxiliary Police Forces will no longer don the same uniform as the Police. Our intention is to create a level playing field for all players in this armed security industry. Updates on corporatisation of CISCO Sir, I will now give a brief update on the latest developments on the corporatisation of CISCO. MHA has decided to transfer all of CISCO's assets, liabilities, staff and contracts to the new company.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation, or CISCO, was formed in 1972 as a statutory board under the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide, on a commercial basis, guards and security services to the private and public sectors. In this way, regular police officers could be freed up, to focus on core duties relating to the preservation of public peace and order. Developments in the armed security industry Since CISCO's formation in 1972, the armed security industry in Singapore has changed in many ways. CISCO has evolved, diversifying from its origins as an armed security provider to become a "one-stop shop" for a full range of physical, IT and data security services. Some of the other Auxiliary Police Forces (or APFs) have also developed to become more sophisticated and reliable security providers. These changes in the industry, coupled with the demand for armed security services arising from the current security climate, prompted the Ministry to introduce competition into the armed security sector. A new framework for the armed security industry was put in place with the introduction of the Police Force Act 2004 in October last year. As Members would be aware, a key aspect of this new framework is the provision to allow Auxiliary Police Forces in Singapore to now compete for armed security services islandwide, as long as they meet the necessary requirements set out by the Singapore Police Force.”
“Sir, out of the 40-plus Members who have signed up to speak, 15 Members have spoken today. I think we have done quite well. Resolved, That the Debate be now adjourned. - [Mr Wong Kan Seng].”
“Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Minister for Home Affairs, given the Prime Minister's call to give people a second chance and the Yellow Ribbon project to help ex-offenders integrate back into society, whether the present restriction on ex-offenders, who work at Changi Airport, for an airport pass to the Cargo Complex can be reviewed. Mr Wong Kan Seng: The Cargo Complex is a key installation. Most of the cargo going through the Cargo Complex are carried to their overseas destinations on passenger aircrafts. Hence, for security reasons, all persons entering the Cargo Complex and other restricted areas of the airport require an airport security pass issued by the Airport Police. They have to be screened by Police before they can be issued with such a pass. This screening is a requirement stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation or ICAO, to which Singapore is a Contracting State. But let me assure Ms Ng that Police does not rule out ex-offenders indiscriminately when screening applicants for the airport pass. For these ex-offenders, Police would consider the nature of their offences and whether they have turned over a new leaf by staying away from crime. There is a debarment period which is constantly reviewed. FUNCTIONS OF GRASSROOTS COMMITTEES AND LEADERS 28. Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong asked the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports if a complete description of the roles, duties, powers and privileges of the Residents Committees (RC), Community Centres (CC), Citizens Consultative Committees (CCC) and grassroots advisers will be posted at their respective notice boards so that residents can read and know the roles, duties, responsibilities, powers and privileges given to the RC, CC and CCC members.”
“Police is keeping a close watch on the vice situation and is aware of vice activities in the vicinity of Orchard Towers and Orchard Plaza areas. Enforcement action has been stepped up in these areas. The operations target women who solicit in public and include taking video footage of women soliciting in public for follow up action. Police has also been conducting regular checks on entertainment outlets in the vicinity, to keep out vice from these premises. So far this year, Police has carried out 104 checks at Orchard Towers and Orchard Plaza. As a result, 206 sex workers were arrested at Orchard Towers. Four masseuses involved in vice activities have also been arrested during checks at Orchard Plaza this year. The most recent enforcement operation at Orchard Towers was conducted on 30th October 2004 where 120 women were arrested on suspicion of involvement in vice activities. Following these enforcement actions, the vice activities at Orchard Towers and Orchard Plaza have been largely kept in check. Police has also engaged the management of Orchard Plaza as well as that of buildings in the immediate vicinity to explore various measures to keep out vice activities. These include the installation and use of close-circuit TV cameras, as well as the deployment of retractable soft barricades at staircases. Let me assure the House that the vice situation in and around Orchard Towers and Orchard Plaza is under control. Police will continue to keep up its enforcement efforts and vary the enforcement strategy in accordance with any new trends. AIRPORT PASS FOR EX-OFFENDERS WORKING AT CHANGI AIRPORT 25.”
“The Singapore Civil Defence Force has a fleet of 30 ambulances operating daily to respond to emergency calls. In addition, it has 18 Fast Response Paramedics on bikes that can respond to emergency calls quickly. The ambulances and Fast Response Paramedics on bikes are deployed at 14 fire stations and 22 satellite fire posts strategically located throughout Singapore to provide wide coverage. The number of ambulance calls has steadily increased in the last 4 years, from 67,000 calls in 2000 to 79,000 calls in 2003. Between Januaryand September 2004, the SCDF responded to 62,000 ambulance calls, or an average of 226 calls per day. Of these, 90% (55,500) of the cases were found to truly require the presence of ambulances and on-site first aid. Currently, SCDF has sufficient ambulance and Fast Response Paramedics on bikes to respond to emergency cases. Between Januaryand September 2004, the SCDF responded to 83% of the calls within 11 minutes as compared to 64% in 2001. This significant improvement can partly be attributed to the establishment of satellite fire posts in our HDB heartlands in 2001, thus, bringing emergency services closer to the community. However, the increased demand for the service is a cause for concern. The public can also help by not calling 995 for non-emergency cases. They should instead call 1777 for such cases, because each time the Emergency Ambulance Service attends to a non-emergency call, it is less able to respond in time to a real emergency. VICE ACTIVITIES IN ORCHARD ROAD 23. Ms Indranee Rajah asked the Minister for Home Affairs what steps are being taken by the police to clean up the vice activities in and around Orchard Towers and Orchard Plaza.”
“On the question of engaging students to increase security awareness, the Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPCs) have established good working relationships with the schools and the Police's outreach efforts are mostly conducted during the school term. Security awareness programme or education for students has been an ongoing process undertaken by the Neighbourhood Police Centres to reach out to the schools within their areas of coverage. The Neighbourhood Police Centres have also been working closely with the schools and together, they have been organising security awareness programmes in schools in conjunction with the Community Safetyand Security Programme. These activities are carried out throughout the year. An example of such initiatives is the forum organised by the Inter-Racial Confidence Circle Committee of Southwest Community Development Council. About 300 tertiary students and community leaders were invited to learn from experts from the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) on terrorism prevention and share their views on how best to encourage the community to stay vigilant towards terrorist threats. The Police will continue to engage specific groups such as students, neighbourhood shop owners, and other groups (in response to changes in terrorist tactics) as well as the general public to raise the awareness against terrorism, as well as stress the need for vigilance in ensuring the safety and security of Singapore. CHANGES TO EDUCATION SYSTEM (Update) 11. Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Education if he will (i) update the House on the impending changes to the education system and (ii) explain how teachers, parents and students are being prepared to embrace these changes.”
“Sir, continuous efforts are being made by the Police to raise the community's vigilance in fighting terrorism. This outreach effort employs a three-pronged approach. Firstly, we raise general security awareness through the mass media. In fact, that is the most important means. Secondly, we reach out to both the grassroots leaders and the community at large through security briefings and seminars under the Community Safetyand Security Programme (or CSSP in short). Thirdly, we engage groups of special interest (such as the private security industry and the managements of key installations and hotels) to encourage them to adopt measures that enhance the physical security of their premises. This initiative to increase physical security has also been applied to owners of soft targets, such as nightspots and entertainment outlets. Neighbourhood shopkeepers also form another segment of the community which the Police have reached out to. Most recently, the Police, together with the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), the Federation of Merchants Association, and the Retail Promotion Centre, organised a "Neighbourhood Retail Security Conference" on 18th October 2004 at the HDB Hub. In addition to crime prevention messages, the conference emphasised the need for the shop owners to be vigilant and to act as the eyes and ears of the security agencies. This conference reached out to about 250 neighbourhood shop owners and was very well received. Similar forums will be conducted so that the Police can reach out to the rest of the retail industry.”
“Sir, the public places where the closed circuit television cameras would be placed in areasof concern to the security agencies.When we first started deploying these cameras at Little India, for example, it was also for reasons of crime. And now it has gone beyond that. We have gone to Boat Quay, Newton, and so on. And who knows, we may also find them in Geylang in future. SECURITY AWARENESS AMONG SHOPOWNERS IN TOWN CENTRES AND STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS (Measures to improve) 10. Mr Arthur Fong asked the Minister for Home Affairs, in light of the high human traffic flow found in major town centres which have well developed transport facilities such as bus interchanges and MRT stations - for example Toa Payoh, Bedok, Clementi and Jurong East - what is being done to (i) improve the awareness of shopowners in the area of security and prevention against terrorist related activities; and (ii) take advantage of the school holiday season to educate and increase security awareness among students in our schools.”
“Yes, I get that point too. One of the responsibilities, of course, is to respond to emergencies. If they are not there to do the job, then what are theysupposed to be there for? They are supposed to do the patrol and, at the same time, they are supposed to get themselves to be familiarised with the area. In fact, one of the objectives of deployment of our SOC officers is to get to know the area better so that when they are needed in that specific location, they know what to do about the building, what to do about the accesses, the roads,etc.So that is part and parcelof their deployment. And they were not just in areas whichhad been publicised, they were also in many other areas which have not been publicised.We can expect to see them inthe neighbourhood, in the business district, in the MRT stations,and so on. As for this case where they are actually deployed at the Suntec City, I am sure with time they will also get to know the place better. But,let us say, we have an incident in Suntec City, the Division officers in charge would definitely know the place very well because they are the ones whovisit the place very often and they shouldknow the actual layout of the building, just like our officers from the Civil Defence Force, who knowthe layout of the building and the various accesses.”
“Sir, I am quite amused by the experience of Ms Indranee Rajah. The SOC officers are not car park attendants. So, of course, theymay not know where the entrance of this National Day Investiture was supposed to be, because they were supposed to guard the outside of the building. And theyshould know where the car parks are and they should know where cars are supposed to enter. But as to where Ms Indraneewas supposed to enter, I am afraid that they may not know. I understand there were some difficulties with regard to the parking arrangement for those who turned up at the National Day Investiture, but these were operational issues which had been looked into. Let me assure Members that the problemwill not occur next year.I was very concerned thatthere wasa long queueof people trying to get into the venue - and there was some confusion as towhere they should enter the Suntec City Convention Centre.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the deployment of the officers from the Special Operations Command (SOC) does not signal an assessment of increased risk to our national security. Like the public Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) systems deployed at Newton Food Centre, Boat Quay and Little India, the projection of strong police presence at various locations is part of the ongoing effort to keep Singapore safe and secure. It serves as an added deterrent to terrorist activities, provides assurance to the public, and reminds the public of the importance of constant vigilance. The operations will be carried out at various locations in Singapore, including the entertainment, commercial and residential areas. The timings and locations of the operations will not be specified in the interest of operational security. Thus far, the Police are encouraged by the generally positive reaction from the public since such operations have commenced. We hope that Singaporeans will continue to take these changes in their stride and accept them as part of the daily landscape, while maintaining their vigilance at all times and be resilient when confronting the terrorist threats.”