Hansard, 2008-07-21

Under the provisions of clause 2(d) of Article 46 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, the following Members have been granted permission to be or to remain absent from sittings of Parliament (or any Committee of Parliament to which they have been appointed) for the periods stated: Name From (2008) To (2008) Mdm Ho Geok Choo 27 May 29 May 03 Jun 05 Jun 10 Jun 12 Jun 01 Jul 03 Jul 11 Jul 13 Jul 15 Jul 17 Jul Mr Lee Yi Shyan 01 Jun 07 Jun 09 Jun 13 Jun Dr Ong Chit Chung 02 Jun 06 Jun 09 Jun 09 Jun 10 Jul 11 Jul Mr Ang Mong Seng 03 Jun 07 Jun 22 Jul 24 Jul Mr Goh Chok Tong 03 Jun 07 Jun Dr Vivian Balakrishnan 04 Jun 07 Jun Mr Lim Biow Chuan 05 Jun 08 Jun Assoc. Prof. Koo Tsai Kee 06 Jun 06 Jun 09 Jun 10 Jun 16 Jun 17 Jun 10 Jul 10 Jul 13 Jul 17 Jul Mdm Cynthia Phua 07 Jun 21 Jun 23 Jul 26 Jul Mr George Yong-Boon Yeo 07 Jun 08 Jun 29 Jun 01 Jul 19 Jul 24 Jul Dr Balaji Sadasivan 08 Jun 14 Jun 17 Jun 24 Jun 07 Jul 09 Jul 13 Jul 16 Jul Column: 2807Mr Lee Hsien Loong 08 Jun 15 Jun Mr Lim Swee Say 08 Jun 14 Jun 25 Jun 29 Jun 04 Jul 06 Jul Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong 08 Jun 22 Jun Mr Gan Kim Yong 09 Jun 21 Jun 29 Jun 04 Jul 08 Jul 12 Jul Mr Inderjit Singh 09 Jun 14 Jun 29 Jun 04 Jul RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew 09 Jun 14 Jun 16 Jun 18 Jun Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim 09 Jun 10 Jun 12 Jun 19 Jun 15 Jul 24 Jul Dr Ahmad Mohd Magad 11 Jun 14 Jun 16 Jun 19 Jun 23 Jun 25 Jun 29 Jun 03 Jul 08 Jul 09 Jul 11 Jul 14 Jul 29 Jul 08 Aug Dr Teo Ho Pin 11 Jun 14 Jun 04 Jul 07 Jul 25 Jul 31 Jul Mr Hawazi Daipi 12 Jun 15 Jun Mr Wee Siew Kim 12 Jun 14 Jun 16 Jun 25 Jun 09 Jul 12 Jul 12 Jul 19 Jul 24 Jul 25 Jul 20 Aug 22 Aug 30 Aug 06 Sep Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam 15 Jun 17 Jun 10 Jul 11 Jul 15 Jul 15 Jul Mr Arthur Fong 17 Jun 20 Jun Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat 17 Jun 23 Jun Mr Teo Ser Luck 17 Jun 20 Jun 16 Jul 19 Jul Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed 17 Jun 22 Jun 19 Jul 20 Jul Mr Low Thia Khiang 18 Jun 25 Jun Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng 21 Jun 02 Jul Mr Lim Hng Kiang 22 Jun 26 Jun 30 Jun 01 Jul 19 Jul 26 Jul Column: 2808Mr Heng Chee How 25 Jun 29 Jun 26 Jul 29 Jul Mr Yeo Guat Kwang 25 Jun 29 Jun 18 Jul 24 Jul Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan 27 Jun 29 Jun 13 Jul 19 Jul Dr Lim Wee Kiak 27 Jun 02 Jul Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien 30 Jun 02 Jul Mr Hri Kumar Nair 03 Jul 06 Jul Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim 03 Jul 08 Jul 23 Jul 24 Jul Mr Alvin Yeo 04 Jul 06 Jul Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee 04 Jul 13 Jul Mrs Jessie Phua 04 Jul 08 Jul 05 Aug 16 Aug Mr Mah Bow Tan 04 Jul 12 Jul Mr Abdullah Tarmugi 06 Jul 07 Jul 10 Jul 12 Jul 17 Jul 17 Jul Mr Christopher de Souza 07 Jul 11 Jul Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong 07 Jul 09 Jul Mr S Iswaran 07 Jul 09 Jul Prof. Thio Li-ann 08 Jul 31 Jul Mr Lim Boon Heng 11 Jul 13 Jul Mr Yeo Cheow Tong 12 Jul 24 Jul Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo 13 Jul 22 Jul Mr Baey Yam Keng 14 Jul 16 Jul Mr Teo Chee Hean 14 Jul 17 Jul 08 Aug 09 Aug 12 Aug 16 Aug Mr Zainudin Nordin 17 Jul 20 Jul Mr Sin Boon Ann 22 Jul 22 Jul Mr Seah Kian Peng 23 Jul 26 Jul 21 Aug 26 Aug Dr Fatimah Lateef 01 Aug 09 Aug 13 Sep 22 Sep 24 Sep 28 Sep 03 Nov 10 Nov 14 Dec 28 Dec

ABDULLAH TARMUGI Speaker Parliament of Singapore

This past week, Singapore has lost one of its finest sons. Dr Ong Chit Chung* was a distinguished parliamentarian, a devoted representative of his constituency, a learned intellectual, a leading business figure, and much more.

We salute his achievements in these fields. But we will always remember him as a fellow comrade and colleague, a generous mentor, an inspiring individual. He was, for many of us as well, a close and dear friend.

As with fellow Members of this House, I was stunned when I first heard the sad news of Dr Ong’s sudden passing. I have known Dr Ong for many years. We both entered Parliament together in 1988, worked closely in many areas, and enjoyed many hours of fellowship.

Only recently, we, the 1988 batch of MPs, past and present, had dinner with him and his wife Elizabeth, a gathering which Chit Chung had initiated and organised. We had a good time talking about many things – politics, family, life. He was his usual meticulous self, making sure all arrangements were perfect, right down to the bottle of 1988 red that Elizabeth told me he had personally selected.

Many have paid tribute this past week to Dr Ong’s many notable achievements, such as his dedicated grassroots work, his outstanding contributions to defence and security issues and his active engagement with unions. He was an exemplary union advisor who helped to strengthen labour-management relations on the ground, for which he was recognised by the NTUC as a Friend of Labour.

Indeed, it would be difficult to list fully all of Dr Ong’s accomplishments. I cannot but echo the Prime Minister’s words, when he called Dr Ong a man of deep convictions, a party stalwart, and an indispensable member of the PAP election team. Those of us who have fought many tough election battles will recall the invaluable help rendered by his Bukit Batok branch, whose members churned out the flyers and pamphlets for our campaign, sometimes at very short notice.

Dr Ong was a veteran member of this House. He first entered Parliament in 1988, and served two terms as Member for Bukit Batok from 1988 to 1996. After the January 1997 General Election, he was returned to Parliament as a Member for Bukit Timah GRC. At the November 2001 General Election, Dr Ong was once again returned to Parliament, serving as MP for Jurong GRC, a position which he held into this current term.

He was a dedicated and hardworking MP, who served his residents well and represented them fearlessly and faithfully in Parliament. He reflected their hopes and aspirations, as well as their frustrations and fears. He in turn was well-loved by his residents, from all walks of life, all ages and races. This was all too evident in the stream of people who came to pay their last respects to him at the funeral service on Friday.

Dr Ong served this House and this Government tirelessly and with

We all recall the many passionate speeches which Dr Ong made in this very Chamber, on various issues close to his heart, from defence to education to social welfare. We remember the many sterling contributions he made, both within and outside Parliament. We treasure those too few moments each of us had with him. We will never forget our comrade in arms, this stalwart of a man, this fine son of Singapore.

Sir, on behalf of this House, may I express our deepest condolences to the family of the late Dr Ong Chit Chung. The family is with us in the House today. To his wife Elizabeth, and his two sons, Christopher and James, their spouses Magdalene and Sharon and his sisters, Chai Ming, Chai Peng and Tan Leong, we mourn with you the loss of your husband, father, brother, and our friend and comrade, Ong Chit Chung.

*Dr Ong Chit Chung, Member for Jurong GRC, passed away on 14th July 2008.

Mr Speaker, Sir, at certain moments in time, we are reminded starkly that each of us has but one life here, one lone opportunity to leave a mark on our family, our friends, our fellow men, our country. The true measure of a man is seen not just in the height of his accomplishments here and now, but also in the depth of the gap he leaves behind when he passes on, and in the loss that we all feel.distinction. He was Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Home Affairs and the then Ministry of Labour from 1991 to 1993. He was Deputy Government Whip from 1994 to 2002. Apart from various other committee appointments, Dr Ong was also the former GPC Chairman for Education, and for Defence and Foreign Affairs.

As a mark of respect to the late Dr Ong Chit Chung, I propose that the House observe a one-minute silence.

The House rose and observed a one-minute silence.

1. Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Health in light of the recent convictions of two men for illegal organ

trading (a) whether the existing safeguards are effective and sufficient to prevent illegal organ trading; (b) whether the hospitals' ethics committees are well equipped to carry out their task; and (c) what is the status of his Ministry's investigations into this matter.

2. Dr Lam Pin Min asked the Minister for Health in light of the recent revelation of illegal organ trading in Singapore (a) what additional measures will be put in place to ensure that similar illegal transactions do not occur; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider legalising the ethical sale of organs in the near future.

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos. 1 and 2 together?

Yes.

Sir, both questions pertain to alleged illegal organ trading transactions in Singapore. As the case is before the courts and further investigations are still on-going, I should not comment on them. After the case has been fully wrapped up, my Ministry will review existing measures and fix any inadequacy.

Let me instead discuss this subject generally to outline the extent of the problem, our current approach and our strategy going forward.

End stage renal disease (ESRD) or kidney failure is a dreadful disease. Every year, about 1,000 new cases are diagnosed here. 38% of the patients will not survive the first year given the severity of their illness. For the remaining 600 patients, the treatment options are limited: either a kidney transplant or life-long kidney dialysis.

Kidney transplant is the preferred option as patients’ life expectancy is longer and their quality of life is better as the transplanted patients do not have to be hooked on to a dialysis machine for a significant portion of their life. But kidney transplant is a major operation with its attendant risk. Old age and other co-morbidity of the patient can significantly increase the surgical risk to the patient and reduce the chance of a successful transplant. That is why only about a third of the 600 new patients, ie, 200, are suitable for kidney transplant and can potentially benefit from the transplant option. The other 400 new patients will have to depend on kidney dialysis.

Donated kidneys come from two sources: deceased donors and live donors. Like the rest of the world, we have worked to increase the kidney transplant rate. While we are not yet getting 200 kidney transplants a year, we have raised our transplant rate quite significantly. We are now about 50% sufficient, which is not bad as compared to many other countries. This is a result of our adopting the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) based on presumed consent in 1987, 21 years ago, and our more recent efforts to promote living donor organ transplants. HOTA now contributes about 50 kidneys a year and living-related kidneys another 30, for a total of 80 kidneys a year. Another 20 Singaporeans go overseas for kidney transplant annually.

We can expect our kidney transplant rate to continue to grow. First, from next month, HOTA will be extended to cover Muslims. Second, the living-related kidney transplant rate has been rising and with greater awareness and understanding, should go up further.

There is scope to raise both cadaveric and living donor transplant rates, and this is what we will do. Currently, HOTA sets an age limit of 60 years on cadaveric donors. This is an arbitrary limit and has

For living-related kidney donation, there are often family members who wish to donate to their loved ones but their tissues do not match well. Some hospitals in the US and Europe have shown that with proactive coordination, "pair-matched donations" can be done. This means matching a donor whose tissue is incompatible with the intended patient with another pair or even pairs in a similar situation. This has not yet been done in Singapore. My Ministry is working on this idea so that we can meet the altruistic wishes of such living-related donors. We will set up a live-donor registry to facilitate this. This may require the legal backing of HOTA and, if so, we shall amend HOTA accordingly.

With these two additional initiatives, we can aim to raise our sufficiency level from 50% to 70% in the medium term.

Dr Lam Pin Min asked whether we will consider legalising the ethical sale of organs in the near future. This is controversial and the current public debate shows that Singaporeans hold strong views both for and against. Moral and ethical issues aside, there are major practical concerns over legalising the sale of kidneys. Would it result in more or fewer kidney transplants?

unnecessarily put many organs to waste. Many countries, including Spain, do not set such an age limit. The suitability of the organ depends on its condition, rather than the age of the donor. The condition of the kidney can be determined by the transplant doctor and that should be the criterion for determining if an organ is suitable. We shall remove the HOTA age limit to help save many more lives. We will need to amend HOTA and when I bring the Bill to this House, I hope to get the full support of Members for this initiative.

Would it shrink the current cadaveric and living altruistic donor pool of organs? Some studies have shown that with a system for paying

With or without legalising kidney trading, HOTA and living-related kidney donations must be the predominant sources of kidney transplantation. But if altruistic kidney donations cannot fully meet demand, we should continue to search for good complementary solutions. We should not reject any idea just because it is radical or controversial. By forcing ourselves to think about unconventional approaches, we may be able to find an acceptable way to allow a meaningful compensation for some living-unrelated kidney donors, without breaching ethical principles or hurting the sensitivities of others.

Occasionally, I receive requests from some charities and religious bodies which wish to provide some compensation, in kind and in cash, for the organ donors and their families, to acknowledge their altruistic act. But they worry that this may be construed as organ-trading and they may be breaching the HOTA rules. My view is that we should encourage third parties, especially those from the charity and religious sector, to help promote altruistic organ donations, and that we should consider how they can be allowed to provide some financial

Meanwhile, the reality is that we have not fully met the demand for kidneys and there are desperate patients out there wishing to live and desperately poor people willing to exchange a kidney for a hopefully improved life. While countries and ethicists proclaim that organ trading is illegal and immoral, a black market of illegal transplants flourishes in many countries, and not just in Asia, with poor clinical results for many patients and exploitation of many in poverty. This is the stark reality and the human dilemma confronted by many in such desperate situations. We must therefore take a practical approach. Criminalising organ trading does not eliminate it. But it merely breeds a black market with the middleman creaming off the bulk of the compensation which the grateful patient is willing to offer the donor.

Prof. Arthur Lim, a senior doctor and a past President of the Singapore Medical Association, argued eloquently in a letter to the Straits Times just last week that organ-trading "laws should be removed or amended to take into account the desperate circumstances of dying kidney patients." While they have breached the technical aspects of the law, Prof. Arthur Lim argued that "It is wrong to consider them criminals ..... ­In the same way, kidney donors should be supported and not regarded as criminals." He appealed to Singaporeans to think over this important issue carefully, knowing that it is complex. He hoped that Singapore "will not go down in history as a nation with no support and empathy for those who are dying from kidney failure.".

As the practical problem of organ shortage grows, attitude towards com

organs in place, the altruistic donations may simply dry up. In Iran, where trading of organs is legalised, the transplant rate remains low and the claim, that it has eliminated its kidney waiting list, has not been substantiated by independent studies. According to the WHO, the only two countries almost self-sufficient in kidneys are Spain and Norway. Both of these countries have successful altruistic organ donation systems built up through years of sustained public education. In Singapore, we have not yet maximised the yield through altruistic organ donations. Let us emulate them and push altruistic organ donations to their maximum potential. compensation to the donors and their families after the transplants have taken place. My Ministry will study whether such an idea is feasible and, if so, whether HOTA needs to be amended to facilitate its implementation.pensating kidney donors is gradually changing, and not just in Singapore. Prof. Gary Becker, Professor of Economics and Sociology and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, published an article recently, entitled: "Should the purchase and sale of organs for transplant surgery be permitted?" Prof. Becker won the 1992 Nobel Prize in Economics and he studied the applications of economics to social policies. I would suggest to our media to publish this article of his so that more Singaporeans can be informed of this school of thought. The academic ethicists and medical doctors may be against the sale of organs, but the economists have analysed the problem from a practical perspective, which deserves to be considered. In the article, Prof. Becker carefully weighed the pros and cons and came to this conclusion: "My conclusion is that markets in organs are the best available way to enable persons with defective organs to get transplants much more quickly than under the present system. I do not find compelling the arguments against allowing the sale of organs, especially when weighed against the number of lives that would be saved by the increased supply stimulated by financial incentives." On the part of my Ministry, even as we take action against those involved in illicit organ trading and unscrupulously exploiting the desperate and the vulnerable, we will take a sympathetic approach to the plight of the exploited donors and the basic instinct of kidney failure patients to try to live.

Sir, I have three supplementary questions for the Minister. I would like to welcome the two initiatives that the Minister has mentioned that will help to increase the number of donors available for transplants.

The Minister has not answered this question but I think it is still a pertinent

I think the premise of wanting to legalise organ-trading is that it would eliminate the black market, but as the Iranian situation shows us, even with a legal market, under-the-table arrangements and payments cannot be eliminated. It still prevails. How confident are we, even as we consider this as part of the debate and on-going discussion, that this area will be addressed?

Sir, may I ask the Minister whether we are focusing on the right issues? As we know, there is a huge number of Singaporeans suffering from diabetes and hypertension which are contributing factors to renal failure. Instead of just focusing on organ transplants, should we not be focusing more on prevention at the primary care level to prevent people from contracting these chronic diseases? And if indeed they have contracted them, should we not be spending more efforts in preventing their conditions from worsening, in other words, address the pipeline issue that contributes to the growing numbers of renal failure cases?

one, especially since we still have the current legal framework in place – will the Ministry consider setting up an independent Ethics Committee to assess donations of kidneys by non-related donors and recipients? One of the difficulties is that of getting the hospital ethics committee to be able to effectively assess whether there is a genuine relationship, especially when we have non-related donors and recipients.

Sir, I thank the Member for her support in advance of the proposed HOTA Amendments which I will bring to this House. I agree totally with the Member on prevention as the best approach, going forward. But no matter how hard we try on this front – and we will push it to the limit – patients will still fall sick and there will be kidney-failure patients. Our end-stage renal failure rate is high, as compared to other populations.

On the existence of a black market in Iran, that is a model that we will study because, currently, this is the only country that legalises it. They themselves admit that their solution is not perfect. That is why this topic needs a fairly deep study. It is not something that I will bring to this House immediately, certainly not this year, but the more we discuss the practical difficulties of pushing this front, the more we may be able to find better solutions out of it. The stark reality remains that a black market exists in this part of the world and, as I have said, not only this part of the world but in Europe as well. I was having a conversation with a transplant surgeon from the UK who knows this business very well, so I asked, "Where do desperate British patients with kidney failure go to?" He said, "There are many countries in Europe where such things are happening." Ethical concerns, I can understand. To me, the biggest concern about the ethics of this activity is the exploitation that is going on. But if we apply our minds, if we do not shut off our minds to options like this, I hope to be able to find practical solutions that can minimise or even eliminate the exploitation. Is that not a better outcome than the current situation?

So there is scope for us to bring it down further. But no matter how hard we try on this front, there will still be patients with kidney failure and we have to seriously think about how to manage those kidney-failure patients.

Dr Lam. Keep your question short, please.

Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. I have three supplementary questions.

Under the current HOTA for altruistic living organ donations, is there a

By increasing the age limit of donor organ above the age of 60, is there any study to indicate the survivability of such organs; and

What is the cost of dialysis per patient per year? Will the legalisation of a kidney white market result in significant cost savings and better usage of limited medical resources, in addition to the alleviation of pain and sufferings among kidney-failure patients?

provision for employers to provide the necessary support to the donors in terms of paid leave or even extended medical leave? If not, would it not be useful to mandate donor-employer support so as to minimise the sufferings and sacrifices of these living donors?

Sir, the lifting of age limit is something that is common in many countries. Our setting this arbitrary limit of 60 is quite unique. I remember the history to this. We were breaking new grounds with a presumed consent legislation, so for conservative reasons, my predecessor decided to set this age limit of 60. We can certainly study the survivability or success of kidney transplants in other countries where elderly donors are involved. But the fact that in Norway and Spain, for example, many donors are above 60 and their population life expectancy is not worse than ours suggests that this is a very viable and practical option, going forward.

As for employer support, this is not covered under HOTA. My understanding is that employers are generally supportive of employees who are donors, including insurers. I have checked on this point before, for example, whether insurance premiums of donors will be affected, and the answer is "No".

I think I missed an earlier question from Mdm Halimah, which was on hospital Ethics Committee, and whether

Are the donors well informed about the risks that they are going into; and

Are they being pressured by financial considerations?

That is the arrangement we have in Singapore, which is also the system elsewhere. If we bring it to the Ministry of Health to perform such a role, can we do a better job? I am not so sure. I spent many years running hospitals and I am used to listening to the talks in the doctors' lounge or in the corridors, and often you get better information at the hospital grounds than far away at the Ministry headquarters. So whether there are unethical practices happening on the ground, if you bring the committee to a level which is much more remote from the ground, I do not think we are improving the situation.

we should set up other ethics committees to just look at unrelated organ donors. Our system is not unique. We have a National Ethics Committee which provides guidance to the various hospital ethics committees, but we leave the decisions at the ground level to the hospital ethics committee. It is their job to assess carefully the donors. There are two things they have to look out for:

3. Dr Lam Pin Min asked the Minister for Health if he will provide (i) the number of kidney, liver and cornea transplants performed in Singapore over the past three years and their breakdown into cadaveric and live donor organs; and (ii) the average waiting list for each organ type.

Sir, over the past three years, there were 228 kidney transplants involving Singaporeans, and 63% of these were from deceased donors. During the same period, there

Currently, the numbers of patients waiting for cadaveric organs are 563 for kidney, nine for liver and 25 for cornea.

were 33 liver transplants, 64% from deceased donors. There were 271 cornea transplants, all of course from cadavers.

Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether, apart from the removal of the age limit for cadaveric transplant, there are other measures that the Ministry would be looking into, eg, some form of bereavement fund or financial compensation for the cadaveric donors' families to encourage more of these cadaveric donors.

The second point is that, with the current improvement in terms of technology, what kind of effort has been put into more research, so as to shrink the dialysis machine down to a size small enough to be implanted in the body. With the membrane technology that we have now, are we pushing in this particular direction?

Sir, as I said in an earlier reply, I have occasionally received requests from religious bodies and some charities which wanted to promote altruistic donations. They said, "Can we be allowed to compensate the families, in the case of cadaveric donors, including in dollar terms?" These are cautious people and they worry whether they will be flouting any HOTA rules. I am studying this idea. I think we should encourage such third party, particularly if they are charities and religious bodies who want to promote altruistic donations. I think the more you can break the direct relationship between the donor and the donee, a lot of the unethical considerations can be minimised. This is a possible option that we should explore, and I am studying it carefully with a view to doing so.

As for research on how to eliminate or reduce the impact of this problem, that is ongoing globally, including to a certain extent, in Singapore. I remember the early days when I first joined the Ministry of Health when dialysis machines reminded me of mainframe computers, big machines, but they have shrunk over the years and now there are a lot of efforts to shrink it further. In parallel, there is also research ongoing to look at other non-human organ possibility and substitutes. We wish such researchers early success but, meanwhile, the problem exists and I think the practical problem of this has to be resolved one way or the other.

4. Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Transport whether he will consider a freeze on further increases in ERP charges until the cost of living for the average Singaporean is more stable.

5. Dr Lam Pin Min asked the Minister for Transport if his Ministry will defer the erection of additional ERP gantries and further ERP rate increases in view of the escalating fuel prices which may have already deterred some drivers from driving or caused them to switch to public transport.

Sir, may I take Question Nos. 4 and 5 together because they are related?

Yes.

Sir, the purpose of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) is to manage congestion on our roads. ERP is imposed or its rates raised only when traffic demand increases to cause the speed on the road to fall below the

optimal speed threshold. For expressways, this is 45 kph, and for arterial roads, it is 20 kph. Many people assume that if we do not make changes to the ERP system, our roads will continue to remain smooth flowing. This is not true. If we freeze ERP charges, the congestion does not go away but simply builds up on our roads. Nor is it true that if we freeze ERP charges, there are no costs incurred by motorists. The costs are there except that it is hidden in the form of time lost and extra fuel consumed being stuck in traffic. At a time of economic stress, it is important that we ensure that our economy remains vibrant and productive. One critical way to ensure this is to act decisively to prevent our roads from being gridlocked. There have also been concerns on the impact of the ERP changes on the cost of living. In conjunction with the changes in the ERP system, the Government has reduced road taxes by 15%. The increase in ERP revenue is estimated at $70 million against $110 million from the road tax reduction. This means that drivers as a whole are not worse off despite the higher ERP charges. Indeed, only 24% of drivers incur ERP charges daily, and the majority who do not pay ERP would be better off as a result of the 15% road tax reduction. LTA will continue to monitor the road traffic conditions closely. If, as Dr Lam said, drivers choose to drive less, whether due to high fuel prices or public transport improvements and the traffic speeds improve, the Government will be happy to collect less ERP revenue.

Sir, I want to thank the Minister for clarifying the role of ERP in managing traffic congestion. Sir, given the current high fuel prices and utility charges and the high cost of living, would the Minister not consider not just traffic speed but also

Sir, I would also like to ask the Minister whether he would consider further improvements in public transport before allowing ERP charges to increase.

these factors in determining any increase in ERP charges?

How do high fuel prices and public transport improvements impact on the ERP system? Now, the ERP system is a dynamic system. It is not a static system. The ERP rate is a function of the demand for driving on congested roads during peak hours. If the demand for driving falls materially, because of high fuel prices or public transport improvements or both factors, then the ERP rates will either stay as they are or actually go down.

A good example of this would be the April 7th gantries. When LTA announced this in January this year, it was based on speed data in December 2007. But after the January announcements, there were significant changes in driving behaviour. So, if you look at the actual half-hour slots that LTA announced for April 7th, it was less than half compared to what was originally anticipated in January. It is a dynamic situation. It is a function of the demand for driving.

I would like to ask the Minister whether LTA has studied the effect of escalating fuel prices which have increased by almost 100% over the past year on the road traffic congestion problem and the mode of travel pattern of Singaporeans, especially those who own private vehicles. And if indeed the traffic condition has improved, should the Ministry not withhold the ERP increases for the time being?

My answer to Dr Lam's question is actually the same as the one I had given to Mr Lim. ERP rates are a function of the demand for driving. If, like he said, the high fuel prices have affected driving

behaviour and therefore, traffic speeds have improved, this would be reflected in the ERP rates. Depending on the extent in which traffic speeds improved, the rates stay as they are or they may actually come down.

6. Dr Ahmad Mohd Magad asked the Prime Minister (a) how many married women between the ages of 30 and 45 years are childless; and (b) whether he will consider having new incentives to encourage mature married couples to have more children as more couples are marrying late.

7. Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Prime Minister what lessons can be learnt from countries such as Denmark that have both a high female labour force participation rate as well as a credible birth rate so that our women can continue to work but at the same time also have more babies.

Sir, may I have your permission to take Questions Nos. 6 and 7 together?

Yes.

Sir, the proportion of childless ever-married women has been increasing over the years. The percentage of childless ever-married female residents aged 30-39 increased from 14.1% in 2000 to 19.7% in 2007. For those aged 40-49, the percentage increased from 6.4% in 2000 to 7.7% in 2007. The number of childless ever-married women is one of the factors behind our low total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.29 in 2007, which is among the lowest in the world.

The other causes of low TFR are that more Singaporeans are not getting married

The proportion of single male residents aged 30-34 increased from 30.7% in 2000 to 34.7% in 2007; that of single female residents increased from 19.5% in 2000 to 22.2% in 2007. For the age group 45-49, the proportion of male singles increased from 10.5% in 2000 to 12.5% in 2007; and that of females increased from 12.5% in 2000 to 12.8% in 2007.

The median age at first marriage has also been increasing over the years. For male residents, the median age at first marriage increased from 28.6 in 2000 to 29.7 in 2007; for female residents, it increased from 26.2 in 2000 to 27.2 in 2007.

Given later marriages, the median age of women at the birth of their first child increased from 28.4 in 2000 to 29.5 in 2007. On average, ever-married female residents aged 40-49 had 2.1 children in 2007, down from 2.2 in 2000 and 2.8 in 1990.

I will ask the Clerk of Parliament to circulate a handout* on the statistical trends that I just told Members about.

Sir, yet, based on the surveys and public consultations that the Government has conducted, most Singaporeans desire to get married and have children.

The Government enhanced the marriage and parenthood package in August 2004. There is an improvement in the number of births from 35,135 in 2004 to 37,074 in 2007. We have managed to stabilise the declining total fertility rate and reversed it slightly from the historic low of 1.26 in 2004 to 1.29 in 2007. But this is still low and more efforts will have

Singaporeans have given feedback that the marriage and parenthood package in 2004 has helped to address some of the concerns that they have on getting married and having children in Singapore. However, they continue to face practical constraints such as limited socialisation opportunities for the singles to find a prospective partner, work-life balance, financial concerns and childcare concerns.

Sir, the Government has studied various countries with high fertility, including Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France and the United Kingdom. The Nordic countries, in particular, have generous family benefits to support couples in having and raising children. They have provided some useful learning points.

Besides the low TFR, Singapore has a low female labour force participation rate (LFPR) for ages 15 and above at 54.3% in 2007. In Singapore, people generally want to work and have children too, but we have not been as successful in this regard compared to the other countries which have been able to achieve a high female LFPR of 65% to 75% and a high TFR of above 1.8 concurrently. While it is not possible to establish a direct causal relation between sustained female labour force participation and procreation, these countries have shown that the two can co-exist.

In the Nordic countries, in particular, working mothers are given a lot of financial and institutional support in child-bearing and childcare from the government, their employers and the society in general. For example, parental leave of up to 64 weeks in Denmark gives working parents time to care for their children when they are very young, and highly subsidised quality childcare

Such social benefits come at a price. The Nordic countries have a high tax regime to support these benefits, eg, Denmark has a personal income tax rate of up to 63% and a high Value Added Tax (VAT) rate of 25%. I will ask the Clerk of Parliament to circulate a table* comparing the benefits given to and tax rates paid by the citizens of these countries. High income taxes in these countries do cause other problems. An article in the International Herald Tribune on 5th December 2007 discussed some of these.

In comparing with the Nordic countries, we need to be mindful of the differences in the political, economic and social environment and the tax regimes between Singapore and these countries. We have to decide what can work for us, based on what we can afford and our local context.

Sir, the Government wants to promote a more pro-family environment in Singapore to create the conditions for marriage and parenthood. The Government is considering how we can further enhance our overall environment to be more pro-family. Areas under study include facilitating socialisation and interaction opportunities for singles, providing more financial support for parents, fostering a more pro-family workplace environment and providing more viable childcare options for parents.

The details of the proposals are being finalised and an announcement will be made next month.

or marrying later. And for those marrying later, they tend to have children later and have fewer children.to be made to increase it to a more significant level.provides ease of mind and allows them to go back to work. *Cols. 2945-2950. *Cols. 2951-2960.

Sir, a follow-up question. Arising from Minister Mentor's recent comments on studying Sweden as a model for our marriage and procreation policies, there has been much discussion among Singaporeans on the issue. May I

ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Government is indeed considering using Sweden as a model and, if so, whether the Swedish model can indeed be transplanted and applied in Singapore?

Sir, indeed, there has been much interest recently among Singaporeans on population issues and whether the Swedish model will work for us or not. Some Singaporeans are for the adoption of the Swedish model, while others cautioned against simply transplanting ideas and measures from other countries and expecting them to work in our own context.

The Swedish experience does provide some useful learning points. But as I mentioned earlier, we must also be mindful of the differences in the context especially the overall political, social and economic environment between Singapore and Sweden. Sweden does provide many pro-family benefits such as highly subsidised childcare services and fairly generous parental leave entitlements. But childcare is not entirely free as some people believe. Parents still need to co-pay up to a third of the fees. It is only free from the fourth child onwards. Not many modern Swedish families have three or more children. Sweden also offers 480 days of parental leave that parents can take until the child turns eight with up to 80% of the parents' income paid by the State, capped at about $5,600 a month.

Sir, these pro-family benefits are indeed very attractive but they are not really free. They are paid for by the taxpayers. Like Denmark, Sweden has a high personal income tax rate of up to 60% and a high VAT rate of 25%.

Another significant difference between Singapore and the Nordic countries, such as Sweden and Denmark, is that they are operating in a largely homogeneous high cost region in Europe, characterised by high social spending

Sir, instead of crafting policies and measures wholesale from other countries or cherry-picking those which seem attractive, we should examine our own strengths and weaknesses and adapt and localise these policies to meet our needs. But, ultimately, Sir, there is a limit to what the Government can do. Getting married and having children are very personal decisions. At the end of the day, society is the one to prosper, but strong emphasis on children and family life, positive peer influence, support from employers and friends and an overall pro-family environment are essential. This is what we found out in countries with a high TFR. Societies and employers that support women to balance work and family life, that provides for a more equal sharing of the child-raising responsibility between mother and father where societal norms favour family formation than to have higher TFR. This is also the case in the United Kingdom, France, Ireland and the United States. In the US, they manage to achieve this without a high tax subsidy regime of countries in Europe. This is because family life is supported and treasured by the larger community which

Indeed, Sir, the societal belief in gender equality and balancing work and family are the key factors fostering the high fertility in the Nordic countries. The New York Times on 29th June 2008 carried an article entitled "No Babies?", that highlighted the differences in the societal mindset and fertility outcome between the Nordic countries and the southern European countries such as Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, demonstrating the effects of these key factors. With better education and career opportunities presenting themselves to women in the past decades, women are faced with the conflict between traditional family role of a woman, mother and entering into an attractive career as an individual. The Nordic countries have quickly accepted these trends and have taken steps to accommodate mothers who want a career as well. Over time, society has come to accept that fathers, too, play a part, and have a very important role in parenthood in the Nordic countries. When men take a more active role in child-raising, women are also more willing to have more children and work at the same time. On the other hand, in a more patriarchal southern European countries, society attitudes continue to expect women to stay at home to raise their families when they have children. As women increasingly aspire to have a career, such social pressures have led to very low TFR of about 1.3 in the southern European countries that I mentioned.

As a society, Singaporeans must want to encourage and support marriage and parenthood and to facilitate parents who want to work to continue to do so even after they have children. Such a societal mindset is necessary before any measure can take effect. The Government is committed to fostering a pro-family environment in Singapore.

funded by very high taxes. These countries are able to adopt the same social economic structure as they are competing against one another on a level footing. On the other hand, Singapore is in a fast growing and competitive region where operating costs are generally much lower. If we are to offer the same generous levels of social subsidies as in the Nordic countries, we will have to raise our taxes very significantly. But to do so would also mean that we price ourselves out of the Asian market. Well-educated Singaporeans will leave and businesses will shift their operations overseas. We simply cannot afford to lose them. We have to decide what can work for us based on what we can afford in our local and regional context.provides sufficient support for couples with children from employers to friends to relatives and neighbours. However, we have to cut our clothes according to the size of the cloth which we have and also fashion it in a way which fits our culture.

8. Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) whether his Ministry will consider enhancing the current childcare subsidies to encourage housewives from lower-income families to seek employment; and (b) when were the childcare subsidies last reviewed.

I would like to assure the Member that we do encourage housewives, especially those from the lower- income families, to seek employment and we do help them by providing additional subsidies for their children to attend childcare. The Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Childcare (CFAC) helps low-income families to send their children to childcare centres. This scheme provides monthly subsidies as well as a one-off start-up grant to eligible families. This enables and encourages their mothers to find employment and to remain in employment. The CFAC subsidy is over and above the $150 subsidy which the Government provides to children of working mothers.

The CFAC subsidies are reviewed regularly and, in fact, the last review occurred in February this year and on lst July, which is this month, we increased the CFAC subsidies. Eligible families will receive a start-up grant of $1,000 as well as an additional recurrent monthly subsidy of up to $340 a month. So, it is $340 plus $150.

In addition, with effect from this month, we have also extended the CFAC

It allows me to assure Members of this House that money is not the limiting factor as far as low-income families sending their children to childcare centres is concerned.

to more households. The scheme was extended beyond the previous cut-off point of $1,500 household income to now include families who lie in the range of between $1,501 and $1,800. These families are eligible for a $1,000 start-up grant and a CFAC subsidy of up to $200.

9. Assoc. Prof. Kalyani K Mehta asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) what are the qualifying professional criteria for operators and staff of infant care centres; and (b) whether quality control is being exercised more stringently with this type of centres bearing in mind the vulnerability of infants.

All infant care centres are licensed under the Child Care Centres Act. Operators must fulfil the standards set for staffing, safety, health and hygiene. MCYS imposes even higher standards for infant care centres compared to child care centres. These include a higher staff-to-child ratio, having specific areas dedicated to infant care use, stricter hygiene and nutrition practices, and specialised staffing.

MCYS imposes a minimum ratio of one staff to every five infants and on top of this, we expect the operators of infant care centres to employ staff with a Certificate in Infant, Toddler Care and Development (CITC) or its equivalent. Carers need to go through a one-month course – which I have been told lasts at least 160 hours – including a Practicum,

Infant care centres must also provide sufficient dedicated space for the care and developmental needs of their infants. For example, facilities for diaper changing, napping, food preparation and feeding must be adequately provided for.

In addition, approved procedures for routine tasks such as diaper changing, sterilisation of milk bottles and preparation of bottled milk must be strictly adhered to. Centres are also required to have a daily observation record and documentation on each infant and the record will capture information on the feeds, naps, bowel movements and other related parameters. Centres also need to maintain a three-monthly record of the height and weight of each infant and all these data will be shared with parents.

My Ministry will continue to monitor infant care centres closely to ensure that they continue to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all infants.

and they need to pass a test before they can be certified. This ensures that the carers will have the necessary skills and the knowledge in areas such as infant and toddler development, as well as environmental and curriculum design. Infant care centres are required to ensure that a certified carer or registered nurse is present in the premises at all times during the centre's opening hours.

I have one supplementary question and three suggestions. Firstly, how often are spot checks conducted in infant care centres, and does the Ministry announce the visit before the MCYS officers visit? I ask this because I have heard that their visits are often announced beforehand; hence, the purpose may be defeated.

My first suggestion is to improve the working conditions –

Prof. Mehta, can you give your suggestions at some other time? We have a long list of questions. Just ask your question, please?

Okay. Then can I change my suggestion to a question?

As long as you keep it short, please.

Has the Ministry considered the idea of greater transparency in quality of services of childcare and infant care as I had mentioned in my Budget speech earlier this year?

Thank you for your suggestions dressed up as questions. You are right. Our spot checks currently are conducted with the prior knowledge of the centre operators. Basically, my staff, and I agree with them, take the attitude that this is a long-term relationship and a partnership. We are not just out there looking for opportunities to find faults and to compromise the standards of care.

But having said that and having visited infant care centres myself, if a centre is not adequately provided for in terms of facilities, in terms of quality of staff and certification of staff, it will be evident. You cannot hide it just because I have given you a few hours' or even a few days' notice.

On the other point on transparency – as I had answered during the COS debate, and I agree with the Member – we will provide more information online so that parents can choose. But really, at the end of the day, a parent will have to go and visit the centre, interact, engage the teachers and decide for himself or herself whether these are people whom they trust to care for someone very precious at the most vulnerable stage of their life.

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to now move a business motion to revise Question Time. Currently, Standing Order 22(1) states that Question Time is one and a half hours from the commencement of a sitting. But in view of the time that was taken for the obituary speech just now, I wish to seek the House's consent to vary this. As there are many more Questions on the Order Paper yet to be answered, I wish to seek the House's consent to allow Question Time to be extended for a period of time equal to the duration of the proceedings on the obituary statement, which is 10 minutes.

I give my consent. Does the Leader of the House have the general assent of hon. Members to so move?

indicated assent.

With the consent of Mr Speaker, and the general assent of Members present,

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That, notwithstanding Standing Order 22(1), Question Time may continue for up to one and a half hours from its commencement.

10. Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Government has received and verified any information that

Mas Selamat Kastari is now in Indonesia; and (b) what is his assessment of such an outcome on the reputation of Singapore.

Mr Speaker, Sir, our security agencies have been working and will continue to work very closely with their foreign intelligence and security counterparts. These include Indonesian counterparts with whom ISD have had several successes in the apprehension of Jemaah Islamiah fugitives including Mas Selamat himself in February 2003. The Indonesian authorities' recent arrest of a group of terrorists, including a Singaporean, in Palembang demonstrates the usefulness of cooperation with foreign security counterparts.

Up till now, our security agencies have not received any information from their Indonesian counterparts to confirm that Mas Selamat is presently hiding in Indonesia. Neither do we have domestic intelligence that shows that he has left the country.

Nevertheless, we obviously cannot dismiss the possibility that Mas Selamat could have managed to escape Singapore for another country. Singapore is not a fortress. As an island, our borders are porous. There can be no 100% control over all illegal exit and entry even if our enhanced security operations have kept this to a minimum. I am not aware of any country that can prevent with absolute certainty illegal entry or exit across the length of its borders over time.

We will do our utmost to find Mas Selamat whatever it takes. If Mas Selamat has escaped abroad, we will work with the relevant foreign counterparts to track him down and bring him back into custody in Singapore. We have done it before; we will do it again.

We will also continue to work on all possible scenarios. In this regard, although there is no intelligence at present

Sir, two private individuals have approached the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and offered to put up a cash reward of $1 million for information leading to the apprehension of Mas Selamat inside or outside Singapore. They have asked MHA to operationalise their proposal because they wish to remain anonymous as they are concerned over the prospect of themselves, their families or business interests in the region becoming a target for retaliation.

Sir, this is not the first time a bounty has been offered for information on Mas Selamat. In March, a labour-supply company and a non-government organisation offered $50,000 and $5,000 respectively for information on Mas Selamat. A security firm offered $1,000 to its staff to help track him down.

As a policy, the Singapore Police Force does not offer cash reward for information on fugitives and unsolved crimes, or for assistance from the public. However, we do not object if private corporations and individuals wish to offer cash reward for information on the whereabouts of Mas Selamat.

We are encouraged by such continued public support. We remain committed to finding and capturing Mas Selamat no matter how long it takes. We have done it before and we will do it again.

to substantiate it, as more time passes, this scenario of Mas Selamat being harboured by sympathisers inside or outside Singapore must logically be treated as increasingly plausible.

Sir, four supplementary questions for the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM). First question is, whether there is any fresh intelligence that the Government has obtained that Mas

Selamat is still in Singapore. Second question is, security analysts have observed that Indonesia is a logical place for Mas Selamat to escape to. In fact, as early as 1st March 2008, which is a few days after the escape, there were some analysts predicting that he already fled to Indonesia via a speedboat to Bintan. I would like the DPM's assessment on whether this is a likely scenario. Third question, about one month after the escape, the DPM had said that his Ministry would examine if there are sufficient legal powers within Singapore territorial waters to do effective searches or whether the law will need to be amended. I would like the DPM to update us on this. And last of all, Sir, the Interpol Chief had commented in the aftermath of this case that when it comes to such escapes, the first hours are crucial and it has now been five months since the escape. I would like the Minister to tell the House whether he has changed his assessment of the likelihood of recapturing Mas Selamat in Singapore.

Sir, I have just said that we do not have any fresh intelligence to show that he is still in Singapore or he has left. We have no intelligence to show that he has already left and that there is also no intelligence from our foreign counterparts to show that he has already gone to another country. As regards the security analyst's assessment, that is his assessment and we do not have intelligence to confirm it.

On the legal powers of searches, I think Ms Lim might have read about what I said some time ago regarding the legal powers of searches for vessels at sea. Right now, the Police have powers to search whenever they need to, and we do not think we need more powers in this regard. On what the Interpol Chief had said that the first hour is crucial, that is also his opinion. I am sure he is a professional and I believe that he has his own basis to make this comment. As far

as we are concerned, we have done what we could during the first hour and we could not find him.

11. Mr Siew Kum Hong asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) why have there been repeated serious security lapses across the Ministry over the past few months; (b) what measures have been taken to prevent a culture of complacency in the Ministry; (c) what measures will the Ministry take to assure the public that there is no such culture of complacency; and (d) whether the security audits of detention facilities carried out after Mas Selamat's escape had addressed the risk of human error.

Sir, I will be responding to Dr Teo Ho Pin's Motion of Adjournment on security lapses and public confidence, and the Question raised by Mr Siew will be answered then.

12. Miss Penny Low asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the outlook for the Singapore economy in the short and medium term given the current global situation; (b) whether his Ministry intends to revise our annual growth rates; and (c) what advice can the Ministry give to employers and employees to keep afloat in this uncertain time.

13. Dr Lily Neo asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the prospect of stagflation affecting Singapore, if it has not already set in; and (b) what are the measures considered to avoid the pitfalls of stagflation.

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos. 12 and 13, please?

Yes.

Sir, Dr Lily Neo has asked about stagflation and whether it has set into Singapore. Stagflation refers to a prolonged situation of stagnant economic activity coupled with high inflation. This happened in the mid-1970s when many of the OECD countries (notably the US and UK) experienced high inflation, sluggish economic growth, and rising unemployment.

Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore is not facing stagflation. Singapore's economy grew by 4.3% in the first half of this year, based on the latest GDP advance estimates, that is the number it stands. This is within our medium-term potential rate of growth of 4%-6%. Our job market remains healthy. In the first quarter of the year, more than 73,000 jobs were created, and unemployment remains low.

The momentum of economic growth has recently slowed, and the global economy is expected to remain soft in the second half of 2008. In the US, there are significant vulnerabilities in the financial sector. And in the other major developed economies like Japan and Germany, they also expect to see further softening, as they are confronted with the challenges of high oil prices and weak consumer confidence.

In Asia, on the other hand, economic growth has been fairly robust. China's GDP grew by 10.6% in the first quarter of this year, while India's GDP grew by 8.8%. But both China and India are facing high inflation and have started to take steps to contain inflationary pressures. These in turn could dampen growth.

In Singapore, the strong pipeline of foreign investments and tourism projects that we have secured will also provide a certain level of support to the economy for the rest of this year and beyond. These new projects will give rise to new activity and help to create new jobs.

Earlier in May, the Ministry of Trade and Industry estimated Singapore's GDP growth for this year at 4% to 6%. We will review this forecast in August, after we have compiled all relevant data for the first half of 2008.

Turning to inflation, the other aspect of stagflation, since mid-2007, CPI inflation in Singapore has risen to 7.5% in May 2008. This is due largely to the sharp increases in global prices for food and fuel, which have also affected other countries. We expect some moderation in inflation in the second half of 2008, as the effects of the GST increase wash out and food prices peak. But inflation is not likely to return to previous levels any time soon.

The Government has put in place several measures to dampen inflation and help Singaporeans cope with the higher costs of living. The stronger Singapore dollar has helped to reduce imported inflationary pressures arising from the higher prices of food and oil.

At the same time, we must take care that wage growth does not exceed growth in productivity, so as not to set off a domestic wage-price inflationary spiral. The National Wages Council has recommended that companies grant sustainable wage increases that are commensurate with performance.

As a price taker, Singapore cannot avoid the effects of global inflation. But we can aim to reduce the impact of higher inflation on Singaporeans, by using our

Miss Penny Low has asked for advice on employers and employees in this environment. During this period of economic volatility, it is important that our companies continue to upgrade their business capabilities and enhance their competitive edge. This will give our companies the requisite capacity to withstand the challenges of slower growth, as well as to capitalise on market opportunities, especially when growth recovers. We are committed to building the capacity of our companies. For example, SPRING's various programmes support the development of enterprise capabilities in the areas of automation, technology innovation, IT adoption and management development.

It is also important for employees to proactively upgrade their skills, so as to ensure that they remain productive and relevant in a changing economy. Working with the Ministry of Manpower and the Workforce Development Agency, we will ensure that there are appropriate continuing education and training (CET) programmes for all our workers from the rank and file to professionals and managers to help them weather uncertainties in the economic environment.

limited resources, in a targeted way, to help those most affected by higher prices. The GST Offset Package and rebates on utilities and conservancy charges, will help to ease the impact of higher prices faced by Singaporeans. The Growth Dividends, with more going to the elderly and the needy, will also provide some relief.

Sir, the retail sector in particular has reflected that they have been hit by the triple whammy. First, tightening consumer credit; second, rising retail, especially shopping centre rental rate; and, third, for those who have heeded the Government's call to expand overseas, they have also been hit by the uncertain economic

conditions overseas which then obviously would impact the –

Miss Low, no speeches. Ask your question, please.

– local businesses and resources. So my question is, in view of this, are there special measures to help our local SMEs maintain not just competitiveness but in fact survival, in particular the retail SMEs?

Mr Speaker, Sir, the overall data on retail sector in the first half remains positive. So their overall performance of the sector is not a cause for alarm. But there are some components which may have some indifferent results maybe in the later part of the first half, for example, in the automotive sector and also, I think, in the watch and jewellery sector which are high-end, and you can expect some adjustment in spending efforts.

Having said that, we have a slew of measures in place, in terms of what SPRING is able to do, and the Member would be very familiar with them, such as the Local Enterprise and Association Development (LEAD) Programme and also the Capability Development Programme as well as other more targeted efforts. And SPRING is involved in an effort where the discussion is ongoing with the retail sector as to how we can further enhance their competitiveness, not just during a more challenging time but in the long run to position Singapore as continuing to be an attractive place for shopping for Singaporeans and international tourists.

So I would say that, in general, we have a fairly good dialogue with the retail sector and our agencies are working with them on an ongoing basis. As for risks when you go overseas, I think this is part of normal business risks which companies should rightly take and you ride the ups and downs as part of the business cycle.

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Senior Minister of State, given that Singapore imports everything, will imported inflation outweigh the domestic income growth leading to negative purchasing power

and how serious will this concern be, especially for the lower income?

The Member has asked a question like an economics professor. Let me try and address that in a more straightforward way.

The bottomline is whether inflation in the global environment will affect Singapore, and the answer must be yes. Although the Singapore dollar has appreciated in the last two years or so by maybe about 23% against the US dollar, the fact remains that we cannot be fully insulated from global price trends for precisely the reason that the Member has mentioned. What we need to do, therefore, is to make sure that our businesses are competitive. The key element is productivity and we must sure that our businesses are supported in that effort to enhance productivity. The other element is to ensure that the more vulnerable segments of our population, such as our lowest 20th percentile which spends about a third of their income on food, have the assistance against any inflationary pressure. So, giving them targeted assistance makes a lot of sense, especially in an environment where food price inflation is quite substantial.

14. Ms Indranee Rajah asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs what is the Government's response to the assertion by Malaysia that it will continue to look for further evidence on the Pedra Branca

case, with a view to seeking a revision of the judgment of the International Court of Justice that Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore.

15. Mr Michael Palmer asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) what is the status of negotiations between Malaysia and Singapore in respect of the Southern Ledge following the decision of the International Court of Justice on Pedra Branca and Middle Rocks; and (b) whether Singapore intends to claim territorial waters and an Exclusive Economic Zone around Pedra Branca.

Mr Speaker, Sir, please allow me to take Question Nos. 14 and 15 on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case concerning sovereignty over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge together, as they are related.

Yes, please.

Sir, to answer Mr Michael Palmer, the ICJ, on 23rd May 2008, awarded Pedra Branca to Singapore, while Middle Rocks was awarded to Malaysia. The ICJ stated that South Ledge belonged to the State in the territorial waters of which it is located. The status of South Ledge, therefore, depends upon whether it falls on Singapore's or Malaysia's side of the territorial waters boundary in that area. The process which will eventually lead to discussions on the territorial waters boundary has already started. Since the judgment of the ICJ, the Joint Committee led by Wisma Putra Secretary-General Rastam Mohd Isa and MFA Permanent Secretary Peter Ho met on 3rd June 2008 to discuss the implementation of the judgment. At the meeting, both sides reiterated their commitment to honour and

With regard to the second part of Mr Michael Palmer's question, yes, Singapore is claiming a territorial sea and an Exclusive Economic Zone around Pedra Branca. As we had indicated in the Press Statements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated 15th September 1980 and 23rd May 2008, Singapore has a territorial sea limit that extends up to a maximum of 12 nautical miles and an Exclusive Economic Zone. This is consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 10th December 1982, to which Singapore is a party. The precise coordinates of Singapore's territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone will be announced at an appropriate time. Should the limits of our territorial sea or Exclusive Economic Zone overlap with the claims of neighbouring countries, Singapore will negotiate with these countries with a view to arriving at agreed delimitations in accordance with international law.

To answer Ms Indranee Rajah, according to Article 61 of the Statute of the ICJ, a party is able to apply for a review of an ICJ judgment if "it is based upon the discovery of some fact of such a nature as to be a decisive factor, which fact was, when the judgment was given, unknown to the Court and also to the party claiming revision, always provided that such ignorance was not due to negligence". I would like to highlight that the ICJ, in its 23rd May 2008 judgment, ruled that Johor had original title over Pedra Branca before the lighthouse was

I would like to conclude by noting that by resolving this dispute through third party adjudication, both countries have demonstrated our respect for international law and our commitment to settle disputes in an amicable manner. This case exemplifies the usefulness of a third party dispute settlement mechanism and can be a model for resolving other bilateral disputes.

abide by the ICJ's judgment and fully implement its decision. Both parties also agreed that a technical sub-committee would be set up to oversee the conduct of Joint Survey Works to prepare for eventual talks on maritime issues in and around Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. Officials on both sides are currently working towards carrying out the Joint Survey Works which are expected to start later this year.built but added that "what is decisive for the Court is the conduct of the authorities in Singapore (and India) and in Johor following the 1844 exchanges of correspondences". So even if this 1844 letter was discovered, and even if its contents demonstrated that Johor had title over Pedra Branca in 1844, in our view, it is unlikely to make a difference to the court's judgment because the Court had already ruled that Johor had original title over Pedra Branca. In fact, Singapore had searched for the 1844 letter over many years at various archives but to no avail. We had also stated both in our written pleadings and during the public hearing by DPM Prof. S Jayakumar at the ICJ in November 2007 that Singapore does not have a copy of Butterworth's 1844 letter.

Mr Speaker, Sir, clarification for the Senior Minister of State. I would like to clarify some of the media reports with regard to Pulau Pisang. The Malaysian media had been commenting about Pulau Pisang. Can we state our position on Pulau Pisang?

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Malaysian media will report the internal discussions within Malaysia and there may be many opinions expressed by individual Malaysians. But the official view of Malaysia and Singapore is that we are both committed to adhering to the judgment of the ICJ.

16. Ms Indranee Rajah asked the Minister for Defence (a) what is the outcome of his Ministry's investigations into the sudden deaths of Recruit Andrew Cheah Wei Siong and Second Lieutenant Clifton Lam Jia Hao; and (b) whether the investigations indicate the need for any consequential action to be taken by the SAF, such as more stringent or different pre-enlistment medical screening.

17. Mr Siew Kum Hong asked the Minister for Defence (a) how many cases of sudden cardiac deaths have occurred in the Singapore Armed Forces since 1965; (b) of these, how many have occurred amongst Full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) and how many may have potentially been detected through the use of exercise ECGs or echocardiograms; and (c) whether the Ministry intends to introduce additional screening for NSFs such as exercise ECGs or echocardiograms.

Mr Speaker, Sir, as Question Nos. 16 and 17 by Ms Indranee Rajah and Mr Siew Kum Hong are closely related, may I have your permission to address them together?

Yes.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the families of the late 2LT Clifton Lam Jia Hao and the late REC Andrew Cheah Wei Siong.

MINDEF treats every death of a serviceman with utmost seriousness. For each case, we conduct a thorough investigation to determine the cause and also to enable us to take all necessary preventive measures in the future.

Ms Indranee Rajah asked about the need for any consequential actions to be adopted by the SAF. Sir, the SAF did not wait for the outcome of the investigations but, in fact, took immediate action by imposing a three-day time-out for all physical and endurance training to review their systems, processes and procedures. The review provided an opportunity for units to confirm that the systems are good and sound, and that proper processes and procedures are in place and are being followed. The time-out allowed both commanders and soldiers themselves to refocus on safety.

Ms Indranee Rajah and Mr Siew Kum Hong asked about medical screening in the SAF. I should first say that it would be premature to draw conclusions about whether medical conditions that might have been detected in pre-enlistment medical screening were factors in the incidents, as the investigation process has not yet been concluded. Nevertheless, since there has been quite a lot of interest in the medical screening processes of the SAF, let me take the opportunity to describe these processes.

The SAF carries out medical screening of our servicemen carefully. Medical screening takes place at several key junctures: before enlistment, before attending specialised courses, before strenuous training or deployment and, periodically, after the age of 25.

The screening is comprehensive. There are 14 medical speciality areas, including eyesight, hearing, cardiovascular, muscular-skeletal conditions.

The 12-lead resting ECG screening was introduced in November 2000 on the recommendation by the SAF's panel of medical experts. The panel of medical experts concluded that the findings of a study published in 1998 on the screening of competitive athletes in Italy were appropriate for the SAF and ought to be adopted by the SAF. The comprehensive study showed that resting ECG was a reliable tool for screening for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), which is one of the more common causes of sudden cardiac death among young adults. HCM is a disease of the heart muscle in which a portion of the muscle is thickened.

Sir, the introduction of this 12-lead resting ECG screening is an example of how the SAF keeps up with the best and most appropriate screening practices. The SAF is guided by an independent panel consisting of top medical consultants and specialists in Singapore that sits regularly to review the entire medical screening regime. In a recent review concluded last September, the SAF medical screening protocols were found to be comprehensive, robust and in line with good clinical practice. In fact, the SAF's routine screening for heart disease in pre-enlistees is equivalent to the standards recommended by the European Society of Cardiology and International Olympic Committee, and higher than the standards recommended by the American Heart Association. The SAF's screening protocols are also more

Mr Siew Kum Hong asked for figures on sudden cardiac deaths (SCD) in the SAF since 1965, and how many of these were Full-time National Servicemen (NSFs). Sir, I am unable to give the figures since 1965, but I am able to provide the figures from 1995. Specific data on SCD for the years before 1995 was not systematically collected, as SCD itself, in young adults then, was not a well understood phenomenon in the medical community. The figures for 1995 to 2008 showed that there were a total of 23 SCD cases in the SAF. Seven of them were of Full-time National Servicemen (NSFs), three of which occurred during training.

Mr Siew also asked whether any of these could have been detected by exercise ECGs or echocardiograms, and whether the SAF was going to introduce additional screening such as these. Of the seven NSFs who died from SCD both during training and not during training, six were due to conditions that were most unlikely to be picked up by exercise ECGs or echocardiograms. This is what the doctors have told me. The remaining one had a condition that could have been detected by exercise ECGs or echocardiograms. This death occurred in 1999, a year before the SAF began conducting ECG screening for pre-enlistees. His condition could have been picked up by the 12-lead resting ECG that was introduced in 2000, and this pick-up would have led to him being referred to a cardiologist and subjected to an exercise ECG or echocardiogram.

Sir, MINDEF will continue to review our medical screening procedures and amend the protocols or adopt new procedures should the SAF's panel of medical experts advise that it is appropriate to do so.

MINDEF has convened two separate inquiries to investigate the deaths of the two servicemen. As the investigation process has yet to be completed, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on their outcomes at this point in time.Let me take the screening for cardiac conditions as an example. A 12-lead resting electrocardiogram (ECG) screening is conducted for all pre-enlistees, and the SAF has 28 different protocols to address the different cardiac conditions based on these ECG findings. If abnormalities are found, the pre-enlistees will be sent for additional testing, which may include the stress ECG test or the 2D echocardiogram and referral to a cardiologist.comprehensive than those used by many other established armed forces.

Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply, which I think would have given Singaporeans some comfort. Nevertheless, I have three supplementary questions for the Minister.

Firstly, the Minister has said separately that additional screening in the form

of the exercise ECGs or echocardiograms is "helpful". If that is the case, then why is this "helpful" screening not made available to NSFs who serve the nation by performing National Service and so the nation should serve them by taking all the measures that are helpful, instead of leaving it only for those who can afford to pay for these additional testing.

My second question, Sir, is that the Minister has said that MINDEF has a panel of leading doctors who say that the existing tests are sufficient but a cardiologist in private practice has publicly stated that many of his colleagues who agree with this publicly, nevertheless, send their own children for additional screening. Can the Minister then confirm whether this panel of leading doctors send their own children who are required to serve NS for additional tests?

My third question, Sir, is that a recently published study by the Institute of Sports Medicine in Florence, Italy, tested over 30,000 people, including 23,500 men, using both resting ECG and exercise ECG. The resting ECG test found a previously undetected heart anomaly in 1.2% of those screened. This rose to 4.9% for the exercise ECG. In light of this study, does the Ministry still stand by its decision not to introduce additional screening for NSFs?

Sir, I think that if the individuals or parents want to go for additional medical screening and tests, that is entirely their right to do so and they may do so if they wish to. But whether they do so or not, I think that they and their parents should be assured

that when they come for National Service at the pre-enlistment stage, the SAF will give them a comprehensive medical screening whether they have gone for one themselves or not. So that is our commitment, and that is important. The medical screening protocols are audited and recommended by the SAF medical panel of specialists. There are about 50 of them covering 14 medical specialities and areas. I can only go by what they recommend to us and if there are doctors, individuals who feel that there are practices supported by good evidence and research which will be helpful for SAF servicemen, we will be happy to receive such research reports and reviews supported by good evidence. The medical panel will be happy to consider them and if they are appropriate for application in the SAF, we will be happy to do so. I would invite Mr Siew or doctors in public or private practice or individuals who have such information, who feel that it is relevant to us, to please do so and send it to us. But I do assure the public and parents that the SAF medical panel itself does comprehensive literature searches, they are experts in their field, and they do look out for the best practices available. The example I gave was that of a study that was concluded in 1998. The panel looked at it very quickly after the study was completed, found that it was a study which was useful and valid to us, and we brought it into effect by the year 2000. And we will be happy to receive any other studies or information which the panel may, by some chance, have missed.

18. Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Minister for Health (a) whether there has been any pattern of sudden cardiac deaths afflicting Singaporeans over the last 10 years; (b) what can be done to

reduce the incidence occurring in the general public; and (c) how does the percentage and rate of sudden cardiac deaths in Singapore compare to that of other countries.

Mr Speaker, Sir, as explained by the Minister for Defence just a while ago, SCD is a sudden and unexpected death due to cardiac causes. A common cause of SCD is abnormal heart rhythm, resulting in the heart stop pumping.

In Singapore, about 16,000 deaths occur every year, of which 23% are from cardiac causes, almost one in four. SCD is a subset of cardiac deaths and in Singapore accounts for about a third of deaths due to cardiac causes.

Over the past 10 years, our incidence of SCD has increased steadily from 26 per 100,000 population in 1998, 10 years ago, to 34 in 2007. This is largely due to the steady increase in the proportion of the elderly in our population as the incidence of SCD is highest among the elderly, eg, last year, the incidence of SCD ranged from 2 per 100,000 for those below 35 years old to 211, 100 times more, for those above 60.

Of the 1,538 cases of SCD last year, 67% were above 60 years of age. Less than 3% were below 35. In fact, the incidence in younger persons under 35 has declined from 4 per 100,000 in 1998 to 2 last year. There is a gender difference in the SCD incidence, with men having more than double the risk as compared to women.

Overall, our SCD incidence of about 1 in 3,000 is low as compared to other developed countries. Studies from the US and Europe have reported higher rates, of 1 in 600 and 1 in 1,250 respectively, although there are some variations in defining SCD in these studies.

How to reduce SCD incidence? More than 80% of SCD is due to blockage in the coronary arteries. So the key to prevention lies in adoption of a healthy lifestyle: eating wisely, not smoking, staying active and maintaining healthy weight. Early detection and good management of chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol also reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

For the younger age group, diseases of the heart muscles, although uncommon, may play a role in some cases of SCD. Some examples are enlargement of heart muscles and viral infection of the heart. Screening may be useful to detect some of these conditions so that precautionary measures can be instituted to prevent exercise-related deaths, but no test can identify all individuals at risk.

Despite our best efforts at prevention, SCD will still occur. In such cases, survival can be improved if the patient is treated as soon as possible with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation. There are programmes in place to teach and encourage CPR and use of defibrillators for the public and appropriate personnel such as policemen, and staff at sports facilities and airports. All our SCDF ambulances are equipped with defibrillators. We also support efforts to improve access to defibrillators at public locations with high human traffic and at mass participation high intensity sports events.

3.10pm

Order. End of Question time.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No. 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos. 19-20, 24, 27-31, 33-34, 36, 39-41, 43, 46, 49-54, 56-57, 60-61 and 63 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix*. Question Nos. 21-23, 25-26, 32, 35, 37-

38, 42, 44-45, 47-48, 55, 58-59, 62 and 64-65 have been postponed to a date to be fixed.] *Cols. 2885-2928.

"to amend the Parliamentary Elections Act (Chapter 218 of the 2007 Revised Edition) and to make related amendments to the Presidential Elections Act (Chapter 240A of the 2007 Revised Edition)",

presented by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Wong Kan Seng); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Singapore Tourism (Cess Collection) Act (Chapter 305C of the 1997 Revised Edition)",

recommendation of President signified; presented by the Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr S Iswaran); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (Chapter 52A of the 2004 Revised Edition) and to make a related amendment to the Small Claims Tribunals Act (Chapter 308 of the 1998 Revised Edition)",

presented by the Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Lee Yi Shyan); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to provide for the detention, care and treatment of mentally disordered persons in

presented by the Minister for Health (Mr Khaw Boon Wan); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

designated psychiatric institutions, to repeal the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (Chapter 178 of the 1985 Revised Edition) and to make consequential amendments to certain other written laws",

"to amend the Estate Duty Act (Chapter 96 of the 2005 Revised Edition) to provide for the abolition of estate duty",

recommendation of President signified; presented by the Senior Minister of State for Finance (Mrs Lim Hwee Hua); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to make new provisions relating to persons who lack capacity and to provide for matters connected therewith, and to make related and consequential amendments to certain other written laws",

presented by the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Public Transport Council Act (Chapter 259B of the 2000 Revised Edition)",

presented by the Senior Minister of State for Transport (Mrs Lim Hwee Hua); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Patents Act (Chapter 221 of the 2005 Revised Edition)",

presented by the Minister for Law (Mr K Shanmugam); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 161 of the 2001 Revised Edition)",

presented by Mr Shanmugam; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Skills Development Levy Act (Chapter 306 of the 1998 Revised Edition)",

recommendation of President signified; presented by the Acting Minister for Manpower (Mr Gan Kim Yong); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

Order for Second Reading read.

3.15 pm

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Today, all forms of gambling in Singapore are prohibited except for selected products offered by the Singapore Totalisator Board and its two agents, Singapore Turf Club and Singapore Pools. While gambling is not an activity that we want to encourage, it

Our approach has therefore been to allow a limited range of gambling products in a controlled environment, with appropriate safeguards for the vulnerable groups. Together with sustained enforcement action against illegal operators and continuing efforts to raise public awareness of the ills of gambling, we can minimise social concerns. The Singapore Totalisator Board has been using and will continue to use the gambling proceeds to fund programmes and projects for the social good.

The amendments to the Singapore Totalisator Board Act seek to achieve three objectives. First, to allow the Singapore Turf Club more operational flexibility so as to combat illegal horse betting. Second, to provide the Ministry greater flexibility to update the gambling advertising regulations. And, third, to strengthen governance at the Singapore Totalisator Board.

Sir, let me now highlight the key changes.

Moving the Singapore Totalisator Scheme out of the Subsidiary Legislation

The first change relates to the removal of the Singapore Totalisator Scheme from the subsidiary legislation under the Act. The Scheme governs the administrative and operational aspects of horse racing and betting, such as race fixtures, admissions to the racecourse, and bet types. Currently, any variation to the Scheme must be approved by the Minister and published in the Gazette. By removing the Scheme from the subsidiary legislation, and having it administered by the Turf Club under a private contractual arrangement with the Totalisator Board,

Transferring advertising regulations from main Act to subsidiary legislation

The second change relates to the transfer of advertising regulations from the main Act to the subsidiary legislation. The Act currently allows the Turf Club to publish certain information in the newspapers. This includes the hours of business, address and telephone number of Turf Club's betting outlets, and the names of the race meetings. The Act does not cover advertising by Singapore Pools and the Totalisator Board.

By removing the advertising regulations from the main Act, and empowering the Minister to make subsidiary legislation on advertising, the regulations can be updated more expeditiously, in response to changes in the operating and social environment. We will adopt a balanced approach, allowing the Turf Club some room to enhance awareness of their products and channels so as to divert demand away from the illegal operators, while ensuring sufficient safeguards to protect the youth and other vulnerable groups. We will also extend the regulations to Singapore Pools and the Totalisator Board.

This is similar to the approach taken for the Casino Control Act. Clauses 2(a), 11, 13 and 15 of the Bill provide for this change.

Increasing the quorum at Board meetings

Thirdly, the Bill increases the quorum at Board meetings from three members to a majority of the members to ensure majority representation and sound governance at the Totalisator Board. Clause 16 of the Bill provides for this.

Other changes

The other changes include removing the need for the Turf Club to seek Minister's approval for by-laws controlling admission to the Turf Club, which are operational in nature; allowing any public officer authorised by the Minister to compound prescribed offences; and consequential amendments to the Betting Act and Common Gaming Houses Act.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

is also not something that we can wish away. Imposing a complete ban on gambling will only drive the industry underground and profit the illegal operators.the Turf Club will be able to respond better to challenges posed by the illegal operators by changing their betting rules and bet types. The Turf Club will still need to seek regulatory approval for the introduction of new gambling products or changes to regulatory conditions such as age limit. This approach is consistent with practices in other jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Western Australia. It is also consistent with the treatment of operational rules governing lottery games and football betting run by Singapore Pools. Clauses 2(b) to 8, 10 and 12 of the Bill provide for this change.

Sir, under the existing Act, the Minister's approval is required before the Board can conduct gaming activities and the Minister approves schemes and may impose conditions on any gaming activity. Clauses 4 and 6 of the Bill collectively remove the need for Ministerial approval. It seems that the Board is now given a freer hand to decide what kind of gaming activities are carried out and under what conditions. For instance, it appears that it can decide the rules of the game, how to calculate dividends and what kind of credit facilities will be available.

I would like to ask for clarification on the following:

What was the original rationale for requiring Ministerial approval in the first place? Was it due to a need to supervise the gaming industry to safeguard the public interest?

By removing the need for Ministerial approval, is the Government giving the Board more liberty to promote gaming as it sees fit? Is it foreseeable that gaming would proliferate society further, more addictive forms of gaming may arise and credit will be made more easily available? Are we putting society at greater risk with this approach?

Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to participate in this debate. I rise in support of the Bill.

Sir, this Bill is intended to rationalise the workings of the Tote Board, which is now responsible for regulating gaming and betting in Singapore and to address certain gaps in the law that currently exist. As such, I only have two points to make.

Firstly, clause 10 of the Bill repeals the existing section 15 of the Act and introduces a new section 15, which essentially provides that it is lawful for any person of or above the age of 18 years to participate in licensed gaming or betting. This is a relatively lower age and is of some concern, given the trend of Singaporeans starting to gamble at a young age. A survey released by the Government in May this year found that a quarter of respondents started gambling when they were less than 18 years old, up 10% from 2005. Setting the legal age for gambling at 18 years risks exacerbating this problem. I would therefore like to ask the Minister to clarify and explain why and how this age of 18 years old was decided upon, especially when this is lower than the age of 21 years which is required for entry into the upcoming casinos under the Casino Control Act.

On a related note, this new section 15 now makes it explicitly clear that those who are 18 years and above may lawfully gamble with licensed operators, which is something that was previously not so clear. So, this is positive. This also means that, by implication, those who are below 18, who somehow manage to gamble with licensed operators are committing an offence under the Betting Act or the Common Gaming Houses Act. But neither of this Act nor the Betting Act, nor the Gaming Houses Act, imposes any liability on licensed operators if they allow those who are below 18 to gamble. That seems to be a lacuna in the law which should be plugged, so as to drive home to licensed operators the seriousness of their responsibility not to allow young persons under the age of 18 to gamble.

Secondly, Sir, clause 14 of the Bill introduces a new section 20B that empowers the Minister to exempt any person or class of persons from any or all provisions of the Act through Gazette notifications. There is no statement as to the purposes for which such exemptions may be granted. Sir, the debate on casinos shows that gambling remains a sensitive issue in Singapore, which many Singaporeans are greatly concerned about. This broad power to the Minister to grant exemptions is worrying because it potentially deprives Parliament of the opportunity to review and debate proposed exemptions. If the Minister is of the view that this power to grant exemptions is administratively and operationally desirable and necessary, then I would suggest that, at the minimum, the new section 20B should be amended to explicitly state the purposes for which exemptions may be granted.

Sir, with that, I support the Bill.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to thank the Members for their comments and support of the Bill.

As regards Ms Sylvia Lim's point about the liberty that is seemingly given to the Minister in varying the Scheme, let me assure her that this is actually a balance between trying to enable the Turf Club to exercise flexibility and to respond better to challenges. But the Club would still need regulatory approval for the introduction of new gambling products or, for that matter, changes to regulatory conditions. So, there would be no concern over the proliferation of newer products. This will just be simply variations of the existing rules that are allowed.

As for Mr Siew Kum Hong's point about the age limit, let me just clarify that currently the Tote Board Act actually already stipulates the age limit for gambling as 18 years. The objective of clause 10 is really not to set the age limit but to make a consequential amendment because of the removal of the Scheme from the subsidiary legislation. And as he has noted, the age limit applies to all gambling activities, except casinos which have a higher limit of 21 years. Eighteen years, if I may add, has been adopted as the age limit for gambling in many other jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. It is also incidentally the same age limit set for the consumption of alcohol and tobacco in Singapore.

As regards the operators' responsibility towards the age limit, Singapore Pools and Turf Club have actually taken very concrete steps to ensure that the products are not offered to the underaged. This is part of their commitment towards responsible gambling. In fact, all the frontline staff and employees are required to undergo training in terms of executing these gambling measures. So, they will do physical control checks and checks of IDs as well. But I take his point that while this has worked well thus far, there may be a case to consider

As for his point about clause 14 giving the Minister the power to exempt any person or class of persons from all the provisions, let me assure the House that the Ministry does not intend to abuse the authority provided for by this new section. As I have commented earlier on, any decision taken is really a balance of all the different points. We should note that the gambling industry is a fast-changing one. The illegal gambling operators continue to pose a major challenge today and, therefore, this new provision will enable the Turf Club to be able to respond quickly with once-off exceptional exemptions to be made by the Minister in a timely manner.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mrs Lim Hwee Hua].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

making these responsibilities explicit in the legislation. So, we will study this further.

Resolved,

That, at its rising today, Parliament do stand adjourned to a date to be fixed. – [Mr Mah Bow Tan].

Mr Speaker, I beg to move,

That Parliament do now adjourn.

Question proposed.

3.35 pm

Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore is a safe and secure place. Being one of the cities with the lowest crime rate in the world, Singaporeans and visitors alike feel safe and secure walking around our city at any time of the day. All these do not come about by chance. It is due to the continuing commitment and dedication of the Home Affairs Ministry, its Home Team and their community partners in planning our security system and conducting strict enforcement to make Singapore a safe haven for all.

However, the safe and secure environment in Singapore has also created a false sense of security among Singaporeans; and thus resulted in a certain level of complacency among our staff and officers in the Home Team.

Sir, the recent security lapses, namely, Mas Selamat Kastari's escape; the attempted escape of two detainees from the lock-up facility of the Subordinate Courts; and the passport mix-up incident at Changi Airport, have revealed certain weaknesses in our security system. The lapses have also affected public confidence in our security system; dampened the morale of our Home Team; and dented Singapore's reputation. Although the findings from these security lapses have identified a confluence of factors and human errors as contributing causes, we should not take comfort that our security system is sound.

Sir, security lapses are security lapses. Whether it is due to systemic faults or human errors, the outcomes are the same

Sir, very often, systemic failures could be addressed once and for all. But human errors are more challenging to avoid or prevent as it would involve recruiting good people, providing quality training and changing the mindsets of existing staff. The Ministry must seriously look into these aspects to further strengthen and instil greater discipline in our security force.

Sir, a more disturbing phenomenon is the confluence of factors leading to the security lapses. It shows that our lines of defence are not robust and independent. Every security officer at each line of defence thinks that somebody is doing his or her job in the other lines of defence, and thus slips into complacency. This situation is unhealthy and requires urgent attention. We must ensure that all officers at all lines of defence take responsibility and exercise due diligence to carry out their duties professionally. These lines of defence must be regularly "stress tested" to reduce possible breaches.

Sir, I would like to highlight the lessons which we could learn from these security lapses, and urge the Ministry to update the House on the follow-up measures taken after these lapses.

Sir, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are useless if they are not properly carried out by the respective officers at various security positions. First, the officers must understand the rationale behind these SOPs and adhere strictly to the procedures. Second, they must use their common sense and exercise more caution when faced with unusual or

Similarly, the guard who accompanied Mas Selamat to the toilet should have detected that he was taking too long at the urinal and checked on him immediately. Our officers must be trained to stay alert at all times and follow SOPs to avoid security lapses. To stay vigilant at all times requires discipline. I would urge the Ministry to take concrete measures to instil discipline in our Home Team.

Sir, the toilet at the Whitley Road Detention Centre's visitation block is poorly designed. The folding door for the urinal, window without security grilles, failure of CCTV system, and covered linkway linking to the perimeter fence reflected the lack of security design in our facility. Similarly, the design and layout of the Subordinate Courts' lock-up facility allows easy escape from detention. Sir, in view of new and emerging security threats, we should consider setting up a Security Design Audit Team in the Ministry to provide independent checks and balances on the design of both new and existing security facilities. Good design plays a significant role in enhancing our security system and facilities.

Sir, our security system can only be sound if our officers who run the system are well trained to stay vigilant at all times. Top management and commanding officers must be more "hands on" to ensure that ground officers are performing their duties properly. Sir, security work is a 24/7 job. It requires officers to be alert at all times. This can be challenging if the vehicle or human traffic is high, especially in airports, ferry terminals or customs checkpoints. For practical reasons, we

Sir, any security system would fail if left unchecked or untested for a long period of time. Therefore, it is crucial that independent security audit checks are carried out frequently to identify potential weaknesses so that remedial actions can be taken.

I would propose that the Ministry consider setting up an overall independent Security Audit Committee to conduct checks and balances frequently on our security system, including the Internal Security Department.

Sir, the recent security lapses have sparked off much debate among Singaporeans, especially on the Internet. Instead of pursuing a blaming game, I would urge all Singaporeans to rally together and play a role in further strengthening the security and safety of Singapore. In these trying times, we need to show our support for the Home Team officers who are guardians of our safety and security. We must learn from these mistakes, and work closely with the Home Team to make Singapore a safer home for all.

Sir, it is impossible to have a 100% safe proof security system. But we can always make sure that our security system works 99% of the time.

and could have serious consequences. In Mas Selamat's case, we now have one terrorist leader at large, which might pose serious security threats to our country. I am indeed very concerned that the recent security lapses are attributed mainly to human errors.deviant situations. For example, the detection of a mismatch of fingerprints at the immigration counter should have prompted the immigration officer to conduct a more thorough check of the passenger.need to adopt a risk-based approach towards security in certain places such as airports and customs checkpoints. But we can always use appropriate technology and deploy relevant manpower to reduce human errors and security lapses.

3.39 pm

Mr Speaker, Sir, Dr Teo Ho Pin has highlighted three areas for improvement. I would like to highlight one more which is

Let us take the Mas Selamat's incident first. The first failure was on the part of the Superintendent of the Detention Centre who thought that sawing off the handle of the ventilation window was sufficient as a security measure to prevent him escape. In the Minister's Report in the COI findings, it was reported that the Superintendent thought that this measure would be adequate because he assumed that the guards would always have sight of the detainee. The second failure though was the failure by the guard to keep Mas Selamat in his line of sight. He allowed Mas Selamat to close the urinal cubicle door. He apparently did this because he assumed that the urinal cubicle was a secure facility and that Mas Selamat could not escape from the Detention Centre. So the Superintendent was lax because he assumed that the guard would do his job and the guard was lax because he assumed that the Superintendent would do his job. Then there is also the question of delay caused

Now, the Subordinate Courts' case. In that case, the first failure was on the part of the policeman who obliged when one of the detainees asked for water. The policeman opened the door to give the prisoner a cup of water which was a breach of procedure. No doubt he was trying to be helpful but, again, there appeared to have been a failure to appreciate the potential danger in coming into close proximity to prisoners that way. He assumed that the prisoners would be cooperative and well behaved. And having got out of the cell, the two detainees got out of the building because of a second failure, and this was the failure of the policeman or security officer who did not look up to check the CCTV when the two escapees buzzed for the door to open. He again acted on an assumption – he assumed that whoever was on the other side of the door would be a person who was allowed to come through. Again, the antenna for danger was not up.

In the case of the immigration lapse, Mr Ang, the passenger, cleared all the security checks, he cleared the airline counter, he got past the CISCO officer, he then ran into problems at the ICA counter because he was not able to clear his fingerprint scan at the Immigration Automated Clearance System. The immigration officer then directed him to a

Mr Speaker, Sir, in the security arena, two factors are of critical importance – the system and the people – and these particular instances were not incidents of the system failure or failure in SOP. It is not about the system. This was about the quality and robustness of the mental attitude of our security personnel. The lack of alertness and sense of danger appears to be a result of living in a society which has been safe and secure for so long and which there has been no major security disaster. In fact, it is the success of very good work done by the Ministry of Home Affairs that, in a sense, has perhaps led to our sense of infallibility and a certain softness and complacency appear to be creeping into our mindset. Ironically, however, it is when our security officers feel most secure that we are the least secure. In order to be effective, our security agencies cannot proceed on the assumption that nothing will go wrong. Instead they should proceed on the assumption that if something can go wrong, it will. This mental robustness is something that needs to be addressed, and quickly. I would urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to look into this aspect.

the need to increase the robustness of the mindset of our security personnel and for them to improve upon, what I would call, an antenna for danger. The Ministry of Home Affairs had indicated that the lapses occurred as a result of human error and security personnel not following procedure. If it was the case of just one incident caused by an error on the part of one individual, there would be less cause for concern. However, what we have seen in recent months is a series of several errors committed by several individuals across three different departments. That seems to me to be an indication of a wider problem. So the deeper question we have to ask is: what were the cause of these errors on the part of these individuals? It seems to me that if we analyse the underlying causes of each of these incidents, it would be seen that there is a common thread that runs through each incident and, that is, that the individual in question all acted on the assumption that nothing would go wrong.by hesitation. When the first guard felt that Mas Selamat had taken too long, he referred the matter to a fellow guard. This officer in turn turned to the Special Duty Operative of the STO. She in turn hesitated to break down the toilet door because it was a male toilet, so she referred it to the Assistant Case Officer who eventually took a decision. Throughout the series of hesitations, however, it was indicated that at no time did the guard or the STO become concerned that Mas Selamat was taking too long because he did not think that he might have escaped. So, again, there was another assumption.lane for manual clearance. Once again, the failure here was an assumption rather than asking why the system was rejecting the scan. The immigration officer proceeded on the assumption that the person in front of him was the right person and that the machine must therefore be wrong. He ignored the red flag when it went up.

Mr Siew Kum Hong, we have some time. I will give you two minutes.

Mr Speaker, Sir, we have been repeatedly told that the three security lapses this year were due to human error and that no system can completely eliminate human error. That may be so. But this seems to imply that human error is unavoidable and hence

inevitable. This is difficult to reconcile with the Government's previous calls to Singaporeans to be ever vigilant because we have to win against the terrorists every time but they only have to win once. The inescapable fact remains that we have had three lapses across three different departments within a short span of four months or so. One would have expected the Home Team to be extra vigilant after the escape of Mas Selamat and that there would at least have been no more human errors in the period immediately following his escape.

As we all know, that was not the case. I dare say Singaporeans' confidence in the Home Team has taken a serious knock.

Sir, I think there is a very legitimate question as to whether three lapses in three different agencies in four months are enough evidence of a wider problem in MHA. The Ministry has consistently focused on individual officers' omissions and how even the best-designed systems are susceptible to human error but has not acknowledged any fault as an organisation. If there are human lapses in different agencies within the Ministry, then there is a valid question as to whether the Ministry itself has done enough to inculcate a culture of zero-tolerance for human errors across the entire Home Team as a whole.

Furthermore, in the month or so since the Changi Airport slip-up, there has, to date, been no apology from MHA to Singaporeans for these lapses. The public would be forgiven for thinking that MHA is in denial, at least publicly. I think an apology is the least that the Ministry could do, and I believe a clear, unreserved, unqualified apology is a necessary first step towards the restoration of public confidence in the Home Team because it demonstrates that the Ministry is squarely confronting the issue. The failure to apologise suggests

that it is downplaying the seriousness of these incidents and denying responsibility. Unless and until this happens, it would be difficult to expect public confidence in the Home Team to be restored.

Sir, Mas Selamat's escape is an embarrassment and, together with the recent lapses, this has actually led some members of the public to ask whether MHA is breaking down.

However, for each of these breaches, there are many other times when security was successfully provided. The nature of security is such that successful security operations are unnoticed, precisely because nothing eventful happened.

Accordingly, we must not lose our perspective. At the same time, the Government owes a duty to the public to account for these lapses honestly and holistically. What I think is constructive in the long run is to step back and have a thorough review of the increasing demands on MHA, the resources needed and how to ensure that the public interest is protected.

There are three questions which come to mind:

Are these incidents signs that MHA has work overload? I am aware of how heavily deployed the Home Team has been in recent years. Ever since 911, many Home Team officers have been deployed for counter-terrorism activities. While we seek to promote Singapore as a centre for meetings, conventions and exhibitions, every IMF meeting, every F1 Night Race is an added strain. Meanwhile, the public continues to seek police assistance every minute. We can try to leverage on NSmen, reservists or private-sector partners, but there are limitations to this.

The population has expanded to 4.7 million and is expected to breach the

Outsourcing of Home Team functions to auxiliary police and private security companies has become necessary. As jobs become divided and farmed out, coordination of security operations becomes more complex. There will be differences in organisational culture and mindset between a regular Home Team officer, auxiliary police and private-sector guards. Just as we have seen in Mas Selamat's escape, will each person be so focused on their area of work to the detriment of the final outcome? How smooth is the interface between the different agencies and how is this being monitored?

six-million mark. This will surely strain our social services, including those under the Home Team. We need more police officers, more firefighters, more immigration officers. What has been done to ensure that recruitment is keeping pace with the increased population?

Mr Shanmugam. We have about 12 minutes left.

Sir, I thank the Members who spoke and gave their views.

When a security lapse occurs, it is natural to ask what and why it happened and what do we do, going forward, to avoid future lapses. These appear to be straight-forward questions. But the answers cannot and should not be simplistic.

I need not go into detail about the recent three cases. Ms Rajah and Dr Teo have pointed out that the common thread running through them was a failure to comply with SOPs. We acknowledge that. However, in considering these lapses, we should not oversimplify the issues. If we look at the three cases within their operating contexts, we can see that one type of mistake is not the same as

For example, in the passport misclearance case, the officer’s focus was on security. He rightly conducted a face-to-face clearance when the automated gates failed. Terrorists are known to use real passports and in their own identities. Thus, such an assessment is important in our counter-terrorism security clearance system.

The officer in question is quite experienced. He assessed Mr Ang by examining if Mr Ang fitted a terrorist or security-risk profile; whether he exhibited any suspicious behaviour cues or indicators; whether the passport tendered was tampered or a forgery.

Up to that point, the officer did everything right. The officer, however, made a mistake in not pursuing Mr Ang’s failure to clear the automated gates. He was satisfied that Mr Ang was not a security risk, and assumed that it was just a technical glitch. He will be penalised for that error. But we must also be fair to the officer in question. He exercised most of the security protocols correctly, but made an error in not checking the passport against the boarding pass. To equate this case as the same as that of the Mas Selamat escape would be quite wrong.

Why is this distinction important? I make it not to excuse any mistake or to trivialise one over another. But we need to highlight it because such a distinction is built into the design of all risk-based security systems. Such systems are designed to minimise not just failure but also to mitigate the magnitude of specific failures. This is inherent in any risk-based approach to security. We have to prioritise our resources and focus according to the risks. More resources are focused on high risk, high-consequence areas, and less resources on lower-risk, lower-consequence areas.

Will there be a misclearance case in future? More than 140 million travellers pass through our checkpoints annually. Five cases of persons carrying the wrong passports are detected every day by ICA officers. Can we guarantee that we will pick up all of these and that there will never be one which we might miss? While the Home Team will certainly work to avoid such an instance, it would be foolhardy and unrealistic to assume this. What we can assure you is that we continuously work to minimise such lapses because we take them seriously. What we can assure you also is that the security system is layered and robust and is structured to minimise serious consequences.

What should be done going forward? We will certainly review lapses and seek to learn from them. We are doing so. Officers who make mistakes or who are liable must be taken to task. But we must also not over-react and be unfair to the officers. We have to ensure that, in our judgment, there will be fairness, a sense of proportion and justice, and adherence to established due processes.

Dr Teo has spoken about the need for more discipline, more audits and more checks. Ms Rajah has made similar points. The question perhaps is really: how much more is enough? We do regularly conduct audits and checks, and they are important and useful. But these audits cannot prevent episodic individual failure to comply with established procedures. In respect of the lapses which have occurred, the systems and processes were found to be sound.

So more checks and more compliance audits may not be the total solution. What we have done in MHA is to develop and implement a programme to test operational effectiveness. Since January

But even such tests cannot stop the individual officer opening a gate without looking at his screen, nor can it help to prevent an officer failing to check the passport against the boarding pass. These, as stated earlier, are individual episodic lapses. They are not systemic practices.

Strict compliance or active empowerment?

I agree with Dr Teo and Ms Rajah that ground commanders and supervisors have a responsibility to ensure compliance by frontline officers with established procedures. However, in doing so, we want to also ensure that we do not dis-empower our frontline officers.

Systems and SOPs are inherently dated. They are designed based on known experiences and scenarios. Just as we learn and improve, our adversaries, be they terrorists or criminals, learn and improve all the time as well. Ultimately, when confronted with something new, we depend on the frontline officer to meet such a challenge through his experience, judgment and initiative. How can we do this? One practical approach we have taken is to invest heavily on scenario-based, hands-on, front-liner training at the Home Team Academy. We want our officers to internalise knowledge and understand their SOPs rather than just

There is no 100% security

The reality is that no system can be completely fail-proof, either now or in the future. The aim must be to minimise failures and maximise success but also recognise that there will be failures and no absolute 100% success.

For example, we have a zero-tolerance philosophy for drug abuse and death penalties for drug trafficking. Our drug abuse and trafficking numbers are low, but they are not zero. That does not mean that CNB has failed or that our policy has failed.

In 2007, ICA cleared some 143 million travellers through our land, sea and air checkpoints, or close to 400,000 travellers each day. With stepped-up security measures, ICA detected 37,800 cases of smuggling at the borders and more than 2,200 foreigners who attempted to enter Singapore fraudulently. Yet, we know that despite ICA’s best efforts, there will be some illegal immigrants and contraband smuggled into Singapore. To expect otherwise is completely unrealistic.

So when Mr Siew Kum Hong makes his points, I think he has got to bear these perspectives in mind and not take all three cases together and lump them together and then say, therefore, there is a serious situation.

Perfection is the ideal to aim for. But imperfection is the reality we have to work with each day. We face security challenges with incomplete, elliptical information of the evolving threat. Even so, we must act and make the best judgment we can. Our officers must not be made to become risk-averse and avoid making judgements for fear of being wrong.

Is the Home Team over-stretched?

Sir, questions have been raised as to whether the Home Team is over-stretched. The core functions of the Home Team have not changed. But the volume and scope of work have greatly expanded, with increased population, tourist arrivals and more international events which require higher security coverage.

We have a smaller Police force per 100,000 population when compared to Hong Kong and New York. But our crime rate per 100,000 population is lower than Hong Kong’s and three-and-a-half times less than that of New York City’s.

The new security landscape post-911 has raised significant demands on the Home Team. Unlike in the past, Singapore is today a target for terrorist groups.

A fundamental question which MHA is exploring is whether we can continue to operate with the current level of resources. Our Home Team officers at the front line are stretched and strained over a high alert that started since end 2001. The total number of overtime hours ICA ground officers at the checkpoints have to put in every month to cope with the volume of work varies between 23,000 and 28,000 overtime hours.

To consider the impact of this, the Ministry has directed that a human factor study be conducted. The study will look at issues of operational fatigue within the Home Team. The study will also look at resources and manning levels and see if there are sub-optimal areas which need urgent attention.

Look at security in perspective

Security must always be viewed in context. For instance, the Subordinate Courts is a place which the public must

On the ground, security needs to find a balance between efficiency and expediency on the one hand, and effectiveness of security measures on the other. As much as we should maintain our security levels at our checkpoints, we also need to facilitate tourism, trade and social activities across borders.

We need to look at security as always operating in a context where there are competing imperatives of economic, political and social interests. This is not a bad thing. Indeed, a completely security-sealed country is one which will suffocate enterprise and liberty. It is a cure worse than the disease it is trying to prevent.

We need, therefore, to understand that security is not an absolute end. It is always achieved at a trade-off. And risks are always relative, to be managed, and not something we can eradicate completely in any human system operating in a living society. If we over simplify a complex subject like security design and operations, we may create unrealistic expectations of these systems and of the people who will man them. In the end, we only fool ourselves.

The mistakes which have occurred recently cannot be dismissed. We should

Let me assure Members of the House that the officers of the Home Team are committed to their work and mission and view the lapses which have occurred seriously. No one is more critical of these lapses than the officers and everyone at Home Team.

Ultimately, we need to look at the generalised outcome of security in terms of the quality of life we have today. The real test of security must be whether there is a sense of safety, whether people can walk about freely and without fear that they would be robbed or assaulted and whether our police force is trusted, and generally free of corruption and nexus with the underworld. On the score-card, whether for crime, drugs or terrorism or for neutralising hazards or even in rehabilitating prisoners to give them a second chance, any objective and honest assessment will conclude that the officers of the Home Team have done a good job compared to their counterparts in other parts of the world, despite the difficult operating environment they face every day.

Resolved,

"That Parliament do now adjourn."

Adjourned accordingly at

Four minutes past Four o'clock pm

to a date to be fixed.

another, even if the common thread is persons failing to comply with SOPs.2007, there is in place a Red Teaming programme with the help of expert external consultants. This programme is designed to evaluate the actual level of competencies, alertness and vigilance of frontline security forces. Such tests help us identify operational blind-spots, weaknesses and the level and quality of vigilance of the frontline officers. The results allow us to then develop appropriate and practical interventions, including special training, for our frontline officers and their supervisors.comply blindly. We want them to develop good situational awareness and to cultivate good reflexes and instincts.have free access, given the critical function it plays in the justice system. Any Police lock-up facility within the premises cannot undermine or compromise this function. We can enhance the lock-up security there. But it cannot be at the same level as Changi Prison.confront them, take ownership and take proper action to deal with them. But let us do so always with a sense of balance and on an informed basis, understanding the context and the complexity of the issues involved.

WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER NOT ANSWERED BY 3.00 PM

asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (a) what is the Ministry's vision for the Singapore Arts Festival; (b) whether the budget allocated this year for the festival was sufficient to achieve the ambitions stated; and (c) whether the Ministry plans to review the budget, programming and organisational structure of the Singapore Arts Festival to meet the challenges ahead.

asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts with regard to the recent Singapore Arts Festival 2008 (a) what is the Ministry’s overall evaluation of the Festival and the reason(s) for the fall in ticketed audience numbers; (b) what are the objectives and how has the Festival changed over the years; and (c) how it is distinguished from the upcoming Singapore Biennale.

I would like to thank both Ms Ng and Ms Low for their interest in the Singapore Arts Festival and its future direction.

The Singapore Arts Festival has evolved over the past 30 years in line with our arts scene and audiences. In the 70s and 80s, it was the main platform for fledgling semi-professional Singapore arts companies. Since 2000, in support of Singapore’s vision to be a global city for the arts, the National Arts Council had enhanced the international dimension to complement the strong Asian flavour and also strived to bridge the traditional and the contemporary.

As Singapore’s pinnacle arts event, the Festival aims to meet three objectives. Firstly, for our performing arts talents and industry, the Festival promotes artistic development and excellence. This is done by commissioning new works by our artistic talents and forging international artistic collaborations. Secondly, for the audience, the Festival promotes wider and deeper appreciation for the arts. It offers a broad range of enjoyable and appreciated free outreach programmes in the city and the heartlands, as well as a core programme of ticketed shows which includes new works and some cutting edge performances. Thirdly, to position Singapore as a global arts city, the Festival seeks to raise international awareness of Singapore arts by developing strong partnerships with foreign art festivals and creating an international profile synonymous with artistic innovation.

While the Festival’s focus is on the performing arts, NAC has not neglected other artforms. Ms Penny Low enquired about the upcoming Singapore Biennale. The Singapore Biennale is an equivalent platform to the Singapore Arts Festival, but with a focus on visual arts. While the Arts Festival showcases quality Singapore and international performing arts, the Singapore Biennale will present international contemporary visual artists alongside Asian and Singaporean artists. The Singapore Biennale is Singapore’s largest contemporary visual arts exhibition. It will enhance Singapore’s standing as a regional and international platform for showcasing and discussion on contemporary visual

The overall budget for the Singapore Arts Festival has remained relatively steady at around $6.5 million to $7 million a year over the past decade. Each year about 50% of the budget comes from sponsorship and ticket sales. A major challenge that NAC faces is to keep within the budget despite rising local and international organising costs. For 2008, more of the core ticketed programme were medium to small scale performances instead of big "blockbuster" shows. This approach addressed the cost factor for "blockbuster" shows and also recognised that such shows are now presented throughout the year by other art promoters. For example, the Sun-Festival organised by IMG Artists in October 2008 will bring in big names in arts and entertainment such as the opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Vienna Boys Choir, among others. Award-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q will also start its season in October.

The focus on more medium and smaller scale shows in the core programme meant that only 30,000 tickets were available compared to the 37,000 tickets for the 2007 Festival. Hence, this year’s Festival recorded a lower ticketed attendance. Nonetheless, the core programme provided audiences with a line-up of innovative, exciting and diverse works of an international standard. The overall attendance was 74% of the 30,000 available tickets. This is close to the average of 75% to 80% ticketed attendance for the past ten years of the Festival. In fact, of the 50 ticketed performances, 18 were sold out which was comparable to 2007 when 16 of the 48 ticketed performances were sold out.

While some people were of the opinion that this year’s Festival had failed, critics’ opinion of the Festival’s productions in both Singapore and foreign media was predominantly positive. NAC counted over 50 positive reviews received from the key Singapore media alone, including the Straits Times. For example, ST had remarked that the opening performance Architecture of Silence was a “winsome and ambitious work that was contemporary and accessible” and a “refreshing and delightful piece”.

This year’s Festival also continued to support artistic development by commissioning new works from Singaporean arts groups. Through the Festival’s international collaborations, works by Singaporean artists such as The King Lear Project had already performed at an Arts Festival in Brussels, while Awaking by Ong Keng Sen was co-commissioned by the Edinburgh Arts Festival. To meet the aim of bringing the arts to Singaporeans, the Festival also successfully spearheaded new partnerships to develop more engaging outreach programmes, especially in the heartlands. As a result, there were 580 outreach events attracting an overall total attendance of about 570,000. For example, the Festival’s closing performance at Bedok Reservoir, in partnership with the PUB’s Singapore International Water Week, attracted 18,000 people alone. This partnership approach contributes significantly to the Festival’s outreach efforts, and the objective of growing a more discerning arts audience.

I would like to assure Ms Irene Ng and Miss Penny Low that we will continue to review the organisation and form of the Festival to address the challenges of a changing cultural landscape. Today, the Singapore arts scene is more vibrant and there is greater diversity. Audiences can choose from a range of arts performances throughout the year. The Festival need not duplicate programmes that are already provided by commercial arts promoters. Instead, the challenge is for the Festival to evolve a programme mix that would continue to meet the goals of artistic and audience development, and to enhance its

arts. It thus complements the effort of the Singapore Arts Festival to position Singapore as a vibrant global arts city.international position and influence. We will also study the possible organisational structures that would best ensure the attractiveness and standing of the Festival. Even though we have received numerous domestic and international accolades about the quality of the festival and performances, there is certainly much room for improvement. We will continue to review various aspects of the Festival to improve its programming and delivery. NAC will consult closely with event partners and arts groups, as well as take into account audience needs and public feedback in such review.

asked the Minister for Education (a) if he will provide an evaluation of the Integrated Programme so far; and (b) what is the status of these students who did not pass their GCE Advanced Level Examinations, if any.

The Integrated Programme (IP) was introduced in 2004. At this point, our evaluation can only be preliminary as only one batch of IP students has completed their ‘A’ level or equivalent examinations.

Feedback from the IP students indicates that they have enjoyed the learning environment which allowed them to stretch their intellectual potential, while equipping them for self-directed learning. In terms of examination results, their performance has been good. Based on the 2007 A-Level results of the first batch of IP students from the IP JCs, namely Raffles Junior College, Hwa Chong Institution and National Junior College, the IP students performed at a similar level as last year’s cohort in the same JCs. [For information: 98.2% of IP students in the three JCs obtained a pass in 3H2 subjects and GP/KI, compared to 98.3% of the same JCs last year. ] Given the change in the A-level curriculum, we also looked at the performance within each JC, and IP students have also performed well when compared with their non-IP peers. In these three JCs, 98.2% of IP students obtained a pass in 3H2 subjects and General Paper/Knowledge and Inquiry, compared with 96.8% of the non-IP students.

As with previous cohorts from these schools before IP was introduced, there are a handful of students who did not meet the minimum criteria to qualify for admission to our three publicly-funded universities. These students have chosen to repeat their ‘A’ levels, or apply to overseas educational institutions using their ‘A’ level and school-based results.

Our preliminary assessment from initial results is that the IP programmes have been positive, and met their objectives of providing a more holistic education for our students. MOE will continue to monitor the progress.

asked the Minister for Law whether the en bloc rules will be reviewed further, in particular, (i) to clarify and demarcate the roles of the management committee versus the sales committee; and (ii) to limit the use of proxy votes at annual and emergency meetings.

MinLaw has been monitoring how the rules in the Land Titles (Strata) Act amended last October had been working in practice. As of now, we think that it is too early to decide whether there is a need for some of the rules to be further fine-tuned.

I will now deal with the two questions that Ms Ng has highlighted. As regards to her first question, the role of the council of a management corporation and that of a collective sale committee is described in the legislation. The Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act provides that the role of a management corporation is, amongst other things, to control, manage, maintain and administer the common property of the development to ensure that they are in good and proper condition. Members of the management corporation council are responsible and accountable for carrying out the duties of the corporation for the benefit of all the owners. The role of the management corporation council does not extend to exploring and facilitating a collective sale of the development, which is under the purview of a collective sale committee duly elected at a general meeting. The role of a collective sale committee, as described in the Land Titles (Strata) Act, is principally to act on behalf of the owners on matters relating to a collective sale of that development.

As regards to Ms Ng’s second question on the use of proxy votes, just as a shareholder who cannot attend a company’s general meeting can cast his vote on the resolutions through a proxy, it is necessary to allow an owner to vote through a proxy at a general meeting of the corporation. Disallowing or limiting the use of proxy votes will mean that owners who are unable to attend a meeting will not be able to exercise their right to vote. We see no compelling reasons to deprive owners of this right.

asked the Senior Minister (a) whether the Ministry is able to provide the number of cars which have been repossessed by finance companies in the last three years; and (b) whether there are plans to curb excessive lending by finance companies/institutions for the purchase of cars.

The number of cars which have been repossessed by finance companies(1) regulated by the MAS has declined in the last three years, from about 1,100 in 2005 to 290 in 2007.

Banks and finance companies consider the credit worthiness and debt servicing ability of the borrowers and the value of the collateral before approving each loan application. Financial institutions are also subject to their own management and board oversight. As part of ongoing supervision, MAS requires that banks and finance companies put in place appropriate risk management practices that are commensurate with the risk profile of the activities undertaken.

Non-performing car loans granted by financial institutions regulated by MAS have been declining since 2003 and there is currently no indication that borrowers are taking on unsustainably large loans. Even though the current indicators are not worrying, MAS will continue to emphasise to banks and finance companies the need to uphold prudent lending

Note: MAS only has information on the three finance companies regulated by us, namely, Hong Leong Finance Limited, Sing Investments and Finance Limited, and Singapura Finance Limited. MAS does not have such information on other credit companies.

standards that take into account the credit worthiness of the borrower, the borrower's debt servicing ability and the value of the collateral.

asked the Minister for National Development (a) if he will provide an update on (i) the use of sustainable alternative materials in the construction industry and (ii) the cost of construction materials in view of increasing inflation rates and rising oil prices; and (b) how will the high material and labour cost impact on (i) HDB’s upcoming building programmes and the prices of flats; and (ii) other Government development projects.

Mdm Phua has raised several issues in her question. Let me first deal with the issues relating to construction cost before I update her on the use of sustainable construction materials in the industry. Singapore, like other fast growing countries in the world, is facing rising construction costs. BCA’s Building Tender Price Index(2), which tracks mainly manpower and equipment costs, rose by 19% in 2007, and by another 4% in the first quarter of 2008. In terms of overall construction cost, feedback from leading Quantity Surveyor firms indicates that the increase was about 20% to 30% in 2007, and about 3%-5% in the first quarter of 2008.

The sharp increase in construction cost is driven mainly by the high demand for construction resources and materials worldwide, and exacerbated by the surge in fuel prices. For example, the price of steel bars has risen by 85% since June last year. Concrete now costs about 18% more, year-on-year.

The Government has implemented several measures to ease the tight resource supply situation. MOM has relaxed the construction sector dependency ratio from 1:5 to 1:7 and raised the S-pass quota from 15% to 25%. Experienced foreign workers are also exempted from the Man-Year-Entitlement requirement. BCA is also working closely with the industry to expand its contracting capacity, including bringing in contracting resources from overseas. For a start, BCA has organised two joint-industry trips to China.

To help moderate construction demand, the Government had earlier deferred $3 billion worth of public sector construction projects to after 2009. This month, public agencies have identified another $1.7 billion worth of projects for deferment. This will bring the total value of projects that the Government is deferring to $4.7 billion. However, projects that are essential to meet Singapore’s economic and social needs, such as key infrastructural development, will proceed as planned. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with the key industry stakeholders such as developers, builders and quantity surveyors to mitigate the cost increase as much as possible.

Mdm Phua asked about the impact of rising construction costs on HDB’s building programme and the prices of flats. As new HDB flats prices are not based on cost, they will not be directly affected by the construction cost increases. New flats will continue to be priced at a discount to their equivalent market prices, so that buyers enjoy a generous

For example, comparing two BTO projects next to each other in Sengkang, the project launched in November 2007 was on average about 14% higher than the one launched a year earlier in November 2006.

Nevertheless, the construction cost increase poses a strain on HDB’s budget for new building projects. HDB has already implemented various measures to mitigate the extent of cost increases as far as possible. For example, HDB is stepping up overseas promotional efforts to attract more foreign contractors to participate in HDB tenders. HDB also purchases cement and sand in bulk to cushion HDB contractors against price increases of these raw materials.

Mdm Phua also asked about the use of sustainable materials in construction. “Sustainable construction” is about the efficient use of materials. It is an important thrust to support the larger goal of sustainable development, and also a means to help manage overall construction cost. “Sustainable construction” requires the adoption of building designs and construction methods that optimise material usage, and enable the use of recycled materials, as well as materials that have sustainable supplies.

This concept is relatively new in Singapore, but we have made progress. For example, the use of dry partition wall systems, which can help builders save on materials compared to conventional concrete or internal brick walls, is becoming more popular. HDB has also recently adopted such systems for the conversion of some rental flats.

Sustainable construction methods also include prefab construction using structural steel and pre-cast concrete. While steel prices have risen considerably, there are savings on productivity, manpower, materials and construction time which could offset the higher upfront costs. Prefab construction can potentially offer a better construction solution for developers and builders, and industry stakeholders should weigh the pros and cons to decide if it is a viable option for certain types of projects such as commercial buildings.

BCA is also advocating more efficient concrete design to reduce concrete usage, and promoting the use of recycled materials in construction. To facilitate the use of recycled materials, a new Singapore Standard was launched to allow the safe and appropriate use of manufactured and recycled aggregates in place of natural aggregates in concrete production. In addition, BCA is working with demolition contractors to encourage the sorting of demolition waste and looking into the accreditation of recyclers to raise the standard of the industry.

BCA’s TPI tracks mainly manpower and equipment cost, and excludes piling, M&E costs, etc.

subsidy. As I had mentioned earlier, overall construction costs had gone up by 20% to 30% in 2007. In comparison, new flat prices had increased by a slower pace, in tandem with the prevailing market trends.

asked the Minister for National Development in view of the increasing number of foreign workers entering Singapore in recent years (a) whether he can provide an update on the supply of dormitories for foreign workers; and (b) if these facilities are able to cater to the needs of these workers.

Since February 2007, BCA and JTC have released 11 new dormitory sites, providing some 65,000 additional bed spaces. These will be completed progressively by 2010. Among these dormitory sites are vacant Government buildings that will be converted into transitional dormitories to meet the immediate demand for dormitory facilities in the next one to two years, while more permanent dormitories are being developed. For the new permanent workers' dormitories, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) will require tenderers to provide a range of amenities within the dormitory sites. Apart from adequate living space, the dormitories may also contain various facilities such as mini-marts, barber shop, remittance services, TV room and sports facilities. This will help to make the dormitories more attractive and self-contained, insofar as daily living and recreational needs are concerned.

Given that Singapore is becoming more built up, it will be an increasing challenge to find suitable sites for foreign workers. Residents may find more foreign workers living in their midst, or dormitory sites located near to their premises. We hope that Singaporeans will be more understanding and accommodating in this aspect. Foreign workers are here to contribute to our economic growth. We should accept their presence in our midst.

Employers and dormitory operators must also play a part in educating the foreign workers on our social norms and way of life in Singapore, and ensuring that the workers are properly housed.

asked the Minister for Transport when his Ministry intends to make wearing of seat belts/lap belts in small vehicles other than cars, compulsory for all passengers.

Since 1st January 1973, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has made it a requirement for small vehicles such as cars, taxis and light commercial vehicles, which include small lorries, vans and twin-cabin goods vehicles, to have seat belts for the driver’s and front passengers’ seats before they can be registered. LTA has also made it a requirement since 1st January 1993, for cars, taxis and twin-cabin goods vehicles to have seat belts for rear passengers’ seats before they can be registered.

As announced by the Minister for Transport on 17th May 2008, LTA will mandate that all new small buses must be installed with seat belts. LTA is currently working with the relevant stakeholders in the industry and will announce the details soon. As for existing buses, LTA is currently working with safety experts and industry stakeholders to study how best to implement this.

The law today stipulates that, in general, when a seat belt is available, the passenger, be it in the car, taxi or commercial vehicle, has to put it on. LTA will work closely with the Traffic Police on ensuring that passengers put on the seat belts if there is one. Seat belts

are there to enhance the safety of the driver and passengers. Hence I would like to urge everyone to take personal responsibility to look after their own safety, to put it on if there is one.

asked the Minister for Defence (a) what is the Ministry’s policy towards National Service enlistees studying in a private university and seeking deferment to the next NS intake in order to sit for end-term or year-end university examinations; and (b) whether he will consider amending the Enlistment Act to allow some flexibility and clarity in its enlistment policy so that students who are genuinely scheduled to sit for examinations may seek deferment to a later intake.

Let me first explain the basis of our deferment policy.

Under the Enlistment Act, NS-liable males can be called up for NS as soon as they turn 18 years of age. There is a reason for this enlistment age. The SAF must be able to maintain a credible defence force for our security and survival. Given our small population, national servicemen form the backbone of the SAF. We train them to become soldiers and leaders in their two years of full-time NS and they continue to play these critical roles during their operationally ready service. For many, this means they are required to serve up to at least age 30. By enlisting them at around 18 years of age, we optimise the ability of the SAF to fulfil its missions with an energetic and able-bodied defence force.

Despite the legislated enlistment age, MINDEF exercises flexibility by granting deferment from full-time NS for pre-enlistees pursuing their studies under certain circumstances. In determining our policy, MINDEF applies the key principles of universality and equity to ensure that everyone is given the opportunity to attain ‘A’ levels, international baccalaureate, or polytechnic diploma or equivalent qualifications before enlistment.

MINDEF therefore grants deferment for pre-enlistees to gain their basic educational qualifications of up to 'A' levels, polytechnic diploma, international baccalaureate or equivalent qualifications. This is reasonable as most of our NS-liable males would either have completed or are completing their basic educational qualifications when they turn 18 years of age. NS-liable males are therefore enlisted at the earliest opportunity after turning 18 or when they have finished such courses, whichever is later. As university degrees are considered higher educational qualifications, deferments for university studies will not be allowed. This will strike an appropriate balance as our NS liable males will be given the opportunity to complete the basic qualification at ‘A’ levels, polytechnic diploma or equivalent, and be enlisted for military training while they are young and fit.

Educational opportunities in Singapore have increased over the past years. There has been a proliferation of private institutions and courses offered. Some of these private institutions offer to admit students directly into their undergraduate programmes upon the completion of their ‘O’ levels without them having to first attain ‘A’ levels or diploma

Sir, MINDEF does not allow deferment for university studies, regardless of whether the deferment is for part of or the entire duration of the undergraduate course. Allowing such students deferment would be unfair to the vast majority of their peers studying in Junior Colleges, Polytechnics and other institutions, who do not have the same opportunity to be deferred for their university studies. This would also undermine our key NS principles of universality and equity. The NS system will not work if we allow individuals to choose when they would like to be enlisted. Hence, NS-liable males who commence their university studies before their enlistment would be enlisted at the first opportunity after age 18. They will have to disrupt their university studies as they will not be granted deferment.

In line with the above, MINDEF has stopped granting deferment for university studies since the end of 2005. This change to our deferment policy was announced during the Committee of Supply in 2006. Our deferment policy can be found on the NS Portal on the internet and in the information package that is sent to all NS-liable males when they turn 16½ years of age. MINDEF has also informed major private institutions of our deferment policies and has more recently requested them to remind their potential students at the point of application that deferment will not be granted for university studies. For the minority who complete their basic educational qualifications before age 18, they can apply for early enlistment if they are above age 16½ under the Voluntary Early Enlistment Scheme. This will enable them to enlist slightly earlier and complete their full-time NS before proceeding for university studies.

qualifications. Some NS-liable males have enrolled for such undergraduate programmes upon the completion of their 'O' levels before they turned age 18. They subsequently asked to be deferred to complete their university studies or their semester examinations before enlisting. Mr Yeo has asked whether MINDEF can exercise some flexibility by allowing such students in private institutions to defer till their end-of-semester examinations.

asked the Minister for Defence what is the outcome of his Ministry's investigations into the crash-landing of the Super-Puma AS 332 helicopter on 21st May 2008 at Sembawang Air Base and what are the reasons for the crash.

MINDEF has completed the investigations into the crash-landing of the Super-Puma AS 332 helicopter at Sembawang Airbase.

The crash-landing was due to an error made during take-off by the pilot in control of the aircraft, who was a junior pilot on a training flight. He was undergoing continuation training to improve his proficiency, something that all pilots do. As the aircraft lifted off the ground, it experienced a left yaw. A left yaw means that the nose of the helicopter was swinging to the left. The pilot immediately tried to correct the yaw, but assessed that the aircraft was not responding as quickly as he wanted it to. As his attention was overly-focused on correcting the yaw, he did not simultaneously increase the power of the aircraft, as was required. As a result, the helicopter lost height, hit the ground and rolled

Flying an aircraft is a complex task requiring the pilot to carry out multiple actions at the same time. In this particular instance, the pilot over-focused on one action which rapidly resulted in the crash.

The RSAF immediately ceased all flying on this aircraft type. After ascertaining that the cause was pilot error, and ruling out mechanical failure, flying was allowed to resume. Before doing so, the RSAF took immediate steps to review its pilot training and flight operations. These were found to be adequate for equipping our pilots with the skills to operate aircraft safely and competently.

The pilot concerned was put on a revalidation package that included simulator training and check-flights by instructor pilots. He has since resumed flight training. The Squadron also put other junior pilots on an enhancement programme, which included increased supervision and simulator training, to ensure flying competency is maintained at a high level.

over in a matter of seconds. Under such circumstances, the senior pilot supervising him was not able to take over control of the aircraft.

asked the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the high oil prices, (a) whether his Ministry has received any reports of hoarding of petroleum in Singapore; (b) whether a special licence is needed for storage of any petroleum product; (c) what is the maximum quantity of petrol a person is allowed to store for his own personal consumption; and (d) what is the penalty for the illegal hoarding of petroleum products.

My Ministry has not received any reports of the hoarding of petroleum or petroleum products in Singapore.

Petroleum is a hazardous material and needs to be handled with care. Currently, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) regulates the storage of petroleum for fire safety reasons. Any person or organisation that wishes to store petroleum or flammable materials in quantities exceeding that specified in the Fire Safety (Petroleum & Flammable Materials – Exemption) Order 2005 is required to obtain a storage licence from SCDF.

For personal storage of petrol, a storage licence from SCDF is required for 20 litres or more of petrol. This applies for storage in residential and commercial buildings, and even in vehicle trunks(3).

Without a storage licence, any person found storing petroleum beyond the exemption quantity is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding $10,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both.

The exemption quantity is regulated by the Flash Point (that is the lowest temperature at which ignition occurs) of the product.

Class I

Below 23°C

Petrol

20 litres

400 litres

Class II

Between 23°C and 60°C

Kerosene

200 litres

1000 litres

Class III

Between 61°C and 93°C

Diesel

200 litres

1500 litres

asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts what measures will be taken to update laws restricting the airing of political views on the Internet in view of the recent statements by the Ministry that a lighter-touch approach to Internet regulation is being considered.

MICA recognises that technology has evolved rapidly since the light-touch approach was introduced in 1996 to regulate the Internet. This light-touch approach has served us well. It has helped to foster the growth of the Internet and allowed us to tap its vast potential while enabling us to protect our society from its undesirable impact.

Under this light-touch approach, anyone can set up a website, including political websites where views, including political ones, are articulated freely. Many young Singaporeans, in particular, own blogs or participate in some form of activities on various new media platforms, be it Facebook, YouTube or Wikipedia. There is much public discourse and buzz in cyberspace.

We are currently reviewing our Internet regulation. As the review is not concluded, I am unable at this point to say what the measures that will be adopted for a lighter-touch regulation are. We are also seeking the views of the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (AIMS) that was set up last year to study the new media and its impact on society.

asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts whether his Ministry is considering the issuance of press passes to online news sites and whether such a move will improve the quality of reporting in the new media.

Press passes are issued to bona fide journalists and photographers from both print and online news organisations that are based in Singapore. They are used for site coverage of Government as well as state functions and events. News organisations that report Government news and events regularly will apply for passes. MICA issues passes to news organisations that operate professionally to ensure accountability, and online news organisations such as AsiaOne and omy.sg have applied successfully for press passes.

Currently, about 1,500 press passes are issued to about 80 media organisations operating in Singapore. More than 90% of these organisations also have an online presence.

A press pass facilitates news gathering but it does not guarantee the quality of reporting in any media. New media players, who are serious in wanting to appeal to readers in the long run, must deliver fast, credible and accurate information with sharp and intelligent analyses. The tested formula to inform, educate and entertain readers has relevance for today's new media as much as with the traditional media.

asked the Minister for Education whether there are plans to increase the number of places in the annual intake of students at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS) from the current 250 places per cohort.

MOE and MOH are now studying our medium and long-term healthcare needs carefully and how we can meet the projected demand for medical manpower.

Over the years, we have improved our doctor-to-population ratio to the present ratio of 1:660. To keep pace with needs from an ageing population, MOE in consultation with MOH has decided that the annual medical intake of the National University’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine will increase from 250 to 260 for Academic Year (AY) 2008. There are plans to gradually increase this further to 300 in AY2011.

asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) whether the Ministry is satisfied with the findings of the Safety Inquiry Panel on the dragon boat tragedy that took place in Cambodia in November 2007 and what lessons were learnt from the tragedy; and (b) what measures will the Ministry take to prevent further drownings in water sports.

I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the families who have lost loved ones in this tragic incident in Cambodia on 23rd November 2007. The Singapore Sports Council (SSC), at the request of the Singapore Dragon Boat Association, commissioned a safety inquiry on the incident. The objectives of the inquiry were, first, to establish the sequence of events and contributing factors that led to the dragon boat incident; and, second, to recommend preventive measures to reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future. The inquiry was led by Mr Bernard Tan and included experts from the sports, safety and legal fields.

The Panel has done a thorough job in assessing the factors that led to the accident. We agree with the inquiry’s assessment that a combination of factors led to this most unfortunate incident. The inquiry panel has also issued sound recommendations to enhance safety in dragon boating. This included compliance with the international federation’s guidelines on the organisation, conduct and safety of such races, and putting in place a proper selection and training system.

We agree with the panel’s recommendations. Since the release of the Safety Inquiry’s report, SSC has been working with the Singapore Dragon Boat Association to implement the recommendations, which would be progressively extended to cover other water sports under National Sports Associations (NSA). SSC is also developing a safety framework for event organisers and NSAs. This framework comprises components such as the safety policy, rules and regulations, risk assessment and checklists. A guidebook is also being developed to assist event organisers be mindful of the safety do’s and don’ts in organising events, programmes and competitions.

It is the responsibility of the NSAs, sports officials, coaches and athletes to be familiar with safety and risk management standards set down by the international sports federations, and to implement these standards accordingly during sports activities and competitions. SSC has since conducted one round of risk management with the NSAs and will follow up with future sessions. There is always an element of risk in sports and accidents can and do happen. Sensible precautions and a sense of responsibility, both personal and collective, need to be ingrained into everyone involved with sports.

Every life lost is one too many. We must foster a culture where all Singaporeans think safe, play safe, and stay safe, so as to ensure that similar tragedies will not happen again in the future.

asked the Minister for National Development whether he will consider (i) increasing the penalties for people who abuse the HDB subsidised rental scheme and sublet these rental flats to their own tenants; and (ii) jail terms for offenders who have been making profits from subletting their rental flats for long periods of time.

HDB rental flats are heavily subsidised and meant as a last resort for needy families without other housing option. Illegal subletting of HDB rental flats is an abuse of housing subsidies meant for the poor. One rental flat that is illegally sublet means one less unit to house a needy family.

My Ministry takes a serious view on illegal subletting. HDB has stepped up its enforcement since 2007. Where there is evidence of abuse, it will not hesitate to recover the rental flat and re-allocate the unit to a family in need. Tenants who illegally sublet will be barred from buying or renting another flat from HDB for five years. The tenant’s spouse will also be debarred for five years, while all other authorised occupiers will be debarred for 2.5 years.

HDB will monitor the situation closely. If need be, we will impose stricter penalties to further clamp down on illegal subletting.

asked the Minister for Transport, in light of the recent rise in robbery cases on taxi drivers, what measures are taken by his Ministry to enhance the safety of taxi drivers.

The safety of taxi drivers is a key concern of the taxi companies and taxi drivers’ associations. To enhance the safety of taxi drivers, taxi companies have installed security systems in their taxis. One such system has distress alarms that are linked to their company’s vehicle location system which uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to track the location of their taxis. When a taxi driver triggers the distress alarm, his location can be immediately established and the Police will be notified to assist.

Hardware installations are only part of the answer. Very often, simple preventive measures like educating taxi drivers on the do's and don’ts and the appropriate responses to take when faced with potential threats, which the taxi companies have also undertaken, can be more effective. For example, taxi drivers have been advised not to keep valuables in their taxis and to keep their cash out of sight. When confronted with armed robbers, they are advised not to put up resistance in order to minimise the risk of bodily injury.

The taxi companies and their drivers have great interest in the issue of drivers’ safety, and they have been conscientious in addressing such concerns. The Land Transport Authority will work closely with the taxi companies, taxi drivers' associations and the Police to facilitate their efforts in enhancing taxi drivers’ safety and collectively deterring crime against taxi drivers.

asked the Minister for Transport (a) if he will explain the process of how the Land Transport Authority (LTA) handles complaints from members of the public about taxi drivers; (b) how many taxi drivers were given demerit points/penalised due to customer complaints over the past three years; and (c) what is the action taken by LTA when the investigations revealed that the customer is unreasonable, rude or abusive.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has various channels, such as the customer service hotline, SMS and the online feedback form for members of the public to provide feedback on errant taxi drivers.

To facilitate the investigation, members of the public will need to provide the date, time and place of incident, the taxi registration number and a brief description of the

Over the past three years from 2005 to 2007, 486 taxi drivers were issued composition fines arising from complaints by members of the public. Of these, 400 were also given demerit points.

In situations where taxi drivers encounter difficult passengers, they have been advised to handle the situation calmly and avoid entering into arguments with these passengers. If taxi drivers require assistance, they can alert their taxi companies’ call centres or contact the Police. If LTA’s investigation reveals that the fault does not lie with the taxi driver, LTA will not take any action against the taxi driver.

The taxi industry is a service industry. Both LTA and the taxi companies place strong emphasis on taxi drivers providing quality service to their passengers. LTA will continue to work closely with the taxi companies and the taxi drivers’ associations collectively to improve the service levels of taxi drivers. However, passengers also have a part to play by treating taxi drivers fairly. It is only with mutual respect that taxi drivers can provide a service that their passengers are happy with.

incident. LTA will then interview the taxi driver, the complainant and witnesses, if any. Only when LTA is clearly satisfied that there has been an infringement of the rules and regulations will LTA proceed to penalise the taxi driver. The taxi driver can appeal to LTA, and, if the driver’s licence is suspended, appeal to the Minister for Transport as well.

asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the introduction of mandatory caning of at least 3 strokes for foreigners who overstay 90 days or more, which was introduced in 1989, has been a sufficient deterrent to curb the immigration offender problem; and (b) how does the annual number of overstayers in recent years compare with the annual number of overstayers before the introduction of mandatory caning.

Mandatory caning for illegal immigrants and foreigners who overstay more than 90 days was introduced in March 1989. In August that year, then Minister for Home Affairs informed the House that more than 10,000 immigration offenders surrendered themselves and were repatriated even before the law came into operation. Two more amnesties were given and an additional 2,000 immigration offenders surrendered themselves. After the law was introduced, the number of overstayers fell sharply from 4,120 in 1988 (or 0.1% of the 4.3 million total visitor arrivals) to about 2,330 in 1990 (or 0.04% of the 5.3 million total visitor arrivals). Last year, the figure was 4,800, or 0.05% of the record number of 10.3 million visitors to Singapore. This low proportion demonstrates the deterrent effect of the provision.

As stated in my reply to Parliament on 26th May, mandatory caning remains an important and necessary deterrent against immigration offenders. However, it is not the only measure employed to tackle the problem. For example, through publicity efforts, ICA educates employers and landlords on the due diligence checks they must perform before employing or renting out their flats or rooms to foreigners. MOM has stepped up its outreach efforts to educate employers and workers on our employment and immigration regulations, including issuing a guidebook in various languages which highlights the

Singapore remains an attractive destination for potential immigration offenders. MHA has taken and will continue to take a multi-pronged approach of having tough but effective laws, raising public awareness and maintaining a high level of enforcement.

penalty of mandatory caning for overstaying. Enforcement efforts against immigration offenders by ICA and Police have also been stepped-up over the years.

asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) if he will provide a breakdown of the cases involving theft of petrol from motorcycles and other motor vehicles reported to the police in the last 12 months; (b) what are the locations where these thefts occurred; (c) what progress has the police made so far in their investigations; and (d) why is there no police advisory to warn the public to take preventive measures against such thefts.

There were a total of 27 cases of petrol theft reported in 2007, of which 25 cases were from motorcycles and two cases were from cars. Between January to June this year, there were 41 such cases reported, of which 37 cases were from motorcycles and four cases were from cars. The cases occurred mainly in Woodlands, Jurong West and Bukit Panjang estates, in both open and covered car parks. Since 2007, Police have solved eight cases of petrol theft and are continuing to investigate the other cases.

Clearly, motorcycles are more prone to petrol theft as their petrol caps are exposed and if unsecured, can be removed easily. Every vehicle owner should take responsibility to ensure that their vehicles are properly secured. Petrol tanks can be protected by using fuel-locking caps, which are readily available in the market. This is a simple precaution which acts as an additional deterrent. Motorcycle owners can also cover motorcycles with canvas sheets secured by locks, which make it difficult for thieves to reach the fuel caps and siphon the petrol out.

The Member asked why the Police have not issued an advisory to warn the public to take preventive measures against petrol thefts. The Police has alerted residents and vehicle owners at the affected areas through the local grassroots about such thefts and worked with relevant agencies and grassroots organisations through the Neighbourhood Watch Zone (NWZ) and the Community Safety and Security Programme (CSSP) in preventing and detecting such crimes. For example, residents in a neighbourhood may form a watch group to look out for suspicious characters at car parks. I am told that in Choa Chu Kang, there is an initiative where the residents and grassroots members perform regular patrols at car parks to deter and detect crimes at car parks. Since its implementation in April 2008, such crimes have reduced significantly.

In addition, the Police have been collaborating with the Town Councils since June 2006 to equip the Town Councils with mobile CCTV cameras. Some of these mobile CCTV systems, which are owned by the Town Councils, have been deployed at public car parks to prevent thefts from vehicles.

Police advisories on petrol theft have been done at the local level and not as an island-wide crime advisory. This is because the thefts have occurred primarily in certain clusters.

Opportunistic crimes like petrol thefts can be prevented if only vehicle owners take anti-theft measures. The Police will do their part. In fact, all property owners have to be vigilant and should be responsible for taking some basic steps to safeguard their property.

The number of cases which have occurred so far is very small, considering we have about 145,000 motorcycles and scooters and about 725,000 cars and other vehicles currently registered in Singapore.

asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether his Ministry will consider (i) helping the needy NETS card users by requiring the operators of cashless cards not to raise their charges from the current $2 refundable deposit to a $5 non-refundable fee; (ii) getting LTA to lower the $5 non-refundable charge for the ez-link card; and (iii) refunding the deposit upon expiry of these cards.

We recognise that motorists face limited choice in the payment services sector today because NETS is the sole provider of cards for making ERP payments. This is undesirable from the competition perspective. To address this, LTA is working towards adopting an open standard that will allow motorists to use cards issued by more than one card issuer. This will improve the competitiveness of the ERP payment market.

On the non-refundable deposit for the ez-link card, the Ministry of Transport has previously explained that this is based on the cost of producing the card. To lower the deposit or make it refundable will mean that every cardholder will be subsidised. This is not desirable. Instead, assistance should be provided in a more targeted way to the needy. In this regard, the Government set up a three-year $10 million Public Transport Fund last year to help lower-income commuters cope with public transportation costs. This Fund, together with additional funding from the public transport operators, has provided public transport vouchers to these commuters who are in need.

LTA is also upgrading the transit ticketing system to allow other card issuers to enter the market. This may give commuters more choice beyond the ez-link card, and potentially lower costs.

asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) if he will provide an update on the plan to attract non-profit and non-Government organisations (NPOs/NGOs) to Singapore; (b) what are the avenues of assistance given by SPRING, IE Singapore and EDB to foreign and local NPOs and NGOs; and (c) how can existing NPOs and NGOs work with the Ministry to develop this emerging sector.

Singapore’s strong business and financial infrastructure, neutral location and pool of talent make it an attractive and competitive location for International Organisations (IOs) that are non-profit and non-governmental in nature. In 2007, there were 60 IOs in Singapore. This included major players from a variety of fields, such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

To further strengthen our efforts in attracting IOs, an International Organisations Programme Office (IOPO) was established last year. IOPO is led by EDB, with MAS, MFA, STB and several other agencies as partners. The type of IOs covered by the IOPO include inter-governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), foundations and other philanthropic organisations, industry associations, think-tanks, social enterprises and organisations dealing with corporate social responsibility.

The IOPO provides one-stop information and assistance to IOs. It also conducts marketing and outreach to promote Singapore as a premier base for IOs, and supports Singapore-based IOs to expand their regional or international operations.

There is a range of incentives available to IOs. The changes announced in Budget 2007 on fund-raising and tax regulations for philanthropic organisations have helped to attract IOs. For example, all registered charities now enjoy automatic income tax exemption. For the other non-profit IOs without charity status, but who have regional or international charters that can bring economic value to Singapore, they can now apply to the IOPO for an income tax exemption for an initial period of not more than 10 years. These and other changes have been well-received. EDB also has start-up grants for qualifying IOs to build capability and undertake significant regional activities based out of Singapore. Such IOs may also qualify for support under STB’s Business Events in Singapore scheme. We welcome IOs and local industry associations to work with Government agencies to strengthen their organisations and the IO sector. For example, IE Singapore helps Singapore-based companies identify regional opportunities in partnership with IOs that provide assistance to developing countries, and helps IOs keep abreast of the capabilities, expertise and track record of Singapore-based companies. SPRING provides support to industry associations to develop roadmaps and development projects for our industry through its Local Enterprise and Association Development Programme (LEAD).

To date, the feedback and response from IOs is promising. The target is to have 150 IOs in Singapore by 2015. With the efforts of both the Government agencies and the IOs, we are on track to seeing the emergence of a vibrant IO sector.

asked the Minister for Health what measures are in place to prevent the estimated 8% of Singapore’s population who have diabetes from developing other medical complications such as stroke, kidney failure, blindness and foot diseases.

There is still no cure for diabetes. But doctors now know how best to control the disease to prevent or reduce the risk of developing further complications, such as kidney failure, gangrene, blindness or even death.

The control measures are effective, only if patients are cooperative and comply with their doctors’ advice. In almost all cases, they would need to change their lifestyle, watch their weight, exercise more, stop smoking, take medications and attend regular medical screening. As healthcare providers, we can only provide advice and offer prescriptions; the patients must take personal responsibility and act on the advice.

Many are still unaware that they have diabetes as it is a silent disease in its early stage. From next week, all Singaporeans above the age of 40 will be reminded by the Health Promotion Board to go for regular screening by their family GPs.

For those with abnormal results, the GPs will advise them to follow up in accordance with a structured treatment protocol. Under the protocol, the diabetic patients are monitored regularly for good blood sugar control and undergo annual eye and foot checks as well as urine tests for early kidney disease. This is supported by patient education efforts through nurse health educators. Patients can use their Medisave Accounts to help pay for the treatment.

Regular screening and proper disease management programme, with full compliance by patients are the key measures to help diabetic patients avoid, delay or reduce the onset of complications.

asked the Minister for Health in view of the frequent outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease among young children (a) whether any studies have been done to understand the pattern of these outbreaks; (b) whether there are measures that can be introduced to prevent the outbreaks; (c) why are the outbreaks becoming more frequent; (d) what are the chances of an outbreak arising from public playgrounds where the environment is not regulated; and (e) can an outbreak be caused by contamination of books in public libraries.

We know quite a lot about the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). It is a common illness that affects infants and children worldwide. Many different viruses cause HFMD. Coxsackie A16 is the most common but Enterovirus 71 (or EV71) can also cause HFMD. I mention EV71 because its infection has been associated with severe complications, including death, in young children. Infection by one virus does not confer immunity to other viruses causing HFMD. That is why a person who has recovered from HFMD may still come down with the disease again.

In temperate countries such as Japan and Australia, HFMD outbreaks occur most often in the warmer months. In Singapore, HFMD occurs throughout the year but it generally peaks during school terms and decline during the school holidays. This suggests that

The disease is spread by direct contact with nasal discharge, saliva, faeces and fluid from the rash of an infected person, or with droplets from coughing or sneezing. A person who touches a contaminated surface will be exposed if he does not wash his hands properly before eating his food or touching his mouth.

The virus can survive in the environment for a few days. Since children can be infectious even without symptoms, the virus can potentially be found in any public place, including playgrounds and public libraries. But as noted earlier, the main sources of transmissions are in childcare centres, nurseries, kindergartens and schools.

HFMD is endemic in Singapore and it cannot be eliminated as there is as yet no vaccine. However, we can minimise its spread through maintaining continuous high standards of personal and environmental hygiene. We all can play a part to maintain good personal hygiene such as washing our hands after going to the toilets and washing our hands before we eat. Parents should set good personal examples and get their children to adopt these simple hygiene habits. Together, we can reduce the spread of HFMD.

nurseries, childcare centres, kindergartens and primary schools are major sources of transmissions. Locally, EV71 has also been observed to be the predominant circulating virus every two to three years. There is no evidence to suggest that HFMD outbreaks are becoming more frequent.

asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs what was the rationale for charging Mr Chan Mun Chiong under section 377A of the Penal Code in view of the Prime Minister’s statement to Parliament last year that the provision is not proactively enforced.

Mr Chan Mun Chiong was convicted by a District Court under the Infectious Diseases Act (IDA) for not disclosing that he was HIV positive before engaging in sexual intercourse. He was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. A charge for committing an act of gross indecency under section 377A of the Penal Code by having oral sex with a 16-year old male in a public toilet of a shopping complex was not proceeded with but taken into consideration for purposes of sentencing.

As to why he was charged under section 377A, our basic approach remains, as stated by the Prime Minister during the debate on the Penal Code amendments in October last year, which is that the Police does not take active enforcement measures to seek out homosexual activities between consenting adults that take place in a private place with a view to prosecution. Mr Chan Mun Chiong’s case, however, is not such a case. It is not the result of active enforcement against him in a private place.

Mr Chan was investigated by the Police after a report was lodged by a 16-year old male who had oral sex with him. Thereafter, Police referred the outcome of its investigation to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The Public Prosecutor decided to charge the accused under section 377A after taking into account all the facts and circumstances of the case, including the complainant’s age and the fact that the offence had taken place in a public toilet.

In short, if there is a complaint made by a person of an alleged offence under section 377A of the Penal Code, Police will act upon the complaint. Thereafter, for any report disclosing an offence, Police will place the evidence before the Public Prosecutor for a decision as to whether or not to proceed with prosecution.

asked the Minister for Transport (a) if he will explain the basis for charging a $10 administrative fee for motorists who pass through an ERP gantry without a properly-inserted cashcard or a card of insufficient monetary value; and (b) whether the administrative fee is too hefty as a proportion to the ERP charges.

Sir, the ERP system is designed to deduct ERP payment on a pay-as-you-use basis. If a motorist passes through an operating ERP gantry without a CashCard inserted in the In-vehicle Unit (IU), or with a CashCard with insufficient balance, in addition to the outstanding ERP charge, an administrative charge is also levied to recover the additional cost of processing that ERP transaction.

The additional cost of processing the transaction does not depend on the quantum of ERP charge that was not paid. Instead, it is based on the cost of processing the transaction and varies according to the mode of payment used. Hence, the administrative charge levied is different for different modes of payment, ranging from $4 to $10. For example, motorists who pay by cheque, or with cash, at Post Office counters or at LTA’s service counters, are levied a $10 administrative charge. If payments are made by electronic means through AXS machines, Self-service Automated Machines (SAMs), Onemotoring website, etc, the charge payable would be $8. Motorists who pay through their mobile service provider will only pay a $4 administrative charge.

asked the Minister for Transport what is the policy regarding the re-surfacing of road tarmac as many roads have either turned grey and/or layered with different tones of tarmac.

LTA re-surfaces roads when its regular regime of road assessment and maintenance indicate the need to do so. Specially equipped vehicles collect road data on expressways once every year, and on major roads once every three years. The data collected is analysed, and this form the basis for LTA to plan, prioritise and implement its road re-surfacing programmes. In addition, LTA carries out visual inspections of the surfaces of

For minor and residential roads, regular visual inspections are carried out every two months to assess the need for resurfacing of the roads. When the road surface is found to be in poor condition, re-surfacing would be carried out for the affected stretch. Typically, our minor roads are resurfaced every 10 to 20 years and for the residential roads every 30 to 40 years(4).

Different-coloured tones of road tarmac are typically caused by the road works of various utility service agencies, such as PowerGrid Limited, PowerGas Limited, the Public Utilities Board and Singapore Telecom. When these utility service agencies carry out road works such as pipe or cable laying, LTA requires that the affected lane be re-surfaced once the works are completed. This results in the different-coloured tones between the newly re-surfaced lane and the other lanes. Only the affected lane is re-surfaced, in order to minimise disruption to traffic.

Residential roads are less stressed than other roads.

expressways every week and of major roads every fortnight. These visual inspections are to pick up any signs of distress or defects along the roads, such as potholes, so that the necessary rectification works can be carried out. Typically, our expressways are resurfaced every three to five years and our major roads every five to 10 years.

asked the Senior Minister whether the ongoing investigations in the US into allegations that UBS’ private bank helped clients evade taxes and that UBS had defrauded its clients who had purchased auction rate securities have any implications for the investment by the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation in UBS and for Singapore’s aspiration to be a global financial centre and a private banking hub.

Singapore's success as an international financial centre is built on a track record and reputation for integrity, high standards of financial regulation and rigorous supervision and strict enforcement. MAS requires all financial institutions operating in Singapore to abide by the relevant laws and regulations in Singapore and their home jurisdiction.

The investment in UBS has nothing to do with our effort in building Singapore as an international financial centre. This investment is made by GIC and Government does not influence or intervene in GIC’s specific investment decisions. GIC makes these decisions on its own, and has explained the reasons for its investments in UBS.

asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what will be the course of action to improve Singapore's "Tier 2" placement, alongside Thailand and Cambodia, in the US State Department’s Annual Trafficking-in-Persons Report 2008; and (b) whether there are proposed targets for the next two to three years.