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 are playing a cat-and-mouse game with the terrorists; they will be looking for loopholes to exploit, even as we take measures against them. We will monitor the effectiveness of the Bill, and fine tune it further if necessary. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. Assoc. Prof. Chin Tet Yung: Sir, terrorism has to be fought on many fronts, not least of all, the financial front. To deprive terrorists of funds would ultimately lead to the saving of lives and properties. There is undoubtedly a great public interest to be served here, and I therefore strongly support this Bill. At the same time, there must be some care to ensure that people or institutions are not wrongly accused of supporting terrorism. Such accusations must only be made on the strongest evidence, as the consequences of a wrong accusation may have severe repercussions on individuals or institutions. This Bill must therefore be carefully scrutinised in this House. Even defining what is a terrorist is not an easy thing. I would start by looking first at the definitions of "terrorist" and "terrorist act" in this Bill. Sir, the definition of a "terrorist" in clause 2 is tautologous, ie, the definition of "terrorist" contains the word itself. Thus, a "terrorist" is someone who commits or attempts to commit any terrorist act. The true meaning of a terrorist therefore has to be found in what he does or threatens to do, and why he wants to do such acts. This is defined in sub-clause 2. It involves nine types of actions and two types of intents. First, with regard to the type of actions. They involve the use of the word "serious" as in "serious violence against a person", "serious damage to property", or "serious risk to the health or the safety of the public". I wonder whether this is too restrictive.”
“Where a Singapore citizen commits an offence relating to the dealing with terrorist property or failure to disclose information, he may be dealt with as if the offence had been committed in Singapore. Miscellaneous (Part VII of the Bill) Mr Speaker, Sir, the Bill also covers other miscellaneous areas under Part VII of the Bill, eg, clause 35 which is a standard provision on the commission of an offence by a corporation to prevent anyone from seeking refuge behind corporations. Clause 37 of the Bill empowers the Minister to amend the Schedule by an order published in the Gazette. The Bill contains a Schedule on actions which constitute terrorist acts, such as an act constituting an offence under the Hijacking of Aircraft and Protection of Aircraft and International Airports Act. Singapore is not yet a signatory to all the treaties and Conventions relating to terrorism. As and when we become a party to these treaties and Conventions, we can add on to the Schedule. Clause 38 of the Bill allows that the Minister may also make regulations for the purpose of carrying out or giving effect to the provisions of the Bill. This provides the Minister the flexibility to take quick action against terrorist financing. Finally, clause 39 makes a related amendment to the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act to repeal and re-enact section 27A so as to empower the Authority to make regulations concerning any financial institution or class of financial institutions in order to discharge any obligation binding on Singapore by virtue of a decision of the Security Council of the United Nations. Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill is testimony of Singapore's commitment to the international fight against terrorism. Once the Bill is passed, we will take actions in accordance with it.”
“Mutual Assistance and Extradition (Part V of the Bill) Part V of the Bill provides that the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism can be used as a basis for mutual assistance and extradition with another state party to the Convention without the need for a bilateral treaty. Specifically, clause 32 of the Bill empowers the Minister for Law to make an order to apply the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act to a state party to the Convention so as to allow assistance to be rendered in respect of investigation or prosecution of a terrorism financing offence. Hence, all the requirements for Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act will apply except for the requirement of a treaty. The assistance that is rendered may be subject to conditions or exceptions in the order that is made under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act. The Convention can also be treated as an extradition treaty in respect of terrorism financing offences between Singapore and another state party to the Convention. This is similar to the Hijacking of Aircraft and Protection of Aircraft and International Airports Act. Jurisdiction (Part VI of the Bill) Sir, terrorism is essentially a transnational crime. We cannot deal with terrorism effectively if we do not cooperate with other nations, or if we have powers only to deal with offences committed within Singapore. The Convention thus requires states to prosecute offenders who cannot be extradited. Part VI of the Bill covers extra-territorial jurisdiction. Specifically, clause 34 provides for extra-territorial jurisdiction for offences under clauses 3, 4 and 5 of the Bill that are committed outside Singapore by Singaporeans or any person.”
“Personal knowledge by the investigating officer that the property is terrorist property is not required. Clause 18 of the Bill further provides that the Attorney-General may apply to revoke or vary warrants or orders. Clause 24 of the Bill provides that if the Judge is satisfied that the property is linked to terrorists or that it will be used to facilitate or carry out a terrorist act, the Judge shall order the forfeiture of the property. Where the Judge refuses an application for forfeiture, clause 26 of the Bill provides that the Judge shall also identify the property and declare that the property is not subject to forfeiture. Second, management of terrorist property. Clauses 15 to 17 set out the appointment of a manager of the terrorist property who can be the public trustee. Clause 28 of the Bill also provides that the property may continue to be seized, restrained or managed by the appointed person, pending any appeal. This is to prevent the property from being scurried away. Clause 29 of the Bill also empowers the Judge to nullify any transactions that have occurred after the property was seized or restrained, except where such transactions were carried out in good faith. Third, safeguards. Clause 13 of the Bill provides that the Judge may require undertakings from the Attorney-General with respect to the payment of damages or costs for the warrant or restraint order. Also, clauses 19 and 27 of the Bill provide recourse for a person who has an interest in the property that was seized, restrained or forfeited, to apply to revoke or vary the warrant or order, or set aside the order of forfeiture within 60 days of the order of forfeiture.”
“Clause 10 of the Bill also provides that every person in Singapore who has information which can prevent the commission of a terrorism financing offence, or assist in the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of a person for a terrorism financing offence to immediately inform a police officer. Further, clause 9 of the Bill empowers the Minister, by order in the Gazette, to require any person or class of persons to continually determine whether they possess terrorist property. However, let me assure the House that this will not be invoked unnecessarily. We foresee that this provision would be used for a person who is suspected of having dealings with terrorist property or persons who had previously had such dealings without their knowledge. Seizure, Freezing and Confiscation of Terrorist Property (Part IV of the Bill) Mr Speaker, Sir, Part IV of the Bill also spells out in detail the manner in which a terrorist property may be seized, frozen or confiscated. First, application for search and seizure. Clause 11 of the Bill empowers a High Court Judge to issue warrants for search and seizure of any terrorist property and restraint orders in respect of terrorist property. Clause 20 of the Bill provides that such warrants and restraint orders generally continue for six months but may be extended. Clause 14 of the Bill makes it an offence for a person to whom the order has been served contravene with a restraint order. Clause 21 of the Bill allows the Court to order the forfeiture of terrorist property. Clauses 12 and 22 of the Bill provide that the affidavit in support of the application for warrants for search and seizure of terrorist property, and for order of forfeiture, may be made by the investigating officer on his information and belief.”
“Specifically, we can target properties that may be used in connection with terrorist acts. Clause 2 of the Bill defines property as assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, including bank credits, travellers cheques, bank cheques, money orders, shares, securities, bonds, drafts and letters of credit. Clauses 3 to 6 of the Bill make it an offence to provide or collect property for terrorist acts, provide property and services for terrorist purposes, use or possess property for terrorist purposes, and deal with property of terrorists. These prohibitions apply to every person in Singapore and any Singapore citizen outside Singapore who is dealing with terrorist property. These clauses give effect to Article 2(1) of the Convention. Besides giving effect to the Convention, these clauses also give effect to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373. Clause 7 of the Bill empowers the Minister to exempt a person from the prohibition against dealing with terrorist property. Disclosure (Part III of the Bill) Part III of the Bill imposes a duty of disclosure. The Convention obligates Singapore to identify and detect terrorist property for purposes of possible forfeiture. To meet this, clause 8 of the Bill imposes a duty on every person in Singapore and every Singapore citizen outside who has possession, custody or control of terrorist property, or information regarding a transaction in terrorist property to disclose such information to the Police.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Bill is to give effect to the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (CSFT) which Singapore signed on 18th December 2001 and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373. As a member of the Financial Action Task Force, Singapore had adopted a set of Eight Special Recommendations, one of which was to take immediate steps to ratify and implement the Convention. Sir, the terrorist threat that Singapore and the rest of the world are facing today is like nothing we have ever encountered before. The recent events of the past year have shown that terrorism has become a transnational phenomenon, one that no country is immune to. Given the indigenous resources and extensive reach of these groups, the threat of terrorism will continue for a long time to come. It is widely believed that many terrorist activities are funded through a series of money laundering operations. Hence, targetting the financial aspect of these transnational groups will be an effective way to cripple and disrupt their operations. The integrity of our financial systems must be prevented from being used by terrorist organisations. We already have a vigorous system of checks to detect and counter criminal use of the financial system. The Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Bill will further strengthen our ability to monitor such transactions and take appropriate actions. Let me now deal with the key provisions of the Bill. Prohibition against dealing with Terrorist Property (Part II of the Bill) Part II of the Bill covers prohibition against terrorist property.”
“Sir, let me explain the confusion that Mr Low seems to have. The Mayor's post is created and appointed by the Prime Minister. We have to make sure and be clear that the post is not an office of profit, just like Ministers' posts are not considered as office of profit. Therefore, the latter are already in the Constitution. But in the case of Mayor, it is not. Therefore, under Article 2(5) of the Constitution, the President has made an order to consider the post of Mayor as not being an office of profit. That is the answer to his question. 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]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. TERRORISM (SUPPRESSION OF FINANCING) BILL Order for Second Reading read.”
“Can Mr Low explain what is the meaning of "public officer"? 3.32 pm”
“It is definitely not the role of Parliament to decide on what posts to create. That is the prerogative of the Prime Minister and the Government. As to whether the post should be pensionable or not, in certain instances, like in the civil service, it is totally the prerogative of the Government to decide which post should be pensionable and which post should not be pensionable. In the case of office-holders, because they are elected Members, we have the Parliamentary Pensions Act. That is why we have come to Parliament to amend this Act to include the post of Mayor in the Parliamentary Pensions Act, for qualification of pension.”
“Yes, indeed, it has been, but there are certain key appointments that we have kept as pensionable service, eg, the Administrative Service, Foreign Service and Intelligence Service are still pensionable services. There are good reasons for this. Similarly, for office holders, we think that it is important that they remain on pensionable service and, hence, we keep them on pensionable service. But for Members of Parliament, we have made a decision way back in 1995 that all new Members of Parliament, elected henceforth, shall be paid CPF.”
“In the Constitution, we do not have posts such as Ministers of State nor Political Secretary, and yet we have these posts in our Parliamentary Pensions Act. In the case of Political Secretary, he does not even need to be an elected MP. The Prime Minister, with his prerogative and powers, can appoint any person to be a Political Secretary, and he is fully entitled to pension under the Parliamentary Pensions Act, albeit not being an elected person. Sir, there is no reason why Mayors should not be considered in the same category and be eligible for a pension in the same way as other office-holders. For a Mayor who is a new Member - a "new Member" means any Member of Parliament elected after 1995 - he is not eligible for an MP pension. He is eligible for CPF. So, for a Mayor who is a new Member, he needs to accumulate eight years of service as Mayor in order to qualify for a pension. In the case of an old Member who has got reckonable pensionable service as an MP, then his time spent as Mayor, if it is less than eight years, can be computed for the purpose of considering his MP pension eligibility. Hence, two-thirds of his service as Mayor is counted as an MP's service. Among our present Mayors, we have both examples - those who are old Members and those who are new Members. But, for new Members, they need to serve long enough in order to qualify for a pension. Sir, I have, in a way, dealt with Mr Low Thia Khiang's questions. As regards Mr Chandra Mohan's question, I was quite curious as to why he is interested in Parliamentary pension when the subject does not really concern him. I now understand he is talking about a different issue, like why do we want to consider office-holders' appointments even as pensionable. He says that the trend has been towards CPF.”
“So, we decided that we make an amendment to the rules to only require him to be the Chairman of the Community Development Council in order to become the Mayor. In so doing, we also recognise that this is a very important position and, obviously, we will not simply appoint anyone unelected to be the Chairman of the Community Development Council or as Mayor. That will not serve the objectives of the Government. We could just have General Managers. In fact, for the administrative details and implementation, we have the General Managers of the CDCs running the day-to-day operations. When it comes to direction, strategy, policy and, in some instances, even talking to the Ministers concerning what the CDC should do, we needed the Mayors to do the job. Hence, the post of Mayor was created, and he has substantial responsibilities and, therefore, he shall be an elected person. There will be no occasion that we can think of that will make us appoint an unelected person to be a Mayor. I think Mr Low can be assured of that. In the same way, we have made the Town Council Chairman an elected MP. On the question of whether it is fair to compare the Mayor to other appointments in the Parliamentary Pensions Act, eg, the Prime Minister, Ministers, Ministers of State, Parliamentary Secretaries and the Political Secretary, are they of the same level or why should we put a Mayor in the same category as office-holders, office-holders are important political appointments, because they help the Government carry out its objectives, and these appointments are decided by the Prime Minister. Mr Low said that the Prime Minister, Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries are defined in the Constitution and, therefore, the power is derived from what is provided for in the Constitution.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, regarding Mr Low Thia Khiang's point on why we did not come to Parliament to seek approval for the creation of the post of Mayor, and the formation of Community Development Councils (CDCs), it is the prerogative of the Government, the Prime Minister in particular, to decide what sort of structure of government he wishes to have. Since 1997, we have created Community Development Councils to help the Government to carry out and implement the policies of some of our Ministries. Hence, we have Community Development Councils. In the past, because we had small Community Development Councils, we therefore required the Chairman, if he is to be appointed as a Mayor, to also become the Chairman of a Town Council, apart from being the Chairman of a Community Development Council. But for those Chairmen of Community Development Councils who are not Chairmen of Town Councils at the same time, then we say that they will carry on and be called Chairmen of Community Development Councils, and not Mayors. In 1997, we had two Mayors, in Tanjong Pagar and Marine Parade GRCs, because both Mr Eugene Yap and Dr Ow Chin Hock were Chairmen of both Councils - the Town Council as well as the Community Development Council. After the last General Election, we thought that, for better organisation, efficiency and for synergy, we should enlarge the Community Development Councils by reducing the number of CDCs from nine to five. By doing so, therefore, we increased tremendously the responsibilities of the Chairmen of Community Development Councils, if they were required to be Chairmen of Town Councils, and they may be loaded with unnecessary implementation and operational duties.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, under the Parliamentary Pensions Act, a political office-holder from Political Secretary to Prime Minister serves on pensionable terms. The post of Mayor is a recent creation. Hence, it is currently not included in the Parliamentary Pensions Act. We now have five Community Development Councils, each led by a Mayor who carries substantial responsibility. A Mayor's remuneration and its position in the Table of Precedence are between the Minister of State and the Senior Parliamentary Secretary commensurate with the responsibilities of his office. The Bill amends section 2(1) of the Act such that service in the office of Mayor, regardless whether it is before or after the commencement of this Bill, will be reckonable for the purposes of qualifying for an office-holder's pension. Under the Parliamentary Elections Act, Sir, the holder of any political office who does not serve long enough before retirement to qualify for an office holder's pension but who is otherwise eligible for a Member of Parliament's pension may have the whole or part of the office-holder's service reckonable towards the Member's pension eligibility. Section 6(2) of the Parliamentary Pensions Act is amended such that a Mayor who is similarly eligible for a Member's pension, but who has not served long enough to qualify for an office-holder's pension may add two-thirds of his service as Mayor to his Member's pension eligibility. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“The channel of complaint must be to the Director of the Internal Security Department, like for police officers, the channel of complaint is to the Commissioner of Police. They are the appointing authority. There is no difference. 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]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. AGRI-FOOD AND VETERINARY AUTHORITY (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read.”
“They are also subject to the laws of the land. If they, just because they have police powers and they are intelligence officers, they beat up somebody, whether in the course of duty or not, they can also be subject to investigations. There are proper channels of redress in these situations.”
“I think it will be foolish of any Minister for Home Affairs or any department head of ISD to make such a recommendation. Certainly, the concern of abuse may arise if people are not trained, if they do not know their duties and if they think that just because they have police powers, they can arrest or detain and search anyone and go into anybody's house. That is not the state of affairs in our Intelligence Service, nor is it the state of affairs in our police force. Let me assure Members and others who may feel that way that not all intelligence officers are given such powers. Only those who are currently performing investigation and operational duties, and they were former police officers who have converted into the Intelligence scheme of service, will be so designated. In future, we will recruit directly into the Intelligence Service. What happens to these new officers in the Intelligence Service who are not trained as police officers? It is just like our Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers. They are given police powers but they go through the training of a police officer to make sure that they understand the Penal Code, the Evidence Act, the Criminal Procedure Code and all relevant laws that are necessary for them to perform their duties. Similarly, for intelligence officers, in future, if they are recruited into the Intelligence Service, but they do not have a police officer's background, they will be sent for training before they will be appointed to perform such a duty. No Minister will be foolish enough to allow anyone to abuse his powers. What is the channel of complaint? Like all civil servants, they are subject to disciplinary rules and proceedings. They are subject to the Instructions Manual of the civil service.”
“I think the underlying concern in the two Members' question is: why do we now need to give intelligence officers such police powers? The Members may not have understood what I was just talking about. Before 1st October 2001, intelligence officers were confined to those civilians in the ISD. And we have, on secondment from the police force, a certain number of senior police officers who perform investigative and operational duties. For these police officers, because they are already police officers, they have powers of investigation like other police officers. What we try to do in this exercise is to provide for one scheme of service so that, while we have two groups of officers working in the same department, maybe doing the same job, they do not have the inequitable position whereby one has a higher salary than the other, and one has a different rate of progression than the other, and so on. That is good for morale because if we have only one scheme of service, then everybody progresses, depending on performance, instead of depending on their scheme of service. We have situations where police officers in ISD thought that they do not advance as fast as those officers working in the Singapore Police Force. We want to avoid this kind of situation and therefore provide for a common scheme of service in the Intelligence Service. The purpose of this amendment is not to grant all intelligence officers police powers although the Minister may designate who to grant such powers. By "designate", it just means that so and so officer is given police powers to perform his operational and investigative duties. Will the Minister so blindly appoint any person, a junior person, which is Mr Low's concern, to be a senior police officer performing those duties if he is not trained?”
“This is similar to the protection afforded to all police officers; and (c) to confer on senior police intelligence officers the powers of an Assistant Superintendent of Police or a Superintendent of Police under such written law as the Minister may prescribe by notification in the Gazette. This is to allow these officers to exercise certain provisions under the Internal Security Act. For example, an officer of the rank of ASP and above can detain a person for up to 48 hours from the time of arrest. An officer of the rank of Superintendent and above can authorise further detention of up to 28 days. Beyond 28 days of detention, the Minister for Home Affairs has to grant approval. Sir, the intelligence officers to be designated are those doing work that require police powers of investigation and will include former police officers who converted to the Intelligence Service. This enables the officers to continue to carry out their operational and investigative duties effectively, even after they have converted to the Intelligence Service. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, before 1st October 2001, there were two principal schemes of service in the Internal Security Department (ISD), namely, the Intelligence Service and Senior Police Officers Scheme. The presence of police officers in ISD is something which was carried over from the Department's Police Special Branch since 1948. These police officers' main duties are to conduct investigations which require police powers. The existence of different service schemes in the Department is not ideal. It gave rise, over time, to issues of internal relativities, as each scheme has its own terms and conditions of service. Last year, ISD decided to combine the two schemes of service into one, the Intelligence Service. A conversion exercise was carried out and serving senior police officers were invited to be emplaced on the Intelligence scheme of service. This enables the Department to attract, retain and develop suitable and capable officers and manage their careers. More than 94% of the senior police officers took up the offer and were converted to the Intelligence scheme of service with effect from 1st October last year. Sir, this Bill proposes amendments to the Police Force Act to enable officers, who perform investigation duties, to continue to do so with the necessary police powers which they had before the conversion into the Intelligence scheme of service. The purposes of the amendments are as follows: (a) to confer on designated intelligence officers the police powers of investigation under the Criminal Procedure Code or any other written law as the Minister may prescribe by notification in the Gazette; (b) to provide immunities for these officers relating to acts done under the authority of a warrant.”
“The Prisons Department and the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association have, since 1998, spearheaded the Family Education Against Drug Abuse programme. This programme teaches families the necessary skills and knowledge to cope with and facilitate the addicts' recovery. Apart from all these measures, families of offenders can seek help from other community agencies, such as the Community Development Councils and the Family Service Centres. These measures are enough from now to help the families of offenders to tide over the difficulties arising from their incarceration.”
“The result is a marked decline in the number of new drug abusers, from 1,421 in 1996 to 784 last year, and that is, in a way, an encouraging sign that we do not have many more new ones coming in, although we continue to have them. We cannot completely stop people from abusing drug. Only enforcement action can reduce that. Aftercare is also an essential part, which is what Mr Yatiman asked, in curbing the drug problem, as it helps drug addicts to resist and overcome their addiction. Here, the Prisons Department and the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) work very closely together with the volunteer groups, such as Singapore Aftercare Association and the halfway houses. This has proven to be successful in keeping down the proportion of former drug abusers returning to drugs. Assistance is also granted to families of offenders to help them cope with the incarceration of their loved ones. Families of offenders can approach the Industrial and Services Cooperative Society Ltd and SCORE for assistance. The Industrial and Services Cooperative Society offers annual book grants and scholarships to help them cope with their children's schooling and expenses. It also employs family members of offenders. Family members of offenders who face difficulties in finding jobs can also approach SCORE for employment assistance. In addition, my Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Mohamad Maidin, holds weekly meetings with the family members of drug addicts, to see what sort of assistance they need. Ex-drug addicts and their family members are given further assistance. Help rendered includes employment, accommodation and counselling.”
“CNB regularly conducts enforcement actions in these places. Just as it did with the problem of Ecstasy abuse, it requires the nightclub operators to inform the CNB should they come across such people. However, to date, neither the Police nor CNB has come across any drug trafficking syndicates luring young girls into prostitution via Ketamine addiction. Ketamine is detected through urine analysis conducted by the Centre for Forensic Science. So we work very closely with the Ministry of Health. Urine specimens of suspected Ketamine abusers are sent there for anlaysis. No one should be under any illusion that he or she can consume Ketamine and get away with it. Synthetic drugs, including Ketamine, are not known to be produced in Singapore - that is the lucky part. But they are produced in clandestine laboratories in the region such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and smuggled into Singapore - that is the frightening part, because it is so widely produced in this region, and they can be brought in quite easily. We have to ensure that our border checks are tightened up as well. But we have many travellers coming into Singapore every day and that task will be difficult. We will have to depend on intelligence to detect syndicates and to raid such places where drug abusers hang around and arrest them. 1.15 pm Sir, volunteer groups like the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) and the Singapore Anti Narcotics Association, working with the CNB, have undertaken many preventive drug education programmes with the schools and the general public. Every year, the National Council Against Drug Abuse has many programmes involving the schools and the students, as well as many out-of-school youths working together with SANA.”
“But we must keep on top of this evolving trend. As Dr Lily Neo has pointed out, new synthetic drugs such as Ketamine are gaining popularity, just as Ecstasy was gaining popularity in 1996/1997. Although the number of Ketamine abusers is small, we are paying very close attention to it. Dr Neo is concerned particularly about young girls being addicted to Ketamine. We are similarly concerned. 133 Ketamine abusers were arrested last year. This is an increase from the 78 in year 2000. It is correct that one in three of these Ketamine abusers are female, as compared to one in 10 among the other abusers. This trend mirrors the increasing abuse of such drugs, not just in Singapore, but also regionally and internationally. We are not alone in having this problem. But that is no comfort. 20% of the Ketamine abusers, as I said, in the last two years were actually below 20 years old, of whom half were girls. The relatively high abuse rate among the young females is because of the misconception - their wrong thinking - that Ketamine is a benign drug which they think will not be harmful or addictive. Let me, at the outset, dispel this misconception. Ketamine produces a progression of effects from a state of dreamy intoxication to delirium, accompanied by an inability to move, feel pain, or remember what has occurred under the influence of drugs. So girls are particularly susceptible to other problems if they indulge in such drugs. Ketamine causes hallucination, alters sensation, mood and consciousness. It distorts hearing, touch, smell, taste and visual sensation and causes nausea, vomiting and loss of memory. I do not see the fun in taking such a drug. Many of our young abusers consume Ketamine at night entertainment outlets.”
“Sir, the number of drug offenders arrested has declined significantly, by 34% in the last 10 years, from about 6,250 in 1992 to 4,130 in 2001. Mr Yatiman asked what were the factors that contributed to this decline. Since the mid-1990s, we have taken a multi-pronged approach in dealing with this drug problem, ie, preventive education, vigorous enforcement and a comprehensive rehabilitative and after-care regime to tackle drug abuse. We do not work alone. We work with all the agencies that are responsible to deal with this issue. We work with the Ministry of Education. We work with the Ministry of Health. We work with the Ministry of Community Development and Sports. And we also work very closely with many community self-help organisations, voluntary organisations which are concerned about our young people being involved in drugs, and help them to get out of the problem. Sir, effective enforcement is a cornerstone of our overall strategy. So we doubled our Central Narcotics Bureau's manpower in 1995. The CNB has also reorganised and improved the effectiveness of its intelligence division. We used to have a very small set-up, but we have decided to increase the number of officers in this division so as to get better information to deal with drug syndicates. This enabled the CNB to break up many more drug trafficking, smuggling and distribution syndicates than before. Just last year alone, the CNB smashed 24 syndicates, six times more than it did in 1994 when we had less resources. We have also strengthened our laws, for example, by sending hardcore addicts to long-term jail sentences. Apart from acting as a deterrent, this has actually kept the hardcore drug addicts away from contaminating the young. As a result, we see a decline of younger people in drug addiction.”
“ISD put him and his associates under surveillance but did not arrest him when he left for Afghanistan on 4th October 2001. After he was arrested by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, news broke at the end of November and MHA was asked by the press to comment. Fearing that all his associates would flee, ISD began arresting the Jemaah Islamiyah group on 9th December last year. The concerned Singaporean who passed ISD the information was not the only example in this case. There were others who stepped forward with useful information when the case became public. This included an expatriate working in Singapore. Obviously, everyone who lives in Singapore and shares in its safe and secure environment can have a positive contribution to make. The world is a less safe place today; we need to be on guard. But we must not let this sober reality undermine our self-confidence and allow fear to reduce us into paranoia and paralysis. We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated by terrorism; life must and will go on. Sir, we are ready to deal with the challenges posed by the current security climate. I can assure this House that our officers are well trained and equipped to handle a wide range of security threats. Singaporeans themselves must never take racial and religious harmony for granted. I am glad to note that Singaporeans reject extremist elements, regardless of race or religion. The stability and trust that has taken more than 30 years to build must prevail if Singapore is to survive as a nation. This requires the involvement of all Singaporeans. By remaining vigilant, united and steadfast, the challenges would be more easily overcome, and we would emerge a stronger nation.”
“To date, a total of 60,000 CD volunteers have been trained under this scheme in skills such as first aid, rescue and evacuation procedures, and basic fire fighting. This ensures that they are equipped to take care of the community in times of emergency. Another example is the Neighbourhood Watch Zones which boast of a total of 4,000 volunteers, of which about 1,000 are women. These provide the "eyes and ears" on safety and security issues in the neighbourhood. In a crisis, it is vital that the community does not further dissipate our security resources through unwarranted fear, suspicion and paranoia. Singaporeans could also help our security agencies by staying calm in an emergency and alerting the security agencies if they come across something suspicious in the neighbourhood. Police has and will continue to share information on what to look out for and who to call should suspicious items or persons be found or detected. 1.00 pm Mr Yatiman asked how we can prevent ourselves from being a target for the terrorists. Let me say that, today, every country is potentially vulnerable. Singapore is no exception. Although we have crippled the Jemaah Islamiyah cells and its plans in Singapore, the threat of terrorism has not gone away, and it is not likely to disappear for some time to come. We have protective measures in place, but there is no recipe for immunity. The best we can ask our people to do is to be vigilant and take a shared sense of responsibility over our common collective security. For example, the critical information that the ISD received that led to the Jemaah Islamiyah investigation came from a concerned Singaporean who told ISD that a Singaporean called Muhammad Aslam bin Yar Ali Khan had links with Al Qaeda.”
“Two new hazardous materials (Hazmat) stations will be established on Jurong Island and in Tuas by 2004. The skills level of the Hazmat specialists will be enhanced and more sophisticated equipment acquired. We have also conducted study visits to other countries to see how they deal with such threats and to learn from them. Prof. Chin is also concerned about threats to our financial system or cyber crime problems. Threats like these are certainly emerging in cyberspace. Terrorists can carry out cyber attacks against critical infrastructure facilities, such as telecommunications networks, and cause great damage to our economy and our lives. To deal with this, the Infocomm Development Authority has worked out policies, plans and crisis management framework for infocomm emergencies with the Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team. Sir, I fully agree with Prof. Chin that it is just not enough for the Government agencies to be prepared. The community has an important role to play. Homefront security must be the shared responsibility of every Singaporean. Since the introduction of Total Defence concept in 1984, the Government has been consciously enhancing the security awareness amongst Singaporeans. For example, the Civil Defence Force provides handbooks containing a list of important telephone numbers as well as information, such as the use of improvised covers at home, tips on cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first-aid, dealing with hazardous materials, etc. I would like to inform Prof. Chin that volunteers are indeed given a role in ensuring the community's security. For example, we have the Civil Defence Executive Committees in the various constituencies which focus on the fire safety and emergency preparedness, and manages the Civil Defence Volunteer Scheme.”
“This legislation will give effect to the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, which Singapore signed on 18th December 2001. Thus far, we have not detected any terrorist accounts in our financial system. Nevertheless, we will continue with our strict monitoring. Sir, Members may recall that the US had five anthrax-related deaths last year. This caused a series of anthrax hoaxes in many parts of the world. From October last year to 16th May this year, 143 cases of suspected anthrax were reported to the Police. All turned out to be false alarms or pranks. I urge those who tried this not to waste the Police's and the security forces' resources by calling them up and putting white powder substances, and therefore detracting them from their major role of protecting the public. Prof. Chin and Mr Charles Chong asked if we are ready to deal with biochemical threats. I would like to assure this House that we have a system in place to monitor and detect any biological outbreak early. Our security agencies and medical services are prepared and equipped to deal with such contingencies. We have systems in place to monitor and detect any biological outbreak early. The Ministry of Health has sent out directives to medical practitioners to alert them to the symptoms that a patient would demonstrate upon the exposure to biological or chemical agents. Our hospitals also have adequate facilities and medical supplies to handle such a contingency. Since 1996, after the sarin attack in Tokyo, the Singapore Civil Defence Force has been raising its level of preparedness to respond to any chemical or biological agent attack. The Civil Defence Force will reorganise its resources to better handle these threats.”
“Therefore, Police and, in some instance, the SAF and Gurkha officers are deployed at establishments such as Changi Airport, Tuas and Woodlands Checkpoints, key Government buildings as well as our oil and water installations. Regular patrols are conducted and physical measures, such as closed circuit television and security lighting, are put in place. Police and ISD have also conducted training for security agencies and in-house guards of key installations. The training includes the identification of bombs, firearms and other weapons, and how to respond to incidents such as a bomb explosion, should it occur. Sir, when arrested, the Jemaah Islamiyah members already had four tonnes of ammonium nitrate kept in a warehouse in Malaysia, and were planning to acquire another 17 tonnes to manufacture truck bombs. While ammonium nitrate is widely used as fertilisers, it can also be turned into explosives. There are other commercial substances that can be similarly misused. While we have a system of monitoring the import, transport and storage of hazardous materials, my Ministry is currently studying whether the controls over hazardous materials and commodities that can be misused by terrorists need to be refined. It is widely believed that many terrorist activities are funded from Osama Bin Laden's personal fortune through a series of money laundering operations. It is vital that the integrity of our banking system be protected from such abuse. Singapore has a rigorous system of checks to detect and counter criminal use of the financial system. We will be introducing the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Bill in Parliament next week.”
“So, following the September 11 attacks, security measures at our borders have been intensified to prevent the infiltration of undesirable persons. Stringent immigration and security checks are carried out at all sea, land and air checkpoints. All seamen are now required to undergo full immigration clearance. To facilitate this, the Clifford Pier and the West Coast Ferry Terminal have been gazetted as designated landing points with full immigration, customs and security facilities recently. Where possible, we have also enhanced our operational capability using technology. The Singapore Immigration and Registration has acquired equipment to detect forged travel documents. X-ray machines and walk-through metal detectors are deployed to detect weapons and explosives. Explosive sniffers capable of detecting explosives such as TNT, or even C4 - an explosive substance found in the shoe of the man who travelled on a plane to America - which has a low vapour emission, are also deployed. Mobile x-ray machines at the land checkpoints enable effective inspection of cargo vehicles. In addition, my Ministry, together with the Ministries of Transport, Trade and Industry and Finance, is considering a security regime to screen and inspect imports, exports and transhipment cargo at our ports. This system will leverage on technology, such as x-ray scanners and radiological detectors. Since October last year, visa requirements have also been imposed on visitors from certain countries in view of the global security situation. This allows security screening of visitors before their arrival in Singapore. Key installations and high-risk establishments are attractive targets for terrorists. If our key installations are sabotaged, lives will be lost and Singaporeans' confidence will be shaken.”
“In addition, the Singapore Civil Defence Force conducts civil resource mobilisation exercises regularly. And I am glad to note that the civil resource owners have shown encouraging support for these exercises. There are other exercises which are less visible to the public, and these are primarily to test out the response plans of the various agencies in handling and dealing with an emergency situation. Members asked me to tell in greater detail what these plans are. For obvious reasons, we do not publicise these plans, lest potential trouble makers learn how to overcome them, or to sabotage them. Sir, coming back to the emergency behaviour officers, many of them have been put into practice when we had the air crashes in Palembang and Taiwan, as well as in other earthquake disasters, such as in Taiwan. Sir, several Members also spoke about the need for multi-agency coordination to deal with terrorist threats. We recognise this. At the strategic level, the coordination is enhanced through the establishment of the National Security Secretariat, which DPM Tan mentioned yesterday, and it is staffed by the Home Team and officers from the Ministry of Defence. The Joint Counter-Terrorism Centre was also set up to share intelligence on terrorism among the intelligence agencies. To further tighten the inter-Ministry coordination, my Ministry has recently set up the Homefront Security Centre, which will have oversight of the security operations and joint exercises to test responses to the various threats. It will work closely with MINDEF and other Government agencies and departments. Sir, Singapore's openness to trade and travel is our economic strength, but it can also be a security weakness.”
“It also ensures the provision of essential services such as water, power, health services, food and fuel. All the Ministries and certain key Government agencies are involved in NEST. I chair the National Emergency Council comprising the Permanent Secretaries of all the Ministries and the key appointment holders of certain Government agencies to set the policies and provide guidelines to coordinate and prioritise the operations of the various bodies involved in this National Emergency System. 12.45 pm There is also a Security and Policy Review Committee set up since 1988 and comprising the Ministers for Defence, Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs to monitor the strategic security issues, particularly those requiring inter-Ministry coordination. We also have the Executive Group, chaired by my Permanent Secretary, and comprising the Permanent Secretaries of the key Ministries to lead in the management of any civil security or civil emergency situation, such as a hijack, a bomb explosion, terrorist sabotage and other civil disasters. In 1994, we set up the National Emergency Behaviour System as a key component of the National Emergency System to mitigate and manage stress experienced by victims and provide psychological support for traumatised individuals during a civil or a national emergency. Today, we have emergency responders, nurses and teachers who are trained as emergency behaviour officers. Various exercises are carried out from time to time. Some are more visible, such as the air crash exercise conducted in May 2001 along Holland Road which involved representatives of grassroots organisations as well as Government agencies. We also conduct blood donation drives and shelter exercises which involve the public from time to time.”
“This means that even if the Al-Qaeda is dismantled, the pursuit of its jihad continues in these local groups. And given the internal resources and the capabilities of these groups, the threat of terrorism can continue for a long time to come. This is what makes the current complex terrorist threat that we are facing such a resilient, borderless and porous phenomenon. This is why Singapore strongly condemns all forms of terrorism. As a responsible member of the global community, Singapore fully supports international efforts in combating terrorism. In doing so, the United Nations Act was enacted to implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373. Under the Act, regulations allowing us to effect measures mandated by the UN Security Council can be issued. At the same time, relevant international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism are being reviewed. Singapore works closely with its ASEAN partners to combat terrorism. The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Terrorism that I am attending in Kuala Lumpur next week is an example. ISD has regular contacts with its foreign counterparts to exchange intelligence. These have resulted in significant successes, such as the arrest of bomb maker Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi in the Philippines. Beyond terrorism, our law enforcement agencies have established close relations with the other regional counterparts to deal with other transnational crimes, such as drug trafficking and other serious crimes. Sir, Mr Tan Soo Khoon is interested in our National Emergency System (NEST). The NEST has been in place since 1982 to ensure that Singapore survives any security threat. It is a comprehensive system encompassing civil security, civil defence and the smooth operation of our economy during an emergency.”
“Sir, the terrorist challenge that Singapore and the rest of the world are facing today is like nothing we have ever encountered before. Terrorism is not a new phenomenon. It is an old scourge which has plagued many countries throughout the world since even the turn of the 20th century. But most of these terrorist groups were generally local in their agenda and their operations. These would include, for example, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, the Irish Republican Army in the UK, the Basque Separatists in Spain or even the Shining Path of Peru in South America. In our region, until recent years when links were established with external groups, we have the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines. All of them mounted terrorist operations mainly in their own national domains. The Al-Qaeda however is a trans-national terrorist organisation with sleeper cells all over the world. It has operational reach anywhere in the world. The Al-Qaeda is, of course, not the first of its kind in this regard. There were terrorist organisations which also operated internationally. Members of the Japanese Red Army, for example, came all the way to Singapore to mount the Laju incident in 1974. What makes the Al-Qaeda unique is its ability to successfully franchise and indigenise its terrorist expertise and ideological agenda to other autonomous, local militant Islamic organisations throughout the world, including, as you have seen, the Jemaah Islamiyah. The Al-Qaeda is able to weave together a brotherhood of local terrorist and militant organisations, each with its own agenda and revolutionary histories but, at the same time, ideologically linked to the agenda of a common global jihad.”
“For even as it maintained its own vision of, first, an Islamic Indonesia, and later an expanded vision of an Islamic nusantara (meaning Malay Archipelago) comprising Malaysia, Indonesia and Mindanao, Jemaah Islamiyah members were ready to take part in the Al-Qaeda's global terrorist war against those whom Al-Qaeda deemed as the enemies of Islam, namely the Americans. Hence, in 1997, nearly four years before the September 11, 2001 attacks, Singapore's Jemaah Islamiyah members had themselves conceived of a plan to attack the shuttle bus conveying American personnel to Yishun MRT. This plan was submitted to, and was approved, by the Al-Qaeda leaders, but for reasons unknown, was not subsequently pursued. Then again in October 2001, when an Arab-Canadian Al-Qaeda operative approached the Jemaah Islamiyah for help to launch multiple truck bomb attacks against US-linked targets in Singapore, the local Jemaah Islamiyah cell readily acceded to this request. Had they not been stopped in time, these attacks would have no doubt occurred. In fact, even after they learned of the arrests by the Internal Security Department, the Jemaah Islamiyah leaders met in Johore a few days later and instructed the Singapore Jemaah Islamiyah members to continue with the attacks in retaliation of the arrests. To this end, the Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah bomb maker, Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi, who was called "Mike", was about to buy 4.8 tonnes of TNT when he was arrested by Filipino Police following intelligence from the ISD. At the time of his arrest, he had already acquired and stashed away 1.2 tonnes of TNT, 2,400 metres of detonator cord and hundreds of detonator caps destined to be smuggled from Mindanao to Indonesia, then to Malaysia and, finally, to Singapore.”
“Sir, I thank the Members for raising the questions. They have expressed concern about the security situation, and asked whether Singapore is prepared for the threat of terrorism. Let me first give Members an overview of the security situation and measures that we have taken to deal with it. The threat of terrorism to Singapore is not a new one. We have had our brush with terrorist groups in the past. But, in all these incidents, the involvement of Singaporeans was minimal. In contrast, the recent Jemaah Islamiyah episode saw the participation of Singaporeans in terrorist plans which, had they succeeded, would have resulted in significant loss of lives. Mr Tan Soo Khoon and other Members have commented on this too. Why is this Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group so different from the previous groups? At the risk of over-simplification, what has made the difference is impact of the Al-Qaeda. It was the exposure of Jemaah Islamiyah leaders to the jihad in Afghanistan and to Al-Qaeda training which radicalised them, not only by imbibing Al-Qaeda's sophisticated terrorist tradecraft, but also its ideology of global jihad. Ibrahim Maidin, the Singapore Jemaah Islamiyah leader, understood the importance of this Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda exposure, and went to considerable lengths to ensure that a flow of selected Jemaah Islamiyah cadres were sent to Afghanistan. That the Jemaah Islamiyah subscribed to the Al-Qaeda's global jihad agenda is obvious.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2002/2003, and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.”
“Sir, I just wish to remind Members to follow proper procedures when they ask for leave to withdraw their amendment. Do not say, "I withdraw", that is it. That is not the correct way to put across. Please say, "I beg leave to withdraw the amendment." Assoc. Prof. Chin Tet Yung (Sembawang): Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head R of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100. Sir, may I have leave to take the three cuts together?”
“It is 15%, quite appropriate, quite in keeping with the amount of work and contribution that an NMP and NCMP make in this Parliament. The same applies to the use of the allowance for Legislative and Secretarial Assistants. The NCMP and NMP's job in Parliament is to speak up in debates, etc. There is no constituency duty. There may be some research that needs to be done in looking up the papers, or whatever, for making speeches in Parliament. For that, he can have access to the Parliament Librarian. I am sure our Parliament Librarian will be very happy to help him with any information that he seeks. But that is not the same as the $1,000 that we give to the elected MPs to hire a Legislative Assistant. The NCMP's honorarium is only $1,600, or thereabouts. To give him $1,000 to hire a Legislative Assistant is totally out of proportion to the honorarium. Definitely, it is completely unjustifiable. I cannot explain that. 2.15 pm”
“Still no basis. Because if we follow that argument that Mr Chia had 35% of the votes, then our first-past-the-post system will not work. We will then have a different system altogether. If we have a proportional representation system where if his party has 35% of the votes, then he will have 35% of the seats. But for good reasons, which I have explained many times in this Parliament, we should not have the proportional representation system. We have the first-past-the-post system. Winner takes all. He must get 50% plus one vote, and that is it. As for Assoc. Prof. Low Seow Chay, or any of our PAP MPs who won against an Opposition, he does not just represent 65% of the electorate, he represents all the residents in the constituency. I cannot see Mr Low saying to his residents, "I don't represent you because you may have voted for the Opposition." He does not know who voted for the Opposition. But once he is elected under this system, he represents all the residents in Chua Chu Kang. He does not speak only for 65% of them. Mr Chia said, if I heard him correctly, that his job is not confined to one constituency, but all constituencies, and he has to deal with a lot of constituency matters. I think it is a bit too much. I do not think my colleagues here will agree with him. If he wants to do that, please go and do that as a free agent. He, as an NCMP, does not represent anyone at all in the constituency, not even in Chua Chu Kang. He does not know who voted for him. He knows he had 35% of the votes. That is all. But in the system that we have, he does not represent anyone in this Parliament. Let me make this very clear. So there is no question of revising the honorarium to 40%, as Mr Chia has asked, or 50%, as Mr Chiam has asked.”
“It is this Government that made it possible to have NCMP, because the people wanted to have the PAP in Parliament. In fact, they wanted as many PAP MPs in Parliament as possible and we do not want a situation where the whole House is completely filled with elected PAP MPs and there is no Opposition voice. So the Constitution was amended to provide for Non-Constituency MP, so that the best losers will come in if there is no Opposition MP. The fact that we now have two Opposition MPs means we can now have one NCMP. That is how Mr Chia got in here, and in the words of Mr Chiam, which he said many years ago, "by the grace of the PAP". Sir, I do not want to belabour this point. But to say that he had 35% of the votes of Chua Chu Kang, and therefore should be entitled to 40% of the allowance is simply without basis.”
“Otherwise, he would become one of us. Whether it is Mr Eric Low or Mr Seetoh, they are advisors, and they perform community service as advisors in these grassroots organisations. It has nothing to do with the remaking of Singapore. We do not want to remake the Opposition! On NMP and NCMP honorarium, I find it quite ironical for Mr Chiam now to speak up for Mr Steve Chia and argue for a higher honorarium. First, let me make it clear that the NMP and NCMP do not receive an allowance. They receive an honorarium, which is a small sum of money in recognition of their services and contribution in Parliament. They are not like elected MPs who have a bigger role to play in the constituencies and in Parliament. So let us not equate the NCMP with that of the elected MP, regardless of how many percent of votes he has received. Many years ago, when we debated the NCMP scheme, Mr Chiam called them the "backdoor MPs". He called them non-constituency because they do not represent anybody and therefore they are second-class MPs. Now, just because Mr Steve Chia is a member of the SDA and Mr Chiam is the leader of the SDA, he sees it in his self-interest to promote his fellow colleague in this House. That is, in fact, completely within his right, but we must draw a distinction. The NCMP, like the NMP, does not have the same rights, duties and responsibilities as the elected MPs. First, they cannot vote on confidence motions against the Government. Secondly, they cannot vote on money Bills, Supply Bills, Constitutional amendments. Thirdly, the NCMP and NMP do not have constituencies to look after. We must remember that the duties and responsibilities of the NCMP and NMP are very different from the elected MPs.”
“The question of his MPS office was dealt with way back 10 years ago, if I remember, in 1991-1992, when HDB decided that, owing to the shortage of void deck space, they would give the space only to the community organisations. As for MPS office, he should look after himself, find some way, rent a place, and he can have his MPS office. Is the Government treating the PAP MPs differently? No, the Government does not directly get involved in giving the PAP MPs an office. It is the PAP Community Foundation, a charity social service organisation, that set up these void deck offices. They run kindergartens and some of the other social services, like childcare or day care, and only a limited period is let out to the MP to hold meet-the-people sessions. The MP does not use the place all the time. It is only once a week and rent is paid for that. Why can't Mr Chiam find similar arrangements? He can set up a Foundation. If not, he can always rent space from any owner of the shop, or whoever wants to let him use the space once a week. I heard previously that Mr Jeyaretnam held his MPS at a coffeeshop. That is a private arrangement. The Government does not set out to help the PAP MPs, neither does it set out to help the Opposition MPs. He asked about the role of the advisor and why the losing PAP candidate is treated better. The PAP candidate is an advisor of grassroots organisations. I have explained on many occasions in this House the role of the advisors. They are the ones who assist the Government, through the People's Association, to carry out Government policies. I think it is quite farfetched to expect the Opposition Members to help carry out Government policies and programmes. That is not doable. I do not think Mr Chiam will agree to that.”
“In our system, we must make sure that our people know that this is a good Government. They understand what is a good Government and they have benefited from this good Government. Otherwise, we will not be credible, not just to Singaporeans but to all our foreign investors. And that is important for Singapore. Those who say that they are afraid to speak up, I think it is only a cop-out for not wanting to take part, either because they are pathetic, they do not want to be involved, or it is just an excuse not to want to take part in anything. We cannot define OB markers by law. It is not possible. Society changes and evolves, and we have to evolve with it. There are many channels that are open to the people to speak up. This is known to everyone. Are the young people discouraged from this? I do not see that happening. Those young people who do not want to be involved, they are most likely the ones who find themselves too busy with their careers, personal pursuits, or with their relationship. Therefore, they find little time for community or national matters. But we encourage them to take part. There are many avenues for this. In the Singapore 21 exercise, more than 6,000 people took part, and many of them were young Singaporeans. In the recently set up Remaking Singapore Committee, there are many young people, and I encourage them to come forward to give their views. And we must bear in mind that in this very sensitive regional geopolitical context and the fault lines in our society - issues of race, language, religion and culture - these should be treaded very carefully before we break these fault lines and turn them into a disaster. Mr Chiam has his usual lament about treating the Opposition and recognising them.”
“Even those Opposition Members, who are outside Parliament, they also spoke up. They are none the worse for that, unless they deliberately offend the law. Whether a person is an Opposition, or whoever, if he breaks the law, the law will go after him. There is no question about it. So long as he does things within the confines of the law, nothing is taboo. He can carry on talking, he can carry on criticising, he can have his views. But as he has noted, if he has very strong views about Government policies, and if Government is right that he is wrong headed, the Government will come down very hard. Is it because the Government deliberately does it to stamp out comments? No. He must take responsibility for what he has said, as Mr Chia himself admitted. He takes responsibility for his comments and the Government will respond, and the public, who read and hear both sides, would decide who is right. If the Government does not come back and rebut and comment, and if his views are allowed to prevail, then over time, people would say that the Government has got no arguments. 2.00 pm The Government is not afraid of genuine debate. A person can talk, he can debate, he can bring out views, he can disagree. But that does not mean that he must tear down the institutions, the foundations, or our value system. That would make people lose respect and credibility of the Government. Once people lose credibility, not because the Government is found wanting, or not doing its job, but because the Government is doing its job and there are people who want to cast doubt on that, the Government has to come back and respond to it. Otherwise, the Government cannot govern. Sir, in many societies, many things are being said and the leaders just leave things as they are. It is their system.”
“If we look back at all our elections, nobody has challenged the fact that our elections have been fair. If not, Mr Chiam would not be here; Mr Low would not be here, and the NCMP would not have a chance to even smell 35%. So I think the basis for saying that by having the Elections Department under the Prime Minister's Office leads to unfair practices simply is not valid. On out-of-bounds markers, is there a list of OB markers? This is not a golf course! The political arena is not a physical structure that we can set markers. Same as for nation building, as well as development of a society. These cannot be marked by markers. There are conventions, practices, norms, values that we have established over the years. These values, norms, etc, change according to the times. As society matures and develops, as people become better educated, better informed, then the society's expectations of what should and can be done will be different. People have acknowledged that we have changed a lot in the last 15-20 years. The society has become more open, much more consultative, more participatory, and the Government has always encouraged people to take part in the affairs of the nation, because these are matters that concern their lives and future. To say that the Government has put obstacles and discouraged people just because there are unseen OB markers simply does not state the facts. The facts are there for him to see. He can read the newspapers. There are many letters in the press. In fact, the editors receive so many letters, and they can choose only a few letters to publish every day. He can watch talk show programmes on television and listen to the radio, and people speak up. Even in Parliament, Opposition Members spoke up. They are none the worse.”
“That situation has worked well, and it will remain. Will transferring the Elections Department to the President's Office make any difference? The President's Office - do not forget the President himself is also an elected President - is also an elected office too. So whether we leave the Elections Department in the Prime Minister's Office or transfer it to the President's Office, the same question will be raised. The point on the Elections Department is whether we have a fair Elections Department that conducts its business, in a transparent manner, and that the public can see there is no fraud. Even if we have an Elections Commission, it will not solve Mr Chia's problem. I know, and he has read in the papers too, that many countries have Election Commissions and there are complaints about fraud, vote buying, pressure, rigging, and all kinds of electoral excesses. So having an independent Elections Commission does not guarantee him a fair election. What is most important, and this has been established in our case for many years, is that the people running the Elections Department are civil servants who carry out their work objectively and they did it fairly and according to the law. That has been the practice all these years. We have civil servants with high integrity and they have the systems, and they follow what is provided for in the law. So, regardless of whether we have an independent Elections Commission, an Elections Department in the Prime Minister's Office or in the President's Office, it still depends on the people running the election. If we have people whom we can trust, with high integrity, fair, balanced, objective, then we have a fair and balanced election.”
“If not, just leave things be." They will have to work their ground to convince the voters, not just the media alone. As regards Mr Chia's comment on linking political support to infrastructure or upgrading projects, these are our programmes. People will elect the Party that will bring these programmes. When we are returned to power, we keep our promises. That is the way it is done in many parts of the world. In most democratic societies - in America, Britain, and anywhere else he can name - I am sure he will find the same things being done. There is nothing wrong with that. Because if a party that is contesting an election cannot keep its promise and does not have good programmes, then it will not be returned to power. So if the Opposition has good programmes, can convince the people, and be returned to govern, they can carry out what they have promised the electorate. As regards the Elections Department under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), and the Boundaries Report, in particular the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, how they arrived at the decision, they must have some basis for doing so. As for Braddell Heights in Marine Parade, this has been asked before. If Mr Chia reads up the Hansard, he might have found an explanation there. There may be a reason why the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee had decided to draw the boundaries that way, just as they decided why certain constituencies should be single-member constituencies. Does the Prime Minister influence the electoral process? The Prime Minister is the person who recommends to the President to dissolve Parliament, and that is the executive power as provided for in the Constitution. Every Prime Minister does it. Not just in Singapore, but also in other parts of the world.”