Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698848790640.pdf (Singapore)
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE FIRST SESSION ORDER PAPER MONDAY, 8 JANUARY 2018 No.

55 11.00 am 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) whether he can provide a detailed account of the recent spate of fraudulent claims from SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG); (b) what are the counter-measures taken; and (c) whether a full review will be undertaken to prevent future breaches.

*2.
*2.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) what will be the measures taken to prevent future abuses of SkillsFuture claims without stifling the growth of the SkillsFuture movement.

*3.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) what is the outcome of the Government's internal investigation into the weakness of its controls over the $40 million scam on SkillsFuture claims; (b) whether there have been additional safeguards put in place since $2.2 million have been identified as false claims earlier in March 2017; (c) why did the rectification measures put in place from the earlier incident fail to prevent the recent occurence; and (d) whether any staff or personnel have been suspended pending investigations on the lapse.
*4.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) whether he can provide a detailed account of the recent spate of Wage Credit Scheme claims; (b) what are the counter-measures taken; and (c) whether a full review will be undertaken to prevent future breaches.

*5.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Finance in light of recent fraudulent claims made under the Productivity and Innovation Credit, Wage Credit Scheme and SkillsFuture (a) what considerations determine whether additional audits or investigations of a forensic nature ought to be carried out for claims under these schemes; and (b) whether there is any threshold of fraudulent claims which can lead to the suspension/review of such Government schemes in view of the administrative burden of assessing fraudulent claims.
No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 2 *6.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what are the processes involved before the Ministry decides to ban a foreign religious preacher from entering Singapore.

*7.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the criteria used in banning foreign preachers of different faiths take into account the location and environment in which their speeches justifying their bans were made; (b) whether these views have been or would have been applied to their sermons in Singapore; (c) what is the estimated number of congregants who follow the banned preachers; and (d) whether the Ministry finds the move effective given that their speeches and sermons are still pervasive through other mediums such as the Internet.
*8.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Law (a) whether the penalty of US$422 million to be paid by Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd for corrupt payments between 2001 to 2014 to officials of Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Brazil's then ruling party was part of a three-nation plea bargain agreement, involving United States, Brazil and Singapore, and Keppel companies; and (b) what are the considerations in reaching such arrangements, which have implications on local law enforcement and prosecutorial decisions.
*9.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Law in respect of Keppel Offshore and Marine's (KOM) agreement to pay a US$422 million fine as part of a three- nation corruption probe settlement (a) whether the US Department of Justice's (DoJ) Deferred Prosecution Agreement on the KOM corruption probe settlement, or any other agreement, includes any condition that prevents the public disclosure of the identities of the Singaporeans who are involved; and (b) when does the Government expect the CPIB and AGC to formally complete investigations and to charge the individuals in question in view of the criminal findings made against KOM by the US DoJ.
*10.
Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask Minister for Law (a) how much more time will the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) need to complete the investigations in respect of the Singaporeans involved in the Keppel Offshore & Marine (KOM) corruption case since KOM and its wholly-owned US subsidiary, KOM USA, have agreed to pay more than US$422 million in penalty to resolve corruption charges of paying about US$55 million in bribes to secure contracts; and (b) how far back in time will CPIB go to in its investigation into the Singaporeans involved since the corrupt activities were committed as early as 2001.
No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 3 *11.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Law (a) how many Singapore Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) or their subsidiaries locally or overseas have been investigated or continue to be investigated by local or overseas authorities for corrupt practices over the last 30 years; and (b) what role do the Ministry and Temasek Holdings play to ensure that GLCs or their subsidiaries do not engage in corrupt practices when conducting business overseas.

*12.
*12.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the Ministry's rationale in introducing fee benchmarks for medical procedures; (b) how is this new guideline aligned to the spirit of fair competition; and (c) whether the Ministry is aware that the benchmarks may cause doctors who are charging lower fees to charge higher fees.

*13.
*13.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health whether the removal of the Singapore Medical Association fee benchmarks in 2007 has led to the inflation of medical costs in the last decade and how will the Ministry's fee benchmarks be independently derived so as to prevent anti-competitive price-fixing.

*14.
*14.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether he can provide an update on the number of e-scooter accidents and near-misses in 2017 involving pedestrians on footpaths and walkways; (b) what avenues for redress or compensation are available for pedestrians injured in e-scooter accidents; and (c) how awareness of the relevant laws can be enhanced among e-scooter and electric bicycle users of (i) local and (ii) foreign origin.

*15.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what are the current measures taken by LTA and Traffic Police to (i) ensure that e-scooters are not used on roads and expressways, and electric bicycles are not used on expressways and (ii) address unsafe and inconsiderate usage of e-scooters on footpaths and walkways; and (b) whether more measures will be taken to (i) abate such occurrences and (ii) enhance public awareness of the laws governing the usage of e-scooters and electric bicycles.
*16.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many crisis shelters are there currently; (b) what are their capacities for men and women respectively; and (c) whether the Ministry has plans to expand the number of shelters to accommodate homeless singles.

*17.
*17.

Dr Lily Neo: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry identifies and closely supervises cases of intellectually disabled persons who have no familial support or are estranged from their families; and (b) what can be done to prevent such vulnerable persons from being taken advantage of or abused.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 4 *18.


Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Manpower how many couples aged 65 years and above are currently supported by only one CPF Life payout and how many of the spouses not receiving such payouts are women.

*19.
*19.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower what measures are being taken to safeguard Singaporean workers from unfair discrimination arising from pre-existing medical history when (i) at the workplace or (ii) seeking confirmation of employment.

*20.
*20.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how does HDB ensure that the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) is adhered to when the flat owners rent out their flats; (b) whether there are rules in place to ensure compliance with this policy when flats are rented out; and (c) if so, whether HDB conducts checks or assessments to ensure that the sanctity of the EIP is maintained.

*21.
*21.

Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether freelancers and the self-employed face higher barriers when applying for a HDB housing loan compared to salaried workers due to the volatility of their income; and (b) if so, what can the Ministry do to promote the Government's objectives of entrepreneurship and promoting flexibility in the labour market by mitigating the impact of this income volatility.

*22.
*22.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Finance what is the likely impact on Singapore should the US government reduce their corporate tax rate to 20% and reduce personal income tax.

*23.
*23.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Finance how will the impending massive corporate tax cuts in the US impact the Singapore economy and its competitiveness as a foreign direct investment destination and whether the corporate tax changes will result in significant US MNCs relocating their operations to onshore US.

*24.
*24.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources what is the cost of the 320 sensors installed in Singapore's potable water supply pipelines to detect water leakages from the pipelines.

*25.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources what measures are in place to ensure that the water supply from our reservoirs to the water tanks in each building is free from terrorist attacks and contamination.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 5 *26.


Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) what is the implementation roadmap and timeline for the full Open Electricity Market to all households islandwide.

*27.
*27.

Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) since the launch of the Global Investor Programme (a) how many employment opportunities have been created for Singaporeans; (b) what is the total local business expenditure generated; and (c) what are the actions taken to prevent abuse of the programme.

*28.
*28.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth why the Sports Hub has not been designated to be the default location for National Day Parades in future.

*29.
*29.

Ms Sun Xueling: To ask the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) what proportion of university students, polytechnic and ITE students currently embark on work internships during their studies; (b) what is the duration and nature of these internships; and (c) what can be done to encourage more companies to provide internship opportunities for young Singaporeans.

*30.
*30.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Education (Schools) whether the Ministry will consider introducing basic coding as a part of the curriculum in our primary schools to create a strong childhood grounding in technology in light of the UK, Belgium, Finland, Netherlands, Estonia and Australia's Queensland state having done so.

*31.
*31.

Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Finance whether the dependant's annual income threshold of $4,000 can be increased for tax payers to qualify for Parent Relief claims in order to encourage senior citizens to seek part-time employment.

*32.
*32.

Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Finance whether the eligibility criteria for Grandparent Caregiver Relief claims can be revised to allow for such claims when the caregiver (i) draws income below a certain threshold (ii) spends a majority of the time in the caregiver role and (iii) looks after children up to 16 years old.

*33.
*33.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health with regard to the mandatory National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) system, whether there are standardised nationwide cyber security measures which all healthcare providers have to adopt in order to protect data from being hacked.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 6 *34.


Ms Sun Xueling: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether a study has been done to analyse the benefits of central procurement for common essentials across public hospitals including software for medical documentation; and (b) whether central procurement can be done selectively to lower the cost of setting up and operating hospitals.

*35.
*35.

Mr Kok Heng Leun: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the outcome of the Ministry's review on the criminalisation of attempted suicide; and (b) whether any legislative change will be introduced and, if so, when.

*36.

Mr Kok Heng Leun: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the outcome of the Government's review on the issue of marital immunity for rape; and (b) whether any legislative change will be introduced and, if so, when.

*37.
*37.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Law whether the Ministry will consider expanding the requirement under section 305(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code that the court must call for and consider the Commissioner of Prisons' report on an offender's mental condition for imposition of a sentence of reformative training to include an independent report from a court-appointed psychiatrist.

*38.
*38.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Law whether he will consider a provision in the Penal Code or the Children and Young Persons Act to enhance the discretionary power of the courts to administer harsher punishments for child abuse offenders.

*39.
*39.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how has the Workfare Training Support (WTS) been effective in encouraging workers to upskill; and (b) how does WTS operate in tandem with SkillsFuture Initiatives to improve our workforce's overall skills level.

*40.
*40.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what are the criteria that single unwed parents under the age of 35 need to fulfill before their applications or appeals are approved to (i) purchase a flat from HDB (ii) rent a flat from HDB; (b) what are the objective criteria used to determine if such unwed parents are able to continue living with their parents; and (c) what are the criteria used to determine if such unwed parents are able to afford other housing options.

*41.
*41.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether divorcees with joint custody of their children may apply for subsidised public housing without their ex-spouse's consent; (b) if so, how many of such applications have been approved each year in the last three years; and (c) under what criteria are these applications approved.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 7 *42.


Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development with our pre-schools and childcare centres becoming more inclusive of children with special needs, whether additional assistance and support will be deployed to our pre-school and childcare centres so that our pre-school and childcare educators are better able to manage and take care of all the children under their care.

*43.
*43.

Mr Teo Ser Luck: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether there are any plans to further develop the infrastructure and programmes of the Social Service Offices.

*44.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry will consider specifying the future date for banning all petrol and diesel-fuelled vehicles.

*45.
*45.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry is exploring options for burials by sea after death.

*46.

Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) how much has the Government invested in the biotechnology industry over the past 10 years; and (b) what is the return on the Government's investment in the biotechnology industry in terms of benefits to the Singapore economy.

*47.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how are excavation works to repair telecom cables, water pipes, sewage pipes and other underground works coordinated across agencies such that excavation work is minimised and shared across agencies to the fullest extent possible; and (b) whether the Government will consider tracking and publishing the instances when excavation works are undertaken at the same area multiple times within the same six-month period as a measure of the effectiveness of such co- ordination.
*48.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether he can give an update on the Ministry's investigation into the Joo Koon MRT train accident; (b) what are the lessons learnt and the steps taken to prevent such incidents; and (c) how serious are the injuries of those injured and whether any person is suffering from a long-term effect of the injuries.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 8 *49.
Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what are the deviation or waiver guidelines that allow for rehiring under the Government's contract for Provision of Temporary Contract for Services; (b) how does the Government ensure that these term contract employees' welfare is not compromised when they are hired by the public agencies for 11 months 29 days and rehired after a break of one month; and (c) whether the Government will consider having a separate contract that allows agencies to engage term contract employees for a duration of two or three years.
*50.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Prime Minister what levers are available to MAS and law enforcement agencies to enforce anti-money laundering and counter- terrorism financing laws that use bitcoin currency where conventional oversight mechanisms of the real money market do not apply.

*51.
*51.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Education (Schools) (a) how are schools educating students to report any attempts at improper sexual conduct by any staff member towards them; and (b) whether schools will put up posters to ask students to immediately report to someone in authority if approached to carry out such misconduct.

*52.
*52.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Education (Schools) whether the Government is concerned that the report by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released in November 2017 titled "Excellence and Equity in Education" found that economically disadvantaged students in Singapore were significantly more likely to under-perform in science in school, compared to their OECD counterparts.

*53.
*53.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Finance what is the rationale behind the payment of tax by national servicemen on the NS Excellence Award which they obtain for good performance during in-camp training.

*54.
*54.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) whether the Government's current policies and governance of funding and grants are robust; and (b) what other measures is the Ministry considering to strengthen governance across schemes that are administered across the whole of Government.

*55.
*55.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Health in light of the new US guideline defining high blood pressure as 130/80 mmHg (a) what percentage of our population falls within this category; (b) why is the Ministry not adopting this more stringent guideline; and (c) what is being done to raise awareness of hypertension as the 2010 National Health Survey indicates that one in four persons is not aware that they are hypertensive.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 9 *56.


Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Health (a) how many residents are currently seeking home-based nursing care; (b) what are the current support for lower-income families seeking home-based nursing care; and (c) what are the long-term plans to develop affordable home-care for our ageing population.

*57.
*57.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the police, traffic police or other Government agencies were consulted when Ironman Asia planned the road closures for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2017; (b) if so, whether these agencies provided adequate advice on how the road closures will affect emergency services; and (c) whether future road closures for similar events can be better managed to prevent disruption to essential and safety services.

*58.
*58.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the manpower challenges facing the auxilliary police forces; and (b) what are the Ministry's considerations when allowing the deployment of foreign auxilliary police officers at security sensitive locations.

*59.
*59.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) to date, what has been the number of successful applications for the Lease Buyback Scheme since its launch; (b) whether the payouts has been affected by the falling HDB resale prices and rental income; and (c) what has been the average payout for each applicant.

*60.
*60.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for National Development what plans, beyond public education, does the Ministry have to reduce the occurrences of falling windows.

*61.
*61.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what are the assumptions for the 2020 target of 1,000,000 mean kilometres between failures (MKBF) that have been made for our MRT system; (b) what other international benchmarks are available to track the reliability and safety of our MRT system; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider designing new yardsticks to better reflect the actual experiences of commuters.

*62.
*62.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Transport in view of the increasing number of fires due to personal mobility devices being charged, whether the Ministry will consider (i) implementing measures to ensure that only approved devices can be imported and (ii) introducing penalties for the import, possession and usage of uncertified devices.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 10 *63.


Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether he can provide an update on the review of Singapore's laws deterring online child pornography and what will be done to restrict, deter and punish access to and the hosting of child pornography websites in Singapore.

*64.
*64.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs how did the two brands of aluminium composite panel used as external cladding that were recently found to pose potential fire risk come to possess Class "0" certificates and how did the SCDF discover that they could pose fire risks.

*65.
Ms Sun Xueling: To ask the Minister for National Development what are the processes in place to ensure that (i) design and consultancy fees for building iconic "green" and "sustainable" buildings are fair and appropriate (ii) proper cost and benefit analyses are conducted before going ahead with the construction of such buildings (iii) the tender evaluation body of such contracts is well-versed in the subject and has a sense of the fair costs of design and construction and (iv) the tender evaluation body for such bids does not rely solely on an assessment based on relative bids.
*66.
Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what recourse is available to residents living in landed properties when they are affected by problems such as pest infestation or overgrown trees arising from a neighbouring property which has been abandoned or not properly maintained by the owners; (b) what enforcement measures are available to compel owners of landed properties to maintain their property; and (c) in what circumstances can the authorities enter the premises to deal with the issues affecting the other residents.
*67.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what additional noise abatement measures to counter low-flying aircraft noises coming from the nearby Seletar Airport can be put in place; (b) whether the height limit of the airspace over residential areas can be increased; and (c) whether a different flight path can be given to aircraft landing at the airport so that they will not fly over housing estates especially in the middle of the night.

*68.
*68.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the extended engineering hours provided to SMRT as a result of the early closure and late opening of train services in December 2017 have benefited rail maintenance works; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider such early closure and late opening of train services on a more regular basis in 2018.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 11 *69.


Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) under what laws, regulations or other authority are individuals' right to travel restricted when they are assisting in police investigations but not under arrest themselves; and (b) what limits apply to the exercise of any police powers to restrict travel and what recourse is available to appeal against any such exercise.

*70.
*70.

Assoc Prof Randolph Tan: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the suspension of MRT services on the Tuas West Extension in mid-November 2017 has had a significant negative impact on the operations of firms served by the affected segment of the MRT system.

*71.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) before the collision at Joo Koon station on 15 November 2017, whether the operations control centre and the driver of the second train were aware that the protective bubbles of the first train had malfunctioned; (b) if so, whether there were other options that could have been taken to ensure that the second train remained stationary; and (c) whether there was any previous occasion when a train had continued to operate when its protective bubbles had malfunctioned.
*72.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Transport whether LTA has assessed the feasibility of developing a national smartphone navigation app for public transport that acquires, aggregates and analyses (i) real-time bus and train data from public transport operators (ii) end-user location and velocity data volunteered by app users' smartphones and (iii) user reports of transport delays or breakdowns.

*73.
*73.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Transport whether there are any measures in place to prevent bus drivers from reducing their driving speed and deliberately stopping at bus-stops longer than necessary so as to avoid being penalised for arriving back at the interchange too early.

* Members may postpone their Questions to a later sitting day if their Questions are not reached by the end of Question Time.

The postponement forms are available at the Chamber entrances.
Members must submit their notices to the Clerk within one hour after the end of Question Time.

Questions will be given a written answer if no such notices are received by the Clerk within the stipulated time.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 12 AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS Introduction of Government Bills 1.

Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade): Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) (Amendment) Bill.

(President’s recommendation signified).

2.


Minister for Communications and Information: Cybersecurity Bill.

3.

Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry): Enterprise Singapore Board Bill.

4.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources: Public Utilities (Amendment) Bill.

ORDERS OF THE DAY 1.

2.

3.

4.

Payment and Settlement Systems (Finality and Netting) (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

44/2017] – (Prime Minister) – Second Reading.

Public Sector (Governance) Bill [Bill No.


45/2017] – (Prime Minister) – Second Reading.

[For amendments on the Bill, see Supplement No.

8 dated 8 January 2018.]

Immigration (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

46/2017] – (Minister for Home Affairs) – Second Reading.

Supreme Court of Judicature (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

47/2017] – (Minister for Law) – Second Reading.

5.

Moneylenders (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

48/2017] – (Minister for Law) – Second Reading.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 13 6.

7.


Charities (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

49/2017] – (Minister for Culture, Community and Youth) – Second Reading.

Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

50/2017] – (Minister for Culture, Community and Youth) – Second Reading.

MEMORANDUM Matter proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment (SO 2(8)(b)).

Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong) : Helping Children with Rare Diseases.

1.

2.

3.

4.
QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the Civil Service appraisal system is still based on the Current Estimated Potential (CEP) framework and annual performance reviews; (b) since August 2016, what further measures have been developed to make giving timely feedback to one another a cultural norm within the Civil Service; and (c) in what ways does the Civil Service appraisal system encourage innovative thinking and flexible implementation of policies by civil servants.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Prime Minister (a) how does the Ministry persuade permanent residents (PR) to take up Singapore citizenship; (b) how many PRs have held on to their PR status for more than 10, 15, 20 and 25 years respectively and by nationality; and (c) what are the common reasons cited by these individuals for not taking up Singapore citizenship.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Prime Minister whether there is any ongoing investigation by Singapore authorities into the alleged roles of several Singapore banks in a money-laundering scheme dubbed by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project in 2014 as "The Russian Laundromat".
Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Prime Minister how and to what extent are O and A Level results considered in evaluating applications from older applicants for vocational and skills-based jobs in the Civil Service.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 14 5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Transport whether LTA can consider applying restrictions such as "dismount and walk" for users of e- bikes and personal mobility devices when they travel within designated Silver Zones.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the investigation into the collapse of the partially constructed viaduct structure linking PIE and TPE at Upper Changi Road East in July 2017 has been completed; and (b) if so, when will the report be released publicly.
Ms Sun Xueling: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the average cost of constructing a covered linkway per 100 metres; (b) what is the total amount spent on constructing covered linkways in the past five years; and (c) how many kilometres of covered linkways have been built in the past five years.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the number of offences involving e-scooters and the offender profile over the past three years; (b) what is the number of accidents involving e-scooter users over the past three years; (c) what plans does the Ministry have to reduce the risks posed by e-scooters particularly on the roads; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider making it mandatory for e-scooter users to wear a helmet.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the number of e-bikes that have been registered thus far; (b) what can motorists do when they see e-bikes flouting the rules on the streets; and (c) whether more stringent guidelines on the quality and safety of e-bikes and PMDs will be imposed in light of PMDs having caused home fires due to overcharging.

10.
10.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the number of incidents of spontaneous vehicle fires per year since 2010; (b) whether there are any patterns in such incidents by vehicle category or brand; (c) what is the breakdown of the causes of such fires; and (d) what are the steps being taken by LTA to reduce such incidents.

11.
11.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will be reviewing and revamping public bus transport connectivity within the Marsiling town area following the closure of Woodlands Centre.

12.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) what has been the average savings rate for each income group in Singapore in the last 10 years.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 15 13.


Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) what is the level of financial savings or financial assets owned by Singaporean households and individuals in each of the past five years, broken down according to the (i) mean (ii) median (iii) 10th percentile and (iv) 90th percentile.

14.

15.
14.

15.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many applications for job matching have been received by Workforce Singapore (WSG) since its inception; (b) how many applicants have been successfully matched with jobs; and (c) what is WSG doing to improve its job-matching success rate.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry is aware that some companies are unwilling to extend the contracts of healthy elderly workers to 67 years old; (b) what is the Ministry doing to incentivise hiring of elderly workers; and (c) how many workers aged 60 years and above are actively looking for jobs.

16.
16.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the rationale for Workforce Singapore to appoint foreign job placement agencies instead of local agencies with an established presence in Singapore to help local PMETs find jobs; (b) what is the projected number of job placements to be found through the two agencies at the end of the two-year pilot scheme; and (c) what is the projected cost of outsourcing job placements to the two foreign agencies over the pilot phase.

17.
17.

Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the Traffic Police's strategies to raise greater awareness of road safety and reduce traffic accidents among both road users and the public; and (b) whether there are plans to review and update the Highway Code and curriculum in driving centres, given the change in road traffic landscape such as the increase in personal mobility devices on the roads.

18.
18.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in each of the last five years, how many foreign spouses of Singaporeans have applied for citizenship, permanent residence and long-term visit passes respectively; (b) what is the success rate; and (c) what proportion of these applicants for permanent residence and citizenship who have Singaporean spouses or children were not successful.

19.
19.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Health how many persons have pledged to donate their whole bodies to medical research after death in the last three years.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 16 20.

21.

22.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what have been the issues and challenges faced in the implementation of Medishield Life; (b) what has been the compliance rate; and (c) whether there has been any case where action had to be taken.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health what is the timeline and plan for the launching of the GPFirst Scheme nationally and what is the projected annual cost of the scheme to the Government and the average benefit to be gained by beneficiaries after the cost of consulting a GP is factored in.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health how many cases have been referred to the Institute of Mental Health by the police or other agencies arising from neighbourly disputes each year in the last three years and what help can residents turn to when encountering neighbours with suspected mental health conditions.

23.
23.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the total amount of Medisave contributions residing under each group of pensioners under the Fixed Amount on Ward (FAW), Co-payment on Ward (CPW), Comprehensive Co-payment Scheme (CCS) and Medisave-cum-Subsidised Outpatient (MSO) schemes respectively; and (b) what the number of Medisave transactions registered in the past 12 months for each of the above pension schemes.

24.
24.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Finance what is the total value of online sales transactions for each of the past five years in Singapore and what is the amount of payable GST revenue that is lost in such transactions.

25.
25.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development what are the further measures besides the regular pruning of the trees that AVA can take to reduce the noise and nuisance caused by a large population of birds roosting in the trees along Upper Serangoon Road near Sennett Residences.

26.
26.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the average percentage of buyers of BTO flats in mature estates who are first-timers; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider extending the Special Housing Grant (SHG) to first-timer buyers with parents who live within 2km of BTO flats in mature estates.

27.
27.

Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources what is the total number of cases of enforcement action taken by the NEA that involved volunteers exercising their new enforcement powers conferred by the NEA (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act of 2016.

No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 17 28.


Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Education (Schools) whether the Ministry has introduced elements of the Curriculum Open-access Resources in Economics (CORE), which aims to teach economics in a way that is more applicable to real world situations, at the post-secondary level and, if not, whether it will consider doing so.

29.
Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) in each year over the past five years, what is the number of graduates of biotechnology-related courses from our universities, polytechnics, ITEs and other institutions; (b) what is the employment rate of these graduates within 6 and 12 months of graduation respectively; (c) of these graduates, how many found work in the public and private sectors respectively; and (d) what is the Ministry's forecast of future job growth in the biotechnology industry in Singapore.
30.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what are the most common reasons for the increase in households receiving SMTA (short- and medium-term assistance) and LTA (long-term assistance) from FY2012 to FY2016; (b) what conclusions can be derived from these; and (c) how will the Ministry strategise moving into the future.

31.
31.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in each of the past three years, how many juveniles have been referred by the Ministry or ordered by the courts to be admitted into places of safety as defined in the Children and Young Persons Act respectively; and (b) how many of such juveniles admitted into these places of safety have at least one parent who is incarcerated or has been incarcerated before.

2017 S. 290 S.L.
2017 S. 290 S.L.

378 PAPERS PRESENTED Date Presented Productivity Standards, and Innovation Board Audited Financial Statements for Financial Year 2016 ..... 8 November 2017 Amusement (Amendment) Regulations 2017 Rides Safety ..... 14 November 2017 No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 18 2017 S.L.

379 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued Date Presented Amusement Rides Safety (Fire and Rescue Management System) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 ..... 14 November 2017 Parl.
9 Second Report of Committee the Estimates ..... 15 November 2017 Pres.

Co. 64 Pres.

Co. 65 Pres.

Co. 66 Pres.
Co. 67 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Central Provident Fund (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 37/2017] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Workplace Safety and Health (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 38/2017] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Massage Establishments Bill [Bill No 39/2017] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 40/2017] ..... 15 November 2017 ..... 15 November 2017 ..... 15 November 2017 ..... 15 November 2017 Pres.
Co. 68 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Travel Agents (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 41/2017] ..... 15 November 2017 Pres.

Co. 69 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Sale of Food (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 42/2017] ..... 15 November 2017 S.L.

380 Road Traffic (Electronic Road Pricing System) (Amendment No.

5) Rules 2017 ..... 15 November 2017 No.
55 8 JANUARY 2018 19 2017 S. 291 S. 292 S. 293 S. 294 S. 295 S. 296 S. 297 S. 298 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued Aljunied-Hougang Town Council's Audited Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Financial Ang Mo Kio Town Council's Audited Statements, Auditors' Financial Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council's Audited Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Financial Chua Chu Kang Town Council's Audited Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Financial East Coast-Fengshan Town Council's Audited Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Financial Panjang Holland-Bukit Town Financial Audited Council's Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Jalan Besar Town Council's Audited Financial Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Jurong-Clementi Town Council's Audited Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Financial Date Presented ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 No.
55 8 JANUARY 2018 20 2017 S. 299 S. 300 S. 301 S. 302 S. 303 S. 304 S. 305 S. 306 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued Marine Parade Town Council's Audited Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Financial Marsiling-Yew Tee Town Council's Statements, Audited Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Financial Nee Soon Town Council's Audited Financial Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council's Audited Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Financial Sembawang Town Council's Audited Financial Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Tampines Town Council's Audited Financial Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Tanjong Pagar Town Council's Statements, Audited Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Financial West Coast Town Council's Audited Financial Statements, Auditors' Reports and Annual Report for FY2016/2017 Date Presented ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 ..... 17 November 2017 No.
55 8 JANUARY 2018 21 2017 S.L.

381 Misc.

9 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued Date Presented Goods and Services Tax (General) (Amendment No.

3) Regulations 2017 ..... 21 November 2017 on Singapore's the Position International Labour Organization on Recommendation No.

"Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy" 204 ..... 24 November 2017 S. 307 Scheme Endowment Medifund Annual Report for FY2016 (1 Apr 2016 to 31 Mar 2017) ..... 24 November 2017 Parl.
10 Second Report of the Public Petitions Committee ..... 29 November 2017 S.L.

382 Housing Developers (Amendment) Rules 2017 ..... 8 December 2017 S. S. 308 309 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Act (Chapter 15A, Revised Edition 2017) ..... 12 December 2017 Attorney-General Functions) Act Revised Edition 2017) (Additional 16A, (Chapter ..... 12 December 2017 S. 310 Choice of Court Agreements Act (Chapter 39A, Revised Edition 2017) ..... 12 December 2017 S.L.

383 S.L.
383 S.L.

384 Building Control (Buildability and Productivity) (Amendment No.

4) Regulations 2017 Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Driving Licences) (Amendment No.

2) Rules 2017 ..... 12 December 2017 ..... 15 December 2017 No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 22 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2017 Date Presented S.L.

385 Statutory Boards (Taxable Services) (Amendment) Order 2017 ..... 15 December 2017 S.L.

386 Customs Order 2017 (Duties) (Amendment) ..... 15 December 2017 S.L.
387 Customs (Amendment) Order 2017 (Duties) (Exemption) ..... 15 December 2017 S.L.

388 Customs (Amendment) Regulations 2017 ..... 15 December 2017 S.L.

389 Customs (Authorised Piers and Places) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 ..... 15 December 2017 S.L.

390 Customs (Exemption for Biodiesel Blends) Order 2017 ..... 15 December 2017 S.L.

391 Customs (Motor Vehicles Special Tax) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 ..... 15 December 2017 S.L.
392 Environmental (General (Amendment) Regulations 2017 Health Collection) Public Waste ..... 15 December 2017 S.L.

393 Environmental (Licence Fees) Regulations 2017 Public Health (Amendment) ..... 15 December 2017 S.L.

394 Building Control (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2017 ..... 19 December 2017 S.L.

395 Road Traffic Registration (Amendment No.

6) Rules 2017 (Motor Vehicles, Licensing) and ..... 19 December 2017 S.L.

396 Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Test) (Amendment No.
3) Rules 2017 ..... 19 December 2017 No.

55 8 JANUARY 2018 23 2017/2018 S.L.

397 S.L.

398 S.L.

399 S.L.

400 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued Road Traffic (Recovery of Vehicle Licence Costs) and (Amendment) Rules 2017 Fees Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) (Amendment No.
3) Rules 2017 Road Traffic (Vehicle Removal, Storage and Release Charges - Land Transport Authority) (Amendment) Rules 2017 Road Traffic (Registration of Power- (Amendment) Assisted Bicycles) Rules 2017 Date Presented ..... 19 December 2017 ..... 19 December 2017 ..... 19 December 2017 ..... 19 December 2017 S.L.

401 Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) (Licensing) Regulations 2017 ..... 2 January 2018 S.L.
402 Tobacco (Control of Advertisements (Prescribed Date) and Regulations 2017 Sale) ..... 2 January 2018 S.L.

403 Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Seat Belts) (Amendment No.

2) Rules 2017 ..... 4 January 2018 S.L.

404 Road Traffic Service Vehicles) (Amendment) No.

3) Rules 2017 (Public ..... 4 January 2018 THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE FIRST SESSION ORDER PAPER SUPPLEMENT Sup.

No.

8 MONDAY, 8 JANUARY 2018 1 NOTICE OF AMENDMENTS TO BILL IN COMMITTEE 1.

PUBLIC SECTOR (GOVERNANCE) BILL [Bill No.


45/2017] Clause 5: Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills): In page 14, line 7: to leave out "1A or Group 1B", and insert "1".

Clause 15: Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills): (1) In page 20, lines 27 and 30: to leave out "1A, Group 1B", and insert "1".

(2) In page 21, line 2: to leave out "1A, Group 1B", and insert "1".

(3) In page 21, line 5: to leave out "1A or Group 1B", and insert "1".

(4) In page 21: to leave out lines 7 to 9.


Clause 16: Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills): (1) In page 21, line 20: to leave out "1A, Group 1B", and insert "1".

(2) In page 21, line 26: to leave out "15(4)", and insert "15(3).

Clause 21: Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills): In page 23, line 14: after "20", to insert ", and every member of a committee which is formed by a Group 1C public body to carry out any of its functions,".

Sup.

No.
Sup.

No.

8 8 JANUARY 2018 2 Clause 40: Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills): (1) In page 36, lines 18 and 19: to leave out "(except a Group 1B or Group 1C public body)".

(2) In page 36, line 33: to leave out "Subsections (2) and (3) do", and insert "This section does".

Clause 88: Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills): (1) In page 100: after line 8 to insert — "(a) by inserting, immediately after section 5, the following section: "Directions by Minister 5A.
The Minister may give to the Association any direction under section 5 of the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018.";".

(2) In page 100: to leave out lines 19 to 21.

(3) In page 100, line 25: to leave out "Association", and insert "Board".

(4) In page 101, line 5: to leave out "(11)", and insert "(13)".

Note: Consequential amendments: (i) In page 21, line 10: to renumber sub-clause (4) as sub-clause (3).

(ii) In page 21, line 11: to leave out "or (3)".


(iii) In page 100, line 9: to re-letter paragraph (a) as paragraph (b).

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