Hansard, Monday, 2 October 2017

Order. I wish to inform Members that pursuant to Standing Order No 102, I have on 12 September 2017 nominated the Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development Mr Desmond Lee to be a Member of the Public Petitions Committee, to fill a vacancy that has arisen in that Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

1 Mr Vikram Nair asked the Minister for Defence following the two recent incidents of ship collisions in our territorial waters, what is the Maritime Security Task Force's assessment of (i) our capabilities for surveillance of maritime traffic and (ii) our ability to respond to scenarios where commercial vessels that are in or entering Singapore waters can be used by terrorists.

Mr Speaker, ensuring maritime security for our ports and surrounding waters is of high priority to Singapore. This is because disruption to sea traffic along the Singapore Strait will impact not only our local economy but also globally as half of the world’s total annual sea-borne trade and 70% of Asia’s oil imports pass through our waterway. As the Member also highlighted, terrorists can target ships in our waters or attack from the sea, as they did in the Mumbai incident in 2008.

In dealing with terror threats at and from the sea, Singapore adopts a whole-of-Government (WoG) approach to ensure a comprehensive coverage of varied scenarios as well as coordinated responses. This approach led to the setup of the Singapore Maritime Crisis Centre (SMCC) in 2011, which brings together the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), the Police Coast Guard, the Singapore Civil Defence Force, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), and Singapore Customs. SMCC maintains a comprehensive maritime situation picture, shares information among the agencies and coordinates responses to deal with potential threats.

SMCC leverages technology to analyse information, detect suspicious patterns, and cue relevant agencies to investigate and take action. Let me provide two examples. In 2015, for example, SMCC detected a potential Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) sympathiser who was on board a tanker calling into Singapore. That individual was barred from entering Singapore. In another case in 2016, SMCC received information about a hijacked tanker. This information was shared with the Indonesian authorities as the vessel was in their waters. This led to the ship’s rescue, and, in that case, the hijack was not linked to any terror intent.

Also, as part of the WoG efforts, the RSN's Maritime Security Task Force (MSTF), which the Member asked specifically about, feeds its information to SMCC. This information is obtained from monitoring close to a thousand ships passing through the Singapore Straits each day, through a network of sensors, such as coastal surveillance radars, electro-optic devices and RSN ships on patrol. This surveillance is continuous both in the day and at night.

The MSTF's key focus is on potential threats to Singapore. This is what Mr Vikram Nair alluded to, while the MPA watches over the navigation of ships in our waters. For both purposes, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea mandates the use of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to identify ships at sea. This AIS, however, does not apply to warships. For ships that are not required or have not complied with vessel identification, their presence can still be detected via our network of coastal surveillance radars and electro-optic devices.

On a daily basis, MSTF conducts threat evaluation for every vessel calling into Singapore's ports or transiting through the Singapore Straits. MSTF does this by deploying analytic tools to build profiles of each vessel based on attributes, such as their voyage, owners, crew and cargo, as well as additional data shared by Government agencies. MSTF would then decide the appropriate operational responses, which include, for example, closer monitoring, escorting or even boarding the ship to mitigate the threat.

Let me now move on specifically to the two recent incidents asked about by the Member. With regard to the two recent incidents which resulted in collisions, our sensors had detected and identified the vessels involved in both the collisions. In the case of the USS John S McCain and the Alnic MC, both were detected in our waters off Pedra Branca. The RSN vessel RSS Gallant, which was patrolling our waters, had also established communications with the foreign warship as part of standard procedures. Likewise, for the case of the dredger JBB De Rong 19 and tanker Kartika Segara, both were detected and identified prior to their collision that took place within Singapore waters off Sisters’ Island.

In both these incidents, none of the ships was designated as potential threats to security, and correctly so. As such, in compliance with standard protocols, they did not require close monitoring by MSTF. And by the rules of navigation under the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, the master and crew of the vessels involved were responsible to guide their ships safely through. The various parties involved in the collision will now have to investigate what went wrong and what remedial actions to take, if necessary. The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau is also conducting an investigation and has announced that it will make the findings public.

Mr Vikram Nair.

I thank the Minister for the reply. In relation to the two collisions, I understand that we were able to detect the ships, but they were not subjected to a higher level of security and, therefore, additional steps were not necessary. What would the measures be if, for example, there was hostile intention detected on the paths of one of the vessels? Would that have been different?

Those are very pertinent questions and not theoretical at all. We saw what happened in the Mumbai attack, and there are many scenarios. If we had, for example, pre-emptive information that a particular ship was carrying either illegal cargo or had malignant intent towards Singapore, it could amount to boarding the ship or keeping it under close surveillance.

There are various scenarios played out. This is what MSTF does in its exercises, if you have kept up with the number of exercises that we have had at sea, various scenarios are played out, whether it is cruise ship, whether it is cargo, and what kind of scenarios may result, including hostage-taking. They are varied to the extent possible. The planners, our security agencies and, together with the other agencies under SMCC, do play out these scenarios.

We have, over the years, stepped up the level of exercises, and there is a certain level of competency. I do not want to give the false impression that all attacks can be mitigated. If there are suicide attacks, sometimes, it is difficult to stop them. But this is a situation where we continue to look at the scenarios, continue to exercise, continue to anticipate.

2 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Transport with regard to the two recent collisions of ships in our territorial waters (a) whether there will be reviews carried out on our Vessel Traffic Information System to enhance the navigational safety and security in our waters; and (b) whether the Ministry will be checking for weaknesses in our sea defence against potential attacks by terrorists in this area.

Mr Speaker, Sir, allow me to answer part (a) of the question, as part (b) has been earlier addressed by the Minister for Defence in his reply to Question No 1.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) operates the Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS), which integrates data from various sources, including radars, the Automatic Identification System, closed circuit television system, Very High Frequency Communications System and ship databases, to provide an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the traffic in the Singapore Strait and Singapore port waters. With the capability to concurrently track more than 10,000 vessels, VTIS enables MPA to provide timely information and advice to help vessels transit safely through the Singapore Strait, as well as manage traffic within our port waters, where there are some 1,000 vessels at any one time.

Enhancing navigational safety is an important priority for MPA. MPA carries out regular enhancements to its VTIS which was installed in 2011 and upgraded early this year.

Beyond technical capabilities, MPA also seeks to improve the practice of good seamanship and advocate a safety-first culture at sea. MPA established the National Maritime Safety at Sea Council to drive such efforts. MPA also organises conferences, workshops and briefings on navigational safety under its Safety@Sea campaign.

3 Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Bukit Panjang LRT system was built as an afterthought; and (b) what were the political pressures faced by the Government when it decided to build the Bukit Panjang LRT system.

Mr Speaker, in the 1990s, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) was exploring a pilot Light Rail Transit (LRT) network to bridge the last-mile gap from the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and ease vehicle congestion within housing estates where population growth had stretched the road capacity. Bukit Panjang was identified in 1994 for the pilot, even though it was planned and built without LRT in mind.

To accommodate the existing developments, the LRT had to take sharp turns over undulating terrain. Over time, we discovered that this made the LRT prone to faults, especially power trips at the sharp bends, where the trains' collector shoes often dislodge from the power rail. LTA and Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) have put in significant efforts to improve system reliability, including detailed power rail checks, hotspot replacement and installation of an additional power source. They are also exploring extending engineering hours to address these additional works.

As the LRT is coming to the end of its design life, we will be calling a tender at the end of this year to overhaul the LRT.

Mr Pritam Singh.

I thank the Second Minister for the reply. I know it does not answer the question; I can understand why because the Minister is not here. But just to confirm: this issue of the topographical constraints of Bukit Panjang was raised by the former Minister for Transport Mr Lui Tuck Yew in 2015 as a reason why it is not feasible to rebuild the entire line, because of these constraints. The former Chief Executive Officer of SMRT Ms Saw Phaik Hwa was also quoted as saying, "LRTs are meant to be simple lines and are not meant to make many turns and go up and down hills."

It would appear that a design issue is at the heart of the problems affecting the Bukit Panjang LRT Line. And to that end, can I just ask, would this be a correct characterisation of the problem with the Bukit Panjang LRT Line and, if so, who was responsible for the design of that particular Line? Was it LTA or the winning tenderer?

The second question I have is with regard to tender selection when the Line was awarded to Keppel Integrated Engineering (KIE). It was reported that KIE was the lowest bidder and its price worked out to about $35 million per kilometre. This was significantly lower, compared to similar LRT Lines made around that period or tendered around that period in Malaysia and Thailand. So, was that an issue?

Mr Speaker, the primary issue with the Bukit Panjang LRT is that the LRT design was adapted from an airport system, primarily, to a housing estate. As I have stated in my reply, this straight-line design of the LRT was adapted to undulating terrain and sharp turns, and this caused the power collector shoes to dislodge from the power rail. We have taken a look at the design considerations and this will be addressed in the upcoming tender to improve the reliability of the whole system.

So, in the initial implementation of the LRT, we adapted a system that is usually for straight-line travel into a housing estate. This had caused some of these power dislodge problems.

4 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Transport what are the Government's plans to improve the medium- to long-term term reliability of the Bukit Panjang LRT system and what are the immediate- to short-term plans to improve commuter service and experience when there are breakdowns and stoppages in the LRT system.

Mr Speaker, the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) is our next oldest rail line after the North-South and East-West Lines. The system is nearing the end of its design life and is due for renewal.

Most of the disruptions on BPLRT have been due to power-related faults. In the immediate term, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) are carrying out detailed checks of the Light Rail Transit's (LRT's) power rails and performing hotspot replacement works where needed. LTA will also install a new power source at the Ten Mile Junction substation to provide a back-up to the existing system at Choa Chu Kang. Both exercises will be completed by year end. In the meantime, LTA and SMRT are looking to extend engineering hours to cater to these additional works. This would mean shorter operating hours and we hope to have commuters’ understanding on this.

In addition, SMRT is forming a quick response team to rectify train faults and shorten service recovery times. The proximity of the new Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub will also allow SMRT to deploy buses rapidly to ferry commuters during a service disruption.

In the first half of 2018, LTA will be awarding a contract to renew BPLRT. When completed, reliability will improve substantially.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

I thank the Second Minister for his commitment to fix the LRT problem with both long-term and short-term solutions. The feedback I have received from my residents in Bukit Panjang Town is that while they are unhappy with the frequent disruptions of BPLRT, they still find that the LRT serves their commuting needs and hope that the LRT will continue as another mode of transport in Bukit Panjang Town.

My first question to the Second Minister is: with this revamp, is there any indication of the timeline, what are the different phases involved and whether there will be disruptions in the process as the operator tries to fix the longer-term problems?

Secondly, in the meantime, when these are in progress, can the bus resources be increased to serve as a back-up whenever there are stoppages, and also to provide alternatives, especially during the crowded peak periods?

Mr Speaker, there were good engineering lessons learnt from BPLRT over the years and we are intending to up the engineering hours to provide LTA and SMRT to have more time on the tracks. Though this will cause short-term disruptions, we will be providing bus services to bridge any of the inconveniences for the commuters.

In the upgrading process, there will be requirements to secure different parts of the BPLRT. Likewise, where we can, SMRT will provide the bus services to alleviate commuters' inconveniences. But because Bukit Panjang is a relatively mature estate, there are limits to how many buses we can put on the roads without causing further congestion. So, we ask for commuters' understanding while we do the short-term and the longer-term upgrades.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I have two supplementary questions. The fact that there will be another tender called to revamp the BPLRT means that it is useful. My question is: will there be an LRT plan for Yishun Town?

Secondly, Yishun is served by the North-South Line, which is the oldest, even older that Bukit Panjang LRT. What plans does the Ministry have to reduce the breakdown rate because, recently, there are still a lot of breakdowns?

Mr Speaker, as usual, I thank Er Dr Lee Bee Wah for the question. I regret to inform the hon Member that the LRT is not in the works for Yishun Town. But for the North-South Line, there have been a lot of engineering works done on two fronts. One, on the maintenance front, we have upped the reliability to almost 400,000 kilometres before failure. This is for the maintenance regime upgrade on the North-South Line. In parallel, we have been doing a signalling upgrading on the North-South Line. Things have gone on relatively well, short of a couple of major breakdowns in June and July. But we are fixing the software issues and, by year-end, we hope to have the new signalling system operating on the North-South Line. That will bring better service and conveniences to the hon Member's residents.

5 Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for Finance based on the findings in the Report of the Auditor-General for FY2016/17, whether AGO will direct all the entities in the Report to investigate all improper payments made and determine the amount of money to recover.

Mr Speaker, the Auditor-General's (AG's) report reflects its findings in respect of two types of audit conducted every year on Government agencies. The first concerns whether the accounts of the Government are reliable and prepared in accordance with the law. The second concerns the rules and procedures in individual public agencies, for example, whether the rules and processes are adequate and have been complied with.

On the former, the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) has given the Government's Financial Statements this year an unmodified audit opinion, as has been the case in previous years. In other words, in the AGO’s opinion, the Financial Statements have been presented, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework. This means that the accounts of the Ministries, departments and Organs of State have all been found to be reliable and prepared in accordance with the law. On the latter, AGO has highlighted in its report some areas in which there have been procedural lapses and where the Government agencies can do better. We take these findings seriously.

Let me address Mr Png's question on investigating all improper payments and its recovery. I should clarify at the outset that there is no indication in the AGO report of any payments due to fraud, misfeasance or dishonesty. The cases highlighted by AGO this year largely concerned overpayments and payments made without prior approval, arising from human error, negligence or failure to follow established procedures.

In each of these cases, agencies have been taking prompt actions to recover any monies which might have been erroneously paid out. AGO noted that the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) has recovered the overpaid amounts. The Economic Development Board (EDB) has completed the remedial action for all payment related lapses, including recovery of monies in the two incidences of overpayments. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) is also taking corrective actions to make good under-reimbursements and to recover over-reimbursements for the Government-paid Paternity Leave scheme. The Ministry of Health (MOH) also completed its review of the claims by its agents and service providers. There is no overpayment as the additional sums claimed by its agents have not been paid out. MOH will only be reimbursing its agents for the correct amount due to them.

The Government agencies are taking the necessary corrective actions in respect of the lapses highlighted in the AGO report.

Mr Png Eng Huat.

I thank the Senior Minister of State. I have a question because, in the AGO Report, there is also, for example, language used, such as "there is no assurance that the Ministry exercised financial prudence" and also “there is a risk of fraud”. Can any entity whose lapses are highlighted in the AGO report come to the conclusion that there is no fraud because the AGO report is not forensic in nature? That is my question.

Mr Png referred to "the Ministry" in his clarification. May I enquire which Ministry?

MOH.

MOH. Mr Speaker, I think what the hon Member is really asking is whether an AGO report can prove a negative. You cannot prove a negative. One does not go around looking to see whether I can disprove or show that there is no fraud. An audit, by its nature, selects samples. It looks at the samples and it considers whether the system as a whole is robust and, if it picks up a point that the system, in itself, has got inefficiencies or deficiencies, it will highlight it.

An audit, by its nature, also, if it encounters a specific lapse or error, such as overpayment or under-reimbursement, it will also highlight that. So, what an audit does really is that it does sample checks, sees whether the system as a whole is robust and efficient, and it highlights specific lapses that it may encounter. That is the nature, not just of an audit by AGO, but of all audits.

Mr Png Eng Huat.

Mr Speaker, Sir, just one last clarification. Although the AGO or audit is not forensic, so, technically, you cannot detect fraud. But in the aftermath of the report, when it was released, MOH, in its statement, said that, "Based on the AGO report, there was no indication of fraud or corrupt practices", which the AGO report did not say. Then the statement went on to say that "that warrants no further investigation required".

Would the Senior Minister of State comment on it because I think no one should take the AGO report as an endorsement that there is no fraud. The AGO only highlights lapses. Like what the Senior Minister of State said, it is selective audit. As such, the AGO report, when it came out, the language they used is quite similar to what was also used previously. We have encountered it before. It is not forensic. So, no Ministry should take for granted that, because it is not mentioned that there is no fraud, and if there is no fraud, it does not warrant any further investigations.

Mr Speaker, the hon Member may have misunderstood the nature of an audit. An audit will highlight or precipitate forensic inquiry if there is reason to do a forensic inquiry. So, if you go in and if you find there is conflict of interests, for example, payments to related third-parties or that your system as a whole enables the same person to approve a payment, submit a request for payment and sign a cheque for payment, that would require a forensic investigation.

But if you go in and you find that there is, in MOH's case, a possibility of an overpayment which actually has not even occurred and you point it out and you can rectify it, and if the nature of that is because, as I have explained earlier, human error, negligence or non-compliance, that, in itself, does not trigger a forensic audit.

What you have to do is you have to look at the nature of the lapse. Is it something that requires a further and deep investigation, or is it something that does not?

In this case, as I have explained earlier, the Financial Statements of the Government are fair and accurate. They are reliable. So, you can take the statements as reliable. Then, the second part of the audit is that you look to see whether or not the rules and processes are adequate and have been complied with. In this case, it would appear that the rules and processes are adequate, but, in some cases, they were not complied with that does not necessitate a forensic investigation.

So, it is quite correct for MOH to say that the audit did not, in this instance, disclose evidence of fraud.

6 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Finance whether the Ministry will regularly review the Government's commitment to reduce socio-economic inequality and publish the results of such reviews in light of recent findings from a study by Oxfam and Development Finance International that ranks Singapore in 86th placing in the world in this regard.

Mr Speaker, the Government is concerned about inequality and takes serious efforts to address it. Our concern underpins the design of many of our policies and schemes.

Our key strategy for tackling inequality is to ensure that all Singaporeans, especially those who are less well off, are able to access good opportunities, earn higher incomes and enjoy a higher standard of living. We do this by providing the necessary support to our citizens at various stages of life, with more support going to the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.

We invest heavily in education so that every child, regardless of socio-economic background, can have access to a good education and develop to his full potential. A child who attends primary and secondary school receives around $11,000 in educational subsidies per year. Children from lower-income families receive even more support through the Ministry of Education's Financial Assistance Scheme and bursaries. Students with more needs receive additional support through various support programmes. These ensure that we preserve social mobility for our next generation.

For workers, we introduced the SkillsFuture movement to support skills upgrading so that they can take on better jobs. We also have the Progressive Wage Model to help lower-wage workers upskill and earn better wages, and Workfare to supplement their income. We have seen encouraging results so far. In the last five years, incomes of lower-wage workers have grown in tandem with median income growth.

For those in their silver years, we have introduced the Silver Support Scheme to provide additional support to seniors who have low incomes through life and have little family support.

Our means-tested health and long-term care subsidies also ensure that those with lower income receive more assistance, while the Goods and Services Tax Voucher scheme supports lower-income families with their day-to-day expenses.

All these schemes add up to a system that is highly progressive. All in all, low-income households receive almost $4 of benefits for every dollar of tax paid, while the middle-income households receive almost $2 for every dollar of tax paid.

Mr Perera referred to the ranking by Oxfam and Development Finance International. The rankings were based on the absolute amount of social spending, with the assumption that the higher the level of spending, the better will be the situation, regardless of whether the spending leads to effective outcomes. The authors have acknowledged the limitations of their study in representing the different circumstances of individual countries. This is the case for Singapore, where we target our subsidies and assistance to those who are more needy. This focused approach to reducing inequality enables us to keep our tax burden low while ensuring our social expenditure is prudent, fair and progressive.

Our approach has served us well so far. We have kept inequality in check, even as income gaps widen elsewhere. Our Gini coefficient has moderated over the last five years. Our people have also seen good income growth with the lower income seeing their real per capita household income grow by close to 20% over the last five years.

Such indicators are published every year in the Key Household Income Trends report by the Department of Statistics, and every two years in the biennial Singapore Public Sector Outcomes Review (SPOR) by the Ministry of Finance. The Government has been and remains committed to addressing inequality.

Mr Leon Perera.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for the detailed and comprehensive answer. I have two supplementary questions.

Firstly, in light of the fact that our Gini coefficient, which the Senior Minister of State alluded to, is still among the highest among developed countries in the world, and given the fact that even though the Gini coefficient refers to inequality of outcomes and the inequality of outcomes can impact inequality of opportunity, how confident is the Government that it is keeping abreast of international best practices in the field of ameliorating and mitigating inequality of opportunity? This is a field where I think the policy is evolving worldwide; there are different innovations. So, how confident is the Government that it is being done?

And to link to that, my second question would be: would the Government consider publishing at regular intervals a report which measures the state of equality of opportunity, looking at indicators – not just the indicators that the Senior Minister of State mentioned like absolute incomes – but also measures like social mobility which are more infrequently measured at the current point. Could the Government consider that kind of regular measurement publication and public debate on this issue, given the importance of the issue and how it cuts across so many other areas of policy?

Mr Speaker, our approach on this matter has not been to say that once in every few years, we will do a review and do a check and see where we are on social mobility. For this Government, our entire approach and, in fact, the raison d'être on which Singapore was founded on in 1965, was really to be a place where everybody can progress.

In fact, if we look at the proclamation of Singapore's Independence, it said that this would be a country founded on the principles of liberty and justice, and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of her people in a more just and equal society.

What that means is that from Day 1, this Government is committed to the progress of its people, and that includes reducing the gap among people who have unequal situations. That is the reason why every year, during Budget, we review what we can do better. It is part of each Ministry's duty and responsibility to see where the gaps are. The report is actually, as I indicated earlier, shown in the SPOR report. We also publish the socio-economic indicators and outcomes every year in the Key Household Income Trends report by the Department of Statistics.

So, in other words, this is not something we do every five years or every 10 years. It is part and parcel of the day-to-day work of the Ministries, and we look at it every Budget as well. Occasionally, we may have bigger reviews but it is really something that is done each and every day of the Ministries' work.

7 Mr Ganesh Rajaram asked the Minister for Communications and Information what steps has the Government taken to encourage more production companies to utilise the state-of-the-art facilities at Mediapolis@one-north.

Mr Speaker, Sir, Mediapolis@one-north has grown to be a vibrant infocomm-media cluster and is home to many media companies, including Lucasfilm, Mediacorp and Infinite Studios. Many of the facilities in Mediapolis are privately owned and the owners are promoting the use of their facilities for media productions. For example, Infinite Studios offers a diverse range of media activities, such as soundstages for filming, visual effects and production services. The soundstages have been well-utilised by local and regional large-scale television productions. Several Hollywood films have also used the soundstages in their filming, for example, "Hitman: Agent 47", as well as "Equals", that were both filmed in 2014. In June this year, Warner Brothers' "Crazy Rich Asians", starring Hollywood and Singaporean actors, utilised Infinite Studios’ facilities as well.

The main facility in Mediapolis under the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA’s) purview is PIXEL Studios. IMDA launched PIXEL Studios less than a year ago in November 2016 to provide shared content production facilities for online content creators and game developers to experiment with and create innovative digital media content. In addition, development space is available to incubate promising local games startups and there are currently 15 of them incubated at PIXEL. IMDA also organises a slate of programmes for content creators to learn from experienced local and international industry leaders. Since the launch of PIXEL Studios, more than 4,200 participants have attended over 150 events. These events range from networking sessions and video production clinics to workshops and talks on immersive media trends and technologies.

IMDA has also opened up PIXEL Studios for independent digital content creators to use the facilities for free. Some examples of the facilities available are audio and video recording suites, post-editing suites, thematic areas and backdrops, as well as filming equipment. All these facilities serve to meet the basic production needs of content creators. So far, the response from industry users has been positive. Over the past six months, about a dozen productions by content creators have taken place at PIXEL Studios.

In addition, the Singapore Film Commission within IMDA has launched the Filming Friendly Zone at one-north. Obtaining permissions to film at some locations in Singapore may be a challenge for some production companies. Thus, IMDA has established agreements with various building owners in the one-north precinct for a higher level of openness towards production companies which may be interested to use some locations for their filming. This supports small-size film productions by helping them gain easier access to film at these areas.

8 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Communications and Information whether the Ministry plans to impose on telecommunication and Internet service providers operating in Singapore a requirement to proactively monitor the use of their services for online and phone scams, take all necessary steps to deter such usage and promptly provide all relevant information to enforcement agencies.

Mr Speaker, combating online and phone scams requires a multifaceted and holistic approach, including in cases where scammers operate from overseas, and working with our international counterparts. Regulators, law enforcement agencies, service providers and even members of the public, all have an important role to play in combating scams.

Today, mobile and Internet service providers already monitor their networks for scams based on complaints from consumers and assist enforcement agencies by providing information for investigations on suspected scams.

However, scammers' tactics have become more sophisticated. Technological solutions are necessary but not sufficient. Improving public education and individual vigilance are, therefore, key to combatting scams. To this end, Government agencies, including the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Singapore Police Force, work with the National Crime Prevention Council to conduct public education and outreach programmes, especially to groups which are more likely to fall prey to scams. All of us must also do our part by helping to educate our loved ones about scams so that they will not become victims of scams.

Mr Murali Pillai.

Mr Speaker, I thank the hon Senior Minister of State for his comprehensive answer. I have a few supplementary questions. First is whether the Ministry is contemplating any regulation to be put in place for the telecoms companies (telcos) operators and the infocomm service operators to proactively monitor the space for scammers.

Secondly, in relation to the cost of compliance, whether there would be any measure to ensure that the cost of compliance is not passed on unreasonably to consumers.

Mr Speaker, managing this issue and managing the space have their challenges, given the many different types of platforms and services that are offered, as well as the fact that many of the scammers operate overseas. So, there is a necessary consideration on how we will interface with other telecommunications regimes and services. We continue to study the matter and there is, at this point in time, no regulations that are being planned.

9 Mr Ganesh Rajaram asked the Minister for Education (Schools) with regard to nurturing sports excellence in schools (a) whether the Ministry can provide statistics on the success of the Direct School Admission (Sports) programme and the Singapore Sports School; and (b) how many of the students accepted into either of these programmes have represented or are representing Singapore in their chosen sporting fields after they have left school.

Mr Speaker, since its inception in 2004, the Singapore Sports School has produced eight Olympians, 10 World Champions and 65 Asian Games competitors. To date, about 400 Sports School students and alumni have represented Singapore at various international competitions.

For students who are admitted to mainstream schools via Direct School Admission, the Ministry of Education does not track whether they go on to represent Singapore in their chosen sporting field after they have graduated.

10 Mr Ong Teng Koon asked the Minister for Education (Schools) how many applications from international students for our local schools have been rejected in 2017 and whether the Ministry will consider increasing the percentage of international students in local schools to above 5% to better accommodate the education needs of children of resident workers who actively contribute to our economy.

Mr Speaker, the presence of eligible international students helps to cultivate a global orientation and intercultural skills in our students and enrich the overall educational environment in Singapore schools.

For the 2016 Primary 1 Registration Exercise, around 1,800 applications from international students to enter Primary 1 in 2017 were rejected.

Our public school system is designed to cater to the needs of Singaporeans. While the Ministry of Education (MOE) values the diversity that international students bring to our schools, our priority is to serve the educational needs of Singaporeans. Thus, we only offer a limited number of places to international students each year.

While MOE continues to make available places in our mainstream schools for international students, we will not be able to meet the demand entirely.

11 Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry will consider regulations to (i) strengthen recruitment and hiring practices by employers; (ii) ensure employers acknowledge and inform job applicants on whether they are successful in their job applications; and (b) whether the public sector can take the lead in this.

Mr Speaker, all employers are already expected to adhere to the principles of fair employment practices, as set out in the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, and that includes recruitment and hiring. For example, the guidelines make it clear that job advertisements should not be discriminatory and interviewers should confine questions to those relevant to the job requirements. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) looks into complaints about unfair recruitment and hiring practices and works with non-compliant companies to improve their practices. Where warranted, cases are referred to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for investigation.

To further encourage employers to adopt progressive workplace practices, the tripartite partners will develop a series of Tripartite Standards that companies can voluntarily adopt. The Standards detail verifiable progressive actions that companies commit to undertake. Jobseekers will also be able to identify progressive companies and organisations which publicly adopt the Standards. Therefore, employers have an incentive to adopt the Standards even if there are no regulations which require them to.

One of these Standards is on Recruitment Practices, and public sector agencies will take the lead in adopting the Standard when it is launched. One of the specifications in the Standard is for employers to inform all shortlisted applicants who attend their job interviews about the outcome. On the question of whether applicants should be notified even if they are not shortlisted for interviews, the tripartite partners assessed that it would place an onerous burden on some companies, particularly small and medium enterprises, which have not fully automated their recruitment processes to deal with the large volumes of online applicants. However, the tripartite partners agree that the Standard can be updated over time as companies make progress.

Mr Patrick Tay.

I thank the Second Minister for that reply. For the acknowledgment of the application, I have received feedback, particularly for those who are taking up public sector positions through Careers@Gov and so on, one suggestion would be at least provide acknowledgement that they have received the application of the curriculum vitae. I have been meeting many of these interested Singaporeans who are wanting to take up public sector positions, applying through online platforms, such as Careers@Gov, and they say they do not get a formal reply whether they are even shortlisted for interviews or even rejected. So, I think it would be a good practice for the public sector to take the lead on this.

Mr Speaker, I thank the hon Member for his feedback and I agree with him that it is a matter of good practice and I do believe that employers who have automated their application systems are, indeed, able to do so. So, I think this is a matter of work in progress. We certainly encourage more employers to come on board.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat.

I would like to ask a supplementary question with regard to the Second Minister's answer just now about TAFEP. In following up on this question, are there any specific plans to provide more teeth, such as regulations with regard to TAFEP, over the next five years? As the Second Minister mentioned, there might not be a need to have regulatory changes. I was wondering what are the plans for MOM in terms of teeth for TAFEP, enhancements of TAFEP, to have actually actions being taken by TAFEP, of course.

Mr Speaker, may I ask Mr Saktiandi whether he is talking specifically about recruitment practices or TAFEP's ability to enforce in general?

It is with regard to recruitment practices and TAFEP's ability to take action in future if there are any changes to regulations.

Mr Speaker, TAFEP is an organisation that relies on a number of methods to encourage and support employers who are able and willing to adopt progressive workplace practices. One of it, of course, is by making them more aware of the benefits of doing so. Another is that it is able to look into complaints that are levelled against certain employers and refer them to MOM for investigations if warranted. Through this process, TAFEP will either work with the employers to change their practices and, if the employers are not cooperative, to find other means of pushing the employers to change their practices.

There are tools within MOM's available resources. For example, if the companies truly are unwilling to comply, in some instances, we may blacklist them. If we blacklist them, then their work pass privileges may be curtailed. It is something that we will continue to explore better ways of doing.

But bear in mind that, firstly, there are laws in existence. In addition to the laws which employers must comply with, we also have tripartite guidelines and, over and above that, there are tripartite advisories. We are introducing the Tripartite Standards as an additional measure to make the adherence to progressive workplace practices more attractive for the employers to do. So, all of these measures are available to us. It is not always the case that you have to come down hard on the employers. In some cases, a combination of persuasion and finding the right incentives for them to do so may work better.

12 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Manpower what are the specific challenges in ensuring that self-employed persons who provide delivery services on their own bicycles and personal mobility devices enjoy similar and adequate workplace safety protection as employees working for delivery companies, including insurance coverage in respect of injury, death and property claims arising from accidents while working.

Mr Speaker, employees and self-employed persons (SEPs), enjoy similar protection under the Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA). Companies are required to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure the safety and health of both their employees and SEPs they have a contract with. So, whether as employees or as SEPs, delivery riders on bicycles or personal mobility devices should have the proper equipment, protective gear and also sufficient training to ensure that they can do the job properly and safely.

Companies can also be prosecuted under WSHA for failing their duty of care to SEPs, as well as to their own employees. And the maximum penalty upon conviction is up to a S$500,000 fine for companies, or up to a S$200,000 fine and a two-year jail term for individuals.

Companies are not required to buy Work Injury Compensation insurance for SEPs. This is because their relationship is one of client-contractor and not the employer-employee relationship. However, to help SEPs get adequate insurance coverage, a Tripartite Workgroup has been formed to look into this matter as well as to address other main concerns of SEPs. This was announced by the Ministry in the Committee of Supply debate this year.

Mr Dennis Tan.

I thank the Minister of State for his answer. I have one clarification. I would like to ask the Minister of State, in respect of SEPs, how does the study group intend to look into the issue of insurance that the SEPs should take when they take on such jobs, including insurance that provides for third-party claims, for example, when they run into a pedestrian or when they hit another vehicle on the road and possibly when they are in the wrong?

Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for two important questions.

First, with regard to insurance for SEPs, this is really not a very straightforward issue because individual SEPs may have contracts with many companies, multiple service buyers and some of which, their contracts may be just one-off and some may just last a few times. So, it is not really prudent to require all companies to purchase the insurance for every SEP because if we were to require companies to do so, then obviously, the cost for the companies will be quite high and, eventually, the cost will be passed down to the consumers. So, in our view, this is not the most prudent way of requiring companies to buy insurance for SEPs.

However, there are other ways that the Workgroup is looking into now, for example, whether it would be useful for the SEPs themselves to buy the insurance since they are already in the service to provide services, programmes and activities to companies.

As to third-party insurance claims, if a member of the public is injured by the employees of a company, then the third party can obviously take legal actions against the company for the injury that the third party sustains. But if the third party is injured by an SEP contracted by a company, then the situation is a little bit complicated. The Court will have to decide whether the service buyers have taken the necessary practicable measures to ensure that the SEP under their contract has the relevant expertise, has attained the training, has worn a protective gear and also taken all the necessary precautions in carrying out the duties. If the companies, the service buyers have not done this, then there is a reason for the Court to rule that the WSH Act was breached.

However, if the company has taken all the necessary precautions, and it is solely the fault of the SEP, then the company is not liable for the SEP's actions. Then the third party would have to take up the legal action against the SEP himself or herself. This is currently how the framework works.

Mr Dennis Tan.

I thank the Minister of State. Just a quick clarification. Would the study group be looking into the possibility of making it mandatory for SEPs to have some form of third-party insurance? A second question would be: how long is this review likely to take?

I thank the Member for the further questions. Yes, the Workgroup will look into various aspects. We have just formed the Workgroup. So, we have to allow the Workgroup to consult all the tripartite partners and also the stakeholders. So, it would take a while. When it is ready, we will make the announcement.

Mr Ang Hin Kee.

I would like to seek a clarification from the Ministry whether or not, in the Minister of State's experience, were there cases whereby the SEP deployed by the company or the services purchased by the company were people who were disguised contract-for-service? What I mean is basically that these companies should have hired them. Instead, they purchased their services under this contract-for-service, therefore, making them self-employed. What has the Ministry's experience been like?

So far as we know, we have not come across any cases of such disguised incidents. But if the Member should have any actual reports or information, I would appreciate it if he can let us know so that the Ministry will look into it.

13 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for National Development (a) to date, how many Town Councils have declared to the Ministry that their secretaries or relevant key officers as defined by section 20 of the Town Councils Act come under the new disqualification criteria spelt out in sections 20(1A) and 20(3) of the Act; and (b) which Town Councils have made such declarations to the Ministry.

Mr Speaker, the Town Councils Act was amended this year to disqualify a Town Council's Managing Agent and its auditor from being appointed to key roles in a Town Council, such as the Secretary, the General Manager, the Finance Manager and their deputies, to minimise the risk of conflict of interest.

The amendments took effect from 1 May 2017. The disqualification criteria in sections 20(1A) and 20(3) of the Act apply to an individual who is an auditor of the Town Council, or an owner, a substantial shareholder or an executive decision maker of the Town Council's Managing Agent firm. An executive decision maker includes C-suite executives, such as the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or Chief Information Officer, but does not include regular employees of the Managing Agent who carry out their duties under the direction of their employer.

In May 2017, the Ministry of National Development (MND) had requested all Town Councils to inform MND if any of their existing key appointment holders fell within the new disqualification criteria set out in the Act. All Town Councils have informed MND that their key appointment holders do not fall within the new disqualification criteria.

14 Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai asked the Minister for National Development in respect of Batch 10 of the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) (a) what was the closing date for the nomination of these projects; (b) when will these nominations be evaluated and decided upon by the EUP Committee; (c) when will the successful nominations be implemented; and (d) on average, what is the time lapse between the close of nomination of an EUP project and the evaluation of nominations by the EUP Committee.

Mr Speaker, we will invite the Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCCs) to make nominations for Batch 10 of the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) when we have a firm implementation timeline. There are currently 17 ongoing EUP projects from various Batches island-wide, including nine of the most recent Batch 9 projects that have just been approved. We would like to complete some of these ongoing projects first before calling for new nominations. This will allow us to devote more requisite resources to better manage current projects and to ensure that new projects will be well-managed as well.

Typically, it takes about eight to 10 months to evaluate nominations before announcing the selected estates. But the exact duration depends on the number of nominations that we receive and the completeness of each application. Using Batch 9 as an example, we received 55 nominations that took us about eight months to evaluate. During this time, the Ministry of National Development (MND) and agencies assessed the scope of the potential upgrading works, conducted site visits to assess the on-ground conditions, and considered how best to dovetail the works with the agencies’ other improvement plans.

Mr Edwin Tong.

I thank the Senior Minister of State. I have two follow-up questions. The first is that I understood from the answer that Batch 10 nominations have not been done. Can the Senior Minister of State please confirm that because my understanding is that Batch 10 nominations had been submitted previously?

My second question is for the EUP Programmes. As the Senior Minister of State knows, the private estates do not have support from either Town Council Upgrading Programmes, Community Improvement Projects Committee (CIPC) or Housing and Development Board (HDB) Upgrading Programmes. So, to that extent, private estates really rely on EUP Programmes to upgrade and renew the facilities, including drains, culverts, sidewalks, roads and so on.

Given that the EUP Programme for Batch 9 has been suspended and there is no timeframe for Batch 10, would the Ministry consider accelerating the programme, expediting it and, perhaps, giving more priority to constituencies which are either substantially or wholly private estates?

Mr Speaker, let me just address the Member's concerns. For private estates, I understand that the Member faces those constraints that he has described. But actually, if there are any existing issues that require emergency attention, for example, drains that are not in good order, then we can look at how we can best address these as emergency repair works in the meantime.

The Member is right to say that Batch 10 has previously asked for nominations, and I remember we did send a letter to notify the Advisers of each of the wards that have previously been asked to do so, that there has been a review of public sector projects to be implemented, so that we can make sure that the demand for construction workers and also the total number of workers in Singapore can be better managed. In that sense, Batch 10 has been deferred somewhat. But in May this year, we have actually just approved all the Batch 9 projects. So, the Batch 9 projects are currently undergoing consultations and they will be implemented over the next couple of years or so.

So, we are trying to pace out some of these works to make sure that we have a good completion of Batch 9 projects, together with some of the existing projects from Batches 6 to 8 that have rolled over as well. In existence, there are 17 projects to be managed on the ground. Once we have a clearer idea of when these projects are nearing their completion, we can then look at how we can reactivate nominations for Batch 10 again.

But in the interim, if there are really areas that the Member feels that need to be repaired urgently, do let the agencies know and we will see how best to manage those at the moment.

Ms Sylvia Lim.

Speaker, a supplementary question for the Senior Minister of State regarding EUP.

I would just like a confirmation that there is actually no prohibition from the Government for the CCCs to work with the Member of Parliament (MP) of the area, even if the Member is not from the ruling party.

Mr Speaker, I believe this question has been asked by the same Member in a previous Sitting and I will just repeat the key points, that the CCC is involved in ground engagement, because the Working Committee comprises members of the Neighbourhood Committee, who are residents within the estate themselves, as part of the ground consultation. And I did reply to the Member in the previous Sitting that when the works and the timeline have been settled, we will also notify the MPs for the area to tell them of the existing plans.

Ms Sylvia Lim.

Sir, actually, I remember that exchange rather well. But I think, at that time, the Senior Minister of State did not answer my question, which was that, at the idea stage, whether the MPs can work with the CCCs to provide ideas because we also have feedback, we are also on the ground.

Mr Speaker, the whole concept of EUP is meant to be largely a ground-up kind of initiative where residents within the estate actually give the inputs as to how they want to see their estates developed. So, regardless of the mechanism, the idea is that the current working mechanism comprising a working committee largely made up of the residents who are staying there, who are members of the Neighbourhood Committee, who know the estate very well, working closely with the implementing agents, as well as the consultants to walk the ground, to give feedback. That is the reason why the whole entire consultation process can take up to several months before actual groundbreaking starts.

Just for my own estate, over the last few weeks, we have been walking the ground with the various agencies to understand the concerns of residents and take in their feedback as well. So, regardless of the mechanism, the present-day mechanism where ground feedback is taken into account, really is a good way in which residents' concerns are taken on board.

15 Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether there has been an increase in ComCare assistance cases compared to last year.

Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) disbursed ComCare assistance to about 39,200 unique households in financial year (FY) 2016, a slight decrease from around 39,500 unique households assisted by ComCare in FY2015.

Mr Seah Kian Peng.

I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the answer. Some clarifications.

First, the slight drop, it goes against the revised criteria where the ComCare Assistance has been tweaked. In fact, the criteria have all gone up. So, I am a little bit surprised that the numbers have come down somewhat.

I would also like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary whether the Social Service Offices (SSOs) which have been in operation for some time, whether the fact that they do not operate during weekends, is that something which should be reviewed as a way to reach out to the people who may need help, particularly during weekends?

I thank Mr Seah for the supplementary questions.

Let me answer the second question first. The SSOs which have been developed over the years have come to a situation whereby the numbers have stabilised and we are able to reach out to be more accessible to fellow Singaporeans. If we look at the trends, there seem to be indications that because of the increase in accessibility and because of the nature that we work where it becomes pervasive, the numbers that we have seen, in fact, not only stabilised, but have decreased this year.

And even though we made some changes to the criteria, nevertheless, there are areas whereby, because of the changes in the criteria, such as student care, the help that we give, there was an increase in the number of those who received help. Also, because of the increase in numbers as well as the criteria that are given, we are happy to be able to help our fellow Singaporeans.

With regard to the issues that the Member asked relating to weekends, again, the Member will realise that because of this SSO availability, and also we see more and more grassroots organisations able to reach out to residents better, and we also received residents calling our ComCare number 1800-222-0000, it is something that I want to encourage every Member here to memorise and see how we can facilitate the process, just give a call and see how we can help fellow Singaporeans. So, while the numbers have decreased, it also shows that we have come to a situation whereby we are able to reach out and the numbers have stabilised in terms of the number of SSOs.

We are in a position to be able to help Singaporeans when they need it. Also, we want to make sure that the lifestyle of caring becomes pervasive and it is a norm among Singaporeans. When I look at the figure, I feel very happy because while in terms of the situation that we have here, but yet we are able to reach out to fellow Singaporeans and make sure those who cannot find a job, we help them to find a job, and those who need help, we get not only our ComCare avenues to help, but get the community to help each and every one Singaporean.

Mr Leon Perera.

Just a quick supplementary question. In the same vein, when we talk about making sure ComCare is available to everyone who needs it, will the SSOs work with applicants or potential applicants to overcome issues, like they are not able to go down and bring documentation, because that is usually one of the steps in the process that they have to go down to the SSOs with documentation. Some of them, of course, are not very mobile or have chronic conditions. Some of them have to take leave from work to do so. So, would the SSOs try to overcome that by, for example, having a phone conversation and exchange of documents some other way, by mail or email, or will they consider even making house visits in certain cases where it is absolutely necessary?

I thank the Member for the question. It is a very important question because, like what I have shared with Mr Seah earlier, it is not only the role of the SSOs, I am happy to see community leaders, grassroots leaders, working together with Government agencies to help our fellow Singaporeans. Let us, say, in my area, if there are residents who have issues, who even cannot go to the SSO, my grassroots leaders and fellow residents will come and assist in the process. And SSO officers also do house visits. It is something that I want to assure the House that we will do all we can to help fellow Singaporeans.

16 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in the past three years, how many domestic violence cases against women, especially those above 50 years, have been reported; (b) what is the Ministry doing to reach out to those who may be suffering in silence; and (c) whether the Ministry will look into ways to raise public awareness and work with grassroots groups to reach out to the silent victims.

Mr Speaker, over the last three years, the Family Justice Courts received a yearly average of about 2,800 applications for Personal Protection Orders (PPOs) against an abusive family member. Around 75% of the applications were made by women. Of these women, about 20%, or about 450 applications, were from those above 50 years of age.

No one should suffer alone in silence. A strong partnership among Government agencies and community partners is necessary to ensure that those affected by violence receive the needed help and receive it early. The National Family Violence Networking System (NFVNS) was established more than 20 years ago for victims to be assisted by touchpoints, such as Family Service Centres and Family Violence Specialist Centres.

Family violence is not a private matter. That is why, Mr Speaker, Sir, you will remember that you had launched the "Break the Silence Against Family Violence" campaign for the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) last year. This campaign raises awareness about family violence through platforms, such as social media and community roadshows. It also involves collaboration with community and corporate partners to equip bystanders with resources and skills to safely step in to help victims.

We train partners and grassroots organisations to understand family violence and, importantly, to identify families experiencing violence early. Recently, MSF facilitated a conversation with Taman Jurong Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC), Fei Yue Family Service Centre, Jurong West Neighbourhood Police Centre and SSO@Taman Jurong on ways to prevent and intervene in family violence situations together. This saw participation from grassroots leaders, schools, arts and sports groups, corporate bodies, self-help groups, the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and the Police. Such initiatives deepen the awareness of family violence and enable more people to break the silence and reach out to seek help for those affected.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.

I thank the Minister. I have two supplementary questions. Recently, I had a meeting with three voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) in my constituency and all the three reported that there is an upward trend in the cases that they handle on violence against women who are above 50 years old. All the three consistently said the same thing. So, I would like to ask, nationally, is this the trend? Is this an upward trend?

The second question: will there be a study commissioned to see what the root cause is and how we can intervene for these violence cases against elderly women?

Sir, I thank the Member for her keen concern about violence against elderly women. Based on the available statistics, the number of PPO applications by women above the age of 50 has remained relatively stable over the last three years. There were 480 in 2014, 430 in 2016. But every case is one case too many and we remain concerned about addressing the key issues that lead to violence in families, especially violence against women and violence against seniors.

MSF did a survey in January last year to uncover a little bit more about the problem of family violence. About 40% feared reporting family violence because they felt it was a private matter. About half feared that reporting the matter will break up the family. Slightly more than a third was unsure exactly what family violence was and how to get help.

So, it is an invisible problem. But family members, relatives, neighbours, colleagues, community leaders, friends can help to spot what would otherwise be an invisible problem and help alert the many touchpoints that are available that would allow us to intervene. In situations where people do not seek help but we are alerted to family violence, the Member would know that MSF is working on a Vulnerable Adults Bill with laws that would allow us to intervene in such instances. I thank the Member for her supplementary question.

17 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) how many Singapore-based companies have cumulatively invested in the Government's overseas industrial park projects that enjoy G-to-G support, such as the Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-City; (b) how many of these are GLCs, SMEs and MNCs respectively; and (c) what evidence has been accumulated by the Ministry as to the spin-off benefits to the domestic economy and local SMEs of these Government-supported overseas industrial parks.

Mr Speaker, internationalisation remains an important strategy to sustain Singapore’s growth by helping our companies develop beyond our domestic market. Government-to-Government (G-to-G) projects, such as the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), Tianjin Eco-city (TEC), Chongqing Connectivity Initiative and the Amaravati Capital City project in Andhra Pradesh, play an enabling role in paving the way for Singapore companies to enter and scale up in fast-growing markets, such as China and India.

Over the years, many Singapore companies have tapped on these G-to-G platforms to go abroad. In the case of SIP, about 340 Singapore companies have established their presence there as at the end of 2016. Of these, approximately 70% are small companies with registered capital of up to S$1 million. Cumulative contractual investments by Singapore-based companies in SIP amounted to S$9.4 billion by the end of last year. The National University of Singapore has also established a research institute, the NUS (Suzhou) Research Institute (NUSRI), in SIP which has served as a springboard for Singapore startups to incubate and scale up in China. NUSRI is currently incubating 37 Singapore and international technology startups.

Just to give Members an example of a company that has benefited from SIP and scaled successfully is PatSnap, founded in 2007, a Singapore company that offers innovative patent data analytics solutions. So, to overcome the small domestic market constraints, they scaled up by first going overseas to SIP and today their software has been sold in over 40 countries to more than 1,300 clients. In March this year, the company announced its plans to invest S$22 million in a research and development (R&D) centre in Singapore to further develop its intelligence platform. To date, the centre has hired more than 10 data scientists.

The TEC project was established in 2008, against the backdrop of rapid urbanisation and heightened focus on sustainable economic development in China. As of June this year, 42 Singapore companies are registered in TEC, with a total registered capital of more than S$220 million. Companies include small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a range of sectors, such as environmental services, property, education, urban solutions and logistics.

Singapore’s newer G-to-G projects continue to bring our companies to new regions and markets to help them gain a first-mover advantage. The Chongqing Connectivity Initiative project, which was launched in 2015, has opened up business opportunities in the less developed western region of China, and facilitates the participation of Singapore companies in sectors, such as financial services, aviation, transport and logistics, and information and communications technology.

Similarly, the Amaravati project to build a new capital city in Andhra Pradesh will give Singapore companies the opportunity to export our expertise in urban solutions and other domains. With our early involvement in the initiative, our companies, including SMEs, will be well-positioned to offer their services and participate in projects within the state of Andhra Pradesh as well as in the broader Indian market.

Mr Leon Perera.

I thank the Minister for his response. Just two follow-up questions. One is on the Tianjin project. Of the 42 companies, would the Minister have the proportion which are SMEs? And then the second question is really on whether the Ministry of Trade and Industry has studied the issue of the impact of these investments on domestic operations and what is the positive feedback loop? So, to what extent are domestic operations impacted and in what way, from these investments overseas, whether there is any study or any data in that regard?

Mr Speaker, may I ask the Member to repeat his first question, I did not quite hear it clearly.

Kindly speak up in future.

I am sorry. Just wanted to know the 42 companies in TEC. What proportion are SMEs, if the Minister has that data?

I do not have the data on that offhand. But I would imagine and, indeed, our experience in general has been there is no reason to think it is terribly different from what we have had in SIP and other places, which is about 70% or two-thirds. In general, when companies go overseas, they do not just do it on their own. They go because there is a larger opportunity arising from whether it is a G-to-G project or some other element that is initiating it, such as one of their large clients going overseas and then they go with them. So, I would say it is not unusual to see about two-thirds, but I do not have an exact answer for the Member.

The larger question is whether there is a value proposition back to Singapore. This is where what I have emphasised earlier and which is worth repeating, whether it is through G-to-G projects or through other initiatives to take our companies overseas, or free trade agreements and other initiatives to help our companies internationalise, what is the fundamental objective? First, it is to help our companies grow beyond our domestic market; second, with that skill, it allows them to undertake a broader range of initiatives and invest more in their capabilities; and third, it allows us to also create good opportunities for Singaporeans, not just in terms of pursuing opportunities in these other markets, but also in developing capabilities here. So, I gave Members the example of the patent company where they are doing R&D in Singapore that creates 10 new jobs which were not there before.

So, there are ways to track it, and we look at it. Certainly, when our agencies extend assistance to companies when they go overseas in terms of grants and so on, this becomes an important key performance indicator.

18 Mr Teo Ser Luck asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) whether there are plans to streamline the grants, funding support and assistance schemes of SPRING Singapore and IE Singapore within the merged entity of Enterprise Singapore; and (b) how will this affect the SMEs that have applied for funding support.

Mr Speaker, the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING) Singapore and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore have helped companies build up capabilities and access overseas markets through a suite of assistance programmes. The proposed new agency Enterprise Singapore will build on the good work that has been done by both agencies.

To help companies access assistance programmes more easily, the Government has already been streamlining existing grants to minimise overlaps across agencies and simplify the application process. So, in other words is, we are not waiting for the formation of the new agency to do this. One example of our efforts is the Business Grants Portal (BGP) which consolidates commonly used grants, such as SPRING’s Capability Development Grant and IE Singapore’s Global Company Partnership, in a one-stop application portal. With this portal, which was officially launched in January 2017, companies can now apply for grants without having to approach multiple agencies.

With the merger of SPRING Singapore and IE Singapore to form Enterprise Singapore, companies can look forward to a comprehensive suite of support from a single agency for capability building and overseas market access. Enterprise Singapore will also study how the various schemes and grants can be enhanced to develop integrated solutions that meet the needs of our companies in the new phase of growth. This will put us, we believe, in good stead to grow a strong cohort of Singapore companies for our future economy.

In the transition period, support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will not be affected, and companies can continue to apply to SPRING Singapore and IE Singapore for assistance under the existing programmes. The two agencies will also continue to work with companies which have already applied for or received business grants. A smooth transition is our top priority.

Mr Teo Ser Luck.

I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. May I know if the SMEs can still continue to apply for their grants now and in the future through the SME Centres? The second question is, when the merged entity of Enterprise Singapore exists, would the account management be one single point of contact for all the SMEs?

Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his questions. As we have emphasised, the formation of the new agency Enterprise Singapore is just one aspect of our overall effort to strengthen our economy and prepare for some of the challenges we anticipate. And in that regard, the role of the Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) and, in this case, the specific reference the Member made was to the SME Centres, that remains a very important part of the architecture that we have in our economy. So, the answer is yes, companies can continue to approach the SME Centres. In fact, we expect the SME Centres and TACs to play an even more significant role as we move forward with various initiatives.

The second point, on account management, as the Member would be aware and, indeed, for the information of all Members, the accounts are managed by the different agencies today. We have already had an effort to streamline the account management so that there is a principal agency managing a particular relationship with a company, whether it is the Economic Development Board, IE Singapore or SPRING Singapore and others, will then work through that principal relationship. With the formation of Enterprise Singapore, we expect this process to become even more efficient and effective. Certainly, one of Enterprise Singapore's priorities will be to see how it can better interface with the business community and specific enterprises.

Order. End of Question Time.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), provided that Members had not asked for questions standing in their names to be postponed to a later Sitting day or withdrawn, written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix.]

[(proc text) "to amend the Central Provident Fund Act (Chapter 36 of the 2013 Revised Edition)", (proc text)]

[(proc text) presented by the Second Minister for Manpower (Mrs Josephine Teo); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) "to amend the Workplace Safety and Health Act (Chapter 354A of the 2009 Revised Edition)", (proc text)]

[(proc text) presented by the Second Minister for Manpower (Mrs Josephine Teo); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) "to repeal and re-enact with amendments the Massage Establishments Act (Chapter 173 of the 2013 Revised Edition) to provide for the licensing and control of establishments for massage, and to make a consequential amendment to the Central Provident Fund Act (Chapter 36 of the 2013 Revised Edition)", (proc text)]

[(proc text) presented by the Second Minister for Home Affairs (Mrs Josephine Teo); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) "to amend the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act (Chapter 309 of the 2011 Revised Edition", (proc text)]

[(proc text) presented by the Minister for Health (Mr Gan Kim Yong); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) "to amend the Travel Agents Act (Chapter 334 of the 1998 Revised Edition) and to make a related amendment to the Singapore Tourism Board Act (Chapter 305B of the 1997 Revised Edition)", (proc text)]

[(proc text) presented by the Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Sim Ann) on behalf of the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]