Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698849410164.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE ___________________ FIRST SESSION ___________________ ORDER PAPER MONDAY, 9 MAY 2022 No.

62 1.30 pm 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.


Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) what is the current proportion of servicewomen in the SAF; (b) what is the current proportion of SAF servicewomen in senior leadership; (c) what measures will be taken to increase the proportion of SAF servicewomen and SAF servicewomen in senior leadership and to expand the roles that can be held by SAF servicewomen.

*2.
*2.

Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Defence with regard to the enlistment of women for national service (NS) (a) whether there are any other considerations apart from having adequate NS population to meet our national security and defence needs; and (b) if so, what are these other considerations.

*3.
*3.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Law (a) whether there were similar instances of cheating by trainee lawyers in the years prior to the recent discovery of candidates cheating in the 2020 Part B Bar exam; and (b) if so, what actions were taken against them.

*4.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Law (a) whether any steps need to be taken to address public concerns about the law students found cheating; and (b) whether the punishments meted out are sufficient.

*5.
*5.

Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Law (a) whether the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE) has observed a similar trend of trainee lawyers cheating in their Bar examinations, especially for the 2021 cohort; and (b) whether the Ministry intends to introduce any rules to regulate trainee lawyers’ conduct so as to ensure that they are deemed ethically ready to be called to the Bar.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 2 *6.


Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) in view of the various lockdowns in China due to the latest COVID-19 outbreak, what is the assessed impact to supply chains and rising prices in Singapore; (b) which industries or goods and services have been or are anticipated to be most badly hit; and (c) whether any further measures are being taken to alleviate this impact particularly for the availability and accessibility of essential goods and services.

*7.
*7.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Prime Minister in light of the tighter monetary policy stance taken by MAS (a) what is the projected impact on our trade exports from the strengthening of the Singapore dollar; (b) how will the Government ensure that the strengthened Singapore dollar does not adversely impact our export competitiveness in the long run; and (c) whether the Ministry will continue to strengthen the Singapore dollar if core inflation does not moderate over the next few months.

*8.
*8.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Prime Minister in light of rising interest rates (a) whether there has been an increasing trend over the past year in the number of financially-distressed consumers who have sought debt management assistance; (b) whether the Government intends to introduce measures to afford temporary respite to consumers and businesses who encounter short-term liquidity issues; and (c) what are some foreseeable knock-on impacts.

*9.
*9.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there will be guidelines or criteria developed for the re-activation of TraceTogether and SafeEntry as contact tracing tools; and (b) what examples of future situations where these tools may be used so that the public can take the necessary steps to retain their tokens where necessary.

*10.
*10.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what are the criteria considered by the Ministry in deciding to lower the Dorscon level from Orange to Yellow; and (b) whether the Ministry will relax the rules and allow unvaccinated residents to enter malls and to dine in the food and beverage outlets together with the rest of Singaporeans.

*11.
*11.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Health (a) in light of the easing of the COVID-19 safe management measures, whether community mask-off events such as temple dinners where food is served will be allowed; and (b) if so, under what conditions.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 3 *12.


Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health given a 7% increase in the age-standardised death rate in 2021 that bucked the downward trend in previous years (a) what is the Ministry’s analysis of the reasons behind this increase; (b) what is the number of excess deaths due to COVID-19; and (c) what formula is used in the Ministry’s calculation of excess deaths.

*13.
*13.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will conduct a study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on (i) non- COVID-19 patients facing delayed treatment, especially older ones with chronic conditions and (ii) the public healthcare system, in view of the patient backlog from the periodic suspension of non-essential services.

*14.
*14.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the format of the Government’s after-action review (AAR) on COVID-19; and (b) whether it plans to share the AAR’s findings or recommendations with the public.

*15.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the previous ban on visitors to pre-schools, including parents and parents of newly-enrolled children, still applies.

*16.
*16.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to enrolment into Day Activity Centres (DAC) (a) whether DACs can cope with the demand in the next five years; and (b) if not, whether there are plans to (i) reduce the average waiting time for enrolment and (ii) increase the staff support in this sector.

*17.
*17.

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Manpower with regard to the easing of safe management measures (SMM) and workers returning to their workplace, whether there are plans by the Ministry to go beyond encouraging employers to retain and promote flexible work arrangements, such as telecommuting and staggered work hours, as a permanent feature of the workplace.

*18.
*18.

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Manpower in light of the easing of safe management measures, what are the plans to assist Safe Distancing Ambassadors to transit to new jobs and channelling them to sunrise industries.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 4 *19.


Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Manpower in light of the revised safe management measures that came into effect on 29 March 2022 and the recovery of the economy (a) what are the efforts to promote more local employment; (b) how is the Ministry helping sectors that are facing a shortage of local workers; and (c) whether the Ministry will relax foreign labour policies should the manpower crunch continue.

*20.
*20.

Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Manpower with regard to the reopening of our economy (a) which are the sectors facing a severe shortage of manpower especially foreign workers; and (b) what are the measures taken by the Ministry to help these industries and companies to ride out the labour shortage so as not to hamper the recovery of our economy.

*21.
*21.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider permitting cleaning companies to recruit cleaning workers from a wider range of countries to reduce the risk of labour shortages.

*22.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower for each year in the past five years (a) what is the number of local part-time food and beverage workers; and (b) of these workers, how many are students.

*23.
*23.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Manpower in view of the easing of safe management measures, whether the Ministry will be working on measures to encourage and divert manpower resources from positions no longer needed such as safe distancing ambassadors to industries that are facing manpower shortages such as food services and retail.

*24.
*24.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number of temporary workers who are currently working on COVID-19 related jobs such as safe distancing ambassadors or SafeEntry checkers; (b) what are the other employment opportunities available to these workers as the safe management measures are being stepped down; and (c) how can such workers be assisted in seeking new and longer-term employment.

*25.
*25.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether there are planned measures to support businesses, particularly in the food and beverage and catering sectors, who are having difficulty in hiring staff amidst the reopening; and (b) if so, what are these measures.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 5 *26.


Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for National Development whether HDB will consider prioritising the oldest batches of flats for the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme instead of homeowners having to wait till their flats are 70 years old for the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme.

*27.
*27.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what are the criteria and weightage of factors used in determining redevelopment potential of HDB flats to be chosen for the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) and for flats which are identified; and (b) what is the process by which the timing of SERS is determined, and redevelopment initiated for such flats already identified.

*28.
*28.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in selecting precincts for the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), what are the weights given to (i) the age of the blocks (ii) their redevelopment potential (iii) the availability of suitable replacement sites (iv) the Government’s financial resources and (v) other factors; and (b) what are the reasons for selecting the four HDB blocks in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 for SERS despite them being only 43 years old.

*29.
*29.

Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information with regard to the recent REACH survey on attitudes towards LGBTQ (a) what were the reasons for the unusually high volume of responses in a short timeframe; (b) whether the survey is restricted to only Singaporeans and permanent residents; and (c) whether the Ministry considers the survey results to be representative of attitudes towards LGBTQ due to concerns over the mobilisation of respondents by various groups.

*30.
*30.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information with regard to the recent REACH survey on attitudes towards LGBTQ (a) what are the considerations behind how the survey questions are structured; and (b) what is the usual process and typical timelines considered before the issuance of any surveys by REACH.

*31.
*31.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what additional steps will be considered by the Ministry to reduce the number of dengue cases; and (b) whether an update can be provided on the use of Wolbachia-Aedes suppression technology in Singapore.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 6 *32.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment what other measures can be taken to deter mosquito breeding in homes and common areas such as drains.

*33.
*33.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment with regard to promoting recycling (a) whether more options are being explored to reduce the contamination rate amongst the current recycled items; (b) whether an emphasis is made to prioritise industrial recycling; and (c) whether any assistance will be provided to encourage the process with relevant industries.

*34.
*34.

Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider reviewing the design of the blue recycling bins and increasing the frequency of recyclable waste collection from housing estates.

*35.
*35.

Ms Ng Ling Ling: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the average waiting time for cancer screening such as through colonoscopy in the public hospitals; and (b) whether there has been an increase in insurance claims from Integrated Shield Plans due to more people seeking such screening through the private hospitals in the last three years.

*36.
*36.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Health (a) for the past three years, what is the annual number of patients who have waited for more than five months for a subsidised diagnostic test such as colonoscopy and heart scan; (b) whether polyclinics can refer patients directly to national specialist centres within their cluster to conduct such tests; and (c) whether there are other options available for a subsidised diagnostic test if there is a backlog at any Government hospital.

*37.
*37.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) since January 2021, how many food and goods delivery platform workers have died from accidents in the course of their work; (b) whether the Ministry will mandate delivery platforms to report non-fatal job-related injuries and near-misses involving platform workers; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider tracking the compensation and support provided to families of delivery platform workers who have died or suffered serious injuries during work.
*38.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider requiring delivery platform firms to provide baseline compensation commensurate with the Work Injury Compensation Act, especially when a delivery worker has been seriously injured or died on the job.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 7 *39.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry conducts public surveys and monitor complaints and feedback on the general hygiene standards at hawker centres and coffee shops; (b) if so, whether there has been an increase of complaints regarding the hygiene standards; (c) how does the Ministry ensure that cleaning companies, coffeeshop and food court operators adhere to the required hygiene standards; and (d) whether the frequency of enforcement checks, fines and penalties for hygiene violations have been effective.
*40.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment in view of the recent shortage of cleaning manpower, what measures will the Ministry implement to maintain public hygiene standards and cleanliness particularly in hawker centres and food courts.

*41.
*41.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Law with regard to high net worth persons who become Singapore citizens after obtaining Singapore permanent residency through the Global Investor Programme (GIP), whether the Ministry will consider imposing a minimum occupation period of five years on these new citizens for any purchase of landed residential property so as to reduce the risk of a self-reinforcing cycle of price increases in the private landed residential property market.

*42.
*42.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what is the number of overseas scam calls that have been reported in 2021 and 2022 respectively; and (b) whether requiring telecommunication providers to give users the option to block all overseas calls will be viable.

*43.
*43.

Mr Raj Joshua Thomas: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what measures has the Council for Estate Agencies taken to educate the public on scammers impersonating as real estate agents; and (b) what more can be done to protect members of the public from such scams.

*44.
*44.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry for the past three years (a) what is the number of renovation contractors that are registered with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA); (b) of which, how many renovation contractors are accredited with CaseTrust; and (c) what is the number of complaints that the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has received involving renovation contractors.

*45.
*45.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Transport whether an update can be provided on the completion time and when operations will commence for Phase 3 of the Thomson East Coast Line and the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit (RTS) Link.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 8 *46.


Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry has plans to help seniors living within private estates to have better transportation access, such as encouraging the private sector to offer mini-bus services for private estate routes or trialing autonomous private hire vehicles for the private estates.

*47.
*47.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Finance when determining taxes and financial support, whether the Government can consider factoring in the number of people residing within a private estate home so as to better support very large families residing together.

*48.
*48.

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year over the last two years, what is the percentage of pre- school children who are referred to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) due to learning or behavioural difficulties; and (b) what are the support programmes available to prepare these children before they enter primary schools.

*49.
*49.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information from 2022 to 2025, what is the annual projected growth of freelancers in the (i) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and (ii) media industries.

*50.
*50.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Education regarding the Ministry’s proposed expansion of the POSB Smart Buddy programme for students across all primary schools by 2025 (a) whether studies have been conducted on the short- and long-term impact of early exposure of children to e-payment transactions in children (i) with existing experience with physical currency such as coins and (ii) without prior experience of physical currency; and (b) if so, what are the results of these studies.

*51.
*51.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry will allow professional development leave for those with C- and lower performance grades under the performance management system of stacked ranking for teachers; and (b) if not, why not.

*52.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the fall in the volume of Singapore's bunker fuel sales in the first quarter of 2022 was due to supply chain delays in shipping.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 9 *53.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what measures are in place to safeguard the quality of bunker fuel and essential supplies provided to marine vessels calling at Singapore's ports; (b) what are the specific reasons for the alleged supply of contaminated bunker fuel despite these measures; (c) when will the Maritime Port Authority expect to conclude its investigations and make those results publicly available; and (d) how Singapore intends to maintain the trust dividend it enjoys as a maritime hub.
*54.

Ms Ng Ling Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development in light of further delays in the completion of three HDB Build-to-Order projects, whether HDB will give priority to affected families who need interim rental flats under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme.

*55.
*55.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for National Development for Rivervale Shores and other HDB BTO projects which have seen further delays recently, beyond the COVID-19 induced delays as earlier communicated to flat buyers (a) whether the HDB has and will compensate flat buyers for the delays; and (b) what is the number of interim rental flats that have been made available and allotted for such buyers.

*56.
*56.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number of new S Passes (SPs) and Employment Passes (EPs) that have been issued since 1 January 2022; (b) whether the total number of SPs and EPs issued to date is comparable to pre-COVID-19 times; and (c) what approach is the Ministry taking to screen foreign manpower entering the job market in view of the new eligibility criteria that will take effect in September 2022.

*57.
*57.

Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether he can provide an update on the impact of the Holistic Health Framework (HHF) in primary and secondary schools; (b) how has the HHF benefited students with weight management issues; and (c) how have students’ weight management matters been handled to avoid embarrassment or stigmatisation to those students.

*58.
*58.

Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether food and beverage vending machines placed in schools and educational institutions are regulated by the Ministry; and (b) if so, what guidelines are in place with regard to the type of food and beverage vending machines that are allowed in schools.

*59.
*59.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) when is the last time the Government reviewed its position on the number of public holidays in Singapore; and (b) whether the Government is amenable to review its position at the present time.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 10 *60.


Mr Raj Joshua Thomas: To ask the Minister for Education whether SkillsFuture Singapore will consider accrediting apprenticeships in specific professions, to recognise skills obtained through practical experience under a skilled practitioner.

*61.
*61.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Finance to better support families with special needs children (a) whether there are plans to consider other qualifying tax reliefs, benefits and exemptions in addition to the Handicapped Child Relief (HCR); and (b) whether there are plans to raise the amount of relief under HCR to better reflect the average annual care cost of a child with special needs.

*62.
*62.

Mr Raj Joshua Thomas: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry following the relaxation of safe management measures and travel restrictions, what are the Singapore Tourism Board’s plans to revive and rejuvenate the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector.

*63.
*63.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Prime Minister (a) to date, whether any exceptions have been made in the disbursement of the Baby Support Grant (BSG), for instance giving the grant to single mothers; and (b) whether the Government is considering an extension of the BSG beyond September 2022 in view of the continuing low total fertility rate at 1.12 in 2021.

*64.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the current targets for Electronic Vehicle (EV) charging points in public and private estates are adequately significant to move the needle to persuade drivers to switch their internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs; (b) whether the Ministry has considered the inconvenience of overnight slow charging where multiple drivers have to compete for a charging point; and (c) whether the Ministry will be able to increase the deployment rate of fast EV charging points if demand increases in the next few years.
*65.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the plan to switch Government-owned vehicles used for essential public services, such as police cars and ambulances, to electric vehicles; and (b) what are the measures in place to prevent these essential public services and transport from being disrupted in case of a large-scale blackout or disruption to the national power grid.

*66.
*66.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs what is the full scope of the economic sanctions imposed by Singapore on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 11 *67.


Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he can elaborate on the considerations that led to Singapore recording an abstention on the United Nations General Assembly vote on 7 April 2022 concerning the suspension of the rights of membership of the Russian Federation in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

*68.
*68.

Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the Ministry’s assessment of disinformation campaigns in relation to the Russia-Ukraine conflict to influence Singaporeans’ views; and (b) how does the Ministry safeguard Singaporeans against efforts to divide opinions over this and other issues.

*69.
*69.

Ms Ng Ling Ling: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the rationale for limiting patients from using their MediSave for chronic disease management medication when they are referred from Specialist Outpatient Clinics or Primary Care Clinics to Intermediate and Long-term Care Services, such as home medical care or home palliative care; and (b) whether the Ministry will review this limitation to ease patients' out-of- pocket expenses.

*70.
*70.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the additional pre-screening measures that are implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic will remain or be reviewed; and (b) what are the plans to bring back mobile blood donation drives.

for blood donations *71.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry intends to have a cap on the number of hours a (i) nurse and (ii) doctor can work for each shift; and (b) if not, why not.

*72.
*72.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the CPF Board imposes any daily withdrawal limits for CPF funds that members are eligible to withdraw; and (b) whether the CPF Board has a threshold beyond which extraordinarily large withdrawal sums are subject to enhanced scrutiny to safeguard against scams.

*73.
*73.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what more can be done to proactively detect and support adults who have started losing their mental capacity and have no family support; and (b) for such adults who have not made a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), whether the Ministry will consider having a deputy appointed immediately to make key decisions for the adult.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 12 *74.


Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Health as the land border with Malaysia fully reopens (a) what is being done to prevent e- cigarettes from flowing into Singapore through small hobbyist shops located in Johor Bahru; and (b) what more can be done to educate Singaporeans about the dangers of using e-cigarettes.

*75.
*75.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have certified that it is safe to transport people at the rear of their lorries; (b) if so, what are the exact conditions which have been certified to do so; and (c) if not, whether the Ministry intends to ask the OEMs about this issue and what are the reasons if it does not intend to do so.

*76.
*76.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport whether larger cycling groups are allowed or encouraged to conduct their rides in multiple groups of five cyclists in single file, or 10 cyclists riding abreast, following at a distance while travelling on the same route and at the same time.

*77.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Health what is the Government’s position on the use of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Lianhua Qingwen Jiao Nang capsules in Singapore.

*78.
*78.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what percentage of polyclinics and general practitioner clinics (GP) are currently able to access the National Electronic Health Records (NEHR) system; and (b) to what extent will polyclinics and GPs be able to access and input details of outpatient consultations for their patients under the proposed Healthier SG initiative.

*79.
*79.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in 2021, how many cases of child abuse have been investigated by the Child Protective Service, broken down by quarterly figures; (b) whether there is a similar number of child abuse cases being investigated in the first quarter of 2022; and (c) what can be done upstream to better prevent such cases from happening.

*80.
*80.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many individuals are currently incarcerated for sexual assault offences with sentences exceeding 10 years of imprisonment before remission; (b) of this number, how many are repeat offenders; and (c) how many Singaporeans have been incarcerated for sexual assault at least three times or more in their lives, divided into those who are currently in prison and those who have been released.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 13 *81.


Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for National Development given the drive towards adoption of more electric vehicles, whether the Ministry will review the number of petroleum retailing sites or re-purpose these sites.

*82.
Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether it is a requirement for HDB flat owners to use only HDB accredited or registered renovation contractors when applying for renovation permits; (b) what is the list of criteria that a renovation contractor needs to fulfil before its inclusion in the HDB Directory of Renovation Contractors (DRC); and (c) in the last three years, what is the number of complaints received by HDB pertaining to renovations and how many renovation contractors have been taken to task by HDB respectively.
*83.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to accidents involving barriers and vehicles in HDB carparks (a) how many of such accidents have occurred in the past three years; (b) what are the reasons for these accidents; and (c) whether the humps installed at the barriers have assisted in preventing such accidents.

*84.
*84.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what are the (i) administrative and (ii) practical challenges that currently inhibit the issuance of a birth certificate alongside a death certificate for Singapore citizen children who are stillborn in cases where these parents wish to have the child’s birth certificate issued.

*85.
*85.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the number of feedback that the Ministry has received from the public regarding cicadas in Singapore in 2021 and 2022 respectively; and (b) how has the Ministry been dealing with these complaints.

*86.
*86.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether there is a deployment target for the number of e- waste recycling bins in HDB estates; and (b) as more e-waste recycling bins are placed in HDB estates, how does the Ministry intend to educate residents to recycle their e-waste in a better and correct manner.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 14 *87.


Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what other measures can be taken to prevent littering; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider amending the law to impose a corrective work order on first-time offenders for littering.

* Members may postpone their Questions to a later sitting day if their Questions are not reached by the end of Question Time (QT).
For such Questions, Members may email to parl_cop@parl.gov.sg in advance a postponement notice that will be effected after QT.

Members must submit their notices to the Clerk within one hour after the end of QT (SO 22(3)).

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

AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS Introduction of Government Bills 1.

Minister for Finance: Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill.

(President's recommendation signified).

2.


Minister for National Development: Endangered Species (Import and Export) (Amendment) Bill.

ORDERS OF THE DAY 1.

2.

Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

11/2022] – (Prime Minister) – Second Reading.

Adoption of Children Bill [Bill No.

12/2022] – (Minister for Social and Family Development) – Second Reading.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 15 MEMORANDUM Matter proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment (SO 2(8)(b)).
Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok) : A Case to Review the Model of Estate Management for Public Housing in Singapore.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.


QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Prime Minister whether banks should be required to continue issuing physical tokens to access mobile and digital banking services for those who prefer that method of access, particularly those less technologically savvy or who do not have the means to purchase the later models of phones which have the necessary operating systems to allow digital tokens.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Prime Minister what steps have been identified to address the potential in the future of the use of social media bots to manipulate stock trading in the Singapore Exchange.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the current size of local banks’ exposure to commodity trading and commodity financing; (b) whether MAS has been approached and is prepared to provide liquidity support to commodity trading firms; and (c) what is the assessment by MAS of the risks to the financial sector arising from commodity market volatilities and ongoing lockdowns across China.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Prime Minister what is the current percentage of Employment Pass holders, permanent residents and Singaporeans holding senior roles in the finance sector.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Prime Minister how much is the Government’s spending on organising and running the General Elections in 2011, 2015 and 2020 respectively, including but not limited to the cost of manpower, security, publicity and materials.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Prime Minister for each month in the last year, how many users have requested to be de-registered from the TraceTogether programme.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 16 7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.


Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Defence whether the Ministry will not only consider allowing full-time national servicemen (NSF) to undertake part-time courses during their national service but also actively encourage NSFs to pursue such training or education that will be relevant to their future employment or further education.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs what plans are in place to assist Singapore companies with interests in Myanmar in managing the junta’s new regulations requiring exchange of foreign currency according to a mandated rate.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many drivers have signed up for the Safe Driving Course introduced under the Driver Improvement Points System since 1 November 2017; (b) how many drivers have signed up to reinstate their driving licence after their suspension period is over; and (c) how successful has the course been in ensuring that these drivers no longer repeat their offences.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs with regard to harassment of public servants or public service workers in the execution of their duties (a) how many of such cases have been prosecuted in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively; (b) what was the average sentence for the convicted cases; and (c) whether the criminal offences under the purview of the Protection from Harassment Act 2014 can be expanded to protect other frontliners like private healthcare workers.
Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Law with regard to the 11 cheating cases at the 2020 Part B Bar Exam (a) whether the Ministry can provide any updates in relation to the matter; (b) whether there were any cheating cases detected at the 2021 Bar exams; and (c) what steps are taken to eliminate or minimise such cheating cases.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Management Corporation Strata Title of condominiums pay commercial rates for electricity bills; and (b) if so, whether they should be paying residential rates instead amidst rising electricity prices.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what are the lessons learnt by the Sentosa Development Corporation on its drone food-delivery pilot that took place from 22 March 2022 to 9 April 2022; and (b) whether more drone-food delivery trials are being planned.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the anticipated increase in tourists into Singapore for the rest of 2022 and 2023; and (b) what is the anticipated increase in Singaporeans travelling overseas for tourism.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 17 15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.


Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Transport in view of the recent relaxation of COVID-19 border measures under the Vaccinated Travel Framework (a) how have the local aviation industry and airports prepared for the expected surge in tourism; and (b) what are the challenges to meeting the increase in travel demand since the relaxation of COVID-19 border measures.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) to date, how many autonomous vehicles (AV) have passed LTA's Milestone 2 test which allows AVs to be trialed in residential areas with a safety operator; and (b) whether any AV developer is on track to apply and pass the Milestone 3 test which allows AVs to be trialed with or without a safety operator.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what are the statistics and trends in relation to ships calling at the ports of Singapore to refuel, as well as bunker fuel sales by value or amount; (b) whether any studies have been done to identify the causes of any trends, including how delays in China’s ports are causing vessels to skip a stopover in Singapore; and (c) how Singapore intends to maintain and further boost its status as a bunkering hub.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Transport in the last six months, what percentage of (i) all public bus services and (ii) feeder bus services, operated with headways of no more than five minutes during morning and evening peak hours, and no more than 10 minutes during off- peak hours, respectively.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment how many Singaporean and permanent resident households were in arrears of (i) at least three months and (ii) more than six months, with regard to their electricity and water bills respectively at the end of 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to the naming of a pair of schools to be merged, where the name of one school is retained over the other (a) what are the reasons that the Ministry had in its consideration against retaining the names of Tanglin Secondary School and Stamford Primary School; and (b) whether the Ministry will reconsider the naming of these merged schools in view of appeals from the public and alumni of these schools.
Mr Raj Joshua Thomas: To ask the Minister for Education whether the Government will consider extending the MOE Tuition Grant to all graduate law students in local universities even if they have utilised the grant for their first degree so as to encourage more diverse entrants into the legal profession.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 18 22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.


Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Education whether there are long-term plans for increasing Government’s recognition of skills and vocation-based training, with tiers for experience and skills certifications issued by the Ministry, such as the apprentice-journeyman-master system used for certain trades in Germany and the United States.
Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Education for 2010 to 2020, what is the annual average expense in caring for a special needs child between the age of seven and 18 years old for (i) education (ii) therapy support and (iii) rehabilitation treatment respectively.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to children who do not have COVID-19 but experience mild symptoms such as runny nose, and whose family members are unable to take care of them due to work, limited leave and have no alternative help available to them (a) whether there are any provisions at infant care and childcare centres to accommodate these children; and (b) if so, what are they.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many applications for a new Family Service Centre or a satellite Family Service Centre were rejected in each of the past 10 years; (b) how many such applications were accepted; and (c) what are the top three reasons for rejecting such applications.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in each of the past five years, what is the average pre-school enrolment rate of families residing in HDB public rental flats; (b) how does this rate compare with the national average enrolment rate; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider making pre-school education compulsory.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry can provide an update on the steps taken to delay and prevent dementia among Singaporeans; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider (i) conducting community screening for pre-dementia in the form of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and (ii) taking steps to identify the causes and treat MCI to prevent deterioration to dementia.
Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Health whether there is any delay in the completion date of the new Serangoon Polyclinic located at the junction of Upper Serangoon Road and Serangoon Central.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what percentage of the participants of the smoking cessation programmes are able to successfully quit smoking; (b) whether these programmes have the long-term goal of encouraging smokers and vapers to adopt healthier coping methods; and (c) whether there are penalties for those who have been vaping illegally but wish to seek professional help to quit.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 19 30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.


Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Health (a) since January 2022, how many persons have been caught having e-cigarettes and related accessories in their possession when clearing customs in Singapore at the Causeway checkpoints; and (b) what measures will the Ministry take to increase detection and prevent such imitation tobacco products from being brought into Singapore.
Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Health with regard to egg freezing in Singapore (a) whether the age limit can be raised to 40 so as to benefit more women; (b) whether appeals will be considered for egg freezing for those over the age of 35; and (c) if so, what are the considerations.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health whether there can be (i) a centralised hotline to provide assistance and guidance to families whose loved ones have passed away at home in the wee hours of the morning when most medical clinics are closed and (ii) an arrangement to bring onboard more medical professionals who are able to respond to such cases outside of the normal hours.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Health whether the mandatory counselling before procedures for abortion can be carried out can include booklets on the various alternatives to abortion, such as adoption and the avenues of support for single mothers.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Health what is the total amount of Quarantine Order Allowance that has been distributed to affected persons since 2 November 2021.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health for each year in the past five years (a) what is the median waiting time for the booking of a new appointment at specialist outpatient clinics in public healthcare institutions for (i) all patients (ii) private-paying patients and (iii) subsidised patients; (b) what percentage of patients have transferred to private healthcare; and (c) what is the number of non-urgent procedures that have been postponed.
Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether the Government tracks the number of local companies which experienced cyber attacks over the past two years; (b) whether companies which have experienced cyber attacks are required to report to the authorities; and (c) what are the current measures to equip local companies with the capabilities to enhance cyber resilience and to deal with cyber attacks.

No.

62 37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.


9 MAY 2022 20 Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what are the reasons for the further delay to the completion of Woodleigh Hillside and such other BTO projects; (b) whether the new completion dates conveyed by HDB are expected to be firm; and (c) whether there is any possibility that these projects may be completed ahead of the new completion dates given the removal of COVID-19 related restrictions in Singapore and other countries.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the current supply of public and private housing is sufficient to meet demand; and (b) what is the projected increase in private residential prices in 2022.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for National Development whether HDB can change the 6-month requirement to 1-year, for the disposal of the additional HDB flat for couples aged above 35 years who each own a HDB flat prior to their marriage.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry monitors the annual turnover rate amongst Town Council (TC) property officers; and (b) if so, in each of the past 10 years, what is the average annual turnover rate of TC property officers (either directly employed by TCs or by their managing agents) broken down by junior, middle and senior categories.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development whether HDB will set up regulatory sandboxes to encourage residents and commercial entities to experiment and develop innovative and environment- friendly solutions for HDB estates to reduce its carbon footprint and create a more sustainable environment.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the total number of HDB flats which make up the 5% of all HDB flats deemed to be suitable for redevelopment under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS); (b) what is the number of such flats remaining which have yet to be selected for the scheme; and (c) what is the number of flats added to and/or removed from the list of suitable flats in the last five years.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will review the criteria for the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) to allow older flats priority for SERS due to the deteriorating condition of these flats.

No.

62 9 MAY 2022 21 44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.


Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for National Development between 2020 to 2022, what is the number and proportion of public rental flat applicants who are seniors above the age of 60 years old.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for National Development from 2020 to 2022, what is the percentage of seniors aged above 60 years old who have already sold their flats before applying for (i) a new BTO or Sale of Balance Flat or (ii) a resale flat.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what are the avenues for the public to verify the collection of donations on purported religious grounds such as tithe or zakat; and (b) what are the safeguards available for the public to raise concerns if such collections are not used for legitimate or religious purposes.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) to date, what is the proportion of (i) heartland merchants that have onboarded the CDC Vouchers Scheme out of all eligible merchants and (ii) CDC Vouchers utilised out of the total given; and (b) whether the Government will consider adapting the CDC e-voucher system to enable charities and philanthropic individuals to use the platform to give e-vouchers to be spent at heartland shops.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current percentage of workers who receive only seven days of annual leave; and (b) what are the mean and median salary of workers receiving only seven days of annual leave.

Mr Raj Joshua Thomas: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether there are any measures to assist safe distancing ambassadors (SDAs) to transit to other jobs following the reduction in the number of SDAs deployed.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current percentage of firms in Singapore with more than 30% foreign PMETs; and (b) of the firms in Singapore with more than 25% foreign PMETs from a single foreign nationality, what percentage has (i) more than 25 PMETs and (ii) less than 25 PMETs respectively.

2022 S. L. 530 PAPERS PRESENTED Date Presented Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2022 ..... 05 April 2022 No.


62 9 MAY 2022 22 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2022 S. L. 531 Supreme Court of Judicature (Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 Date Presented S. L. 532 Supreme Court of Judicature (Singapore Convention on Mediation) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 533 Legal Profession (Disciplinary Tribunal) (Amendment No.
2) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 534 Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution (Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 535 Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution (Personal Insolvency) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 536 (Presidential Elections) Supreme Court (Application for Avoidance of Election) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 537 Supreme Court (Amendment) Rules 2022 (Estate Duty Act) ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 538 Supreme Court of Judicature (Organised Crime) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 539 Supreme Court of Judicature (Protection from Harassment) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 540 Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 541 Employment Claims (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 542 Rules of Court (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 543 Rules of Court (R 5) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 No.
62 9 MAY 2022 23 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2022 Date Presented S. L. 544 Legal Profession (Proceedings before Court of 3 Supreme Court Judges) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 545 Profession in Legal Singapore International Commercial Court) (Amendment) Rules 2022 (Representation ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 546 Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 April 2022 S. L. 547 Employment (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (Administrative Penalties) ..... 11 April 2022 S. L. 548 Industrial Regulations 2022 Relations (Amendment) ..... 11 April 2022 S. L. 549 Goods and Services Tax (Board of Review) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 11 April 2022 S. L. 550 Legal Profession (Law Practice Entities) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 11 April 2022 S. L. 551 Legal Profession (Law Practice Entities) (Amendment No.
2) Rules 2022 ..... 11 April 2022 S. L. 552 Legal Profession (Regulated Individuals) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 11 April 2022 S. L. 553 Administration of Justice (Protection) (Non- Publication Directions) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 11 April 2022 S. L. 554 Criminal Procedure Code (Electronic Filing and Service for Supreme Court) Rules 2022 ..... 11 April 2022 S. L. 555 Legal Profession (Modified Application of Act for International Services) (Amendment No.
2) Rules 2022 ..... 11 April 2022 S. L. 556 Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 11 April 2022 S. L. 557 Public Trustee (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 11 April 2022 No.

62 9 MAY 2022 24 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2022 S. L. 558 Pres.

Co. 54 Pres.

Co. 55 Environmental Protection and Management (Vehicular (Amendment) Regulations 2022 Emissions) Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Extradition (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.
10/2022] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Financial Services and Markets Bill [Bill No.

4/2022] Date Presented ..... 11 April 2022 ..... 14 April 2022 ..... 14 April 2022 S. L. 559 Financial (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 560 Central Provident Fund (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2022 ..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 561 Central Provident Fund (Amendment) Rules 2022 (Nominations) ..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 562 Provident Central (Investment Schemes) (Amendment No.
2) Regulations 2022 Fund ..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 563 Central Provident Fund (Designated Shares) Regulations 2022 ..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 564 Provident Central Circumstances Regulations 2022 under Fund (Prescribed 13C) Section ..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 565 Central Provident Fund (New Retirement Sum Scheme) (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2022 ..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 566 Central Provident Fund (Revised Retirement Sum Scheme) (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2022 ..... 18 April 2022 No.


62 9 MAY 2022 25 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2022 S. L. 567 Date Presented Central Provident Fund (Retirement Sum Scheme) (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2022 ..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 568 Central Provident Fund (Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme) (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2022 ..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 569 Central Provident Fund (Topping-Up of Special Account) (Amendment) (No.
2) Regulations 2022 ..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 570 Central Provident Fund (Medisave Account Withdrawals) 2) Regulations 2022 (Amendment No.

..... 18 April 2022 S. L. 571 Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Accounts) (Amendment No.

2) Rules 2022 ..... 20 April 2022 S. L. 572 Measures) (Temporary COVID-19 (Reopening - Control Order) (Amendment No.
2) Regulations 2022 ..... 21 April 2022 S. S. S. 225 226 227 Corrigendum to Elderly Care Endowment Scheme 2019/2020 Annual Report ..... 22 April 2022 Corrigendum to Elderly Care Endowment Scheme 2020/2021 Annual Report ..... 22 April 2022 Land Surveyors Board Singapore Annual Report 2021 ..... 22 April 2022 S. L. 573 Family Justice (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 26 April 2022 S. L. 574 Workplace Safety and Health (COVID-19 (Amendment No.
4) Safe Workplace) Regulations 2022 ..... 27 April 2022 S. L. 575 Goods and Services Tax Act 1993 (Amendment of Sixth Schedule) Order 2022 ..... 28 April 2022 No.

62 9 MAY 2022 26 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2022 S. L. 576 Date Presented COVID-19 Measures) (Temporary (Reopening - Control Order) (Amendment No.

3) Regulations 2022 ..... 28 April 2022 S. L. 577 COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Foreign Employee Dormitories - Control Order) (Amendment No.
3) Regulations 2022 ..... 28 April 2022 S. L. 578 Income Tax (Exemptions from Notification under Sections 10J(5) and 32A (4) Rules 2022 ..... 29 April 2022 Misc.

4 Corrupt Practices (CPIB) Annual Report 2021 Investigation Bureau ..... 04 May 2022 S. L. 579 Measures) (Temporary COVID-19 (Reopening - Control Order) (Amendment No.

4) Regulations 2022 ..... 6 May 2022