Hansard, Wednesday, 8 October 2014

1 Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for National Development with the recent announcement of the three enhancements to HDB's upgrading programmes (a) whether the Ministry plans to increase the budget to enable more flats that qualify, to benefit sooner from the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) and Selective Lift Replacement Programme (SLRP) each year; and (b) what is the timeline for the upgrading works to be completed for the new batch of flats that qualify.

Madam, the three enhancements are significant and will further improve the living environment in existing Housing and Development Board (HDB) towns. They will allow more residents to enjoy the benefits of upgrading.

They will impose additional cost on the Government. For example, the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) cost cap will be raised from $3,400 to $4,700 per flat, to pay for the additional works. The Selective Lift Replacement Programme (SLRP) will require the Government to fund 50% of the lift replacement cost, up to a cap of $125,000 per lift. We will set aside sufficient budget to fund all these enhancements.

HDB expects to complete the selection of all eligible flats for the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) by 2018. As for NRP and SLRP, their implementation will largely be by the local Town Councils. NRP will also require the active engagement of residents in shaping their living environment. The pace of implementation will, therefore, depend on the extent of active local participation.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad.

I thank the Minister for his response. I am glad that these programmes are in place. I know many of my residents in Chua Chu Kang are certainly very happy and excited by this development. On the question of timeline, I understand the Minister said that this would depend on the Town Councils and the level of

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engagement on the ground. At the same time, for each Town Council, we are given a quota in terms of the number of projects we can set aside each year. With the new number of blocks that are qualifying now, would that mean that the number of projects we can do per year also increases, if we can show that we can engage more on the ground at the same time?

The second question is in relation to the announcement that the Minister made yesterday in terms of some of the new developments in technologies for the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP). Given that we are doing SLRP on some of these estates that previously could not benefit from LUP, will there be any possibility of dovetailing the two? Once you have upgraded the blocks, you may actually discount them from undergoing LUP in future.

Madam, indeed, we are ramping up the pace of the development. There are three different projects here. For HIP, we are increasing it rapidly. For HIP, the potential universe is about 300,000 flats. Today, we have started doing – and some have been completed – about 140,000. This is almost the midway point, maybe about the 45%-mark. I am stepping up the pace of HIP so that, over the next two years, we should be able to launch 100,000 flats. The remaining would be about 60,000 flats left. We are very confident that the entire HIP can be wrapped up during the next term of Government.

I remember Senior Minister of State Masagos Zulkifli giving me this advice. He said, "These are very old flats and, sometimes, they already have spalling concrete, leakages and so on". The flat owners were debating whether to do the repairs themselves or to wait for HIP. Taking his advice, we decided that starting from early next year, we will announce the selected projects for two years in one go. That means 100,000 flats will be nominated and decided upon. In fact, our circular has already gone out a few weeks ago to the Town Councils. Please think through carefully which are the important blocks that are urgently in need, and then, we will try to pace them in accordance with needs. That is for HIP.

For NRP, I am prepared to do faster and to do more, but Town Councils have a problem. And that is why, for several years, we have settled at the pace of about one project per year per Town Council. They find that if there are more than one NRP project, they would have indigestion. If Chua Chu Kang Town Council can do better, you are most welcomed. Nominate them and I am game to match your pace. But I think you will find difficulty because it is a project where the emphasis is on consultation, as you want the locals to own the project. So, they need to gather to discuss, "What shall we have? More drop-off points and so on?" That process of engagement, you cannot rush it.

As for LRP, it is a very specialised item. In fact, it was the Member who alerted this House to the lifts that he has in Chua Chu Kang which did not seem to be as good as some of the lifts that he had seen in the newer blocks. We probed and found that there were about 700 such lifts. For some reason, most of them were installed in his Group Representation

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Constituency (GRC), as well as in Pasir Ris. Together, they "cornered" the market!

That particular model of lifts, in due course, would be replaced with a new and better model. When you need to replace them, we will fund half of the cost, which is quite substantial, because the cost of a lift is about a quarter million dollars. It will cost the Government almost $100 million. Again, this is where we leave it to you to decide when you want to replace them. When you do replace them, send us the bill and we will co-pay part of the cost. But do not waste. Although those lifts are a bit "funny", they are functional. Actually, they are not "funny" at all; they are totally functional and safe. But if you feel that you prefer some of the new features of the new lifts and you want them now, instead of waiting for the full 28 years lifespan of the lifts, and they are maybe at Year 25, you may want to advance doing it. If you decide to do it, send us the bill and we will pay half of it.

2 Ms Tin Pei Ling asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether it is acceptable for newly installed lift frames under the HDB Lift Upgrading Programme to be rusty; (b) who is responsible for the quality of materials used in a Lift Upgrading Programme; and (c) whether equal standards of materials used, such as those for lift frames, are applied across all Lift Upgrading Programmes.

Madam, all the stainless steel parts used in lift frames must meet the Housing and Development Board (HDB)'s specifications. HDB requires contractors to submit a material testing report on the type of stainless steel grade used. HDB also conducts audit checks on the lift material used.

The completed lift works are handed over to Town Councils for maintenance. Stainless steel parts need to be maintained regularly to preserve its corrosion resistance. HDB has shared with Town Councils the need for a regular maintenance regime for the lifts and their stainless steel parts. HDB has also conducted demonstrations to Town Councils and their maintenance contractors. Many of the lifts islandwide where Town Councils have regular maintenance regimes are in good condition. We will continue to work with Town Councils to ensure that the maintenance contractors comply with the maintenance regime.

Ms Tin Pei Ling.

Madam, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State about the particular lift upgrading in MacPherson. I am referring, in particular, to Block 121, Paya Lebar Way. I have raised this for more than a year with the HDB officer. Basically, shortly after installation and before it was handed over to the Town Council, there was a survey.

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During that survey, it was noted that there was already rust formed on the lift frame or the door jamb, but because we did not want to delay the commission of the lift so as to provide convenience to the residents, the Town Council took over and decided to run with it.

But my point of contention is that the lift is the main product of a lift upgrading project. In this case, if the lift frame came with rust on it, should it be accepted? In this case, while HDB has demonstrated on how to maintain the lift frame, the cost – in terms of manpower and material cost – is considerable, added up over time. Would this be fair to the Town Council which has to inherit this from HDB?

The third question that I would like to ask is whether the material used for this particular lift upgrading is similar to the kind of materials used for the other LUP across the island. If it is not the same, why so? Is it something that we should accept?

Madam, let me thank the Member for her questions. There are many grades of stainless steel. They are used in different environments. Among different grades, stainless steel has a common characteristic – they are corrosion-resistant, but not corrosion-proof. Depending on the grade used, they all need to be maintained. Maintenance, in this case for the lift frames, would mean using washing detergent, and sometimes, certain chemicals, to wipe the frames. The frequency required would be about once a month. In the high usage areas where the lift frames are likely to come into contact with chloride ions, meaning salt or sweat, then, those parts would need to be maintained more often.

Since 2005, HDB has specified the stainless steel grade 430 to be used. This is applied in all the LUP projects plus new lift installations islandwide for the next seven years or so. It is not just specific in MacPherson area. Over the island, there are 8,000 such lifts and their frames being installed.

Having learnt from the feedback from the various Town Councils, HDB has since 2012, switched to a higher grade of stainless steel, that is stainless steel grade 304. That has reduced the frequency for maintenance but it does not eliminate maintenance altogether. It still requires maintenance that will remove what would look like coffee stains on the lift frames.

I thank the Member for her patience and her Town Council's patience, for working with HDB. They are, together, looking for other ways, for example, applying certain coatings that may reduce the maintenance frequency and extend the life and appearance of the lift frames.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.

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Mdm Speaker, as far as I know, in the construction industry, when the client has a budget, the consultant or the architect will specify the stainless steel, because it needs very little maintenance. We do not expect stainless steel to corrode easily. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State under which code where maintenance is specified so that it would not corrode. Otherwise, tomorrow, we would see a lot of contractors taking the opportunity to say, "It corroded because you did not maintain it".

Well, I thank the Member for her input. Based on what I understand, stainless steel, again, requires maintenance. It is not totally maintenance-free. If you go to very high grades of stainless steel, the maintenance is less frequent. Given that LUP is an islandwide programme, we are working with a certain budget in mind. We should also be mindful of the fact that we should not over-engineer the specifications such that the cost will go up and we cannot extend the coverage of LUP as wide as possible.

HDB has, in that instance, decided on stainless steel grade 430. It is still, nonetheless, stainless steel, but the grade is 430. But subsequently, it has reverted to grade 304 which, so far, I think, has proven to be of a higher quality.

Ms Tin Pei Ling.

I have two more questions for the Senior Minister of State. Firstly, for a new lift which is the main product of the LUP, would it be acceptable to expect everything about the lift, including the lift frame and lift jamb, in this instance, to be rust-free? That is the first question.

The second question is: now that it has already been installed and because the material has already been rusting for a while and the Town Council has been required to maintain it, naturally, the manpower cost and material cost will go up more than perhaps in other precincts. Would there be any solution or proposal to help to defray some of these costs that the Town Council will now have to bear as a result of the quality of the stainless steel that was used in this particular LUP?

There are several terms used to describe the severity of the condition. One is "corrosion"; second is "rusting"; and the other one is "staining". If we are able to clean the lift frames, as they should be, let us say on a weekly or monthly basis, the staining can be removed quite easily without having it develop into rusting or corrosion of the steel. The maintenance regime can be incorporated into the regular cleaning schedule of Town Councils, and, as I said, HDB will be happy to work with the respective Town Councils with

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such problems on finding ways to minimise the cleaning frequency.

3 Mr Alex Yam asked the Minister for Health (a) how many premature babies of pre-24 week gestational age are born annually in the last five years; (b) how many of these babies survived premature birth; and (c) whether the rate of survival of second trimester premature babies has improved significantly over the last decade.

(for the Minister for Health): From 2009 to 2013, between two and five premature babies were born annually with gestation age of less than 24 weeks, out of about 40,000 live births on average.

Among such premature babies born during 2008 to 2012, 48% survived beyond one year of age, compared to 27% during 1998 to 2002. While the situation appears to have improved, given that the number of such babies is very small, we are unable to draw a definitive conclusion.

Mr Alex Yam.

I would like to first thank the Senior Minister of State for assuring us that there has been an improvement in the survival rates for premature births. If the numbers continue to improve further down the line, it brings me to a fundamental question of whether the Ministry would also consider lowering the terms within the Termination of Pregnancy Act to reduce the term limit from 24 weeks to 20-23 weeks.

My second supplementary question relates to an announcement made earlier this year on public consultation for reviewing the guidelines on the termination of pregnancy as well as the proposal that all women seeking abortion should be counselled. Could the Senior Minister of State provide an update to the House as to the progress as well as the timeline for the consultation? I know that I have asked this on a number of occasions. So, I would ask the Senior Minister of State to indulge me.

I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. For the first question, to reiterate, the number of such preterm babies, as I have said earlier, is very small. So, we are unable to conclude with statistical confidence that there has been any real improvement in survival. In fact, this is also supported by international population-wide studies which showed that despite medical advancements in the care of preterm babies, there has not been a significant improvement in the survival rates of infants born before the 24-week time limit during the past decade. Twenty-four weeks gestational age continues to

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be generally regarded as the point of fetal viability, and this cut-off is, in fact, practised by countries like the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia. Locally, I would also like to note that only 2% of all abortions performed in 2013 were performed between the 21st and 24th weeks of gestational age. Lowering the abortion limit would have little effect on lowering the overall abortion rates here.

Lastly, a routine fetal scan is performed at 20 weeks' gestational age and this is at the stage where the foetus is sufficiently developed to enable structural abnormalities to be picked up from the scan. In fact, more than half of the abortions performed between the 21st and 24th weeks of gestational age in 2013 were performed due to fetal anomalies or other medical reasons. Keeping the abortion limit at 24 weeks will allow these mothers some time to consider the implications and make an informed decision as to whether to keep or abort the child, without being rushed to meet a shorter cut-off time. In view of the lack of evidence to show that there are improvements in the survival of such extreme preterm babies, the Ministry of Health is not considering the lowering of the abortion limit at this point in time.

Regarding the second question about the extension of pre-abortion counselling to all women seeking abortion in Singapore, we will be doing the public consultation by the end of this year. Review as to the contents of the pre-abortion counselling, the information to be provided during pre-abortion counselling and the training of the pre-abortion counsellors are also on-going, and details of these will be released once they are ready.

4 Mr Baey Yam Keng asked the Minister for Transport (a) why are students receiving allowances from organisations ineligible for the Tertiary Student Concession Card; (b) what is the definition of such allowances; and (c) why are diploma students and undergraduates receiving scholarships or bursaries given on the basis of academic achievement or hardship not eligible for the Tertiary Student Concession Cards and why such a similar condition does not apply to students in ITEs and junior colleges.

(for the Minister for Transport): Mdm Speaker, student concession schemes are cross-subsidised by full-fare paying commuters. They are granted on the basis that students are generally not financially independent and society should help subsidise their public transport expenditure. This includes students, whether in our Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs), junior colleges, polytechnics or universities, receiving scholarships or bursaries which were awarded on the basis of academic achievement or financial hardship. However, students who are receiving some form of income, for example, from companies which employ them, have traditionally

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been deemed to be financially independent and, hence, not eligible for student concessions. Because these concessions are crossed-subsidised by other commuters, the Public Transport Council (PTC) and public transport operators have been judicious about who should get to enjoy them.

Having said that, the Council has asked the operators to consider extending student concessions to all full-time students in our ITEs, polytechnics and universities even if they are receiving some form of income, as the numbers are not large, and the distinction between them and other students who are receiving scholarships or bursary is not always clear. The operators are considering the request.

Mr Baey Yam Keng.

Madam, I would like to clarify because based on the existing website, it makes a distinction between students from ITEs and junior colleges and students from the polytechnics and undergraduates. For those who are receiving scholarships or bursaries, one category is ineligible while one category qualifies for the concession. So, I think there is a difference, in terms of the treatment, and I hope that the authority could normalise it so that it is fair to all students studying in the various institutions.

Mdm Speaker, I should take this opportunity to clarify. In fact, ITE-sponsored students are treated the same way as sponsored students in the universities and polytechnics. They are also not eligible for student concessions today. However, there is an operational requirement for all ITE students to carry a Specification for Contactless e-Purse Application or CEPAS card for other functions, such as access within the school, and TransitLink, which is the one that issues CEPAS cards, issues these cards to all these ITE students. So, it may appear that the ITE-sponsored students are treated differently from the sponsored students in polytechnics and universities. But, in fact, that is not the case. So, I just want to clarify that with the Member.

Mr Baey Yam Keng.

May I ask the Senior Minister of State, does it mean that ITE CEPAS card holders do not enjoy nor do they enjoy travel concessions?

The ITE-sponsored students currently do not enjoy student concessions. Earlier in my reply, I have said that the Council had asked the operators to consider extending student concessions to all sponsored students who are in the institutions on a full-time basis. And if the operators were to agree to this, then it would apply equally

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to sponsored students in ITEs, universities and polytechnics.

5 Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Minister for Transport if he will provide an update on the Early Turnover Scheme (ETS) since its last enhancement in March 2014 in terms of (i) the number of vehicle owners who have benefited from ETS as compared to the period before the enhancement and (ii) the impact of ETS on the COE prices of commercial vehicles.

(for the Minister for Transport): Mdm Speaker, as of end-September 2014, 3,212 vehicles were replaced under the Early Turnover Scheme (ETS) after it was enhanced from March 2014 to further encourage the early replacement of older, more pollutive commercial vehicles. This is 77% of the total number of vehicles replaced under the scheme since it began in April 2013. The increase in ETS take-up is encouraging.

When an ETS-eligible vehicle is deregistered, its Certificate of Entitlement (COE) is not channelled to the Category (Cat C) quota for bidding. Rather, the COE can be used to register a new vehicle directly within a one-month period. This means that the owners can purchase a new vehicle without having to bid for a fresh COE.

Not channelling the COE of a deregistered ETS-eligible vehicle to the Cat C quota may appear on the surface to reduce the CAT C quota available for bidding. However, at the same time, it makes available an additional COE outside of the bidding system, and thus also takes demand out of the system as well. So, we should not be unduly worried if there are low quotas available for bidding.

The ETS impact on COE price is uncertain. The price of COEs is determined by many other demand and supply factors, such as the prevailing economic conditions and the vehicle statutory life remaining.

Mr Ang Wei Neng.

Mdm Speaker, I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for the reply. I would also like to congratulate the success of ETS since its enhancement. But I also note that ETS in the market may not directly benefit the vehicle owners, but rather the agents. Perhaps the Parliamentary Secretary can give us the figure on how many of the commercial vehicles that had been scrapped under ETS had actually changed hands before scrapping. This figure would give us an indication whether the ETS benefited the car dealers

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as compared to the vehicle owners.

The second question is: I understand ETS has reduced the number of COEs in Cat C, but the Parliamentary Secretary is saying that it also takes demand out of the system. But this has a disadvantage for those companies that buy new commercial vehicles, without the old vehicles to take advantage ETS. At the same time, we know that 15% of the COEs that are recycled from the deregistration of commercial vehicles are channelled towards the Open Category. Will the Ministry of Transport consider reducing the proportion of COEs that can contribute to the Open Category?

Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for the supplementary question. ETS gives more options for current and would-be- vehicle owners to obtain a new vehicle: firstly, to renew their existing COE under ETS; secondly, to buy over a vehicle which is ETS-eligible, which then allows them to take advantage of ETS to register a new vehicle; and thirdly, of course, to bid for a new COE. This, in my view, provides more opportunity for those who would like to purchase vehicles, whether ETS-eligible or not. I do not have the figure of whether the vehicle is scrapped and is taken over by the dealers at this point in time. But those are the three options that someone who would like to purchase a vehicle would be able to do.

In addition to ETS, commercial vehicles also have the benefits of lower vehicle taxes, compared to other types of vehicles. The Additional Registration Fee, for example, is about 5% compared to at least 100% for cars.

6 Ms Chia Yong Yong asked the Prime Minister (a) in respect of public sector employees, including those from restructured hospitals, from middle-management downwards who have reached retirement age but are selected to be re-employed on a contract- basis, what safety nets are in place to protect such employees from diminution of their existing employment benefits solely on account of such re-employment; and (b) in what ways does the public sector intend to lead the private sector by example in promoting employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

(for the Prime Minister): Mdm Speaker, re-employment in the public sector agencies takes reference from the Tripartite Guidelines on the Re-employment of Older Employees. So, the guidelines that we use are no different from those in the private sector and discussed with employers and the unions.

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Our approach is to offer re-employment to all officers who meet the performance and conduct criteria and are medically fit to continue working. Since 1 July 2011, nine in 10 officers reaching the retirement age have been offered re-employment in the Civil Service. Agencies are urged to employ the majority of our officers in their existing jobs and at last drawn pay as far as possible. They are allowed to offer re-employment at lower grades for the more senior grades only if the post is no longer available or needs to be freed up to allow for leadership renewal.

To provide greater certainty for lower-wage officers, since 1 August 2013, all Division III and IV officers are re-employed at the same substantive grade and last drawn salary. These guidelines have been worked out in close consultation with our unions.

Re-employment is a new episode of employment. Where benefits are concerned, all re-employed officers will be placed on the prevailing leave scheme with their years in service refreshed. Pensionable officers can choose to remain on their post-retirement medical benefit scheme or take up the prevailing MediSave- cum- Subsidised Outpatient (MSO) scheme. Non-pensionable officers without post-retirement medical benefits will be placed on the prevailing MSO scheme. As we have announced recently, the Public Service will take the lead to extend our re-employment age to 67 from 1 January 2015, so that more officers can benefit from re-employment. This is also in line with the Tripartite Committee's recommendations.

Re-structured hospitals, which the Member has asked about, are private entities with their own benefit schemes that would have considered the aforementioned Tripartite Guidelines as well when they consider re-employment for their employees.

The second part of Ms Chia Yong Yong's question is not directly related to the first part. Recruitment into the Public Service is based on individual merit, through fair and open competition. We do employ officers with disabilities in the service and are prepared to do more. The Public Service Division is working with the Ministry of Social and Family Development to see how we can help agencies hire and tap on the diverse abilities of persons with disabilities.

Ms Chia Yong Yong.

I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for his clarifications. I have two supplementary questions. First, in relation to the re-employment issue, I would like to ask if the Government can give the assurance that the job scope and

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the benefits will not be re-scoped solely on pecuniary grounds based on budgetary considerations.

In relation to the Deputy Prime Minister's clarification on the second point, I do understand that employment is on a merit basis. Nonetheless, as we encourage private sector employers to employ and to be flexible in job scope, job re-design and hours, I would like to ask what steps the public sector would be taking to lead the private sector in this respect.

Mdm Speaker, on the first comment that the Member made, I have explained already the basis on which re-employment offers are made in the public sector and those are the factors which are taken into consideration.

On the issue of employment of persons with disabilities, the Public Service Division is working with SG Enable and the Ministry of Social and Family Development to see how we can do a number of the things which the Member has suggested and to see how we can employ more persons with disabilities and even restructure some of the jobs to make them more accessible.

Mr David Ong.

I am heartened that the Government has taken the lead to extend the re-employment age to 67 years. My supplementary question is that although I am glad to note that nine out of 10 are offered re-employment in the Public Service, I would like to know what assistance is given to Public Service employees who are able and want to continue working but are not re-employed in the Public Service.

My last question is: will the Public Service also take the lead in re-engineering the workplace so that older workers can stay employed longer and be more productive as well? What are some of the initiatives undertaken by the Public Service, if any?

Mdm Speaker, we have offered re-employment to nine out of 10 of our officers who reach retirement age. I think it is not a bad number. There are reasons why some of the officers are not re-employed. They may not be medically fit. They may not have good service records and so we should not expect 100% because there are considerations which every employer will have to take into account when offering re-employment.

For those officers who are eligible for re-employment, but are not offered re-employment, the Public Sector does assist them to find alternative avenues for employment

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and, where that is not possible, there is also a system, according to the guidelines of the Tripartite Committee, to provide them with some ex gratia payment to help them.

7 Dr Janil Puthucheary asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) under what circumstances will the Ministry get directly involved in caregiving arrangements for a child where his parent, guardian or caregiver has been diagnosed with mental illness and has a history of violent behaviour; (b) whether the Ministry will provide arrangements for the child to be under state care in order to protect his safety; and (c) how many of such cases has the Ministry handled over the last five years.

Mdm Speaker, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) takes a serious view of each referred case that raises concerns over a child's safety. We conduct investigations to assess the risks posed to the child's safety, the needs of the child and family, and work out an appropriate intervention plan for the family.

Depending on the circumstances of the case, the child may be able to remain in the parents' care, with safety plans and support services in place or, if an alternative care arrangement is necessary, we will first explore kinship care, followed by foster care and, as a last resort, placement in a residential home. Each year, of all cases referred to MSF for investigation, about 10% or fewer than 20 cases involved parents or caregivers with mental illness and violent behaviour.

Not all cases are referred or known to the Ministry. There are potentially vulnerable cases in the community which we would like to extend support to. This is where we hope the community can play a part to help us to reach out to these families. We can all stay vigilant and alert the authorities if we come across any children in vulnerable circumstances.

Families facing stress can also seek help early by visiting the nearest Family Service Centre or Social Service Office. As the issues can be complex, we need the collaboration of different stakeholders and professionals to provide multi-dimensional support for these families.

Dr Janil.

Mdm Speaker, I have two supplementary questions for the Minister. When a child or any vulnerable person who is known to the Ministry or any other agencies suffers an injury or unfortunate death, is there a need for a

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formal review process or inquiry? Some jurisdictions have Standing Committees or confidential inquiries where any death or injury to a vulnerable person is automatically investigated to identify systemic issues, especially those that exist among agencies. Would the Minister consider that there is a need for this in our circumstances?

My second supplementary question is: in terms of separating a child from a family, it is necessarily a very difficult decision to make, and the bar is set appropriately high. My question is to what extent are resource constraints a factor in this consideration? In particular, do we have sufficient resources for fostering? Do we have enough families that are stepping forward or volunteering themselves for foster care and is there anything we can do to make available that path to provide an appropriate home and a place of safety for these vulnerable children?

Mdm Speaker, with reference to the first question, yes, there is indeed a formal review process should any children under our care come into harm's way or should there be an unfortunate incident where a death occurs. But there are two separate processes. One is for cases that are known to us but not under the Child Protection Service. And the other one has to do with children under our care and that could include children under residential care.

In both scenarios, in any incident where anything untoward happens to the young child, we would initiate a review process like what the Member has suggested. We will look through our own processes to see where we can tighten or where there might have been lapses, we will take action accordingly.

So, there are processes in place whenever such an unfortunate incident happens. For us, we take each and every case very seriously because whether the child is directly under the charge of the Child Protection Service or is under one of our programmes, we would always want all the stakeholders to come together to look at the case again to see how we can do better, especially when the child suffers an injury. We would want to see how we can protect the child and prevent this from happening again.

On the second question about the separation of the child from their family, indeed, we agree with the Member that it is always very difficult and painful for us to have to take a child away from the family. That is why when we look at the cases and do the case conference for each and every individual case, we do what we call a triage system whereby we have the three levels of care arrangement.

The first level of care arrangement is, as far as possible, for the child to continue to stay with the immediate family or one of his kin. We believe that in such an environment, the

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child is best able to re-integrate with his immediate family, rehabilitate and re-establish the family ties where possible.

In the event that we are unable to have the child placed in a relative's home or an immediate family member's home, the second tier would be foster-care. Again, we believe that this is still better than a residential or institutional environment because this provides a more natural environment for the child to grow up and be re-integrated into the community.

As a final resort, if we do not have family support and are unable to find a suitable foster parent for the child, we will put the child into an institutional home. But even at this stage, we will be constantly looking out for opportunities to re-integrate the child with the family or, if not, to bring the child to a suitable foster family for him or her to grow up in a more homely environment.

I do not think at this point in time resources have been a constraint. However, we would like to encourage more families to come forward to provide foster care for the children. I have recently made known at the 25th Anniversary of the Muhammadiyah Welfare Home that we are, indeed, looking at more families coming forward to join the Foster Parents Scheme. Even if a new foster family cannot take on the responsibility immediately, we are exploring ways to induct the family progressively into the Foster Parents Scheme and also to help the child build up the relationship progressively with the foster parent family.

Like in many other countries, we have found that the result for the child is more positive if we are able to encourage the child to stay in a homely environment in the community rather than a residential or institutional environment, which is always artificial at its best.

8 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether the Police can take on a more active role in investigating complaints against timeshare companies as criminal offences under cheating, rather than leaving it to aggrieved customers to bring civil claims at their own cost.

(for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs): Mdm Speaker, when the Police receive any report or complaint, they first assess whether a criminal offence has been committed. Under the Criminal Procedure Code, the Police are empowered to initiate investigations only into suspected criminal offences.

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The number of Police reports lodged against timeshare companies averaged 110 per year over the last five years. The Police have initiated investigations into about half of these reported cases. This has resulted in investigations into 11 groups of timeshare companies in the past five years. In one of the cases that is still in Court, the accused has been charged with 72 counts of cheating under section 420 of the Penal Code.

The Police take a serious view of persons or companies misleading or deceiving unsuspecting consumers into making sham purchases. However, gathering evidence is challenging and can take a long time as many errant timeshare companies are incorporated overseas. Masterminds may also use false names to run the companies.

The Police will continue to work with the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) and media partners to alert the general public and potential consumers of any emerging timeshare scams. The regulations of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA) that protect consumers against errant timeshare companies were revised earlier this year to provide consumers with greater protection and flexibility and encourage timeshare companies to review their products and services. Under CPFTA, CASE may obtain injunction orders against errant traders for unfair practices such as misleading claims and pressure selling.

On the consumers' part, they must remain vigilant and do their due diligence before signing any contract with timeshare companies. Consumers should check for information on their obligations and their rights to cancel the contract, which timeshare companies are required to provide before any contract is signed. Attention should also be paid to the fine print and hidden costs so that an informed decision can be made. In cases involving breaches of contract conditions, aggrieved consumers will need to seek recourse through civil means.

Mr Christopher de Souza.

I thank the Second Minister for his response. The Second Minister mentioned that half of the average of 110 reported cases per year were deemed to be criminal offences and at least investigated as such. May I enquire of the Minister about the other half: was it the Police's view that no dishonesty was involved on the part of the timeshare providers? Why I ask this question, Madam, is because in my constituency, I have had situations where the elderly have been cheated, have been misrepresented to, and from what I can see of the evidence, there was dishonesty. However, the Police took the view that that ought to have been a civil recourse case. My question really is: if there is dishonesty and dishonesty is represented, and a consumer acts on that

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dishonesty mistakenly, would that be rightfully categorised as a cheating offence?

Madam, I thank the good Member for his question. I want to stress that, essentially, the process is such that when a complaint is received, the Police have to conduct inquiries to first ascertain whether there is sufficient basis to infer that an offence is potentially disclosed, before they then proceed into detailed investigations. So, for the kind of circumstances that the Member has described, it really turns on the specifics of individual cases, the Police's inquiries, and the assessment arising from those inquiries.

As I have mentioned earlier, some of the challenges here also lie in the fact that the nature of these activities is such that it is not easy to obtain all the information. So, whilst an individual may feel that he has been misled, proving that, as the Member would well appreciate, can be challenging.

Having said that, if the Member has particular points to raise regarding specific cases, I think he can surface them and we can ask the Police to look at them again. But, in general, that is the process, and then we have also strengthened the legislation under the consumer protection component. We have provided for recourse for specific bodies to take up injunctions where there is evidence as well.

Mr Christopher de Souza.

A supplementary question. Would the Second Minister encourage the Police to red-flag cases where elderly victims are concerned and large amounts of money have actually been released to timeshare companies? Would the combination of those two facts give rise to special considerations where investigation is concerned?

Mdm Speaker, I am not sure what the Member means by "red-flagging". If by that he means making it generally well-known and raising public awareness that there are cases such as these, then that is where the overall public education effort comes in, which the Police undertake together with the CASE and others. I think this is a very important component.

Where an offence is disclosed and if it pertains to the elderly or otherwise, I think those sorts of cases will also have to be publicised as part of the larger education effort.

But we have to bear in mind that we have to be fair to the other side of the equation, which is the companies as well. Because until an offence is, in fact, disclosed and proven, we also have to be careful in the way we go about the enforcement activities. That is the balance

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that should be struck. But I take the point of the Member on the whole issue of raising awareness and making sure that, for vulnerable consumers in particular, we do our best to alert them to the possible risks of undertaking such transactions.

9 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Trade and Industry if he will provide an update on the Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA) negotiations and, specifically, whether India is entitled to special access to Singapore's labour market or banking licences under the terms of CECA.

Mdm Speaker, the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) entered into force on 1 August 2005. CECA provides for reviews to examine issues related to the agreement. The first review was completed in 2007 and the second review is ongoing.

CECA has increased trade and investment flows between India and Singapore. Bilateral trade grew from S$16.6 billion in 2005 to S$25.5 billion in 2013. Foreign Direct Investment from India into Singapore grew from S$1.3 billion in 2005 to S$20 billion in 2012. This has helped to create good jobs for Singaporeans.

CECA serves to bring conveniences to businesses by allowing temporary entry on both sides for certain categories of persons, including business visitors, professionals and Intra-Corporate Transferees.

Under CECA, Singapore agreed to grant three bank licences with Qualifying Full Bank (QFB) privileges to Indian banks, subject to the prudential requirements of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Two Indian QFBs, namely, State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, have been approved to date. At the same time, India agreed to allow the three Singapore banks to open a total of 15 bank branches in India and 11 branches have been approved so far.

Mr Gerald Giam.

I have two supplementary questions, Madam. I understand that India is claiming that our work pass framework, which has been tightened in recent years, somehow violates CECA, or they are saying that they are entitled to allow more workers to come in here. So, can the Minister share with us his interpretation of what India's claims are?

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Secondly, can the Minister also share the Ministry of Trade and Industry's position on this, and also give us an assurance that the Government will stand up to pressure from the Indians to allow more of their nationals to work here?

Under the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that we negotiated, there is an exchange of preferential treatment. In India's case, in CECA's case, one of the privileges we extend to India was to create greater conveniences for business people to move between the two countries, Singaporean businessmen to India, and vice versa.

One category is Intra-Corporate Transferees. That means if you got employees that you have employed and you are setting up a business in Singapore, we facilitate the transfer of your corporate employees to help you set up and run the business.

Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services in the World Trade Organization, we grant such Intra-Corporate Transferees, say, five years. In India's case, we allow them to do so for eight years. These are the kinds of privileges.

All these privileges do not deviate from our right to apply measures to regulate the entry as well as a temporary stay. So, the overall immigration and employment rules that we regulate have to be maintained. But where the special privileges are negotiated in the FTA, then, of course, the counter-party will enjoy those privileges. And we will follow these rules strictly.

Mr Gerald Giam.

Madam, I understand the point about the privileges. My question is: are we granting them all the privileges that they are entitled to under CECA, or are they saying that we are not granting them enough? If it is the latter, would that mean that, effectively, the Indians are asking for more work passes for themselves?

The privileges are clearly delineated in the FTAs and in CECA. As I have explained just now, say, for example, Intra-Corporate Transferees, if the Indians dispute that we are not giving them eight years as we agreed, then they can refer the case to us and, ultimately, there is a dispute settlement process.

10 Assoc Prof Randolph Tan asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) to what extent businesses in the accommodation and food services industry are affected by the recent spike in its job vacancy rate; (b) whether there had been any impact on the recently

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concluded F1 Singapore Grand Prix event; and (c) whether there is any interim assessment about the success with which businesses, such as hotels and restaurants, are making the transition to the tighter manpower supply.

(for the Minister for Trade and Industry): Mdm Speaker, the Job Vacancy Rate (JVR) for the accommodation and food services sector rose to 6% in the second quarter of 2014, compared to 4.4% a year ago. We expect the sectors to continue to face labour constraints as they restructure, especially as the previously announced foreign manpower tightening measures take effect.

Notwithstanding this, hotels continued to maintain a steady Average Occupancy Rate and Revenue per Available Room (RevPar) of 86% and S$219 respectively for January to July 2014. Hotel occupancy rates also held steady during the recent F1 Singapore Grand Prix, compared to the 2013 race.

While economic restructuring has been painful for companies, such as hotels and restaurants, there has been some initial success. Real productivity for accommodation and food services grew by 0.9% per year between 2010 and 2013. Labour productivity for the accommodation sector has picked up with the opening of new tourism offerings since 2010, improving by 2.8% per year from 2010 to 2013, as compared to a historical 0.6% per year from 2004 to 2009. Likewise, labour productivity for the food services sector improved to -0.6% per year from 2010 to 2013, against a historical rate of -3.4% per year from 2004 to 2009.

We are also seeing good adoption of productivity initiatives by businesses within the food services sector. For example, SPRING has supported 644 projects to date under the food services roadmap including key initiatives like workflow re-design, adoption of technology, kitchen automation and service excellence.

One company that has successfully incorporated digital service in its existing concepts is Gloria Foods. Gloria Foods installed digital service ordering and payment kiosk in its Baja Fresh Mexican Grill outlet at Rendezvous Gallery. Customers can now place their orders through the interactive touch-screen menu and make payment through digital service kiosk. Besides cutting the average waiting time by three to five minutes, the system also reduces wrong orders and minimises mismanagement of cash.

Let me give Members another example from the hotel industry: Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa and Spa Singapore. They have consolidated their kitchen teams into one central kitchen for greater productivity. The hotel is also sharing common functions such as payroll, credit, purchasing, laundry, pastry and so on, with its sister hotels within the Shangri-La

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Group. Furthermore, the hotel reviewed and re-designed its menu and dining concepts to reduce the number of cooks and chefs in the kitchen. In all, the hotel reduced its overall staff strength by about 10% from 2012 to 2014. And you can also find other examples of such productivity and innovation case studies on Singapore Tourism Board's (STB's) website under the Hotel Industry Story-Bank.

While we have made progress in our restructuring efforts, there is more that we need to do. The Government will continue to closely monitor how businesses adjust to the tight labour market situation. We will continue to help businesses within the accommodation and food services sector to grow and succeed in Singapore to create quality jobs for Singaporeans.

Assoc Prof Randolph Tan.

I would like to thank the Minister of State for his very comprehensive reply. I am also very encouraged by the reassurance that our productivity record is slowly but surely improving. I would like to ask a supplementary question specifically about the large-scale Singapore Grand Prix night race that we have been successfully hosting for about seven years now, if I recall correctly.

Given the size and scale of such a prominent event, the performance of our service sector in being able to host such a significant event should provide us with further information about how it is reacting to the tightening of the labour market constraints. One of the reasons I think this is important is because the tightening of the labour market constraints is going to be worse for some time to come.

If I recall the statistics correctly, the tightening in the job vacancy ratio for the accommodation and food sector actually spiked in the September quarter last year. What that means is that we will have seen two of the more recent F1 races operating under the tighter manpower constraints. I know the manpower constraints have been tight for quite some time now. But it appears that the job vacancy rates have already spiked for the last two races. Is there any specific reaction from such a major event to this particular phenomenon?

The latest numbers I have got, as I have mentioned earlier, was 6% in the second quarter of 2014, compared to 4.4% a year ago. From the ground sentiments and from talks with the trade associations, we also understand that some of the businesses, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and so on are facing some challenges. Definitely, it is a journey and it is a long-haul journey to actually transform and make changes to become more productive and automate the processes. It is not going to be easy.

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As we monitor the situation, we know that some of the companies will do it better than others. We will continue to encourage by providing some of the schemes and grants to help them make the change. It is up to the companies themselves to be able to do so.

The general sentiment is that they are still facing some manpower challenges because it takes time to make the change. But for events like F1 and some of these large-scale events, we are still able to manage them; we are still able to host them with a good quality service level. So far, the latest one that was held, we have got very positive feedback in terms of services, in terms of companies providing contract work, food and beverage and hosting the whole event. Progressively, we are making leaps and bounds in terms of productivity as well as the kind of quality service that we provide throughout the F1 event.

We will monitor and, definitely, the Ministry of Manpower and ourselves are also working hard and looking at the numbers. We also look at the companies and are working with trade associations to do so.

11 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Transport with the introduction of free wi-fi services at select MRT stations (a) what is the outcome of the trial; and (b) when will this service be extended to Khatib MRT station which has a high volume of commuters.

Madam, the WIFI@MRT trial was launched on 22 August 2014 at City Hall, Orchard and Raffles Place MRT station platforms. It has been well-received. More than 100,000 commuters used the free wi-fi service on the first day, and this has steadily increased to more than 145,000 users today. The WIFI@MRT service will be made available at Khatib MRT station by next year.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad.

I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his reply. I am not going to ask for just Choa Chu Kang station. I am going to ask in terms of roll-out plans. How does the Ministry plan to deploy from the town centres, all the way up to Khatib and the rest?

Madam, Mr Zaqy asked a very reasonable question. I must say that it is a trial period, lasting two years. And we are focusing our efforts, starting with the interchange stations, including Choa Chu Kang and also stations where there are high volumes of commuters. If we find it well-received and Singaporeans like it and

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use it, ultimately, we will roll it out to the rest of the MRT stations.

Beyond that, we are looking at how we can enhance the travel experience of Singaporeans. LTA is assessing how we can also provide wi-fi services on buses, in the interchanges, as well as, as I said earlier, at more MRT stations.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, are you asking for something else?

I thank the Parliamentary Secretary. I am glad to hear that, by next year, commuters at Khatib MRT station will be able to use the free wi-fi. I would like to ask which month next year. Is it January or December next year?

Madam, we have plans for Khatib. I think at the end of the day, Khatib is one of the stations that has high commuter traffic. I think it will be one of the priority stations next year.

I think you have opened Pandora's box. Mr David Ong.

I want to thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his response that more stations will be wi-fi ready and, hopefully, it will be nation-wide. I think it is a given that all of us would need it. So, I would hope that the Ministry could roll out wi-fi in all the MRT stations, as commuters will have a need for it.

The Member has made a good point, Madam. Nevertheless, we want to make sure that we roll it out in a manner that will be able to reach out to many people without much of a hiccup. Today, we are testing out the whole process. It has been well-received. Nevertheless, we want to see how we can facilitate it better. So, I assure the Member that we are seriously looking into it because at the end of the day, we are committed to enhancing the travel experience of our commuters.

12 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Transport whether LTA will consider using technology to equip (i) bus stops with audible announcements of arriving bus service numbers; and (ii) buses with on-board announcements of approaching bus stops to better enable visually-impaired commuters to travel more independently, safely and conveniently.

(for the Minister for Transport): Mdm Speaker, whilst we are at it, I would like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary

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not to forget Bishan MRT station also!

Mdm Speaker, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is already in the process of developing a central bus management system which will be capable of relaying real-time information to and from buses and bus stops. This system will be implemented progressively from end-2015 and completed in 2017. At that time, we will have announcements of the next bus stop, for example, broadcasted on buses, or delivered in a more targeted way through smart-phone applications and other devices. Today, however, the bus operators have separate fleet management systems and do not have the necessary infrastructure and systems in place to support such announcements.

In the meantime, LTA will continue to work with the bus operators to ensure that bus captains are trained to offer persons with disabilities the assistance they need to travel safely and reliably.

Mr Gerald Giam.

I really appreciate the assurance by the Senior Minister of State that this system would be rolled out. Can I clarify that with this new fleet management system, it will mean that there will be audible announcements on all buses and will that extend to the bus stops as well to announce the incoming buses so that the visually-impaired commuters will be notified of the incoming buses?

Mdm Speaker, the Member's clarification is a useful one. Audible announcements being broadcasted on buses is fairly straightforward because only the people in the buses will hear them and so it does not cause much disturbance. For audible announcements at bus stops, it is something that we have to consider more carefully. The reason being that some of the bus stops are located quite near to people's homes. At busy times of the day where the buses are arriving at a bus stop, sometimes on a continuous basis, can you imagine what it means for people who are living in homes quite near to these bus stops?

That is something that we have to look at quite carefully.

There are only a very small number of cities in the world that have attempted audible announcements at bus stops and where they have done so, it has not been comprehensively implemented. There are only selected bus stops where they will introduce these audible announcements. What we also know is that, typically, the preference is for push button, on-demand type of announcements so that visually-impaired persons if they require these

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announcements can access them. However, these announcements are not made at all times of the day and as and when every single bus arrives.

Those are some of the issues that we will have to look into. But, as I said earlier, in today's context, the infrastructure and systems are not even in place to support such audible announcements at bus stops. We will have to let this new system be implemented and then we will, at the same time, look at how audible announcements can be made feasible at bus stops as well as on buses.

Mr Gerald Giam.

I thank the Senior Minister of State again for the reply. Is it technically impossible to do it or is it just the noise problem? Because I believe all the SMRT bus stops already have visual announcements of the incoming buses. So, I do not see why that technology cannot be extended to audible announcements.

Secondly, I do not think the announcement needs to be that loud because visually-impaired commuters would tend to have more sensitive hearing. So, it does not have to be so loud that it disturbs the residents nearby. Perhaps, the Ministry could consider some other alternatives. One is to have tactile announcements that use touch rather than sound to announce the incoming buses.

Thirdly, I think what some cities do is that the buses themselves have an announcement when it pulls into the bus stop to inform the commuters about what bus number that is. From my conversations with members of the visually-impaired community, this is a more pressing need than the announcements on board the bus. They could be at an empty bus stop and not have anyone to ask what the next bus number is. They have told me that even when the bus arrives and they ask the bus driver, sometimes the bus driver just gives a nod or shakes his head. So, to the visually-impaired commuter there is no response. I hope the Ministry can look into this.

We certainly will.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.

I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State since we are buying a new fleet of buses, can we order the buses in such a way that the door is right at the back, so that commuters when they move into the bus, will move towards the back of the bus straightaway? I think the design of the bus will help commuters in moving towards the back

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of the bus.

Mdm Speaker, I do not see how this has got to do with audible announcements, but we thank the Member for her suggestion. We will take a look at that.

13 Ms Chia Yong Yong asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether there are plans for the Early Childhood Development Agency or any other agency to develop competencies of teachers in the Early Intervention Programmes for Infants and Children (EIPIC) and other programmes that support teachers working in preschool settings.

Mdm Speaker, from 1 October this year, Early Intervention Programmes for Infants and Children (EIPIC) teachers are required to attend certified training in early intervention within two years of joining the sector. The courses include Ngee Ann Polytechnic's two-year part-time Advanced Diploma in Early Childhood Intervention for Special Needs and certificate courses run by the Autism Resource Centre. Eighty per cent of the course fee is covered by subsidies from the VWO-Charities Capability Fund.

The Development Support Programme (DSP) supports children in mainstream preschool with mild learning difficulties. An eight-month course is in place to train the Learning Support Educators to equip them to screen the children and to carry out in-class support.

In addition to these efforts, the Early Childhood Development Agency will support preschool educators to develop deeper professional competencies and skills by putting in place structured career pathways for the early childhood sector. Opportunities for upgrading are also being expanded through a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Masterplan, which has seen over 5,000 teachers trained this year. More CPD courses will be added next year, which will include courses that help teachers identify and support children with special needs.

Ms Chia Yong Yong.

I thank the Minister for his reply. Thank you, Madam, for this opportunity to ask a supplementary question. Given the time lag in the training and the fact that we do have a number of children who require assistance and development intervention, I would like to ask the Minister if his Ministry and the Ministry of

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Manpower would favourably consider the recruitment of suitably qualified foreigners and the retention of those who are already employed here.

The answer is "yes". We are closely working with the Ministry of Manpower to see how we can expand the pool of teachers trained in this speciality and that includes the possibility of looking for foreign trained teachers.

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar.

Just to pick up on the point on the DSP. I understand that the DSP is rolled out only in certain preschools for K1 and K2 students. Are there plans to expand it to all preschools? And are there also plans to extend the EIPIC programme to more centres?

Mdm Speaker, let me answer the second question on EIPIC first. Yes, indeed, we are in the process of expanding the capacity for EIPIC. Over the last few years, we have upped the capacity to about 2,300. By 2015, we should see it going up to about 2,700. We will continually assess the needs for such services as we do better in early intervention and diagnosis for young children.

For the first question on the DSP, we will expand the programme according to the needs of the sector. But I must say at this point in time that we are also taking a review of how we organise the entire sector to provide support for children with special needs. And that is because we have two contrasting models possible. One is to have special childcare centres where all the children with special needs are concentrated together. This, arguably, is efficient; but from a social mixing point of view, it may not be optimal. On the other hand, we have another model which is to integrate all the children with special needs into the programmes for all the other normal children. This is, arguably, more resource-intensive. It stretches the teachers a lot because in each of those centres, we need to have dedicated teachers who are able to do those programmes with the children. But arguably, from a social integration point of view, that is a better outcome.

Between these two contrasting models, we have to find the balancing point between what we are able to do with what is optimal from a social integration viewpoint. And my Ministry will continue to look at this issue closely.

Ms Denise Phua.

Madam, I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider this other model which is right in the middle of what was explained by

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him. It is between the segregation model where special needs children are all huddled together in one physical location and, the other one, where the children are fully mainstreamed.

There are models in the world that are actually middle-of-the-ground models where there are, for example, special schools within schools, or early intervention centres within a mainstream preschool setting. That is something that is not uncommon now. I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider studying that. Some of us who were serving in the special needs sector would be very happy to help out in the solutioning.

Mdm Speaker, yes, indeed that is one of the ideas that we are exploring to balance what I have just described as the two extreme models. Somewhere in between whereby we have a certain critical mass of special needs students at the same place to allow the resources to be used more efficiently; yet, at the same time, integrated with some of the programmes from the mainstream schools.

This will require us to do better upfront planning in terms of infrastructure support so that the two set-ups can be integrated together. And this is something that we will certainly explore going forward and we welcome Ms Denise Phua's help and suggestions to mobilise the community for us to see how we can bring this together. Because that would help us to better achieve the outcomes in terms of social integration and also resource utilisation, which is also a real challenge for the sector.

14 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for National Development (a) if he can update the House on the outcome of HDB's study on the option of reverse mortgages for elderly HDB flat owners; and (b) how will the scheme work out for elderly flat owners.

Madam, a reverse mortgage is a loan taken up by a property owner using his property as collateral. However, unlike a traditional mortgage, the borrower need not make any cash repayment during the loan tenure. Instead, he only needs to repay the loan with accumulated interest upon termination or upon death, typically, from the sales proceeds. A reverse mortgage thus allows the property owner to unlock some equity while retaining the financial upside from any appreciation in property value in a rising market.

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However, reverse mortgage has its risks. First, as it does not require periodic cash repayments, the loan balance grows with interest. Second, the owner has to bear property risks. If the market value of the property becomes less than the outstanding loan, the owner may have to sell the property to repay the loan.

In 2006, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Income offered reverse mortgage for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats. Only 24 households signed up and NTUC Income has since stopped offering the product.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of National Development (MND) is revisiting the subject. We are studying several countries with established reverse mortgage plans, and to learn from their experiences. But we note that these countries are also finding their take-up rates to be quite low. As the reverse mortgage is a complex financial product, we need to study it carefully, consult our people, before we decide whether to introduce it as an additional option for our seniors.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad.

I thank the Minister for his update on the developments. Certainly, today, we have got the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) already in place. What is MND's strategy in terms of pursuing both the LBS as well as reverse mortgage? To ordinary citizens, I do not think they would be able to differentiate between the two. And is there a concerted strategy that we are embarking on both paths?

Indeed, the two products are different and we are not embarking on both. We are only right now offering LBS. But we are studying reverse mortgage just to see whether it will be viable, although it has been tried before, but whether between 2006 and now, have there been changes in the business model that we can learn from and where we may find that the new product offering might be suitable for some clientele.

Our objective is to offer a range of options. So, it is not wrong if we were to decide to offer both. Then individuals would have options to choose which one will suit them better. For some, they may find LBS attractive; others may find reverse mortgage more suitable.

The key is informed decision making which means very close hand-holding and, if we were to offer such products, our staff would have to be well-trained so that they can conduct individual counselling. Get down to specifics: your flat, at what address, what is the indicative market price, how much proceeds can you get if you were to do LBS; if you do reverse mortgage, what does it mean and what are the implications? These are, as I said before long-term commitments, 30 or 40 years down the road. We want to make sure that people make

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up their minds with all the information at hand.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.

Mdm Speaker, I think reverse mortgage is just one of the various options available for residents to choose from and it has been in discussion recently. I would like to ask the Minister, in the Ministry's study of other countries, what are the challenges that you have come across? Perhaps, the Minister can share with the House.

Usually, I try to reply fully to Er Dr Lee Bee Wah. But on this instance, I cannot because this study is still ongoing.

It is work in progress and the preliminary feedback to me is, that even in many of these countries or cities, the take-up rates are really low. In other words, not particularly encouraging. We are not aware of any country where reverse mortgage is extensively taken up or has seen wide usage.

I am not giving up and we want to continue to explore. But I do not want to raise hopes, too, that we will definitely do reverse mortgage. The fact that take-up rates are low, not only in Singapore but elsewhere, must suggest that the providers and the people probably find it unattractive. In fact, today, there are no regulatory impediments against any of our financial institutions from offering reverse mortgage for private properties, for example. They can offer it. In fact, a couple offered it a few years back and they also faced the same problems as what NTUC Income did. They then stopped offering the product.

So, obviously, the market is probably not ripe yet. There are many ways to interpret it. I tend to interpret it positively to mean that the owners, our seniors, have additional savings or I would like to believe that many families have good children. And the good children are providing monthly allowances to their parents which I think will be lovely. And, therefore, the parents do not see a need for wanting to exercise these various monetisation options.

As I said in this House a couple of sessions ago, to me, the best outcome is the parents move in at the invitation of their kids, to be with the kids and then, whilst they still own their own flat, rent it out, whole flat and collect easily more than $1,000 or $1,500 per month in rental. That is the best outcome for most, if not all Singaporean families.

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,

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written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix.]

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Resumption of Debate on Question (7 October 2014), "That the Bill be now read a Second time". – [Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance.]

Question again proposed.

Mdm Speaker, please let me declare that I work in the financial services industry. I rise in support of the Bill.

The Ministry has put in a lot of work on this wide-ranging Bill and spared no effort in a robust public consultation exercise. There were 217 recommendations from the steering committee, with the Ministry accepting most of the recommendations. I would like to express my gratitude to those who have given valuable suggestions and to those who have been meticulous in crafting the amendments.

There are three main objectives of this Bill. The first is to ensure that rules and regulations governing companies in Singapore are brought up to date. The second objective is to ensure that the cost of compliance is not prohibitive for companies. And the third objective is to ensure that the governance structure strikes the correct balance between flexibility and transparency.

With regard to the first objective of keeping the Companies Act up to date, rules of governance are constantly evolving. Therefore it is difficult to pin down a perfect set of rules at any one point. This Bill has, by and large, kept abreast of financial innovations and globalisation of recent times. For example, liberalisation of rules on electronic communications, phasing out of outstanding share warrants, and greater disclosure standards required of foreign companies similar to standards required of local companies can be seen as efforts to bring the Companies Act up to date.

The new multiple proxies regime also seeks to enfranchise Indirect investors like Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Supplementary Retirement Scheme investors to give minority shareholders a voice during annual general meetings. This particular update is welcomed as most retail shareholdings are held via trustee accounts. As an added benefit, this update will also add more flexibility and vibrancy to our financial landscape as it allows for more institutional shareholder activism and a conduit to hold management to account. There are

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some practical considerations to implementation and I am happy to note that the Ministry will allow for a grace period of six months to full implementation.

The second objective of this Bill is to reduce the cost of compliance. I am supportive of the "small company" concept for audit exemption. The Ministry estimates that at least 25,000 companies will benefit from this amendment and save each company around $2,000 to $3,000 a year in audit fees. Many of our small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will benefit from this rule change from a cost and time perspective. However, the public consultation has brought up concerns on how the Ministry can ensure that proper accounts are kept by small companies such that the risk of tax evasion does not increase. Can the Minister share with the House how he intends to address these concerns, please?

The third objective of this Bill is to achieve the correct balance between flexibility and transparency and this is where I feel is the most challenging part of the Bill. The introduction of dual class shares exemplifies this delicate challenge.

Mdm Speaker, the introduction of dual-class shares is a very contentious issue in many jurisdictions such that there is significant opposition to the convention in places that allow for it as well as in places that ban it.

Proponents of dual-class shares cite the ability for companies to focus on long-term value creation and to maintain their founder's vision and ethos instead of fulfilling the short-term profit expectations of Wall Street. Continental European family-owned companies also use this structure to pursue different dividend policies to different classes of shareholders.

Detractors of dual-class shares often cite fairness as their defence, that there should not be second-class shareholders. Shareholders should be able to hold management and the board accountable if the company heads in the wrong direction.

Dual-class shares were first introduced in the United Kingdom (UK) in the 1960s as a way to fend off hostile corporate takeovers. However, as the Financial Times describes, "it has been discouraged to the point of extinction in recent times". London Business School's Prof Julian Franks says that "the UK market believes in the principle of 'one share one vote' even if it trumps efficiency".

On the other side of the Atlantic, the United States (US) has seen a resurgence of dual-class structures as tech companies from Google to LinkedIn have shown a strong preference for it. One recent example drives home the point. Alibaba chose to do an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange instead of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange because the Hong Kong Stock Exchange would not accommodate Alibaba's desire for a board

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control structure to get around its ban on dual-class shares. Hong Kong, as a result, lost the biggest IPO in the history of IPOs.

What should Singapore do? I feel we have to be pragmatic about this issue. The fact of the matter is that capital is like water. It will flow to where it is the most expedient for it to do so. If companies cannot access public markets for capital in Singapore, they will go to a jurisdiction that allows for it. Our key objective must be to maintain the relevance of Singapore as a financial hub and to maintain its competitiveness and attractiveness relative to our competitors. This becomes more pertinent if dual-class listings bring about positive externalities to the rest of the economy and, especially, if we have ambitions to be a tech and biomedical hub for start-ups and to help bring them to market.

However, we should also be aware of the risks of dual-class shares and seek ways to mitigate the negative side of it.

Firstly, it has to be made very clear to potential shareholders of the dual class structures of shares that they are buying into. The rules of implementation need to be transparent. In other words, if a listing is made, what is the burden of disclosure that will be imposed on the distribution of voting rights? Potential shareholders need to be aware of this, so that they go in with their eyes open regarding who ultimately retains control and voting rights. Without such transparency, if one such listing goes sour, shareholders might turn around and blame the exchange and the regulator for allowing the listing to proceed without full disclosure to the public. Would the Minister give the House this assurance, please?

Secondly, what recourse do shareholders have if the management and the board of directors are remiss in their duties and take the company in a totally different direction, contrary to their declared intentions? What happens if the founder of a company leaves the company and his vision and ethos are not espoused by those who succeed him? Many young companies need to access capital to grow but are wary of dilution of control to achieve their vision. But when these companies eventually do grow and reach a certain scale, will they find it harder to issue new debt and equity to finance the next stage of their growth due to their existing structure? To this end, would the Minister consider provisions, such as setting limits on the proportions of voting and non-voting shares, or providing a sunset clause so that dual class shares die out after a specific period of time?

Thirdly, we have to be mindful that while we are nurturing companies which prefer a dual-class structure, we cannot alienate pension funds and institutional investors who are barred in their charter from investing in dual-class structures. These investors contribute to the viability of our financial ecosystem as much. We also need rules to govern what happens when super majority shares are sold to the market. Do these shares then convert to ordinary

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shares?

Mdm Speaker, I have every confidence that the Minister has considered these issues thoroughly and will assure the House that he will implement safeguards that will enhance the flexibility and transparency of our system and maintain Singapore as a premier financial centre. With that, I support the Bill.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

Timah): Mdm Speaker, I also wish to declare my interest. I work in the financial services industry. First and foremost, I would like to also join Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo in thanking the steering committee led by Prof Walter Woon as well as many public and private sector members involved for their thorough review of the Companies Act.

I agree with the Senior Minister of State that our company laws are fundamentally sound and the changes proposed in this amendment are focused on reducing the regulatory burden on companies and with the aim to enhance Singapore's position as a global business hub. Given the extent of changes to the Act, I would not be surprised that many of our company law text books will soon have to come up with new editions to capture the latest changes introduced in this amendment.

The entire Companies Act review has been a multi-year effort starting in 2007 and involved very extensive public consultations including from the members of our Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance. It culminated in a 262-page report with 217 recommendations. The Ministry of Finance, in response, also came up with an equally lengthy response – a report which, more importantly, accepted 192 recommendations, modified 17 and left the door open for the remainder to be considered in future.

As there were already very detailed deliberations by various parties on the various recommendations, I will just highlight a number of notable changes for clarification by the Senior Minister of State.

Firstly, on the "small company" concept for audit exemptions. This is clearly a progressive move to reduce the regulatory burden on small companies. Having a more flexible requirement of meeting two out of three criteria to qualify for audit exemption is helpful and more encompassing. However, we need to safeguard against businesses of a

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bigger group deliberately creating small companies just to enjoy the audit exemptions.

I do hope that most of the 25,000 companies mentioned by the Senior Minister of State can benefit from this exemption although I understand that banks do often ask for audited accounts from companies when they extend credit facilities so that the companies can also enjoy a better rating and, therefore, better borrowing rates. Notwithstanding this exemption, if companies can afford it, we should encourage companies to still prepare audited accounts so as to keep up with best accounting practices and to prepare for growth of their companies.

Secondly, on the removal of one-share-one-vote restrictions for public companies. While this removal would give public companies greater flexibility in capital management and allow them to have a different class of shareholding structures, the concern is whether it would entrench control of public companies by way of the special voting rights and whether it would lead to more companies going that route of having that shareholding structure just to fend off or retain permanent control, which can be to the detriment of minority shareholders.

The other issues are also whether retail investors are ready for such structures and do they understand the implications for this sort of shareholding structures and, importantly, whether the markets are efficient enough to fairly price the different class of shares with different voting rights.

Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo mentioned that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) are reviewing this for the listed companies. I hope they will address these concerns in their reviews.

Thirdly, on the new multiple proxies regime, I welcome the effort to encourage shareholder activism as well as the thoughtful changes in the Act to allow indirect investors, such as CPF investors, to participate at shareholders' meetings. Such shareholder engagement could nurture a more long-term investment culture in Singapore and that would augur well for us to develop a healthy market.

Depending on the companies' mix of shareholders, this could obviously entail more administrative as well as logistical arrangements and resources on the part of the companies. Hence, it is essential to give companies enough time to prepare for a potentially larger number of attendees at shareholders' meetings and to expect more active participation by the shareholders.

For this to work, stakeholders, management and shareholders need to work together to establish a culture or norms for an orderly and purposeful conduct of shareholders'

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meetings and to do it with decorum. Otherwise, it will defeat the purpose of this amendment.

Fourthly, on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's (ACRA's) Consent for Premature Resignation of Auditors, while requiring ACRA's consent will strengthen governance, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State how ACRA would assess such requests for consent and under what circumstances would ACRA not give consent, for example. Would ACRA's decision to give or not to give consent be seen as a signal or an indication that the state of accounts for the company may be in trouble or there could be some problems? Hence, whether also there will be this potential issue of future public liability where investors may take that consent as an indication?

Premature resignation of auditors for a public interest company is likely to be price-sensitive information for its traded securities, including whether the consent is given by ACRA. Hence, it would be necessary for the company to circulate the auditor's notification to its shareholders, and in the case of the public interest company, to the public, in the soonest possible time. Here is where we can have greater clarity for this amendment.

I read in the public consultation report that auditors are also concerned about the risk of defamation if they were required to disclose reasons for their resignations. Is this a valid concern?

Finally, on the removal of the maximum age limit of 70 years for directors, this is a timely change in line with the overall trend of rising retirement age. I tend to think that as we get older, we also get wiser. So, it is good to remove this age limit, whether in the corporate world or elsewhere. The current rules are obviously obsolete. In any case, we should not be overly prescriptive on the selection of directors in the Act, such as requiring directors to present education credentials or any age specifications. It is best left to the shareholders to decide on the appointment of directors and for them to live by their decisions.

Mdm Speaker, it is important that we constantly update our company law in response to changes in the way companies do business and how shareholders would want to be engaged and involved. Overall, these are very good changes to the Act and I agree and support the amendments.

Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo.

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Mdm Speaker, I thank Mr Ong Teng Koon and Mr Liang Eng Hwa for their comments and support of the Bill. Let me address the specific questions that they have raised, and there are quite a few.

First, Mr Liang has indicated the need to safeguard against businesses that create many small companies to enjoy the audit exemption. To prevent such instances, the Bill will require that for a company which is part of a group, the company must not only itself qualify as a small company, but the entire group must also meet at least two of the three quantitative criteria on a consolidated basis. In other words, a company can be exempt if it is a small company in a small group, but not if it is a small company in a bigger group.

Mr Ong has asked how we can contain the risk of tax evasion arising from audit exemption. While the criteria for mandatory audit will be changed, the Bill still requires all companies, including small companies, to keep proper accounts. In addition, these accounts must comply with the Singapore Financial Reporting Standards unless the company is not listed, does not have more than $500,000 in total assets and has no accounting transaction in a year.

ACRA has powers to investigate the accounts and to require a company which is exempted from audit to lodge audited accounts, if it is satisfied that there has been a breach of these duties, or if it is in the public interest to do so.

Furthermore, to help companies comply with tax reporting requirements, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has put out a set of detailed guides on the records that must be kept under the Income Tax Act and Goods and Services Tax Act, and what constitutes good report keeping. IRAS has been selectively checking on the record keeping practices of small companies through reviewing tax returns, audits and site visits, and will continue to do so to ensure that their tax declarations are correct. As for companies that seek to evade tax, IRAS will take legal action against them as well as on advisors or agents who assist such companies. So, on audit exemption, there are safeguards.

Moving on to shares with multiple voting rights, Mr Ong has provided a balanced perspective on whether Singapore should allow them. Clearly, there are benefits and drawbacks in allowing shares with different voting rights. However, I should point out that the concept of such shares is not entirely new in Singapore, and they have been permitted in private companies for some years. Further, in the Companies Act amendments of 2013, the one-share-one-vote restriction was lifted for private companies that are subsidiaries of public companies. We have now decided to lift the restriction in the Companies Act for public companies in view of global developments and the demands of increasingly sophisticated investors. The change will not affect listed companies for now, as MAS and SGX are still deliberating on the issue. Rather, it is the 800 or so non-listed public companies that can take

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immediate advantage of the liberalisation.

Mr Ong Teng Koon has highlighted the need to mitigate the risks in allowing shares with different voting rights. Although Mr Ong's comments are made in the context of shares of listed companies, I would like to assure Members that the Bill will put in checks and balances for all public companies, whether or not they are listed. Specifically, the Bill will require public companies to specify the rights for different classes of shares in their constitutions and clearly demarcate the different classes of shares so that shareholders know the rights that are attached to any particular class of shares. The disclosure requirement is to enable investors to decide whether they are prepared to accept such structures before investing in the company.

The Bill will also require public companies to ensure that information on the voting rights for each class of shares must accompany the notice of meeting at which a resolution is proposed to be passed. In addition, holders of non-voting shares will have equal voting rights on resolutions to wind up the company or to vary the rights of non-voting shares.

Mr Ong has asked about shareholders' recourse. The Companies Act already allows minority shareholders to seek redress if they are oppressed by the majority. A shareholder may apply to Court for an order that the affairs of the company are being conducted in a manner oppressive to one or more of the shareholders, or in disregard of the interests of shareholders. The Court can order one of a spectrum of remedies, such as directing or prohibiting any act, cancelling or varying any transaction, making an order to regulate the conduct of the company in the future, providing for the purchase of the shares of the minority by other shareholders or the company itself, or even order the winding up of the company. Ultimately, shareholders can sell the shares. I would add that directors have fiduciary duties to act in the best interests of the company which, generally, requires the balancing of interests of all shareholders.

Mr Ong has also suggested imposing limits on the proportions of voting and non-voting shares and providing a sunset clause for shares with different voting rights. The Bill does not impose such a requirement on public companies, similar to the current approach for private companies, since the objective of the change is to give public companies the flexibility in their capital structures. Rather than for the law to prescribe the capital structures of the companies, shareholders will be in a better position to decide whether proportion limits or sunset clauses should be adopted by their companies. For example, family-controlled public companies may not find it necessary to include a sunset clause, whereas there were listed companies in the US that have included sunset clauses.

Mr Ong's final points are on having rules to govern the sale of super-majority shares through the market. Due to the nature of super-majority shares, such shares are unlikely to

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be sold in the market. Nevertheless, it is a pertinent point for shares of listed companies which MAS and SGX will consider.

Let me now turn to Mr Liang Eng Hwa's comments. Mr Liang made two comments on shares with different voting rights. The first comment is on educating retail investors. Retail investors typically invest in the shares of listed companies which, as yet, will not be affected by the Bill. Nevertheless, I agree with him that it would be useful to promote awareness and understanding of such shares.

Mr Liang's second comment relates to the pricing of different classes of shares. Pricing of different classes of shares will be determined by the issuing companies and may involve valuation by investment banks and road shows with potential investors. Ultimately, investors would have to assess whether the premiums or discounts offered for each class of shares are fair.

Mr Liang has also asked about the circumstances under which ACRA would give consent for the premature resignation of auditors and whether ACRA's decision would give a signal as to the state of the company.

Typically, we will not expect an auditor to want to resign before the end of his term, unless in exceptional circumstances. The purpose of not allowing mid-term resignations without consent is to ensure that a public interest company is not left in the lurch, without an auditor. The auditor will have had the opportunity to determine his willingness to take on the appointment at the last Annual General Meeting at which he is appointed. Therefore, he ought not to resign within a short time of the year without good reasons.

We take the view that premature resignation of an auditor of a public interest company, or its subsidiary, is a serious matter, given the public interest implications involved. An auditor is obliged to report on any concerns with the company and can choose to qualify the audit opinion if necessary. When the Registrar rejects the application and does not consent to the resignation, it does not necessarily give a negative signal about the company. For example, the Registrar may have assessed that the auditor had not exhausted all means to discharge its duties, but had taken the easy way out by resigning mid-term.

Having said that, ACRA will exercise its discretion judiciously, and approval of resignation will generally only be granted in exceptional situations where the auditor is no longer capable of performing a competent audit, for example, due to failing health of the auditor or loss of independence of the auditor.

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Mr Liang Eng Hwa will be pleased to note that ACRA plans to issue guidelines on what it considers as valid circumstances under which resignations will be accepted. Should the application for consent bring to light potential breaches of the Companies Act by the company, ACRA may also consider investigating the company and its directors.

Mr Liang has also sought clarification on the timing of the dissemination of the reasons for an auditor's resignation and whether there will be risks of defamation. Upon receiving the notification of resignation from the auditor, the company is required to send a copy of the statement of the auditor's reasons for resignation to the shareholders within 14 days. Safeguards have been put in place to address concerns relating to defamation. A company may apply to the Court to avoid the dissemination of the statement of the auditor's reasons for resignation on the grounds that the auditor has abused the use of a written statement or is using the requirement for dissemination to secure needless publicity for defamatory purposes. The Bill also provides that a person will not be liable for any action for defamation in respect of publication of a written statement of an auditor's reasons for resignation, if there is an absence of malice.

Mdm Speaker, let me briefly conclude. The proposed amendments to the Companies Act will reduce regulatory burden and provide greater business flexibility. It would also improve corporate governance and ensure that the Companies Act remains relevant and updated. These amendments balance the need for business flexibility and strong corporate governance and will enhance Singapore's position as an efficient and trusted place for business and investment. Mdm Speaker, I beg to move.

[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mrs Josephine Teo]. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill considered in Committee. (proc text)]

[Mdm Speaker in the Chair]

Clauses 1 to 17 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 18 –

Clause 18. Senior Minister of State.

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Madam, I beg to move, the amendment* standing in the name of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance as set out on the Order Paper Supplement.

*The amendment read as follows:

In page 25, line 34, after "becomes", to insert "a".

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 18, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 19 to 168 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill

Clause 169 –

Clause 169. Senior Minister of State.

Madam, I beg to move, the amendment* standing in the name of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance as set out on the Order Paper

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Supplement.

*The amendment read as follows:

In page 240, line 10, to leave out "(a)", and insert "(b)".

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 169, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 170 to 188 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

First Schedule –

First Schedule. Senior Minister of State.

Mdm Speaker, I beg to move the amendment* standing in the name of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance as set out on the Order Paper Supplement.

*The amendment reads as follows:

New Item (A):

In page 277: to insert –

in Order Paper Supplement:

It is intended that this New Item (A) be inserted immediately after item 32.

In page 277: to renumber items 33, 34 and 35 as items 34, 35 and 36, respectively.

Amendment agreed to.

First Schedule, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Second Schedule ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported with amendments, read a Third time and passed.

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[(proc text) Order for Second Reading read. (proc text)]

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

To ensure that Singapore's economy remains business-friendly and globally competitive, the laws governing the registration of business entities have to be updated periodically to minimise the regulatory burden on business owners while keeping pace with Singapore's development as an international business and financial centre. It is also necessary to strengthen the law to ensure that accurate and up-to-date information on businesses is readily available.

Enacted in 1974, the Business Registration Act provides for the registration of persons carrying on business in Singapore as sole proprietors or partners, so as to allow easy identification of the person(s) acting behind a business name. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) has conducted a thorough review to ensure that the Act remains relevant in the current business environment. It has also consulted stakeholders and the public on its recommendations.

This Bill seeks to repeal the Business Registration Act and re-enact it with amendments as the Business Names Registration Act 2014, which will allow ACRA to implement its recommendations to simplify the process for the registration of persons and their business names. The change of name from "Business Registration Act" to "Business Names Registration Act" will also better reflect the objective of the Act.

I will now elaborate on the key policy changes to the regulatory framework on registering business names.

First, the Bill provides that all persons intending to carry on business in Singapore have to register with ACRA. However, individuals who carry on business in Singapore under only their full names will be exempted from this requirement. This is because they are already identifiable as the persons carrying on the business. The proposed change will reduce the regulatory burden on individuals carrying on business under only their full names, without affecting the underlying objective of the Act.

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Currently, there are individuals carrying on certain businesses, specified under the First Schedule of the Business Registration Act, who are exempted from registration. They include licensed hawkers, certain craftsmen and taxi drivers. Our aim is not to impose additional regulation on these individuals. The Bill, therefore, states that they will continue to be exempted from registering with ACRA, so long as they are carrying on the same businesses.

However, the exemption for businesses listed under the First Schedule of the old Business Registration Act will not apply to individuals who commence such businesses after the Bill comes into force. Like any other business owner, they will be exempted from registration if they carry on these businesses in Singapore under only their full names.

The second key change concerns the registration and renewal of business names. Under the current law, all registrations and renewals are valid for only one year. When this Bill is passed, individuals who have fully paid their Central Provident Fund (CPF) MediSave, or stay on a regular instalment plan with good MediSave contribution records, will be given the option to register or renew their business name registration for either one year or three years. This change improves convenience to business owners and serves the broader objective of encouraging them to make their MediSave contributions promptly.

Let me turn now to the third key change. Under the current Business Registration Act, it is a criminal offence to conduct business without registration or to fail to submit certain changes of particulars. Offenders can face criminal consequences and be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to 12 months or both. In addition, an offender can face civil consequences and, therefore, is only able to enforce contractual rights arising from his business if he is granted relief from the Court. The Bill now extends the same civil and criminal consequences to those who carry on business even after their registrations have ceased or have been cancelled.

In the event of a dispute between contracting parties, ACRA's records are often relied upon to accurately identify the parties involved as well as to ascertain their particulars. This will not be possible if one of the contracting parties has not registered with ACRA, or carries on business after his registration is cancelled or has ceased. The proposed change will, therefore, enhance ACRA's efforts to maintain an up-to-date and comprehensive public register of persons and their business names. This will enhance protection for members of the public who may unknowingly have business dealings with individuals trying to hide their real identity.

Finally, the maximum penalties for certain criminal offences committed under the Bill will be increased to a fine of up to $10,000 or a jail-term of up to two years, or both, from the current maximum penalty of $5,000 or jail- term of up to 12 months or both. This aligns the penalties with those imposed for similar offences in other ACRA-administered legislation,

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such as the ACRA Act and Companies Act. Mdm Speaker, I beg to move.

There are no speakers on this Bill.

[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mrs Josephine Teo.] (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]

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[(proc text) Order for Second Reading read. (proc text)]

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

The Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill 2014 comprises three amendments. The first change concerns the implementation of the Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) for industrial properties, while the other two changes arose from our periodic review of the stamp duty system. The draft Bill was released for public consultation in July this year. The Ministry of Finance did not receive any relevant feedback on the Bill. I will now explain the amendments.

Clause 2 grants an exemption from Seller's Stamp Duty for transfers of industrial properties arising from corporate restructuring. Such transfers comprise transfers of industrial properties due to restructuring or amalgamation of companies, conversion of an ordinary partnership or private company to a limited liability partnership and transfers of industrial properties between associated companies. The exemption is granted to minimise the impact of the SSD on non-speculative business transactions. This change will take retrospective effect from 12 January 2013, the date when SSD on industrial properties was introduced.

The other two amendments are a result of our periodic review of the stamp duty regime to improve tax administration and reduce tax compliance costs.

Stamp duty relief is provided for transfers of assets arising from business restructuring and mergers and acquisitions. Under current rules, if the stamp duty relief is subsequently withdrawn, the interest on the stamp duty payable is charged from the date the document was executed. This does not take into account the fact that a taxpayer would usually have paid the duty upon execution of documents, whereas any refund is paid out at a later date when the stamp duty relief is granted. Therefore, clauses 2 and 3 provide that interest be charged from the date that the stamp duty is refunded to the taxpayer, instead of the earlier date that the document is executed, as is currently practised.

Clauses 4, 5, 6 and 7 also give the Commissioner of Stamp Duties the discretion to allow stamp duty refunds without requiring taxpayers to lodge a refund claim or surrender original instruments for cancellation of the stamp duty certificate. The removal of these two

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requirements will reduce taxpayers' compliance costs. Mdm Speaker, I beg to move.

There are no speakers on this Bill.

[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mrs Josephine Teo.] (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]

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[(proc text) Order for Second Reading read. (proc text)]

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

The Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2014, or the GST Bill for short, comprises three amendments. These amendments arise from our ongoing review of the GST system. The draft Bill was released for public consultation in June this year. The Ministry of Finance has evaluated the feedback received and, where relevant, accepted the suggestions. I will now explain the amendments.

First, clauses 2, 3, 4 and 10 provide for the GST treatment for non-legal entities with regard to goods, land, buildings, intellectual property rights and licence to use intellectual property rights. I will refer to such properties as "business properties" in short.

Due to a lack of legal capacity, a non-legal entity, such as a partnership, may hold business properties which it uses for its business, through legal entities, such as individuals in a partnership or another company. These individuals or companies act as "bare trustees" of the non-legal entity, and have no interest in the properties other than for the purpose of holding legal title or legal interest in the properties.

Currently, a non-legal entity which is GST-registered is unable to claim the GST incurred on the acquisitions of business properties made via a bare trustee as it is not the legal owner of these properties. In addition, the GST Act is silent on whether the non-legal entity is required to account for GST on the supplies of such properties in the course of its business.

To put non-legal entities on par with legal entities with regard to the GST implications of holding properties, a non-legal entity that is GST-registered and holds its business properties through bare trustees will be allowed to: one, claim GST incurred on acquisitions of such properties; and two, account for GST on its supplies of these properties.

A non-legal entity will also be required to take into account such supplies when determining whether it has crossed the $1 million mark, that is, the taxable turnover-threshold, and, therefore, will be liable to register for GST.

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The second amendment relates to the claiming of GST incurred by businesses on re-import of their customers' goods.

A GST-registered business may send goods belonging to his customers for value-adding activities overseas. This is common if the value-adding activities required by his customers are not readily available in Singapore, or if they are more cost effectively done overseas.

When the GST-registered business re-imports the goods, it is liable to pay import GST for the full value of the goods which includes value-add from the activities performed overseas. The business can only claim the GST attributable to his supply of value-adding activity, but not the portion of import GST relating to the original goods without the value-added component.

To facilitate the provision of value-adding activities by GST-registered businesses, the proposed amendment will allow these businesses to claim the full GST levied on the re-import of goods belonging to their customers. These businesses can also apply for existing import GST suspension and deferment schemes, subject to eligibility conditions. Clauses 7, 8 and 9 of the Bill provide for the changes.

The final amendment clarifies that zero-rating of GST for goods provided for specified use or installation on ships or to persons approved under the Approved Marine Customer Scheme applies only to the sale or rental of the goods, and not to all supplies relating to the goods. This is a technical amendment with no change in policy. Clauses 5 and 6 of the Bill give effect to the change. Mdm Speaker, I beg to move.

[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mrs Josephine Teo.] (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]

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[(proc text) Order for Second Reading read. (proc text)]

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

The Public Entertainments and Meetings Act (PEMA) provides for the regulation of public entertainments and meetings. It ensures that public entertainment events and performances are carried out in a manner which is in line with community standards and public decency and upholds the law and public order.

The PEMA was last amended in 2000 to improve the administration of public entertainment licences. Back then, all forms of public entertainment were licensed and regulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Police. In 2002, arts entertainment, a subset of public entertainment, was carved out and placed under the responsibility of the then-Ministry of Information and the Arts. This has allowed the Media Development Authority (MDA), with its expertise in assessing and classifying arts performances, to classify and license arts events, such as plays, concerts, poetry readings, arts exhibitions, dance performances and variety shows.

The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and MHA have jointly conducted a review of the Act. We are proposing several changes to improve the administration of arts entertainment licensing. Some of the changes aim to provide greater clarity on the appropriate licensing authority, as well as to reflect current operational realities. Other changes are necessary to keep the Act relevant in view of societal changes and technological advancements. For example, in recent years, we have noted the emerging trend of arts entertainment being performed in non-traditional venues, such as pubs and bars. Technology has also made it possible for arts entertainment that is performed at a remote location anywhere in the world to be streamed "live" to a public audience in Singapore.

The proposed amendments originally included provisions for a Term Licensing Scheme for the arts. The scheme would have allowed arts practitioners and event organisers to self-classify their arts performances using MDA's content guidelines. This, Madam, was a key recommendation made by the 2010 Censorship Review Committee. Following the public consultation on the draft Amendment Bill in May this year, and taking into account the

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feedback from the arts community, MCI has decided not to proceed with the scheme.

Mdm Speaker, I will now highlight the key amendments which are introduced in the Bill.

Firstly, the Act will be amended to more clearly delineate the licensing regimes for arts entertainment and public entertainment. Clause 2 of the Bill will introduce amendments to provide clarity that while the Act is jointly administered by MCI and MHA, there are specific forms of entertainment that fall under the purview of the Arts Entertainment Licensing Officer, who is an MDA officer, and the Public Entertainment Licensing Officer, who is a Singapore Police Force (SPF) officer. In general, the Arts Entertainment Licensing Officer licenses all forms of arts entertainment, unless the arts entertainment is provided in combination with a public entertainment. The Public Entertainment Licensing Officer licenses all forms of public entertainment, as well as arts entertainment which takes place in a "specified establishment".

Specified establishments refer to premises which hold a licence to sell liquor for consumption within the premises. They also include amusement centres, computer games centres, billiard saloons and similar establishments. Arts entertainment which takes place within specified establishments will be licensed by the Police, given that there may be law and order concerns with the activities that take place in these premises.

Currently, MDA classifies all arts entertainment which it licenses using the Arts Entertainment Classification Code. Arts performances and events which do not exceed the guidelines in the Code are classified under the ratings of General, Advisory, Advisory 16 or Restricted 18, with accompanying consumer advisories where necessary. The classification ratings and consumer advisories allow consumers to make informed choices on whether to view the arts entertainment. The requirement for arts entertainment to be classified by MDA is currently stipulated as a licence condition within the Arts Entertainment Licence issued by MDA.

I had earlier mentioned the emerging trend of arts performances, such as plays and stand-up comedies, being performed in non-traditional venues, such as bars and pubs. These venues are typically regulated by the Police under the same Act, and arts performances that take place in these venues are not required to be classified by MDA. This, Madam, gives rise to a potential disparity. For example, a play which takes place in a theatre will be classified by MDA and given an age-appropriate rating and advisory. However, the same play does not need to be classified if it is performed in a public entertainment-licensed establishment, such as a pub or bar.

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For greater consistency in future, clause 9 of the Bill will introduce amendments to provide for the classification of arts entertainment, independent of the licence issued. This means that all forms of arts entertainment must be classified, regardless of whether they are being provided under an arts entertainment licence or a public entertainment licence. With the amendment, it will be an offence for a licensee to provide unclassified arts entertainment, or arts entertainment which does not comply with the classification given by MDA. In addition, a licensee must furnish all relevant information and documents required by MDA to make a classification decision. Otherwise, MDA may refuse to classify the arts entertainment content.

Clause 9 will also provide for MDA to issue directions to a licensee if an arts entertainment is performed either without classification or with content which is contrary to MDA's classification. These may include directing the licensee to remove content from the arts entertainment, or to cease providing the arts entertainment for a specified duration.

Madam, we are mindful that the new classification requirements may introduce a regulatory burden on public entertainment-licensed businesses and premises which offer various forms of arts entertainment. Clause 10 of the Bill will introduce amendments to allow MCI to grant exemptions from the classification requirements. MDA is consulting the affected stakeholders and will study this issue carefully. Our intention is to strike a judicious balance between regulating genres of arts entertainment which have content concerns, while exempting those which are more innocuous. MDA will provide details on the exemptions by the second quarter of 2015. The classification requirements will only take place at a later date after we have finalised the exemptions.

Madam, media convergence and technological advances have allowed arts entertainment which is staged at a remote location, either locally or overseas, to be transmitted "live" or in real-time to an audience in Singapore. This has opened up opportunities for arts groups and event organisers to bring in performances through livestreaming from overseas, instead of physically flying in the performers. It will also allow event organisers to cater to larger audiences by providing a livestream of an existing arts event to an auxiliary viewing location.

Clause 17 of the Bill will expand the scope of arts entertainment to include the real-time transmission of arts entertainment performances. The same regulatory principles should apply, regardless of whether an arts entertainment is performed physically or virtually- staged so that younger viewers are protected and consumers can make informed viewing choices.

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The Bill also introduces various amendments to improve the administration of arts entertainment licensing.

Firstly, the Act will be amended to provide MDA officers with the necessary powers to perform their regulatory functions more effectively. Clause 12 will provide the Arts Entertainment Licensing Officer and his assistants with powers of investigation where, today, they need to refer potential breaches of the Act to the Police for investigation. They will have powers to summon a person for investigation and to require information or documents which may aid in the investigation to be furnished. Provisions will also be introduced for the disposal and forfeiture of any document or article retained by an investigating officer.

These powers will allow MDA to investigate arts entertainment-related breaches more expeditiously and are in line with the powers which the Police currently have for investigating breaches of public entertainment licences. In addition, clause 13 will introduce a new offence of knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information, documents or statements under the Act.

Currently, the Act provides for the Licensing Officer to compound any offence under the Act with a composition fine not exceeding $1,000. Clause 15 will amend the Act to increase the maximum composition sum to $5,000. This is to ensure that composition fines continue to have a deterrent effect on errant licensees. It will also provide the Licensing Officer with the flexibility to deal with less serious offences more expeditiously by offering composition fines in lieu of charging the offender in Court.

Clause 10 will introduce a new section in the Act which clarifies the various circumstances under which a licensee may appeal to the appropriate Minister against a decision by the Arts Entertainment or Public Entertainment Licensing Officer. These include appeals against: (a) licensing conditions imposed on the licensee; (b) forfeiture of security deposits; (c) refusal to issue or renew a licence; (d) suspension or cancellation of a licence; and (e) directions to remove content from an arts entertainment performance or to cease an arts entertainment performance. MHA or MCI may decide on an appeal by confirming, varying or reversing the Licensing Officer's decision, or requiring the Licensing Officer to reconsider the matter. The appropriate Minister's decision will be final.

Finally, clause 17 will amend the Schedule in the Act which defines the various forms of arts entertainment. Currently, a variety act or music, singing or dancing performance is licensed as an arts entertainment only if the performance does not exceed three months. Otherwise, it is deemed a public entertainment. Such delineation is not meaningful or practical. Hence, the amendment will bring all such performances under the arts

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entertainment licensing regime, regardless of duration.

Madam, in summary, these amendments will keep the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act relevant in the face of evolving societal expectations and technological trends and provide greater clarity on how public entertainment and arts entertainment are regulated by the Police and MDA. MCI and MHA will continue to review the Act from time to time to ensure its relevance. Mdm Speaker, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad.

Mdm Speaker, thank you so much for allowing me to speak on this pertinent Bill that has received a lot of attention by the arts and entertainment sectors as well as by the media, with the amendments that it had included as well as those that it had intended to include but left out following public consultation. This is the first time I am actually speaking on a Bill where the bulk of the topics or things that were not inside, but because these were included, if I may call it, in during consultation, but excluded after it.

The key amendments in this Bill will improve the administration of the arts and public entertainment scene in Singapore. These amendments also make the regulatory powers clearer between the agencies, updating the context of the Act to today's media convergence. This will undoubtedly provide better clarity to the arts and entertainment industry.

The Bill allows for a provision of clearer delineation of the public entertainment licensed by the SPF and the arts entertainment licensed by MDA, and the classification of the arts entertainment, independent of the licence being issued. Through a clearer delineation of definitions and licensing regimes between the two agencies, the public will get greater clarity on these regimes.

Moreover, since there is a possibility that an arts entertainment event can be held under a Public Entertainment licence, the proposed delineation will also help MDA to better define and classify the type of performance that should be an arts entertainment event.

The Bill allows for an update of the definition of arts entertainment to include virtual forms transmitted in real-time to a venue for public exhibition. This is important because technology today allows for media convergence, which means that an arts entertainment

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event staged overseas can now be transmitted "live" or in real-time to an audience in Singapore. Recognising this "virtual" arts entertainment event, the amendments were proposed to cater to its public exhibition and to apply the same regulatory principle vis a vis an arts event physically staged here in Singapore.

The Bill also brings about administrative enhancements to PEMA, which is timely because the last amendment to it was 14 years ago. Some of these amendments that this Bill proposes will enable MDA to perform its regulatory functions, as the Minister had explained earlier, more effectively today, such as in the areas of investigation powers, disposal powers and composition of offences.

However, what is also interesting about this Bill is what it intended to cover but did not. I believe it is important to cover the aspects of what did not happen, for the consideration of future amendments. I am also heartened that MDA took discussions with the arts community beyond the public consultation paper with two meetings and one town hall session. Following these sessions, MDA decided that the time was not right to implement term licensing and made the call to withdraw term licensing in view that there needs to be greater alignment between the regulator and the arts community for co-regulation to be effective.

Perhaps, more time was needed for the arts and other communities to understand the proposed scheme, and even pilot term licensing, before it becomes part of PEMA.

Following the Censorship Review Committee (CRC) recommendations in 2003 – and this was further re-affirmed in 2010 – there was some push for MDA and the arts community to embark on a co-regulation effort for the arts scene, in the hope of creating greater vibrancy. The recommendation was to move the arts groups from an event-based licensing scheme to one that would be period-based, thereby allowing the staging of multiple events within the valid period of the licence.

As PEMA defines arts entertainment more broadly to cover events beyond those by the arts groups, the proposal for term licensing was, likewise, extended to the entire pool of arts events organisers.

My parliamentary colleague Mr Baey Yam Keng and I met former Nominated Member of Parliament Janice Koh and Arts Engage, both of whom had submitted papers to the public consultation exercise, to listen to and understand the concerns of the arts community.

The following are some areas that the arts community was concerned with; (a) disagreement over the intent of the Term Licensing Scheme; (b) Arts Engage was of the view

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that the proposed Term Licensing Scheme would see artists functioning as extensions of MDA, resulting in self-censorship; (c) concerns over misclassification, the penalty system and appeal processes; and (d) concerns over content classification guidelines for the arts. The same points were also outlined in MDA's closing notes for the public consultation paper.

Arts Engage, which represents the arts community, expressed concerns over the fines and penalties which could result from wrongly implementing the arts classification guidelines. Arts Engage also highlighted the subjective and arbitrary nature of classifying arts content, citing instances when the same content was potentially viewed and rated differently between the arts group and MDA. Hence, doubts were raised over any basis for holding individuals accountable for misclassifications.

Though many understand that penalties are in place to prevent abuse, however, as the arts are subjective, arts groups find it hard to accept penalties for misclassification, especially for an area open to interpretation. This, they felt could lead to self-censorship and not fulfil the full objectives of co-classification even though the intent of the penalties, as MDA has mentioned, are due to intentional misclassification and not unintentional ones.

In addition, arts groups also raised concerns that the creation of the role of Content Assessor would place them at odds with others in the same arts group or even with the wider artistic community, or perhaps even with oneself if he is an artist. Based on MDA's closing note, Arts Engage further explained that they had found no willing candidates whom they could appoint as a Content Assessor.

More fundamentally, they viewed that the arts group should be more accountable for creative decisions as a collective, rather than for the accountability to be rested on one person identified as the Content Assessor.

Given that this concept is new to both the arts community and MDA, I would recommend that MDA pilot this in the meantime with some key groups to see how it works and if the role can be accepted by the arts groups over time, as we explore how to make this role more meaningful, and whether accountability could be shared as a group.

Madam, the Not Allowed for All Ratings (NAR) classification seems to be a point of contention with many arts groups seeking that NAR be lifted but that arts content should only be classified and not banned. However, given that we have just done a Parliamentary Question (PQ) on NAR yesterday, I understand MDA and the Censorship Review Committee's (CRC's) recommendations to retain NAR, given the various circumstances that we have to protect, such as the racial and religious harmony of Singapore, national security and so forth.

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With the recent NAR rating to Tan Pin Pin's film, "To Singapore, with Love", I understand if the State is concerned with such movies that depict an alternative history to Singapore, and as the Minister had responded to a PQ yesterday, allowing the exiles to feature their own version of the story disrespects the many Singaporeans who fought the armed struggle against the Communists in our early years of pre- and post-Independence. While this example relates to a film, and not an arts performance, the application of NAR has the same objectives.

I have only managed to watch parts of the film, whatever is available online. While the accounts seem one-sided from the perspectives of the exiles, one may also argue that the communist ideology that they expound is no longer relevant and current in the modern-day Singapore context.

We should make the NAR classification of any works more transparent and the framework more robust. The product today can be viewed just across the border and this has been done in Johor Bahru, and alternative means of accessibility today, for example, the Internet, as I have done, is much easier. Moreover, making works classified NAR may also bring more attention to them.

In the context of PEMA, certainly, the reach for arts performances is not as wide compared to films. Between 2007 and 2013, there were only three arts and entertainment events or performances which were disallowed.

While the NAR classification is in place as safeguards, the robustness and transparency of its use have to be in place to reassure the public of its continued need to ensure national security and racial and religious harmony here in Singapore, and that the NAR classification is not used unless there is a clear threat to our security and value system.

MDA, as the regulator, however, also has the role of gatekeeper for the wider public, many of whom expect MDA to continue to set the standards. Today, parents want to have a greater say over what their children watch or do not watch. While some are open for their children to be more exposed, the reality is that many other parents also expect the regulator to provide the guidance so that they can be guided on what their children can watch or should watch.

A recent poll by Reaching Everyone for Active Citizenry @ Home (REACH) stated that quite a majority, at 60%, were satisfied with current standards. However, 7% felt that they were somewhat relaxed, 2% felt they were too relaxed. Only 4% of respondents felt that today's content regulations were too restrictive, with about 19% feeling that the regulations were somewhat restrictive. So, you have about 23% feeling that the regulations were

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restrictive or too restrictive. As a society, we have to be aware that there is a spectrum of views on how we calibrate our classifications and MDA needs to continually adjust the "norms" if this shifts over time.

However, in the spirit of co-regulation, there is also a need for the community to differentiate between term licensing, which is largely an administrative process, and classification. Nonetheless, the classification ratings are an ongoing dialogue that will evolve with time and our accepted value systems in Singapore. I encourage MDA to continue this dialogue to represent the different segments of society.

Madam, I applaud MDA for taking into account the feedback from the arts community and deciding not to proceed with the term licensing scheme until we are more aligned on what needs to be done for co-regulation to exist. While this was a much awaited feature of PEMA, there was a realisation that it would be a win-win for both the regulator and the arts community to first come to a consensus on what would work best for Singapore.

Madam, in closing, I support the objectives of the Bill in providing greater clarity in the roles of the various agencies and in regulating licensing, and updating the regulations in cognisance of media convergence, as well as enabling MDA to perform its regulatory functions more effectively. Madam, I rise in support of the Bill.

Minister Yaacob Ibrahim.

Madam, I would like to thank Mr Zaqy Mohamad for his support of the amendment Bill and his acknowledgement of MDA's efforts in engaging the arts community. I would like to assure him and Members of the House that MDA will continue with its outreach efforts to the arts community to understand better their concerns and how best we can create a larger middle ground.

Let me address his concerns on the Term Licensing Scheme. Madam, introducing the Term Licensing Scheme for arts groups was first recommended by the Censorship Review Committee in 2003 and reaffirmed by another Censorship Review Committee in 2010.

The scheme would move arts groups from an event-based licensing system to one that would be period-based, thereby allowing the staging of multiple events within the validity period of the licence. This will potentially ease the administrative burden of the arts group on the scheme and provide them with cost and time savings. Participation would be on a

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voluntary basis. It will be offered as an additional option, on top of the current system.

Since early 2013, MDA has been extensively consulting with the arts groups, event organisers and other stakeholders on the Term Licensing Scheme and the Arts Entertainment Classification Code to seek their feedback. One group which MDA spent a substantial amount of time with, as mentioned by Mr Zaqy, was Arts Engage, which represented 45 arts groups. Even after the public consultation on the Bill had closed in May this year, MDA continued to engage Arts Engage to explore if their concerns can be addressed. The details of these discussions can be found in the PEMA public consultation closing note which MDA issued on 22 August 2014.

To summarise, the arts groups' notion of co-regulation included: (a) they should be given greater autonomy and flexibility in the determination and the application of the Arts Entertainment Classification Code; (b) any content should be allowed at the highest rating of Restricted 18 or R(18) and there should be no NAR category; and (c) regardless of the nature of the breach or the classification code, no penalties should be imposed except for revocation of the term licence.

We must also give due consideration to the other responses received by MDA during the public consultation. For example, there were concerns that introducing the Term Licensing Scheme would result in a liberalisation of content standards. Others felt that a robust balancing scheme was needed to deter intentional misclassification.

As regulators of arts entertainment, MDA has to weigh the interests and concerns of both the arts groups and the general public. Public consultation must be in good faith and in the spirit of give and take. The arts community cannot expect MDA to only accommodate their concerns because the Arts Entertainment Classification Code is one in which all Singaporeans, you and me, have an interest in.

The current classification code was developed after input was sought from arts groups and through one-on-one dialogues with 44 arts entertainment licensees between April and June 2013. MDA also consulted its community-based Arts Consultation Panel. Underpinning the Classification Code are our community norms and values and the underlying importance of maintaining social, racial and religious harmony. An NAR category is necessary as an upper limit, as there will be instances when a performance is deemed inappropriate for staging. For example, we certainly will not condone religious icons being desecrated in a performance just because the performer deems it to be artistic.

This was also the perspective of the Censorship Review Committee in 2010 which explicitly stated that it did not agree with the position that, at the highest rating, any form

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of content should be allowed. In recommending a Term Licensing Scheme for the arts groups, the Committee also included that it should be, and I quote, "a co-regulatory scheme that allows arts groups to take over the responsibility of ensuring that they stayed within the clear guidelines set by MDA".

Mr Zaqy has urged the Ministry to continue its efforts to achieve co-regulation of arts entertainment. Madam, in principle, I agree with the hon Member that co-regulation is a target that we should work towards. Co-regulation is currently already practised for the broadcast sector – TV and radio, publications, video and video games – where content providers ensure that the contents which they offer are age appropriate and are in line with the content guidelines set by MDA.

In the case of the arts groups, however, the extensive and in-depth engagements which MDA has had with the arts groups have shown that co-regulation is not such a straightforward matter. MDA will continue its engagements with the arts groups and other relevant stakeholders. However, we have no plans to pursue co-regulation of arts entertainment for the foreseeable future. Until the fundamental differences of views on co-regulation between MDA and the arts groups can be narrowed, it will not be meaningful to implement any pilot tests for the Term Licensing or Content Assessors schemes.

[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.] (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]

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[(proc text) Order for Second Reading read. (proc text)]

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

This Bill seeks to amend the Education Endowment and Savings Schemes Act (EESSA) to extend Edusave contributions to all Singapore Citizens aged seven to 16 not enrolled in prescribed schools as defined in the Act.

Edusave was first introduced in 1993 with the aim of maximising opportunities for Singaporean children in prescribed schools by providing resources for school enrichment activities and to encourage them to excel in both academic and non-academic areas, in support of their holistic development. The scheme has worked well for the past two decades. In recent years, several Members of Parliament like Mr Zainal Sapari have asked the Government to extend Edusave to students who are not enrolled in prescribed schools.

The issue is complex as a careful balance has to be made to provide a common educational experience for our children to grow up together, as well as to provide opportunities for children to access a wider range of activities as part of their holistic education. Hence, in response, the Minister for Education said in the 2013 Committee of Supply debate that the Ministry of Education (MOE) would study this issue further.

After careful consideration, the Prime Minister announced the extension of Edusave contributions to all Singaporeans aged seven to 16 at the National Day Rally in 2013. This extension will benefit students studying in madrasahs and other privately funded schools, and children who are homeschooled or residing overseas. This change will provide more students with an additional source of funding for enrichment activities in support of holistic education.

The Edusave contribution amount provided to these expanded categories of Singaporean children will be pegged to what typical students of the same age group in prescribed schools receive. Those aged seven to 12 will receive the Edusave contribution amount applicable to primary-level students, which is currently $200 per year. Those aged 13 to 16 will receive the Edusave contribution applicable to secondary-level students, which is currently $240 per year. Consistent with the treatment of students in national primary schools, other students required under the Compulsory Education Act to sit for the Primary

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School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) will be considered as primary-level students until they satisfy their PSLE requirements.

The Edusave contributions provided to these expanded categories of Singaporean children can be used to fund enrichment activities. Details on the permitted usage will be set out in the regulations under the Act. We will be providing more details on our website and will be briefing the institutions concerned once the amendments are passed. The Edusave contributions applicable to these new recipients can be used once the amendments to the Act come into operation.

Any unused Edusave contributions will be transferred to the child's Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) in the calendar year the child turns 17 years of age, or, if he or she eventually joins a prescribed school, it will be transferred after he or she leaves the prescribed school, whichever is later.

Madam, allow me to take Members of the House through the key amendments introduced by the Bill.

First, the Bill makes amendments to sections 8 and 9 of the Act to implement the policy changes I have already touched on. The changes will expand the classes of persons eligible to become members of the Edusave Pupils Fund and receive Edusave contributions. Similar to those in prescribed schools, the specific quanta that the expanded groups will receive will be set out in the subsidiary legislation.

Second, the Bill seeks to make a number of further amendments to the Act to streamline the administration and improve the operations of the Edusave and Post-Secondary Education Schemes. For instance, the Bill seeks to amend section 7 of the Act to provide for a public officer appointed by the Minister for Education to assume the role of Edusave Scheme Administrator. This role used to be performed by the Central Provident Fund Board and the change will improve administrative efficiency. In addition, the Bill seeks to amend section 13 of the Act to clarify the instances when a person's Edusave membership will end and also modifies the provision relating to the donation of Edusave monies. A similar donation provision is also introduced in section 16 to cater for the donation of PSEA monies.

In summary, Mdm Speaker, the amendments proposed in the Bill will achieve the earlier announced extension of Edusave contributions to all Singaporean children aged seven to 16 who are not enrolled in prescribed schools and enhance the administrative operations of Edusave and PSEA.

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Question proposed.

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar.

Thank you, Mdm Speaker, for this opportunity to speak on the EESSA Bill. Mdm Speaker, please allow me to continue in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mdm Speaker, when it was announced in August 2013 that there will be a change to our Edusave scheme to allow all of our Singaporean children to receive and use the Edusave fund, many Members of Parliament in this House, including myself, were moved and delighted with the changes that will be implemented.

This change will benefit about 20,000 more of our children. And I believe that our children will be able to participate and enhance their knowledge and skills in a variety of programmes and activities without feeling too worried about the expense.

However, I want to surface some of my questions and concerns, and I hope the Education Ministry will be able to address them later.

First, in clause 7, the Bill states that the Minister can set the allocated amount for certain groups of students. I hope this does not mean that there will be differences in the allocation of funds for students in the mainstream schools, compared to the students in the full-time madrasahs, private schools or our homeschooled children.

I believe that our children studying in mainstream schools and full-time madrasahs, private schools or at home can also cooperate and collaborate to participate in programmes and activities together, so that they can interact with and learn from one another. With such involvement, the cost of this expenditure can be supported by their Edusave funds.

On this note, Mdm Speaker, please allow me to continue in English.

(In English): My second concern is that in clause 9, it is stated that a pupil can withdraw from his Edusave account to "defray the whole or part of his expenses as may be necessary to enable him to take part in any enrichment programme approved by the prescribed school or junior college he is schooling at".

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For students who are homeschooled or who may not be able to attend formal schooling for various reasons, will this mean that they may not be able to use their Edusave funds for any enrichment programme or activity that they so choose? If they can do so, do they need to submit the proposed programme or activity for approval before they can withdraw from their Edusave account? I hope the Ministry can clarify this.

Finally, in clause 16, it is stated that monies in a member's PSEA can be donated to a prescribed charity of choice. However, the prescribed charity must be a "charity whose objects are exclusively or primarily for the advancement of education".

I would like to propose for this clause to be reviewed. In my opinion, the decision to donate to charity from one's PSEA should be left to the account holder and that the account holder be given flexibility to do so freely. Some of us may be inclined to help the destitute, the disabled or the elderly, while others may feel inclined to contribute to religious or environmental causes or animal welfare. May I propose for this clause to be more encompassing and allow donations to be made to any charity or Institute of Public Character that is registered with the Commissioner of Charities instead? I hope the Ministry will be able to address this.

In conclusion, Mdm Speaker, I am heartened by the changes to the EESSA Bill. The changes are inclusive and progressive, and I am confident many of our children and future generation will benefit from these amendments.

Mr Yee Jenn Jong.

Mdm Speaker, I wish to declare that I run businesses that offer education services to students.

This Bill will ensure that all Singapore Citizens aged seven to 16 who are not enrolled in mainstream schools will now receive the $200 to $240 yearly Edusave contributions by the Government. News reports have estimated that 20,000 more students will benefit from this.

I believe that this is a strong signal to tell Singaporeans that there are many education pathways and Singapore's children who have chosen to be enrolled in madrasahs and other religious schools, private schools or home-schools or are studying overseas are part of Singapore and deserve access to the funds that are meant for activities to enrich their minds.

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The scheme, popularly known as Edusave was designed to provide yearly funds to students in mainstream schools to allow parents to use the monies to pay for enrichment activities for their children in programmes that are approved by the schools. Autonomy has been given to the schools to decide what activities are best suited to the students. This is something that is useful as schools can bring in programmes that can extend on their niches or programmes that they believe are best for their students.

Over the years, students have used their Edusave monies for many sorts of programmes, such as speech and drama, sports, learning expeditions and camps, and even trips overseas.

Enrichment programmes offered through mainstream schools are often competitively priced, as there are economies of scale from having a large number of students. Facilities within the schools are not charged to these service providers, so fees are much lower than that of similar programmes offered in venues outside of the schools that have to pay commercial rents. The enrichment providers sometimes also offer other types of programmes and services to schools outside of Edusave funding, so there is incentive for these providers to be as competitive as they can to sell a continuous stream of services to the schools.

While the same amount of funding per child is now available to children in religious and private schools and those who are homeschooled, enrichment providers will not rush to offer services to them as the scale of business is small. Granted that, depending on the rules that MOE will establish, those who are homeschooled can attend enrichment courses by commercial providers individually, the costs will definitely be a lot higher per hour of learning. Hence, the yearly $200-$240 of Edusave contribution that the child will get will not go very far. More importantly, there will be the missing socio- emotional learning elements of learning together in a large group.

I would like to suggest that MOE look into having schools open up participation, especially of Edusave-funded enrichment courses in their schools, to those who are homeschooled or are in smaller religious and private schools nearby.

I would like to suggest that this can be a nationwide effort coordinated through MOE. Selected schools spread throughout Singapore can be satellite centres to partner students who are in the religious schools, smaller private schools and those who are home-schooled. Enrichment courses offered in the schools, especially those that are Edusave-funded, can be extended to these external students. This will foster interaction through joint programmes which will help develop the social and emotional learning of those outside of mainstream schools while helping students in the mainstream schools better understand their peers learning under a different education system. It will also provide some form of common

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