Hansard, 2012-07-09

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 15 May 2012

Administration of Oath Order. Oath of Allegiance. The hon Member, present to take his seat, will please come forward when his name is called.

Administration of Oath The following Member took and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance:

Administration of Oath Mr Png Eng Huat (Hougang)

Administration of Oath Order. Questions for Oral Answer.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally 1 Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) whether officers in our Kuala Lumpur High Commission had participated in the recent Bersih 3.0 rally; (b) if so, whether these officers had worn yellow shirts to show support to the rally participants; and (c) whether this incident will affect our bilateral relations with Malaysia and, if so, how.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Sir, there have been reports in the Malaysian media and elsewhere that Singaporean diplomats actively participated in Malaysia's Bersih 3.0 rally in April this year. Let me state clearly and unequivocally that that is not so. Our officers from the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur were present at the rally. But they were there as impartial observers, as were many diplomats from more than 10 other countries. Our officers were doing their duty. They were there as observers. They did not participate in Bersih 3.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Our officers abroad operate under these clear instructions. Our High Commission in Kuala Lumpur is present at a wide range of social, economic and political activities in Malaysia. This is part of their normal professional diplomatic duties like any other Embassy or High Commission. Let me quote Article 3(d) of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that the function of a diplomatic mission comprises, inter alia, "ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving State, and reporting thereon to the Government of the sending State. The actions of our diplomats and, as far as we know, the actions of diplomats from other countries at Bersih 3.0 were in accordance with the Vienna Convention. So it is regrettable that some elements in the Malaysian media and blogs have chosen to focus only on Singapore and tried to deliberately misrepresent the issue. A Malaysian newspaper commentary the week before acknowledged that foreign diplomats from North America and Europe were at the rally but tried to insinuate that other diplomats were participating "passively" whereas our diplomats were doing otherwise. This was clearly an attempt to twist the facts to suit their baseless claims.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally I will emphasise, repeat that our diplomats were there only in pursuance of the normal duties of all diplomats from all countries to observe and report on political developments in their host countries.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Mr Sitoh asked if these allegations will affect our bilateral relations. Singapore-Malaysia ties are strong and broad-based. Our Prime Ministers have a close working relationship as do our other Ministerial counterparts. We also cooperate closely and well at the Foreign Ministry level. I speak with my Malaysian counterpart, Dato' Sri Anifah Aman, on the phone and have a good working relationship with him. The fact that we have managed to resolve challenging bilateral issues, such as the Points Of Agreement on the Malayan Railway Land, says much about what we can do when we work together. We are also cooperating in a number of key areas including improving connectivity and making major investments in each other's countries.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally But obviously not everyone may be happy with this good state of our relationship. Dato' Sri Anifah has spoken to our High Commissioner to Malaysia Mr Ong Keng Yong about this matter. I have also spoken with Dato' Sri Anifah twice on this matter. As I have said earlier, Minister Anifah and I have a good personal relationship and we were able to speak frankly. We discussed the matter and I made clear what our diplomats did and did not do. We also agreed that Singapore and Malaysia have every intention of preserving our current positive relationship. We have all worked hard to build up the strong ties that we currently enjoy. Neither of us has an interest in undermining the relationship in any way. We should also not allow any negative elements uncomfortable with the current excellent state of bilateral ties to spoil our relations. I told Minister Anifah that I look forward to continuing to work with him to further strengthen our relationship.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Relations between Singapore and Malaysia have always been bigger than any specific disagreements or points of contention. This is how it has been and this is how we should be moving forward.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Sir, I thank the Minister for his response. With Speaker's permission, I would like to show this photograph [A photograph was circulated to hon Members]. There have been many allegations in the Malaysian media and blogosphere criticising Singapore for interfering in Malaysia's domestic politics at the recent Bersih 3.0 rally. Some online postings have even urged the Malaysian government to cut off the water supply to Singapore, as is shown in this photograph. I would like to seek the Minister's clarification on two related issues. First, in the face of such provocative remarks, how should we respond? Second, some of the articles in the Malaysian media are quite inflammatory. From what I understand, some of these newspapers like Utusan Malaysia are owned by UMNO. Does this show that the Malaysian government is behind these accusations?

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Sir, I have seen some of these allegations by certain sections of the Malaysian media. And we have also seen some incendiary comments, mainly from a handful of obscure blogs with very limited circulation, who obviously feel that spreading baseless allegations will give them publicity. There was also, of course, a protest outside our High Commission in KL by Malay rights group Perkasa. They have accused our diplomats of interfering in Malaysia's domestic politics. Some have even accused Singapore of supporting activities to "topple" the Malaysian government. They have come up with various demands for our diplomats to be sent home, and for Singapore to apologise. All these sentiments have been expressed without anyone clearly looking at the facts or bothering with them, because they do not want inconvenient facts to get in the way of their accusations. These actors are clearly seeking to create animosity and distrust.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally I cannot profess to understand their logic but these voices seem uncomfortable with the current good state of bilateral relations. Take, for example, the picture that Mr Sitoh found that spoke of cutting off our water supply. This is hostile and aggressive. Unfortunately, it is almost a reflexive action on the part of some elements to use the threat of cutting off water whenever there is any dispute on any issue. They should know that this leads down a very dangerous path.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Fortunately, I can affirm that the Malaysian government does not seem to share the view of these blogs. Some articles also made reference to interfering with our Malay community in Singapore. These articles suggest that the Malay community here can be persuaded to vote in a certain way. It is laughable because we have every confidence in our fellow citizens. These sentiments, which, let me repeat, I do not believe reflect the Malaysian government's views, show a dangerous inclination to inject a racial angle into bilateral relationships, and they show a continuing belief in some quarters that our Malay population can be targeted from the outside. That is a deliberate provocation. But we will not be baited by these negative elements. As I have said before, our ties with Malaysia are very strong. Minister Anifah and I have affirmed this when we spoke again recently. We know that both governments want to preserve this strong relationship and continue to work together bilaterally and regionally. We are happy to continue to work with the Malaysian government going forward.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister has pointed out that diplomats from many other countries attended the Bersih 3.0 rally to observe it, and not only Singapore's envoys. This leads me to my question: should Singapore not take some umbrage that it has been singled out for diplomatic criticism and public castigation with such hostile threats as have been referred to by hon Member Mr Sitoh? At the same time, can I ask Minister, while we value our relations with Malaysia, could it be that such Singapore-bashing might be due to the upcoming elections in Malaysia, and some quarters in Malaysia might be using this as a way to get some political mileage for themselves in Malaysia?

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Minister has also mentioned the Vienna Convention. Indeed, it is accepted practice for envoys to observe and monitor political developments in their host countries to send back reports to their governments. Can I ask the Minister would he agree that given the importance of Malaysia to Singapore as our closest neighbour, it would have been remiss of our envoys in KL had they not observed the political rallies in Malaysia so as to be able to send back reliable and carefully nuanced reports to the Government, instead of relying on second hand and potentially biased reports from second hand sources?

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Mr Speaker, I understand that there are three questions: whether we should take umbrage, what may be behind the Singapore-bashing, and also were our diplomats' actions within the Vienna Convention and were they doing their duty.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally As to the first question whether we should take umbrage on the Singapore-bashing, I think we answer at two levels. One, between government to government. Government to government, Minister Anifah spoke with our High Commissioner and I then spoke with him twice, and I think it is important that we have a frank exchange of views. I have explained to him in no uncertain terms, in very clear terms, what our diplomats did do and what they did not do. And I think it is best, and I have made clear in Parliament today, as have Ministry's statements earlier, that our diplomats behaved within the four corners, four square corners, of the law, international law. They did not wear yellow, they did not participate, they are under strict instructions in Malaysia as elsewhere to be strictly neutral. Our diplomats do not stray beyond that. I have made that clear. At the government-to-government level, we need to take this in a rationale, logical way and explain it directly.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally Then there is a second level where you have seen what Perkasa has done, and you have seen what the media and the blogs have been saying, and I think we have to give the appropriate importance that these statements deserve and watch. And we need not believe that these are necessarily motivated by the Malaysian government: we have no reason to believe that. And I think we should not let that affect the bilateral relationship. That is the proper way for diplomacy to proceed.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally The second question on what is behind the Singapore-bashing and whether it has got something to do with the General Elections that are coming up, if it had been done for political mileage – I think it does not do well for me as Minister for Foreign Affairs to publicly speculate on these reasons. I think the best is for me to take it directly and explain what we did do and what we did not do. And we are comfortable and confident that our diplomats acted well within the bounds of the law.

Singapore Diplomats in Bersih 3.0 Rally On the third question, Vienna Convention - what our diplomats did, as I said in my answer to Mr Sitoh, fall within the Vienna Convention. It is the duty of our diplomats to observe and report back. The Member referred to nuanced reports. In fact, they would be remiss in their duty if they did not observe and report back. But they did not go to Merdeka Square. They did not participate. They observed and they reported back, and that is indeed what they are expected to do. And diplomats from several other countries were present doing, I believe, the very same thing.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters 2 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the rationale for the residency requirement for overseas Singaporeans to have resided in Singapore for not less than 30 days during the three years immediately before a general election to be eligible as overseas voters; and (b) what measures are in place or will be taken to remind and assist overseas Singaporeans to register and vote, and whether the Ministry will consider (i) increasing the number of nine overseas voting centres to be nearer the number of our diplomatic missions abroad or (ii) permitting online registration and voting by overseas voters.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters Mr Speaker, Sir, the provisions for overseas voting in our election law were first introduced in 2001. Prior to that, only Singapore citizens above the age of 21 who were ordinarily resident in Singapore as on the cut-off date for the registers of electors were entitled to have their names entered or retained in the registers of electors and were thus eligible to vote.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters To allow overseas Singaporeans to be registered to vote, the definition of "ordinarily resident" in the Parliamentary Elections Act was expanded to deem overseas Singaporeans to be ordinarily resident in Singapore if they meet the minimum residency period. This was first done in 2001. This residency period is used to determine whether an overseas Singaporean can be deemed to be "ordinarily resident" in Singapore, thereby qualifying him to be registered as an overseas elector.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters The residency requirement, when the law was first enacted in 2001, was that the person must have resided in Singapore for a cumulative period of two years within the period of five years, that is, two years out of the last five years, immediately preceding the registers of electors' cut-off date. This was later changed in August 2008, and the current residency requirement is "30 days out of the last three years", instead of the earlier "two years out of the last five years", or, prior to 2001, when overseas voting was not allowed at all.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters The residency requirement, together with the need for an overseas Singaporean to maintain a local address with ICA for his name to be entered into a register of electors, will ensure that eligibility for overseas voting is extended to only those Singaporeans who maintain links to Singapore.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters By changing the residency requirement to 30 days out of the last three years, all that an overseas Singaporean needs to do is to come home for, say, 10 days a year to visit his family and friends. In this way, they remain engaged in our domestic affairs and do not lose the connection with their homeland. This will help them to make an informed choice when they cast their votes.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters The Elections Department has put in place a number of channels to draw voters' attention to the overseas voting exercise, including how to register as overseas electors. Besides publicising such information on its own website and the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Overseas Singaporean Unit, the Elections Department also advertised in selected major overseas newspapers and distributed brochures to overseas Singaporeans through our overseas missions and at events organised by the Overseas Singaporean Unit. There were web banner advertisements at the Elections Department website, and at leading commercial websites which are frequently visited by overseas Singaporeans, such as AsiaOne, Channel NewsAsia and Lianhe Zaobao. In addition, emails were sent to overseas Singaporeans whose names were on the e-Registers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Singaporean Unit, as well as to previously registered overseas electors whose registration had expired when the registers of electors were revised, to remind them to register or re-register as overseas electors.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters After the Writ of Election is issued, poll letters are sent to overseas electors to their overseas addresses and e-mail addresses. Poll cards are also sent to their Singapore addresses, to allow them to vote at a local polling station if they are back in Singapore on polling day. They may also print out their poll letter online by logging in to Elections Department's e-service.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters While we try to have more overseas polling stations to allow more Singaporeans to vote overseas, the selection of a city for overseas polling must take into account several factors. First, there should be a significant number of Singaporeans living in the city and country. Second, the city must have Singapore Government-managed facilities which enable the officials to exercise operational command and control to ensure that the voting process is carried out in a proper and orderly manner, bearing in mind that it is not Singapore. Third, in order to ensure that we are able to optimise our limited resources, the city or country should not be so nearby that Singaporeans can travel back to Singapore to vote on polling day with relative ease.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters Based on these considerations, the cities where we can site overseas polling stations are those where we have consulates or missions with sufficient mission staff to manage the overseas polls. There are nine cities where overseas polling stations can be set up in our missions. We will regularly review the cities where more overseas polling stations can be set up.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters Online registration as overseas electors is available. Eligible voters who use their SingPass to authenticate their identity for the online service do not need to send in the completed and signed application form. They may also apply online to change their allotted overseas polling station or cancel their registration subsequently should they leave the city or country where they first registered as overseas voters.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters The Elections Department has studied other methods of voting, including online voting. However, the Internet is a domain vulnerable to reliability, authentication and security risks. These include hacking and denial of service attacks. There are also issues of identity authentication and voting secrecy, thus, making online voting susceptible to electoral fraud. In addition, auditing the voting results in the event of a petition to the Election Judge is more challenging and potentially problematic.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters I thank Deputy Prime Minister for his answers, and it is heartening to know of all these different measures that have been taken to assist and to remind overseas Singaporeans to discharge their responsibilities in voting and to exercise their right in voting. I hope the Government will continue to study ways to help overseas Singaporeans vote in our elections.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters Mr Chen, do you have a supplementary question?

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters I hope that the Government will continue in its efforts in this area.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters Mr Chen, I assume you do not have a supplementary question. Next question, please.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters I just want to point out that, given all the considerations that Deputy Prime Minister has enumerated, I think there is still some way to go to get overseas Singaporeans fully involved in our voting.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters Mr Chen, I will have to interrupt you, but this is an opportunity for a supplementary question, not a speech. So, if you have a supplementary question, please ask it. If you do not, please move on to the next question.

Residency Requirements for Overseas Voters I will move on – Question No 3, please.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 3 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Prime Minister (a) how many Singaporeans were entitled to vote in each of the 2001, 2006 and 2011 General Elections; (b) of these voters, how many were registered to vote in each case; (c) how many voters were removed from the register of electors following the 2001, 2006 and 2011 General Elections respectively; (d) how many voters were restored to the registers of electors before the 2001, 2006 and 2011 General Elections respectively; and (e) for each of the 2001, 2006 and 2011 General Elections, what is the demographic breakdown of voters who were removed from the register of electors, by (i) age (ii) gender (iii) ethnic group and (iv) type of residence.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 4 Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the rationale for removing non-voters from the register of electors when voting is compulsory for all eligible citizens; (b) whether the $50 penalty imposed to restore a name to the register of electors without valid reasons for non-voting can be waived for low-income Singaporeans; and (c) what measures are in place or will be taken to remind and assist citizens to restore their names to the registers of electors; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider changing the laws or regulations so that a voter's name is not removed from the register of electors even if a penalty is imposed for not voting.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 3 and 4 together?

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Yes, please.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Before starting, I would like to thank Mr Chen for agreeing with me. Under our election laws, persons who are eligible to vote will have their names entered or retained in the registers of electors automatically when the registers are prepared, revised or updated. There is no need for individual persons to register to vote, except for the registration of overseas electors. The registers of electors in operation are conclusive evidence that determines whether a person is eligible to vote. Persons whose names are found in the registers of electors must vote.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Voting is compulsory as it is as much a fundamental right of citizenship as it is a civic responsibility to be exercised by citizens to choose and elect their leaders in a democracy. Hence, those who do not turn up to vote – I will refer to them as "non-voters" for convenience – have their names expunged from the registers after the election.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 However, if such a non-voter wishes to restore his name to the registers of electors, so that he can vote at the next election, he can freely apply to do so. This may be done at any time, except during the election period. His name will be restored as long as he can provide a valid reason for not voting. If he has no valid reason, his name will still be restored but he will have to pay $50 for his name to be restored. Of course, he may also choose not to apply for his name to be restored and, in this case, there is no imposition of any financial penalty. This approach is a practical and balanced one because, while voting is compulsory in the sense that you are required to vote if your name is in the registers of electors as an eligible voter, we really cannot compel anyone to vote if he chooses not to fulfil his responsibility. Nevertheless, the right for him to vote remains as he can apply to have his name restored to the registers of electors. This system has been working well and there is no need for any change.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Although non-voters have to provide a reason for not voting when applying to restore their names, a broad spectrum of reasons has been accepted as valid to cater to many situations. These include studying overseas, working overseas, on holiday overseas, on medical leave, hospitalised, bedridden, mental incapacity and so on. As such, the majority of the non-voters have not had to pay the penalty to have their names restored. Thus far, the Elections Department has not received any request for reinstatement to the electoral registers without financial penalty which have cited low income as the reason for not voting. The Elections Department will consider any such application on its merits, on a case-by-case basis.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 We undertake several measures to remind people to vote and to restore their names in the registers of electors if they have failed to vote. After every election when the names of electors who failed to vote are expunged from the registers of electors, the Elections Department will send letters to inform them that they may apply to restore their names if they wish to do so. In addition to sending such letters to those who did not vote at the last election, similar letters are also sent to those who did not vote in previous elections.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 In between elections, the Elections Department also sends out such letters to the non-voters every time the registers of electors are revised. After the 2011 General Election, 147,000 letters were sent to non-voters from that election within a short period of two months, so that those who wish to vote in the 2011 Presidential Election can get their names restored to the registers of electors in time for the election.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Application for non-voters to restore their names to the registers is also made simple and can be done in several ways. Upon receiving the letter from the Elections Department, non-voters may apply by filling in the relevant details in the letter and simply mailing it back to the Department. They may apply in person at any of the community centres or clubs, or at the office of the Elections Department. They may also make their application online via the Elections Department website.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Before the 2001 General Election, 30,317 names of non-voters were restored to the registers of electors. For the 2001 General Election, there were 2,036,923 names in the registers of electors for all constituencies when the writ of election was issued on 18 October 2001, and those were the electors who were eligible to vote in that election. Following the 2001 General Election, 36,403 names of non-voters were expunged from the registers of electors.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Before the 2006 General Election, 25,508 names of non-voters were restored to the registers of electors. For the 2006 General Election, there were 2,158,704 names in the registers of electors for all constituencies when the writ of election was issued on 20 April 2006, and these were the electors who were eligible to vote in that election. Following the 2006 General Election, 72,881 names of non-voters were expunged from the registers of electors.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Before the 2011 General Election, 60,086 names of non-voters were restored to the registers of electors. For the 2011 General Election, there were 2,350,873 names in the registers of electors for all constituencies when the writ of election was issued on 19 April 2011, and those were the electors who were eligible to vote in that election. Following the 2011 General Election, 150,729 names of non-voters were expunged from the registers of electors.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 The lists of non-voters have been compiled after every election by simply capturing the names and NRIC numbers of voters who did not turn up at the polling stations to vote on Polling Day. The Elections Department does not maintain detailed particulars of the non-voters for profile analysis as such information is not essential for the preparation of the non-voters' lists.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Sir, I would like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister for the numbers he gave of voters who were eligible to vote in these different elections. I guess my question is related to the number of Singaporeans who are entitled to have their names included in the registers of electors, meaning Singaporeans over the age of 21 who are ordinarily resident in Singapore, because there is a number that is not necessarily the same as the number of eligible voters whose names appear on the register.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 The reason I asked this is because in my visits to constituents both before and after the elections, questions were put to me about the election procedures that made me worried that some Singaporeans may have fallen off the radar screen because they did not vote in the past, because as the Deputy Prime Minister explained right now, if you do not vote in an election, your name will be removed from the registers of electors and you will not be eligible to vote unless you take action to restore your name.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Mr Chen, can you come to the question, please?

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 The question is, what are the numbers of Singaporeans entitled to have their names included in the register of voters for each of the three General Elections I asked about.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not entirely understand Mr Chen's question because he asked how many Singaporeans were entitled to vote in each of the 2001, 2006 and 2011 General Elections, and I have provided him the numbers for the Singaporeans who were entitled to vote. Singaporeans who are entitled to vote are those who are on the electoral register and if there are Singaporeans whose names are not on the electoral register, they can apply for their names to be on the electoral register at any time.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 And the question is, how many Singaporeans are there whose names do not appear in the electoral register. Because once you do not vote, your name is removed from the register. And unless you take action to apply through the Elections Department and provide a valid reason or pay $50, then you are free of this responsibility to vote or put in other way €”

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 Mr Chen, please allow the Deputy Prime Minister to reply.

Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011 €” you lose your right to vote.