Hansard, Wednesday, 9 November 2016

1 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what has been the trend in complaints about misleading and derogatory advertisements on the Internet over the past three years; and (b) what action has been taken against such advertisers and media owners.

Mdm Speaker, the advertising industry is self-regulated. The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) administers the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (SCAP), which helps to ensure that advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful. SCAP has been endorsed by organisations representing the advertisers, advertising agencies and the media, and ASAS reviews it periodically to ensure its consistency with community values and changes in the advertising landscape.

From 2013 to 2015, ASAS received a total of 124 complaints against misleading online advertisements and five complaints against derogatory online advertisements. ASAS investigated these complaints, which included examples, such as unsubstantiated product claims and racially discriminatory advertisements, and took action against breaches of the SCAP, including contacting the company or website responsible to amend or remove the problematic advertisements. In cases of egregious or repeated breaches, ASAS may also impose sanctions, such as requiring local media owners that are members of ASAS to withhold advertising space from errant advertisers.

In response to the growing use of online marketing, ASAS issued the Guidelines for Interactive Marketing Communication and Social Media in August this year to clarify its expectations of how advertisers and the parties they work with should design and manage their digital and social media marketing communications, so as to enable consumers to make informed choices about the products and services advertised online.

The Government supports the advertising industry's efforts to strengthen self-regulation. However, the Government will also not hesitate to act against online advertisements that contain egregious content such as those that threaten racial or religious harmony, public morality or are against national or public interest. Consumers can also play an important role, such as by exercising caution against offers that appear too good to be true.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat.

Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Minister of State for answering the question. I have two follow-up questions. One is whether the Ministry is concerned that there is an increasing trend in the number of complaints from 2013 to 2015. I am not sure if I missed that – that the Minister of State had mentioned that there was an increasing trend, or whether there was concern that there is going to be an increasing trend, thereafter, from 2015 onwards.

Secondly, I note the guidelines that the Ministry had highlighted. What are the strategies to ensure a sustained standard of ethical advertising in Singapore, on top of the guidelines for the industry?

Mdm Speaker, the Member asked about the trend. The total number of complaints in 2013 was 39, followed by 2014 with 37, and 2015 with 48. If we compare 2013 with 2014, the number was slightly down; 2014 to 2015, it was up. The total number was 124. Is there a trend? I think it is a little too early to say. Possibly. It may be so with the increasing amount of activity in the media space. We will watch the space and we will do what is necessary. It is not the total number so much as those that are particularly egregious, particularly demeaning or derogatory, that need to be dealt with in a way that allows people to understand what are the standards expected of the industry.

It is this point that addresses the Member's second question. Some of the complaints are really as a result of mistakes and misunderstandings. The industry needs to then learn and improve. Some are because of issues of racial sensitivities or egregious comments that were made. For that, we do take enforcement actions. So, it is a combination of engagement, education and enforcement. It needs a lot of ongoing work, within the industry and in engagement with the industry.

2 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Communications and Information what is the status and outcome of the legal proceedings filed by the executors of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew's estate against the Government in September 2015 on the interpretation of an agreement in 1983 concerning the use of transcripts of interviews conducted by the Government's then Oral History Department.

Madam, the executors of the estate of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew filed a Court application to seek the High Court's interpretation of an interview agreement between the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew and the Government concerning the custody and use of the transcripts of certain oral history interviews given by the late Mr Lee to the Government.

Madam, the Court released its judgment on 28 September 2016. The facts and the Court's interpretation are all set out there. It can be freely accessed from the Supreme Court website.

The executors have since filed a notice of appeal against the decision of the High Court. Madam, as this matter is now pending before the Court of Appeal, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further.

Ms Sylvia Lim, just be careful as this matter is before the Court of Appeal.

Yes, Madam, I am aware of that and I do not intend to ask any questions concerning the merits of the case on either side, but just to clarify some chronology of events and some undisputed facts. Madam, I have four supplementary questions in relation to this. Originally, I filed the question with Ministry of Law. So, I can understand if Minister Yaacob may not be comfortable, but I have to ask the question to the Government.

First, Madam, the case was filed in September 2015 and, as at the time I filed my Parliamentary Question (PQ), which was in late September this year, the judgment had not yet been released. So, my question is whether the Minister is able to explain why the case took so long before the judgment came out, bearing in mind that it is an originating summons, which means that there are no witnesses coming to testify, but it is just a document interpretation. Usually, these cases are over in just a few months, at most, six months. So, why did it take so long?

Secondly, in terms of the timing of the release of the judgment, as I had mentioned earlier, coincidentally or otherwise, it was released after I had filed my PQ. When I looked at the judgment originally released, it did contain some typographical errors in names, dates and so on. Does the Government know whether the judgment was rushed out?

The third question is: I understand that there is a pending application now on the evidence before the Court as to how the transcripts were taken from the Lee family house to be in the hands of the Cabinet. I understand that the Judge did not want these details to be recorded because he felt that it would be distracting. I am not asking about the merits of this; I am just asking whether the Judge expunged this evidence at the application of the Government or did the Judge do this on his own accord without the Government making that request?

The last question is: the transcripts, according to what we understand, is supposed to be kept by the Cabinet Secretary. I read from the judgment that the family was asked to look at the transcripts at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Is there a reason for this?

Madam, I thank the Member for the four supplementary questions. I will be very candid – I cannot go into the judgment, because, as the Member knows, there is an appeal before the Court of law, so we would have to leave it as that.

Why did it take so long? I suppose the Judges have to examine all the evidence. Was it rushed? I do not think so. I think our Judiciary works very carefully to make sure that we come up with the best possible judgment. Whether the Judge did this or not, again, I cannot comment because it is basically the prerogative of the Judiciary to decide on the best course of action. As to why the transcripts were read at MHA and all that, again, as I said earlier, because there is an appeal, I do not think it is appropriate for me to comment at this point.

Ms Lim.

Madam, just to follow up. I understand the Minister cannot comment on the merits and I am not asking about the merits at all. In fact, the first question which I asked I think still merits an answer in the sense that this decision by the Judge to expunge the evidence about how the transcripts travelled from the house to the Cabinet, I am now asking whether the Government, during the case, made the request for the evidence to be suppressed or did the Judge do it on his own volition. I do not think that touches on the merits. I am just asking, procedurally, what happened. Did the Government make that request or did the Judge decide it on his own accord?

The last question about why the transcripts were perused at MHA, I do not think that is a question for the Court to decide at all because it is just a fact that the family was asked to go to MHA to peruse the transcripts. So, I am just asking why was that the case? Is there a reason for it? I am not saying that there is anything wrong; I am just asking for a clarification as to why if the transcripts have to be kept at the Cabinet Secretary, they were made available to the family at MHA. It is just an enquiry.

Again, Madam, I am in no position to comment as to what were the reasons behind the various things that the Member asked. Clearly, I would believe that the Judiciary and the Government have given the best possible evidence in order for them to come to the best decision possible.

As to the process by which the transcripts had been shown to the family, again, I think there must be some reason for doing so. At the end of the day, I think this is something which the Government would try its very best to make sure that we can get the best solution possible.

3 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Communications and Information in light of the recent cyberattacks on one of our telcos (a) how ready are our telcos and essential infrastructure in meeting such cyberattacks; and (b) and how can the Government better support our companies to improve their readiness.

Madam, given Singapore's heavy reliance on digital technologies, cyberattacks can significantly disrupt the smooth running of essential services, such as finance, telecommunications and transportation. The Government takes these cyber threats seriously. We formed the Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore (CSA) last year and the Prime Minister launched Singapore's Cybersecurity Strategy last month. The recent attack that affected Internet access for some users is a timely reminder that these threats are real and everyone has a part to play to secure our cyberspace.

Eleven critical sectors that provide essential services have been identified and CSA works closely with Government agencies and operators in these sectors to strengthen the cyber resilience of their Critical Information Infrastructure (CII). For example, through the Readiness Maturity Index (RMI) programme, CSA engages sector leads and operators to review the current level of preparedness, identify areas of improvement and take steps to beef up their defences. CSA also conducts regular exercises to validate and test the readiness of these plans.

CSA works closely with the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), as the sector lead for the infocomm sector. CSA and IMDA place strong emphasis on the cyber resilience of our telecommunications infrastructure as it is a crucial enabler for other sectors. Besides aligning with national level plans, IMDA requires Internet service providers (ISPs) to comply with the Secure and Resilient Internet Infrastructure Code of Practice as part of their licence conditions. This Code requires ISPs to put in place various controls related to prevention, detection and response to cyber-attacks across telecommunications networks. The ISPs are also required to engage IMDA-approved auditors to audit their compliance with the Code.

To improve responses to cyber threats in the infocomm sector, the then-IDA also formed the Infocommunications Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (ISG-CERT) last year. Its remit has since been expanded to include the media sector with the formation of IMDA. ISG-CERT shares information through the issuance of actionable intelligence and alerts to the telecommunications and media operators to enhance their readiness. ISG-CERT also coordinates sector-wide responses to cyberattacks.

However, Madam, the cyber threat landscape facing our CIIs is rapidly evolving and attacks are becoming more sophisticated. Despite our best efforts, breaches cannot be eliminated entirely. It is important that we respond swiftly when attacked and bring services back to normalcy as soon as possible. We will also need to continually adapt our plans based on lessons learnt. While investigations are ongoing for the recent attack, IMDA, CSA and ISPs have not stood still. IMDA, through ISG-CERT, has issued advisories to local ISPs on measures to take to mitigate similar attacks, such as beefing up Domain Name Server capacity, and monitoring and placing limits, if needed, on traffic coming from identified network ports.

Beyond the critical sectors, it is also important that companies, including small and medium enterprises, adopt good cyber security practices. Consumers expect that digital processes are secured and their private information is protected when transacting with companies. Businesses should, therefore, view cyber security as investments to improve their competitiveness, rather than just additional cost. To keep informed of latest cybersecurity threats and steps to take to mitigate these risks, companies can refer to regular advisories and alerts that are issued by the Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (SingCERT).

As shown by the recent incident, consumers also play an important role in building a safer cyberspace. Consumers should adopt good cyber hygiene to minimise the risk of falling prey to cybercriminals or unwittingly allow their Internet-connected devices, such as webcams and routers, to be used to launch cyberattacks against others. Each of us can take responsibility by taking steps, such as changing the default password on home equipment and wireless networks, and regularly applying software updates to our computers and mobile phones. Such measures are published regularly on SingCERT's website.

Mr Desmond Choo.

I thank the Minister for his responses. I have two points of clarification. One, I note that we have done quite a fair bit for the essential services. Of course, there is a need to level up the individuals and consumers, including companies' capabilities to deal with the attacks. I would like to check what are the additional measures that the Ministry will put in place to help companies that might not have the requisite resources to level up?

Secondly, would the Ministry also consider SG Secure-like counter-terrorism exercises for the individuals and consumers so that everyone can be better prepared in the event of an attack and take better precautions?

I thank the Member for the two questions. On the first question as to whether there are additional measures to help our companies to level up, the answer is yes.

CSA will work with the various chambers and trade associations to help our SMEs to understand what are their states of cyber readiness and what are the solutions available out there. We have recently launched a starter kit for companies to see what are the things they need to put in place, the necessary defences of their IT systems.

On the second question as to whether or not we will conduct exercises with the consumers, currently, what is being done, as the way we have organised the space, is that we have 11 critical sectors. CSA works with the sector leads and the various members of the sectors, be it finance, telecomms, water or energy, to do table-top exercises.

At the same time, what we do is that we send out advisories and we inform through our website, what are the things that not only businesses, but also consumers can do.

I agree with the Member that there is a need for us to step up cyber hygiene, especially for consumers. This is something which has to be ongoing. The kind of exercises that the Member suggested is something we can study. Certainly, I think a public campaign is something that we have launched and we want to continue to reach out to as many consumers as possible to make sure, as I mentioned in my reply, that they ensure that their passwords are changed regularly and they adopt good cyber hygiene.

4 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Transport (a) under what conditions does LTA revoke a Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence (TDVL); and (b) what due process takes place to enable taxi drivers to have a fair hearing before revocation of TDVLs.

Mdm Speaker, to qualify for a Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence (TDVL), applicants must meet driving, conduct and medical requirements. The licence can be revoked if the driver is disqualified from driving by the Singapore Traffic Police or by a Court of law, if he is convicted for committing serious crimes, if he has been given more than 20 demerit points for misconduct, or if he is assessed to be physically unfit to be a taxi driver.

Upon notification, the taxi driver has 14 days to appeal, during which, mitigating circumstances or any new information would be considered.

Ms Sylvia Lim.

Madam, supplementary question for the Senior Minister of State. I am not sure in her answer whether she actually touched on what due process the taxi driver has to make representations before his TDVL is revoked by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). Is there any direct communication between the driver and LTA, which is the authority that actually has the power to revoke the licence?

Secondly, I have come across at least one case where the reason given by LTA for the revocation of licence is that he has an outstanding case. Now, from what I know of the facts, the taxi driver disputes the complaint from the passenger. So, the question, of course, will be what protection does the taxi driver have if frivolous or unjust complaints are made against him? And how does LTA assess the credibility of such a matter and give the taxi driver due hearing before the revocation decision?

Madam, I would like to seek a clarification from the Member. When she talked about direct communication between LTA and the taxi drivers whose licences could be revoked, what sort of direct communication does she have in mind?

Ms Sylvia Lim.

Madam, I am basing it also on a previous answer by the Government, but this is, of course, an outdated answer. In 1982, when the decision to revoke taxi drivers' licences was vested in the Registrar of Vehicles (ROV) at the time, the then Minister Ong Teng Cheong, said at that time that the Registrar's decision would be based on evidence adduced from both the complainant and the driver.

So, I wanted to understand more about the process. As in the driver's version of events, is that directly communicated or submitted directly to LTA at the first instance, or how does that come about? What does LTA consider from the driver?

Madam, I shall attempt to address the Member's supplementary questions. LTA does not revoke a taxi driver's vocational licence without basis. An important consideration, which LTA must bear in mind in taking its decision, is the risk of the case to potential passenger safety. So, that is an important consideration.

Ms Sylvia Lim, in her supplementary question alluded to an outstanding case by a particular appellant. I would say that if LTA has revoked the licence holder's licence, even after the licence holder has put in an appeal, the holder may then put in an appeal to the Minister for Transport. And I believe in this case, Ms Lim has done so on behalf of the taxi driver licence holder, whose licence was revoked.

LTA is still establishing the facts of this case, and we can review the appropriate course of action, including whether to reinstate his licence when we have greater clarity on the details of the case.

Ms Sylvia Lim.

Madam, a supplementary question. I am not sure whether I heard the Senior Minister of State correctly, but she mentioned that because now there is an appeal route to the Minister, LTA is reviewing the facts of the case.

My question was: at the first instance when they decide to revoke that licence, what protection do taxi drivers have against frivolous complaints being made against them? It is a general question not related to that particular case, but a question of policy.

So, Madam, with your permission, I would just like to share a little bit more about how taxi drivers' licences could be revoked. I mentioned in my reply that there were several conditions that needed to be met. They are not frivolous; in fact, they are also very transparent.

In the case of a licence being revoked, if demerit points had been accumulated, in many of the cases, the taxi driver could well have experienced periods of suspension. So, before the licence is revoked, quite a number of these taxi drivers would already know that their demerit points are accumulating, so it would not come as a surprise to a lot of them.

And what are the reasons where they might accumulate demerit points? This is also made known to every taxi driver. It is a transparent list of items – what sorts of conduct will lead to what sorts of demerit points, so there are facts which have led to the accumulation of the demerit points. So, it would not be a case of total surprise. That is one example.

Ms Sylvia Lim.

Sorry, Madam. Yes, just to clarify again, my question really is premised upon seeking to understand what avenues the taxi driver has to put out his case before LTA makes that decision. Of course, you mentioned this demerit points system and all that —

Madam, I thought I made that quite clear in my earlier replies. The taxi driver —

How does LTA assess whether the complaint —

Please speak one person at a time and address the Chair. Ms Lim, have you got further clarifications?

Yes, Madam, I am quite disturbed because I am not refuting the Government's response, but it is just that in the case which I came across, it was not put to the taxi driver that he has accumulated points. It was just put to him that he has an outstanding case against him.

May I seek clarification from the Member? Is she asking about revocation in general, or she would like to talk about the case that she has encountered?

Ms Sylvia Lim.

The question actually is about policy. The case which I encountered actually is an illustration of doubts about what the policy is. Is it possible for taxi drivers to have their licences revoked just based on one outstanding case?

I do not need to talk about that case. But, in general, just one outstanding case and a case which has not been settled in the Court of law. Is it possible?

Madam, I go back to my earlier answer, which is that there is a set of conditions that may lead to a taxi driver's licence being revoked. An important consideration that the LTA has is the safety of the passengers and the potential risks.

I think we have established from the earlier clarification made by the Member that she is not asking about specific instances. So, if she would like to discuss a specific instance, I suggest we take it offline. But as a general policy, we will have to look at the facts of the case, and the conditions under which a taxi driver's vocational licence may be revoked is made quite clear, including accumulation of demerit points, offences being committed and physical unfitness. So, I think those were already in the earlier reply on the general policy.

5 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Transport how will the Ministry fix the problem-prone Bukit Panjang LRT system and whether there are plans to overhaul the entire system or to replace it with a more reliable transport mode to better serve the residents living there.

Madam, Light Rail Transport (LRT) systems are normally deployed for straightforward point-to-point connections on flat terrain. Typical examples include the Sentosa Express and skytrains in airports to connect terminal buildings. The decision to implement the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT), required shoe-horning an LRT system into a built-up town. This has posed significant engineering challenges, requiring the LRT to make sharp bends and over undulating terrain. The BPLRT's reliability has therefore been unsatisfactory, despite significant efforts by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) and the train manufacturer, Bombardier over many years.

There are two main technical challenges for BPLRT. First, the current design of the power rail. It requires three points of contact simultaneously with the trains' collector shoes. Any misalignment could trigger a power trip or even dislodge the collector shoes, causing a disruption. The sharp bends and undulating terrain further contribute to this problem. Sixty percent of the major disruptions in the past three years were caused by power trips or dislodged collector shoes.

Second, the current track layout in the vicinity of Bukit Panjang station and the LRT service routing require trains leaving the Bukit Panjang station to constantly switch tracks. This has made the switch point a critical vulnerability.

Meanwhile, many key components, including the trains, power rail and the signalling system, are coming to the end of their design lives in about four to five years' time. They will have to be replaced. We are taking this opportunity to redo the BPLRT to enable a step jump in reliability. Fortunately, there are now better technology and designs available, compared to 17 years ago.

The engineering study is ongoing. Our likely approach comprises two key elements. First, we are studying a redesign of Bukit Panjang station, its track layout and the BPLRT routing to remove the need to constantly switch tracks and to smoothen some parts of the alignment. Second, we are sourcing for new trains, power rail, signalling system and various other critical components to replace our first-generation assets. These measures should improve reliability and performance.

There have been suggestions to replace the BPLRT with a bus-only transport system. This is not feasible. The road network in Bukit Panjang will not be able to cope.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

Madam, I appreciate the very candid reply from the Minister and I thank him for the clearest indication yet that the LRT system will not be scrapped. The news headline of that possibility has caused great anxiety and concerns to our residents. But notwithstanding the service breakdowns that they had experienced, I think they still want the LRT system because replacing it with a bus system is just not practical.

So, I would like to ask the Minister, whilst we are looking into how we can significantly upgrade the system to enhance the reliability, in the interim, can LTA improve on the response to breakdowns because there could still be some more breakdowns as we discover new things, whether we can have provision of more buses within the town, feeder service so that in the event there is a disruption or breakdown, the buses can be re-deployed to respond to breakdowns and to minimise inconvenience to our residents?

The short answer is yes and we do. And I think the Member would know that if you look at recent incidents of handling, things have improved. But for BPLRT, in particular, a lot of energy is right now also spent on sorting out the medium-term solutions which we need to clean up within the next four or five years. I am reasonably confident that we can tackle this problem. I am more confident about this than my bet on who is the next American President.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

Yes, we are equally concerned over the next President as well. I just want to also ask the Minister, from my interactions with the SMRT staff and engineers looking after the BPLRT system, I get the sense they are not placing enough priority, or maybe they are not resourced enough to deal with some of these operational problems that they have. And maybe, indeed, they were also thinking and hoping that the system will be scrapped. So, I would like to ask the Minister, as we look at this whole change to enhance the system, whether it makes sense to have this system run by a separate entity on a not-for-profit basis so that we get the system stabilised first before we look at how we can worry about other commercial considerations.

Madam, I find the comment rather unfair on the existing leadership or team working at SMRT. I have worked with them for one year now. I have been in the Ministry for one year. I spend a lot of time on the ground talking to the people from top, senior level to the junior level, including many of the engineers, assistant engineers and technicians working their guts out in the trenches. I cannot speak for the previous leadership of SMRT but, for the current team, they are taking this very seriously, not just BPLRT but the entire MRT network, because they know that whatever they do or fail to do have major impact.

As I said a couple of days ago, more than two million commuters use our service every day and we can make a difference to their lives. That is a very important function that we play.

So, I am less interested in the past but on the way forward. In fact, in the past few months, I believe that things are improving. I take trains, and many commuters come forward to express their direct experience because they are daily users of the service. Just last week, on a train, one secondary school student came to me. He recognised me and he came for a chat. So, I asked, "Do you use the train service every day?" He said, "Yes, every day. How else can I move around?" I asked, "Have you personally experienced disruptions?" He said, "Many." I was very sad to hear that. So, I asked, "When was your last disruption experience?" He said, "December last year." I said, "That means this year, things have improved?" He said, "Oh yes."

Mr Azmoon Ahmad.

For the Minister of Transport, I have one question. The investments made on the older LRT in Bukit Panjang, have they been recovered already?

I think from a purely financial viewpoint, my understanding from SMRT is it has always been loss-making for the BPLRT. But they are also responsible for the North-South East-West Lines. So, as a company, they look at it from a total portfolio point of view. As I said earlier, the current team does not look at it from a pure bottom-line angle, rather that they are a public service provider, they have a duty to perform, and their job is to deliver it to the best of their ability.

From an overall system's point of view, I must make a point that if you want a good train service, one must invest sufficient resources into the operator, whoever is the operator. Since resources come from both the Government as well as fares collection, fare revisions have to be timely and adequate. That is why we have an independent Public Transport Council (PTC) to ensure the long-term viability of all the train services.

6 Mr Azmoon Ahmad asked the Minister for Transport (a) what actions have been taken to improve our MRT service disruption problems; (b) whether there have been any benchmarks made with other rail service providers from other world class cities and, if so, where does Singapore stand; and (c) how long more can it be expected for our MRT services to be seen as on par with other world class cities in respect of frequency of disruptions.

Madam, as I said just a while ago, our rail reliability is improving, but we are not yet where we want to be. Our Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) trains now travel about 158,000 train-kilometre (km), almost 160,000 train-km, between delays of more than five minutes. This is a common industry-wide performance indicator on reliability.

This performance, 158,000 train-km, is better than the performance of last year of 133,000 train-km: about 160,000 train-km versus 130,000 train-km. However, we are still quite far off from Hong Kong (Mass Transit Railway’s (MTR's) performance of 360,000 train-km and Taipei Metro's 800,000 train-km. The best in class chalks up 800,000 train-km; we are now 160,000 train-km. We have set ourselves a target of 400,000 train-km by 2018 and 800,000 train-km by 2020 for our MRT lines.

Together with the operators, we have a comprehensive plan to reach this higher standard. First, we are improving the current maintenance regimes. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has introduced new process-based Maintenance Performance Standards to address maintenance issues upstream before delays occur. LTA and the operators have increased their maintenance and engineering manpower and stepped up maintenance checks.

Second, with the transition of the industry to the New Rail Financing Framework, where the Government will own the operating assets, we will be able to renew and replace all operating assets in a timely manner. Some of the renewal works for the North-South and East-West Lines have already begun. For example, the replacement of sleepers, the signalling system and the power rail would all be completed by 2018.

Third, we are expanding our rail network to enhance its resilience. Commuters will then have alternative routes on the rail network to get to their destinations should there be a disruption on one of them.

Finally, we are building up the expertise of our rail engineers. LTA has set up various advisory panels, comprising international and local experts, to get advice and to learn from their experience and the international best practices. We are also setting up the Singapore Rail Academy to augment industry efforts in manpower development.

Mr Azmoon Ahmad.

I would like to thank the Minister for Transport for such an elaborate answer. One area I would like to know from the Minister, is whether he feels there is a need to set up a quality initiative within the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) organisation?

The answer is yes. We are in this business where reliability and quality are paramount because if you are not able to deliver quality and reliability, then you are in the wrong business. So, that must be the culture and, at least, based on the current team that I have been working with the last one year, I think it is in their DNA. We will deliver on this – not to worry.

Mr Dennis Tan.

Madam, can I take the opportunity to ask the Minister whether he can update the House on whether the cause of the recent Circle Line breakdown has been uncovered?

The Circle Line incident is a very interesting incident that my team has spent several weeks on. We are challenged by that, but we find it exciting tackling this challenging incident. The cause is clear, that there was signal interference – a particular signal was interfering with our wireless signalling system and causing some of these difficulties. But tracking down the source of the interfering signal requires a lot of effort, and it is intellectually very challenging because there are many possibilities and we just got to, one by one, through elimination, try to establish what exactly is the source. We are very close to it now and I am fairly confident that, within this week, we will be able to go public on what exactly was the source and how we will fix it. I think in a few days' time. Let us watch the American Presidential Election first.

The following question stood in the name of Er Dr Lee Bee Wah –

7 To ask Minister for National Development (a) how has the coordination of services been since the launch of the Municipal Services Office; and (b) which Government agency should be contacted when there is a python found in a monsoon drain and the AVA would not act as the drain is not under their purview.

Question No 7, please.

Since the Municipal Services Office (MSO) was set up in October 2014, there has been an improvement in the delivery of municipal services. The average time taken to respond to cases involving multiple agencies has been reduced by nine days, from 21 days in October 2014, when MSO was set up, to 12 days in June 2016. The proportion of cases which required referrals to multiple agencies has also dropped from 13% to 9% in the same period. This reflected an improvement in work processes and better understanding of the partners' area of responsibility.

These improvements were made possible through the efforts of MSO and the partner agencies. Some of the specific work initiatives included the introduction of OneService App which allowed feedback to be given without knowing or identifying the agency responsible for the problem and the appointment of lead agencies to deal with groups of municipal issues.

For example, public greenery maintenance has been centralised under the National Parks Board (NParks) since June 2015; the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been appointed as the First Responder for feedback on maintenance of connectivity-related infrastructure since June this year.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has also been appointed the First Responder for animal issues since 2012. Members of public can contact AVA for all animal-related issues, including feedback on the presence of a python in a monsoon drain. AVA will coordinate efforts with the relevant agencies, including external partners such as animal welfare groups, to resolve the problem and be the lead agency to reply to the feedback provider.

We still do not know what happened to the python in the monsoon drain.

8 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the Government's estimated budget for the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) for private estates for the next three years; and (b) what is the schedule for calling for EUP nominations each year.

Madam, since the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) was launched in the year 2000, the Ministry of National Development (MND) has committed about S$187 million to upgrade 63 selected private estates through nine batches of EUP. The average budget for each project is about S$20 million.

The pace of the programme will depend on the resources that are currently available, and we also have to coordinate with other Government agencies in terms of planning and upgrading works to minimise inconvenience to the residents and the public. MND will invite nominations for future projects once we have the timeline for implementation.

Ms Sylvia Lim.

Madam, supplementary questions for the Minister of State. Is the Minister of State able to tell us or project how much budget would be available in the coming years, which was in my Parliamentary Question (PQ), the next three years?

The second supplementary question is: do I take it that there is no fixed schedule every year to call for EUP and, therefore, it just depends on when the Ministry feels it has the resources to do so?

The third question is: I understand from prior correspondence with the Ministry that the calling of the EUP projects will be through the Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC). Could I ask whether the Ministry is also able to let the Member of Parliament of the area know that EUP projects are being called, so that we can try to work with the CCC in some way?

Madam, I thank the Member for her supplementary questions. As for how much the budget is, I did say earlier that each project is about $20 million. We do not currently have a block budget for this, but each project is about $20 million. As and when the resources are available, financially, manpower or a need, we will then roll out calls for the next project. So, there is no current fixed schedule at the moment.

In terms of engagement of the ground for project nomination, we generally work through the CCCs because they do know the demands of the estate better, but there is no reason why we will not inform the current Member of Parliament if there is a need to do so. Once the project is ready for announcement and we are working with the CCC and it is quite clear that the project has been finalised, we can actually notify the current Member of the ward as well.

Ms Sylvia Lim.

Madam, two supplementary questions. My request for MND to inform the Member is at the start when you are calling for projects. I do appreciate the Minister of State's confirmation that when the project has been more or less fleshed out by the CCC, the Ministry will inform us, but I am asking about the point of calling for projects, because I think we also have feedback that we can share with the Ministry as well. Could the Minister of State confirm that the Ministry would also let the Member of Parliament know when the Ministry is calling for projects when the resources are available?

The second question is, in the recent answer, I think to Member Chong Kee Hiong, in March this year, it was mentioned that the Ministry is aware that there are at least 20 estates that are more than 30 years old that have not benefited from the EUP. I believe, some of these estates are within Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), some areas in Hwan estate, Hillside, Kovan and so on. Would the Ministry put this on their agenda and not forget the EUP and see whether there are resources available to allocate to it?

Madam, estates in Aljunied have also benefitted from EUP projects in the past. Of course, ideally, we will want to upgrade as many estates as possible. But we have to look into the age of the estate, which is just one aspect, and also the physical characteristics there as well as what we can do there physically, plus also resources available, as well as whether there are any ongoing works that agencies have planned for. So, we try to coordinate all these together. It is not a hard-and-fast rule that just because an estate is of a certain age, EUP will have to be done.

9 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry will consider imposing a charge on plastic bags at supermarkets.

In Singapore, households generally reuse plastic bags to dispose of their waste in a hygienic manner. In addition, plastic bags which are thrown away are incinerated safely at our waste-to-energy plants before they are landfilled as ash. This is in contrast to many other countries where waste is directly landfilled. In these countries, plastic bags, which are not biodegradable, may remain in the landfills for a long time or find their way into the seas.

Even though Singapore manages the disposal of plastic bags well, there is room for us to cut down on excessive usage. The recent discussions on the plastic bag issue reflect a greater environmental awareness among Singaporeans. I commend environmental groups for raising awareness on the need to curb the excessive use of plastic bags. For instance, ZeroWasteSG conducted a survey among supermarket shoppers and found that only 15% of shoppers were using reusable bags or trolleys without taking plastic bags. I am heartened by recent media reports that major supermarket players in Singapore are open to considering measures to reduce plastic bag usage, such as a voluntary charge on plastic bags if imposed across the industry.

However, some concerns have been raised on implementing a plastic bag charge. For example, will there be unintended consequences, such as the substitution of plastic bags with paper bags or even wastage of reusable bags? Additionally, how can sufficient educational and enforcement measures be put in place to complement the charge and reduce demand for plastic bags by shoppers?

My Ministry and the National Environment Agency (NEA) are looking into the responses to ZeroWasteSG's survey and are engaging supermarket operators to explore potential solutions to reduce the excessive use of plastic bags. NEA has also recently published a tender to study the different types of single-use carriers and how they compare in terms of cost and impact on the environment. These will help in our formulation of any future policies on the use of different types of bags.

Ultimately, the excessive use of plastic bags can only be curbed with the support and participation of the community and retailers. Shoppers can play their part by taking just enough plastic bags for their needs and re-using them for bagging household refuse. They can also utilise re-usable bags as much as possible. With a strong partnership among the public, private and people sectors, I am confident that we can create a more sustainable Singapore together.

Mr Louis Ng.

Madam, I thank the Senior Minister of State for the response. I thank her also for considering imposing a plastic bag charge. But is there a timeframe before a decision is going to be made?

Secondly, the Senior Minister of State had given some of the survey results from ZeroWasteSG. But can the Ministry also consider the other part of the survey which showed that 65% of shoppers would reduce the number of plastic bags they take from supermarkets, or 58% would actually bring their own reusable bag if there is a 10-cent charge that is imposed by the supermarkets?

What we are calling for here is not a ban on plastic bags, which we know we need to use to bag our rubbish. But I think this is a pretty good middle ground. It is win-win because it is asking people to reduce the wastage, and the survey results so far show that people would reduce the wastage if there is just a 10-cent charge.

I want to thank the Member for his supplementary questions and comments. Let me first note that we recognise the importance and the benefits of curbing the excessive use of plastic bags. In fact, we are looking at further measures to see how we can achieve this, as I have noted in my reply. But let me also note that we need to recognise that our national circumstances are quite unique and different from those of many other countries. Together with the municipal waste, the plastic bags which are thrown away are actually incinerated and not directly landfilled. So, concerns, for instance, regarding the non-biodegradability of plastic bags, which is really the key reason used to justify a levy on plastic bags in many other countries, really is not applicable in our context.

Moreover, we need to also recognise that the large majority of Singaporeans live in apartments, and they dispose of their refuse through the refuse chute, and they use plastic bags to dispose their rubbish in a hygienic manner. It has taken us quite a long time to get this habit going.

The other thing is that if you look at the views on this issue, which is imposing a charge on plastic bags, it is actually quite mixed. Through our consultation as well as through the media and even social media, many are supportive of this, citing, for example, excessive use of plastic bags, as well as the fact that for countries that have used it, there is a significant reduction in the number of plastic bags used.

But there are also others who have objected, citing reasons like hygiene, in terms of disposing food in used plastic bags, as well as some unintended consequences that may arise. For instance, actually substituting the use of plastic bag with paper bags, which is also a resource. In addition, wastage of reusable bags and such.

There are merits in the arguments on both sides. We really need to do a study on this. We need to engage the stakeholders which we are doing. We are also looking at the experiences of other countries, as well as a life cycle assessment study that we are conducting, which will look at the cost and environmental impact on the different types of bags used. This will help us to formulate policies, including on the use of plastic bags.

I think we need to do this in order to come to a decision and we will share with Members the results and outcome of our studies and the decision on whether to implement a charge on plastic bags. If so, in what manner? For instance, is it just major supermarkets or major retailers as well? We need to do this before we come to a decision.

Mr Pritam Singh.

Mdm Speaker, just a quick clarification for the Senior Minister of State. Can I confirm if the Ministry has done a study with regard to the emissions from a biodegradable plastic bag when incinerated as opposed to one which is not bio-degradable?

This is exactly what we are doing. We have recently published a tender and we have commissioned a study – Life Cycle Assessment – on the different types of single carrier bags used, as well as common forms of containers that are used for food and beverage. The idea is to look into how these different types of materials compare in terms of cost as well as environmental impact.

10 Mr Zainal Sapari asked the Minister for Education (Schools) (a) in 2015, what is the number of Singaporean PSLE private candidates who have been posted to secondary schools not of their first choice even though they meet the cut-off point; (b) what is the Secondary One placement policy for such candidates; (c) what is the rationale to treat such candidates differently from those studying in mainstream schools during Secondary One placement exercises; and (d) whether the policy can be reviewed to uphold the principle of meritocracy.

Madam, the Secondary One (S1) Posting Exercise is a placement exercise designed for students from national primary schools who are progressing to mainstream secondary schools. Hence, those who are not enrolled in our primary schools and are taking the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) as private candidates, are not included in this Secondary One Posting Exercise.

However, if such private candidates or students are interested and eligible to join mainstream secondary schools, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will facilitate their admission to a secondary school. MOE will take into account the students' choices of schools, PSLE results and available vacancies at the point of facilitation. As vacancies are limited, we may not always be able to offer these students a place in a school of their choice, but we will aim to match the students to a school appropriate to their academic learning needs.

Mr Zainal Sapari.

I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his answer. I have some supplementary questions. First, I would appreciate it if he could give a sense of the number of students who are doing this as private candidates. I believe many of them might be madrasah students and a few of them are home-schooled children.

My second supplementary question is: were the parents informed and need to sign to acknowledge that they know about this policy that has been in place that they could not be given priority during the Secondary One Placement Exercise after their children get the PSLE results?

My third supplementary question is really whether MOE would consider reviewing this policy, given the fact that it is not aligned to our principle of meritocracy and the fact that these students are sitting for the same national PSLE.

Madam, I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. Maybe I will answer the last question first. Yes, parents are informed in various ways. One, we have the information on the MOE webpage for the Secondary One Posting Exercise which states that only students from our national primary schools are eligible to participate in this Secondary One Posting Exercise. Also, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) works with the madrasahs to ensure that parents are aware of this. For the home schoolers, when the parents are applying to homeschool their children, MOE will inform them that they are not eligible to participate in this Secondary One Posting Exercise.

About the number, on average, over the last five years, we received about 20 requests each year from these PSLE private candidates to be facilitated into our mainstream schools. This is a very small number or percentage of the number of students who are not in our national primary schools. And I would also like to inform the Member that we are able to facilitate the majority of these requests to one of the school choices of the students and some of them are also facilitated into their top choices.

So, beyond this, I would like to assure the Member that we have been, and we will continue to facilitate this process. However, we look at the academic merit as well. It is not only about other aspects. The academic merit is also important. Nevertheless, vacancy availability during the facilitation process is also key. While we want to ensure that we are able to facilitate, we have to make sure that our Secondary One Posting Exercise is also being undertaken.

Mr Zainal Sapari.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary elaborate whether MOE would consider reviewing this policy? I strongly believe people are our very valuable resource and we really need to give them the best opportunity possible for them to study in an environment that could maximise their potential. My worry is that some of these students might be doing well but because they are private candidates, they are not able to go to schools of better quality based on their results.

Madam, I thank the Member for the follow-up question. Like what I have said earlier, these are two separate issues whereby we have informed parents and also students that the Secondary One Posting Exercise is catering to our students from the national schools.

Nevertheless, like what I said earlier, I assure the Member that MOE will try our best to facilitate, to ensure that the posting is tagged to the academic needs of the children and also we have to look at the vacancies available. And I must say that from experience, we have been able to facilitate the majority of the students into the schools of their choice.

11 Ms K Thanaletchimi asked the Minister for Education (Schools) whether our brand of collaborative tripartism can be better preserved and promulgated by including it in our National Education curriculum.

Madam, the Ministry of Education (MOE) agrees that students should know about tripartism and the part it plays in shaping Singapore's growth in the past, present and future. While it is not specifically taught in a module labelled "tripartism", students do learn about it in a number of ways.

Firstly, students learn how positive industrial relations contribute to stability and growth. For example, through History, secondary school students learn how the Labour Movement activity in the 1950s created the need for mediation to maintain peaceful relations between workers and employers in Singapore. Junior college History students study strategies adopted by Southeast Asian countries to pursue development. They may explore the case study of Singapore and learn how tripartism contributed to stability which attracted foreign investment. In Economics, the study of national economic policies, like economic restructuring, wage level management, labour productivity and mobility, allow for the discussion of the roles played by employers, employees and the Government in maintaining a conducive economic climate.

More broadly, students learn how consensus is built when groups with different interests work together to achieve collective goals. In Character and Citizenship Education lessons, emphasis on values like responsibility and resilience helps us stay economically competitive and build social cohesion. In Social Studies, students learn how the Government, the community and individuals work together for the common good of society.

MOE regularly reviews our curriculum to better engage our students, and we will continue to help them learn how societies build consensus, in the same way that tripartism builds consensus and collaboration between unions, employers and the Government.

Ms K Thanaletchimi.

Madam, I have a follow-up question. With regard to tertiary education students, when they go on an attachment, is there some form of attachment to organisation that values tripartism, so that they can have first-hand experience of tripartism and how it works?

Indeed, Madam, if I can give an example, there is a programme between Temasek Polytechnic and the Singapore National Employers Federation. Through this, the students will have experience in the Ministry of Manpower, Industrial Arbitration Court, National Trades Union Congress, the Workplace Safety and Health Council, and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices. So, through a variety of processes and interactions, the students can learn about the different agencies, offices and activities that contribute towards the outcome of tripartism.

12 Mr Azmoon Ahmad asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) with recent statistics showing an increase in Malay drug abusers, what actions have been taken by the Ministry to curtail this trend; (b) whether Singapore is on the right path in combating drug addiction; and (c) whether the core of the problem has been understood to arrive at the right solutions and action.

From 2010 to 2015, the total number of drug abusers arrested rose from 2,887 to 3,343.

Of concern is the number of Malay drug abusers arrested. This number increased from 1,376 in 2010 to 1,738 in 2015. The number of Indian drug abusers arrested has also gone up, from 403 in 2010 to 522 in 2015. Worryingly, of these 522 Indian drug abusers, 265 were Indian Muslims. They are disproportionately represented in this context. The number of Chinese abusers arrested was about 1,000 in both 2010 and 2015.

Drug abuse is a complex issue with multifaceted challenges. It affects all communities, not just the Malay community but also the Indian and Chinese communities. We need to work on multiple fronts, with multiple partners in the fight against drugs, to strengthen prevention, enforcement and rehabilitation.

First, we need good preventive drug education efforts. The key focus has to be on our youths. We need to share the facts and evidence with them, so that they can better understand the harms of drug abuse and make the right choice to lead a healthy and meaningful life free from drugs.

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has stepped up engagement on various social media platforms to provide more frequent, bite-size information and messages on drugs.

We also work with parents and schools. They are important partners in our efforts to reach out more effectively to our youths. To help parents engage their children on the dangers of drugs, we have developed and distributed information brochures to parents of students in our schools.

We are also building an Anti-drug Abuse Advocacy Network in our communities. The Network comprises individuals who help to promote a drug-free lifestyle and society, through their own social circles. We support the Network by providing members with information on the harms of drugs and organising events for knowledge sharing and networking opportunities. We hope to have more youths come forward to join us as an advocate and help keep their peers away from drugs.

We work closely with our community partners to engage youths with our anti-drug messages. For example, CNB worked with the Council on Education for Muslim Children (MENDAKI) and Majulah Community to provide an anti-drug talk to a group of student leaders, so that they could share what they learnt about drug abuse with their peers.

Second, we need rigorous enforcement to keep drugs away from our streets. CNB has enhanced its capabilities to tackle drug syndicates. The Organised Crime Act, which came into force in June this year, criminalises organised crime activities, such as the recruitment of members into drug syndicates. In particular, the Act introduces Preventive Orders, which can be issued by the Courts as a pre-emptive measure. The Orders will curtail the activities of drug syndicates and deprive them of their ill-gotten gains. This enables us to better detect, disrupt and dismantle drug syndicates.

We have stepped up collaboration with regional drug enforcement agencies to disrupt the operations of drug syndicates. In June 2016, CNB was able to arrest a drug syndicate leader due to intelligence from our Malaysian counterparts. The close collaboration between CNB and the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) disrupted the operations of the drug syndicate and its laboratory in Malaysia. More than 270 kilogrammes of methamphetamine were seized from the laboratory, which is 17 times greater than the total amount of methamphetamine seized in Singapore last year. This operation also stopped a potentially large supply of methamphetamine from entering Singapore.

Third, we need to better support drug abusers in their rehabilitation. Since 2014, we have introduced more intensive rehabilitation programmes in the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) for drug abusers with more severe drug addiction issues and higher risk of reoffending.

Earlier this year, we introduced a day release programme for low-risk drug abusers in the DRC, to facilitate their reintegration into society. Under this arrangement, drug abusers are allowed to work or study in the community during the day, and they will return to a community facility at night. They are subjected to supervision, such as regular urine tests.

A strong in-care programme is not sufficient. The rehabilitation journey after release is a crucial step. If the drug abusers do not have good family and peer support, they are more likely to relapse.

We work closely with the community to help ex-abusers. One example is the Community Befriender Project. The Project matches volunteers with inmates who have poor family or peer support. The volunteers visit the inmates and offer them moral support. They continue to meet the inmates after their release and help them build a new social support network. Since 2010, about 600 inmates have benefited from this Project.

The Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (SANA) opened its Step-Up Centre in January 2015. This Centre serves as a one-stop centre for services, such as counselling and support groups, to support ex-drug abusers and their families in their reintegration journey. More than 600 ex-abusers have sought help from the Centre.

To conclude, drugs have a devastating impact on individuals, families and the society. This is why we have a zero-tolerance approach towards drugs.

The drug situation will remain challenging going forward. This is due to the regional and global drug supply situation. Our youths may also be affected by the increasingly tolerant attitude towards drugs in some other parts of the world.

We must, therefore, not let up on our efforts to be a drug-free society. We will continue to improve our prevention, enforcement and rehabilitation efforts. The community and families have a critical role to keep our youths away from drugs and to keep ex-abusers from returning to drugs.

Ultimately, the individual must also want to change. Drug abusers must take charge of their rehabilitation journey and work with us to stay away from drugs.

Mr Azmoon Ahmad.

I would like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary for sharing. The information, unfortunately, I must say, is very alarming; the rate at which the drug abusers can be seen among the Malay community. May I ask the Parliamentary Secretary if he can share with us whether there are any specific and targeted measures on anti-drug engagement programmes and efforts for the Malay community only?

I thank the hon Member for the question. We share the concern. We work with multiple partners on our engagement efforts and programmes, and some of these are designed to reach a wide audience while others are targeted at various communities or groups, such as youths. It has to be emphasised that it is not a problem facing just the Malay community but also others.

Let me provide a few examples of efforts which focus on reaching out to the Malay community. On preventive drug education, I spoke about CNB's collaboration with MENDAKI and Majulah Community. CNB also works closely with community partners such as the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) and the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (PERGAS) to reach out to the Malay community.

Last year, CNB worked with AMP to conduct workshops for secondary school students, where the students were encouraged to share their thoughts on drug-related issues. This provided an interactive learning experience for students to learn about the dangers and consequences of abusing drugs.

This year, CNB is engaging the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) to include anti-drug messages into their youth programmes and adult courses. The Singapore Prison Service also collaborates with MENDAKI to provide an information and referral service for the families of Malay inmates. MENDAKI acts as a touchpoint for these families and refer them to the Family Service Centres (FSCs) and voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) if they require any services. Over the past year, MENDAKI has helped more than 180 inmates.

These engagement efforts and programmes targeted at the Malay community complement those that are designed to reach out to a wider audience. We hope more community partners can come forward to help CNB develop outreach programmes to spread the anti-drug message more effectively.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef.

Madam, can I ask the Parliamentary Secretary if he has the breakdown by gender for those figures that have been quoted, in particular, for the Malay and the Indian Muslim community?

I do not have the exact breakdown but, generally, the number of female abusers is smaller in number compared to male abusers.

13 Ms K Thanaletchimi asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) can have a Police Post with Police vigilance to protect and safeguard the interests of IMH staff who may be threatened or subjected to physical abuse by unwell patients in a high-risk environment.

Madam, to maintain security and order within the hospital compound, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) deploys Auxiliary Police Officers on a 24/7 basis. IMH also provides panic alarm tags to inpatient ward staff and equips clinic consultation rooms with panic alarm buttons. These Auxiliary Police Officers are trained to respond to incidents involving persons with mental health conditions. They are able to handle most incidents of abuse of IMH staff and will contact the Police to handle cases that they deem more serious.

From January to September 2016, IMH staff reported 12 cases of physical or verbal abuse to the Police. Police investigated these cases and prosecuted one discharged IMH former patient for unlawful stalking of an IMH staff under the Protection from Harassment Act, applied for another to be detained under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act, and administered stern or conditional warnings to six more persons. The Member can be assured that the Police will take action against abusive individuals who compromise the safety of public health workers.

Ms Thanaletchimi.

Madam, just a clarification. The IMH staff have to report to the Police, but the Police Post is far away from the hospital. The inconvenience has put off some people from reporting to the Police. In the past, there had been a Police Post within the hospitals, and they do the so-called procedural processes. So, can this be effected in IMH to safeguard the interests of the workers who have been already abused and yet have to travel by public transport to report the case?

Madam, as I mentioned earlier, there are security officers, and in the case of IMH, Auxiliary Police Officers, trained to respond to incidents that may occur in the hospital. The Member is referring to administrative referrals or making of reports, most likely after the fact, so the staff is advised to make a Police report. That was the role of Police Posts in hospitals in the past from the 1980s to about 2011 when MHA rationalised the resource allocation of Police Officers and these Police Posts were principally handling, as the Member mentioned, administrative tasks, such as making Police reports, the Coroners' cases, and so on. Now, this can be made at Neighbourhood Police Posts (NPPs), Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPCs), and Police Divisions. Between the Police, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the restructured hospitals, including IMH, there are protocols in place, and we will certainly look at the Member's concern about how we can make this more efficient and effective for the staff. We thank her for her suggestions.

Ms Thanaletchimi.

Madam, just one more question for the Minister of State. I hope that he would seriously take into consideration this request because, during our dialogue session with our union members, they actually appealed for a Police Post to be set up in IMH itself. We are not looking at all the other hospitals but in particular IMH, because there are high incidences of abuses by the residents there as well as the public. So, we need to protect and safeguard the interests of these healthcare workers within the premise of IMH, I hope certainly the Minister of State would take this request seriously.

Thank you.

The next question, please, Ms Thanaletchimi.

14 Ms K Thanaletchimi asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current percentage of re-employment of female workers who have reached the age of (i) 62 years and (ii) 65 years; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider strategies to improve the employment of female workers beyond 62 in light of females having a longer lifespan.

Mdm Speaker, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) collects re-employment data regardless of their gender. In 2015, over 98% of local employees who wished to continue working were actually offered re-employment upon reaching the ages of 62 and 65. It shows that the re-employment rates for male and female workers, older workers, were both very high.

The Government will continue to help older workers work for as long as they are willing and able to. And how do we do this? First, we will raise the re-employment age from 65 to 67 by 1 July 2017. We will also support employers with Special Employment Credit of up to 11% of wage offset when they employ workers aged 65 and above.

Secondly, we seek to improve the quality of employment for our older workers. We fund companies to implement age-friendly workplace practices through WorkPro. And employers can also make free use of the Job Redesign Toolkit jointly developed by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), and they can sign up for age management courses under the Age Management@Workplace programme. And we also support and promote public education through campaigns, such as "Ability is Ageless" run by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices.

Ms Thanaletchimi.

I thank the Minister of State. Madam, just a supplementary question. Are there further strategies that we can embrace to ensure that older workers, especially the female cohort, could work longer in the workplace because it is important that they have sufficient savings, especially those low-wage workers and those who are middle income? They need to continue with their employment.

The second supplementary question is: while the retirement and re-employment age has been raised to 67 by next year, in the meantime, what are the measures that we can take to ensure that these older workers will continue remaining in their employment, before this legislation is enacted?

Mdm Speaker, I thank the hon Member for raising two very important questions. Older workers have always been an important consideration in our work in MOM. This is why we have paid a lot of attention and also rolled out a lot of programmes to help older workers to get re-employed if they are willing and able to.

So far, we have worked very closely with the tripartite partners in finding ways and means to assist the older workers to continue working beyond the ages of 62 and 65. As a matter of fact, I chair a tripartite committee on mature workers, and the main function is to help them.

The approach taken by the tripartite partners has been that we will take a gender-neutral approach in helping older workers to continue working beyond 62 and 65. So far, the programme, activities and strategy have been working reasonably well, in the sense that older workers beyond 62 and 65, including both genders, male and female, 98% of them are able to continue working and get re-employed by the employers.

The challenge for the tripartite partners is not how much more we can do to roll out new initiatives, strengthen the current initiatives and raise the re-employment age. One of the challenges is to how to better reach out to older workers, particularly the female older workers. In this aspect, we can work very closely with the tripartite partners, and I understand that NTUC has a programme called U Live, catering to older workers aged 55 and above, U65 catering to older workers aged 65 and above.

I welcome NTUC and MOM together with SNEF to work together in a tripartite collective effort to reach out to older workers, particularly the senior female workers to encourage them to come back and rejoin the work force and then also to work beyond 62 and 65.