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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“We need to formalise the training to ensure that all those in the trade are properly trained. The Bill therefore has provisions requiring supervisors and workers to undergo training courses conducted by my Ministry or by accredited training centres. Thereafter, they will sit for examinations set by my Ministry. Only when they have been trained and have passed the examinations will they be licensed as either qualified technicians or pest control workers. A grace period of nine months will be given to those already in the trade to attend the appropriate training courses and to sit for the examinations. In the interim, they can continue to work and will hold a provisional licence or certificate as the case may be. This window period is necessary and fair as the industry cannot come to a standstill in the interim period. Through the training and licensing scheme, my Ministry aims to raise the level of competence and professionalism of the pest control industry. Only when the people in the industry are knowledgeable and highly skilled, can we then depend on them to play a bigger and more effective role in vector control. Sir, I will now highlight some of the other major provisions in this Bill. To ensure that the public's safety is protected, the Bill seeks to control the types of pesticides that can be used in vector control and to specify the approved active ingredient and their maximum permissible levels. Only those that are approved for use will be registered. Clauses 6, 8 and 9 of the Bill will require all pesticides used for vector control and all vector repellents to be registered before they can be sold in the market. The product has to be sold in a container or packaged with an approved label and carries the registration mark.”
“However, I have to point out that even if 95% of the homeowners in the neighbourhood have done their part, dengue outbreaks can still occur if the remaining 5% take an indifferent attitude and allow Aedes to breed in their homes. I am sure that Members will agree that it is really unfair to the majority who are doing the right thing, but still stand the risk of being infected with dengue, just because a few of their neighbours choose not to do anything or remain careless. The Bill will provide for greater punitive measures against this minority group who, by being indifferent, endanger the lives of others. Sir, more and more chemicals and formulations are being introduced into the market as pesticides and insecticides for vector control. Some of these can be potentially hazardous to the users, as well as to the public, if they are not handled or applied carefully. With greater emphasis given to vector control, there is a need to ensure that the people using and applying these chemicals know what to do and how to prevent harm to themselves and to the public. Also, we need to ensure that pesticides, especially those used in formulated household insecticides, do not contain active ingredients that are dangerous to people. For these reasons, the Bill will have provisions to address the professionalism of the pest control industry and to the sale of pesticides and repellents. There are today about 110 pest control companies operating in Singapore. They employ about 2,000 employees, half of whom are supervisors and the other half unskilled or semi-skilled workers. Of the 1,000 or so supervisors, only about 20% have undergone classroom training conducted by the Pest Control Association and some of the larger pest control companies. The others learn the trade as they go along.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the Control of Vectors and Pesticides Bill is a comprehensive legislation that will deal with both insect and non-insect vectors. It will replace the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act (Chapter 79), which was enacted in 1968. The Bill seeks to consolidate and reform the law relating to the destruction of vectors and the control of vector-borne diseases, and has new provisions for: (i) the registration, licensing and certification of persons engaged in vector control work; and (ii) the control of the sale and use of pesticides and vector repellents. Sir, the introduction of this Bill is timely as we are seeing a resurgence of vector-borne diseases, not only in Singapore, but in the whole of Southeast Asia and many other parts of the world. Vector-borne diseases are dangerous diseases that can result in human suffering and even deaths. My Ministry is committed to protecting our population from such diseases. The task, however, of preventing outbreaks of vector-borne diseases is a mammoth one. Its success will depend very much on effort by the community - from home occupants, work-site contractors, estate managers and just about everyone who owns, manages or occupies a property. In the case of dengue fever, for example, my Ministry has over the years been educating the public on ways in which they can prevent the Aedes mosquito from breeding in their premises. Surveys have shown that the public has understood what needs to be done. Many do in fact make the effort to regularly and carefully check their homes and compounds.”
“You are talking of per room. But the whole ward may have 50 beds or, in that case, maybe 54 beds or 48 beds. I do not know what is the full complement of ward nurses. As I said, there are 5,000 over staff in SGH, and I am not a walking encyclopedia. It is not my job to know the exact figures anyway, unless Mr Jeyaretnam specifically asks for them. Taking a figure out of the air, if that ward has a complement of 50 nurses, then the cost of those 50 nurses would be divided by 48 beds or 54 beds, and that becomes a direct cost. There are other costs which, as I have said just now, are indirect costs. For example, the Medical Records Office. There, they have maybe 20 staff. Then the salary cost of those 20 staff will be allocated over all the hospital beds. This is because the assumption is that each patient, whether he is in B1, B2 or C class, has the same access requirements to the Medical Records Office. Therefore, they are what we call "allocated costs".”
“Sir, the nurses are normally direct costs, ie, the B2 wards will have perhaps 50 patients.”
“Sir, all these cost allocation formulae have been arrived at after much discussion with professional auditors and cost accountants and we stand guided by them. Mr Jeyaretnam: Would the Minister tell us how many nurses and sisters are allocated to one B2 ward or do they serve other B2 wards as well in the vicinity?”
“As I have just mentioned to Mr Jeyaretnam, there are various formulae which are adopted. The formula varies from category to category. For example, direct labour. Direct labour is a direct costing, ie, if that ward has an average of, let us say, 20 nurses, then the cost of those 20 nurses will be fully accounted for by that ward. There are other things which are indirect. For example, the Medical Records Office. How is that cost allocated to A, B1, B2 and C? Because the Medical Records Office serves every patient, it is allocated in proportion to the number of patient days. As for the common areas, the maintenance cost of the common areas would be allocated in terms of the actual area occupied by the B2 ward. There are certain things which are allocated in terms of the area occupied by the B2 wards. Certain costs are allocated in terms of patient usage and certain costs are allocated based on the intensity of care. So there are different formulae that apply to each of the cost factors.”
“If Mr Jeyaretnam would like to file a specific question, I would be very happy to give them to him. This is because the cost data of SGH comes to a good sized booklet and I do not think I would be doing Members here any favour by spending the whole one hour just reading through the cost accounting records of SGH.”
“Sir, it costs about $300 million to build a medium size hospital, let alone a hospital the size of Singapore General Hospital. If he understands anything about accounts, he will realise that equipment which you purchase have to be depreciated. That is what the depreciation costs are all about. After you have depreciated all these facilities, you allocate that cost to A, B1, B2 and Class C patients. There are certain formulae which are adopted on cost allocations. As I said, we have the manpower costs, which amount to 60% of the total cost.”
“I would suggest that Mr Jeyaretnam get a copy of the SGH Annual Report where all those figures are there for his examination. After he has studied the Annual Report, and if there are any other further questions, I will be very happy to answer them for him. For me to try to give all the data here would take days. SGH has a workforce of almost 5,000, divided into hundreds of categories. Does he mean that he wants me to give him the precise cost per category, the precise cost of each employee, how the cost is being allocated to the A, B1, B2 and class C patients? Please take a look at the public documents which are available. And if he does not understand after that, I am sure he can get one of his accountant friends to explain to him. After that, if he still does not understand, I will be very happy to explain to him.”
“Sir, obviously, Mr Jeyaretnam does not understand operational costs and how they are allocated. I will give him the figures and I hope the figures do not boggle his mind. Sir, indirect manpower costs include the salaries of staff working in the support departments which are not within the ward, because the daily cost is not the cost of just supporting the six beds in the ward. There are a lot of other costs that are necessary to support those six patients. First, indirect salary cost, the support staff including staff supporting the facilities, plant and engineering, medical records, infection control which is very important; we have staff checking the infection level to make sure that patients go in and do not get infected by other people; hospital administration, all these come to $43 per patient day. Direct salary of nurses and health attendants within the ward, this comes to $40 per day. Depreciation and temporary occupation licence fee comes to $18 per day. Food services, $7. Laundry and linen, this comes to $4.50 a day. Overhead costs comes to $29 per day. Overhead costs would be things like patient billing, medical records, maintenance, security, maintenance of the common areas, because the hospital does not just constitute that room where the patient is in, but a lot of other common areas. So all these costs amount to $29. As a result, the total daily cost to look after one patient in the B2 wards comes to $142.50.”
“Sir, the figure of $142 quoted by Mr Jeyaretnam is the daily cost incurred by SGH in 1993 to provide the basic ward facilities and services for each B2 patient. The salary cost of ward nurses, health attendants and support staff makes up about 60% of the cost. Ward equipment, facilities, and general services such as linen and food constitute another 20%. The remaining 20% goes towards general overheads which include hospital administration and maintenance of common areas and equipment. However, B2 patients do not pay the full ward cost of $142 at the SGH. Because of heavy Government subsidies, they pay a daily ward fee of only $50. This ward fee of $50 has remained unchanged since 1993.”
“Mr Goh Choon Kang asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many drivers of foreign vehicles did not pay up their traffic fines for offences committed in Singapore from 1993 to 1997; (b) how many warrants of arrest have been issued against these drivers; and (c) what is the total amount of fines outstanding.”
“Enterovirus infections, including enterovirus type 71 (EV 71) occur worldwide, including Singapore. Asymptomatic infections are common. EV 71 is frequently associated with hand, foot and mouth disease, which is usually self-limiting. It affects mainly children and is characterised by rapid onset of fever and sore throat. Small, superficial ulcers develop in the mouth, followed by rashes on the hands and feet. There is no specific treatment. Occasionally, serious complications like inflammation of the brain and heart muscles can occur. (a) In Singapore, surveillance of enteroviruses has not shown any unusual pattern of EV 71 infection. So far this year, there is no confirmed case of EV 71 infection in Singapore. (b) In view of the recent outbreak of EV 71 infection in Taiwan, the Ministry of Health has taken the necessary action to strengthen surveillance of EV 71 infection and has advised all medical practitioners to be vigilant for possible cases of EV 71 infection, especially those who have travelled to Taiwan recently. Laboratory tests are available to doctors for diagnosis of the disease. It takes at least one week to confirm an enterovirus and between 4 and 8 weeks to determine the strain of the virus. The time taken depends on the amount of virus present in the specimen collected. (c) Hospital staff have been alerted and advised on the handling of patients and to observe proper infection control practices. Isolation wards for affected patients will be set up at KKH and NUH, the two hospitals with paediatric care facilities, should the need arise. The Ministry of Health is working closely with the Ministry of the Environment to monitor the incidence of EV 71 infection in Singapore. TRAFFIC FINES OF DRIVERS OF FOREIGN VEHICLES 23.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have given notice to defer the Second Reading of the Bill till tomorrow.”
“Currently, standard drugs are centrally procured by the Pharmaceutical Department of my Ministry for restructured and Government hospitals, polyclinics and other institutions. This allows each of them to enjoy better prices and uniform quality and to pass on the savings to their patients. For non-standard drugs and equipment, each restructured hospital carries out its own procurement. This allows them to respond more quickly to their own specific requirements. CPF WITHDRAWALS BY MALAYSIANS 58. Mr Chay Wai Chuen asked the Minister for Manpower if he will inform the House whether the CPF Board will allow Malaysians to withdraw their CPF savings before the normal withdrawal age and, if so, what are the conditions for such early withdrawals.”
“Residents in Woodlands and Marsiling are served by Woodlands Polyclinic which was opened in 1993. Woodlands Polyclinic provides a comprehensive range of services, including maternal and child health care, immunisation, outpatient care for acute and chronic medical conditions, clinical laboratory services, a minor operating theatre, an X-ray Centre and a dental clinic. There is also a Senior Citizens Health Care Centre. The polyclinic has a daily patient attendance of 700 patients. GPs in the neighbourhood can also make use of the laboratory and X-ray facilities for their patients. Residents in the Sembawang and Yishun areas will be served by the Yishun Polyclinic which is scheduled to open in October this year. Yishun Polyclinic will have all the services and facilities of a large Government polyclinic, including laboratory and X-ray services. AIR TRAFFIC SAFETY MEASURES AT CHANGI AIRPORT 39. Mr Ahmad Mohd Magad asked the Minister for Communications whether there are adequate measures in place or planned to be implemented to ensure air traffic safety during aeroplane takeoffs and landings at Changi International Airport.”
“Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Public Utilities Board will use Chinese as a medium to conduct competency tests for the issuance of trade licences such as the electrical workers licence to enable those who studied the electrical installation and servicing course in Chinese and who had obtained the National Technical Certificate-2 or National Technical Certificate-3 from the Institute of Technical Education to have the opportunity to obtain the relevant trade licences.”
“We must remember that the doctor-patient relationship is different from other consumer-provider transactions, where the consumer has sufficient knowledge of the service or product to make an informed choice. It is therefore vital in a doctor-patient relationship that the doctor remains professionally independent to do what he believes is best for the patient, free from the influence of any non-professional consideration that may potentially be in conflict with the patients' best interests. Doctors who enter into business arrangements must be circumspect and avoid any situation or arrangement which would potentially compromise their professional independence and their patients' interests. To ensure that high professional and ethical standards of medical practice are maintained in Singapore, my Ministry will scrutinise more closely and conduct more intensive medical audits on those medical establishments which are at greater risk of compromise of professional or ethical standards. This will help ensure that high professional and ethical standards of medical practice are maintained in Singapore. Let me assure the House that MOH will not hesitate to act decisively to uphold high professional and ethical standards of medical practice, by bringing errant doctors to SMC for investigation and disciplinary action whenever such action is warranted. CHINESE COMPETENCY TESTS FOR ISSUANCE OF TRADE LICENCES 19.”
“My Ministry is aware that four specialist doctors have given specific profit guarantees to a listed company that purchased their medical practices. The profit guarantee does not contravene any existing legislation covering healthcare establishments or practices, and the parties do not require the approval of my Ministry for the transaction. However, my Ministry is very concerned with any commercial transaction or arrangement which can lead to a lowering of our high professional and ethical standards of medical practice. The media reported last week that the council of the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) has circulated a resolution on the issue of profit guarantees to its members. The resolution states that: `Medical practitioners who are involved directly or indirectly in the provision of medical services associated with profit guarantees, whether imposed upon or voluntarily undertaken by them, are putting themselves at increased risk of unethical behaviour arising from patients' interests no longer always being their first consideration.' SMA's position is that the financial imperative imposed by profit guarantees is incompatible with the Singapore Medical Council's Physician's Pledge and the ethical principles subscribed to by the doctors. The SMA President said that the association is concerned that such commercial arrangements will compromise the doctor-patient relationship which puts the patient's interest first. The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) is in full agreement with SMA's resolution. My Ministry supports the strong stand taken by the SMA and SMC. A high standard of ethical behaviour by the medical profession is at the heart of good medical care. In the provision of medical care, the patient's interest must always come first.”
“All doctors including public sector doctors are not restricted from giving any hospitalisation or medical leave to a married woman following the delivery of a third child. The doctor will give the medical leave to the woman if her medical condition following the delivery of a third child warrants the sick leave. However, under the Employment Act, a female employee is not entitled to paid medical leave during the confinement period if she has 2 or more children. She may use her annual leave if she is certified unfit to work or may be given no pay leave if she does not have any vacation leave left. RECOGNITION OF MEDICAL LEAVE FOR DELIVERY OF THIRD CHILD 14. Dr Lily Neo asked the Minister for Manpower whether medical leave, given for medical conditions or complications arising from or even directly related to the delivery of a third child, is recognised and if it is not, the rationale and justification for this.”
“The waiting time to book the ECs is very short. Indeed, it is zero today. With the completion of HDB's referral of applicants on the Executive Flat (EF) queue to the Executive Condominium developers, 95% of all the ECs are now available for sale under the open category. In other words, anybody who meets the housing conditions can apply to buy an EC. Applicants are now able to book an EC immediately at the launch of any EC projects. Yew Mei is on the market for buying and Summerdale has just been launched last weekend. For those first-timers wishing to buy HDB flats, the average waiting time has also been lowered from the previous 4.5 years to 2.5 years now. If the applicant is not fussy about location, he can get a 4- or 5-room flat in the West Zone at an average waiting time of 1.25 to 1.5 years which, I think, is a reasonable waiting time. Hence, first-time couples today have many choices to own their own homes. They can either buy a private property if they have the means; or they can buy a more restrictive Executive Condominium with the CPF housing scheme; or they can buy a HDB flat from the resale market with the CPF housing scheme; or they can apply for a new HDB flat. Finally, there is the option to live with dad and mum, and that is the option I encourage most. CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND MEMBERS (Statistics of profits/losses from investments) The following Question stood in the name of Mr Chng Hee Kok 9. To ask the Minister for Manpower if he will provide statistics of the Central Provident Fund members who have profited or lost from investments at the latest available date.”
“To encourage these couples to apply for an EC instead of joining the HDB queue, the Government decided in 1996 to extend the CPF Housing Grant to first-timers buying an EC. The grant of $40,000 makes the ECs more affordable, since the grant can be used towards the 20% downpayment. To the NMP's question: will the $40,000 CPF housing grant be extended to those who want to buy private properties, the answer is no. Because unlike private apartments or condominiums, ECs are sold under the conditions of the EC Housing Scheme Act and Rules which have several restrictions. The eligibility conditions are, however, similar to those of public housing. In addition, a purchaser is also subjected to the following conditions of ownership: (1) the purchaser must occupy the EC for the first five years after taking possession of the EC; (2) the purchaser can only sell the EC after completion of the 5-year occupation period, and from the 6th to the 10th year of ownership, he can only sell the EC to Singapore citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents; and (3) the purchaser and spouse are permanently debarred from buying subsidised public housing from HDB. In other words, they are totally out of the public housing scheme. In the case of private apartments or condominiums, they are sold by private developers under very different conditions. The Government does not control ownership of these residential properties which the purchasers can use either for owner-occupation or for investment or for speculation. The purchasers for private residential properties are also from the higher income groups. Hence, the Government has no plans to extend the housing grant to purchasers of private properties. Is the problem of housing shortage serious? It is not so serious.”
“Sir, we have been engaged in very extensive discussions with the Indonesian government as well as with our other ASEAN colleagues and we hope that all these extensive discussions and the message which I believe is being put across very strongly through the mass media as well as through our direct discussions will cause the Indonesian government to be more vigilant in the future. GOVERNMENT GRANT TO PURCHASERS OF EXECUTIVE CONDOMINIUMS (Extension to purchasers of private residential units) 8. Mr Tay Beng Chuan asked the Minister for National Development what is the rationale for the $40,000 government grant given to first-time home buyers to finance the purchase of their Executive Condominiums and whether his Ministry will consider extending such grant to first-time home buyers who wish to take advantage of the falling property prices to buy a private residential unit straightaway instead of joining or remaining on the long waiting list of home buyers for Housing and Development Board flats or executive condominiums. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development (Mr Koo Tsai Kee) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, the CPF Housing Grant Scheme was implemented in 1994 to assist young citizen families who have not previously enjoyed any housing subsidy to purchase a resale HDB flat to set up their own homes, thus obviating the need to queue up for a new HDB flat. The grant is treated as a housing subsidy enjoyed by the eligible recipient, in lieu of buying a new subsidised flat from HDB. In 1995, the Government introduced the Executive Condominium (EC) Housing Scheme to meet the aspirations of young couples, many of whom are graduates and professionals, who want to own private homes quickly.”
“Sir, we will look into that, as to whether we will be able to get the full information from the various sources.”
“Sir, indeed that is what we have been saying publicly. We do not really have information on which companies in Singapore are involved in plantation investments. I think the point is that it has already been very well publicised time and again on the need for the companies to comply with the laws in the host country. In the case of Indonesia, it means they should not engage in illegal burning.”
“Sir, indeed that is true and which is why all the Ministers have been urging our Indonesian colleagues to impress upon its government the need to enforce the existing laws in Indonesia against illegal burning activities.”
“Sir, in fact, the Indonesian Minister at our last ministerial meeting in Brunei had stated that he believed that the present fires in Kalimantan were largely caused, in the initial stages, by illegal burning. But because of the extreme dryness of the island due to the prolonged drought, those fires have spread very rapidly into the nature reserves and other areas which are by and large uninhabited. So in terms of the genesis, yes, the fire originally was started largely by illegal burning but, however, the present scale of the fires is caused largely by the prolonged drought.”
“Sir, our attempt to advise Singaporeans was in response to the appeals by Singaporeans for information of what action they can take to mitigate the effects of the haze. Even at the worst period last year, the PSI level in Singapore, on a 24-hour basis, was in the region of about 138, which is in the unhealthy region but not in the hazardous region, most Singaporeans really would be able to cope with the haze without any equipment, such as purifiers and filters. However, for those Singaporeans who suffer from health problems - the asthmatics, the elderly who are sick and who require medical treatment - they can easily go to the polyclinics. First, the fees in the polyclinics are already very heavily subsidised, but for those people who require additional financial assistance, we have the Medifund which can then help to pay for their polyclinic fees in full. So there is no reason for any Singaporeans at all to feel that they are being deprived of assistance from the Government.”
“Sir, at the present moment, a team from UNEP, as well as experts from Germany, are in Kalimantan helping to assess the situation. I believe they will be presenting their report to the Indonesian government and subsequently we will be getting an update from the Indonesian Minister at our next ministerial meeting, which will be in May. The second question is about whether there is any evidence of illegal burning in Sumatra. Sir, fortunately, Sumatra is presently fairly free of fire, and that is why we have agreed to put the highest priority on maintaining the current situation in Sumatra. We have set up the sub-regional fire-fighting arrangement which will be organised to operationalise what we had agreed upon in terms of cooperation to spot the fires and to deploy the necessary people to prevent those fires from taking hold when they do break out.”
“He also stated that he would do his utmost to get his government, his people and those in the private sector to understand the economic costs and the health impact of forest fires and haze, and seek their cooperation in stopping illegal burning activities. The ASEAN Environment Ministers also discussed the forest fires raging in the East Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, and were briefed by the Malaysian Environment Minister on their efforts to bring these fires under control. The Malaysian Minister informed us that many of these are peat fires, against which conventional methods of fire fighting are not effective. The drought in Kalimantan, Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei has been particularly severe and prolonged, and rain is not expected till the later half of this year. The dry season in Sumatra is due to set in around the middle of this year. Whilst efforts are being made amongst the affected ASEAN countries to jointly tackle the forest fires with international aid where available, at home we have been advising Singaporeans to install air cleaners and special filters to mitigate the effects of haze on their homes, schools and offices. We have tested these devices and found them to be effective.”
“Sir, the ASEAN Environment Ministers were able to make further progress in their recent meeting in Brunei in their efforts to address the problem of forest fires and haze. The Ministers agreed to form two sub-Regional Fire-fighting Arrangements (RFA) under the Regional Haze Action Plan: one to tackle fires in Kalimantan and the other to prevent fires from developing in Sumatra and the Riau Islands. Under the RFAs, the affected countries in the sub-regions will share fire-fighting resources and deploy international assistance when available. The ASEAN Ministers agreed that top priority must now be given to efforts to prevent fires from developing in Sumatra and the Riau Islands. The fires in East Kalimantan are now so massive and widespread that efforts are best directed at containing these fires and preventing them from spreading to Central and West Kalimantan. The ASEAN Environment Ministers also affirmed the UN Environment Programme or UNEP's role in helping to mobilise international assistance to deal with the forest fires. Indonesia, in particular, had welcomed UNEP's initiative at the highest political level. This is an encouraging development as we believe that UNEP is in a position to reach out to more countries for assistance. Already, UNEP has sent a UN experts mission to assess the situation in Kalimantan, and there will be a UN level meeting in Geneva on 21st April among potential donor countries to assess the types of assistance needed by Indonesia. While in Brunei, I had conveyed to Prof Juwono, the new Indonesian Environment Minister, Singapore's concern over the threat of smoke haze this year. He had assured me that he was fully aware of the magnitude and seriousness of the Indonesian forest fires and their impact on the region last year.”
“Sir, even though these are designated sites, we have very stringent requirements in place. For example, at the building plan stage, my Ministry would have already checked and ensured that there are adequate measures such as containment facilities, leak detection and warning devices, emergency plans in case something happens. All these are ready at the planning stage, even before the building plans are approved. This is to ensure that in the case of any accident, we are able to limit the damage to the environment and the health threats to not just the general population, but to people working in the immediate vicinity as well. ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1998 TO 31ST MARCH, 1999 (Paper Cmd. 3 of 1998) Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [6th Allotted Day]. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] Head U - Resumption of Debate on Question [17th March, 1998], That the total sum to be allocated for Head U of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100. - [Mr Lew Syn Pau]. Question again proposed.”
“And this is the route being taken by the oil companies for raising the octane rating of their fuel. I am glad to say that MTBE has also been shown to be a non-carcinogenic item and therefore it does not pose any threat to public health. He asked us to initiate education to inform Singaporeans that they really do not need such a high octane rating. Sir, since the benzene content does not pose a threat to public health, we should leave it to market forces as to whether we should opt for a higher octane rating or a lower octane rating.”
“As such, we have decided to proceed with the ban on the burning of giant joss sticks. We have actually been a little bit more flexible because the original proposal which we discussed with the bodies was to have much smaller joss sticks. But in response to their appeals, we have agreed to allow them to have a 2-metre joss stick and a 75 mm diameter. So in actual fact, we have acceded to the requests of the relevant people. There is no need to do a soft introduction this year. This is especially so since the likelihood of the haze hitting us will be quite high this year. 4.45 pm He has also asked us to perhaps ban the trade in re-export of giant joss sticks to other countries. Sir, we should not interfere in the general trade of joss sticks or any other matter. There is a market for that. It is legal in other countries. Let our traders continue with their trading but they should know that in Singapore, we do not allow such giant joss-stick to be burned. On benzene in automotive fuel, Sir, I would like to inform Prof. Low that there is a maximum limit on the amount of benzene in fuel, and that is 5% by volume. We have a regulation. And this 5% limit is the same as that adopted by the EU countries, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. My Ministry conducts regular tests on petrol to see what is the level of benzene because, as he has pointed out, benzene is a carcinogenic item and I am glad to say that today, there have been no cases of benzene content exceeding the 5% limit. He asked about the raising of the octane rating and that he fears that this is done through additional benzene content. Sir, it is true that benzene can help to increase the octane rating but there is an alternative, and that is by using methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).”
“First, let me respond to Mr Heng. Sir, indeed, I would like to thank Mr Heng and his GPC members for coming out with a concept paper. We agree with him that keeping the rivers clean should also be a national effort involving as many people as possible, and I look forward to the implementation of the scheme in due course. On deafness from discotheques raised by Dr Lily Neo, there is no restriction at the moment on the volume of music in discotheques. Although I agree with the Member that prolonged exposure to very loud noise may cause noise induced deafness, unfortunately, no other country has implemented similar noise control measures. I will ask my Ministry to take a further look into this subject and do a more thorough study on the measures that have been adopted by other countries in the control of noise. Sir, in terms of publicly educating our youngsters, yes, we will do that and we will get the non-Government organisations that are interested to join us in this effort. Mr Ang Mong Seng spoke on the burning of giant joss sticks. Sir, I would like to inform Mr Ang that since October last year, we have been in active discussion with the key parties involved in the burning of giant joss sticks. We have been discussing with the merchants involved but, more importantly, we have also been discussing with the religious bodies - the Singapore Taoist Association and the Singapore Buddhist Association. And I am glad to say that both the Taoist Association and the Buddhist Association have supported the move by the Government. They have informed us that giant joss stick is not part of their tradition and that a smaller joss stick would do equally well, in terms of conveying their prayers to the gods.”
“Sir, a large part of the increase was in the private households which has been well publicised, and which is why we have been focusing very much also on private households. And, yes, there is a lot of outdoor breeding in the private households - roof gutters, pots and pans left outside. Nowadays, just a small little puddle of water can lead to breeding. Are we cooperating with the other Ministries? Sir, whenever a construction site is approved, we inform them very clearly about their responsibility and, in fact, we have been ensuring that they have a qualified pest control company under their employment. And that is why our experience with the construction sites is that the situation has improved in the last one year.”
“But the situation today has totally changed. In our labour short situation, anyone who wants a job can easily get one. Those who think they can cook but do not have the capital to start their own business, or who are unable to join in the tender process, I would suggest that they get a job as a cook, and maybe work as a cook in one of the hawker stalls and establish their reputation. Once they have done that, they can go and join in the tender process and get themselves a stall. We have to make sure that our limited number of hawker stalls is used efficiently. Our experience has been that this is best accomplished through the market mechanism. They tender for it. They must make sure that it is being efficiently used from morning to night.”
“If they can do that, they would have contributed a great deal to our fight against dengue fever. How does the measure to remove drain covers reconcile with the earlier measure, which is to ask that drains be covered up? Sir, we have asked for the drains to be covered up earlier on in order to prevent littering of the drains. But what we have found is that the covered drains actually lend themselves even better to mosquito breeding. Between the two problems, it is more important that we tackle the mosquito problem. Therefore, we have asked for the drain covers to be removed. We have come out with other measures which should help us prevent the littering problem from getting out of hand and preventing the litter from getting into our water reservoirs, etc. Let me move on to the earlier cuts. Mr Heng Chiang Meng talked about illegal dumping. Yes, I agree with him. It is a big problem. It is a problem we are very concerned with and which is why we have increased the penalties from $1,000 previously to $10,000, or a jail term of up to 12 months. For repeat offenders, the previous penalty was $2,000. We have now increased it to $20,000, and a mandatory jail term of between one and 12 months. I would like to inform Mr Heng Chiang Meng that we are still not satisfied that the penalties are adequate, and we will be taking steps later this year to raise the fines further and to make it mandatory for the vehicles used in the illegal dumping activity to be forfeited. Mr Harun Ghani has asked about hawkers. Sir, he talks about the 60s and 70s, I agree with him. In the 60s and 70s, with rampant unemployment, it was very difficult for people to get a job and therefore the hardship cases had to be helped somehow. Some of them were lucky enough to get hawker stalls.”
“But that is really not a solution. To fine a family is after the fact. I would rather that they have no mosquitoes. The other source of mosquito breeding is the construction sites. Here I must say the trend has been a good one because of the heavy penalties being imposed against the construction companies. If they are caught breeding, the first time we fine them, the second time we will have a heavier fine, and the third time we will ask them to shut down. A stop-work order is issued until they clear up the entire site. It may be two or three days. The cost to them runs into tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Because of that, most construction companies now have engaged pest control companies to help them because they realise that looking after mosquitoes is not really their forte. So many of them have their own pest control companies. This brings me to my other point that we are now introducing a programme to better train the pest control companies on, firstly, looking for mosquito breeding sites and, secondly, how to advise the construction companies on eradicating and preventing mosquito breeding sites. I believe that with this effort, we should see further improvement in eradicating mosquito breeding in construction sites. Mr Kenneth Chen asked about the roof gutters. There is really no need for us to ban roof gutters. For old roof gutters, we have asked that they either paint them with insecticide paint or they find some other ways of making sure that the water does not stagnate in the old gutters or, worse comes to the worse, remove the gutters. But what we would like the architects to do is to see whether they can come out with a better roof gutter design which will prevent stagnation of water over time.”
“I shall take the last set of cuts first on vector control. Sir, the problem of dengue fever is a major concern to my Ministry. As pointed out by Mr Harun Ghani, the trend has been quite a frightening one. The number of people down with dengue increased from 2,000 in 1995 to over 4,000 last year, a doubling in two years. Sir, what is the cause of this? Firstly, dengue arises only when we have Aedes mosquitoes. When the mosquito population increases, the risk of dengue also increases. One problem is that over the years the Aedes mosquito has adapted very, very well to our urban setting. In the past, the Aedes mosquitoes tended to breed mainly indoors in stagnant, very clean water. But now the Aedes mosquitoes have also moved outdoors and also they are able to breed in water that is less than clean. So the number of breeding sites available to the mosquito has now increased, which is why this is a battle that cannot be fought by the Ministry of the Environment alone. This is a battle that must involve every Singaporean, because our studies have shown that in a neighbourhood, all you need is, out of 100 homes, two homes which breed Aedes mosquitoes, and there will be a dengue outbreak risk there. 98 families who are very, very vigilant but two families are very complacent, and you will get dengue in the neighbourhood, which is why the cooperation of the general public is important. That is why the public education programme must continue to be the linchpin. It is not possible for the Ministry of the Environment to go and inspect each and every home in Singapore. We do not have the people. This is not a police state. Every family must be responsible for inspecting its own premises. Fines are not really the solution. We have increased the fines last year to $150.”
“The Ministry will consider the covering up of drains only in private housing estates situated on elevated ground where the drains can have a good gradient and water will not stagnate. This is to prevent mosquito breeding. We will therefore consider the proposal to cover the drains selectively. As for the greenery, I think there are two parts. One will be looked after by the Government, and the other is by the developer.”
“Sir, on littering, Mr Shriniwas Rai had put the following question. I cannot agree more with the NMP that it takes only a few irresponsible litterbugs to undermine our living environment. In addition, litter is a health hazard, as litter that holds water is one of the main sources of mosquito breeding, and this makes littering even more objectionable. On anti-littering campaigns and public education programmes, these go back many, many years and every one, the students in school, the community at large, is aware that they should not litter. There is no excuse. Litter bins are always at hand for people to use. There is at least one in every bus stop. As for the corrective work order, Sir, we introduced it in 1992. To date, 1,975 litterbugs had served their order. Although a number of them served for a second time, many have said that they would not litter again. As for friends of the environment, we have friends of the environment, from school children and the public at large, but to take them to court, I would like to inform the House and Mr Rai, in particular, in this era of Internet and cybernet, the finding of two cyberneticists, namely, Ludwig van Bertalanffy and Norbert Weiner. They are Dutch. According to them, after we have taken all these measures and feedback including comments in the House, at the end of the day, the person must have this esteem of self-organisation, self-regulation. And that every individual must self-organise himself, self-regulate himself, rather than further regulation. Nevertheless, we are already imposing slightly higher penalties, including the number of days for CWO. Sir, the other question by Mr Rai is on housing estates with open drains.”
“I will now ask my Senior Minister of State to reply to the other questions. 4.00 pm The Senior Minister of State for the Environment (Encik Sidek bin Saniff): Sir, Mr Kenneth Chen asked about global warming. The recent warm weather was the result of dry weather conditions and the general lack of clouds over Singapore. The warm spell is a short-term variation and is most likely attributable to the impact of the El Nino phenomenon. Global warming, on the other hand, is very gradual, long-term process. It has generally been projected that the average global temperature may rise between 1-3.5 Celsius by the year 2100, should greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) continue to be released at current rates Mr Kenneth Chen also suggested tree planting and water schemes to help cool the city. Such efforts will provide some localised relief. In fact, tree planting is an established practice in Singapore. Given the scarcity of land, Mr Chen's suggestion of water schemes such as ponds may not be as workable. It is perhaps best to leave the provision of features such as ponds and water fountains to the developers. While local actions help to provide some relief, the key to overcoming the global warming problem is to address it at source, namely, the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Mr Kenneth Chen also mentioned the ban on CFCs. Apart from the global warming potential, CFCs are also ozone depleting substances and they are controlled under the Montreal Protocol. Singapore is a party to the Montreal Protocol and complied fully with her full ob1igations to phase out CFCs. The import of CFCs into Singapore has, in fact, been prohibited since 1st January 1996.”
“That is why ENV came out with the change in regulations in 1994 whereby Residents' Committees are given three days in a year for pasar malams and that the constituency organizations like CCCs, CCMCs, the town council, of which Mr Chiam is the Chairman, I presume, are all entitled to one pasar malam session a year, a maximum of 16 days. But in applying the rules, we also have introduced some flexibility. Town councils and constituency organizations like CCCs and CCMCs can now apply to combine two years' quota into one for the simple reason that many of the pasar malams are now no longer small little things. They have kiddy rides, they have Ferris wheels, with heavy equipment. If they are only brought in for 16 days, they are not viable. And having listened to the grassroots leaders, we have agreed that we should be flexible. Town councils and constituency organizations can therefore apply to have two years' quota combined into one. Is ENV unfair and has ENV been unfair in the past? Sir, the answer is no. Other town councils have managed to run their trade fairs and Mr Chiam may wish to know that Bukit Gombak had done it two years in a row, ie, 1995-1996, when it was still under SDP. Nee Soon Central Town Council also got their quota in 1996. So it is not a matter that ENV is being very selective in approving the applications. If Mr Chiam had applied based on the guidelines, he would have got his approved as well. I understand that he applied very far in advance and he was told that he has to apply within two months and not further. I suggest that the next time, he makes sure that he applies within a stipulated time and it will definitely be approved. There is no reason for us not to approve if he complies with all the requirements.”
“Sir, I agree with Prof. Low that the penalties at the moment are fairly low compared to the liquidated damages the contractor will have to pay if he was late in completing the project. However, what we have also available to us is a heavier tool which is a stop-work order. So far, we have not applied that. But recently, we have been getting more complaints about noise and I have asked my officers to look into using that as a final measure. If a contractor repeatedly works at night and breaks the regulation on noise after three or four times, we should tell him that, "Look, this is the final warning. We will compound it this time but next time, we will give you a stop-work order." This will force them to plan their work better and make sure that the noisy works are all done in the day and that the work that does not generate much noise can then be done at night. I will answer the points made by Chiam. Sir, he said that ENV does not believe in justice and equality and that we are very unfair to Potong Pasir Town Council and I am very unfair to Mr Chiam himself. Sir, let me first explain the need to regulate pasar malams, as he called it. Pasar malam is not a way of life. It may have been a way of life when we were small kids. Then the shops were poorly stocked and therefore we needed the pasar malams, which moved from one place to another. Today, the housing estates are well-provided with shopping centres. In fact, in some of the housing estates the shopkeepers have already complained that there are too many shops and that their businesses are badly affected. Therefore, we have to control the proliferation of pasar malams.”
“Sir, I will first answer the cuts from Prof. Low Seow Chay. Prof. Low in his cut talked about the diesel powered vehicles, that they tend to be smoky even though they are more fuel efficient and asked what is the number of diesel vehicles that were found to be smoky and were caught. Sir, in 1997, about 2.7% of the diesel driven vehicles were found to be smoky and this is a vast improvement from 1989 where about 8% of the vehicles which were smoky were actually caught. He also asked that we give some publicity programme to drivers, especially when they are getting their licence, on the proper use of the engine of the vehicles and on engine maintenance. Sir, I believe this has already been done. As part of the training programme, the learner drivers are taught not just how to drive but also the theory behind the use of a diesel driven vehicle and part of that theory includes how the engine works, the maintenance and how they should not over rev with their engine. Sir, he also talked about the choice of fuel. I like to inform Prof. Low that in Singapore, all the diesel that is sold for vehicles at the fuel pumps are all already provided with additives. I understand that the diesel additives help to clean the fuel injector and therefore make the burning process a lot more efficient, thereby reducing the risk of smoke. And I also understand that some fleet owners do not buy from the petrol stations. They contract directly with the oil companies to buy in bulk and that the diesel provided to them is also similar to the diesel provided to the petrol stations, ie, most of the diesel used in Singapore is already provided with the additives. Sir, his second cut was on noise pollution. What are the laws against contractors who work at night and who break the noise regulations?”
“This kind of programme could be taught on a different occasion, like at the time when a driver receives his Class 3 or Class 4 driving licence, or when a new taxi licence is issued. It can also be taught to persons who were caught repeatedly violating the soot emission regulation. Sir, in the long term, when we no longer have problem with the soot emitted from diesel vehicles, we should then consider progressively allowing more diesel vehicles, in particular diesel cars, on the road with some favourable regulations for the sake of energy conservation. Sir, could I take the next cut?”
“Low Seow Chay: Sir, the topic I would like to talk about is vehicle pollution. In 1989, I spoke on the subject of energy conservation through the use of diesel vehicles. Precisely because a diesel vehicle is significantly more efficient compared with a gasoline powered vehicle, almost all trucks and taxis in Singapore which have very high fuel consumption choose to use diesel. Sir, despite being energy efficient, poorly maintained diesel powered vehicles pollute the air by emitting soot in the exhaust. Every day, we could spot a few diesel vehicles emitting black smoke that pollutes the air and the particulates from the soot could have bad health effect to the other road users and also to those who live near the road. I would like to ask the Minister how many diesel vehicles were caught last year for emitting black smoke. How does this figure compare with that of the previous year? Based on modern technology, diesel design could easily meet the stringent pollution control we implement in Singapore. The problem of diesel smoke is due to poor maintenance, poor workshop practice and a lack of knowledge on modern fuel technology. In my Budget debate speech last year, I mentioned about the diesel detergent additive which was really good in reducing diesel smoke through its keep- clean ability. I would like to suggest to the Ministry to have a publicity programme to let the diesel fleet operators and the truck and taxi drivers understand, first, what is the role of engine maintenance in relation to pollution; second, what are the wrong workshop practices which should be avoided and watched out for; and third, how does the fuel affect or shorten the duration before the next maintenance.”
“Sir, before one can have a regional agreement on trans-boundary pollution, there must first be a consensus amongst the countries involved that there is a need for such an agreement. I have informally mooted the idea to my counterparts, but, unfortunately, there was absolutely no support for it. Sir, in the meantime, we have been doing some research. We have reviewed similar agreements elsewhere to see what sort of provisions they have. I must say that whilst there are international agreements, they are quite disappointing because what we have found is that all the agreements contain no provisions for penalties or payment of compensation, and they are mainly statements of intent and commitment. Therefore, they are not enforceable at all. In terms of the companies, Sir, in the first place, we have to wait for the Indonesians to investigate and then to prosecute them. Once they have prosecuted them and the companies are convicted, we can proceed to get information about those companies. And even then, I do not think it is really our role to blacklist them. And neither should we be involved in enforcing their law for them. It is better that those penalties and punishments be meted out in Indonesia under their laws. If our companies are involved, they should pay the penalties as well. And, in fact, if we are aware of those companies in which Singapore companies have part share in, we will be very happy to also, in Singapore, advise those Singaporeans involved to comply with Indonesian law. And the Indonesian law is very clear - burning of land for clearing purposes, for conversion into plantations, is illegal. And we have always insisted that Singaporeans, when going abroad, should comply with all the laws of the host country. Assoc. Prof.”