Zaqy Mohamad
Singapore
“Deputy Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the Question Time at this day's Sitting be exempted from Standing Order No 22(1) so as to enable questions for oral answer to continue until the completion of Question Nos 7 to 29, including relevant supplementary questions, until 12.45 pm?”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No 48(8) to remove the time limit in respect of the Minister Tan See Leng's speech, please?”
“I think on the hawker front, we keep our rentals as low as possible to sustain our hawkers. But for food prices, we continue to monitor. My colleague, Minister of State Gan mentioned about how we are monitoring food supply of food prices, and I think that we will continue to do so.”
“I thank the Member for his question. On seafood specifically, we do not see immediate risk. We have diversified our food imports. We have also got local production of seafood readily available. At this point, as both the Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister have shared, our main risk for agriculture lies in fertiliser.”
“Mr Speaker, as I shared, we are monitoring the situation. The Government is monitoring at this point. There is no need at this juncture, because we have not seen the price hikes hit the hawkers in the same way as yet. There will be downstream impact. I think that is quite sure.”
“For us to also look into buying local produce, that helps our farms to increase capacity at this point, helps them build resilience over time and should there be disruptions or should there be a need for us to divert supplies or look to ramp up local production, I think they would be in a better position if we do what we can today to supp…”
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“It used to be that the European Champions League was only made up of champions from representative European footballing nations. But, today, to submit to the demands of TV entertainment and advertising, even if a team finishes third or fourth, it still gets into the Champions League. We are not a House for Entertainment and we have to do justice as representatives of the people. So, would the Government consider tightening up the criteria for selection of NCMPs? And I agree with my colleagues Mr Alvin Yeo and Mr Hri Kumar earlier on that you may get diminishing returns or support as you move down the line to the seventh or ninth NCMP. Sir, I think, we should also put a minimum percentage of votes beyond 15%, perhaps 25% to 30% to ensure that at least those in Parliament enjoy a significant representation of the people that have chosen them to come into Parliament. Mr Speaker, Sir, may I continue in Malay? (In Malay): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A *.] The amended Bill that was presented is a bold move that will certainly change our nation's political landscape, and encourage more views and openness. With the PAP’s dominance in Parliament since Singapore's independence, we are seeing an increasing desire for Parliament to be represented by more diverse views. Hence, the proposed amendments come with good objectives. However, we must also look at its implications and consequences. We must also look at its consequence from a wider perspective rather than just a way to encourage greater political participation. Some of the questions include: what is the aim of expanding the NCMP scheme other than to ensure diverse voices in Parliament?”
“Whatever the comments on whether it is abuse of the GRC scheme or whether it is gerrymandering or changing the GRC boundaries, the bottom line is this: to take a football analogy, if you cannot play the game properly, do not blame the pitch. I hope that we consider the impact on the quality of debates and constructive benefits to Singaporeans as we allow more NCMPs. It is also important that we ensure that debates are professional and constructive. Sir, I would like to suggest putting more differences between elected MPs and non-elected MPs beyond just the right to vote on constitutional matters or money supply matters, although this sounds a bit like your citizen versus PR differentiation. But I think elected MPs have to more accountable to their constituents and, therefore, should be given more time to address the issues that they raise. Sir, I would like to ask that we consider amending the Standing Orders: (a) limit the time given for debates and COS. So, if an elected MP gets, say, 18 to 20 minutes, perhaps a non-elected MP should get 10 to15 minutes? (b) limit the number of oral parliamentary questions. An elected MP needs more time to represent the constituents; and (c) tighten the Standing Orders to ensure that debates and clarifications are constructive, and not political airing or advertisement. Sir, my final point is that as we try to find diverse voices, we have to ensure that we do not degrade the standing of this House. It is not easy to find good political talent, good people who are committed to serve the people and the nation. As we give more political candidates access to Parliament, we must ensure that we do not become the Champions League of politics.”
“For example, take the case just now, do you now say: do we devalue flat prices today to ensure that prices go lower? Try to go to your constituents and ask them that. I think they will say "no". Do you favour increasing the subsidies for high-income couples instead of putting money into the bottom 20% of income earners? Try to go back to your constituents and see what they say. A political observer or critic can criticise everything from how unsympathetic the Government has been or how the statistics can be different if one changes the base year. But an elected MP, with constituents to answer to thinks differently. The elected MP is accountable to the full spectrum of constituents that he or she represents. It is not just one segment, not just one position – he has to be able to stand by what he or she says and represents to get the vote. So, it is curious that we debate the position of whether we admit more NCMPs or not in this Parliament. Well, today I think we have seen some Members who are still not really convinced of their contributions – that we have an NCMP who compares the legitimacy of an Elected MP, whether a GRC or single seat, to see him or her as though it is the same level as an Opposition MP who is given a seat despite losing the election contest. Elected MPs in general, even those from walkover GRCs, are not just expected to represent the people's view, to scrutinise the executive Government, but they do represent people in the constituency – real people and no ideologies. At least the PAP still strives to contest all seats available – single or GRC seats – and re-contest to win.”
“So, I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister: how different is this intent, by allowing more NCMPs to join Parliament? It is not conspiracy theory, but is there a deeper rationale that was considered in wanting more diverse representation of views? Let me elaborate a little further on my question. Yes, we want diverse voices. But voices without accountability and commitment to a constructive plan for Singapore will not benefit the people. We need to distinguish between voices, ideas and having constructive and alternative policies that will be beneficial to Singaporeans. My biggest concern, as we expand the NCMP scheme, is accountability. Yes, we allow NMPs to hold Parliamentary seats without a constituency. But their appointment is based on their position and expertise and, I hope, objectivity, to represent a particular segment of the community. So, we give that leeway. However, with the NCMP scheme, we are opening up to nine seats to members from the Opposition parties to have a say in Parliament. Now this involves political posturing, and one can criticise the Government over and over again very easily, without really being accountable to the people. Sir, I give you an example. It is easy to criticise Minister Mah Bow Tan or the Ministry of National Development for the higher prices of HDB flats today or even its supply. But it is tougher to put up an alternative position that can stand up to public scrutiny – that will work, that can balance the budget and that can be accepted by Singaporeans. Many political players are probably in the earlier bucket. You can say all you want but try to put up a position that you can go back to your constituents at the end of a day and say I stand up for this, I believe in this, and I will execute this.”
“Sir, the amendment to the Constitution to allow up to nine Non-Constituency Members of Parliament in this House is a bold move and one which will no doubt change our political landscape. I personally believe that this will encourage more openness and diversity. Given PAP's dominance in Parliament since 1965, I note that younger Singaporeans are also increasingly aspiring for more diverse voices in Parliament. I am glad that the Government recognises the trend and indeed it takes great courage to consider amending this Bill to accommodate this. I do not think I have come across any government that has the courage and belief that diluting its influence is for the better interests of the nation. Given the political landscape that we are in, the changes are well-intended. But we must also look at the implications and what I hope is that the Government has been rigorous in its thought process and is confident that this, if executed for a long term, is for the betterment of Singapore. I am one that believes that a diverse mix of good views and positions by good people with a heart for Singapore will be good for this nation. Robust debates and heated exchanges of views are certainly welcome and are part of our processes in check and balance in this House. My primary concern is whether the increased voices will necessarily mean greater transparency and constructive debates in the Parliament and for the people. If we wanted alternative views, the Opposition MPs who have won seats have the opportunity to say their piece. The NMP scheme, which we are about to make permanent with this Bill, is also another opportunity to offer diverse views and sometimes representative opinions of their own set of vertical "constituents".”
“Mr Chairman, we are almost at the end of the session. Chairman, on behalf of the House and the GPC, I thank the Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary for the lively session today and setting the Budget on course to achieve MICA's economic, cultural and social portfolios. I would like to thank the Permanent Secretary and his staff as well as the heads of agencies under MICA and commend them for the hard work they have put in for the last few months to put together the Budget and I hope that this Budget will set the Ministry to take Singapore forward and lead it to the vibrancy and progress of the sectors it oversees. We wish you well and all the best in your endeavours. Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $558,655,900 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $448,039,600 for Head Q ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.”
“And we think that NAF will actually bring this together, raise it to higher level that we believe will be cost savings as more institutions and more users come on board. Privacy issue we are dealing with it separately. At the right time we will put forward something in Parliament. Set-top boxes – into the future as part of what we are doing for IN2015, we are actually looking at a common-feature set-top box. There is an ongoing discussion now with industry as to what form this will take because we want to make sure that a common-feature set-top box allows open access by the smaller players that we hope to be able to bring in under the next generation nation-wide broadband network. This will take some time but, in the meantime, we believe that what we are going to introduce – the mandatory cross carriage where viewers can access content from a single set-top box – will be an intermediate solution.”
“When we look at what is going on, we are particularly concerned with misuse of identities, stolen identities, impersonating other people. The same laws that apply in the real world apply to cyberspace. And netizens should be mindful: they take courage from the cloak of anonymity in cyberspace and sometimes that can have repercussions beyond what they imagine it to be. Second thing is the reporting of Mr Jack Neo's affair. I know that some of the tabloids have been chasing this. It is, of course, an issue of interest to many Singaporeans and, indeed, also to those outside of Singapore. I think, firstly, we want to make sure that the broadsheets are reporting this in a way that is non-sensational – where they have to report it that it is in a factual manner, it is balanced, it is credible. The approach taken by some of the tabloid papers is somewhat different. They reach a different audience and they report it as they have reported, eg, the misbehaviour of Mr Tiger Woods. So, we make a distinction between the tabloids and what is reported on the tabloids; and the broadsheets and how it reports news of this nature. But we are indeed mindful that for all papers there are certain boundaries, and it should not go to the extent of harassing the family, targeting the children, and so on. On privacy issues relating to National Authentication Framework (NAF), it is actually less so to do with privacy as opposed to having a robust and trusted security architecture. Today, as I mentioned earlier, the banks and the institutions use different means, different tokens; the level of security varies from institution to institution.”
“For Mr Gopalan Nair, I frankly do not think there is a need to dignify his hoax with a formal response. We should just treat it with the contempt that it deserves. I think all it shows is the character of the man. And for those who do not know him well enough, this will reveal what his character is like. I think the larger question is: how do we deal with what is on the Internet. A lot of it is good, useful; there is much information that we can access but there is some of it that is also unhelpful, unsavoury and, indeed, I know parents are concerned about that. If I come back to the example of Mr Nair, I give credit to the Internet community for, first of all, expressing disbelief and some even say "Look, you just read the newspaper; you will get the truth from it". They are able to discern whether or not they should believe it fully. Secondly, when he confessed that it was a hoax, a number of the sites actually came out to condemn him roundly and many netizens themselves also did so. Regretfully, not every site did that and there are some sites that actually continued to champion his cause. I think it is worthwhile occasionally to have incidents like this so that the entire community is aware and can take steps themselves to see how they can, to some degree, self-regulate. Our approach to new media has been to adopt a light-touch policy. And with some of the moves that we are going to make with regard to the Parliamentary Elections Act and, subsequent to that, to Internet Elections Advertising Regulations following from the AIMS' recommendation the year before, we have actually taken a lighter touch and therefore a more relaxed approach over the years. But I think it is worthwhile to remember that a relaxed grip is the sign of a strong hand.”
“I thank the Minister and Parliamentary Secretary for the clarifications and the announcements that have been made by MICA. I have some clarifications. On a recent issue of public interest – this concerns the new media – I would like to touch on MICA's response or non-response following Gopalan Nair's Internet hoax about Minister Mentor Lee's ill-health last week. Though we know it was untrue, what is MICA's view in handling such means of communication that concerns public interest? From Friday night through Monday morning, I received a number of emails asking me if it was true. Why did MICA choose not to provide an official position to allay the fears of the public promptly? Second, we spoke quite a bit on the PQ last month on the sensationalisation that happens in the mainstream media. And in this case while we talked about sensationalisation, today we see character assassination quite a bit with the recent Mr Jack Neo incident and, previously, Ms Ris Low. It is ongoing but it is sad to see the media degrade into the paparazzi culture. Thirdly, on the National Authentication Framework (NAF), I want to find out how the Government plans to safeguard personal privacy and data security for the citizens of Singapore. Lastly, on the single set-top box proposal, I want to find out how MICA plans to roll this out? Will the public have to replace their own set-top boxes themselves? Or are we going to get the operators to do that? RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew: Thank you for the clarification. Sir, let me try and deal with each of them in turn. Let me deal with the specific issue first of Mr Gopalan Nair, and then I will then try and broaden it to talk about how we approach hoaxes, half truths, lies, and so on.”
“Sir, in Singapore’s history, even pre-Independence, we have faced many events that helped shape our sense of identity as a nation. These events have brought people together, be they struggles of a nation or celebrations of cultures that have established themselves in our nation. The Government has done a reasonable job in preserving monuments. Apart from monuments, what is the Government doing to capture these memories, to build stronger sense of shared identity and cohesiveness among Singaporeans? As many Singaporeans get older, we will start to lose people who have had experienced many of our historical events, memories from the past. We have archives of prominent Singaporeans. With the widespread use of social media, will the Ministry consider creating a platform for ordinary Singaporeans to share their memories, create oral or video archives, eg, experiences in WWII or the riots? We may find common roots and form new-old communities. For me, the schools I attended are no longer in the same form I remembered them. I think it will be a waste if Singaporeans like me have less and less to be rooted on as Singapore develops into modernity. A sense of history and belonging”
“Today, consumers often have to use different tokens to access the services of different operators who have deployed their own security systems and you may remember reading, a couple of days ago, problems that some of these tokens have. This has led to some inconvenience for users and varying standards for delivery of authentication services. IDA has worked closely with key sectoral regulators to establish the NAF which will enhance the security of online transactions through the deployment of a nationwide strong authentication platform. By aggregating demand at the national level, this NAF is envisaged to provide more cost-effective authentication services for businesses. Consumers can also look forward to the convenience of using a single authentication device to access multiple online services. Mr Chairman, in conclusion, MICA will continue to build on our efforts to boost innovation and productivity amongst our enterprises and help them expand beyond our shores. We will also promote the competitive and conducive regulatory environment and invest judiciously in infrastructure. This will contribute to Singapore's global competitiveness and create a vibrant economy for the benefit of businesses and consumers in Singapore. Cultural diversity and vibrancy”
“Given the open access structure and the prices committed by the Next Gen NBN operators, which are subject to IDA's price regulation framework, we expect wholesale broadband service prices to be competitive. IDA will also monitor service availability indicators closely to ensure that the Next Gen NBN operators continue to provide access to their wholesale services on equal basis. Let me share with Members two initiatives that will strengthen Singapore's position as a telecoms hub. The first is the implementation of the neutral Non-profit Singapore Internet Exchange (SGIX). We expect the SGIX to facilitate highly efficient routing of Internet traffic. This should attract more telecom carriers, Internet service providers and content and game providers to hub in Singapore and use Singapore for the exchange of international Internet traffic and content posting. This will further reduce broadband access cost and improve our speed of access to content and services, which particularly benefits highly interactive applications like online stock trading and interactive gaming as well as bandwidth-intensive activities like cloud computing. It was incorporated in September of 2009 and it has since received strong support from the industry. Many of them submitted comments on how it will benefit them. Let me just pick out two: Starhub believes that the SGIX will attract richer and more overseas content into Singapore and OneNet Singapore shared that SGIX will enable faster and smoother delivery of high-speed broadband applications and services. The second initiative is the establishment of a National Authentication Framework (NAF). Online transactions between Government, businesses and consumers are expected to rise, and we need a highly robust and trusted security architecture.”
“One key project is the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network or what we call the Next Gen NBN for short. This will provide ultra high speed broadband access of up to 1 Gbps per second islandwide. It will transform the way enterprises and consumers interact and access information be it for entertainment or commercial purposes. With high-speed network, together with our extensive international links to the multitude of submarine cables that land in Singapore, will position Singapore at the forefront of international high-speed broadband developments. The Government's investment is up to $1 billion and this is expected to capitalise some $3 billion in private investment from the Next Gen NBN operators OpenNet and Nucleus Connect. Rollout of this network is well underway islandwide, I understand they are ahead of schedule and Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Sam Tan, will elaborate on its progress and benefits later. To Mr Zaqy Mohamad's query on competition and prices in the broadband market, the IDA has structured the Next Gen NBN to ensure the effective open access through structural separation for the network company and operational separation for the operating company and the RSPs. And so even though Singtel and Starhub are shareholders of the Next Gen NBN operators, the Next Gen NBN operators cannot discriminate against their downstream competitors in favour of their own affiliates. And, in fact, for the Net Co, where Singtel is participating, the lead in the consortium is actually Nexia, a Canadian company. IDA has also conducted an industry consultation with the view to include similar separation requirements in the regulatory toolkit for other players in the telecoms market.”
“I think we both agree, and he has mentioned it, that we should allow SingPost the liberty to expand the range of business offerings but we must do so without affecting the quality of service that it provides. SingPost has taken on board the feedback, it now has a separate queue for those who are on their premises purely for postal-related services and the rest of their customers are served on different queues. In terms of quality of service, IDA requires that 99% of the mail collected has to be delivered by the next working day to areas within the CBD, and to the areas outside of the CBD, 98% must be delivered by the next working day. And these are comparable to other countries such as Hong Kong and the UK. As with delivery to the wrong address, to the wrong PO box, we will be happy to take on board some of these specific feedback and get SingPost to address them directly. SingPost had also decided to move to a five-day week postal service. IDA had, after careful consideration, agreed to this proposal. This will allow SingPost to cap costs and to reap savings, and these savings will be shared in the form of discounted stamp booklets for consumers from 15th May 2010 and rebates for franked-mail customers for a period one year from 1st June 2010. To mitigate any impact of the revision of this collection and delivery on businesses and consumers, SingPost has extended its mail collection times by one hour on Fridays to 6.00 pm for areas outside the CBD and 8.00 pm for areas within the CBD. Let me move on to ICT infrastructural investments. Several Members, Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Mr Zainudin Nordin and Mr Teo Ser Luck have also requested for an update on MICA's ICT infrastructural projects and the benefits they bring to Singapore.”
“Since 2007, MDA has also started to commission public service programmes directly where production companies and MediaCorp's in-house production units compete to pitch programme ideas to MDA for funding support and MDA arbitrates and decides where to award this funding. Today, some 350 hours of public service programmes have been commissioned. Most of which were awarded to independent production houses. In addition, many TV and radio artistes are not directly employed by MediaCorp. Many of them who appear on MediaCorp's programmes are actually managed by artistes management companies and they are also available to independent production companies. MediaCorp also outsources many complementary activities such as dances or back-up singers and, overall, I believe that there is both business opportunities and healthy competition at the various levels of the media production value chain. Likewise, Singapore has a thriving magazine publishing industry. Besides SPH magazines and MediaCorp Publishing, there are close to 100 other publishers in the market. We have no restrictions against publishing or distributing of magazines in Singapore as long as it is in line with MDA's content guidelines for publications. There are currently about 2,600 local and 5,500 imported publications in circulation in Singapore and SPH and MediaCorp account for about 1% of these publications although, I think, we were acknowledged that their publications have been pretty successful and, therefore, command a larger market share. Mr Chairman, Mr Low Thia Khiang talked about the proliferation of services offered by SingPost, mentioned the service benchmarks and how some of these services may have impacted on its quality of service.”
“But I will add that MDA will not hesitate to take action under the Media Market Conduct Code should MediaCorp be found to engage in such behaviour. As mentioned by Mr Cheng, the House may also recall that we liberalised the free-to-air TV market a few years ago with the introduction of MediaWorks. Market realities showed that the local free-to-air TV market could not sustain both MediaCorp and MediaWorks and this led to their mutual agreement to consolidate. The decision to intervene in the market must be taken after very careful study and due consideration. And I think when market failure is evident, that gives a strong basis for why the regulator needs to go in. The telecom market as Mr Cheng mentioned, British Telecoms (BT), is somewhat different from what we have here in Singapore in the media sector. BT was under investigation by Ofcom, the regulator in the UK, and they decided on functional separation which, therefore, brought an end to the investigation by Ofcom. It is a slightly different situation that applies largely to what they were doing in the telecom sector. 3.15 pm MDA is mindful that a vibrant media industry should not depend on MediaCorp alone and we need to build up the capacity and capabilities of the independent production companies. Our annual PSB funding to MediaCorp stipulates that the minimum number of hours of public service broadcasting be outsourced to these independent companies. This has increased from about 500 hours or 27% of local PSB hours in 2005 to more than 700 hours or about 35% of the local hours in 2009.”
“This will facilitate greater consumer access to pay TV content and re-focus competition to other aspects such as service differentiation and competitive packaging. This mandatory cross carriage measure will only apply to exclusive agreements entered into, on or after 12th March 2010, including renewals of existing exclusive agreements. It is not reasonable to apply such a measure retrospectively and, therefore, it will not apply to existing agreements such as the 2010-2013 BPL broadcast rights. MDA has launched an industry consultation on the implementation details. This period of consultation will give pay TV retailers sufficient time to make the necessary adjustments and we expect mandatory cross carriage to be operationalised by the third quarter of this year. Mr Zaqy Mohamed, Mr Arthur Fong and Mr Zainudin Nordin also asked whether the Government plans to intervene in the broadcast of the forthcoming World Cup. Let me just say that I am very happy that the World Cup comes around only once every four years. [Laughter ]. We understand that SingTel and StarHub have recently made a new offer and negotiations with FIFA are still ongoing. This is a commercial matter that is best left to the two pay-TV retailers and FIFA to settle. I know time is running short, we are well into the second half and approaching injury time, but we will remain hopeful that the negotiations will reach a sensible outcome. Let me now address Mr Calvin Cheng’s query on competition in the broadcast and magazine publishing sectors. Let me state upfront that to date, we have no evidence that MediaCorp has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour that warrants functional separation of its business units.”
“The study also showed that the ECA-centric competition in Singapore since 2007 has resulted in both industry and consumers being negatively impacted. Firstly, content costs now constitute a significant percentage of pay TV retailers’ revenue, compared to international benchmarks. For example, SCV’s content cost to revenue ratio has risen from 40% prior to 2007 to 70% today. This is much higher than the average 40% for pay TV operators in most other countries including the US, UK and Hong Kong. Secondly, Singapore suffers from a high degree of content fragmentation compared to other countries. Out of 179 channels today, only seven channels are common to both SCV and SingTel. An international benchmarking exercise that we conducted using a group of 16 popular channels showed that Singapore was the only country with exclusive arrangements for all 16 channels. MDA’s review has concluded that this situation is unlikely to self-correct in the near future and steps need to be taken to address this market failure. Arising from its review, MDA will now require pay TV retailers to cross carry each other’s content which has been acquired exclusively. Let me explain how this will work when implemented. For example, if SingTel acquires a new channel exclusively, it will have to make this channel available to StarHub’s or SCV's subscribers on SCV’s set-top box and vice-versa. This measure will allow consumers to watch an exclusive channel through their preferred pay TV retailer, regardless of which retailer acquired the rights to that channel and they will access available content from a single set-top box. Consumers would no longer require multiple set-top boxes or switch retailers each time the rights of exclusive content change hands.”
“The pay TV market is still evolving. We have not reached a stable equilibrium in terms of subscription to the two pay TV retailers and MDA believes that the overall development of the sector is best left to market forces. Nonetheless, I wish to assure the House that MDA will study competition issues carefully and not hesitate to step in where necessary. We share Members’ concerns with the proliferation of exclusive carriage agreements (ECAs), a commercial practice in the pay TV market that allows pay TV retailers to lock-in premium content. In order to lock out potential competitors and differentiate their content offerings, these retailers are prepared to pay a substantial premium for exclusive rights to content. This translates to higher content acquisition costs for the retailers. Since SingTel’s entry into the pay TV market in July 2007, competition between SingTel and StarHub Cable Vision (SCV) has resulted in the doubling of ECAs from 64 in December 2005 to 131 today. This widespread use of ECAs between channel providers and pay TV retailers, as seen in Singapore, is rare in international markets. In view of this, MDA had commissioned a study on competition issues in the pay TV market in Singapore which concluded last year. Its review of international practices showed that some countries such as the United Kingdom and France were actively exploring measures to address the issue of competition for ECAs. The United Kingdom, in particular, has been studying the issue since 2007 and has to date not issued its final decision due to the complexities involved. Singapore, too, has to carefully consider the implications on commercial grounds as well as our international obligations.”
“An upcoming development in the media sector is the switch over from analogue to digital broadcasting. This is a world-wide phenomenon and a number of countries have completed or are in the process of making this switchover. ASEAN has committed to do so between 2015 and 2020. We plan for Singapore to transit fully to digital broadcasting in line with ASEAN’s switchover. This switch will free up broadcast spectrum that will allow industry players to develop novel digital content and services. For consumers, switchover means that they can look forward to clearer and sharper wide-screen images and more innovative and interactive content. The Government is reviewing how best to achieve a seamless transition from analogue to digital broadcasting and will provide further details in due course when we have firmed up our plans. Let me now address the queries raised by several Members of the House – Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Mr Zainudin Nordin, Mr Arthur Fong and Mr Calvin Cheng, among others – on the state of competition in the local media market. Arising from the recent contest over the Barclay Premier League (BPL) broadcast rights, Members asked how competition in the pay TV market had impacted consumers. After this, I will speak briefly about the World Cup. In general, competition in the pay TV market has brought benefits to consumers through the introduction of more content, better quality programming and service innovation. Today, consumers have access to about 179 channels compared to 99 channels prior to SingTel’s entry in 2007. They have a range of subscription options and over new platforms like IP and mobile. High-definition content is increasingly available and consumers can catch some Hollywood programmes as early as 24 hours after their US broadcast.”
“There are opportunities, we are growing a certain reputation and we certainly have identified co-production as something that is useful in helping our firms and companies work in partnership with their foreign counterparts. In addition, our locally designed and built Interactive Digital Media (IDM) applications and services are reaching the world. Last year, I spoke in this House about Garena, an online gaming service provider. Over the past year, it has more than doubled its user base to 32 million users in more than 200 countries. Some of you may have heard or used buUuk, a smartphone application which uses location-based technology to help users find food and drink spots. Now you will say that for Singaporeans in Singapore we find our way quite naturally. But this is applied in many countries across the world. The last count is about 70 countries worldwide and it helps them identify places and make reservations in various cities worldwide. It was launched at the end of 2008 and buUuk was one of the first applications to implement augmented reality on the iPhone. It has over 100,000 users and was voted by CNN as one of the top applications to have while travelling. This is the brainchild of a local IDM company by the same name. These are some examples of how our young companies are starting to make their mark on the world stage. Our efforts aim to develop a pipeline of such promising enterprises and to help the most successful reach the major milestone of 100 million users or $100 million in revenue. With the support of the National Research Foundation (NRF), MDA will continue to invest judiciously in the IDM sector, to spur cutting-edge innovation and produce world-class enterprises.”
“We also have schemes such as the New Feature Film Fund, Short Film Grant and Script Development Grant, to support local projects that may be less commercially attractive, but have strong social and cultural relevance to Singapore. Films which have benefited from these schemes include the acclaimed film Ah Ma by Anthony Chen, which won the Special Mention Award at the Cannes Film Festival. MDA will study Mr Baey Yam Keng’s other suggestions on how to further enhance support for our local film industry closely. Bringing companies and projects to market is something that MDA gives great attention to and this is important, because of the size of the local market. It is important that our local companies are able to benchmark themselves and their works against international counterparts. As a result of MDA’s promotional efforts, media content made in, by and with Singapore is now seen in 70 countries around the world. One such example is Dinosaur Train, one of the best-received series on the PBS Kids channel in the United States. It is a co-production between The Jim Henson Company and our very own Sparky Animation. One of the reasons they are working with Sparky Animation is because they use R&D that is developed by Sparky in Singapore that allows them to deliver the project with 30% more efficiency than its closest competitor. Mr Baey also talked about the work that we are doing with Korea and how we can use this to enter the Chinese market. We are also hopeful that we can work with China to produce works that would be seen and viewed not only in China and Singapore but in other parts of the world.”
“Let me just say that the SMFP tries to do several things. One is partnerships; second is funding; and the third, markets. So it tries to establish partnerships – whether it is in co-production, whether it is getting companies to do work here that will allow them to partner our local companies or whether it is to have foreign companies locate here that will be able to employ more of our people and help them upskill their expertise. We have overall made, I think, good progress with SMFP. Last year, we had about 2,400 media professionals trained and more than 1,400 jobs created or supported. International calls for proposals have generated projects with partners from countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, South Korea and China. One of the key priorities of the SMFP is to secure media financing, crucial in enabling our media enterprises to expand globally. Despite the economic downturn, MDA attracted another $200 million of private media funds in 2009 and this brings the total media funds anchored in Singapore to $1.3 billion. 3.00 pm To support the local film industry, the International Film Fund was launched under the SMFP in the middle of 2009. This provides seed funding of up to about $5 million per movie. And among the projects selected is BAIT, which is a Singapore-Australia feature film co-production which will involve two Singapore companies that have expertise in 3D stereoscopic production and post-production services. Such cross-collaborations provide useful opportunities for our local players to work with foreign production teams and to build up their expertise.”
“Now, its management has better oversight over its sales, production and inventory as well as data from transactions being entered directly into databases. The estimated savings come up to around $200,000 per year and this would allow Nanofilm to recoup its initial investment in about a year. In the design sector, the DesignSingapore Council has in place several programmes to grow the capabilities of our local designers and design companies. The Design Capability Development Programme grooms local designers by supporting their professional development and overseas exposure. Twenty-two grants worth more than $250,000 were awarded last year. The Overseas Promotion Partnership Programme, which co-funds local designers and firms' participation in prestigious international platforms, awarded close to half a million worth of grants last year. Through these efforts, Singapore design and designers have been gaining greater recognition internationally. They garnered 126 awards last year compared to 51 awards a decade ago. MICA is carefully studying the ESC recommendations, which have highlighted design as a key business capability to raise productivity. We are fine-tuning a number of design-related initiatives and programmes that will sharpen our competitive edge and we will share more details on a separate occasion due to time constraints. Let me now move on to the media sector which has attracted a lot of attention. Some of the points that are raised I will try and answer now; some relating to national identity, culturally-related issues, I will answer after the next set of cuts. Firstly, Mr Baey asked about the progress of the Singapore Media Fusion Plan (SMFP), to strengthen the media ecosystem, to create globally competitive companies.”
“To build our pipeline of future talent, IDA has also invested in programmes such as the National Infocomm Scholarships (NIS) and the Integrated Infocomm Scholarships (IIS) that allow somebody who enters the programme at the polytechnic level to continue to university and to be funded for both programmes, the diploma as well as the bachelor's degree. Last year, we awarded 26 National Infocomm Scholarships and 20 Integrated Infocomm Scholarships. Beyond the infocomm industry, ICT can play a critical role as a multiplier to raise productivity and drive innovation. This is especially so for SMEs. More SMEs are recognising the benefits and they are now investing in infocomm technology. Under what is known as the Infocomm@SME p rogramme, more than 3,000 companies enjoyed subsidies to establish their first company website since the year 2008. Over 7,000 SME participants learnt how to harness infocomm technology through the SME Infocomm Resource Centres. In addition, more than 90 SMEs have transformed their business operations using infocomm technology, with over $6 million in grants from a joint collaboration between IDA and SPRING. IDA has been working closely with IRAS and SPRING to enhance this Infocomm@SME p rogramme. Starting from March this year, SMEs can look forward to a wider scope of assistance with what is known as the new iSPRINT scheme. A total of $25 million has been set aside for this scheme, $5 million from IRAS under the Accounting Software Assistance Scheme, and $20 million from SPRING. We expect that this will benefit more than 4,500 SMEs. Just to give an example of how powerful this can be, Nanofilm Technologies implemented a SAP solution last year to manage its business operations and to improve data reporting.”
“Many of our local infocomm companies had succeeded in gaining access to overseas markets but SiTF and IDA International will actually need to actively encourage a consortium approach by our companies so that we can exploit the larger overseas opportunities. Members are right in the sense that we do not have many companies that are of that sufficient scale – ST Electronics, NCS, Crimson Logic are some of the names that come to mind – and we need to actively encourage companies to come together so that they together with SiTF and IDA can bid and win some of these projects overseas. IDA also actively promotes Singapore-made infocomm solutions through many channels. For example, the National Infocomm Awards (NIA) has been an excellent platform to help firms gain local as well as international visibility. Muvee Technologies was a winner of the first NIA in 2002. It gained international recognition for its work and today millions of copies of its award-winning home-movie making software, the autoProducer are shipped. In terms of raising workers' skills and productivity, the IDA has put in place a range of schemes together with partners such as the Institute of Systems Science, NUS and the polytechnics, to develop the ICT manpower pipeline. In total, over 400 training courses were endorsed and more than 7,500 professionals had benefited from these schemes in 2009, almost double the number of those who benefited in 2008.”
“To help our local infocomm companies scale up and expand globally, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) plays a key role in establishing G2G and G2B partnerships with key overseas markets. To date, we have about 50 Singapore infocomm companies that are engaged in a number of overseas markets. We launched the IDA International and the Global Development Centre of Excellence in 2009. The IDA International was launched as a result of many requests from foreign governments to Singapore to help them address and grow their e-government services and we found that IDA was not able to devote the bandwidth and resources to this effort and so we started IDA International. One year later, more than 10 infocomm-related MOUs have been signed and we have consulting service engagements secured in countries from as far as Trinidad and Tobago to Oman. IDA International works with the local industry, and together they secured about $11 million of projects in 2009, its first year in operations and it expects to do significantly better in 2010. So I would say that there is actually much growth potential for our local infocomm companies. We will want to pursue this pipeline of opportunities in partnership with IE Singapore and the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF). This is the model that has been adopted in many industries. Rather than have MTI alone oversee some of these efforts to bring our companies abroad, the sectoral champions in this case, IDA and IDA International for the Infocomm, will work with the Federations as well as with the companies to identify and exploit the opportunities overseas.”
“For the Government to continue to drive ICT innovation, it must not only be technically competent but increasingly, have a good understanding of the business of Government. And well, the business of Government cannot be easily outsourced. The Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew): Chairman, Sir. First, let me first thank GPC Chair, Mr Zaqy Mohamed, and hon. Members who have spoken. Members have made many thoughtful comments and insightful suggestions, some of them delivered at breathtaking speed. So I hope you will allow me and the Ministry time to reflect on them and consider them carefully because many of them are worth much deeper thought and careful consideration. But I will try and group my response to cover three main segments that have been raised by Members. Firstly, promoting the growth of our local companies; secondly, to address the state of development and competition in the media sector; and lastly, to talk about the progress of our ICT infrastructural projects. MICA's focus over the past year was to help the infocomm, media and design industries ride out the economic storm, and to prepare for the upturn. Moving forward, MICA will intensify our efforts to boost the skills, innovation, and productivity of our workforce, to contribute towards the growth of globally competitive local enterprises, and to make Singapore a vibrant global city and endearing home. Several Members – Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Mr Teo Ser Luck, Mr Baey Yam Keng and so on – have enquired on our plans to help local SMEs. Let me first start with the infocomm sector.”
“MICA has done well to keep Singapore among the leaders of ICT adopters in the world – bringing innovation to businesses and consumers, as well as investments that provide jobs for Singaporeans. Can MICA give an update on its infrastructural projects that are being implemented and the benefits that they will bring to businesses and consumers? What can they expect in the near future? In the previous budget, the Government announced a large expenditure of close to $1 billion for the Next Generation Broadband Network. How does MICA plan to regulate the industry to ensure sufficient competition and lower broadband connectivity prices? How much savings or improvements in performance can consumers and businesses expect when NGN goes "live"? One aspect of this initiative was concerned with the open access and therefore the creation of Netco and Opco. However, the outcome of the tenders is that both are subsidiaries of incumbents – SingTel and StarHub. I hope that after spending millions, we are not back at square one with the two big boys. What measures are in place to ensure new entrants to this open access network are not disadvantaged by monopoly or oligopoly? Will the regulator have sufficient powers to intervene quickly in unfair commercial practices, given that the aim is to promote new entrants through this open access network? On a separate note, the development of ICT by MICA and its agencies can only be as good as its people. To their credit, we have done well. Firstly, ICT jobs are not choice jobs for many young Singaporeans. So how does MICA plan to attract and retain the best talents? With MICA outsourcing many projects to the industry, how does it also plan to retain competency within the Government?”
“I think this will benefit consumers in the long term. Media industry development”
“There are not many financiers out there who will help our local filmmakers, artists and creative talents. We are building our local culture, and many of such works can leave a legacy not just for our children, but for the world out there to appreciate Singapore and our view of the world from our eyes. I am on to my third cut, Chairman. Effective media competition One topic of greater interest in recent months has been the bidding war between SingTel and StarHub over the EPL broadcasting rights. This was then followed by the broadcast rights issue with the World Cup. Although SingTel, which finally won the bid, eventually offered plans at a comparable cost to StarHub's current packages, there is no guarantee that future competitions for key content would not drive up costs for subscribers. We have had many debates in this Parliament on exclusivity of content. Can MICA provide an update on MDA's review of the EPL and World Cup issues, in particular, how it plans to respond to these developments, and whether there are plans to rationalise some of the state of competition to better protect consumers' welfare? Consumers have also expressed concerns over the inconvenience of having to switch set-top boxes, now that the EPL is offered by a different provider. Are there plans by MICA to move towards a single set-top box environment? This may make it easier for consumers to make choices if there are more players in the market. Would these measures also be extended to equipment such as the exclusivity of products such as the iPhone for example, to selected carriers? I think at the end of the day, such service providers can do more to differentiate in terms of services, plans and prices, rather than hold on to the monopoly of products and content.”
“It is hard to quantify national interests in grooming our local talents and productions in terms of commercial returns or value-add. We should promote a thriving local industry and give more room for local talents and Singapore-made productions. The objective is to make Singapore more prominent in the global media map, to establish our own creative identity, for which in some countries equals to promoting a nation's "soft power" or cultural influence. This is an established concept even in developed countries. Some equivalent initiatives elsewhere include the French and Canadian film industry that have the mandate to develop and product French and Canadian films. The BBC is government-funded to promote specific interests. Even such developed nations find it important to promote their cultures and creative works for the domestic and international markets. I do not think their industry makes huge returns on government funding. Most do not turn out to be blockbusters, but they imprint in our minds images, impressions to provide some understanding of their culture, language and their unique view of the world and its affairs. It is obvious, in this media scene that is dominated by commercial blockbusters and pop hits, one can sense the need to preserve some bits of our uniqueness, culture and identity in our home-grown works. I recognise the pressure on MICA and MDA following AGD's questions on the effectiveness of its funding for the film sector in 2009. But if MICA is not given the leeway to promote more initiatives and grants that favour Singapore-made works, then who will champion for our local productions? So, I urge MICA to look into providing greater support and funding to develop our local media sector.”
“Apart from the GLCs, what is the estimated number of $100 million ICT, design and media companies on MICA's radar? Does MICA have a performance indicator or target of the number of $100 million companies that it plans to grow over the next three years? How many of our local ICT, design and media companies have also responded to grow internationally? What are MICA's challenges to grow such companies? MTI has a wide, diverse network in key sectors in overseas markets. Will MICA consider letting MTI to take over the industry development aspects of the charter? ICT and design sectors are horizontal sectors that can cut across industries and if allowed to work closely with the other sectors, there may be greater synergy found with other Singapore companies overseas in many different sectors, if they are handled under one umbrella instead of two. Industry development is about business development, business match-making and facilitating financing with venture capitalists or financial institutions rather than about specialist technical competencies or regulation. Mr Chairman, I am on to my second cut. Promoting more 'Singapore-made' works The challenge with many of our industry development initiatives are that they call for accountability for real, quantifiable outcomes. Sometimes, in an effort to justify Government spending in the areas of the arts and media, we rush for "quick wins". Sometimes, this may mean justifying supporting movies that have visible commercial value and the use of overseas acting and production houses, rather than attempt to take the less tested path of trying to groom our local artists and production talents. I think that sometimes, for national interests, we have to take that leap of faith in our local talents.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head Q of the Estimates to be reduced by $100. Mr Chairman, Sir, thank you for giving me the opportunity to kick-start the COS for MICA. I am heartened with MICA's themed approach, given the breadth of sectors that it covers. I am sure that the House looks forward to the Minister's response to our cuts on its Economic, Cultural and Social strategic themes. One of the ESC recommendations was for Singapore to develop a base of globally competitive local enterprises by growing 1,000 Singapore enterprises with revenues over $100 million by 2020. A common feedback in the industry is that beyond the likes of Creative and even the likes of SingTel, StarHub, SPH and MediaCorp, we have not grown many more globally competitive firms in the ICT and media sectors. Given the advanced infrastructure such as high-speed broadband, many multinational companies here and the high penetration of Internet-savvy population, we have not been able to grow more $100 million global brands in recent years. With the fact the world is now borderless and that we have a globally exposed, highly-educated population, I would have thought that the current environment presents opportunities for us to create the next Google, Yahoo or eBay out of Singapore. The same way we nurtured the water industry, to help develop Hyflux to be a global player, through innovative projects with the PUB and overseas missions, I would have like to see more industry champions created as MICA looks to strive towards the ESC's economic objectives. So, how is MICA developing our local companies in the info-communication, media and design sectors? What is MICA doing to help them grow beyond Singapore?”
“The next FSC is actually run by a Malay-Muslim organisation, and this is a good sign that there are resources at the national level that we can tap, and we should tap them first before we tap community resources. In all of the programmes that we do in MENDAKI, we assess what is available out there, either by NCSS or the various VWOs, before we tap on our own resources. I would like to assure the Member that we have the funds. I think what is lacking in the community – if I can be very candid – is actually expertise, and that is where we need to look beyond the community where we engage non-Muslim professors in the universities and even non-Muslim social workers to help us in some of these problems. I think we cannot be insular. I think we must be inclusive as much as possible, and our non-Malay friends are more than happy to assist us. I have received a lot of emails when I talked about the middle class last year, not only from Malay-Muslim professionals but also from non-Malay-Muslim professionals who have voiced their concerns of wanting to help the community. I think it shows a very strong Singaporean spirit to see that if part of the Singaporean family is affected, we too have a responsibility to help them. So I would like to assure the Member that we keep an eye on our costs very closely. As Members know, MENDAKI is very trim and lean, and they are overworked, unfortunately. I cannot pay them as much as possible, but they are dedicated to the cause. But the most important thing is that, over the years, we have been able to build a network of volunteers, both Muslims and non-Muslims, who are helping us out. And that is something which we will continue to grow, while we continue to examine what are the available resources at the national level.”
“Sir, like Dr Maliki, I also want to echo appreciation to the Minister for the announcement that a new mosque will be built in Jurong West. A lot of the residents in Jurong West have been asking for a mosque for many years. On the issue of community self-help, I notice that if we look at the plans that the Ministry has laid out, it looks like the job scope of MENDAKI and the CLF has widened to employment, dysfunctional families and even trying to help in the traditional area of education. Is the Government relying too much on CLF and Mendaki, in the sense that I know the capacity at that level will be quite challenging, not just resources but in terms of social networks and the resources that we have – social workers and the like? I think that is also a challenging area. Does the Minister see a change in the role of the self-help groups moving forward? Secondly, are we over-relying too much on MENDAKI and CLF to transform and move the community forward? Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I agree with Mr Zaqy that in terms of what MENDAKI was set up to do has expanded beyond its initial raison d'etre, which is education. I think this is inevitable because, as we begin to look at the issues of education, it is intertwined with social and other related issues. So we cannot help it that we have to go into this area. I would like to assure the Member and other Members in the House that even though we seem to be expanding, the key philosophy that we adopt in MENDAKI – and I am sure this is adopted by all the other self-help groups – is to tap on national resources first. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has announced that the IMC is rolling out six more additional FSCs.”
“The community continues to progress in many areas – be it in education, skills or the quality of life. We benefit from the Singapore system and complement it with community self-help. However, there are pressing issues that affect the poor and the needy in our community. These issues will require continued focus and it will take time to achieve results. At the same time, our professional class must also lead in preparing for an ever changing economic landscape. The Community Leaders' Forum has given shape and substance to our collective efforts to deal with our issues. And if we can keep our growing middle class engaged and willing to lead the rest, we are assured of a strong community, and the community will continue to rise towards our vision of a Community of Excellence.”
“The mosque is one of the major institutions of the local Malay/Muslim community. The Mosque Building Programme that was implemented ensures that each housing estate has a mosque. The latest mosque built last year was the Al-Mawaddah Mosque in Sengkang. Another new mosque will also be built in Punggol by 2013. Mr Chairman, MUIS will also implement a programme to repair and upgrade mosques that are getting dilapidated. This move is expected to meet the long-term needs for a place of worship on certain estates or areas. However, a study indicates that upgrading programmes solely are not sufficient to meet the needs for mosques in two housing estates – Woodlands and Jurong West. Hence, two new mosques will be built in Woodlands and Jurong West to meet the needs of Muslim residents in both estates. MUIS will announce the details later. When ready, residents can expect integration and synergy from these two new mosques that are located in the same estate. I am confident that this plan will help reduce the congestion that is faced by mosques in Woodlands and Jurong West, especially on Fridays and public holidays. Mr Chairman, the Malay/Muslim community can be proud of its progressive attitude. We often look for ways to improve our achievements and do not hesitate to manage any issues or challenges. This attitude has helped us to improve our educational standards and overcome the social issues that we faced. Our journey towards a vision of a Community of Excellence may still be far. However, we can be satisfied that we are on the right track or the right path. The Malay/Muslim community can continue its journey towards that vision with full confidence. *Cols. 4165-4168 12.45 pm Sir, in conclusion, I would like to thank the MPs for their questions and suggestions.”
“I have emphasised the importance for our workers to work hard to gain new skills or qualifications, and ensure that our children continue schooling to gain knowledge even though their parents may face financial problems. In short, the effort to upgrade skills, qualifications and educational levels is the only way to attain a higher level of achievement and, subsequently, to enjoy a better standard of living. We must continue improving ourselves, whether the economy is growing or in a downturn. Recently, the Government announced some plans to sustain our country's competitiveness and spur the economy to a higher level. One of the strategies identified is the effort to improve workers’ productivity. Malay/Muslim workers, including professionals, cannot avoid taking part in this effort to ensure that their skills and qualifications stay relevant to the country's economic needs. The major community institutions like the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), MENDAKI, Registry of Muslim Marriages (ROMM) and the Syariah Court will continue to implement many programmes to overcome the various challenges that we face, and to improve our achievement – especially in areas like education, social and economy. I am confident that through the cooperation of each member and leader of the Malay/Muslim community, our future generations can attain a higher level of achievement. Mr Chairman, apart from achievements in areas like education, the Malay/Muslim community is also concerned about their spiritual or religious needs. MUIS, on its part, will continue to monitor the developments and needs of the local Muslim community and strive to ensure that all the needs of the Malay/Muslim community will be fulfilled as best as possible.”
“As part of the continuing efforts to better manage the available mosque space, MUIS has clustered the 69 existing mosques into zonal clusters, and will be encouraging congregants of mosques that are more crowded to visit other mosques located nearby. Under the Mosque Upgrading Programme (MUP), MUIS has also identified both MBMF and non-MBMF mosques island-wide that will be progressively upgraded to increase capacity. Sir, MCYS, together with MND, URA and MUIS, have studied this issue carefully. Based on our assessment, there is particularly high demand for prayer space in Jurong West and Woodlands because they are large towns with a significant Muslim population. In addition, the mosques in these areas also serve Muslim workers from the nearby industrial estates at Tuas and Woodlands as well as students from the nearby tertiary institutions such as Nanyang Technological University and Republic Polytechnic, during Friday prayers. Unfortunately, there are no other mosques nearby which are able to cope with the spill-over demand. Even after upgrading the existing mosques to increase capacity, there will be a shortage of space. Therefore, I am pleased to announce that the Government has decided to reserve land for MUIS to build two additional mosques in Woodlands and Jurong West. Sir, when the two new mosques are ready, residents in the two estates can expect greater synergy between the existing and new mosques as well as more integrated infrastructure and programmes. Sir, allow me now address the House in Malay. (In Malay): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A*.] Mr Chairman, last year, I touched on the various challenges faced by the Malay/Muslim community to navigate the economic downturn.”
“The amount collected after the amendments took effect last year was $14.8 million. This was about $ 2 million higher than our projection. Sir, this speaks well of the spirit of sharing and giving in our community, even in the midst of an economic downturn. Our workers did not think twice about giving to MBMF. I thank them for their generosity and support of this key institution which is a source of pride for the Singapore Muslim Community. During the second reading of AMLA amendments in 2008, I informed the House that MUIS will work on a plan to upgrade older mosques. Mosques were selected for upgrading based on the urgency of repairs and the need for more prayer space. Given the limited funds available annually, MUIS has carefully prioritised the use of MBMF to co-fund five projects under the Mosque Upgrading Programme (MUP) over the five years. Following Muhajirin, the other mosques in the time frame are An-Nur, Al-Ansar, Hajjah Rahimahbi and Alkaff Upper Serangoon mosque. The selection was determined after a full building audit for all Phase 1 and 2 MBF mosques and non-MBF mosques that have not been upgraded since 1990. Under the Mosque Upgrading Programme, selected projects may be granted funding of up to 80% of the costs of upgrading. MUIS will take into account the mosque's available funds, the ability of the mosque and the community to raise the balance of the costs and the scale of redevelopment works when deciding on the quantum of funding for these projects. Mr Hawazi Daipi and Dr Mohamad Maliki had also raised the issue of overcrowded mosques.”
“For example, our part-time religious education programme has moved away from past didactic methods towards more contemporary methods of learning. Re-aligned as age-specific, learner-centered packages known as Kids aLIVE, Tweens aLIVE, Teens aLIVE and Youth aLIVE, the classes help students apply Islam to their daily lives, including coping with school life, relationship with siblings and parents and even boy-girl relationships. The aLIVE curriculum is also being reviewed to incorporate the best features of modern pedagogy. These changes help to ensure that our religious education programmes remain relevant and contextualised to our community. We want our programmes to be engaging, and to be the preferred source of information on Islam. A well-educated community grounded in our identity, traditions and aspirations as Singaporean Muslims will also help us remain resilient against external negative influences. Mr Hawazi Daipi requested an update on the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund programme as well as the future of our mosque development. Indeed, the development and upgrading of our mosques is a key focus for the strengthening of our religious infrastructure. I am glad to report that the Al-Mawaddah mosque in Sengkang has been completed in the second quarter of 2009. We have also begun to incorporate environmentally-friendly, energy-conserving features in our mosques. But with the Al-Mawaddah mosque, we were able to attain the BCA's Greenmark Certification. And MUIS intends to improve on this record with future mosques. We amended the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) in 2008 to allow us to expand the use of funds under the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF) for madrasah education and mosque upgrading.”
“The priority for the JMS madrasahs is to focus on the education of their students. And some of these students will be future religious leaders who can contribute to our community. Nevertheless, as part of the JMS programme, our students will be encouraged to carry out community involvement, including taking part in charity projects and volunteering as facilitators at youth camps organised by Malay/Muslim organisations. Sir, we will similarly encourage the other non-JMS madrasahs to do likewise. Mr Zainuddin Nordin asked about our plans to develop our Asatizah and ensure our religious education programmes remain relevant to the community. Besides developing our madrasahs, MUIS has committed up to $400,000 towards the development and the training of our religious leaders. MUIS has established the Asatizah Executive Development Programme (AEDP) to help Asatizahs on the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS) develop the skills to perform their roles effectively. Three hundred and thirty Asatizahs have completed the Executive Development programme. In addition, we are heartened by the Asatizahs that have shown continual efforts to upgrade themselves. Thirteen of them are currently pursuing their Master's degree and six of them are pursuing their PhD and Master's programmes. In 2010, MUIS will also launch the Asatizah Immersion Programme where young religious graduates and mosque religious officers will undergo a six-month attachment at MUIS to broaden their perspective and build up their competencies in research. This is important as our religious leaders should be exposed to multiple disciplines and perspectives. MUIS has adapted and introduced innovative religious education programmes to reach out to different segments of the community.”
“Parents are also involved in target-setting sessions with their children at the beginning of the year and at the mid-year reviews. In addition to motivational workshops, all Primary 6 students also attend coaching sessions by undergraduate mentors. While MUIS is building capabilities of the Joint Madrasah System (JMS) that now includes Madrasah Irsyad, Madrasah Aljunied, and Madrasah Al-Arabiah, MUIS remains committed to developing and assisting all six full-time madrasahs. MUIS disbursed $500,000 to all madrasahs as part of a special grant to assist them in PSLE preparations. The three madrasahs which are not in JMS also received a total of $400,000 in the form of student capitation grants and $800,000 for teacher allowances from 2007 to 2009. So, Sir, MUIS will continue to give financial assistance and support for teacher development and enrichment programmes for our students to the three madrasahs and continue to welcome them to be a part of the JMS. Madrasahs in the JMS benefit from a consolidated and efficient management structure. Students in the JMS also benefit from a consolidated and streamlined curriculum that is able to offer multiple academic options – namely the religious (ukhrawi ), the hybrid and academic tracks. However, Sir, we should bear in mind that our madrasahs are private schools that the community funds to provide for religious scholars and teachers – a need which the secular state cannot fulfil. So, across our madrasahs, students who are heading towards specialised religious qualifications should be our primary focus, and they should receive a greater subsidy so as to better utilise the limited community funds. Dr Ahmad Mohd Magad asked how JMS madrasahs are planning to engage and serve our community.”
“This year, Sir, the ETF aims to assist at least 1,200 ITE students. In addition to financial aid, a pilot-run programme will identify 60 students to be provided with academic coaching and peer guidance under the "Academic and Lifeskills Coaching Programme". MENDAKI will also continue to expand the reach and scope of its educational programmes including the Tiga M programme and the "Success in PSLE Mathematics" workshop. Sir, let me now turn to our religious institutions – both our mosques and madrasahs. The challenge is for our religious education to remain up-to-date and relevant to the needs of the community within a changing global landscape. Both Mr Zainudin Nordin and Dr Ahmad Mohd Magad asked about our plans to further develop our Asatizah or our religious people and improve the Madrasah system. MUIS has invested $2.5 million over the last two years to provide fully-sponsored training for all Madrasah teachers and staff including those not in the Joint Madrasah System (JMS). As a result, 75% of 248 Madrasah teachers have obtained teaching qualifications through MUIS funding. Another group of 30 teachers is expected to begin their training this year. All Madrasah teachers are expected to obtain teaching qualifications by 2011. While five out of the six full-time Madrasahs successfully met the PSLE Benchmark last year, there is potential for improvement. MUIS has already begun preparations for this year's PSLE. For example, Madrasah Irsyad has special programmes to identify and address the students' weak areas. These programmes include remedial and enrichment classes with a Teacher Mentor after school hours and, of course, during the school term break.”
“Mdm Halimah Yacob asked about our efforts to help families affected by the economic downturn. Sir, I am glad to say that there was an increase of $1.3 million in the Zakat collection in 2009 to $21.3 million. Out of this, a total of $5.7 million went towards helping the poor and the needy. This is an increase of $1.1 million compared to 2008. This means, Sir, that the community has continued to give and help those in need even during difficult times. One hundred and seventy-two out of 210 families under MUIS' Zakat Empowerment Partnership Scheme (EPS) were empowered and no longer need assistance. Sir, we have also helped our workers to become re-employed. MENDAKI's Job Ready and Job Steady programme reached out to many retrenched workers, including professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), to enhance their chances of securing employment or to remain employable. Over 10,000 workers received re-training and 5,000 workers were assisted in re-employment. A new centre was also set up by MENDAKI SENSE in Woodlands in July 2009 to provide training to those affected by retrenchment. 12.30 pm Sir, the education of our children must remain our top priority. Therefore, we focused on providing continued education assistance. Over the past year, MENDAKI's Education Trust Fund (ETF) has disbursed $800,000 to 3,780 pre-school, primary and secondary students. This is an increase of $220,000 over the previous year. The disbursement of these funds is pegged to the families' attendance at Programme "Bijak Belanja", which empowers families to be more financially savvy. MENDAKI has also provided fee waivers and tuition subsidies amounting to $380,000 to more than 2,000 students. Sir, we intend to continue to expand the scope of the ETF and our education programmes.”
“The shelter is expected to commence operations in December 2010. Sir, the term "Casa Raudha" also reflects the deep desire to project what was once a period of harmonious co-existence between Christians, Jews and Muslims about 13 centuries ago at the Iberian Peninsula. "Casa" is a Spanish word for home and "Raudha" refers to the heavens in Arabic. This fusion, Sir, reflects a tradition within Islam of accommodating local cultures into its mores and norms. It is the same desire which the late Sheik Tantawi of Al-Azhar carried with him all his life. He was principled in Islam and a keen advocate of the dialogue between civilisations. He encouraged peaceful and vibrant co-existence of the various faith communities. At the time when religion is being distorted by some quarters to justify and fan violence, it is, to the spirit of the Prophet, the tradition of peaceful Spain and the actions of contemporary scholars such as Tantawi that Muslims continue to look to as our guide on the journey to peaceful co-existence. Sir, Dr Ahmad Mohd Magad also raised the idea of a campaign to showcase positive profiles of families who were able to overcome their dysfunctional factors. This is, indeed, a good suggestion. In fact, various Ministries and Government agencies have also positively profiled people and families who have become self-reliant in their public messaging efforts. An example, of course, is the Yellow Ribbon Project by MHA. Sir, the economic downturn last year tested the community's resilience and our ability to come together to help one another. Like the rest of Singapore society, the Malay/Muslim community has responded well to this crisis. However, Sir, some vulnerable families were adversely affected by the recession and they needed extra help.”
“The actual premises for the centre, targeted for completion in the third quarter of 2010, will offer counselling and family enrichment programmes and it aims to reach out to at least 450 step-families by end of 2011. We are focusing on step-families because our data shows that there is also problems within step-families. MCYS is also in the process of setting up a database as part of efforts to track data on reconstituted families on a longitudinal basis and this is expected to be completed by May 2010. Sir, the community would be please to know that PPIS will be running a new Family Service Centre (FSC) in the Bedok-Chai Chee area to reach out and provide help to the families there. This new FSC is expected to commence operations in the second quarter of 2010 and is a welcome addition to our overall support system for our families. As noted by Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, a key initiative being piloted in FSCs is the Intensive Case Management framework which aims to provide a structured, intensive and family-centric approach to help dysfunctional families. These families will receive intensive casework support from dedicated social workers. PPIS-Jurong FSC is currently one of six FSCs involved in this pilot project. This Intensive Case Management framework will be evaluated after two years. Sir, new voluntary groups have also emerged to assist the vulnerable in our community. A case in point is Casa Raudha Women's Home, a newly set up voluntary welfare organisation with plans to run a crisis shelter for women with young children. Dr Ahmad Mohd Magad would be pleased to know that MCYS, is assisting Casa Raudha to establish the shelter. A site in the western part of Singapore has been identified which will co-locate Casa Raudha with the Gift of Love Home.”
“Sir, with these upstream efforts, we have made good progress. There has been a steady decline in the number of Muslim minor marriages. The number of solemnisations involving minors dropped by 18% from 360 in 2008 to 295 in 2009. This was a drop of 45% since 2005. Divorces involving persons who had been minors at the point of marriage have also fallen by 4% from 452 in 2008 to 433 in 2009. Minor divorces have fallen by 32% when compared to the highest record in 2003 when there were 633 minor divorces. Hence, Sir, at the macro level, the leading indicators of potential dysfunctionalities such as divorce rates and minor marriages are all coming down steadily. As a community we must be proud of this achievement. Sir, the Syariah Court also goes beyond its role towards a holistic approach of strengthening families. The Marriage Counselling Programme provided by the Court has helped to prevent the breakup of an average 871 marriages per year, which is about 52% of total Syariah Court cases every year. Children are most hurt when parents divorce. And taking note of this, the Syariah Court has partnered with As-Salaam Family Support Centre to implement a customised programme for children whose parents are undergoing divorce. The programme helps children manage their anxiety. And children who are in need of further intervention are referred to relevant agencies for further support. In collaboration with the Family Development Network of the CLF and As-Salaam PPIS Family Support Centre, and with the strong support from MCYS, the interim centre of Vista Sakinah was set up last year to provide support to reconstituted families.”