Hansard, 2012-04-09

Permission to Members to be Absent 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 by the Speaker to be absent from sittings of Parliament (or any Committee of Parliament to which they have been appointed) for the periods stated:

Assent to Bills Passed The following Bills were assented to by the President of the Republic of Singapore on the date stated:

Assent to Bills Passed 20 March 2012

Government Tenders 1 Mr Baey Yam Keng asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance how Government procurement guidelines ensure that neither local nor foreign suppliers are favoured during invitation, assessment and award of tenders.

Government Tenders Mr Speaker, Singapore is a signatory to the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Government Procurement or GPA. Our obligations both under the GPA and our Free Trade Agreements require that local and foreign suppliers be given equal opportunity to participate in Government tenders. The Government's procurement rules are aligned with Singapore's international obligations. All Ministries, Organs of State and Statutory Boards are required to adhere to them.

Government Tenders The Government's procurement rules also require that every tender be assessed fairly and awarded to the proposal that meets the tender requirements and gives the best value-for-money, based on both price and non-price considerations. There should be no discrimination in favour of or against foreign suppliers.

Government Tenders Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I would like to ask the Minister of State how would the Government procurement guidelines provide a level playing field for all types of businesses, whether foreign or local, and among the local companies, SMEs versus Government-linked companies. And how does the Government assess or allow tenders by smaller enterprises which may not have the strong financial background but have the requisite track records and capabilities?

Government Tenders Mr Speaker, the Government's procurement regime is an open one that places emphasis on fairness, transparency and value-for-money. It is also important to note that, wherever possible, Ministry of Finance encourages the use of outcome-based specifications in Government tenders. This allows bidders to put in their best proposals regardless of their own size or track record. The other aspect that is important is that bids are evaluated holistically based on their abilities to meet the requirements and objectives of the tender. For example, the total life-cycle cost is considered instead of just price alone. Award of contracts is on the basis of the best value-for-money offer. Specifically, to address Mr Baey's concern of whether the playing field is level for companies that are smaller in size, I am pleased to share with him that if we looked at the tenders that the Government has awarded, about 20% of them go to businesses with net tangible assets of less than $250,000. These would typically be small and medium enterprises. If we were to consider the contracts where the tender value is $100,000 or below, two in three of those contracts typically go to the small and medium enterprises with net tangible assets of $250,000 or lower. The evidence does suggest that our procurement regime is supportive of a whole range of enterprises, regardless of their size.

Government Tenders We also recognise that there may be occasions where the tender value is quite large. Smaller suppliers may need to enter into joint collaborations or consortia in order to compete for those projects fairly. The way to deal with that is to share pertinent information on public sector pipeline projects in advance, so that the suppliers have better visibility and to team up with potential partners. For example, IDA in their annual briefing to the infocomm industry will let suppliers know in advance of the kind of projects that they are looking to put out for businesses to tender for.

Government Tenders In addition, the Government also pushes alerts on business opportunities to suppliers via the GeBIZ system. There is one component called "Really Simple Syndication" (RSS). This is specifically designed to allow even smaller enterprises to access opportunities. When projects are published on RSS, email alerts on SPRING's Enterprise One Portal, which links to SMEs' database, are also made available. That is what we have been doing.

Government Tenders Mr Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of State whether these same guidelines apply to statutory boards and Government-owned companies where Government owns a significant shareholding. I ask this because not so long ago, I read in the newspapers that Changi Airport Group in the design of the new Terminal 4, that local architect firms were excluded, and that caused a ruckus within their industry. I know there was a subsequent clarification but I wanted to hear the Ministry's response to this and, specifically, whether these guidelines also apply to statutory boards and Government-owned companies.

Government Tenders Mr Speaker, I thank Mr Seah for his question. These guidelines apply to all Ministries, statutory boards and Organs of State. As for companies, they operate on commercial principles and it is up to them to decide on what basis their procurement is best proceeded with. In the case of the Changi Airport Group, I think they have made a very clear statement that where Terminal 4 is concerned, all local as well as foreign architects are welcome to participate. I think there is no need for us to speculate further. They have made their intentions very clear and in actual fact, in terms of implementation, all architects have been invited to submit their proposals.

Government Tenders Mr Baey Yam Keng, last question.

Government Tenders Sir, the Minister of State has made mention to tenders above certain value and the requirements on asset size and paid-up capital. Can I check what is the tender value that Government agencies use as a benchmark, beyond which they would require such financial status?

Government Tenders Mr Speaker, I should just clarify. I did not say that there were any specific requirements. At the end of the day, Government looks at the criteria holistically and, depending on which supplier is best able to provide the value for money, as well as to meet the requirements of the tender, they will be considered.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors 2 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Minister for National Development (a) how long does it take to upgrade one lift under the HDB Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP); and (b) if he would consider setting tighter productivity targets for LUP contractors to shorten the time needed for onsite construction work and minimise inconvenience to residents.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors Sir, under the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP), it takes about six months to overhaul ”€ Ms Foo used the word "upgrade" ”€ an existing lift; and about 16 months to build a new lift shaft with a new lift in it.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors For overhauling an old lift in an existing shaft, it is a relatively simple job. The replacement of lift cable, motor, lift car and control systems, etc, can be done rather quietly and speedily. Even including testing and commissioning, most of the overhauling can be completed within six months.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors For building of new lifts in their lift shafts, the work is more complicated. Firstly, HDB's appointed contractors would need to work with other agencies to detect and divert underground services such as telecoms, power supply, water and sewage pipelines as necessary. This phase alone could take up to four months. Secondly, the appointed contractors would commence the construction work proper starting with micro-piling, and then lift and lift shaft installation, lift testing and commissioning. This phase will take about a year.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors When LUP is implemented in a precinct, HDB will ensure that the residents will continue to have access to their lifts. This is why HDB would construct the new lifts first before proceeding to overhaul the existing lifts. Taken together, for each block on the ground under LUP, the duration of the upgrading programme could take about two years.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors To minimise inconveniences to the residents, HDB has taken active steps to shorten the time needed for onsite construction work. For example, HDB cut the time needed for construction by two months when it introduced the use of steel lift shafts in 2007. Steel lift shafts are pre-fabricated and can be assembled on site more quickly than concrete lift shafts. More recently, HDB achieved a further two-month reduction, from six months to four months, in the service diversion phase of LUP works, by streamlining the process involving multiple agencies.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors HDB will continue to look at ways to expedite LUP works without compromising quality and safety, bearing in mind that the works are often carried out within a tight site area and in close proximity to residents. In some situations, HDB will also need to phase out the work, so that residents can continue to enjoy the same level of lift service while LUP works are ongoing, and to minimise noise and dust to residents.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I would like to ask two supplementary questions relating to comments made by my residents undergoing LUP at Pandan Gardens. Many of the residents ask me how come it takes two years to upgrade a block when we can build condominiums in the same time. The crux of the issue is about how work is being phased. According to my own observations in the estate, the work being done in upgrading the lifts in the precinct – let us say the eight blocks involved – basically the work is done in batches. They start digging in one block, they finish and they go to the next block, and they go one round before they come back to the first block to do the next step. If it is done like that, it would take a long time, probably two years, end-to-end for the whole project. My question to the Minister of State is whether HDB can consider the work being compressed so that works can start on one block, complete the works there before proceeding to the next block, so that inconvenience to residents is minimised. I would also like to ask a question on pre-fabrication. The Minister of State talked about pre-fabrication being used for the lift steel shafts. What other opportunities are there for HDB to explore so that a lot more work can be completed offsite?

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors Mr Speaker, I thank Ms Foo for her questions and her observations. Indeed, I sympathise with some of these observations that Members have gathered from the local execution of the LUP projects. I, myself, have some LUP works ongoing in my constituency, and I get very similar feedback from residents. Compared to a condominium or new flats built on a greenfield site, the LUP work has to be constrained by existing tight site and hours of construction and to minimise inconveniences and noise pollution to the residents. The Member made the observation about whether we could − instead of treating the whole precinct as one site – carry out work block to block. HDB is studying this approach. The reason why it is currently done this way has to do with the contract that is given. Contractors would typically hire a team of specialists doing certain functions, and they would go from one block to another block sequentially. If not well managed locally, these sequential activities can add up in terms of total duration.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors In terms of pre-fabrication, HDB is making use of prefab technology as far as possible. I am hopeful that HDB will continue to make improvements by better onsite house-keeping and project management to make sure that activities are more tightly integrated on the ground, and where feasible to complete work in one block before moving to another block.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors Mr Speaker, Sir, two supplementary questions. First, what is the progress of LUP? How many more blocks are in balance, still awaiting LUP? Secondly, the question is whether HDB is on track to meet the Government's target to complete the LUP so that all eligible HDB blocks will have lift access on every floor.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors Sir, the short answer is "yes". HDB is on track to complete the LUP programme for all the eligible blocks. In fact, 5,000 HDB blocks have been selected for LUP and polling has been completed for about 95% for these blocks. LUP has been completed for 65%. There is a time lag between polling and completion. The rest is being completed.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors Sir, may I ask the Minister of State whether the Ministry can consider reducing the overall testing and commissioning period without compromising safety of the lifts. Normally, for LUP, the same batch of lifts is actually provided by one company. So, it is possible to stagger or do simultaneous testing and commissioning of the lifts to reduce the overall period.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors Yes. We thank Dr Teo for his suggestion. We would ask HDB to look into it.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors Mr Low, last question.

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors When can we expect the LUP to be completed nation-wide? Any specific date, please?

Productivity Targets for Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) Contractors We expect to complete the LUP by end of 2014.

Relevance of Bomb Shelters in HDB Flats 3 Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether HDB would consider reviewing the relevance of bomb shelters in HDB flats and doing away with such requirements; and (b) whether there are alternatives given that many of these shelters are used as storerooms.

Relevance of Bomb Shelters in HDB Flats Sir, the Civil Defence Shelter Act governs the provision of bomb shelters. The Act requires all developers, and that includes the HDB, to provide such civil defence shelters within their residential developments. It is a mandatory requirement.

Relevance of Bomb Shelters in HDB Flats For HDB flats, the shelters can be built within the flats or take the form of a shelter outside the flats to be shared among the residents living on the same floor. The former is referred to as a household shelter, while the latter, a storey shelter.

Relevance of Bomb Shelters in HDB Flats HDB has built household shelters for most of its flats as they offer some advantages. For example, household shelters offer immediate protection as the residents do not need to leave their flats to search for shelter protection.

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) 4 Mr Teo Siong Seng asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the impact of JTC Corp's plans to divest its industrial property portfolio on local SMEs; (b) whether there are plans to review the divestment plan; and (c) whether the Ministry would consider providing sufficient affordable industrial land or premises to enable promising local SMEs to continue operating and developing their capabilities to the fullest in Singapore.

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Mr Speaker, Sir, in 2005, the Government decided to divest JTC's generic multi-storey, multiple-user factory space, or what is commonly known as flatted factory space. As explained in my speech during the Committee of Supply debate last month, there was already a competitive market for flatted factory space in the private sector. JTC's market share then was only 18%.

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) JTC's tenants were enjoying lower rentals than others. This created an unlevel playing field for other SMEs that were not JTC's tenants. Furthermore, JTC's lower rentals were undercutting private sector developers. If JTC had continued to remain in this segment of the market, it would crowd out the smaller developers. The divestment was therefore necessary to, first, level the playing field for all SMEs and, second, to promote the vibrancy of this segment of the industrial market.

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) The divestment of JTC's flatted factories has affected only a small proportion of SMEs because JTC's market share, as I mentioned just now, was only 18%. To ameliorate the impact of the divestment on the affected SMEs, JTC worked with the buyers to impose rental caps, for a period of up to three years. SMEs affected by the first phase of divestment in 2008 paid, on average, 6% to 25% less than market rates when they renewed their tenancies in the first three years after divestment.

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) The increase in rentals after this transition period may appear large to some SMEs, but this is partly because they had enjoyed lower-than-market rentals in the earlier three years.

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) MTI and JTC have been working to keep industrial space affordable. First, JTC continues to develop innovative infrastructure projects, some of which help reduce business costs for SMEs through innovative designs or the up-front provision of capital-intensive facilities that can be co-shared. Examples of such projects include the Business Aviation Complex and the upcoming MedTech Hub and Surface Finishing Complex.

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Second, we ensure that there is a sufficient supply of industrial land to meet SMEs' demand for industrial space. Through the Industrial Government Land Sales (IGLS) programme, about 20 hectares of land was released every half year in 2010 and 2011. This is about 30% higher than in 2008 and 2009. In the first half of 2012, an even larger amount of land – 24 hectares in total – has been made available through the IGLS programme. For this IGLS programme, we also released several small sites with shorter tenure, to satisfy the demand of industrialists, including SMEs, who require customised facilities and thus prefer to build factory space on their own. With shorter tenure, the sites will also be more affordable.

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) To ensure a timely supply of space, we have also shortened the project completion period for IGLS sites, from eight years to between five and seven years.

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) These measures will help ensure that our industrial space remains affordable. Industrial rentals have, in fact, moderated recently on the back of incoming supply and weakening demand. Industrial rentals grew by only 0.4% between 3Q2011 and 4Q2011, compared to 5% for the same quarters of the previous year. We expect rentals to continue to moderate as more supply comes on-stream, and with the weaker economic climate.

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) I thank the Minister for the explanation. Would JTC consider for the remaining of the factory space, instead of divesting to REITs, to sell to the factory owner?

Impact of JTC Corp's Industrial Property Divestment Plan on Costs for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) We are at the tail end of the divestment process and these are just smaller flatted factories. We are considering either trade sales in which we sell individual buildings or if the owners and occupiers are able to form bodies, we would be happy to look into selling to them too.

Government's Target Inflation Range 5 Ms Tan Su Shan asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Government has a target inflation range; (b) if so, does it differentiate between domestic and imported inflation pressures; (c) whether a strong Singapore dollar policy leading to domestic inflation pressures is a concern; and (d) what is being done on the supply side to ease these pressures.

Government's Target Inflation Range Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore's monetary policy is centred on managing the exchange rate of the Singapore dollar. This makes sense given the small and open nature of our economy. Our exports and imports of goods and services are nearly four times as large as our GDP. The exchange rate therefore has a significant influence on domestic prices, and plays an important role in determining economic activity. While MAS does not have a formal inflation target, the MAS Act clearly states that MAS' objective is to maintain price stability for sustained economic growth over the medium term.

Government's Target Inflation Range MAS and MTI do differentiate between domestic and imported inflation. We keep close watch on consumer price developments from both sources. First, imported inflation from abroad. The prices of goods we import from other countries, for instance, food and oil, can change significantly due to events beyond our control, such as poor harvests, natural disasters, or geopolitical tensions. Second, there are domestic sources of inflation stemming from changes in the cost of factor inputs. For example, when the cost of hiring a worker goes up, businesses may charge higher prices for goods and services to maintain their profit margins.

Government's Target Inflation Range A stronger Singapore dollar helps to cap both imported as well as domestic inflation. As the majority of products we consume and use in production are imported from overseas, a stronger exchange rate will reduce the Singapore dollar cost of these imported goods for both consumers and producers. Moreover, a stronger Singapore dollar will help to moderate domestic inflation by dampening the external demand for our goods and services, in turn lowering the demand for domestic resources, such as labour and land. As a result, rentals and wages would rise more modestly, reducing Singaporeans' demand for goods and services. This is similar to how interest rates impact domestic prices in larger economies.

Government's Target Inflation Range Apart from consumer prices, Singaporeans have also been concerned about asset prices. The increase in asset prices is due to strong demand and tight supply of completed units. The low domestic interest rates, which follow global rates because of our open financial system, have also partly supported the demand. We have implemented fiscal and prudential measures to cool the property market. Where supply constraints can be ameliorated to relieve cost pressures in the housing, commercial and industrial property segments, we have also done so directly.

Government's Target Inflation Range In addition, the Government is partnering Singapore workers and companies to raise productivity. Firms are in a challenging environment, where foreign worker levy and other costs are impacting their bottom line in the short term. Higher productivity allows firms to pay higher wages while remaining profitable without relying on large price increases. There are already several schemes for firms investing in machines that enhance productivity and innovation as well as to encourage further training and up-skilling of our workers.

Government's Target Inflation Range These supply side measures from increasing the availability of property supply to enhancing productivity will help us manage domestic inflation over the longer term.

Government's Target Inflation Range Finally, the Government also provides cash grants directly to help mitigate the impact of rising costs on households. For example, the "Grow & Share" package and the U-Save rebates. Last year alone, resident households living in HDB 3-room flats received Government transfers worth more than $2,000 per person on average. This amounts to around 10% of household income per household member. For resident households living in HDB 4-room flats, the transfer was around 7% of their average household income per household member. Although these grants do not reduce inflation, they help to offset the higher cost of living that our households experienced.

Government's Target Inflation Range Thank you, Minister, for the good explanation. The recent Budget has obviously led to transition costs. My fear has been that with the inflation rate now catching up with the GDP growth numbers, at some point, are we worried that the inflation rate will take to overtake our growth numbers? I cite today's Business Times report, headlined "All eyes on Sing$ as price pressure rises. Stubborn inflation and expectations of rising prices can feed into jobs and wages". This is clearly a concern. The second is, yes, I agree a strong Sing dollar helps with an open economy like ours to mitigate imported inflation. However, I do wish to comment that a strong Sing dollar policy may necessarily mean that our forward rates will also remain low. A low forward rate may lead to a rise in money supply which could also lead to asset inflation, which the Minister rightly pointed out. Those two are potential concerns that I want to raise now.

Government's Target Inflation Range I thank the Member for stating the complex challenge that MAS faces. It is obviously true that the inflation rate has been more persistent. We have been stuck with headline inflation at just below 5% for quite a long time. And MAS' core inflation has also been stuck at 3% for a long time. This is something which MAS is very concerned about. As Members know, the monetary policy statement will be issued this Friday. So these are some of the factors that MAS will take into consideration. The other point about the very liquid international situation which partly causes the asset inflation that we face is with us for some time to come. And this is also part of a very complex environment that MAS has to deal with in managing its monetary policy.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) 6 Mr R Dhinakaran asked the Minister for Transport if he could provide details on resources spent on preventive maintenance of the rail track and tunnel for the North East Line in the past five years, including labour hours, replacements of critical parts, and total expenditure.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) Mr Speaker, Sir, from 2007–2011, I understand that the operator SBS Transit spent about $16 million on preventive maintenance for the rail tracks, the tunnels and Overhead Catenary System (OCS) of the North East Line (NEL). Please note that this amount is only for these three areas and is therefore a fraction of the total maintenance cost that is spent on the NEL. The operator also currently has an in-house team of about 470 maintenance staff dedicated to the maintenance of the line.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) SBST conducts regular inspections of the tracks, tunnels and OCS, and carries out preventive maintenance in accordance with approved maintenance plans. Some of the measures that are taken include the monthly deployment of a specialised engineering vehicle known as a Multi-Function Vehicle (MFV) to help detect track faults for corrective maintenance. Six-monthly tunnel inspections are also conducted to check for cracks and leaks. Detailed inspections on the OCS are carried out every three months, as well as yearly, to ensure that it is well-maintained. Necessary measures are taken to deal with any defects that are detected during these checks.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) The SBST's maintenance staff also carries out nightly checks of the tunnels and tracks, during which components exhibiting signs of defect or wear and tear are replaced immediately to ensure the safety of the system.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) In spite of these checks and maintenance, train service disruptions can and do occur from time to time. Where necessary, the LTA will work with the Public Transport Operators (PTOs) to refine maintenance procedures so that the safety and reliability of the rail system is not compromised.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir. I would like to ask the Minister whether the amount of resources put in for preventive measures are adequate. There is a lot of unhappiness among the commuters due to the frequent train breakdowns especially over the last few months. What more can be done?

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) LTA works together with the operators. The LTA works with them on three areas. One is to define the Operating Performance Standards and to ensure that these standards are met. For example, the availability of the fleet, adherence to schedules, frequency of breakdowns, severity of breakdowns – those will come under the Operating Performing Standards. The LTA also reviews the two-yearly maintenance plans as well as audits the safety management system. These are key areas that LTA would work with both operators on.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) With regard to whether the maintenance regime is adequate, given the number of lines that are available today and the increasing number of trains and trips, the LTA will constantly review this together with the operators. Certainly, the COI will commence its public hearing on Monday next week and this will be one of the areas that I am sure the COI would also look at.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) With regard to disruptions, the way I would look at it is that we would try and minimise as much as possible the major disruptions and keep them in check. But I think it is unavoidable that a system that is as heavily utilised as ours is today will not face any disruptions. Every day, there are about 2.7 million passenger trips. They are running thousands of train trips for more than 18 hours a day and I dare say that there is no way you can prevent disruptions from occurring. What you try to do is that you minimise the major disruptions and if they do take place, you then have an incident management plan in place that will then try to ameliorate the effects on commuters.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) I thank the Minister for his response. I would like to ask him whether there are ways to detect impending failures earlier and to recover from them faster.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) It is a very good question, Mr Speaker, and I thank Mr Cedric Foo for raising that. As systems age, it is important that we do not hold to the same maintenance regime that we have been using in the past when the systems were newer. Hence, there is a need to holistically relook what we do with regard to maintaining the older lines. I have asked LTA in particular to pay attention to looking at, for example, together with the operators, the Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) of particularly critical components, as well as to put in place an On-Condition Monitoring regime where you are able to detect, for example, whether there are trains that are experiencing problems because of wheel flats that are especially noisy because the wheels need to be re-profiled. On-Condition Monitoring (OCM) will give you a better idea of how to prioritise some of the maintenance efforts that you will need on particular aspects, whether of the tracks or the trains.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, last question, please.

Cost of Preventive Maintenance of North East Line (NEL) Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister – how does he define "major disruptions" and does the Minister agree that whether major disruption or minor disruption, it will cause a lot of inconvenience to the commuters. I am sure there are a lot more improvements that are needed to be done; otherwise, public transport will be unreliable.