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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“A public communication campaign is already underway to educate people about SARS. Pamphlets have been distributed and new ones would be printed and issued. We have also put out messages through the television and radio to inform the public about SARS and what they themselves can do to prevent the spread of SARS. The radio will also be used to put across such messages in dialect to reach out to senior citizens. We are also organising dialogue sessions to be held by the Advisors for all the grassroots leaders and residents. I know some Members have already done this and many have planned to do this in the next one to two weeks. The Prime Minister himself will chair a dialogue on 2nd May to talk to community and religious leaders, shopkeepers, stallholders and so on. To help the public to remember the hotline numbers for SARS - I know that some say that it is quite a mouthful and they cannot remember the present number - the general inquiry hotline will be changed to 1800-3339999, which is a toll free line. I think Members will like this number. And the hotline number to call for an ambulance to send somebody to Tan Tock Seng Hospital should that person need to check if he has got SARS or not will be changed to 993. This is a three digit number. It is very easy to remember. Members know 999 for Police; 995 for Civil Defence ambulance for emergency, but for suspected SARS cases going to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, please dial 993, and not 995. These two numbers will be effective from midnight this Sunday. One Member asked how Cabinet Members ensure that the Cabinet can function. This is of greatest interest to us, as Cabinet Members.”
“Similarly, by next week, once all the necessary logistical arrangements are settled, we will also place all new and returning foreign students who are attending private schools, and Professional Visit Pass (PVP) holders coming in for a month or more from SARS-affected areas, on a 10-day quarantine upon their arrival. Family members accompanying the foreign students and workers will be subject to the 10-day quarantine requirement too. The private schools and sponsors of the PVP applicants will be required to arrange suitable accommodation where the student or PVP holder can be quarantined. These foreign students, PVP applicants and family members will be subject to daily temperature checks. The private schools and sponsors of the PVPs will also be required to hire doctors to conduct pre- and post-quarantine medical check-ups for them. The student pass or Professional Visit Pass will only be issued at the end of the quarantine period, and upon presentation of a medical report to certify a clean bill of health. With these measures, we will minimise the possibility of transmission of SARS in the workplace, private schools and living quarters of foreign workers. We have to take special measures to quarantine these groups of foreigners as they are more likely to live and mix with the wider Singaporean community. We are also beefing up all our contact tracing capability by seconding more officers from other Ministries and statutory boards to assist the Ministry of Health and the National Environment Agency colleagues. This will allow quicker and better contact tracing to be done so that cases that have come in close contact with probable SARS patients can be quickly isolated for further observation.”
“Temperature checks have thus been instituted for all outgoing passengers at Changi Airport and bus and foot passengers at the Woodlands Checkpoint. This will be extended to Tuas Checkpoint in the next two weeks. In addition, we will ensure that SARS patients and those on HQOs are not allowed to leave Singapore. So, do not think that they can just run away and go to another country because it will also be noted. When they are discovered checking out from our immigration checkpoints they will be picked up and the law will come down very hard on them. We have also taken similar precautionary measures at the ferry terminals, a point which one of the Members raised. We are also working very closely with the Malaysian government to exchange information on SARS patients and minimise cross-border infection. The Joint Border Working Group, comprising health and immigration officials from both countries, has been working to establish the agreed protocols and procedures to enable SARS cases to be detected at our land checkpoints. We are also keen to share information with the Malaysians on suspected and probable SARS cases that have claimed travel history to Singapore. We read about that from time to time that they have been to Singapore. We need such information because it would tell us when that person came to Singapore, where he went to and whom he met. All this information is useful and important in doing contact tracing and containing the spread of SARS. Since 11th April 2003, new work permit and Employment Pass holders from SARS-affected areas are placed on a 10-day quarantine upon arrival.”
“But to win this battle against SARS, we cannot afford any kinks in our armour, otherwise we put the whole community at risk, and the consequential impact will be very disastrous. Sir, Singapore is an open economy. Our borders must remain open and we want to continue to welcome tourists, visitors and businessmen to our shores. However, we must also put precautionary measures in place to isolate and contain the SARS problem at our entry points. Thus, while all incoming air passengers from SARS-affected areas and all points in China are subject to temperature screening, health advisories and health declaration cards have also been implemented at the other checkpoints. Since yesterday, we have deployed three thermal imaging scanners at the land checkpoints. One each has been deployed at Woodlands Checkpoints and Tuas to check the temperatures of those coming in by bus and those walking in by the Causeway or the Second Link. Another has been deployed at Woodlands Checkpoint to check outgoing passengers. We will deploy more of these thermal imaging scanners over the next two weeks at the airport and the land checkpoints. In addition, manual temperature checks will also be implemented within the next two weeks for passengers coming in by car or motorcycles at the two land checkpoints. It is simply not practical to deploy the current thermal imaging scanners in the outdoor area because the temperature will fluctuate. These checks will be done at the secondary check area where 100% security checks are now in place. As a responsible member of the international community, Sir, we have also taken steps to ensure that we do not inadvertently "export" SARS to the rest of the world.”
“I do not think that all this is worth the effort, because once a person is on electronic tag, the moment he leaves the home he will be noticed at the CISCO operation centre. He "chao buay lat". So far, we have put nine such persons on electronic tag after they refused to answer after three calls. With the amendments to the Infectious Diseases Act to allow for composition fines to be imposed, we will also not hesitate to impose fines on these individuals. If such measures still do not work, we will charge the recalcitrant type in court and have them thrown in jail. If you read the newspapers today, we have prepared one of our prisons for this purpose. I do not think it is very comfortable to stay in prison during this period of home quarantine. Sir, it is unfortunate that we have to resort to such tough measures to ensure that Singaporeans obey their Home Quarantine Orders. But this is a serious issue. We are also making it an offence for any individual who lies to the doctor when the doctor asks him some basic questions provided by the Director of Medical Services, eg, whether he has a fever, whether he has come into contact with any suspect or any SARS patient, whether he has been to a SARS affected country - other than Singapore - of course, in the last 14 days, whether he has been doctor-hopping, and so on. If his answers are: "no", "no", "no" to these questions, but if found out later that he has done all those things, then he will be committing an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act. Sir, we do not want to implement such measures lightly, as we recognise the emotional anxiety and fear of some of these people who are on home quarantine. They face anxiety and fear because they do not know whether they will become a candidate for SARS.”
“Earlier on, the Deputy Prime Minister said that he received a letter from somebody who said that some smart alec may do call-forwarding on his mobile phone, so that he can be roaming around, while pretending to be on Home Quarantine Order. Let me tell them: Do not try! Anyone who is on Home Quarantine Order and uses call-forwarding will have that facility cut off. In other words, he cannot do call-forwarding. That is what we have asked SingTel to do. In any case, when a person is asked to appear before the camera, he or his other family members who are on home quarantine will also appear. At the other end, which is the CISCO office, CISCO officers will be able to match the faces and background with what they have taken at the time the electronic camera was installed. So, unless a person can put a big picture of his home background and pretend to be there, it is purely impossible. Whatever it is, he cannot try that any more because he will have no call-forwarding facility during the period of his home quarantine. So, when CISCO calls the person, he will be asked to turn on the camera and that is how he will be checked. There are people who thought that they can pretend not to be around. So when CISCO calls, the telephone was not answered. That was one of the things that my officers have experienced. Let me tell them about this too. The moment he does not answer the telephone after three calls, and they will call three times, CISCO officers would be at his home and he will be tagged electronically. So do not try that too. Also, do not pretend not to be at home when you do not want to be bothered. There were people who were being called and said that they did not want to be bothered. Do not try that also.”
“For us to succeed in containing the SARS problem and to restore life in Singapore to an even keel, we need every Singaporean to play his part. Everyone must adopt socially responsible behaviour. As the Deputy Prime Minister has pointed out, the entire Government machinery has been mobilised to tackle this problem. We cannot allow all these efforts to be undone by some irresponsible individuals. On a personal note, I find the behaviour of some of these Singaporeans on Home Quarantine Orders very disappointing, eg, the well-publicised case of the irresponsible and cavalier attitude of the family of eight who are related to the 70-year old SARS case in Pasir Panjang Wholesale Market. This kind of behaviour is something that should not be condoned, as people like them are putting many others at risk. These individuals either clearly do not understand the seriousness of the situation or simply do not care about the dangers that their actions could pose to others. We will come down hard on such irresponsible individuals from now on. So, we have decided that we would no longer issue a mere warning when an individual is found to have breached his Home Quarantine Order. We would immediately electronically tag anyone who breaches the Home Quarantine Order. All individuals on Home Quarantine Orders are checked regularly via the electronic camera that is installed in their homes. The camera is on only when they are told to switch it on and, therefore, would not invade the privacy of their homes. The CISCO officers will then call these people on the telephone and ask them to turn on their camera.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I know many Members have raised some issues which, as Chairman of the Ministerial Committee, I will try to answer them. The SARS problem we face today is the most serious threat to our healthcare system, economy and society. As far as my experience goes, it is unprecedented. It is here to stay for some time. The Government has marshalled all its resources to deal with it and will spare no effort in containing and controlling the problem. We have to continue to function and to carry on with our lives, or we will come to a standstill. The focus of the Ministerial Committee has thus been to put in place all the possible measures to return life in Singapore as near to normalcy as possible, with some changes to the way we do things. At the same time, we have also been thinking through and working out plans to address all the possible scenarios that could arise, to prevent them from occurring if we can, and if not, ensure that we are well prepared to deal with them if they occur. The Minister for Health has dealt in depth on the measures that have been taken on the medical front and in our hospitals to help contain SARS. The Deputy Prime Minister himself has outlined the many precautionary measures that the Ministerial Committee has put in place at our airports and land checkpoints, workplaces, markets and hawker centres, to allay public concern and to prevent the spread of SARS. He has also outlined some of the scenarios that we have made plans for, if they should occur. I will not repeat them. The one point that I want to emphasise is that the Government is going all out to contain the spread of SARS, to protect you and your family's health.”
“On that note, Sir, I beg to move, That Parliament do now adjourn to a date to be fixed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on behalf of Members, I would like to thank you for chairing the Committee of Supply and also the Budget debate during the last 11 days. We have also extended our sitting hours, starting from 11.00 am, so that we can start earlier to deal with the 707 amendments, a record, that were moved in the Committee of Supply. Of these, about 9% was taken up by one Member. As a result of this, you have strictly applied the guillotine. I think some Members felt that they did not get the full answers or did not have enough time to expand on their points. Maybe I can dispense this piece of advice, ie, please do not wait until the Committee of Supply to ask all these questions. Make full use of the Question Time and during the Committee of Supply to make as many points as they want, but in a succinct and precise manner to get information that they do not normally get at other times. If Members also do not have time to raise questions despite one-and-a-half hours of Question Time, as we have many Questions and therefore not all Questions can be answered on the same day, please feel free to move a motion. Members have all the time to make their points during the debate on the motion. If they think that one hour is too long for the motion, maybe they can move a motion of adjournment. I am sure some of us will stay behind to listen to them! To avoid the need to be guillotined, please bear that in mind. Make full use of Question Time, motions and adjournment motions, or even at other times, to ask questions, not necessarily in this House. But if Members want to have an answer and they want to make a statement, by all means, they can also make their statement to the press without having to come to this Chamber.”
“It is not a SDA government, for sure. It is a PAP Government, and we have a majority in this House and we form the Government. That is the meaning of "Government".”
“Although the party won 75% of the votes, it represents all the people, including those who did not vote for it. That is why we say we are the Government. It is also the first time that I hear this new argument from Mr Chiam that the Government is not the PAP. Actually, the Government is a PAP Government. That is very clear. I do not know how this can become the Opposition being the Government. An hon. Member: It is not a SDA government.”
“Sir, that would be the first time I hear the Opposition supports the Government. If that is the case, then we will just look at the voting records of the Opposition. I am talking about voting records because we will see that sometimes they do not support what we do. But, back to the question why Mr Chiam is not allowed in the community centre. The community centre organises activities for the people. Their advisers are there to help these grassroots organisations to do their work.”
“It is important to answer this question because we have many new Members in this House and they are not familiar with the answers which I have given Mr Chiam in the past. PA is a Government organisation. It is a statutory board to promote Government policies which also include promoting racial harmony, social cohesion, bonding, etc. Therefore, to do this particular job it would have to be representatives from the Government benches. If Mr Chiam were to do that, we do not know whether he will be promoting what the Government wants to do because, if he does, he would not be in the Opposition.”
“But at various levels of PA, we have staff who are of different ethnic groups, as you can see in our community centres and various other secretariats in the constituencies. Let me make this point very clear to Mr Chandra Mohan. His idea seems refreshing, but I do not think that, at the end of it, anybody has any idea who will make the organisation work. So let us be practical, be realistic, and do what is necessary to make the institution work for the benefit of Singaporeans. I will leave the rest of the answers to Mr Chan Soo Sen.”
“All these have been put together under the PA's guidance because we feel that the people serving in these various committees are volunteers, and they are the people who spend their time organising activities and events and in bringing the people together so that they can have a better understanding of one another and to build a social bond, as provided for in the original PA's charter. That is why the Prime Minister is in charge. That is why a Minister, appointed by the Prime Minister, is the Deputy Chairman. Because it is a community organisation, it does not necessarily mean that it must be run by the people in the way Mr Mohan wants. It means that they are run by the people who represent the people. And, as Members of Parliament are elected by the voters to represent the people, just as Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Chiam are the people's representatives in Hougang and in Potong Pasir, so we represent the people. We do not flinch from it. Yes, we are busy, our MPs are busy, but we will make time for what is necessary to be of service to the people. The PA is not an organisation made up of only Government officers. The PA has about 100 corporate members, ranging from social, sports, cultural, educational clubs, cadet groups, and so on. Four members from among them are elected onto the PA Board on a regular basis and, therefore, they are represented. The PA management is like any Government department. They are made up of people who are appointed on their own merit. We do not have specific quotas set aside for people of particular races. To do so is totally against meritocracy, the principle which we practise in Government.”
“Sir, I have not intended to answer this question by Mr Chandra Mohan. But he seemed to have a consistent theme in several amendments he filed on the various Ministries' Heads, for example, getting the people to join this organisation, getting the people to run that organisation, getting people to take charge of this organisation, and even getting the Prime Minister to be rotated among the Cabinet. I thought that since I answered some of these in the PMO's Head, I should deal with this question concerning the PA. I am also the Deputy Chairman of PA. I manage this on behalf of the Prime Minister. That is why I feel it is my responsibility to answer this rather than just leaving it to MOS Chan. Sir, the PA was set up in 1960 under an Act of Parliament. It is an Act of Parliament and not a society registered under the Societies Act. So it stands by itself with statutory authority. And, in a provision in the Act, it provides that the Prime Minister be the Chairman of the People's Association. Why is the Prime Minister the Chairman of the People's Association? Because the PA is an institution for promoting racial harmony, social cohesion and national unity. The PA's original charter was to set up community centres all over Singapore so that residents of all races can intermingle together and build understanding and bonds among themselves. Over the years, since 1993, when I became Deputy Chairman of the PA, I also brought into PA the various grassroots organisations which, at one time, used to be under the Prime Minister's Office - the Citizens' Consultative Committee, the Residents' Committee and in the last few years, the Civil Defence Committee, the Boys' Club, formerly run by the Police, and the latest one is the Constituency Sports Committee.”
“The Singapore passport, for example, is highly valuable, even valued by foreigners, because they see this as a reputable country, safe, secure and well-run, and, therefore, foreigners covet our Singapore passports even to conduct illegal activities, such as trafficking in people. As regards National Service, I think Mr Chia must not undermine the contributions made by our National Servicemen. They have made a sacrifice. They contribute to Singapore and we must recognise what they have done that have ensured our sovereignty.”
“For example, for NSmen who have done National Service - and that is where we talk about recognising people who have contributed to National Service - they, their parents and spouses receive tax reliefs. Non-citizens do not. Procreation tax rebates of up to $20,000 per child are only available to the parents if they are citizens. The Government has also treated citizens differently in education, health, public housing and, in the last many years, as Mr Steve Chia cited, we have given CPF and Medisave top-ups, Singapore Telecoms shares, New Singapore Shares, Economic Restructuring Shares. And NSmen receive more in quantum than non-citizens and non-NSmen. I do not want to talk about privileges and to calculate whether to benefit more or not by becoming a citizen. Instead of asking what benefits a citizen is entitled to, I think the Member ought to examine how he and every other Singaporean can contribute to home and country. Being Singaporean is about having a shared sense of pride and belonging to our country. Singapore is where our family, friends and hopes are. All of us, as Singaporeans, we believe in the Singapore way of life and our shared values, ie, our multi-racial, multi-religious society, meritocracy, compassion, justice, equality, hard work, determination, a safe and secure best home. Indeed, there is a deep sense of emotional rootedness amongst Singaporeans that ties them together. Although Singapore is a small country, our reputation is excellent in the world, and this gives pride to all Singaporeans, wherever they may be.”
“So, a review is in hand. Mr Steve Chia was wondering whether I am the correct person or whether the Ministry of Home Affairs is the correct Ministry to answer his cut. Even if this were to be under PMO, as he originally intended, I believe the Prime Minister will ask me to answer this question. It is a matter of citizenship, since anything that looks like citizenship matters, it comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs. So, he will get the same answer, whether it is listed under PMO or MHA. Specifically, Mr Chia talked about social and economic reasons why people want to become Singaporeans. For social reasons, he suggested that we should give full meaning to the Pledge. We do. All citizens are treated equally as provided for in the Constitution. Therefore, we have not made any distinction. Otherwise, it will be in violation of the Constitution. For economic reasons, I hope people do not become citizens just because of economic gains. That would be the wrong reason to do so. They come here because it is a good place to be in to bring up their children, to work, to make friends and to build their ties. As regards his suggestion to grant special tax rates for citizens versus non-citizens, I am afraid I have to tell him that under international law, eg, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Model Tax Convention, we cannot have discrimination on tax on account of nationality. Violating this will adversely affect the international agreements that we have signed. Instead, we have found other ways of giving citizens more in return. We have given them more than what we normally would have given a non-citizen, and these are in the form of tax rebates and reliefs to citizens.”
“30 pm Is it better to give a new number? Maybe giving a new number may make it more difficult for the child's natural parents to trace the child. But the drawback of this is that the adopted child would get a birth registration that is out of sequence with the birth registration numbers of other children, because birth registration numbers are assigned according to the sequence of birth and registration. Therefore, we should keep it that way rather than to change unnecessarily. Indeed, a new number that shows a child registered much later when he is actually born in the earlier part of the year may give away his identity. So, we decided that we should keep to the present system. This system has served us well for a long time and I do not think we need to change it at all. For 23 years we have not received any adverse comments on this. Ms Irene Ng's reasons for changing the Constitution to treat women and men who marry foreigners, and for women who give birth to children overseas, equally as a Singapore man who marries a foreigner are understandable. I am sympathetic to her reasons. But when we change the Constitution, it is a serious matter. There are good reasons why we have our present system. Ours is a patrilineal society, just as a child follows the father's surname, citizen by descent is also tied to the father's nationality. But my Ministry has already undertaken a review of this, and we are looking at all our citizenship laws to ensure that they keep abreast of the times for some of the reasons mentioned by Ms Irene Ng. But any change would have significant and far-reaching consequences and implications. We not only have to amend the Constitution, we have to take into account the other implications. And we will make changes only after a thorough review.”
“If something happens to the driver, he does not drive cautiously and the court were to debar him from driving, the licence will have to be revoked. Then what happens? We would have to give back his NRIC. Or if he takes up another class of licence, what happens to his NRIC? We have to call him back and put another sticker to it, or change his NRIC. So it is a bit complicated. Or even when his licence is suspended, we have to take back his licence and say, "Now, you don't have the licence for three months." What does he do in between? Here, he must have something to identify himself if he needs to go to the authorities or the bank for whatever services. So we decided to simplify it by just having the NRIC as the NRIC and have the new driving licence as a new driving licence. Now, it is much more convenient for people to have the licence. The new driving licence is for a life-time. Licence holders pay $50 and they can keep the licence for life. So please do take care of it. Because if they lose it, they have got to pay a replacement fee. As regards the question on new registration numbers for adopted children, in my view, the existing system, while not perfect, minimises the likelihood of an adopted child's identity being divulged. Although the child born in Singapore retains the same birth registration number when he is re-registered after adoption, he actually receives a new birth certificate that shows the particulars of his adoptive parents. His new birth record after adoption is no longer linked to that of his natural parents. His original birth record would form part of the adoption register which the Singapore Immigration and Registration will not disclose or release to anyone. So, it is a completely new birth certificate, with the adoptive parents' names on it. 2.”
“Sir, Prof. Chin raised two questions. One is whether we can combine the driving licence and other important licences into the NRIC so that it serves multiple purposes. Second, whether new registration numbers can be given to adopted children. Let me inform the Member that my Ministry has actually studied whether to combine the driving licence with the NRIC, prior to introducing the new driving licence last year. In fact, we have even gone further. We have also studied the electronic national registration IC system which will have a chip on the card and it will be able to do multiple services, like what Prof. Chin has suggested - cashcard, driving licence, medical record, etc. We looked around and asked many agencies but there does not seem to be a demand for this service and it is very costly to provide such an IC with a chip that performs multiple roles. That being the case, we abandoned the project. But that may not be the end of it. We will continue to look at it and see whether, in future, there may be a use for it. As regards combining the driving licence with the IC, we actually have gone further than that. We thought of doing away with the driving licence. In other words, no need to carry a physical licence - the plastic card, or whatever. We wanted to consult the people which we do from time to time. So we had many focused group discussions with the community, with the residents, with the ordinary Singaporeans. The majority of them said, "Please let us have the licence. We like to keep the licence. We rather not do without one." They are afraid to leave home without it. So we have the NRIC and the new driving licence. We did not want to combine the new driving licence with the NRIC, because the driving licence is subject to revocation.”
“The larger number of personnel at each NPC allows the Police to deploy more officers out on patrols, thus increasing police visibility in their neighbourhood. With resources, such as fast-response cars, the NPCs also respond faster to urgent cases. They have established strong working relationships with grassroots organisations and other agencies, such as schools, family service centres and so on in their precincts. And the residents can raise any local safety and security concerns, and our officers will work with them to design and implement effective solutions. Are we going to give the CSSPs more resources? CSSP, by its definition, is community effort. The Police will be there to help them, guide them, provide them with much knowledge as possible, give them the figures and tell them what else they can do to help protect themselves. Ultimately, the community themselves will have to find the resources with the support given by the Home Team. We also have the National Crime Prevention Council. They also work very closely with the various industrial sectors. From time to time, they hold meetings with industry representatives and give them suggestions on how to deal with certain issues. The Council also produces publications, videos, etc, to help educate the workforce as well as the management, and the Police provide the Council with as much support as possible. Sir, the crime rate actually went up last year, but it is well under control. Let me assure the public and Members that the Police is well poised to deal with the situation but, again, as I have said, please do not depend on the Police to be everywhere. The public must do their part, if we want Singapore to remain a safe and secure best home.”
“When I mentioned this figure to visiting Police officers or the Ministers in charge of Police, they were surprised because, in their countries, it is not easy to get the public to help out in arresting suspects. In our case, I think people know that we run a clean system, the Police can be trusted, and they have confidence in the way we do things. I want to commend these public-spirited citizens who come forward. As Members are aware, the cornerstone of our community partnership effort is the Community Safety and Security Programme where members of the local community work together with the Home Team to tackle local security and safety issues. Today, we have nearly 600 Neighbourhood Watch Zones covering almost all of Singapore, implementing a wide variety of programmes ranging from Citizens-on-Patrol, crime prevention discussions for the elderly, to house visits where crime prevention information is disseminated. I would want to encourage all Singaporeans to make themselves aware of these programmes and to take part in them, if they wish to play a more active role in tackling crime. Mr Yatiman Yusof asked about the Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) system of community policing and whether this has helped the level of community involvement in crime prevention. I am pleased to inform the House that the transition has gone on smoothly. Members may recall that the Police decided to change the Neighbourhood Police Post system to the Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) system in 1996. Now, we have 31 of the 32 planned NPCs in operation. The last one, Sengkang NPC, will be due to open in the middle of next year. 1.45 pm To what extent have the Neighbourhood Police Centres been successful? I would say that they have been effective in keeping our crime rates low.”
“But I do not think it is necessary to have a separate scheme of graduated penalties for those who commit crimes against the elderly or any other vulnerable groups, such as children, the handicapped or women. Otherwise, we start to divide people and punish them according to the age or according to their vulnerability. In all cases of crimes against such vulnerable people, the prosecution can press for a deterrent sentence and the courts may impose a higher sentence if there are aggravating circumstances or factors. Indeed, the prosecution, as well as the courts, has done so. To educate the elderly on crime prevention, the Police launched the Crime Prevention Ambassadors Programme in September 2002 to recruit active senior citizens to help the Police to promote crime prevention awareness among the elderly. Police also organised chit-chat sessions, exhibitions and media campaigns targeted specifically at the elderly. I have also, on several occasions in this House, stressed the importance of the community to join forces with the Police to fight against crimes. Now more than ever, the community is needed to safeguard our security. Residents and communities must take responsibilities for their own security as well. The Police officers cannot be everywhere. A significant number in our community do take part in the various activities. Efforts such as the Crime Prevention Ambassadors Programme, which I mentioned earlier, remind us of the important role that the community can play in combating crime. The public assisted in the arrest of 44.6% of all criminals involved in major crimes last year.”
“Again, the IMYC could take a look at that. My own guess right now is that I do not think so because if you look at the types of people who commit youth crimes, they are not mainly our students. To specifically address the rise in theft-related public-order crimes amongst youth offenders, the Police has produced and developed an information package on shop theft and rioting for more than 300 schools and tertiary institutions. The Prisons Visit Programme will be expanded to reach out to more youths and not just to those who are involved in gangs. Over 4,000 students and other youths have attended this Prisons Visit Programme. The students are organised in groups and they go and take a look at what is inside the prison. Those who went there would know what life is like. I hope that they would understand that it is not a comfortable place to be in. There are various other measures in place to help arrested youth offenders to remain crime-free. This includes the Guidance Programme and the StreetWise Programme which comprises counselling, supervision, developmental and academic support, an active parental involvement session aimed at keeping our youths away from crime. The other area of concern is crime against the elderly. We read about this in the papers from time and time. We are therefore wondering whether indeed this is a serious problem. Let me put the numbers in perspective. In 2002, there were 95 elderly victims of robbery compared to 80 in 2001. More than three-quarters of these victims are females. Cheating involving elderly victims also rose from 43 to 63 persons. I agree with Mayor Heng Chee How that crimes against such vulnerable persons are despicable and the offenders deserve enhanced punishment.”
“Although the numbers of youth offenders arrested for theft and related offences and public offences were respectively 54% and 60% higher than that in the year 2001, the overall figure is still lower than in 1998. So again, we must see this in the context of a declining crime situation in the whole of Singapore for the last 15 years. The increase in youth crime is consistent with the overall increase in crime, and it could be due to a myriad of reasons. We note that this phenomenon is not peculiar only to Singapore but also it is endemic in most developed countries and we have taken measures to curb this trend. What are the causes of the rising crime among the youths? That is a subject which the Inter-Ministry Committee on Youth Crime (IMYC) chaired by Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Hee, and comprising the senior representatives from the Ministries of Community Development and Sports, Education, Home Affairs, the Police, the Prisons Department, National Youth Council, the National Council of Social Services, and academics, etc, could study further. But already under the Inter-Ministry Committee on Youth Crime, there are various programmes introduced. For example, 81 schools initiated the School Community and Safety Programme that was targeted at preventing juvenile delinquency. Other measures include the Police-School Liaison System where there is direct liaison between the schools and the Police would provide them with an instant connection, as well as the Honorary Volunteer Special Constabulary (School) Scheme. These are the teachers or disciplinary masters who become voluntary special constables who can put on an uniform and help to instill some discipline among the young. Has the school programme failed?”
“However, the Police has coped well so far. Following September 11, crime and security patrols were increased significantly, as Members would have noted. The Police was able to achieve this by firstly, leveraging on every available staff, Police NSmen as well as officers from the specialist units such as the Gurkha Contingent. Secondly, Police streamlined its response to non-urgent cases so that resources can be focused on more urgent ones. Thirdly, Police has scaled down non-essential services, such as handling of the lost and found reports and rescuing trapped animals, in order to free up scarce resources. Let me assure Members that the Police is geared up to face the challenges ahead. Neither the challenges of security nor crime will be neglected. Closer examination of the crime situation reveals an emerging pattern of concern in two areas. One, juvenile crime and the other crime against the elderly, as Mayor Heng suggested. On youth crime, 2002 saw a significant increase in the arrest of youth offenders who are categorised between 7 and 19. But actually, there are very few that are at the younger ages. This increase was by 49%, from 2,756 to 4,099 youths arrested. As in previous years, the majority, or 68%, of these offenders were arrested for theft and related offences. For theft, a lot of them are shoplifting offences. For shoplifting offences, many of them can be prevented if the retailers themselves are more vigilant. 8% of those arrested for simple thefts and shop thefts were repeat offenders, because some of them have the habit of repeating the offence. Youths arrested for public order offences, namely, serious assault, rioting and unlawful assembly, made up another 13% of youth offenders arrested last year. Of these, 5% were repeat offences.”
“Sir, several MPs have raised concerns over an increase in crime rates in 2002. The nearly 10% increase in total seizable offence for 2002 should be seen in the context of an improving crime situation which has been trending downwards in a positive direction in the last 15 years. The crime rate in 2002 was the lowest in the last 15 years with the exception of 2001. The crime rate last year was also lower than that in 1998 when a similar increase in crime rate was observed. Efforts by the Police last year resulted in 15.4% or 2,917 more arrests. The number of persons arrested last year was the highest number in the last 15 years, and the increase of 15.4% is proportionately more than the increase in crime rate of about 10%. So we must see the increase in crime rate in its proper context. Let me assure Members that Singapore remains one of the safest cities in the world. In a recent worldwide survey of cities in November 2002 conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consultancy, Singapore is jointly ranked the second safest city in the world, together with Helsinki, Zurich, Geneva and Bern. Lumxembourg was named the world's safest city. A few of Japan's cities, which ranked 7th, were the only other Asian country in the top 10 positions. The next highest South-east Asian cities ranked after Singapore were Johore Bahru and Kuala Lumpur. They were at the 73rd position. Prof. Chin has asked if the competing demands of security and crime threats have posed a strain on our Home Team resources and, more importantly, whether we can sustain ourselves, with the need to watch out for security and, at the same time, also deal with crimes. The need to combat both crimes and security threats after 911 has certainly stretched not just the Police resources, but also our Home Team resources.”
“In other words, if you do not need to know, there is no business for you to know, you will not be told, and reports are sent only to those who need to know. For example, the Department gives security and intelligence briefings to the Committee of Permanent Secretaries, to keep them informed of the threats and the security issues facing us. It also briefs me and the Prime Minister and, in some instances, members of the Cabinet as well, on the subjects of national security, eg, the Jemaah Islamiyah case. How do we work with the regional counterparts? ISD has very close relationships with its counterparts in the region, as well as with the other friendly countries. They share and exchange information and they also attend courses of each other's services. They keep each other informed. How do we measure the efficacy of ISD? Although there are some aspects of its work which can be quantified and we can have quantitative output measures, the efficacy of the Internal Security Department ultimately rests on the qualitative judgment of whether it is effective in meeting its mission of keeping Singapore and the country safe from security threats. I think the record speaks for itself. How many people are now detained for espionage cases? As of today, actually nobody has been detained. All have been released, and one is on a restriction order. As the Minister in charge, I believe that the ISD has acquitted itself very well.”
“The Director of the ISD reports to the Permanent Secretary on all matters pertaining to the Ministry's budget and the financial and human resource management issues. He reports to the Minister on security matters. The Department's budget is governed, like all Government departments, by the general financial procedures and rules in the public service. Its operating budget allocation and its intended use are subject to scrutiny by and require the support of the Ministry of Finance within the larger budget allocated for the Ministry of Home Affairs. How much do we spend on the ISD, Mr Chandra Mohan asked. It is less than 8% of the Ministry's budget. The ISD's budget and expenditures are also subject to regular audit, like other Government departments. In other words, the money that it has spent, like any other Government department, is subject to tight scrutiny, and they have to be justified before funds are approved. ISD officers also exercise powers like police officers, because they need them for law enforcement purposes. But they observe the same rules like police officers. They have the same standards of professional discipline and conduct, and they are held accountable for their actions. In other words, ISD officers cannot abuse the law. Who gets the information, findings and the products of the ISD's work? It depends on the subject matter and who needs to know. The Department's work comprises many security portfolios and programmes, including the subjects of terrorism, espionage, racial and religious extremism, protective security, as well as educating the civil servants on security. Dissemination of intelligence is on a need-to-know basis.”
“Ironically, the efficiency of our security forces actually throws the gauntlet to the terrorists who see it as a challenge. We must be ready for such an eventuality. The Government has and will continue to work closely with the community to maintain Singapore as a safe and secure best home that it has always been for our people. But that requires the people's cooperation. Next, I will answer Mr Chandra Mohan's question on the Internal Security Department. He has raised several questions, such as to whom does ISD report to, to who it reports its findings, what are the checks, and that Singaporeans know very little about the ISD. In fact, he said that Singaporeans fear the ISD and there should be a report on the ISD to Parliament, just like some of the Government departments. Last year, because Singaporeans are quite ignorant about the ISA, and there being some doubts or even questions whether the ISA has been misused, the Ministry took the initiative to publish a booklet. I am not sure whether Members themselves have seen this little booklet called "Why the ISA?" In fact, I had once suggested having this entitled "Everything you wanted to know about the ISA and are afraid to ask"! It is a simple booklet describing what is the ISA, the origin of the ISA, what are the threats facing us, what are the safeguards of the ISA, use of preventive detention and the advisory board and its roles. These are clearly explained in this booklet. It also gives examples of some previous cases in regard to each of the threats. Members who want a copy of it can let me know. The Internal Security Department is one of the several departments within the Ministry of Home Affairs.”
“For example, in Sembawang GRC, the Woodlands Civil Defence Executive Committee has organised many such activities to garner resident involvement in the security of their community. Prof. Chin himself has been involved in this. So he knows about it. Last year, the Singapore Civil Defence Force also conducted emergency and evacuation exercises with the management, tenants and workers of the Jurong Point Shopping Centre and a large engineering and construction firm. They would do more of such exercises in the workplaces. Through such programmes, the Government would work hand-in-hand with the community to raise Singaporeans' stake in the security of our nation. The people themselves must take an interest. They just cannot leave it to the Government to do everything for them. If they do not take an interest, then they will have themselves to blame if something does happen due to their own neglect. During the debate on the White Paper in January this year, I also pointed out the need to maintain social cohesion and religious harmony as part of our counter-terrorism strategy. Steps have since been taken to preserve this as part of our social and psychological defence. One such example is the Government's Community Involvement Programme. Its goal is to ensure that Singaporeans gain a better understanding of each other's culture and religion. 1.15 pm So, as far as race relations are concerned, the question which Mr Chandra Mohan raised, I think we are in good shape. But more, of course, can be done by our different races to reach out to understand one another and, at the same time, to know our neighbours. Despite all that we have done, I would urge and advise that we must not be lulled into a sense of complacency.”
“The Police has also launched a pamphlet outlining the measures that residents, as well as the managements of buildings, can take to help the Police prevent terrorism, and what they should do in the event of a security threat. I believe that the MRT operators will also look into the suggestion by Mr Ang about hiring guards, etc, and tighten up the security at our MRT stations. But the Police and the MRT authorities as well as the operators have been working closely to step up security at our MRT stations. Complementing this effort in raising public security awareness is a web-based portal called the Emergency Preparedness Information Centre (EPIC), which was launched on 22nd February. EPIC not only keeps the public informed on current developments during a crisis, or National Emergency, it also provides them with information on how to respond to various scenarios. I hope the public will take an interest and go and visit the site. To raise public awareness on security issues, we have also expanded the Community Safety and Security Programme (CSSP). The Singapore Civil Defence Force has conducted an Exercise Community Spirit activities to give the public an opportunity to learn about how to handle emergency, and these are done not just in our grassroots organisations but will also be done at our schools. Mr Yatiman asked what more can be done about CSSP. Our Community Safety and Security Programme, which was traditionally focused on local security and safety issues for grassroots organisations, schools and workplaces, will also be expanded to cover issues, such as training in emergency preparedness skills, community vigilance and education on preventive measures.”
“Home Team departments are constantly on the lookout for new and emerging technologies that will help enhance our security. Prof. Chin Tet Yung and Mr Nithiah Nandan have asked about efforts to raise the community's awareness and involvement in the homefront security issues. I fully agree that there is a need to educate our people to prime them to take practical steps in exercising vigilance to prepare themselves. For those who are unconcerned about such a threat, or totally unaware that this is a serious threat, I think they will be a liability to themselves. They will then not be able to protect themselves should they see something suspicious. How can we bring the message clearly to the people? We can have public education programme which we will do, and I will elaborate afterwards, but the only way to heighten security awareness and put people to the shock is to have a bomb exploding in Singapore. I do not think anybody wants that to happen, before they wake up to such a threat. Sir, in raising public awareness, we have launched the National Security Awareness programme on Total Defence Day on 15th February. This programme aims to educate and raise the awareness of the public on counter-terrorism issues. The Singapore Civil Defence Force recently distributed an emergency handbook, not just in one language, but also in other languages as well, except that the first issue on English came out earlier. The Chinese and the other version are now available. The handbook tells the public what to do during emergency situations and a million copies of this have been given to a million households.”
“This will enable us to better control and monitor such vehicles. Over the years, since the sarin attack in Tokyo in 1995, we have built up the capability to respond to biological and chemical threats and are continually improving upon it. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is trained and equipped to carry out detection, mitigation and decontamination of these. We have seen some of these being exercised from time to time in the public. Together with other relevant agencies, we have plans to conduct chemical and biological response operations and equip ourselves to deal with these. These plans are reviewed and exercised from time to time. Mr Wee Siew Kim has commented that more needs to be done to leverage on technology to enhance our security and to form inter-agency cooperation groups. We have and will continue to do so. There are several inter-agency groups focusing on different issues. The Home Team has employed various biometrics, explosive detection, gamma ray, X-ray and other techniques to further augment existing security measures. Radiographic scanners and biometric systems, for example, are already in use at some of our entry points and will be used for the Hazmat Transportation Drivers' Permit scheme when it is launched. We have also begun pilot trials for two days at Parliament for an under carriage surveillance system. Some of you coming to Parliament during the first two days will notice that there is something on the ground. That is the under vehicle surveillance system which we are testing out. This system is specially designed to examine the undercarriages of vehicles with greater accuracy than conventional techniques like using hands to manipulate a mirror.”
“In addition to that, they may also be reassigned from time to time. All this will be transparent to the public. In other words, as far as the public is concerned, they will not be affected by any of the changes. There will be no degradation in the level of service provided to the public on 1st April when ICA is formed formally. Inconvenience to travellers at land checkpoints is not, and will not be, due to the reorganisation. It is due to the stepped-up security measures that I have just mentioned. Mdm Ho Geok Choo expressed concern about the detection, utilisation and smuggling of biological and chemical agents, and whether we are equipped to deal with this threat. The threat of terrorists using non-conventional means, such as chemical and biological agents, is a very real one. The recent uncovering of a plot to carry out a ricin attack in the United Kingdom is just one example. Yet, many of the chemicals and precursors necessary to produce bombs as well as the chemicals and biological agents have legitimate, commercial and medical uses. In order to deny terrorists access to dual-use materials which can also form the ingredients for bombs and other non-conventional weapons, my Ministry will be coordinating a national system to control the import, storage, transport and use of such materials. Given the diverse and wide range of such chemicals, the full measures will take a while to implement. In addition, to reduce the likelihood of terrorist attacks using vehicles transporting hazardous materials, all drivers driving such vehicles that transport such materials into and within Singapore will be required to obtain a Hazardous Material (Hazmat) Transportation Driver's licence with effect from 1st April this year.”
“This means that every car and motorcycle entering Singapore at Woodlands Checkpoint would have their boot and utility box opened up for inspection. It would also mean that all cargoes arriving on lorries and container trucks will be subjected to a certain degree of checks. This would take effect today. There may be some inconveniences during the peak hours and traffic jams will build up. But it is a balance we have to make, and we need to make, for the sake of our security and a small price to pay for the inconvenience. To strengthen our border security, we have formed a new agency, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, which merges the border control functions of the Singapore Immigration and Registration and the Customs and Excise Department into one single entity. This will be formed in two weeks' time on 1st April. Mr Ahmad Khalis asked what would be the implications of the formation of ICA on border control operations to the Ministry, the public and the staff. Firstly, ICA will provide an integrated command over all aspects of our checkpoints operations. This would enable all the agencies operating at the checkpoints to share critical intelligence in a timely manner and work closely to coordinate the enforcement actions. Over the medium term, a study to re-engineer operations at the checkpoints to further streamline the functions and tighten coordination between the various agencies will be carried out. From 1st April, in the short term, there is no change to what the officers do. But a study would be embarked to see how we can streamline and make it more seamless and, at the same time, better deploy the officers. So there will be multi-tasking. Officers will be trained to do the respective tasks.”
“Our approach must be to make it extremely difficult to carry out their evil acts while, at the same time, be prepared and ready to deal with the repercussions if such an attack does happen. Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to inform the House of several new initiatives which we introduced recently, or which would be launched soon. We firmly believe that it is better to deny terrorists the opportunity to carry out their operations than to mitigate the consequences of their actions. In this respect, we have been cooperating with our regional and international counterparts, with good results. And the efforts of the ISD, which Mr Chandra Mohan referred to, have played a great role in securing this cooperation. Aviation security will also be enhanced through new initiatives, such as the formation of the Air Marshall Unit. The Police Coast Guard will upgrade the surveillance capabilities and acquire newer and better patrol boats to strengthen our maritime security. Mr Ang Mong Seng may be happy to know that post-September 11, we have enhanced the checks on arriving persons and their belongings at our land and sea checkpoints to 100%. All pieces of luggage through the Airport are also checked. So Mr Ang and other travellers need not worry that, if they go to Changi Airport, luggage would be compromised. The only exceptions are the checks on cars and goods vehicles at Woodlands Checkpoint and the checks on motorcycles at Tuas and Woodlands Checkpoints. Sir, with the escalation of threats in the Middle East, we will be enhancing our checks further to 100% even at Woodlands Checkpoint for all cars and motorcyclists during the peak hours.”
“Sir, Singapore is facing its greatest security challenge since the communist threat in the 1950s and 1960s. If there is a war in Iraq, then this will add another dimension to Singapore's security environment. As I had said previously in this House, during the debate on the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) White Paper in January, the Government has done and will continue to do whatever it can to secure our borders, to step up security at our land, air and sea checkpoints, to strengthen the security of likely targets, to control the spread of extremist ideology and promote social cohesion. So far, we have been successful, but we cannot let our guard down, because we remain a target. From intelligence sources, we are aware that the Jemaah Islamiyah planning by Hambali for the Bali bombings started as early as February 2002. In fact, two bombing attacks were planned. One was for an attack against Western interests in Indonesia, which the Jemaah Islamiyah later narrowed down to Bali. The other attack was against Singapore. However, by mid-2002, the senior JI operative assigned to stage the attack on Singapore reported to Hambali that he could not get the job done in Singapore. The target hardening measures that we had taken and the disruption of the local JI network made it difficult for him and he reported that he could not find local helpers or "kaki tangan" to assist him. He then left to join the other JI operatives in Indonesia and went on to stage the Bali attack which happened on 12th October last year. We are lucky this time. 1.00 pm We have succeeded this time in pre-empting an attack against us. But no one can guarantee that a terrorist attack will not happen here.”
“(1), so that we can avoid the need to have it exempted at almost every other sitting. But Members may know that when we had our Question Time for one hour, we had little need to extend the time to beyond 4.30 pm. It was only in the last few years that we started to extend the Question Time to 1 1/2 hours that we found the remaining time not adequate to deal with some of the topics on the Order Paper. As I said, we would have to look at this and see whether we want to fix the Question Time at 1 1/2 hours, or go back to one hour, and what is the appropriate time to end the parliamentary sitting. There is no purpose just to move an amendment if there is no need to do so. I am sure Members do not mind every time I stand up to say something about the Standing Orders. At least, they can take a break.”
“Sir, indeed the Standing Orders had been amended and changed from time to time. For those of us who have been long enough in the House, we know that before 1st March 1985, the parliamentary proceedings were held between 2.30 pm and 8.00 pm. That was a very long period. I am not sure if Members really want us to go back to 2.30 pm and 8.00 pm sitting times. If Members really think so and there is enough business for us to do, then we may have to consider that. But by 1st March, 1985, we thought that we did not need that, and also because we wanted to televise parliamentary proceedings and give the then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation a bit more time to put together a programme, we brought forward the parliamentary proceedings to 11.00 am and 4.30 pm, so that at 4.30 pm, the SBC could all go back and do the editing, or whatever. Then, by another resolution on 16th January 1989, we again changed our sitting times from 12.30 pm to 4.30 pm, which is the current time in the Standing Orders, because we found that the parliamentary proceedings telecast in the evening were too long and that there was not that kind of interest for members of the public to listen to every detail of the parliamentary debate. So, today, we have a compact version, ie, a summary of parliamentary proceedings. We also moved up the sitting time from 11.00 am to 12.30 pm in 1989 because Members of Parliament found that if they were to be here at 11.00 am, they had to stop work or whatever at 10.00 am, in order to be in Parliament at 11.00 am. So we decided to move up to 12.30 pm. Then, at least the Members have their morning free to do their work. We are constantly reviewing the Standing Orders. We will of course take into account the need to review the Standing Order No.”
“Indeed, we are also very concerned about their welfare. I know the Speaker and the Clerk themselves are also very concerned about the staff welfare. In fact, the staff are quite well looked after. They have continuing education and training programmes. For example, I am told that four officers are now sponsored by Parliament to pursue higher learning which is relevant to their jobs and leading to diplomas or degrees. Besides this, Parliament officers are also sent on attachment to the House of Commons in the UK. There is a continuous and ongoing process of sending the staff on courses, seminars, workshops and training sessions that are relevant to their work. In the civil service, staff have to be trained a certain number of hours a year. I am sure that Parliament is also following the same practice, like the rest of the civil service.”
“"Boring" may be the word to use. But, really, we are serious in our purpose. That is why when we talk, we have to be objective, we have to rationalise, we have to argue, and we do not engage in dramatics, just to get television attention. The moment we need to get into that, I think we all had it! So, let us not make Parliament too exciting just by having dramatic events in Parliament. 3.30 pm Mr Chandra Mohan asked about the research support to be given to MPs and have specialist staff to provide support to our parliamentary staff so that they can help our parliamentarians. If he needs any information from Parliament, all he needs to do is to go to the Library, look them up himself and, if he cannot find them, ask the Librarian or her assistant, I think they will be more than willing to help. But if he asks about helping him to research a particular topic, that is his job as an MP. I do not think anybody can help him to do any piece of research if he says he wants to study an area and to submit a paper on it. The elected MPs have an allowance for Legislative Assistants. I know some of my colleagues have pooled together and engaged a Legislative Assistant to help them. This is entirely up to them. The others may decide to do their own research and write their own speeches, put their own thoughts on paper. The High Court Judges have Justices Clerks, that is a different arrangement. That is a training ground for our future Judges, our Magistrates, our Legal Officers, and so on. So that is a different purpose. And it is also one way of making better use of our talented men and women who take law as a profession. As regards the question of staff welfare, I want to thank him on behalf of the staff. He is concerned about their welfare.”
“For public education purposes, we will be educating the public how to go about casting their votes, whether it is electronic votes or whether it is a paper vote. We do that all the time. When the time comes, nearer the election, we will intensify the public education efforts.”
“Most of the $18 million that is being put aside today will not be spent unless there is a General Election to be held. The extra $18 million is just only for contingency. Mr Steve Chia asked about electronic voting and whether it is secure or not. If he were here in the last Parliament, he would know that we have gone through this in great detail. No electronic voting system can be introduced until it passes an audit test. The test would then determine whether the system is good enough to ensure that there is no fraud and that we can have an audit trail to the voting intention of the individuals. That is why we have spent quite a bit of money studying the previous system. We are also studying other systems, for example, the one used by the Indians in some states. That is a more simple system. We need to have some additional features to ensure that there is an audit trail to the voters to trace the voters' intention, if there is a need to check. On whether we can demystify ballot papers' serial numbers, we have explained this many times before. If there is a fraud, and ballot boxes are stuffed, and if the ballot papers have no serial numbers, how do we know that there was indeed a genuine voter and not a phantom voter? The serial number provides the source. The serial number cannot be traced to the individual until a petition is raised in court and the ballot box was opened after it had been sealed at the end of the general election. So, it is quite clear that there are good intentions for having the serial number. In fact, even the British today have serial numbers in their voting papers, and ours is the system handed over to us by the British.”
“So we are not having too many MPs today. In fact, our MPs work harder, having many residents to look after. Mr Chandra Mohan also asked whether we can have a non-adversarial system of government or not. If there is a modern government like that, I would also like to study it - where you can have a group of people and political parties getting together and there is no adversarial politics. Politics, by its own nature, is adversarial. The only model I can find is really in the villages and among the tribes, where tribal chiefs who are there by inheritance decide what is good for the tribes. Similarly, for the villages. They have a village head, village elders, and they will be the ones to decide how to run the village. But in a modern government, in the current state that we have, in all countries in the world, I have not come across any system where there is a group of wise men deciding for the rest of the people. On the question of the Elections Department's budget, yes, indeed the budget has gone up by about $18 million. Most of the money is, in fact, set aside for the new systems we were planning to have - e-voting, e-registers - but these are only to be spent when there is a general election. As far as the training of election officials is concerned, we are going to spend about $5 million for the 15,000 election officials. This is the first time we are doing this type of training because we are going to train public officials on a continuing basis so that we do not have to give them last minute training and that there will be difficulties for the officials to carry out their duties. So we are going to have continuing training and e-learning for civil servants, so that they will be prepared and can help to conduct elections when a general election is called.”
“I have not come across a system where a group of wise men appoint Members of Parliament. It is always the people who would elect Members of Parliament. They are not appointed by a group of wise men. In any case, where do we find this group of wise men? Who are we to choose this group of wise men, who would then decide that certain people deserve to be in Parliament and others are not to be? If there is such a country doing this, please let me know and I would like to go and study it. On the question of whether it is a good idea to have the Elections Department under the Prime Minister, where else should it be? If it is going to be an elections commission, can we guarantee that if we have an elections commission, there would be no fraud, no vote rigging and that the system is free and fair? We have seen in countries where there are Elections Commissions and yet we know there are problems in the voting process in these countries. Throughout all the general elections that we have held, nobody has ever complained that our Elections Department was not fair and transparent. If there was any, they could always file a complaint with the Election Judge, and the Judge would decide whether indeed there was such a case or not. 12.00 noon On the question of number of MPs in Parliament, I think Mr Sin Boon Ann has adequately provided his own answer. But to put the subject in context, Members may know that in 1959 when we had our first General Election there were 51 Members of Parliament. At that time, there were 586,000 voters - which means an MP looked after an average of 11,500 voters. In 1980, the number of voters looked after by each MP was 17,200, and there were 75 MPs. In the last General Election in 2001, the number of voters looked after by an MP was 24,200.”
“Mr Chandra Mohan raised a few points which, I am sure all of us know, have been raised before in this House and that answers have been given - whether it is about an independent electoral commission (the same point raised by Mr Low Thia Khiang) or having a group of wise men who would decide who should be the MPs, or having election boundaries more transparent, the drawing of boundaries and the report to be published early, and so on. All these questions are not really new, including the question of discretion to call for an election by the Prime Minister. I have not come across a parliamentary democracy that is on the British system where the date of election is fixed. Under this system of British parliamentary democracy, the term is fixed for four or five years, as the case may be, but the discretion to call for election rests with the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister considers a number of factors before he decides. But if any serious political parties or individuals are planning to run for an election, they should not wait for the timing of the announcement of the Writ before they prepare for it. They should prepare right now. In fact, that should be the case. I believe that some of the Opposition parties are already doing so. That is what the PAP Government always does. The idea of making changes to our political system by cherry-picking from other systems seems to be good, nice to have. But I think this idea, while good, cannot really be implemented because there is no perfect system in the world that is applicable to all situations. We must have a system that would meet our social and political contexts, and our system has worked well for us and we would change only when we see the need to change.”