Hansard, 2011-01-11

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

1. Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (a) whether the Ministry will review its policy and consider pre-blocking pornographic sites on the Internet even though the blockage may not be foolproof; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider directing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide the service of blocking pornographic websites for free.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government has taken a practical light-touch approach to regulating the Internet.

Under the Media Development Authority’s (MDA) Class Licence scheme, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Singapore are required to block access to 100 websites, which include pornographic sites. This block on 100 sites is a symbolic statement of our community’s stand on harmful and undesirable content on the Internet. ISPs and Internet Content Providers are also required to remove objectionable content upon notification by the MDA.

In addition, ISPs provide optional opt-in filtering services that will filter out pornographic and other undesirable websites. I strongly encourage parents to subscribe to such filtering services to protect their children from undesirable Internet content. ISPs offer these filtering services at $3 to $5 per month and some filtering services are offered free of charge with certain subscription plans. There are also filtering software that can be downloaded for free from the Internet. The MDA is working closely with the

industry to raise greater public awareness of Internet filtering tools and services, and to make them easily available to the public.

In line with the recommendations by the recent Censorship Review Committee, the Government will require ISPs to actively market their Internet filtering services to consumers at the point-of-sale and renewal of their Internet subscriptions. This would be more beneficial than simply providing the filters for free by default, as parents can learn about and understand the benefits of such filtering services and exercise parental responsibility to protect their children.

We recognise that given the borderless nature of the Internet, it is not possible to block every undesirable website. As our hon. Member has pointed out, no blocks can be foolproof. Hence, in addition to regulatory protection and filtering services, public education is critical, especially for our children, on the proper and safe use of the Internet. The MDA has been working closely with partners from the public, people and private sectors to implement cyberwellness outreach programmes that promote the responsible and discerning use of new media. The Inter-Ministry Cyberwellness Steering Committee (ICSC) that was set up in 2009 has initiated and funded cyberwellness programmes to promote cyberwellness particularly among our youths.

This multi-pronged approach of regulation and cooperation between the Government, industry and the public has worked well in promoting the responsible use of the Internet.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to assure the hon. Member that MDA takes a serious view against those who distribute pornography and will not hesitate to take

action where possible. In Singapore, it is an offence to electronically distribute or publicly exhibit any obscene materials.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister two supplementary questions. Can the Minister let us know how prevalent are pornographic websites on the Internet? That is, after surfing the Net for three hours or after a week of Internet usage, what are the chances of such sites appearing? Secondly, how frequently has MDA, say over the last one year, been able to detect pornographic sites?

Sir, the first question is how prevalent are such sites and how easy is it for a user to stumble onto such sites. It is really difficult to give the Member a direct answer to this. Our belief is that either people are sent the links to these sites or they search the links out themselves. My belief is that accidental access is more a rare than a common occurrence.

The second point is that MDA does scan the Internet. The 100 sites that I mentioned consist not only of pornographic sites but also those inciting hatred, terrorism, and so on. There are tens of thousands of such pornographic sites and more of them are being discovered every day. Where necessary, MDA will include these sites, especially the more prominent ones, on the symbolic list of 100 sites in order to remind the public periodically that there is material on the Internet not just pornographic but other material that is not wholesome and not edifying.

Sir, I am sure if any user "googles" it, he can find a lot of these sites easily. I was just wondering if the Ministry has done any surveys with parents, for example, who wished that such controls be put in place. May I know the Ministry's position in terms of it not wanting parents to be

complacent versus filtering all sites as a mandate? Is there a gap between public expectations and the Ministry's position?

Sir, when the Censorship Review Committee (CRC) was convened last year, they did a public survey on a variety of issues, one of which was the use of Internet filters. The survey asked if respondents were aware of such filters and for those who are aware whether they subscribe to it, and if not, what are the reasons for not doing so. Our belief is that the filters can be a complementary tool to whatever it is that we are doing. The CRC survey results show that 71% of Internet users who are parents with young children aged up to 14 years are not subscribers of Internet filters. Thirty-seven percent of respondents (Internet users who are parents with children aged up to 14 years) are aware that there are filters, but decided not to subscribe to the filters. So, it is not due to a lack of awareness nor the cost of the service. Three main reasons were ascribed to this non-subscription: (i) they are already teaching their children the skills to navigate the Internet, (ii) they are already monitoring their children's Internet usage, and (iii) their children are given very limited access to the Internet. So, for this group, it is not due to awareness nor is it related to cost issues.

2. Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources in view of the rise in food prices at hawker centres (a) what are the Ministry's plans to moderate the rental rates of hawker stalls; and (b) whether the Ministry would stop the practice of allowing hawker stall lessees to sublet their stalls so as to mitigate the rising cost of cooked food at heartland hawker centres.

Mr Speaker, Sir, rental is one of several factors that affect cooked food prices. Other factors include costs of utilities, labour, raw materials and market competition.

About half of the 6,258 cooked food stalls in our hawker centres are subsidised. The subsidised rent ranges between $160 and $320 while the market rent ranges from $275 to $2,900. My Ministry currently has no plans to further moderate rental rates, as market rents are re-assessed at the point of every tenancy renewal. The rates may rise or fall, depending on the prevailing market conditions.

Currently, only stallholders paying tendered and market rents are allowed to sublet their stalls. The subletting of these stalls encourages longer operating hours for the stall and, in doing so, increases consumer choice and the vibrancy of the hawker centre as a whole. It should not increase the cost of cooked food in the hawker centres.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like some clarification from the Minister. Currently, there are three types of rentals in the cooked food centres in Singapore: (i) subsidised rental, (ii) market rental, and (iii) subletting rental that the National Environment Agency (NEA) would not know about as this last rate is agreed upon between those that had already tendered market stalls and their sublet tenants. In Kovan, for example, the market was recently upgraded. The subletting rental is $5,500 per stall. This is compared to the subsidised rental by NEA of $350. Sir, the discrepancy is very large. In such a case, the food prices will definitely be increased. Can the Minister explain why the Ministry is not monitoring the subletting rates as well as the market rental?

My second question relates to subsidised rental in the markets. As the

Minister said earlier, 50% of the hawker stalls enjoy subsidised rental. The reason for this subsidy is that they were the original tenants. Can I ask the Minister: over the next five to 10 years, the number of such subsidised stalls will be reduced, as the current hawker stallholders will be older and may give up their stalls. In view of this trend, we can expect the subsidised rental to revert to the market rental. How severe will this be? How will it affect the food prices?

Sir, on the second question, the hon. Member is right. As and when the subsidised rental owners are prepared to give up their stalls, these will then be given out to the market. At which point, really depends on when they exit the trade, whether this is within five or 10 years, as mentioned by the hon. Member, is not clear. We really do not have the numbers but the hon. Member is right. Once the stall is given up, it is either tendered out or rented out at market rent. This is not something that is new. As I mentioned in my reply, we have been doing so progressively. This is why only half of the 6,000-odd hawker centres are all subsidised. Will it have an impact on the food prices? As I mentioned in my reply, food prices are affected by many different factors. Currently, electricity prices have gone up and, obviously, the market will adjust. I do not think it is possible for us to pre-determine ahead of time. Our role is really to ensure that there is a proper mix, that our hawker centres continue to be vibrant.

On the Member’s first question as to whether or not we monitor, the answer is we do. As I mentioned in my reply, subletting is a private arrangement. It is what the market can bear. If the person who decides to rent the sublet stall at $5,500, he or she must have made his

own computations based upon what is available in the vicinity. We will not be able to intervene at this point in time. As and when the renewal for the tenancy is up, then we can basically moderate. But at the end of the day, I think it is best for us to leave to the hawker stallholders to decide on the best arrangement given the dynamics of the set of factors around the hawker centres.

One last short question.

Yes, Mr Speaker. Does the Minister not agree that the difference in rental will definitely be passed on to the consumers in the food prices? Sorry, Mr Speaker. Second question: since the Ministry monitors the rental rates, can the Minister give us an indication of the rate of increase for the last three years?

I can, again, answer the second question first. Just to give the Member some data: for the tenancy details for the second half of last year, about 230-odd stalls came up for renewal. Out of that, 51% of the stalls whose tenancies were renewed had their rentals reduced while 19% remained the same. So, by and large, rentals have not really changed for the last round of tenancy renewals for the second half of last year.

To the Member’s first question as to whether food prices will go up because of the rental – again, this is something in which you have to consider the multitude of factors affecting it. Factors affecting food prices are not only to rentals but also cost of utilities, and other things which will have an impact, for example, in terms of the type of food the particular hawker would want to sell. So, I leave it to the market to decide. And if supposing the price is too high for the patrons, they might go to another stall. So, they have to make their own calculations.

3. Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) if he would provide an update on the fight against high-rise littering; (b) how many complaints were received and how many summons were issued for such offences in the last three years; and (c) whether stronger measures are needed to further reduce high-rise littering.

4. Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) if he would provide an assessment on whether existing laws are effective in tackling high-rise litter; (b) whether the current law limits the effectiveness of enforcement by requiring enforcement officers to identify the offenders in person and if the Ministry will consider changing the law to hold the household responsible; and (c) whether the Ministry would consider using surveillance tools to make enforcement more effective as manpower is limited and cannot be committed over long periods of time.

Mr Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I would like to take Question Nos. 3 and 4 together.

Yes, please.

To combat high-rise littering effectively, NEA adopts a two-pronged approach, namely education and enforcement. Education helps to mitigate the problems by raising awareness on the dangers of high-rise littering and the need for greater social responsibility by dwellers of high-rise buildings. This is supplemented by enforcement action to punish and deter offenders.

Our laws against high-rise littering require the witnessing of the offence being committed before prosecution can take place, as enforcement action and prosecution need to be substantiated with evidence. On receiving feedback, NEA and the relevant Town Council will identify the unit from which the litter may have been thrown. If there is sufficient evidence, NEA will proceed with enforcement action. Otherwise, letters are served to residents of the suspected unit and those in the same column, advising them to refrain from committing such acts. A warning letter will follow if the acts persist. Surveillance and monitoring operations will also be conducted in the area when necessary.

Apprehending high-rise littering offenders is manpower-intensive and involves long hours of staking out to catch the offender in the act. Despite the best efforts of our enforcement officers, it is not always possible to catch the offenders as most of the offences are committed at night which make it a greater challenge to identify the offender clearly.

The number of feedback on high-rise littering is on the rise, from 2,499 in 2008 to 3,475 in 2009, and 4,449 last year. During this period, NEA took enforcement action against nine cases of high-rise littering, where the offenders could be identified. High-rise littering offenders are sent to Court where they may be imposed with a Corrective Work Order (CWO).

In addition to CWO, repeat offenders may face a fine of up to $5,000 upon conviction. In the majority of other cases, the offenders either could not be identified or the littering stopped after warning letters were issued.

High-rise littering is a challenging problem in Singapore because of our urban landscape. We will continue to study ways to tackle this challenge. For instance, NEA has experimented with the

use of surveillance devices in their stakeouts. However, the use of such technology is limited by costs and physical considerations at the site.

As part of the anti-littering campaign, our Litter-free Ambassadors will share anti high-rise littering messages with residents during their house-to-house visits. Ultimately, we need the support of the community to provide information on the high-rise litterbugs so that NEA can take action against the culprits and send a strong message that such unsafe and irresponsible acts will not be tolerated.

Sir, notwithstanding the statistics given by the Minister of State on the number of cases and so on, I think on the ground, when we visit the residents, we know that there are many cases of high-rise littering that go unreported and hence not captured in the data that the Minister of State has just revealed. My first question to the Minister of State is: should there be more and even stronger measures to deal with high-rise littering and perhaps more resources allocated to this? Secondly, the problem of high-rise littering in HDB estates cuts across a few agencies – the HDB, Town Council, even the Police, in addition to NEA – it seems that there is no clear ownership and accountability of this problem. So I would like to ask the Minister of State whether NEA should be the agency that takes ownership of this problem and that will coordinate with the other agencies so that we can deal with this problem decisively.

Firstly, I note the Member's concern about the problem of high-rise littering. Let me assure him that we are equally concerned, and we will continue to study and look at how to tackle this challenge more effectively. As regards the coordination among the different agencies: since October last

year, NEA has formalised arrangements with the various agencies, including the Town Councils and HDB to step up the engagement and education efforts to residents as well as to conduct joint operations, surveillance and enforcement actions when feedback or complaints are received regarding high-rise littering.

Sir, concerning the statistics put forward earlier, I think having just nine cases that were brought to Court is an under reflection of the situation today. If Members look at the estates today, there is a lot of litter on the ground. I think it is not a question of effort, but it is a question of the lack of proper regulation or ineffective regulation today. Hence, the person throwing the litter makes it quite ineffective for a lot of officers even though NEA deploys a lot of manpower on the ground. I would like to ask if the Ministry will continue to experiment with the surveillance tools until we get the right formula so that we actually save costs on manpower resources. It is also ineffective because most of our manpower resources are deployed during the day and no one is at home during the day most of the time. At night, they cannot see as clearly.

Mr Zaqy, your questions are getting longer now.

Thirdly, would the Ministry consider changing the regulation like the way we enforce vehicle speeding, for example, where you make the House accountable and identify the perpetrator from the home?

Just to share with Members regarding the use of surveillance tools, CCTVs, and so on. Last year, NEA carried out two preliminary trials with Certis CISCO and ATOS, using different mix of surveillance cameras. The trials revealed several constraints in the use of surveillance cameras, including the placement of cameras, lighting,

zooming capability, weather conditions, presence of physical obstruction like trees and availability of sites for the mounting of cameras. These factors actually affect the quality of the video clip and hence their admissibility as evidence for prosecution. Cost, of course, as I have mentioned earlier, is another consideration as more than one camera may be needed for every stakeout. So the use of CCTV and other surveillance cameras has been limited to trials but, nonetheless, we will continue, as suggested by the Member, to try and test out different surveillance tools with a view to using some of these to help us in our enforcement action. As regards looking at amending legislation, as I have noted, we will continue to look into ways to more effectively tackle the challenge. We will take the Member's suggestions regarding the amendment and enhancements of legislations into account in our deliberations.

Related to the littering issue is that of a dog poo issue. There has been a rise in pets being kept in HDB estates and many a time, it is not just the owners who take their dogs out but sometimes the domestic helpers will take their dogs out for a walk and to do the necessary call of nature. They do not pick up after the dogs, leaving not just unsightly poos but also giving rise to hygiene issues. I think for the Muslim population, it could also be quite offensive. So my question to the Minister of State is whether the Ministry has considered some by-laws to nab those who leave dog poo behind and whether they could consider working with MOM in training the domestic helpers in ensuring that they will pick up the necessary poo after walking the dogs.

First, I would like to comment that the train of questions show that ultimately we need all residents to play an active role in tackling this littering problem, including dog poo. We need the residents to refrain

from committing such socially irresponsible acts, to spread this message to their family members, friends, neighbours as well as to alert us if there are such litterbugs or irresponsible people around. As regards by-laws, if I am not wrong, I am quite sure the Town Councils already have by-laws with regard to littering – not picking up dog poo is also a littering issue. If the offender is caught in the act, enforcement action will be taken against him. But like I said, ultimately, we really need the community to be socially responsible. We need all residents to play an active role in tackling such issues.

5. Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) if he could provide (i) an update on the number of Singaporeans who have applied for Casino Exclusion Orders; and (ii) a profile of those who are under the Casino Exclusion Order; and (b) if the Minister is satisfied with the measures in place to alleviate problem gambling in Singapore.

Mr Speaker, Sir, there are three types of Casino Exclusion Orders, namely, Voluntary Self Exclusion, Family Exclusion and Third-Party Exclusion. As at 31st December 2010, there were 3,519 Self Exclusion Orders, 297 Family Exclusion Orders and about 27,500 Third-Party Exclusions in force. I have asked for some charts* to be circulated to hon. Members which will contain the profile of the persons placed on Casino Exclusion Orders, and in the meantime, let me highlight a few points. For Self Exclusion Orders, 78% of the applicants were male and 92% were

Chinese. 36% of them were in their 30s while 25% were in their 40s. For Family Exclusion Orders, the pattern is very much similar – 81% were male and 95% were Chinese, and 31% of the respondents were in their 40s and 22% in their 30s. Slightly more than a third of the respondents had "N" level or lower education, and another third had "O" level or ITE qualifications. Thirty-seven percent of the applications for Family Exclusion Orders were actually made by the spouses, 24% from parents, 20% from children and 19% from siblings.

Third-Party Exclusion covers persons who are on public assistance and all undischarged bankrupts, hence the high number. They are automatically barred from the casinos. As of 31st December 2010, there were about 27,500 individuals who were excluded on this basis.

The hon. Member has also asked if the Government is satisfied with the measures currently in place. As both casinos have been operating for less than a year so far, it would be premature to draw a conclusion of the impact the casinos has on the local problem gambling situation or on the adequacy of our social safeguards. But what I can say is that we will continue to enhance the safeguards in order to protect vulnerable Singaporeans, PRs and foreigners residing here, if necessary.

Both the operators of the casinos have also been reminded that they are not to target the local population.

There have been concerns raised about foreign worker patronage at the casinos. The Casino Control Act currently allows for Voluntary Self Exclusion to be made for foreigners. Thus, these foreign workers may also apply for Voluntary Self

Exclusion. The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) is working with various community and social organisations to facilitate the Voluntary Self Exclusion for foreign workers.

The NCPG is also looking at ways to enhance the convenience of applying for Casino Exclusion Orders. In fact, just a week or two ago, the NCPG announced that it has shortened the family exclusion process from six weeks to two weeks. It is currently looking into making the applications available online in order to facilitate the process further. More details will be announced in due course.

MCYS will continue to monitor these trends, and I will give Members the assurance that we will take appropriate action, if and when necessary.

*Cols. 2329-2336.

Sir, may I ask the Minister two supplementary questions on this issue. Will the Ministry consider allowing friends of low-wage foreign workers to invoke an exclusionary order, for example, our foreign domestic workers (FDWs). I think given their wage structure, most of them should not be able to afford to gamble. My second supplementary question has to do with the very positive news buzz that we get around the Intergrated Resort (IR). Can the Minister update us on the efforts taken to educate school kids and youths on the ill effects of addictive gambling?

I share the Member's concern for low-wage foreign workers, especially those who are living in our own homes, and the risks that they will be subjected to if they access the casinos. However, our current regime provides for Voluntary Self Exclusion. So I would encourage employers of foreign domestic workers to get them to sign the Voluntary Self Exclusion, and my Ministry together with the Ministry of Manpower

would facilitate their process. But at this point in time, it has to be voluntary. You cannot impose it. Although you can apply for Family Exclusion Order for your own relatives, you cannot apply for that type of order for your employee. On the other point about the positive buzz, I think she is referring to the positive publicity which the Integrated Resorts obviously would like to project in order to increase their patronage. She is quite right. We need to continue with it and, in fact, we need to step up our efforts to educate our local population and, in particular, our young in schools about the very real risks of gambling, the propensity to addiction, the avenues to seek help and also the early warning signs and the terribly corrosive and destructive effect it can have on family relations. This is going to be ongoing work. We will continue to work with the Ministry of Education, together with the voluntary welfare organisations running the Family Service Centres

as well as other organisations providing family education in schools. This has to be work which we will continue and we will need to increase.

I just want to ask the Minister a supplementary question related to IRs. I noticed of late that the IRs publicised the wins of some of their patrons. They would do something on the website which says so and so has won $x and asked them to come back or thank them for their patronage. Is that something which we would want to encourage? Is that legal? I am not sure but certainly I think this may go somewhat towards encouraging others, who may not have gone, to possibly enter these places. This is something which is of concern to me. I would like to hear the Minister's views on this.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: I share the Member's concern and we are taking steps to put a stop to that type of very asymmetrical publicity. While they would

want to publicise the wins, you will find that they would never publicise the losses and the consequences of those losses on the gamblers and their families. So, MCYS is taking steps to put a stop to that sort of asymmetric and unfair publicity which the IRs are embarking on.

6. Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan asked the Minister for Home Affairs: (a) if he would provide (i) the number of youths arrested for loanshark and related harassment activities in 2010; and (ii) the profile of these youths; and (b) if the enhanced penalties provided for in the Moneylenders (Amendment) Bill passed in January 2010 have been effective in curbing loanshark harassments.

Mr Speaker, Sir, 15,991 cases of harassment and loanshark cases were reported between January and November last year. This is a drop of 8%, compared to the 17,374 cases reported over the same period in 2009. Police arrested 1,443 persons for loansharking and harassment activities from January to November last year; an increase of 66% from the 868 persons arrested over the same period the year before. Sir, of the persons arrested for loansharking and harassment activities between January and November last year, 159 were youths aged 19 years and below. This is an increase from 142 youths, which is about a 12% increase arrested for the same period in 2009. The majority of youths arrested were between the age of 16 and 19. Those arrested who were below the age of 16, dropped from 27 persons to 16 persons.

Of the youths arrested, about one third were students and one third were unemployed. The youths were involved

as runners or harassers or in activities such as opening or allowing their bank accounts to be used by loansharks. While some youths did this to pay off their own debts, the majority of youths were enticed by the lure of extra pocket money.

The involvement of young people in any crime, including loansharking activities, is a concern. The Police has been working with schools and the community to educate our youths on the dangers of taking part in crime and reminding them of the price they will have to pay for committing crime. The Police and the community have jointly developed a variety of Police-Youth programmes to educate youths on the pitfalls of engaging in crime. For example, Police actively works with the National Committee on Youth Guidance and Rehabilitation (NYGR) to organise the annual Youth Crime Prevention Roadshow in our schools.

The Police also works closely with the Honorary Volunteer Special Constabularies and Discipline Masters and Operation Managers in schools to identify and monitor "high-risk" students. The sharing of information from the school staff enables Police to quickly intervene against loanshark recruitment activities and steer students away from the slippery slope. Sir, these early intervention and public education efforts are important in preventing youths from falling into crime.

Assoc. Prof. Straughan asked about the effectiveness of the enhanced penalties following amendments to the Moneylenders Act in January last year. I had covered this area comprehensively when I shared with the House on 23rd November last year on the loansharking situation. We believe that the enhanced penalties is one of the reasons why the number of cases has dropped. In the context of young offenders, I should add that we had amended the Moneylenders

Act to specify as an offence any person of or above the age of 21 years causing or procuring a youth under the age of 16 years to commit unlicensed moneylending or acts of harassment. The early signs indicate that the amendments have helped in dealing with the loansharking and harassment situation. We will continue to monitor the loansharking situation and not let up in our efforts in tackling this scourge.

Of the 159 youths who were arrested in the period stipulated, how many of those cases were the Police able to trace back to the original perpetrators? My second question is: for the youths who have been arrested and dealt with – the 159 youths – could the Senior Minister of State give us an insight on the rehabilitative efforts that were spent on these youths for us to be able to receive them back into the mainstream society?

Sir, Assoc. Prof. Straughan, in fact, has made an interesting comment in her question, which is something I touched on when I moved the amendments last year to the Moneylenders Act, which is the layering effect of these loansharking syndicates. It is not just a matter of youths but any runner who is recruited. We may catch them but very often it is not the case that we can then trace back to those who recruited them. Having said this, I want to assure the Member that we will make all efforts to do the tracing. The real test is to tackle the syndicates. I want to assure Assoc. Prof. Straughan and the House that a lot of the arrests that have been made – there has been a surge in arrests – are a result of co-ordinated efforts, not just by the Police, but also Police Land Division, CID and the community groups to tackle these syndicates. In fact last week, there was a big operation lasting 55 hours and 62 arrests were made in relation to this manhunt.

The other point is the rehabilitation of youths. I think that is a key point too. I have mentioned the prevention efforts. We have to continue getting youths to realise that this is no easy money. It may look easy but once you are recruited, you are sucked into a system where money may seem to come easy at the beginning and when you do more, you will ultimately be caught. I understand that in terms of harsher punishments for these youths, quite a number of them are now sent to the Reformative Training Centre (RTC), where previously they were given probation. So a stint in RTC will be good for them. Certainly, they have been noted for their propensity to be lured by easy money. In the RTC, I am sure there will be programmes that will help to rehabilitate them.

Can the Senior Minister of State elaborate on what goes on in the RTC?

Basically the RTC is a reformative centre regime which caters to youths generally aged from 16 to 21. Below 16 years, there is the Juvenile Court, and the youth offenders will be sent to the Boys' Home. The RTC is a tougher regime than the Boys' Home.

It is basically a centre in which you spend at least 18 months. There are various programmes that are run in the centre to help rehabilitate these youths. They are eligible to be out in the community after 18 months on licence. In all, it is a three-year regime. They are amongst boys of their age and, because of this, discipline can be maintained and various counselling and other help programmes can be mounted to help these youths.

7. Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the average

waiting time for a place in a subsidised nursing home; (b) how many percent of the current cohort of elderly will need nursing home care in the future; (c) whether there are plans to improve the quality and standards of care provided in the nursing homes in Singapore; and (d) whether the Government would consider expediting the building of new nursing homes which was announced recently.

The Minister for Health (Mr Khaw Boon Wan): The waiting time for a subsidised nursing home bed is, on average, 49 days. Currently, 2% of our elderly population above 65 years requires nursing home care. The figure may grow in the future but we must try to keep it low as all seniors prefer to age at home, rather than in an institution.

It is our priority to raise the standard of care in nursing homes. We have discussed these plans before in this House. Last month, we have also set up an Expert Panel on nursing homes to improve the rehabilitative capabilities of nursing homes so that patients can benefit from effective rehabilitation and be able to return home eventually. The Expert Panel will be advising the Ministry of Health on how we should go about achieving this objective.

Meanwhile, we have started building six new nursing homes. They are at different stages of planning and construction. Three of them should be ready by early 2013. Of the three, two are in the west.

Sir, the two key concerns of Singaporeans taking care of the sick elderly parents are, of course, the affordability of nursing home care and access, meaning securing a place as quickly as possible after the need arises. The Minister mentioned that the average waiting time is "49 days".

Unfortunately, anecdotally on the ground, for the different cases I have handled, the time period seems to be longer for a subsidised place in the nursing home. That is the reason I asked that question. We have six nursing homes being built. The question to ask is: what are some of the more immediate plans to ensure access? I am not quite sure why the average waiting time and the practices on the ground seem to differ? I do have actual cases with that.

The other issue which has not been posed to the Minister is affordability. Could the Minister also give a response to that point?

Sir, "49 days" is an average figure but I suppose it varies from nursing home to nursing home. Some nursing homes are more popular than others and if some patients insisted on going to those nursing homes, the waiting time can be longer. It was reported in today's newspaper on Nanyang Kindergarten. There are kindergartens and there are kindergartens. Likewise, there are nursing homes and there are nursing homes. At my level, I look at it from the macro point of view and we try to make sure that the average figure is manageable. "49 days" is a bit long. My own personal target is: I would like to shave off 20 days, so that it is within a month. But let me explain that whether it is 29 or 49 days, it does not mean that the patients are not being served. What it means is usually, they are kept waiting in an expensive setting, which usually means in an acute hospital.

I have an interest to reduce the waiting time and we have been reducing it over time. Building more nursing homes will help but, at the same time, it is a balancing game. We also do not want to make nursing homes so accessible, so easily available that we encourage a

different trend which is that children may be encouraged to refer their elderly to institutions which I think we do not want to see it happen. My personal view is if the waiting time is about a month, that will be a reasonable figure to target.

Affordability of healthcare is always an issue and is always my priority. We try to make sure that healthcare, whether it is at a nursing home or at the hospitals, is affordable. My own view is: they are affordable but provided we all cooperate in this. For example, our 3M system is very good but you must be in it. If you choose to be out of 3M, then I think it is troublesome. By that, what I mean is when you work, do save in your Medisave. For employees, no problem, but the self-employed must be encouraged to save. And when you have enough money in Medisave, then do buy insurance. In the case of nursing homes, ElderShield is important. ElderShield today is still rather basic and I would like to further enhance the ElderShield programme so that they can play a more effective role.

That is something that we would do in the next few years.

Mr Speaker, there is no doubt that with the rapidly ageing population, the demand for nursing homes and step down care will increase. However, I would like to caution that we should not send the wrong message to Singaporeans that sending the elderly sick parents to a nursing home is a desired choice. Therefore, I would like to ask the Minister if homecare services are being looked into, and whether MOH should consider homecare as the first option before granting places in nursing homes.

The answer is "yes". I totally agree with the approach as proposed by Dr Lam Pin Min. All surveys, whether in Singapore or outside Singapore, point in the same direction. All seniors do want to age at home. Our job

is to try to facilitate that. Homecare is something that I have been looking at for the last couple of years. I think Members will hear a lot more about these during the next few years.

8. Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Minister for Finance (a) how much additional revenue will the Government be receiving as a result of the good financial performance of the two Integrated Resorts; (b) what is the breakdown of the revenue attributable to the casinos and other operational units; and (c) what are the likely ways in which this additional revenue will be utilised.

Sir, the two Integrated Resorts (IRs) collect casino entry levies on behalf of the Totalisator Board. They also pay betting taxes and GST on their business receipts to the Government. However, the entry of the IRs has also led to a restructuring of the gaming industry as a whole. Hence, while the IRs have brought in new revenues, collections from other gaming activities such as lotteries, horse and sports betting, and fruit machines operated by clubs have fallen.

Taken together, the net increase in collections by the Totalisator Board with the entry of the IRs was about $130 million in the eight months between April and November 2010. Likewise, the net increase in revenues to the Government with the entry of the IRs was about $420 million over the same period.

The Totalisator Board will pool collections from the casino entry levies with their recurrent surpluses, which go towards funding activities benefiting the community. Just to recap, these range

from educational and health programmes to sports and arts and culture. Some of Tote Board’s ongoing commitments include the Tote Board Social Service Fund, the Tote Board Community Healthcare Fund, the Yellow Ribbon Project and the Community Chest.

The revenues collected by the Government from the IRs, like those from the rest of the gaming industry, flow into the Consolidated Fund. They are not earmarked for specific purposes, but go towards funding of the Government budget as a whole. This allows Government the flexibility to channel funds to areas with the greatest needs and strategic priority.

Thank you, Minister, for the response. In the report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers in December, it was reported that Singapore's slice of the global gaming industry will be about US$8 billion by 2014. Singapore is also anticipated to overtake Australia and South Korea to become the second largest gaming player in Asia Pacific, just after Macau. I wish to ask the Minister a few supplementary questions. Firstly, if this is indeed the intended strategy for economic development for Singapore? Is the Government happy with this "achievement"? Secondly, what is the total cost to the country as a result of this development? Lastly, what steps might be taken to protect Singapore from the ill effects of such an impact before it is too late? Is there any intent to reduce the casinos to one or none in the future, when the time is appropriate?

Mr Speaker, Sir, the supplementary questions raised by Ms Denise Phua have actually been debated to some detail under the different heads, in terms of the intended strategy – why we are having Integrated Resorts and casinos in the first place. This has been

debated quite extensively by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. As for the safeguards, the House has just heard earlier about how we have in place the exclusion orders as well as the entry levies and so on. These are the different measures that we have in place to ensure that the industry will progress as intended. At the same time, the extra revenue collected by the Government will go towards funding the Government's programmes. As for those collected by the Tote Board, they will be added to the surplus for the benefit of the community at large.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I appreciate the fact that the discussion of casinos has been going on for very long time. The recent development that we have done so well in the gaming industry, gives a lot of concern to a lot of Singaporeans, including discomfort in this House. That is why I raised the question on whether this was intended and what can be done, especially if the casinos are doing so well and the surplus is now channelled to even fund our social services and other important areas like sports and arts.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would encourage the Member to file a question for MCYS, if she would like to discuss safeguards further. What I would comment here is that at the outset when we conceived the whole Integrated Resorts idea, there were many business risks: whether it is country risk or the timing of the business cycle and so on. Many things could have gone very wrong too. But having taken the decision, we then planned for the best possible model. At the same time, we ensured that all the adequate safeguards are in place. We stand ready to move with additional safeguards should there be clear evidence that there is an increase in gambling addiction.

9. Mr Arthur Fong asked the Minister for Trade and Industry what would be the impact on unit business cost in Singapore as a result of the rising cost of Certificates of Entitlement in recent times.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the recent increase in the Certificates of Entitlement (COE) premium has had only a limited impact on overall business costs in Singapore.

First, land transport costs account for less than 1.5% of unit business cost for the manufacturing companies in Singapore. The larger cost components for the sector are labour, utilities, trading, financial and IT services costs, and these would have a more significant impact on business costs.

Second, higher COE premiums will only affect firms which need new motor vehicles. As this represents a small percentage of the total existing population of vehicles for business use, the immediate impact of higher COE prices on business cost is small. However, should COE prices remain high over a longer time period, there would be greater impact on business cost as older COEs expire and are replaced by more costly COEs.

While the impact on overall business costs is small, higher COE premiums will have a larger effect on those firms, for which transport costs are a larger component of their total costs. This includes companies which rely on courier and land transport services to deliver their goods and services. The Government will continue to monitor business costs, with a view to identifying potential pressures early and taking the necessary measures to manage them.

The following question stood in the name of Mdm Ho Geok Choo –

10. To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the total amount of administrative fees collected from applicants of new HDB flats for each year from 2008 to 2010; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider refunding the administration fee to unsuccessful applicants and, if not, whether the Ministry will consider carrying forward the administrative fees to the next and subsequent rounds until the applicant succeeds in selecting a flat.

Question No. 10, Sir.

Mr Speaker, Sir, HDB collects an administrative fee of $10 for each flat application. From 2008 to 2010, the administrative fees averaged $790,000 per year.

The purpose of the administrative fee is to defray the costs of conducting the sale exercises. These costs are incurred regardless of whether the applicants are eventually successful in their flat application. For example, for each application, HDB will need to verify the eligibility of every person listed in the flat application for subsidised housing. Based on the information gathered, HDB will then need to decide the priority scheme that the applicants are eligible for and assign them their due number of "chances" in the computer ballot. After the ballot to determine the queue order for flat selection, HDB will have to notify all the applicants of their ballot results.

A recent survey by HDB shows that the administrative fee at $10 per

application is insufficient to cover HDB’s costs incurred in conducting flat sale exercises. Hence, HDB is unable to refund the fees for unsuccessful applicants.

11. Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Minister for Transport (a) what is the estimated number of motorised bicycles in Singapore; and (b) what regulations govern these vehicles to ensure safety for the riders, pedestrians and other drivers on the roads.

Sir, only low-powered models of motorised bicycles not more than 200 watts which are approved by LTA are allowed to be used on public roads presently. To date, and since October 2004, LTA has approved about 6,600 such motorised bicycles.

These motorised bicycles have similar construction and performance characteristics as conventional pedal bicycles. For example, the electric motor of approved motorised bicycles can only provide assistance when the rider is pedaling. The motor power must cut off when the bicycle reaches a speed of 25 km/h or when the rider stops pedaling. These technical requirements were put in place by LTA for the safety of motorised bicycle riders and other road users.

To further enhance road safety, Traffic Police (TP) has required all riders of motorised bicycles to comply with the Road Traffic (Bicycles) Rules. These rules require motorised bicycle riders to be at least 16 years of age and to wear a protective bicycle helmet when riding their bicycle. Motorised bicycles are not allowed on expressways and the rider must not cycle against the flow of traffic

or in a manner that would compromise the safety of other road users. Cyclists who cycle in a rash or negligent way endangering the life of pedestrians or other road users are also liable to offences under the Penal Code.

To complement enforcement efforts against errant cyclists, LTA and TP have also stepped up public education efforts. For example, TP has been giving customised talks in schools and at community-level events to provide tips on safe cycling, a pre-riding checklist and case studies of traffic accidents involving cyclists, to illustrate the vulnerability of a cyclist on the road. Road safety exhibitions providing safety tips for cyclists have also been held at HDB neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces. LTA has recently also rolled out a public education programme to educate suppliers and cyclists on safety requirements of motorised bicycles and on how to identify approved models. Posters and brochures have been distributed to community centres, foreign worker dormitories as well as motorised bicycle retailers.

LTA takes a serious view of offences relating to the use of unapproved motorised bicycles on public roads and has worked with the Traffic Police Department to ramp up enforcement against offenders. Since 1st January 2011, LTA has imposed heavier penalties on cyclists and retailers of motorised bicycles that do not meet LTA’s technical requirements. Most of the fines instituted had been doubled for errant cyclists and suppliers. These cyclists now face a fine ranging from $100 to $500, up from the previous fines of $50 to $200 while retailers who supply unapproved motorised bicycles for use on public roads now also face more severe penalties, with fines starting from $500.

I would like to highlight that every road user is responsible for safety on the

roads. Motorists should exercise extra care when cyclists and pedestrians are around, as they are more vulnerable road users, and should give way where possible. Cyclists and pedestrians should recognise their own vulnerability, and take extra care to be alert, obey traffic rules and give way where possible. Ultimately, everyone has a responsibility to keep our roads safe and I believe that an attitude of mutual accommodation will improve safety.

Thank you very much, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, for your response. I am very grateful to the Ministry and especially LTA for looking into this topic swiftly, after the parliamentary question was raised last month. The number of riders using illegal motorised bicycles have increased more than three times, according to my research.

May I ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary what he thought the root cause of this increase might be? Is it due to oblivion for which then enforcement is, of course, a strategy? Because I have seen cyclists riding right in front of me as I drove, without helmets, speeding along and really causing quite a lot of danger. In my Facebook entry, a lot of responses came in due to this observation. Or is it due to awareness for which I heard that LTA has done a lot of "awareness" campaigns? I ask if the Senior Parliamentary Secretary could work together with LTA to ensure that more of these awareness campaigns can come to the ground, that is, out to the heartlands. Many of my residents are also asking me to appeal on their behalf because they have been booked recently.

As a cyclist myself, I can only offer my personal views as to what is the root cause. Having cycled for many years, I think it is still a culture that needs to be developed in terms of accommodating different road users,

especially those vulnerable ones like cyclists. Cyclists themselves must bear the responsibility when accidents occur. I know that sometimes they go at certain speeds that are not conducive to safety. I believe that it is not just LTA working on it. We need the community leaders; we need the Traffic Police department, and they must all work together. All these stakeholders are coming together. We should focus mainly on three areas: infrastructure, like dedicated bike tracks, which we are doing today, as well as education and public campaigns. All these efforts have to go to the heartlands as well. Lastly, the enforcement must come in because there will still be some cyclists who will disobey. We need to send a clear message and enforce it. Harsh penalties are necessary.

We have plans to go to the different communities and heartlands to educate the cyclists and motorised bicycle cyclists as well because I think this is necessary. As a continuing effort, I urge support from all the Members here.

Sir, would the Senior Parliamentary Secretary agree that a clear distinction has to be made between motorised bicycles which ride on motors and pedal bicycles which ride on human legs? Because motorised bicycles go at a very high speed, they cause greater danger to pedestrians. Can I ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary to clearly differentiate the rules and approaches to dealing with the two categories and have step-up enforcement actions against motorised bicycles on footways? Motorised bicycles are more like motorbikes rather than pedal bicycles. They should not be called cyclists because they are more like riders.

There is a difference – one is, of course, pedaling and the other one is motorised. When one pedals, one

probably cannot maintain a constant speed over a longer range of time. For the other, because it is motorised, one could maintain a similar speed over a longer range of time. We are looking into it. As you know, we have started to build infrastructure for bicycle lanes and dedicated tracks along the pavements. I do not encourage motorised bicycles to be on these dedicated bike lanes, as they should be on public roads. They should not be on bicycle lanes. There will still be a lot of pedestrians walking on footways and sometimes they could cross over to the bike lanes. So I do discourage motorised bicycles to be on those lanes. We will constantly review and look at what other rules that we could put in place for those bicycle lanes. This will be work in progress.

Mr Zaqy, last question, a short one.

Thank you for the reminder, Mr Speaker. Again, on the effectiveness of enforcement – we had a lot of parliamentary questions on the effectiveness of enforcing bicycles. How effective is the enforcement for this kind of motorised bicycles?

My second point is this. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary mentioned about riding on a bike lane. Should it be on or off? It cannot be both ways, or either/or.

Currently, there are no rules particularly specific to bicycle tracks or bicycle lanes that we have built so far. But we are definitely looking into it to see how the rules can be applied. As I have said, I do not encourage motorised bicycles on bike lanes because motorised bicycles are able to maintain a constant speed and, if they meet a speed of 20 km to 25 km, which is still within the speed limit, for me, personally, having been an experienced road user, I think that could pose a certain danger. So I do not encourage that. Whether or not to put in

certain rules, we will be reviewing it to see what are the things that we could do to help ensure the safety of all the pedestrians and passengers.

12. Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (a) what is the progress of the Ministry's content cross-carriage initiative for pay-television; (b) what are the Ministry's projections on the cost benefits to consumers; (c) whether the Ministry can share how it plans to address the industry's concerns on this initiative going against free trade; and (d) whether the investigations on service providers who inked long-term contracts to avoid cross-carriage regulations in the short term has concluded and, if so, what were the findings.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Member of Parliament for his question on Media Development Authority’s cross-carriage initiative. I will first revisit the rationale for introducing this initiative and provide an update on the developments.

The mandatory cross-carriage measure – which I shall refer to as the Measure in short – was effected on 12th March 2010 to address the severe degree of content fragmentation in the Singapore pay TV market, with most pay TV channels signed up on an exclusive basis by pay TV retailers. Such a situation resulted in increased inconvenience and attendant costs for consumers as well as significant barriers to entry for new entrants.

Since 12th March 2010, the Media Development Authority (MDA) has conducted two consultations to seek

feedback from the industry and to address their concerns on the implementation details of this Measure. In taking due care to address these concerns, MDA will be launching a third round of consultation in early 2011 before implementing active cross carriage by the first half of this year. MDA continues to engage stakeholders on this issue and will carefully consider all feedback in developing its policy and implementation positions for the Measure. With regard to the benefits from the Measure, consumers can expect to enjoy a wider choice of content without the inconvenience of having to switch set-top boxes and re-wire their TVs each time exclusive content changes hand. Various academics and analysts have expressed their belief that the Measure would positively impact the pay TV market and generate net gains for consumers as well as the industry. MDA has also engaged external consultants to conduct two economic modelling assessments, both of which concluded that content providers and retailers would benefit from a wider distribution of their content. With the Measure in place, we expect to have an even more vibrant pay TV market with more choices and convenience for the consumers.

MDA has been in close contact and consultation with the industry since the announcement of the Measure. Some content providers were concerned that the Measure would force them to sell content to parties that they were not willing to contract with, or in a format that would have compromised their intellectual property rights protection, or a requirement to unbundle their channels. This is a misunderstanding which requires some clarification.

The Measure does not in any way prohibit local pay TV retailers from entering into exclusive arrangements with content providers. Neither does it require

the exclusive licensee to sub-license or resell the exclusive content to other pay TV retailers. In addition, the Measure is designed to apply to content agreements in a prospective manner, and continues to provide retailers and content providers with the commercial flexibility to bundle or package content in ways that best meet consumer needs. MDA has clarified this in its subsequent consultations, and will continue to do so with the industry as necessary. I would like to assure Members that Singapore is fully committed to its obligations in intellectual property treaties and other international agreements, and that two external legal firms engaged by MDA had both advised that the Measure is not in breach of any of our obligations.

With regard to pay TV retailers who entered into long-term exclusive content arrangements before the Measure was effected, I understand that MDA had examined specific content agreements to assess if there were any evidence of misconduct. Upon careful review of the available information and evidence, MDA has decided that there is insufficient evidence to warrant any formal action. However, the retailers have now received clear warning that MDA will be looking closely at their exclusive arrangements in the future, and that there will be serious consequences if they are found to have flouted the Measure.

We believe the cross-carriage initiative will benefit both consumers and the industry. However, the full benefits will only come about in the longer term, as existing contracts expire and new exclusive contracts, if any, come under this Measure. MDA will work closely with the industry to effect a smooth implementation of the initiative to realise these benefits.

May I ask the Minister what is the assessment of the risk that content providers will exit the

Singapore market, given that we are too small a market to consider for cross carriage? Second supplementary question, what is the Ministry's opinion that cross carriage may discourage media service providers from generating their own content or working with production houses to package and bundle content?

On the first question on the risk that they will exit the market, we worked with a wide range of companies that have been in the Singapore market for a number of years and even though our market is a very small one, they have decided to operate out of Singapore and have established their regional headquarters here to serve the larger Asian market. The relationship we have with many of them, we believe, is a robust one.

The Member's second question really deals with content arrangements. We believe that with the Measure in place, pay TV retailers in future will compete not on signing exclusive arrangements to package content for their customers only but devote more resources and time to service improvements as well as to creating and packaging more content for their channels.

13. Mr Teo Siong Seng asked the Minister for National Development if he would explain why the approval process for the White Sands New Market to start operating business took such a long period of time, causing inconvenience to residents in Pasir Ris.

(for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, when Sheng Siong bought the White Sands New Market from the previous operator on 1st March 2010, it knew that it had bought the premises as a wet market as this was stipulated in the lease agreement. It had also confirmed with

HDB in writing that it would operate a wet market at White Sands.

However, until recently, Sheng Siong repeatedly submitted proposals which included supermarket features, suggesting that they were trying to operate the White Sands New Market as a supermarket. HDB had no choice but to reject these proposals as they were not in accordance with Sheng Siong’s commitment and did not meet the conditions for a wet market.

To expedite the re-opening of the wet market, HDB met with Sheng Siong over 10 times to discuss their proposals and impressed upon them the urgency to submit an acceptable wet market proposal. In the meantime, in consultation with the Citizens Consultative Committee (CCC) and grassroots leaders, HDB had also introduced interim measures to meet residents' marketing needs. They include allowing the supermarket operator in Elias Mall to temporarily expand its fresh food section, securing a private wet market operator to set up some temporary marketing facilities nearby and offering free bus shuttle services to a nearby wet market.

On 28th October 2010, Sheng Siong finally submitted a proposal for a wet market. After confirming that it met the basic conditions required of a wet market, HDB approved the proposal on 12th November 2010. Sheng Siong started renovation works in early December 2010, and we understand they intend to re-open the market as soon as possible.

The terms of the White Sands New Market lease clearly stipulate that it is to be run as a wet market – it must have individual stalls operated by individual stallholders selling a variety of fresh produce. Lessees or tenants cannot unilaterally change the terms without the agreement of HDB and it is HDB’s

responsibility to ensure that the terms of the tenancy are complied with. HDB recognises that the needs of residents change over time and will review the mix of the shops in HDB estates from time to time to ensure that the needs of residents are met.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. If knowing that the tenant has repeatedly submitted a tender proposal that was not up to the requirements of HDB, could HDB have gone to another tenderer and ask for an alternative proposal?

There are certain terms and conditions that HDB will also have to fulfil as lessor of the place, so we have to respect the terms to be fair to the operator.

14. Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Minister for Transport with a daily average of 100 traffic-disrupting mishaps on the expressways (a) what are the main reasons for the occurrences of these mishaps; (b) what measures are being taken to reduce them; and (c) what is the Land Transport Authority (LTA) doing to ensure that traffic flow is not unduly disrupted when such mishaps occur.

(for the Minister for Transport): Sir, based on LTA’s records for the year 2010, an average of 100 incidents take place daily on our expressway network. These are mainly vehicle breakdowns, which number around 60 to 70 daily and traffic accidents at around 30 to 40 daily. Depending on the time and location, it is not necessarily true that all these incidents result in traffic disruption.

The Traffic Police investigates traffic accidents involving injuries. Based on

these records, those that occur along expressways are commonly caused by motorists who fail to adhere to safe driving practices, such as keeping a proper lookout for surrounding vehicles and exercising due consideration when changing lanes.

Improving motorist behaviour and inculcating a safe motoring culture to reduce the incidence of traffic accidents requires a multi-pronged approach. Beginning with the training and certification of new drivers and riders, the Traffic Police works closely with driving schools to ensure that learner drivers and riders become competent, responsible and safe road users. Syllabuses are fine-tuned if necessary to remain relevant. One such adjustment was the recent introduction of the new Expressway Familiarisation Ride Course, which aims to give new motorcyclists the confidence of interacting with faster moving traffic along expressways before they take to the roads on their own. The Traffic Police also works with the community and LTA to conduct regular road safety campaigns to instil safe driving habits in motorists and routinely conducts enforcement blitzes as part of the ongoing enforcement effort to deter errant driving behaviour.

When incidents do occur on our expressways, the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System (EMAS) enables LTA to respond swiftly. LTA monitors traffic conditions on expressways round the clock through a network of EMAS detection and surveillance cameras. When incidents are detected, LTA despatches strategically positioned tow trucks and LTA Traffic Marshals to the scene within eight and 15 minutes to control traffic and to clear the roadway as soon as possible. Relevant traffic advisories are also displayed on electronic signboards along our expressways to help motorists make informed decisions about their route and avoid the congested areas if they choose to. These measures help to

minimise undue delays and inconvenience to expressway users. We urge all motorists to drive cautiously on our expressways, and to act safely and to be considerate at all times.

Sir, I thank the Minister for her reply. I have two supplementary questions, one of which is what is the average disruption time or the clearance time required when a minor accident takes place when there is no injury versus one that has casualty involved? And, likewise, will the MOT consider rolling out more public education programmes to inform even existing drivers of the "do"s and "don't"s during an accident? Because, currently, it gets very congested and I find that people are very lost once an accident happens and there is a long delay.

Sir, based on the record last year, LTA's data shows that more than 85% of the expressway traffic incidents are cleared with less than 20 minutes of delay caused to affected motorists, so that is the experience so far. Where there is casualty, then it varies substantially depending on the scale of the pile-up or the incident.

As regards public education, certainly that is an area where it is, again, a multi-agency approach and that will continue with LTA working with the Traffic Police as well as with the school children because that is a main group of concern as well. Currently, we have the traffic management channel which provides "live" data and feed to motorists who use the navigational systems, so they can be informed, too, about which are the roads to avoid in the event of an incident.

15. Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Minister for Transport following the recent errors in calculation of distances travelled by buses (a) how many commuters or EZ-

Link card holders were affected; (b) whether there is a more convenient alternative for less literate commuters such as senior citizens, who may not know how to use the ticketing machine to receive their refunds; and (c) what are the lessons learnt from this incident and how can we prevent it from occurring again.

Sir, the LTA and the public transport operators have completed a thorough review of all 6,600 bus stop pairs in the system. This review was undertaken after LTA found distance discrepancies in 13 bus stop pairs after the launch of distance fares on 3rd July 2010.

In this review, distance discrepancies were found in 68 bus stop pairs (about 1% of total bus stop pairs) which led to overcharging, and 30 bus stop pairs (about 0.45%) which led to undercharging. On a weekly basis about 6.9% of CEPAS cards were overcharged and 2.1% were undercharged. LTA and the bus operators have since apologised for the errors and for the inconvenience caused to commuters and have taken steps to refund commuters that were overcharged due to the distance errors.

In response to commuters' feedback received on the old refund process, LTA has made improvements so that it is now faster and more convenient for affected commuters to get their refunds. Commuters can get a full refund on the spot and at their convenience at any TransitLink Add Value Machine (AVM), TransitLink Ticket Office or Concession Card Replacement Office which are available at most MRT stations, bus interchanges and selected bus stops. Commuters need not remember the bus service numbers, nor fill in any form. They only need to present their CEPAS

cards to receive the refund if they are eligible for one.

Senior citizens who are not familiar with the Add Value Machines can approach any TransitLink Ticket Offices with their cards. The staff at the Ticket Offices are trained to check the cards and refund the correct amount into their cards on the spot. To give commuters more time, a period of six months has been given for refunds. Affected commuters need not make a special trip and can get their refund when they next top up their cards. Unclaimed refunds will be contributed to the Public Transport Fund which will go to benefit needy families. Going forward, the Public Transport Council has put in place a framework to require bus operators to ensure that bus stop distances are updated correctly and on time following changes to the bus stop locations. Failure to do so could result in penalties.

Sir, I would like to ask the Minister how many commuters or how many EZ-Link card holders were affected in this particular exercise and currently, what is the percentage who have made claims for their overcharged fares. I understand that commuters are supposed to make their claims by 17th June this year. If by then the percentage is low, will the Minister consider extending the time for making claims by another six months?

I gave the Member the answer just now on the EZ-Link card. Through the CEPAS card, 6.9% were overcharged and 2.1% were undercharged. That is the first question –

Percentage?

Yes, on a weekly basis.

The second question is how much have been claimed to date. We started

this on 18th December 2010. As at the end of last year 28th December, we have a total of about 169,000 transactions. We have refunded about $46,000. There was $300,000 overcharged and $46,000 refunded.

Would we consider extending the claim period? Right now, we have given six months. It is quite a long time. I think we can look at it closer to that day. Right now, six months is sufficient. We will see where it goes from here.

16. Mdm Halimah Yacob to ask the Minister for Manpower if he would provide (i) an update on the measures that are in place to assist professional, managerial, executive and technical staff to upgrade their capabilities as well as in finding new jobs for those who have been displaced due to restructuring or retrenchments; and (ii) the number of people who have benefited from such schemes for the past three years.

Sir, the training and upgrading of Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) remain an integral part of our CET Masterplan. There are currently some 300 courses suitable for PMETs funded by WDA. In the first nine months of 2010, about 46,000 PMETs have undergone WSQ training.

We have also helped about 3,500 PMETs through our Professional Conversion Programmes to switch to new growth sectors. Today we have close to 50 conversion programmes in a variety of professions such as preschool teachers, aircraft engineers and occupational therapists.

Unemployed PMETs can also approach our Career Centres at the CDCs and e2i

for help with job placement and training. About 8,200 job placements were successfully made for PMETs through our Career Centres over the past three years. WDA is setting up an online career services portal later this year which will feature e-profiling tools for individuals, WSQ training listings, job vacancies as well as integrated labour market information on industries. This will further help workers with their search for training and employment opportunities.

In line with the Economic Strategies Committee’s recommendation, we are reaching out to more PMETs to deepen their areas of expertise and to broaden their knowledge of horizontal skills. For example, WDA is rolling out WSQ courses in Business Management skills to provide PMETs with skill sets such as Strategy Planning and Implementation and Business Continuity Management. More funded courses targeted at PMETs in different sectors, including green manufacturing, clinical trials, aerospace, precision engineering, adult training, etc, have also been rolled out. We will continue to fine-tune our training and career programmes to serve the needs of our PMETs.

Mdm Halimah, you have two minutes left.

There have been concerns expressed that older PMETs are finding it more difficult to get jobs and the oft-cited reason is that it could be because they are being displaced by foreigners. Could I have the Minister of State's comments on that, please?

Sir, with the rapidly changing industry structure in the economy, I think it will work for everyone if we take training seriously and acquire the habit of life-long learning, and this applies to younger workers, older workers in different sectors of the economy. I think this attitude should help our people

adjust to the new environment. So, under the CET master plan, we have plans to ramp up our current training capacity for PMETs to about 250,000 in 2015, and this a five-fold increase in about five years.

As we make available more training places, we will also provide learning opportunities, both for upgrading vertically as well as to switch over to new industries. As I mentioned in my speech earlier, there will be other services such as counselling and EQ-type of training that will help older workers to either switch to a new job or to make them more rounded and more desirable as employees.

2.58 pm

Order. End of Question time.

Order for Second Reading read.

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

Sir, the average life expectancy of Singapore residents has risen steadily, from 68 years in 1970 to 76 years when the Retirement Age Act was enacted in 1993. The average life expectancy has increased further to 81 years in 2009. Sir, it is a good thing that we are living longer but as we live longer, many Singaporeans want to work longer. Working not only enhances their financial security in old age, but also provides an added sense of purpose in life. They can remain active while making valuable contributions to their organisations. Employers can also tap on this increasing pool of experienced and skilled older workers to supplement their workforce.

Older workers are a critical source of manpower, experience and skills to sustain our economic vitality. For these reasons, we need to create opportunities for our workers to work longer, beyond the current retirement age of 62. We have studied what other developed countries have done to enable their workers to work longer. Their experiences have shown that merely raising retirement age may not be the most effective approach. Japan, for example, is a country with an ageing workforce and yet enjoys one of the highest employment rates for older workers. It was the first to legislate re-employment in 2006. Re-employment provides both employers and employees the flexibility to make necessary adjustments to employment terms and conditions to meet their respective needs. This flexibility will help to allow older workers to work longer without imposing undue burden on employers. Therefore, we have decided to take a similar approach by introducing re-employment.

Sir, let me elaborate. First, the statutory minimum retirement age will remain at 62 years. This means that employers have the flexibility to stipulate a mandatory retirement age as long as it is 62 years or any higher age. Second, employers will be required to re-employ those who have reached retirement age but are willing and able to continue to work up to age 65 as a first step and later to 67 as provided for in the Act. Re-employment need not be for the same job or on the same terms. The employer and the worker have the flexibility to make changes to the existing job arrangements to suit their needs. For example, employers may have to consider their organisational needs, such as leadership renewal, and may have to re-deploy older workers. On the other hand, older employees may wish to take up a different job – a lighter one perhaps – so as to spend more time with their family.

Re-employment allows both parties to consult each other and work out mutually agreeable arrangements. Sir, the tripartite partners have been preparing the ground since 2007 when the Government first announced our intention to introduce re-employment. We released a set of Tripartite Guidelines on Re-employment of Older Employees in March 2010 to help employers put in place re-employment practices. In addition to regular industry briefings and seminars, the tripartite partners have put in place a variety of resources and programmes such as the re-employment website portal, the ADVANTAGE! incentive scheme, training programmes and guidebooks to provide employers and workers with the support they need to prepare themselves for re-employment. We have made good progress since 2006. According to a survey done by my Ministry in 2009, nearly two-thirds of companies surveyed already allowed their employees to work past age 62, either on an existing employment contracts or through offering re-employment. Of those which had employees reaching the age 62, a vast majority – 92% to be precise – of their employees were allowed to work beyond age 62. The Public Service has also taken the lead to implement re-employment early. In November 2010, the Public Service Division released a set of guidelines to implement re-employment for eligible public service officers who turn 62 on or after 1st July 2011. Sir, we are now ready to introduce re-employment legislation. This Bill amends the existing Retirement Age Act (RAA) to introduce re-employment. The Bill seeks to achieve two objectives. First, it will provide opportunities for workers who are willing and able to continue working to do so beyond retirement.

Second, it will provide flexibility to facilitate employers to retain their older workers beyond retirement. The RAA will be renamed the "Retirement and Re-employment Act (RRA)". The Bill introduces a new Part III which contains the provisions on re-employment and a new Part IV which provides avenues for employees to seek recourse for re-employment disputes. We also took the opportunity to make technical amendments to update some of the existing provisions in the RAA. Sir, I will now elaborate on the key provisions in the Bill.

The RRA will come into effect on 1st January 2012 and re-employment will apply to eligible employees who attain the specified age on or after 1st January 2012. The specified age is defined in section 2 of the Act as the minimum statutory retirement age of 62 or contractual retirement age if it is higher. Section 7 in the new Part III of the RRA spells out the two criteria for employees to be eligible for re-employment: i) the employee must have at least satisfactory work performance; and ii) the employee is medically fit to continue working. Employers should put in place appropriate performance appraisal systems to evaluate workers' performance. The law places the onus on employers to show proof that an employee is not eligible for re-employment. Open and early communication is also important to reduce misunderstanding and ensures smooth implementation of re-employment. Section 7A(8) requires employers to give reasonable prior notice to those who are not eligible. Section 7A(10) similarly requires employees to give reasonable prior notice to their employers if they do not wish to work beyond retirement. While "reasonable prior notice" is not defined in the law, the guidelines which I have mentioned earlier encourage

employers and employees to inform each other of their decision at least three months before retirement. Sir, certain groups of employees are currently exempted from the minimum retirement age under section 11 of the Retirement Age Act. This includes foreign employees holding work passes, employees whose job requirements are physically demanding and employees who before the enactment of the Act in 1993 are covered under retirement benefit schemes that are linked to a contractual retirement age lower than the statutory minimum retirement age of 62. With the introduction of re-employment, we have been reviewing these exemptions in consultation with the relevant employers and unions to examine whether the exemptions are still required.

Employees who are recruited at the age of 55 or above are also currently exempted from the RAA. To ensure that their employability will not be affected, these employees will continue to be exempted from the minimum retirement age provisions. However, employers will be required to offer re-employment to these employees if they meet the eligibility criteria for re-employment and have at least three years of service upon reaching the age of 62. We will continue to work with the relevant unions and employers and complete the review before the implementation of the re-employment law. Sir, section 7A of the Act stipulates the re-employment obligations of employers. Re-employment is defined in section 2 of the Act as the employment of an employee by the same employer. This is because employers should not be allowed to discharge their re-employment obligations simply by transferring their older employees to another employer who is not obliged to keep the employees until

they reach 65. If the employee does not wish to be re-employed by his employer and chooses to work for another employer instead, then the previous employer is relieved of all re-employment obligations. Under section 7A(4), employers may offer a new re-employment contract upon the employee attaining the specified age. To provide re-employed employees with greater certainty and assurance, sub-section 6 of section 7A requires the re-employment contract to be of a minimal duration of one year at each instance or up to the point when the employee turns 65. Some employers, especially the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) may not have formal re-employment contracts but continue to employ their workers on the same job and terms up to the age of 65. They will be deemed to have fulfilled the re-employment obligations. Sir, a key feature of re-employment is the flexibility that it provides to allow employers and employees to make adjustments to employment terms and conditions. In designing jobs and remuneration for older employees, employers should exercise fairness in making any adjustments to terms and benefits of re-employment, such as wages, medical benefits and leave benefits. Similarly, employees should exercise flexibility and be ready to accept the necessary adjustments for re-employment including accepting a salary that is commensurate with the job worth and going for training to take up new job responsibilities. Section 7A(5) requires any adjustments to be based on reasonable factors such as the employees' productivity, performance, duties and responsibilities and the wage system such as seniority wage system applicable to the employee. The tripartite guidelines describe the principles on how this could be done. For example, taking into account the extent of seniority-based wage in the company, employers could adjust wages using the

midpoint of the salary range of the job as a reference while accounting for the experience and competency of the worker. Under section 7B, the period of service prior to retirement is disregarded to signify a fresh term of employment for re-employment. However, when an employer enters into multiple employment contracts with his employees, the period of service accumulated from employment under the various re-employment contracts will be considered as a continuous service. Section 7B(2) also stipulates that employees who are re-employed are not required to fulfil the qualifying period for sick leave and annual leave as they would have been working with their employers for a long time. While the main objective of the law is to create employment opportunities for older workers, we recognise that some employers may not be able to find suitable jobs for employees eligible for re-employment. As a last resort, section 7C of the Act requires employers to offer a one-off Employment Assistance Payment (EAP) to eligible employees who wish to work beyond retirement but are not re-employed because their employers are unable to find a suitable job vacancy for them. Sir, the purpose of the EAP is to help the workers while they look for alternative employment or undergo re-training. It is not meant as a compensation for loss of income or recognition for past years of service. Due to diversity in employment contracts we should not hardwire a formula or quantum for the EAP in the law. This will create rigidity in implementation. Instead, reference points for EAP amounts can be found in the tripartite guidelines. For example, the tripartite guidelines suggest that the EAP could be three months of the gross

monthly salary, with a minimum amount of $4,500 and a maximum amount of $10,000. These reference points are carefully calibrated after discussion with the tripartite partners to ensure that it does not cause undue burden on employers or disadvantage low-income workers. Employers or employees with re-employment disputes may approach the Ministry for Manpower for conciliation and mediation under section 8A of the Act. If this fails, they may either appeal to the Minister of Manpower on grounds of unfair denial of re-employment or lodge a claim with the Commissioner for Labour for the purposes of claiming EAP. This is similar to the existing dispute settlement procedures under the Employment Act. Sir, we have also taken the opportunity to make technical amendments to update the existing provisions in the Act. Amendments are made to raise the penalty fine for non-compliance with the Minister's order, from $5,000 to $10,000, and to increase composition fine for offences from $500 to $1,000 to bring it in line with the Employment Act. Mr Speaker, Sir, the introduction of this Bill will provide more opportunities for older workers to continue to work. As I have mentioned earlier, our statistics show that the majority of the employers are generally able and willing to re-employ eligible workers given the flexibility that re-employment offers. Moreover, our experience during the recent economic recession shows that employers in general do recognise the value that older employees bring to their organisation. Many retained their older employees who bring with them the knowledge and experience needed by the company. As a result, the employment rate of older workers aged 55 to 64 held steady at 57.2% in 2009, and improved to 59% in 2010 as the economy recovered. While the recession did not have any negative