Yeo Cheow Tong
Singapore
“Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Health in light of the recent report on fungal corneal infections (a) whether those who contracted the contact lens related fungal corneal infections will suffer permanent damage to their eyes; and (b) how long will his Ministry take to conclude its investigations into the causes of these contact le…”
“My Ministry performs a regulatory role and what we do is that we try to ensure that we have a conducive regulatory environment for the growth of this industry in Singapore. Let me tell him what we are doing in some areas.”
“Sir, on her two questions, whether we are satisfied that the school buses are collecting fares during the school holidays, as I mentioned just now, the school bus service is a contractual service between the parents and the service provider. It is therefore up to them to work out the terms and to abide by the terms.”
“Sir, on the first question, whether there is any abuse by owners of buses while using the 50% rebate, the answer is no, because LTA monitors very closely.”
“Sir, I have to repeat my answer. We are not responsible for regulating school buses and therefore will not be involved. SCHOOL BUSES (Installation of seat belts) 5. Assoc. Prof.”
“Ong Soh Khim asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) if his Ministry will increase the cap of $10,000 per disabled person over their lifetime for the Assistive Technology Fund scheme; and (b) if not, whether there will be a flexibility to adjust the funding cap for this scheme based on the applicant's need, as j…”
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“Sir, the price of a COE and the price of a car are very much related to the state of the economy. When the economy is doing very well, when people are keen to buy new cars, they bid up the price of the COE. At the same time, having got the COE, they now have to decide what sort of car they want to buy. Do they buy a cheap import or do they buy a European import that may be double the price? Last year, the economy did very well. Whereas in the past, a person with, say, category A, may have bought a small car, but because of the better state of the economy, he decides to buy a car which is of a higher value, and he gets a higher OMV. So, the system is one which is very open and it gives the consumers the ultimate choice - how much to bid, what to buy and how much to pay for the car. It is all within his control, and he has to buy something that fits his budget and pocket. And having got the COE, if they decide to buy a better car, who are we to prevent them?”
“Sir, the reply given by my MOS to Dr Wang is correct. The merging of the four categories into two categories is not because of budgetary reasons. We did not do that in order to raise more revenue. So the answer is correct. My point to Mr Chay is also correct when he asked whether there is stability and whether it has helped to stabilise the COE prices. As the figures have shown, what the GPC Review Committee had expected has come true, that is, by merging the four categories into two, it has helped to stabilise COE prices. As to why there is an increase in the COE collections, the answer is very simple. As stated, the number of quotas for 1999 has been much higher than in 1998. Secondly, as the economy has recovered, the COE prices also recovered. Most car dealers will tell you that if you want to know about COE prices, look at the stock market.”
“I will ask LTA to try to expedite the work there at the North-east line depot and see whether we can schedule to move the completion date for the Sengkang East Road by maybe April or mid of next year, instead of December next year. With regard to Punggol Road, this road, as mentioned by Dr Lim, was expanded by HDB to a two-lane dual carriage way road. However, because of the intensive development work on both sides of the road, I think this road tends to be very congested. Not only that, I understand that there is a lot of illegal parking along the road as well, and this has added to the congestion. So I will get the LTA to work with the relevant authorities to see what we can do about illegal parking. Sir, I will ask my Minister of State and Parliamentary Secretary to answer the other questions.”
“The situation in Sengkang is, I think, quite a fair bit complicated by the fact that just as we are building the new town and the new roads, we are also having a very major MRT line going through it all underground. And we know that underground construction does pose a lot of complications to the road system. In the case of Sengkang, it was decided in 1996 that LTA will construct some of the internal roads which are affected by the construction of the North-east line. This is to allow better coordination between the construction of the line and the construction of the roads. The roads affected include Sengkang East Way, Sengkang Central and Sengkang East Road, and I understand these are major roads feeding into Sengkang. The roll-out plan for the road infrastructure was worked out jointly between LTA and HDB, taking into consideration the pace of development in these two towns. Therefore, LTA is aware that a thousand units are being opened each month. Sengkang East Way has since been completed by LTA at the end of January this year, and LTA has opened one of the two lanes in each direction. I will ask LTA to expedite its work and open the remaining lane, both ways, as fast as possible. Sengkang Central and Sengkang East Road were scheduled for completion only end of next year, and this is because Sengkang Central is a two-way road, sitting directly above the North-east line tunnel and the Buangkok station. Obviously, the road cannot be completed until the station has been completed. On the other hand, the Sengkang East Road is affected by the construction of the North-east line depot.”
“We must recognise that the information on which plot of land or which building is going to be affected by a road scheme is very, very price-sensitive. Thus, such information should not be divulged when the detailed design is still under study and very much likely to be subjected to change. If property owners along the proposed route are consulted, I think, first, we can expect the prices in the area to fluctuate very significantly, and we can also expect objections from those affected. I think it is very natural for residents in the area affected to want to have a road nearby but not to have it affect them directly. The consultation process will likely result in protracted delays to the project and maybe even result in the project being abandoned, as we have seen in many countries. Nevertheless, before LTA proceeds to implement a road project, it will brief the adviser of the grassroots organisation and even the grassroots leaders of the constituencies affected, of the implementation details and the schedule of works, so as to prepare them for the oncoming activities. LTA will also try to assure them of the various measures which are being taken to minimise inconvenience. The consultation will have an added benefit in the sense that this will allow the adviser and the grassroots leaders to also offer suggestions on how to minimise the inconvenience. So this is a very important process which we will continue. Dr Michael Lim expressed some concerns about the impact of the MRT construction on the road system in Sengkang. Sir, let me, first, assure him that LTA and HDB do work very closely together in planning the road network for the new towns.”
“The Government will continue to invest heavily in expanding our rapid transit system, and we will continue to work with the bus companies to ensure that there is an efficient and attractive bus alternative, and all these together will enable us to keep our car population growing while keeping our expressways and arterial roads congestion-free. Mr Iswaran yesterday called for more consultation by LTA when planning new roads and expressways. Sir, I agree with him that it would be ideal if the road planners can consult everybody, from the conceptualisation stage to the construction stage. But there are constraints. Let me explain. Roads are planned and built to support economic and social activities and to cater to traffic growth. In land scarce Singapore, road projects will inevitably affect existing land usage and buildings. Thus, when planning and designing a road, the designers will carefully examine various alternatives and alignment options. Their main aim is to minimise the land take in the most cost-effective manner. This is done very professionally and objectively, since the designers have no vested interests at all in the properties along the route. Furthermore, the road proposals will be closely scrutinised and are deliberated at length by the Master Plan Committee before they can be implemented. The Committee members comprise a number of representatives from Government departments and they will evaluate the proposals based on factors, such as traffic justification, economic value, land and environmental impact. Alternative road schemes are also examined for their feasibility. So it is not just one proposal. There have to be various alternatives.”
“This will form the backbone of our public transport system in the years to come. The Government will be developing a comprehensive RTS network matching the coverage and convenience of systems in London, Tokyo and Paris. The venture system will comprise a close grid-like network of rapid transit lines. From the city we will have rail lines spanning outwards to the population centres, and there will be an orbital or ring line linking all the rail lines, and this will form a complete distributed network. We will have local LRT network to provide links to the MRT network within HDB towns and between HDB towns. So this is in reply to Mr Yeo. Yes, this will be done, but of course all this will take time to deliver. All in all, the Government expects to triple the rapid transit system network from today's 91 kilometres to 270 kilometres by the year 2010. So in 10 years' time, you can expect tripling, and to again double it to 540 kilometres by the year 2030. Currently, LTA is already working on several new lines. They are the North-east line, the Changi line, the Sengkang and the Punggol LRTs, and we are retrofitting a new station on the existing East-west line near the Singapore Polytechnic. And soon, work will also begin on the new Marina line. Sir, let me conclude by saying that we have put in place tough but very necessary vehicle demand management measures. The ERP and the VQS are key components of the overall land transport policy framework. The public transport system is, in fact, the cornerstone of our land transport system.”
“For example, between October and November 1996, the fluctuation was 67% and between February and March 1996, the fluctuation was 80%. Between April and May 1995, the month-to-month fluctuation was 134%. Indeed, the recommendation of the Committee was a correct one. 1.30 pm What about Category B? Category B COE prices have also stabilised with fluctuations between 1% and 11%. Previously, the fluctuations in Category 4 COE prices went up to as high as 42%. So that was a good recommendation. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang and Dr Michael Lim talked about the CTE and the traffic access to the North-east part of Singapore and also asked what plans we have for expanding both the expressways and rail network. Sir, to relieve the CTE congestion, I am happy to inform the House that LTA is developing two new expressways, ie, the Kallang Expressway (KLE) and its northward extension, which is the Paya Lebar Expressway (PLE). The KLE and PLE will provide an alternative road for people living in the North-east, such as in Sengkang and Punggol. I have asked LTA to look into speeding up the development of these two expressways. As a result, I think Members would be very happy to know that LTA would be commencing construction of both Expressways early next year, and will complete the KLE in 2005 and the PLE in 2006. LTA will also work closely with the bus companies to further improve the bus services serving the North-east area, so that those motorists who decide to switch to public transport would have an attractive alternative. As I have said earlier, we will continue to expand the road capacity, but there is a limit to this, given our land constraints. Our growing transport needs must be met through a comprehensive and efficient public transport system, one of which is our rapid transit system.”
“This is because we have implemented the GPC's recommendation that we use projected deregistrations of the current year rather than the actual deregistration of the previous year in computing the new COE supply. This has led to a better match between supply and demand. As the projected number of deregistrations will be high this year, there is a need to raise the quota correspondingly to match the peak demand pattern. If the Government were to arbitrarily moderate the quota, we run the risk that the moderated quota may be too low to meet the demand from deregistrations. As a result, this would cause the COE prices to spiral upwards. If the actual deregistration figure turns out to be higher or lower than what was projected, then next year's quota supply will be adjusted accordingly. LTA will be releasing the full details of the annual quota today. Mr Chay had also asked whether the COE prices for cars have stabilised after the merger of the car COE categories from four to two categories. During the review of the VQS last year, the Committee had noted that the monthly quota size for Category 1, which are cars below 1,000 cc and Category 4, which are cars above 2,000 cc, was relatively small. It felt that such small quota size was undesirable as it was likely to lead to greater fluctuations in COE prices. Since the amalgamation of the four categories into two, the COE prices in Categories A and B have seen some degree of stability, as anticipated by the Review Committee. For instance, let me give Members some figures. During the past six months, the month-to-month fluctuation in the COE prices in Category A ranged from 1% to 13%. Prior to the merger, there were wide fluctuations in Category 1 COE prices.”
“It is not possible to just isolate a particular road that is lightly used because within the restricted zone, all the roads are inter-related and inter-connected. For example, a certain stretch of Orchard Road may be very lightly used but, nonetheless, the traffic on that stretch can still end up in Bras Basah Road or other parts of the city and contribute to congestion. So we have to take the whole restricted zone as one. Nonetheless, I will ask LTA to monitor the situation closely within the restricted zone and see whether it is feasible to reduce the ERP rates during the off-peak hours. Mr Chay yesterday also asked about the ERP and how does the ERP collection compare with the old Area Licensing Scheme. Sir, the ERP has resulted in a 25% drop in collections versus the previous ALS system. This is before even accounting for the rebates in road taxes. The drop is a very real one. It is quite substantial. Mr Chay also asked about the COE quota for this year and whether LTA is going to introduce the recommendation to moderate the peak in the COE supply by his Committee which was made last year. Members will be happy to note that the COE supply will again provide for 3% growth in our vehicle population for the Quota Year May 2000 to April 2001. Based on LTA's computations, the COE quota for Quota Year 2000 will be 109,452. This is about 61% more than that of Quota Year 1999, and will be about 50% more than that of the current projection for Quota Year 2001. Although the GPC chaired by Mr Chay in its review of the VQS last year recommended that we moderate this peak in supply, my Ministry has decided not to do so. Let me explain why.”
“LTA will continue to work closely with the Public Transport Council, SMRT and the bus companies to ensure that the public transport system is keeping up satisfactorily with the demand. We will also be speeding up construction of two new expressways and expanding the rapid transit system. I will go into this later on. Mr Goh Choon Kang brought up a few points yesterday. He referred to the request that he made last month about reducing ERP rates for school holidays or certain periods of the year where travel is less. As I had informed him in my reply, LTA will look into his suggestion. I am happy to inform the House that LTA has studied the situation and has agreed that it is possible for the ERP rates to be revised during parts of the year as the travel pattern is definitely lighter. This coincides with the school holiday pattern. As we all know, many families go away during the school holidays and therefore the roads become noticeably lighter. So we will begin the first trial in June this year to coincide with the June holidays. The new rates will be designed to maintain acceptable speeds on the roads. We may adjust the rates from time to time, as we do with all the other ERP rates. Mr Goh Choon Kang also suggested that we review the ERP charges for the restricted zones because during off-peak hours he mentioned that certain roads in the restricted zone tend to be very lightly used. Sir, the speeds measured for the restricted zone are based on a basket of routes that cover both the busy areas as well as areas which are less busy or less utilised and they are chosen to be representative of the average traffic conditions within the restricted zone.”
“As Dr Michael Lim has also pointed out, whenever we have an ERP priced road, it tends to divert traffic to other parts that are not ERP-priced. This is, of course, to be expected. I think Singaporeans are very aware of the need to control cost. So those who find that the ERP rate may be too high, they will seek other alternative roads. In fact, this is one of the desired outcomes of the ERP system. When one road is too congested we price it. Those who find that the pricing is too high would then find alternative roads, or they can shift their travel times because there is some flexibility there. So far, the ERP system which uses the user-pay principle has been very effective in influencing motorists' behaviour and has kept the traffic flow on our roads quite manageable in the day time. However, certain expressways are beginning to show signs of strain during the peak evening hours. If necessary, ERP may be extended to the evening hours on these heavily congested roads to ensure that the traffic does not come to a standstill. LTA is monitoring the traffic speeds on the congested expressways in the evenings and will recommend whether we need to introduce evening ERP in due course. Both Mr Chay and Dr Michael Lim also asked about alternatives to ERP. Other than just simply increasing the rate for ERP, what are the alternatives? Sir, as I have mentioned just now, motorists do have alternatives. They can change their pattern of travel, their time of travel or, better still, they can switch to public transport. In fact, we certainly hope that more motorists will switch to public transport over time.”
“Buses also use the roads and will continue to have an important role in serving areas not covered by our rapid transit system. Our vehicular population will also continue to grow as we cater to the growing demands for business and for the aspirations of our people to own cars. But because of land, and therefore, road constraints, we cannot allow our vehicle population to grow unfettered. Nor can we allow our roads to be congested that all economic and social activities come to a halt. Hence, the Vehicle Quota System to control the growth of the vehicle population and the ERP system to control road congestion. These are vital components of the Government's overall land transport policy. They will enable more Singaporeans to own cars whilst ensuring that our roads, which are like our nation's economic arteries, as pointed out by Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, are kept flowing efficiently. Dr Michael Lim was concerned about the ERP Phase 2B and the further expansion of the ERP system. The objective of the ERP Phase 2 is to address the increasing traffic congestion along the arterial roads leading into the existing Restricted Zone (RZ). Hence, Phase 2 of the ERP established this second cordon along the outer ring roads. As not all the roads in the second cordon are presently congested, LTA will implement Phase 2 in stages. The first stage of Phase 2 was implemented last year in September 1999, and seven gantries were implemented at the most congested locations. Phase 2B, which is on the way, will have 11 to 12 gantries, and this will complete the second cordon. I would like to assure Dr Lim that we will be very careful and will only introduce these gantries when the traffic conditions at each of these locations become unacceptable.”
“Sir, first I would like to thank all the Members who have spoken. Mr Chay Wai Chuen, Dr Michael Lim, Mr Goh Choon Kang and Mr Yeo Guat Kwang have also spoken on the ERP and the road system. I would like to take them altogether since they are all inter-related. Let me begin first by highlighting some of the key challenges we face in the future with regard to land transport because that is very relevant to the solutions that we are having today and in the future. Today, Singaporeans make only about seven million trips a day and already, as we all know, some roads are very congested and during the peak hours the buses are all packed. We project that the number of daily trips will increase to 10 million by the year 2010, which is a 40% increase from today over the next 10 years. By the year 2030, the number of daily trips will increase to 14 million. That is a doubling over today's number. Such significant increases would not be a problem if we had plentiful land but, unfortunately, we do not. About 12% of our limited land is already used by the land transport infrastructure network. By comparison, 13% of our total land is used for housing. This shows that there is very limited scope to significantly expand our road network to cater for more vehicular trips and therefore the cornerstone of our land transport policy is, and will always be, an excellent mass public land transport system that is affordable, efficient, comprehensive in coverage and which can be an attractive alternative to private transport. However, not all trips can be made on the rapid transit system or in buses. Goods being transported have to be transported in vehicles and these vehicles use the road system.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2000/2001, and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.”
“Sir, I would like to thank the three Members who have spoken up. I will reply only to Dr Toh on his call for law reform. Dr Michael Lim has spoken on the promotion of broadband. There are three other cuts that are coming up. So I will reply to him at that stage. Sir, Dr Toh has argued very strongly for the need to reform our various laws in order to bring them up to date to the Internet age. He has raised plenty of examples and, as he said, the list can go on and on. I am glad he stopped, otherwise we would run out of time. Sir, I can assure him that I totally agree with him that as we enter the Internet Age, we will need to actively review and update our various legislation. I would like to assure him also that the problem that we face is not one that is unique to Singapore. That is because the Internet revolution has resulted in such a huge flood of new businesses and services that many of these businesses and services were not even in the realm of imagination when the existing laws were first promulgated. I would like to inform Prof. Toh that the Attorney-General has set up a Law Reform Coordinating Committee. He chairs it. This Committee will identify those areas of law that should be considered for law reform. However, the actual recommendations for legislative changes will continue to be made by the respective Ministries and specialist agencies that are knowledgeable in their own technical areas. I have taken note of Prof. Toh's suggestions. I will definitely pass them on to the Committee for their review. I will ask my Minister of State to reply to the other questions.”
“As part of the effort to attract the key telecoms players from all over the world, in preparing for the liberalisation, we had, in fact, reviewed our regulatory framework, including the fee structure. We realise that it is important to ensure that the fee structure is appropriate, because that forms the first hurdle that companies have to overcome. In drawing up the new fee structure, IDA removed the initial upfront licence fee which can be quite substantial, and we only retained the annual licence fee of 1% of gross annual turnover. The reaction from the industry, so far, has been quite encouraging and positive. So far, in our promotion work in the US and Hong Kong, the reaction from the 80 companies who have approached IDA, there has been no negative reaction at all with regard to the new fee structure. However, in the fully competitive environment, we can expect the telephone companies to enjoy a much smaller profit margin, and we will therefore have to correspondingly reduce the annual licence fee to ensure that our fees are competitive and attractive vis-a-vis the other telecom hubs. I have therefore asked my staff to review the various options for reducing the annual licence fee. The study should be completed very shortly and we will be making an announcement thereafter. I expect the fees to go down further and I hope that the telecoms companies would then pass on these savings to the consumers. It is a win-win approach, because when they pass on the savings to the consumers, this should generate higher demand, increase market size and in the end, the telecoms companies would benefit. So it is a win-win approach and we hope that they will make the effort to pass on the savings to their customers.”
“It is difficult to draw a definitive and objective conclusion between different countries because there are many factors to take into consideration. Mr Chay himself has mentioned quite a fair bit - infrastructure, quality of service, range of service, pricing. There is a whole range. Overall, we can say that Singapore compares fairly well versus Hong Kong and other telecommunications hubs in the Asia Pacific. 6.15 pm I would just quote two recent surveys that were undertaken by different bodies. One was conducted by NUS and in both these surveys, it shows that Singapore scored higher in certain aspects while Hong Kong scored higher in other aspects. For example, Singapore tended to come out very well in terms of competitiveness of pricing, quality of service, reliability. On the other hand, Hong Kong fared better in terms of consumer choice and the regulatory indicators, and that is because Hong Kong has a more open market than Singapore. I think with full liberalisation from 1st April onwards, we should be able to see keener competition in Singapore, in terms of both pricing and service innovations. And I would expect that in this multi-operator environment, our telecoms sector should not just become more competitive, but in the surveys, I think, we should come out even better too in the future. Mr Chay asked about the licensing fee structure, that it is important to have an appropriate fee structure and that we should ensure that we have a substantial reduction in fees to ensure that we are competitive and we do not lose the opportunity to make ourselves more competitive.”
“There are also companies that have seen the IDA and have expressed an interest in coming to Singapore for the first time, and using Singapore, not just providing services in Singapore, but by using Singapore as a base for their business in the region. We expect the service-based competition to be fairly keen and because the services-based operators can begin operation very quickly, they do not require much equipment. We expect them to start operation around April or shortly after. But for facilities-based competition, that would only be developed towards the later part of this year or early next year because, for the facilities-based companies, they require time to roll out their infrastructure. In terms of whether there is still a strategic role for a national telecommunications company, I think SingTel will continue to play a very important role. The experience in all countries has shown that the dominant original telecommunications company, even after liberalisation, tends to play a very important role because they have the advantage of having all the facilities and infrastructure in place, and they have the advantage of having developed the market and it is very difficult to take market share from an entrenched provider. I would expect that SingTel will still play a very important role in Singapore but I hope that would not deter the new companies from coming in because the new companies should bring with them new technology, new value-added services and, hopefully, a new approach which will allow them to win customers away from SingTel. Mr Chay asked about our competitiveness versus Hong Kong, whether we have any benchmark indicators.”
“Sir, first let me thank Mr Chay for his comments. He has raised a few points on the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector. Firstly, the compensation to the two operators, SingTel and StarHub, that is, what is the basis and the criteria, and how much. The compensation issue is being undertaken by a consultant that we have engaged from the United States who undertook the first assignment when we first compensated SingTel in 1996. The criteria are being worked out together with the consultant and the companies, and we will have to make sure that we are fair to all parties. We do not want to over-compensate them and, at the same time, we also have to be sure that we are fair to ourselves and the people because we are dealing with public money. He has also asked about the interest of the foreign investors with the liberalisation. Since I made the announcement, IDA and EDB have been aggressively marketing and promoting ourselves to companies in the United States and Hong Kong. In fact, shortly after I made the announcement, a few days later, the first team left for the United States. Altogether, they have made three trips and they are planning a fourth very shortly to Europe. The response has been very positive from the companies that they met, both in the United States and in Hong Kong. At the same time in Singapore, the Info-communications Development Authority has received over 80 enquiries from interested parties. These companies range from companies that have an interest in investing in infrastructure or facilities, as well as companies that are interested in providing services.”
“Sir, I am not too sure exactly what Mr Chng is referring to. But if he is referring to the fact that we are now opening up the market fully with effect from 1st April 2000 instead of 2002 whereas Hong Kong has a fully liberalised environment, then it is true. We cannot hide from the fact that we have stipulated a deadline for the opening up of the market and this deadline was stipulated when we first privatised Singapore Telecom and when we invited tenders for the second fixed line network in Singapore which was set in 1996. SINGAPORE TELECOM AND CABLE & WIRELESS HKT (Proposed merger) 2. Mr Chng Hee Kok asked the Minister for Finance if he will explain the rationale for the merger between Singapore Telecom and Cable & Wireless HKT and whether there are any long-term security concerns due to the dilution of Government controls. 3. Mr Tay Beng Chuan asked the Minister for Finance if he will state the Government's position regarding the proposed merger between Singapore Telecom and Cable & Wireless HKT, and if there are any plans to safeguard our shareholders' interests in the proposed merger in the face of adverse reactions from certain quarters of the business community in Hong Kong.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in a fully liberalised and competitive market environment, the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore, or IDA, will be moving towards regulating with a lighter touch. This will allow more freedom for telecom operators to innovate and compete in terms of pricing and marketing. However, IDA will continue to uphold the key regulatory requirements of fair and equitable inter-connection, inter-operability and open access so that consumers can transparently and seamlessly communicate with others regardless of whichever network they are directly connected to. Only then will consumers truly benefit from competition in a multi-operator, multi-network environment. IDA also recognises that there will be a transitional phase as we move towards a fully liberalised environment. During this period, it will still be necessary for IDA to keep a vigilant watch over the industry to facilitate the entry of new players.”
“Under the Road Traffic Act, the owner or hirer of a goods vehicle is allowed to use the goods vehicle to transport his workers to their place of work or business subject to various safety rules and requirements. For example, the workers must be seated in proper sitting position and in a manner that would not cause them to fall off the vehicle. For pick-up trucks, the vehicles used are required to have proper side-railings to further protect the passengers. In addition, it is an offence for the driver of the goods vehicle to carry an excess number of passengers or travel faster than the vehicle speed limit of 50 km/h. In the last 12 months, more than 500 goods vehicles were booked by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for carrying unauthorised passengers or an excess number of passengers. LTA and the Traffic Police will continue to take enforcement action against drivers or vehicle owners who violate the safety rules and requirements while conveying workers on their goods vehicles. LABELLING OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS 30. Mr Goh Chong Chia asked the Minister for the Environment, in view of much discussion and concern in the First World countries for genetically modified food to be labelled, whether he will consider having such food labelled so that it can be identified by consumers even though such concern has yet to be proven. 31. Mr Simon S C Tay asked the Minister for the Environment whether genetically modified foods will be labelled to allow consumers to make informed choices.”
“Callback services provide healthy competition in the international telecommunications market to the IDD services and bring about greater consumer choice. However, it is necessary to place some form of restrictions on the callback operators because of SingTel's exclusive rights to provide IDD services up to 31st March 2000 and the moratorium period granted to StarHub from 1st April 2000 to 1st April 2002 when it was awarded its telecoms licence. In a recent clarification, the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore, or IDA, had explained that the only restriction on callback operators is that they cannot advertise on the local mass media, which covers the local newspapers, radio and television. IDA will be reviewing the restriction once the moratorium period expires by 1st April 2002. SAFETY OF PASSENGERS TRANSPORTED IN OPEN VEHICLES 29. Mr Simon S C Tay asked the Minister for Communications and Information Technology what measures are taken to ensure the safety of passengers, especially workers, who are transported in pick-up trucks and other open vehicles.”
“I have mentioned this during the debate on the Telecommunications Bill and I want to mention the same point here that in the era of e-commerce, we have to increasingly assure consumers and businessmen that when they go to e-commerce, it does not mean that they will lose all their privacy and it is important that we look at making sure our laws do cover this unauthorised interception of messages and letters and telecommunications. Under this clause, I think that it is not wide enough to cover a situation where if the postman has delivered into a private mailbox. It is no longer a plant of SingPost - and that private mailbox is opened and somebody reads the letter, seals it and puts it back again. And that is not illegal because under this current definition, no plant or installation of SingPost has been touched. I would prefer that to be not so, because we must protect private mail all the way until it is received and read by the addressee himself. If you were to look at it harder, I am concerned that it may not cover a situation where currently SingPost, for example, uses part-timers. Many of them are housewives and they help to deliver the mail. And sometimes they may actually be using paper bags or shopping bags that may not be SingPost's plant or equipment. I am concerned that this would then escape the penalty provisions of clause 28 and I do hope that the clause is not meant to be taken so absurdly and narrowly. If the Minister could clarify that, I would be most obliged. Sir, I support the Bill.”
“We do not want to see any indirect import taxes imposed on transactions like that because then e-commerce would be hampered. Next, clause 19. Clause 19 describes essentially what a postage stamp is and what are the protections that are needed to make sure that postage stamps, especially philatelic stamps, are valuable and continue to be valuable. The words "postage stamp" are defined again in clause 2, but reading it together with clause 19, I get the impression that it may not cover the development of e-postage stamps on the Internet. There are many, many proposals for this now and the idea essentially is that on the Internet, you could order a stamp that you can then fix onto your e-mail or to your physical mail and deliver. Such stamps would not have artwork probably. There will definitely not be any printing proofs, no dyes or artifacts will be created and they may not even have adhesive or be printed or stamped directly on the postal article itself. This whole section seems to describe, if you might say, Sir, obsolete technology. I hope that the Minister could look into this and clarify that this does not stop any development in the e-postage stamp category. Finally, clause 28. Clause 28 of the Bill deals with the damage to the installation or plants used for posts and it covers essentially what the old section 77 of the TAS Act deals with, and that is, you cannot intercept the transmission or delivery of a postal article if you were to touch, tamper, remove or damage the installation or plant of the postal services and the postal licensee.”
“Ultimately, if postal services are not relevant, we should look into making it more responsive to the times and the technologies. Clause 5 deals with letters or postcards which accompany goods. I believe the intention really is that there are certain correspondences that do not really relate to the ordinary letter that we are talking about. This is something that goes along with the delivery of goods and the provision in clause 5 says that if this is accompanied by a "Consignee's letter" then this is not covered by the exclusive privilege. My question, Sir, is that, sometimes some of these cards or covering letters might accompany a delivery of goods, but it is not a trade practice or industry practice to call this letter a "Consignee's letter". And if that is so, then the deliverer of these goods would be breaching the Act if he were to deliver the goods with that letter. It is particularly so when we talk about the e-commerce purchase. The transaction is entered into on the Net. Somebody must physically deliver and perhaps with a covering letter. I hope these delivery services are not covered by the exclusive privilege or the monopoly of the licensee. Sir, I move on to clause 15. Clause 15 raises a concern. It says that, "The addressee of any postal article containing any dutiable goods shall be presumed until the contrary is proved to have imported the same". Sir, this is an evidential presumption which gives the State ease in prosecuting illegal imports and so on. But I would be very concerned that this does not get seen as a kind of indirect import tax on e-commerce because an e-commerce transaction is entered on the Net and something is delivered, and it could be delivered from Amazon.com in America.”
“I would like to clarify if such a definition would include services that the Singapore Post is currently promoting, which is the V-post and perhaps even e-mail services, because if this is not within the definition of "letter" in clause 2, there are certain other implications. Secondly, on clause 2, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I would like to put on record for the Hansard because this would aid in future interpretation of this Act, this question of the definition of "TAS". I just need to clarify that after this Bill is passed today, there will be no new TAS that will be "reconstituted". Thirdly, clause 4 deals with the monopoly, that is, the exclusive privilege that the postal licensee would have. On first reading of this clause, I initially was disappointed because my first reaction was - what has happened to the liberalisation of postal services that we have been promoting and advocating, because if postal services are liberalised, sometimes this would be more business-responsive. And indeed, the growth of the courier business has shown that to be so. I am therefore glad that the Minister of State has actually clarified in his speech that there are certain residual areas of the postal service which would be unattractive to the commercial sector to carry and yet they need to be carried because people need to correspond, and economies of scale are needed so that it would be affordable enough at 22 cents. I thank the Minister for that. At 22 cents, it is a bargain deal and, on top of that, there is quality of service standard requirements by the current TAS and, later on, IDA. I would therefore support this and urge for constant review of this need to liberalise postal services even more.”
“The IDA, in its role as the Postal Authority, will similarly rely on licence conditions, directions, codes of practice and standards of performance. This is provided for in clauses 6, 24 and 25 of the Bill. Likewise, clause 26 provides for the Postal Authority to issue advisory guidelines. Apart from the cancellation or suspension of a licence, clause 9 also provides for a financial penalty to be imposed on postal licensees that do not comply with these regulatory requirements. Compared to the telecommunications and public utilities sectors, the potential public impact of a breach of regulatory requirements is less serious in the postal sector. The maximum amount of the financial penalty is thus set at $10,000. In addition, clause 56 contains explicit provisions allowing licensees the recourse to appeal to the Minister against any decision of the Postal Authority in the exercise of any discretion vested in it by the Act or anything contained in a code of practice of standard of performance. Sir, the Postal Services Bill 1999 sets out the regulatory framework for the postal industry. Notwithstanding the monopoly in the delivery of ordinary letters and postcards, we do enjoy high quality of service at internationally competitive prices. To ensure that we continue to do so, we will review the minimum standards for the quality of service and the price control framework regularly. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. Assoc. Prof. Toh See Kiat: Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Bill. Firstly, let me mention that under clause 2 of the Postal Services Bill, there is a definition of "letter".”
“For local ordinary mail posted before 7 pm within the CBD or 5 pm outside the CBD, TAS requires SingPost to deliver by the next day at least 98% of all mails within the CBD and 95% of mails outside the CBD. There are both internal and independent external audit checks to ensure that these standards are met. It is also necessary to review these standards regularly to continuously improve the overall postal service enjoyed by Singaporeans. In this regard, IDA, in its capacity as the Postal Authority, aims to raise the minimum standards for quality of service for next day delivery of local ordinary mails that are delivered outside the CBD from 95% today to 98%, and for those that are delivered within the CBD from 98% to 99%. This will be implemented progressively over the next few years and will be completed by 2004. Sir, TAS has also put in place a price control regulatory framework, which benchmarks the tariffs for our basic postal services against countries with similar cost structures. For the delivery of ordinary letters and postcards, TAS requires SingPost's charges to be below the average of these countries. SingPost also needs to seek TAS' approval on any tariff changes for its basic services. The price control framework ensures that the tariffs for our basic postal services are internationally competitive. So, for SingPost's delivery of ordinary letters and postcards, there are sufficient safeguards on service levels and prices to protect the interests of the general public. We will therefore not advance the liberalisation of the ordinary letter market. What we will do is to ensure that the regulatory framework is fair and transparent. In the Bill, the provisions outlining the regulatory approach mirror closely those in the Telecommunications Bill 1999.”
“Members of this House may ask why not bring forward the liberalisation of this market so that the benefits of competition, such as competitive pricing and higher service levels, can be enjoyed earlier. After all, this was what we did for the telecommunications sector. Sir, we must weigh the possible benefits of liberalisation against the cost of advancing liberalisation with its concomitant compensation and decide what is the best approach. In the postal industry, the key growth areas are the delivery of express letters and direct mails from businesses to households, such as printed matters, advertising materials and publications. These growth areas have all been liberalised. SingPost's monopoly is restricted to a low-growth market of ordinary mails and postcards. In 1998, the volume of ordinary letters and postcards has decreased by 4.5% and is expected to decrease by a further 2.2% in 1999. Looking ahead, this declining trend is expected to continue over the next few years, with the increasing use of mail substitutes such as e-mails and faxes. This is clearly unlike the rapidly expanding telecommunications sector, where the potential benefits of advancing liberalisation are obvious. The postal industry relies on the high volume of mails to achieve economies of scale. This has allowed the postage for ordinary local letters to be kept at an affordable rate of 22 cents. Without the benefits of the economies of scale, postage rates may have to go up. Currently, TAS sets the minimum standards for the quality of service that SingPost should provide to the public for the delivery of ordinary letters and postcards. This includes targets for delivery speeds of local, registered and international mail, and queuing time at postal outlets.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 11, line 14, to leave out "53", and insert "58". Sir, there is a typographical error in page 11, line 14. The number "53" should read "58" instead. Amendment agreed to. Clause 10, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 11 to 76 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Bill reported with amendments; read a Third time and passed. POSTAL SERVICES BILL Order for Second Reading read. The Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology (Mr Lim Swee Say): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the Bill before this House provides for the regulation of the postal services sector in Singapore. Like the Telecommunications Bill 1999 that was debated earlier in this House, the Postal Services Bill repeals and re-enacts substantively the provisions of the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore (TAS) Act on the licensing and regulatory powers in postal services. Clause 3 of the Bill provides for the appointment by the Minister of any person to be a Postal Authority. The intention is to appoint the new Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) as the Postal Authority. Sir, the postal services sector comprises two broad categories - the basic delivery of ordinary letters and postcards, and the delivery of express letters. The latter is a premium service. To meet the needs of the business consumers for secure and fast delivery service, the express letter market has been liberalised since February 1995. This provides consumers with a wider choice of competitive carriers for their time-sensitive and more secured express mails. For the delivery of ordinary letters and postcards, Singapore Post has the monopoly rights until 31st March 2007.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 4, line 27, at end to add "but excludes any broadcasting service". Sir, this is to make the definition of "telecommunication service" consistent with its definition in the IDA Act. Amendment agreed to. Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 3 to 9 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 10 -”
“As I said, at the present moment, encryption is already strong for the GSM and CDMA and I think the future generation of handphones will have even stronger encryption capabilities. If there is a need for us to guard against that in the future, we will be very happy to enact the required legislation. But at the present moment, there is no evidence that this is needed. Regarding Mr Simon Tay's question, yes, where the decisions and the facts of the case are not commercially sensitive, there is no reason why we should not divulge them. But our experience so far has been that many of the cases do involve sensitive information. As we have seen in the recent complaints in the newspapers and our replies, they do involve highly commercially sensitive information. 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 Yeo Cheow Tong]. Bill considered in Committee. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2 -”
“Mr Chay sought to clarify what he is talking about. Sir, I do take his point. This is why TAS has put in place a charging framework for interconnection which should be applicable for only three years. This charging framework establishes, among other things, an economic cost model for calculating the interconnect charges and infrastructure sharing. This cost model is based on the current replacement cost principles to ensure that the infrastructure owner is fairly compensated for interconnection and for the use of his infrastructure. This framework is generally an attempt to redress the asymmetry in the bargaining position of the new entrant, vis-a-vis the incumbent, and it gives the right signals and incentives to both the new and old players. The new operator can decide whether to buy or to build his own facilities while the incumbent operator has the incentive to continue to invest in the infrastructure because it is getting a good economic return on whatever he is investing. After three years, the operators will then proceed to commercially re-negotiate the prices. And it is only when they cannot agree on the pricing, will IDA then intervene again. What we would like to do is to leave it to them to establish their own pricing mechanism. If there are enough players, the new entrants will have enough choices to negotiate with. Prof. Toh mentioned about clause 41 again. Sir, the intent, as I said, is to prevent damage to the existing facilities, including line installation, and all that. If someone is snooping and is using our line systems, then we can take action against him. But, as I said, the one which we are unable to cover against, at the moment, is snooping into the wireless media, and the most common one will be the handphone conversation.”
“Sir, his last point was on the WTO negotiations and discussions and if those negotiations do impact on the existing licensees, we should hold consultation with the licensees. Sir, indeed this has been the practice and we will continue with it.”
“In any case, if such information is not commercially sensitive, if need be, we will be very happy to let the companies publicise the decisions. In any case, the appellants are normally heard by the Ministry as well. Whilst the case may not be heard in the open, they have the ability to make their case heard very clearly by the Ministry and Minister. He mentioned about clause 28(3)(b) where the Authority must publish each advisory guideline in the way it thinks fit. Mr Simon Tay feels that it should be gazetted. Sir, to be published "in the way it thinks fit" leaves the flexibility to the Authority to publish the advisory guidelines. Today, there are many, many channels. For example, TAS now posts many of the requirements and policies on the Internet. So rather than restrict it to only one medium, it is better that we leave the flexibility to the IDA to publish those guidelines. The key thing is that those guidelines would be published. But let us give it the flexibility to choose the medium or better still the media in which to do so.”
“Any equipment intended for wireless transmission, regardless of the content to be transmitted, needs to be licensed by IDA. The reason for this is very simple. This is to ensure that the operation of such equipment does not cause interference to any other wireless services or equipment. Prof. Toh commented that clause 41 is not wide enough to cover against, for example, electronic snooping. Clause 41 has a very clear intention. The intent is to protect the telecommunication's installation of plant or the public telecommunication licensee from damage if someone in the course of trying to intercept messages or to commit mischief damages or tampers with the installation or plant. It is not meant to cover or to protect against electronic snooping or unlawful interception. I believe that one of the reasons is that now mobile telephony being encrypted is quite difficult to snoop into versus the old analogue system where actually it is like a radio station where you can just tune in. The new GSM and CDMA systems are encrypted and each generation of new phones involves even stronger encryption and therefore it is now proving to be quite difficult for people to just snoop into such transmissions. Mr Simon Tay commented that while we are talking about transparency and the need to act against anti-competitive practices, the rights of appeal are quite limited and the rights of appeal have to be made to the Minister. The reason for this is that in many cases, the information contained in those appeals are highly sensitive commercially and therefore it is not appropriate for those appeals to be heard openly because it will mean divulging commercially sensitive information.”
“For the case of one user, many premises, the national Intranet situation that he talked about is that the company should take telecommunication services from a public basic telecommunication service provider who then has certain rights to either enter the land for installation and to repair and also to be able to extend the network beyond the boundaries of one particular property owner. So it is intended not to apply to such situation. In the case of one premise, many users or occupiers, the smart building that Prof. Toh was talking about, this would be the provision of telecommunication services to third parties, as the users and occupiers are not related but just happened to be in the same building. And therefore such potential service providers should actually obtain a licence from IDA. Sir, he touched on clause 33 and asked whether this requires e-commerce operators riding on licensed ISPs to be licensed, and he mentioned companies like Yahoo, Chat Room facilities, Media Ring and Net2Phone. In fact, clause 33 is not a new provision. It is an existing provision in the current TAS Act. TAS to-date, in fact, does not license any content or Internet service provider. So portals like Yahoo, free mails given by them, and Microsoft, and Media Ring and Net2Phone are, in fact, already not required to be licensed. The other thing is that Media Ring and Net2Phone actually do provide a service. They provide software or equipment to Internet subscribers, and being not service providers themselves, they do not require to be licensed. He talked about clause 35 - whether service providers who are providing radio service through the Internet need to be licensed. Sir, the answer is yes.”
“And as a result, I think it has been a boost to many parts of the economy, especially companies that are engaged in international trade and companies which have very heavy data flow between Singapore and their offices in the region and elsewhere. Mr Chay also asked whether by having the interconnection requirements, we will reduce incentives for strategic investments. As I pointed out just now, if there are strategic investments that are required but which are only marginally viable, we will be very happy to take a look and co-fund those investments, if they are in the national interest. On the other hand, by making sure that we are able to introduce competition, I think this forces the companies to innovate to provide more value-added services and therefore increase their own viability. I think as a result of that, we have in the last 18 months or so been seeing the introduction of numerous new services, all of which add to the bottomline of the operators. Sir, he has also agreed with our requirements for contractors to employ licensed cable detection workers. I thank him for his support. With regard to Prof. Toh's point on the definition of "TAS", in clause 2, I have asked and I was told that the formulation of the words is correct. But, again, as was pointed out earlier on, I will also seek further advice on this from the AG's Chambers. Clause 4 only applies to equipment which is on a single set of premises in single occupation. He asks whether this is deliberate, because it seems to rule out quite a few other situations, for example, companies with multi locations within Singapore which seek to set up their own national Intranet as well as bigger buildings where there are multiple occupants. Sir, the scope of the definition is indeed an intended one.”
“In a multi-operator environment, we need to ensure that consumers are able to enjoy seamless and transparent services and that the service providers are able to share scarce infrastructural resources on commercially agreed upon terms. For example, it would not make economic sense nor will it be in our national interest if SingTel subscribers are not able to phone subscribers of M1 handphones and vice versa. Interconnection and access therefore is vital in a competitive multi-operator environment, so that the customers can have a choice of service providers and they can seamlessly and transparently contact and communicate with anyone they want. In the area of infrastructure sharing, we will only direct sharing where there is a real bottleneck situation. For example, all the mobile phones and paging operators are required to share the infrastructure to provide radio coverage in the MRT and our city tunnels, given the sheer lack of space and the operation constraints in these tunnels. The IDA will only issue directions after careful assessment of the circumstances requiring sharing. On interconnection and access, IDA's requirements for the operators to have interconnection and access obligations are very similar to what other countries are practising, because we have taken the opportunity to learn from them. Mr Chay also raised his concern whether we will actually be giving up a lot for very little. In actual fact, we are giving out very little to gain a lot. Because the telecommunications infrastructure is a very fundamental infrastructure for the entire economy. By making sure that we are able to liberalise and introduce competition, our rates have been steadily declining.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first, let me thank the three Members who have spoken up in support of the Bill. Sir, I will take the points brought up by the speakers one by one. First, let me deal with Mr Chay's comments. The first point he raised was about requiring the existing licensees to share their facilities and he asked how would the licensees view the directions from the regulator for them to share their resources. Sir, as I pointed out earlier in the session on Questions for Oral Answer, tough decisions have to be made and it is very difficult to make all the licensees happy. Of course, those who have been adversely impacted will not be very happy. But the key thing is for us to ensure that the regulatory framework is one which is fair and transparent, so that no one feels that they are being discriminated against or they are being taken advantage of. We have to ensure that there is no free rider. That is one of his main concerns - that new companies will come and free ride on what has been put in by the existing companies. So there will be no free riders. All the services will have to be negotiated. All the interconnections will be negotiated at a price agreed upon. Sir, let me stress that the regulation and liberalisation of the telecommunications sector is not unique to Singapore. Because the telecommunications sector is so vital to the efficient operation of the entire economy, many countries have, in fact, actively proceeded even before us, to open up their telecommunications sector. Therefore, many of the interconnect practices and requirements have already been fairly well established. Why do we need to have the interconnect facilities?”
“Sir, I would encourage him to contact my staff on his concerns. But I would think that if he is providing a useful service, surely useful services are saleable. 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 Yeo Cheow Tong]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.”
“I am the Chairman of CommerceNet Singapore which is trying to do that, but being a non-profit organisation, it may not be easy for us to persuade people to donate money. They would want us to do the work for them and we would be very grateful if Government could consider some sort of assistance where we can do this work.”
“But since I am no legal drafter and in view of the point brought up by Prof. Toh, I will indeed seek another opinion. Prof. Toh also asked whether IDA can, under clause 6(1)(e), in fact broaden its function to include being charged with working with international bodies on harmonising ICT law and policy. Sir, indeed, this is what we intend to do. It may not be under that particular section but we intend that in view of the fact that this is such a rapidly evolving section, and in fact many countries are still groping as to what to do, we need to share our experiences as well as learn from the experiences of other countries and where international standards are needed to be formulated, we want to be there right upfront, taking part in the formulation of those standards because they would impact on us as well. Sir, I can assure Prof. Toh that this indeed is what we intend to do. Prof. Toh also talked about clause 6(1)(j) which deals with the intent of IDA to promote self-regulation. I will touch on that in my Second Reading speech for the next Bill which deals with the telecommunications issues. Sir, as to whether a budget is needed, I would think that industry players would in fact be very happy to pay us to allow them to self-regulate because this gives them greater freedom. Sir, I do not think a budget would be needed for IDA to promote self-regulation. Assoc. Prof. Toh See Kiat: Sir, a point of clarification. The Minister has said the industry's players would do it. Indeed, if the players feel that they should self-regulate, they would come together. But because there are so many players out there, sometimes it is important to have an organisation that gets them all together to do these things as a whole and I declare my interest here.”
“Sir, like TAS and NCB before it, IDA will be a fair and impartial regulator and promoter of the industry. Mr Chay need not fear that IDA will have a favourite son because we will continue to treat all industry players as valued and favourite sons. So it is not just one, we will treat all of them as our favourite sons. As we further liberalise the telecommunications sector and as ICT sector continues to develop, we expect to see more players locating in Singapore. They will serve not just our local market but also the region and globally. The only way for us to attract them in is to ensure that our playing field is level and equally important is that the new and potential players perceive our playing field as being level. So he need not fear about IDA developing a favourite son. Prof. Toh See Kiat has brought up a few points. First, I want to commend him on his persistence in raising this issue of centralising the responsibility for IT. Sir, it shows that the Government does listen to the suggestions of MPs and we do take their suggestions into consideration. He asked why not merge SBA and IDA eventually because the industry players may have difficulty differentiating between what is under SBA and what is under IDA. Sir, the content element is very straightforward. The dividing line is very clear and the industry players know who to go to for which function. The SBA content also spans a large area. It is not just content on Internet, radio and TV, but also, as Prof. Toh has mentioned, also covers the print media. Therefore, it best resides within SBA and IDA as it now stands. He also asked about the definition of TAS. Sir, I had asked about this earlier and I am told that the formulation of words here is correct.”
“Sir, IDA's focus is to ensure that our telecommunications industry can respond to the needs of the economy in the range and quality of innovative services offered and also to ensure that these services are competitively priced and give good value for money. At the same time, competitive pricing may not necessarily imply the lowest price levels. I think this is what he is concerned about. If this really implies the lowest pricing, then in the same policy we apply across the board. So the aim is really to ensure that we give good value for money. One way to do that is to ensure that eventually when we move to a situation where market forces force the service providers to do so, ie, innovate, price their services competitively and, even though they are not the cheapest in the region because of the overall quality of service, their services are still very attractive. Sir, with regard to investments that have a strategic national value but which are only marginally viable, we have mechanism to address this. For example, TAS has a development grant scheme and NCB has a cluster development fund which can be used to promote and co-fund strategic investment projects. I will give Members an example. TAS and NCB, together with other Government agencies, had worked with industry and co-funded SingaporeOne which is the world's first nation-wide broadband infrastructure for multimedia applications and services. So in that way, IDA will continue to work with the industry to ensure that there is continued upgrading and enhancement of our infrastructure and network. And we will also co-fund strategic investments when needed. Mr Chay also talked about the danger of having a favourite son because of the duty of IDA to promote the development of this sector.”
“For example, HP's computer and computer peripheral business in Singapore sells the products, such as computers and printers, not just in the region but all over the world. Similarly, with Compaq, Seagate and many other companies. In the software sector, there are already companies in Singapore which are subsidiaries of MNCs, even local companies, whose software are products which are developed in Singapore and are now being used or sold worldwide. Sir, at the same time, the cost of local telecommunication services can be a significant cost factor for companies and it can adversely impact on their international competitiveness. Therefore, we also need to ensure that the local telecommunication services are competitive and competitively priced. As a result of this, we are now seeing good results. For example, Singapore is one of Citibank's global data centre. Citibank has located this very important multi-million dollar facility here because we have the necessary IT expertise, an excellent supporting infrastructure and competitive telecommunications rates. The centre links up with the Citibank branches in over 55 countries worldwide. So IDA must therefore ensure that its policies lead to a more vibrant and internationally competitive local telecommunications sector to the benefit of the whole economy. Mr Chay asked, since size is important, would the same set of policies be valid across the whole range of companies and, more importantly, in cases where strategic investments are required, especially such investments are marginally viable, how can we promote those investments. How do we ensure that those investments are being made for the long-term good of the economy?”
“First, let me thank the two MPs who have spoken in support of the Bill. Let me deal with the points brought up by Mr Chay. Sir, he has asked, since the term "communications" can be interpreted to cover a broad area which includes sea, land and air transport sectors, whether the Info-communications Development Authority will also be charged with the responsibility for the three transport sectors. Sir, if you were to refer to clause 2 of the Interpretation section, it defines "information and communications technology" or ICT as "any technology employed in collecting, storing, using or sending out information and includes that involving the use of computers or any telecommunication system". Sir, this is in fact a widely used term in the information technology and telecommunications industry and is a result of the rapid convergence of these two technologies. As such, the Info-communications Development Authority will only be responsible for the IT and electronic communications industry in Singapore and not the sea, land and air transport sectors. Sir, he has also asked, when we talk about promoting competitiveness in Singapore, whether we mean to let the ICT industry to be competitive in Singapore only or do we intend to let them also compete abroad and, as he says, join in the big league overseas. Sir, the ICT industry is an extremely large sector. It includes the development and management of computer hardware and software, the telecommunications sector, the development and hosting of Internet content, the provision of data services, and so on. As most of these services and products are largely sold on the global market, the industry players must necessarily be competitive, not just locally but, more importantly, internationally.”
“The benchmarking and competition between two or more multi-modal operators will result in a more efficient public transport industry. The merger discussions between Singapore MRT Ltd and Trans-Island Bus Services Ltd to form a multi-modal operator were based strictly on commercial considerations. The two companies have announced that they were unable to conclude the discussions successfully. SMRT has explained that it has decided to seek a listing on the Stock Exchange of Singapore to enable it to establish the market value of its shares, and give the company greater flexibility in future discussions with possible merger partners. On MCIT's part, our policy on promoting multi-modal transport operations remains unchanged. As both SMRT and TIBS have said that they will consider all options, we should await their proposals.”