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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“Last year, the Traffic Police organised a first "Ride Safely Stay Alive" campaign to educate the motorcyclists on safe riding. There are signs that the motorcyclists are now becoming more aware of their vulnerability. This year, another campaign will be mounted and it will be aimed at getting the motorcyclists to cultivate good road safety habits and to avoid dangerous practices. At the same time, the campaign will also ask other motorists to look out for motorcyclists and be more considerate on the road. Dr Beng also asked about drunk driving. Indeed we take a very serious view of drivers who are drunk and when they are drunk they should not be driving. As the Member has noted, the Chief Justice has recently announced jail term for drunk driving and I hope that this message will be a deterrent to those who want to drive after they are drunk. As to whether we should get other establishments, particularly when they serve drinks, to put on breathalyser test equipment to warn their customers, I think the Police will consider this suggestion. If it is practicable, we may want to recommend that it be implemented. On speed cameras and regulating speeds, the Parliamentary Secretary will answer them afterwards. Mr Zulkifli was concerned about hit-and-run accidents. Indeed, I am also very concerned about hit and run accidents. But according to the Police, there has been no upward trend in the number of hit-and -un accidents. Over the last four years, the number has averaged between 110 and 130 each year. But indeed this hit-and-run behaviour is really irresponsible and, in fact, sometimes it endangers the life of the person being hit.”
“We have been encouraging this practice through the "Ride Bright Campaign" since 1989 and I am pleased to see on the road nowadays that more motorcyclists are indeed switching on their headlights during the day. Related to this, we are also requiring all newly registered motorcycles to be equipped with automatic headlight switch-on devices and this device will activate the headlight when the engine is switched on, so that this will be quite useful to forgetful riders when this new law is in place. I think sometime later this year the law will be amended to require new motorcycles effective from, say, 1997 or so, to have this automatic switch-on device. The second area is in the area of testing for learner motorcyclists. Today, our motorcyclists are trained and tested in the circuit and later this year we require all these learner motorcyclists to be trained and tested on the roads before they are issued with a riding licence. This measure will help to expose motorcyclists to the actual road condition and help to build their confidence. And this will also make Class 2B test consistent with Class 3 test where drivers are already being tested on the roads. 2.00 pm The third area is in the area of raising the minimum age limit for motorcyclists from the present 16 years old. Accident statistics have shown that indeed the younger motorcyclists are more vulnerable to accidents than the older ones. As to what age this would be, we are still thinking about it. But I have received feedback from others that even for motorcars, we should also raise the age from 17 years to somewhere higher. The Traffic Police will announce all these details for these measures later this year. Besides these measures, the Traffic Police will continue its public education efforts.”
“And we are hopeful that these measures will help to deter some of these would-be offenders, and if they do not, I am sure we will find other ways of dealing with them. On the question of road safety, Dr Beng raised the high casualty rate among motorcyclists. Yes, I also share his concern. In fact, I brought this up last year. The problem has not improved very much despite the major public education campaign or programme that we launched last year. Motorcyclists and pillion riders continue to be the most vulnerable group of road users, accounting for more than 45% of the accident fatalities. Members will recall that when this issue was raised in this House last year, I said that the Traffic Police will be studying the issue and several measures were being considered. Specifically, three proposals were suggested: firstly, to require by law that motorcyclists switch on their headlights during day-time; secondly, to tighten the motorcyclists' training and testing programme; and, thirdly, to raise the minimum age requirement for motorcyclists from 16 to somewhere beyond that. We have now decided to implement these three measures. We will amend the law this year to require motorcyclists to switch on the headlights when they are riding during the day. At present, this law only requires all motorists to switch on the headlights from 7.00 pm to 7.00 am. We will impose the requirement for motorcyclists to switch on the headlights during the day. This will make the motorcyclists more conspicuous on the roads and such measures have also been successfully implemented in a number of other countries.”
“And if Dr Soin has ideas on how to make the system better, I would also be very pleased to hear from her. On molest cases and aggravated outraging of modesty, Mr Zulkifli noted the increase in outraging of modesty cases. Yes, indeed, there has been an increase despite the decrease in many of the other types of crimes committed by Singaporeans and foreigners. Outraging of modesty cases seem to be on the increase. Molest is a crime of opportunity. You may laugh but when I asked the Director of CID, "Who is the likely victim of outraging of modesty?", he said, "Any woman, any age." I asked him, "Who is the likely perpetrator of this?" He said, "Any man, any age." "And where will it be committed?", he said, "Any time, anywhere." So it is really a crime of opportunity. But we must not exaggerate this, neither do we want to take this lightly. More than 80% of these cases were simple outraging of modesty. This does not mean that we take it lightly. I take this very seriously and we are very concerned and I am sure our courts are also very concerned. Recently, it has been suggested, and we are now implementing this with the blessings of the Chief Justice, to allow the televising of court proceedings on molest cases when the accused pleads guilty. The Police "Crime Watch" programme this month will show the first of such cases. And the Police will launch a publicity campaign together with MCD and the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations later this year to encourage victims to report such cases. The Police will also work with the CDIS of the Ministry of Education to introduce crime prevention education on sexual abuse in the health education for schools.”
“The Chief Justice has also asked for a committee to be set up to review the Children and Young Persons Act. The committee has completed its study and presented its report and it is now being studied by MCD and the Home Affairs Ministry. Dr Soin showed us some figures which I provided last year about ex-convicts returning to crime. I must say that no country has succeeded in rehabilitating every prisoner. In fact, no prison programme can be so successful as to ensure that prisoners do not go back to crime. There will always be some recalcitrants who go back to crime after their release from prison. The present prison regime is designed primarily to punish and deter these offenders so that they will think twice about going back to crime. For those who are responsive to the prison programme, the Prisons Department will give them rehabilitative opportunities through training, education, through work in the prison, to enable them to reintegrate into society. For those who persistently go back to crime, then it will apply progressively harsher regimes with each re-admission to prison to reinforce the deterrent effects of repeat offenders. And I also know that our courts will take a harsher look at ex-convicts or ex-prisoners who repeat offences and when they have a history of convictions, the courts do give them heavier sentences. The percentages may seem large that 45% of ex-convicts go back to crime, but the number relative to the number of people who are admitted to prison is really not that significant. So if we can think of and find a better way of rehabilitating them and ensuring that no one goes back to crime after he was convicted, then I would like to know what these better ideas are.”
“Sir, Mr Peh Chin Hua talked about juvenile delinquency and the high incidence of juvenile crimes and he said that there was an increase of almost 91% in the last 10 years. The Police have also noted this and indeed juvenile crime has continued in the upward trend last year. And this is a matter of concern not just to my Ministry and the Police but also to the Judiciary, the educators, the social workers and MCD. But I do not think it is right to attribute this rising juvenile crime figures to the new approach of community policing by the Police. Community policing is to make people more aware that the Police are there to help them and the Police are their friends and they should not be afraid in approaching the Police if they have a problem. But that does not mean that the Police will lose their authority. The Police authority will be there. If you run foul of the law, I am sure you know what Police authority really means. So it is not true that community policing leads to an increase in the juvenile crime situation. I also said last year that the increase in juvenile crime or juvenile delinquency is a larger social problem that we are facing today. Law enforcement alone will not be enough to deal with this problem. We must understand the root causes of this larger social problem and one of which would be the erosion of family values. Members would know that last year, an inter-Ministerial committee on functional family was set up and chaired by the Acting Minister for Community Development. They are now addressing this issue. Several sub-committees have been formed and are looking into the specific issues including the question of juvenile crime and delinquency, and I will leave it to my colleague to answer this question.”
“What we see are individuals, maybe sometimes they are loosely related groups of foreign workers, who prey on illegal immigrants or the overstayers. Because the victims are either illegal immigrants or overstayers themselves, the foreign criminals have exploited them as the matter is less likely to be reported to the Police. In some cases, the foreign criminals threatened reprisals against the families of the victims if the matter was reported to the Police. Dr Beng asked what about the other serious crimes committed by foreigners. The number of foreigners arrested rose by about 30% from 1,443 in 1993 to 1,879 last year. Of these foreigners who were arrested, 60% were social visitors, dependant pass or student pass holders. The remainder were foreign workers, either legal or illegal foreign workers. Most of the offences committed by them were minor offences such as shoplifting, but there are more serious crimes committed by foreigners and some of these include murder. For example, in 1993, 13 murders were committed by foreigners but last year there were 19. For rape, in 1994, 11 foreigners were arrested compared to 6 in 1993. For rioting, the Police arrested 29 in 1993 compared to 67 last year. For robbery, the Police arrested 57 in 1993 compared to 100 in 1994. For serious assault, the number increased from 22 to 58 in 1994. While the Police take a very serious view of all these offences committed, whether they be by Singaporeans or by foreigners, and when they are arrested or when they are caught, I am sure that they will be brought to book and brought to court and we will definitely ask for a deterrent sentence to make sure that they do not come back again if they are foreigners, and if they are Singaporeans, they do not repeat their crimes.”
“45 pm Sir, let me be very clear and very blunt about this, and I am sending a clear and strong warning to every employer who is thinking about employing an immigration offender to work illegally, not to do so. If he has already hired an immigration offender, then he must stop immediately. If employers need to use foreign workers, there are legal means of securing them. If employers resort to illegal means, then they must be prepared to face the consequences. And I wish to remind this House that there is already in place the provision for mandatory caning and imprisonment for employers of immigration offenders. Singapore has a reputation of being a relatively safe and secure society. It is my responsibility to ensure that this continues so that all of us and our children can walk on our streets and can sleep in our homes safely. We cannot allow foreigners to evade immigration controls and remain illegally in Singapore. If our borders remain porous, then all kinds of characters can and will come to Singapore and equally we cannot condone employers who flout the law and abet the inflow of illegal immigrants and overstayers by giving them jobs. My Ministry will amend the Immigration Act to require the principal or the main contractors to put up security and other access control measures by making them fully accountable for immigration offenders found at their worksite controlled by them. We will also be working with the other relevant Government agencies on the measures needed to deter contractors from offering illegal employment to foreign workers. On the question of crime by foreign workers, we do not detect any organised groups of foreign criminal syndicates coming here to commit crime.”
“So the two problems of crimes at construction sites and illegal immigrants are related. To quote some figures, in 1994, 151 illegal immigrants and overstayers were arrested by Police for committing various crimes, such as murder, robbery and rioting. This is a sharp increase from the 42 arrested in 1993. The related illegal immigration and crime situation at construction sites are viewed very seriously. Part of the reason for the worsening situation is the poor security at the construction sites which allows unauthorised persons to enter and to use the sites without any control. The principal and main contractors have the responsibility to keep out such illegal immigrants and to prevent crime by implementing adequate security measures at their worksites. Police have recommended to these worksite contractors some minimum security measures which contractors should adopt to control the access of these worksites to people who have a legitimate reason to be there. My Ministry has also taken various other steps to reduce the inflow of immigration offenders, including equipping our Police Coast Guard with higher speed craft to police our shores. But these measures alone are not enough. There is a limit to which we can use persuasion to get contractors to be more security conscious and to keep out illegal immigrants and overstayers. The problem will remain as long as there are unscrupulous employers willing to hire illegal foreign workers. If there is no opportunity for illegal work, then there will be no reason for these foreign workers to overstay, or to try to come to Singapore illegally. 1.”
“Sir, I thank the Members for their comments and questions which I shall try to deal with. First, on the question of crime in construction sites and crime by foreign workers. I am very concerned about the impact on society caused by the illegal influx of foreigners into Singapore. Last year alone, almost 10,000, to be exact 9,846, illegal immigrants and overstayers were arrested and this is 18% higher than the figure a year before. The majority of these immigration offenders naturally came here to work, not for holiday. As long as the economic disparity between Singapore and the countries where these immigration offenders come from remains wide, then the temptation for foreign workers to seek jobs in Singapore will be high. These workers consist of those who enter illegally, those who enter legally and overstay, as well as those who abuse their social visit passes or their student passes to work illegally. Let me, in the first place, say that legitimate foreign workers, ie, those who come here and apply for permits and employment passes, play a very important part in our economy. Many of the buildings we live in or work in were built with the help of these foreign workers. We welcome the contribution made by these legitimate foreign workers to our economy as long as they do not flout our laws. Singapore is small. We cannot afford to have large numbers of foreigners entering Singapore illegally or overstaying to work illegally. The situation at construction sites is of particular concern because large numbers of these immigration offenders have been found at these construction sites. Many construction sites have been used by illegal foreigners to seek shelter or to seek work. Some of these illegal foreigners also turn to crime.”
“Sir, I do not agree with Mr Chiam because the Immigration Department has been very patient. It has given these workers a lot of time. Since the last employment, they were allowed to remain here for three months. Three months is a reasonable period. 12.55 pm BILL INTRODUCED MERCHANT SHIPPING BILL "to revise the law relating to Merchant Shipping and to repeal and re-enact with amendments the Merchant Shipping Act (Chapter 179 of the 1985 Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Communications (Mr Mah Bow Tan); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. ANNUAL BUDGET STATEMENT Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [1st March, 1995], "That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the financial year 1st April, 1995 to 31st March, 1996." - [Minister for Finance]. Question again proposed.”
“I think Mr Chiam hits the point correctly. Indeed there are workers who will abscond even when they are working legally and this is all the more reason for the Immigration Department to be very strict. It just proves my point.”
“Sir, if the Minister is expected to keep such data in his head, I think there will be a lot of things for him to remember. But I remember this particular case because I checked it up. I asked why is there an interest in this case, and it has come to my attention that there are indeed two such cases; one case with five workers, the other with seven workers, not nine, and one of whom had absconded.”
“We have to know when the hearing date is. If, for example, on 21st February, the hearing date is fixed for 1st May, I would be very reluctant to say that he can remain here for another three months and in the meanwhile he has nothing to feed himself. During this time what will happen to the foreign worker? Will the defence counsel say, "I will feed him and I will ensure that he will not work illegally." I think that will be difficult. But if, on 21st February, the court has fixed the hearing for, say, 28th February, or 3rd March, or some reasonable period, yes, I will be very sympathetic.”
“Yes, we will allow them to stay provided we know the date of hearing of the trial. But if it is only for setting a date for the trial, then we actually do not know how long that it is going to take. So we must be reasonable about this. I am not jumping into conclusion that every foreign worker who overstays or who works here and has a dispute with the employer will commit crime. No, I am not. But neither am I so sanguine as Mr Low that these workers will not get into trouble. Let me disclose that in another case, represented by Mr Jeyaretnam, which concerned seven other Indian workers, the Immigration Department gave them Special Passes up to 9th March, or thereabout, to settle their case. During that process, one had already absconded. What has happened to the absconded Indian worker? I do not know. He might have gone back, or he might have smuggled himself out. He might still be here. He might be working illegally. He might have committed a crime. So I cannot be so sanguine as Mr Low to presume that all foreign workers are of good behaviour. Neither am I saying that all foreign workers commit crimes. But here I have an instance where a worker, given a Special Pass to remain here to pursue a civil case, had absconded. No amount of undertaking by any counsel can ensure that his client will not get into trouble.”
“No, as the Member said, the defence counsel or the lawyer can give an undertaking to bring these people back to pursue the claim and get the money for them if they succeed in their claim. It is not the responsibility of the Immigration Department to keep these people here. Neither is it our business to deny any foreign worker from pursuing any claim. We take a neutral position on this. But if he cannot live here because he has no money, then he will become an illegal worker and, worse still, he might commit a crime. What happens if he commits a crime whilst here? I have the responsibility in making sure that people who are here have a legitimate interest to remain here and I would not allow people who have no legitimate reason to remain here to stay here and eventually get into problems. I think it is in our interest to protect them by sending them back.”
“No one is being prejudiced. I am not saying that they have no right to pursue a civil claim. They can, and they should if they have a rightful claim. But what I am saying is that after having given them a reasonable period to settle their claim and they cannot do so, and they cannot sustain themselves, then they should go home first. Meanwhile, when they get a hearing date, they can come back again. And when they succeed, they will be able to get all the costs from the employer.”
“Let me correct one remark. Illegal workers do not get caned. But if they are overstayers, they would be caned. I do not know whether the court would give them an early hearing or not. What Mr Chiam has said is purely speculation and I am also hypothesizing that if the court gives them a hearing date in June, what happens to the workers here in the meanwhile. So I think it is only fair that they go back first. Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, does the Minister agree that foreign workers, who have also made a contribution to our economy, should not be prejudiced by the action or regulation of the Immigration Department to pursue a legal claim against their employers?”
“I think Mr Chiam has missed my point. The extension up to 21st February does no good to the workers, because 21st February is only for fixing a date of hearing. If the hearing is fixed, say, for June, are we saying that they be allowed to remain until June and meanwhile they would be unemployed or employed illegally and become like those illegal workers whom we will arrest and be caned?”
“In fact, I was not about to mention Mr Jeyaretnam until Mr Low mentioned the names of these two foreign workers. There is a direct connection. Mr Jeyaretnam is the counsel for these two persons that Mr Low mentioned, and that is a fact. I am only stating a fact that Mr Jeyaretnam is the Secretary-General of the party which Mr Low belongs. I think it is a very fair statement that people ought to know how this case came about. We are not talking about general policy. If we are talking about general policy I would reply to him on a question of general policy and the general policy of the Immigration Department is, yes, we will give reasonable time to any foreign worker who has a dispute with his employer to pursue his civil claim. I think two or three months is a reasonable time. If the worker cannot support himself here, then I think he should go home first and his counsel can still pursue his claim here until he is able to come back again. Nobody is denied any right to pursue any claim, whether it is civil or whatever it is, so long as he can support himself here. If he cannot, and he has no means to support himself, then he cannot remain here.”
“I concede that Mr Low does not have a pecuniary interest to declare. I concede that. But at the same time Mr Low knows, and I know, that this case was represented by Mr Jeyaretnam and Mr Jeyaretnam is his party's boss. I think at least he should have the decency to tell us that this case was pursued by his party's boss who had failed with the Ministry of Home Affairs.”
“I am really disappointed that Mr Low has not been fully apprised of the facts of the case. He just told us that his understanding is that the hearing of the case was on 21st February 1995. From what I know, the hearing on 21st February was not a hearing of the merits of the case. It was a preliminary hearing, in other words, the lawyers and the company get together in court to fix a date for the trial. It is not a hearing. That is my first disappointment that he has not been informed of the correct facts. The second disappointment is that Mr Low is pursuing a case of his party's boss. When his party's boss fails to take up a case like this or is unable to pursue a case for his client, he has made use of this Parliamentary proceeding to pursue his private interest. I am really disappointed with that.”
“Sir, if a foreign worker is pursuing a civil suit of any nature in Singapore and his work permit meanwhile has expired or is cancelled, the Immigration Department could, at his request, place him on a Special Pass on a short-term basis. This is to enable him to make the necessary arrangements for the legal proceedings. Foreign workers cannot be allowed to stay in Singapore indefinitely for the purpose of pursuing their civil suits.”
“A committee to vet advertisements is not necessary, as each Ministry already has its own procedures for vetting advertisements before they are released. On sensitive issues, many Ministries pre-test them on representative samples before launch. However, it is not possible to forestall all negative reactions particularly when the objective is to change social behaviour. BEAUTY SALONS 5. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Health (a) what penalties were meted out to the beauty salons concerned for the 10 complaints of complications pertaining to the use of lasers by these salons between 1992 and 1994 and (b) whether the penalty is a sufficient deterrent and, if not, what further plan he has. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Preliminary investigations by the Ministry of Health into the 10 complaints of complications pertaining to the alleged use of lasers did not reveal any unauthorised use of lasers by beauticians. Nevertheless, the Ministry is presently working with the Police on the reported cases to establish whether there has been any contravention of the law. The penalty for any person convicted of contravention of Regulation 43 of the Radiation Protection Act 1991, for unauthorised possession of high powered laser, is a fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both. Under the Medical Registration Act (1985) the penalty for any unqualified persons engaging in practices that come within the practice of medicine is a fine of $500. The Ministry is reviewing the penalties. AREA LICENSING SCHEME 6. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for Communications whether the ending time of the Area Licensing Scheme for the Central Business District on Saturdays can be changed from 3.00 pm to 1.00 pm.”
“There are currently 113 establishments in Singapore with massage as one of its services. Thirty two new establishments were licensed in the past 3 years. Massage establishments are governed by the Massage Establishments Act and its Rules. In addition, licensing conditions are imposed by Police to minimise crime and vice activities and to prevent syndicates from operating such establishments. For instance, no one with a record of being involved in vice activities is allowed to operate a massage establishment or be employed as a masseuse. Police enforce the laws and conditions concerning massage establishments strictly. The numbers of breaches in the past 3 years are as follows: 1992 - 34 1993 - 16 1994 - 25 The penalties meted out depend on the seriousness of the offence. For minor offences, eg failure to wear identification card, a warning is given. For more serious offences, eg employing masseuses without approval from the licensing officer, licensees are prosecuted in court under the Massage Establishments Act. The fines could be up to a maximum of $1000. Between 1992-1994, 9 massage establishments violated licensing rules more than once. Where these violations are serious, Police will take action to revoke their licences. However, this has not been found to be necessary in the last 3 years. VETTING GOVERNMENT ADVERTISEMENTS 4. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Information and the Arts, in view of the recent controversies surrounding some government advertisements, whether a vetting committee (comprising various ethnic groups and non-governmental organisations) will be set up to look into areas of sensitivity before any advertisement is launched. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: The recent controversies concerning Government advertisements are isolated and minor.”
“During the period January-November 1994, a total of 77 applicants (excluding dependants) were granted permanent residence under the Entrepreneurs Scheme administered by the Economic Development Board. See details at Annex 2 (Cols. 1085 - 1086). Annex 2 - NO. OF PERMANENT RESIDENCE GRANTED UNDER THE ENTREPRENEURS SCHEME FOR THE PERIOD JAN-NOV 94(Cols. 1085 - 1086) RAISING STANDARDS IN SHOPS 12. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Trade and Industry what are the main recommendations of the task force set up in early 1994 (with the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board and other agencies) to look into raising standards in Singapore shops.”
“The total number of drug addicts under treatment in Drug Rehabilitation Centres as at 31st December 1994 is 7,654. Of these, 2,321 (30.3%) are Chinese, 4,090 (53.5%) are Malays, 1,120 (14.6%) are Indians and 123 (1.6%) are others. The numbers of new addicts for 1992, 1993 and 1994 were 912, 1,359 and 1,488 respectively. ENTREPRENEURS SCHEME (Number of applicants granted permanent residence) 11. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Home Affairs if he will state the number of entrepreneurs who were attracted to Singapore to become permanent residents under the Economic Development Board Scheme in 1994 and the countries they come from.”
“Police have been actively dealing with the problem of illegal games saloons in Singapore. Last year, the Police intensified its enforcement actions and carried out some 3,000 checks against illegal saloons. This resulted in the seizure of about 1,800 illegal game machines and the arrest and prosecution of 663 persons who operated and patronised these illegal saloons. Of these, 119 were operators and 544 were patrons. Summons actions were also taken against another 170 persons under the Public Entertainment Act. With these enforcement actions, Police estimated that there are now less than 50 active saloons which operate sporadically changing their locations and hours of operation to avoid detection. Police will spare no effort to track down and act against these remaining saloons. The Ministry is monitoring the situation closely and will consider amending our laws to provide for greater deterrent sentence should the situation worsen despite active police enforcement. NUMBER OF DRUG ADDICTS 1992 - 1994 10. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the total number of drug addicts under treatment in Drug Rehabilitation Centres and their ethnic composition and (b) what is the number of new addicts each year from 1992 to 1994.”
“The Code aims to protect breast-feeding and has served as a useful working document for all who are involved in the promotion and sale of infant formula products in Singapore. Adherence to the Code by milk firms is obligatory. This is being monitored by the Committee. To create a more suportive environment for breast-feeding mothers, government clinics will have a breast-feeding room for mothers to breast-feed their babies while in the clinics, where feasible. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT 8. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Health (a) whether a Singapore government representative was sent to attend the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and, if not, what is the reason; and (b) whether Singapore signed the ICPD Programme of Action. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Singapore was represented at the 1994 International Conference on Population & Development (ICPD) in Cairo at the Senior Officials level. Dr Paul Cheung, Director (Population Planning Unit), led the Singapore delegation. No signatory is required for the ICPD Programme of Action as the document is only meant to serve as a guide for countries to draw up their own population programmes. EMPLOYERS OF WORKFORCE AND GRADUATES 9. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Labour what are the respective percentages of our workforce and graduates who are employed by (i) the government, statutory bodies and government-linked companies; (ii) multi-national companies; (iii) local private companies; and (iv) small and medium-sized enterprises.”
“Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Health what steps his Ministry have taken to promote breastfeeding and what are the future plans. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: In the 1970s and early 1980s, breast-feeding declined and reached a low level of 46% in 1983. However, with better education this trend has been reversed. Nowadays, 67% of mothers breast-feed their babies. The Ministry has an on-going programme to promote breast-feeding. Women attending Government clinics and public hospitals for antenatal care are encouraged to breast-feed their babies. During the postnatal period further encouragement and help is given and breast-fed babies room-in with their mothers. Some hospitals have nurses whose specific function is to assist mothers, particularly first-time mothers, initiate and maintain breast-feeding. Members of the voluntary group, the Singapore Breast-feeding Mothers' Support Group are often at hand to provide support to breast-feeding. Hospitals also provide follow-up activities after discharge such as a hot-line or domiciliary service on request. Health educational materials such as pamphlets, posters, slide tapes and videotapes are available to health personnel for promotion of breast-feeding. Breast-feeding is incorporated into the curriculum of student nurses, medical students and pharmacy undergraduates. The importance of breast-feeding is also included in the curriculum of secondary school students in subjects like biology and home economics. In 1979 the Ministry set up the Sale of Infant Food Ethics Committee which drew up the "Code of Ethics on Sale of Infant Formula Products in Singapore".”
“Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Health what is the status of the Inter-Ministerial Population Committee set up in 1984 and what have been its recommendations. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: In 1984, the Inter-Ministerial Population Committee (IMPC) was formed to review Singapore's population trends and policies and to make recommendations on long term measures to bring about the desired population size and composition. Based on the IMPC's deliberations and recommendations, the Government adopted in 1987 the message "Have three, and more if you can afford it" as the guide in the formulation of future population policies in Singapore. The Government also announced an extensive package of population policy measures to encourage higher fertility on 1st March 1987. The IMPC, through the Population Planning Unit of the Ministry of Health, closely monitors population trends and responses to the new population policies. Adjustments in population policy measures are made periodically. LABELLING COSMETIC INGREDIENTS 6. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Health when his Ministry will start the labelling of cosmetic ingredients so that drug allergies can be treated. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: The Ministry of Health is currently looking into regulatory or control measures for the sale of cosmetics in Singapore. These include the following: * Compulsory labelling of ingredients and batch marking of cosmetics; and * Prohibiting the use of certain preservatives and colorants which are toxic or carcinogenic. The implementation of the above measures will require among other things staff training and the promulgation of the necessary legislation. It will take about 12-18 months to implement these measures. PROMOTING BREASTFEEDING 7.”
“Normal parliamentary debates are broadcast by RCS and TV12 in their news bulletins and by TCS in the "Highlights from Parliament", which is a 15-minute summary of the day's proceedings. PORNOGRAPHY IN INTERNET AND SINGNET 4. Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Information and the Arts what measures are employed to minimise pornography in Internet and Singnet. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: MITA has been working with National Science and Technology Board (NSTB), National Computer Board (NCB) and the Technet Unit of the National University of Singapore (NUS) to prevent easy public access to undesirable materials on on-line services, including the worldwide Internet. Current services in Singapore such as Singnet and Technet, both local gateways to the worldwide Internet, have introduced measures to remove pornographic material. They include screening and eliminating newsgroups titles containing offensive keywords, periodic scanning of directories, and systemic spotchecking of picture files for obscene materials. A blacklist of newsgroups of dubious nature is maintained. MITA has made its censorship guidelines available to the Technet Unit to facilitate monitoring work by Technet. MITA is also working with Technet and Singnet on ways to regulate the new technology. We can prevent easy access to pornographic material although we cannot stop it completely. MITA is considering amendments to the Films Act to widen the definition of films to include materials on bulletin boards, and other on-line services. This will enable us to prosecute local operators who transmit objectionable materials and foreign operators who sell such materials in Singapore. INTER-MINISTERIAL POPULATION COMMITTEE 5.”
“Information concerning occupancy rates of the different prisons cannot be publicised for reason of prison security. Prisoners are housed in different prisons according to their security risk classification. High risk prisoners (eg condemned prisoners, those sentenced to life or long term imprisonment) are housed in maximum security prisons. Those of lower security risk are housed in medium security prisons. About 22% of the current prison population are immigration offenders, ie they are illegal immigrants and overstayers. NEW RADIO STATION AND BROADCASTING CHANNELS 3. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for Information and the Arts whether he will allow (i) political parties to establish a radio station; and (ii) provide a new channel on television and radio respectively for the live broadcast of Parliamentary debates. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: MITA does not issue licences to political or religious organisations to run radio or TV stations. Radio and TV frequencies are scarce and when available should be put to the best use to benefit the public. It is hard to justify allowing special interest groups like political parties to run stations to promote their own causes. In a pilot project in March 1992, the old SBC carried the Budget Debate "live" on TV. The response from the public was poor, with average daily viewership averaging only 4,000. Because of such poor response, we would consider telecasting parliamentary proceedings "live" only when major Bills and issues are being discussed. The opening of Parliament and the Budget Speech by the Minister for Finance were two events telecast "live" by the old SBC.”
“To deal adequately with deregistered vehicles which have been abandoned in public parks, the Bill seeks to extend the existing definition of a vehicle owner to include the last registered owner. The Bill seeks to update the maximum penalties provided for by the Act, as they have not been changed since 1982. The penalties will be increased to enhance their deterrent effects. It is necessary and timely to introduce amendments and update the Parks and Trees Act. The Parks and Trees (Amendment) Bill will enable the Parks and Recreation Department to effectively carry out its responsibilities to maintain and enhance our Garden City. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“The Act provides for their preservation by allowing the Minister to designate areas within which trees with a girth exceeding one metre may not be felled without the permission of the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation. The Bill seeks to define these areas as "Tree Conservation Areas" and to empower the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation to require the owner or occupier of properties within the Tree Conservation Areas to preserve and maintain the trees on their properties. This will help ensure that mature trees continue to survive and grow. Where trees or plants pose a danger to life or may damage property, the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation is empowered, under existing provisions, to serve a notice to the occupier of a property to remove them. The Bill seeks to increase the penalties for failure to comply. In such cases, the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation will also be empowered to carry out the necessary measures to remove the source of the danger and to recover the costs for doing so. The Bill seeks to empower the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation to authorise any person or company to construct and operate facilities in public parks and other recreational grounds. This provision will allow a wider range of facilities to be provided by the private sector in our parks. The Bill seeks to facilitate enforcement action by improving on the procedures for serving of notices under the Act and its rules. It introduces provisions to allow service of notice on the owner of a vehicle by affixing the notice onto the vehicle. This will facilitate the serving of notices for offences related to vehicles in our parks as in the Road Traffic Act.”
“Sir, I take it that Mr Chiam is complimenting the NRD for introducing the system. I do not think it is a question of lateness. It is a question of getting the act together and making sure that enough agencies participate before the system can be implemented. As regards his point about the people who hold driving licences and motorcar registration, if they have their residential address as stated in their identity cards, and if they change it, then of course it would straightaway be reflected in the various records to be kept by the subscribing agencies. For businesses, if the business is registered as a business address, that is a separate matter. This Bill will include people who use their residential address for business, or who use their residential address in the registration of the business name. The agencies will be notified. I just want to make that point very clear. 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. PARKS AND TREES (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. The Acting Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Parks and Trees Act was enacted in 1975 to provide for the development, protection and regulation of public parks and gardens and for the preservation and growing of trees and plants. The Act was amended in 1982 and 1987. Trees take a long time to grow.”
“The NRA provides that it is an offence not to re-register for the new credit-card-sized NRICs within this stipulated time period. The old laminated NRICs will also cease to be valid after 1995. There will, however, be persons who for whatever reason will not re-register by end-1995. Provision will be made to allow for late re-registration by these late-comers. The Commissioner will also be given the discretion to compound the offence of late re-registration instead of taking these late-comers to court. A new subsection will therefore be added to section 6 of the NRA to allow for late re-registration. Section 13 will also be amended to expand the list of compoundable offences to include failure to re-register within the prescribed period. Conclusion To sum up, the National Registration Act and four other Acts, namely, the Business Registration Act, the Companies Act, the Income Tax Act and the Pharmacists Registration Act will be amended to facilitate the implementation of OSCARS, the One-Stop Change of Address Reporting Service. With the introduction of OSCARS, in order to have complied with all written laws requiring him to report a change of address, an IC holder need only report his change of residential address once to the National Registration Office, any NPP, or any Police Division HQ. As these reporting centres are many and easily accessible, it will be convenient for the IC holder to comply with all his legal obligations to report his change of residential address. The level of service to the public will therefore be improved significantly. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“A new provision will be added to the NRA to exclude the Government and any person involved in transmitting addresses under OSCARS from being liable for any loss or damage suffered by anyone due to errors or omissions made in good faith and in the ordinary course of duty. The indemnity will also cover persons receiving the address change. This provision is not a new idea as it is also found in other legislation such as the Companies Act, the Urban Redevelopment Authority Act and the Singapore Broadcasting Authority Act. Amendments will be made to the relevant Acts and Subsidiary Legislation of participating agencies to provide that a person will be deemed to have complied with his requirement to report his change of residential address to the agencies if he has reported his change of address under the NRA. There are four Acts which contain provisions requiring a change of residential address to be reported. They will be amended by consequential amendments to the NRA. These Acts are:- (a) the Business Registration Act; (b) the Companies Act; (c) the Income Tax Act; and (d) the Pharmacists Registration Act. At the same time, similar amendments will be made to the Subsidiary Legislation by the various Ministries responsible for them. The effect of all these amendments will be that when OSCARS is implemented, the IC holder will be deemed to have complied with the reporting requirements under the respective written law of participating agencies which he is subjected to when he reports his change of residential address under the NRA. Miscellaneous Amendments in the National Registration Act There are two other amendments to the NRA. These concern the re-registration of NRIC exercise, which will end in 1995.”
“When OSCARS is implemented, an IC holder need no longer make multiple reports of his change of residential address to the different agencies. The task will become more convenient and simple as he needs only to report the change once. The reporting can be done at the National Registration Office (NRO) in Colombo Court, any Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP) or any Police Division Headquarters (HQ). The information will then be transmitted via computer links to participating agencies on the next working day. The participating agencies will then update their records accordingly. Apart from making it easier for the IC holder to report his change of address to all the different Government agencies which require him to do so, the risk of him forgetting to report his change of address to these agencies will be eliminated. OSCARS is targeted to be implemented in March 1995. Eleven agencies will be participants. Other agencies will be added as and when they wish to join OSCARS. Amendments to the National Registration Act and other Acts For OSCARS to work, the Commissioner of National Registration will be required to transmit address changes reported under the NRA. The participating agencies will accept the information of a change of residential address transmitted, without requiring the IC holder to report the change separately to them. With this, the IC holder would have satisfied the respective written laws of the participating agencies that require him to report his change of residential address once he reports the change under the NRA. As such, section 8 of the NRA will be amended to confer upon the Commissioner a duty to transmit a change of residential address reported under the NRA to the agencies whose own laws require a change of residential address to be reported.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Government seeks constantly to improve its service to the public. This Bill is an example of these efforts. The Bill will provide the legal framework to introduce a One-Stop Change of Address Reporting Service, or OSCARS, in short. How OSCARS will work An IC holder who changes his residential address is required under the National Registration Act ("the NRA") to report his new residential address to the National Registration Department ("the NRD"). He is also required under other written laws to report the new address to other Government departments, statutory authorities or public officers (I group them as "agencies") with whom he has dealings. These agencies include the Inland Revenue Department, the Registry of Companies and Businesses, the Registry of Vehicles, the Traffic Police, and so on. The IC holder who changes his residential address has to report his change of address to different agencies. For example, if he uses his residential address for income tax purposes, he has to inform the Comptroller of Income Tax. If he holds a driving licence, he has to notify the Deputy Commissioner of Police. If he is an operationally ready national serviceman, he has to inform his unit. It is inconvenient for the IC holder to report his change of address to all the Government agencies that he has dealings with. He also runs the risk of forgetting to report the change to some and thereby committing an offence. Often, too, these agencies have a window period for reporting. For example, an operationally ready national serviceman has to inform his unit within seven days of his change of address.”
“ANNEX E FATALITIES/INJURIES IN FIRES _________________________________________________________________ YEAR 1991 1992 1993 _________________________________________________________________ FATALITIES 8 25 8 INJURIES 91 224 124 _________________________________________________________________ BREAKDOWN OF FATALITY CASES _________________________________________________________________ CAUSES/YEAR 1991 1992 1993 _________________________________________________________________ HOUSE FIRES 4 5 -- INDUSTRIAL FIRES 3 17 5 SUICIDE BY FIRE 1 3 3 TOTAL 8 25 8 _________________________________________________________________ Note: The fatalities are due to burns and/or smoke inhalation. SCDF does not have detailed breakdown by the exact cause of death. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS 2. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for Labour whether he will prohibit employers from employing students who are below 16 years old except where they have obtained consent from their parents and school principals.”
“_________________________________________________________________ TOTAL 5740 5102 5724 _________________________________________________________________ ANNEX C CAUSES OF FIRE _________________________________________________________________ CAUSES/YEAR 1991 1992 1993 _________________________________________________________________ DISCARDED CIGARETTE BUTTS AND 2924 2476 2815 OTHER EMBERS ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT FAULTS 497 503 504 SPONTANEOUS FIRES 503 300 419 EG LALLANG/GRASS FIRES. UNATTENDED COOKING 581 576 574 NAKED FLAMES 260 211 207 EG CANDLES SPARKS FROM WORK PROCESSES 149 120 116 EG WELDING AND GRINDING. OTHERS (EG. MACHINERY 836 916 1069 OVERHEATING, SUSPECTED ARSON.) _________________________________________________________________ TOTAL 5740 5102 5724 _________________________________________________________________ ANNEX D ESTIMATED VALUE OF PROPERTY DAMAGED IN FIRES _________________________________________________________________ YEAR 1991 1992 1993 _________________________________________________________________ VALUE $23.2M $9.2M $58.8M _________________________________________________________________ Note: There was no major fire in 1992. In 1993, however, there were 5 major fires where a total of $39m worth of properties were damaged.”
“There were a total of 16,566 fires for the period 1991 to 1993. These fires range from small fires (eg. kitchen fires) to large fires (eg. factory fires). The information requested is as follows:- Annex A - The number of fires in each month; Annex B - The number of fires in various types of premises; Annex C - The causes of the fires; Annex D - The estimated value of property damaged in the fires; and Annex E - The number of fatalities and injuries in the fires and the causes of death. ANNEX A NO. OF FIRES BY MONTH 1991 TO 1993 _________________________________________________________________ MONTH/YEAR 1991 1992 1993 _________________________________________________________________ JAN 474 472 553 FEB 679 530 671 MAR 658 469 476 APR 394 447 388 MAY 311 394 431 JUN 440 353 362 JUL 487 351 411 AUG 537 472 591 SEP 475 447 535 OCT 583 462 436 NOV 367 328 430 DEC 335 377 440 _________________________________________________________________ TOTAL 5740 5102 5724 _________________________________________________________________ ANNEX B PLACES OF FIRES 1991 TO 1993 _________________________________________________________________ TYPE OF PROPERTY/YEAR 1991 1992 1993 _________________________________________________________________ RESIDENTIAL HDB HOMES 1656 1771 1919 PRIVATE HOMES 520 344 500 PRE-WAR SHOP HOUSES 33 37 53 COMMERCIAL PREMISES, OFFICES, HOTELS, ENTERTAINMENT 264 180 172 COMPLEXES, ETC. FACTORIES, WAREHOUSES, 164 84 122 SHIPYARDS, ETC. OTHER STRUCTURES EG ELECTRICAL 688 435 398 SUB-STATIONS. NON-STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES EG VEGETATION/RUBBISH AND 2415 2251 2560 VEHICLES.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the proceedings on item 7 on the Order Paper be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No. 45 so as to remove the time limits for speeches. Mr Speaker: I give my consent. Does the Leader of the House have the general assent of hon. Members present to so move? Hon. Members indicated assent. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That the proceedings on item 7 on the Order Paper be exempted from the time limits for speeches laid down in paragraph (8) of Standing Order No. 45. - [Mr Wong Kan Seng]. COMPETITIVE SALARIES FOR COMPETENT AND HONEST GOVERNMENT (Motion)”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That Mr Koo Tsai Kee, Mr Ling How Doong and Encik Mohamad Maidin B P M be added to the Select Committee on the Maintenance of Parents Bill." When closing the debate on the Bill, Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon proposed, and the House approved, that the Select Committee on the Maintenance of Parents Bill be made up of the Speaker as Chairman and seven other Members. However, as the Bill has provoked so much debate in this House and interest in the public, I am proposing that the Select Committee be increased by three more Members. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That Mr Koo Tsai Kee, Mr Ling How Doong and Encik Mohamad Maidin B P M be added to the Select Committee on the Maintenance of Parents Bill - [Mr Wong Kan Seng]. ADJOURNMENT Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn to a date to be fixed." - [Mr Wong Kan Seng]. Adjourned accordingly at Five Minutes to Four o'clock pm.”
“Nee Soon Central Constituency has a void-deck community centre at Block 770, Yishun Avenue 3. To better serve the residents, it will be relocated to Block 749, Yishun Street 72. Like other void-deck community centres, the Housing and Development Board will bear the cost of its external walls and sanitary provision. Its Management Committee will pay for the internal renovations and furnishing of the new void-deck centre. Annex 1 - BEDS IN PUBLIC SECTOR ACUTE HOSPITALS BY CLASS, 1985 - 1987, BEDS IN PUBLIC SECTOR ACUTE HOSPITALS BY CLASS, 1988 - 1990, BEDS IN PUBLIC SECTOR ACUTE HOSPITALS BY CLASS, 1991 - 1993 (Cols. 503 - 508)”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That Parliament do now adjourn. Question proposed. QUOTA ON FEMALE MEDICAL STUDENTS 5.40 pm”
“On Mr Davinder Singh's point that we do not have to subject the other provisions for renewal, historically, we already have them in the Act, and until we revamp the Act, we just keep them as they are. I think I have dealt with all the points that Members have brought up. Once again, I thank them for their support. 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. INCOME TAX (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read.”
“Most of them are all very senior members of the Bar and, if not, they are very prominent citizens, such as Justices of the Peace, retired principals and even a Brother from a religious order. I believe that they have carried out their task very well. They have applied themselves on every case. They have spent a lot of time studying the facts and also talking to and interviewing the officers who put up the cases to them. I am always open to suggestions about additional members or people who are willing and able to find time to serve on the committee. But do we need to specify that the appointing authority should come from several sources or rather than just the Minister? I would say that we do not need several appointing authorities. Just one will do. I, as the Minister, would be prepared to consider any suitable person who is willing to spend time and apply his mind on the case. What about Judicial Officers, be they Judges or Judicial Commissioners? Here I would say that detention without trial is an executive decision, and we have gone through this administrative procedure of detaining people. We should not mix it up with the judicial process. I think it would not be desirable to involve Judges and judicial officers in an executive decision, or an administrative process because, who knows, in some of these cases they may take the Government to court and the Judge will then be put in a situation where there is a conflict of interest. We do not want that situation to happen. But I am always open to suggestions for any suitable names that Members may have, be they from the Academy of Law, the Law Society, or any other group. I am always prepared to consider names.”
“Sir, I thank the Members for supporting the renewal of this Act. I do not want to over-emphasise the point that this Bill is indeed important for the maintenance of law and order in Singapore. As to the reservation by Mr Ling, I do not know which particular aspect of the Bill he does not support. But looking at the provisions, there is detention without trial, it is an offence also for carrying subversive documents, helping subversive groups, making strikes in essential services illegal, and so on. All these were part and parcel of the Bill that was passed way back in 1955 and they are already there and well entrenched. Of course, we can take them out and put them in some other law, but at this point in time, I do not think it is necessary to do so, so long as we still have this Act. When we decide to do away with detention without trial, then we can really look at all the other provisions of the Act. As to criminal cases of gang rape where there are no witnesses, actually this means that no one is willing to testify in open court. But there are people who are prepared to say that they are the witnesses but they are afraid of reprisals. From the police investigations, they have built up a case against the gang rape group, and that is why they were able to put this gang rape group under Criminal Law detention. I think nobody would quarrel with that so long as the accused persons or the people who are detained were given the right to appear before the Committee and to make representations with legal advisors or lawyers. On Mr Shanmugam's suggestion about strengthening the composition of the Advisory Committee, first of all, let me say that there is a lot of confidence in our Advisory Committee. We have seven such committees with 44 members.”