Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698849376117.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE (SECOND SESSION) ORDER PAPER MONDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 No.

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QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how have recent offences including forgery and money laundering with an estimated value of about S$1 billion in cash and various assets come about in such magnitude despite Singapore's robust laws and anti-money laundering frameworks; and (b) what is being done to prevent future recurrence of such cases.
Ms Ng Ling Ling: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many suspicious transaction reports have been made by financial institutions about suspicious activities in each of the past three years; and (b) how many of such reports have resulted in the Singapore Police Force mounting a formal investigation.
Mr Mark Lee: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in light of the recent case of money laundering activities where an estimated value of about one billion dollars in assets are seized (a) what new anti- money laundering initiatives does the Government plan to introduce; and (b) how will the Government ensure that these measures do not inadvertently impede legitimate businesses in Singapore.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how will the Government step up checks on individuals from high-risk ‘golden passport’ jurisdictions; and (b) whether and how Singapore’s anti- money laundering regime needs to be further tightened.
Ms Usha Chandradas: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the extent to which anti-money laundering checks are conducted on entities before the granting of incentives under section 13D, 13O or 13U of the Income Tax Act 1947; and (b) whether such incentives have been granted to any entities that are associated with the money-laundering case reported on 15 August 2023.
Mr Neil Parekh Nimil Rajnikant: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what public education programmes are in place for Singaporeans and businesses to avoid falling prey to money laundering and forgery gangs; and (b) what role can the individual trade associations and chambers of commerce play in such public education programmes.
Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many of the properties issued with the prohibition of disposal orders in the $1 billion money laundering probe have restrictions on foreign ownership under the Residential Property Act 1976; and (b) how does the Ministry ensure that private properties in Singapore are not used to launder illicit money.
Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how do the security agencies work together to reduce the possibility of individuals entering Singapore under false identities or with criminal intent to conduct cross-border organised crimes; and (b) whether there has been an increase in cross- border organized crimes in the last five years.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what more can be done to prevent individuals under false identities or with criminal intent to conduct cross-border organised crimes from obtaining work, employment, or dependant passes.

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18 SEPTEMBER 2023 2 Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past three years, how many money laundering and forgery related cases involving S$ 500 million and above have been reported; (b) whether the number of such cases correspondingly relate to the number of scams reported in Singapore within the same time period; and (c) if so, how does the Singapore Police Force intend to work with other agencies like the Ministry of Communications and Information and MAS to tackle these crimes holistically.
Mr Neil Parekh Nimil Rajnikant: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what additional steps can be taken to prevent individuals with criminal intent to conduct cross-border organised crimes from obtaining permanent residency under the programmes offered by the Economic Development Board.
Mr Derrick Goh: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how have the Ministry’s agencies enhanced their AML capabilities; (b) what further improvements will be made; (c) whether there are plans to (i) strengthen the requirements and capabilities of non-banking industries for customer due diligence measures to prevent criminals from converting illegal proceeds into assets and (ii) enhance reporting of suspicious transactions by these industries for timelier intervention; and (d) how will collaboration with foreign authorities be deepened to detect and stem the movement of illegal proceeds into Singapore.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there are investigations currently being conducted on donations made to charity fundraising platforms; and (b) what proactive measures will the Charities Unit consider implementing to monitor and address potential fraudulent transactions on such charity fundraising platforms.
Assoc Prof Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will consider (i) expanding the digital platform titled “Collaborative Sharing of Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing Information and Cases” (COSMIC) to include information on high- risk transactions reported by entities other than financial institutions and (ii) partnering international financial and inter-governmental institutions outside of Singapore to develop anti-money laundering analytics.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how has the recent high-profile money laundering probe affected Singapore’s reputation as a leading wealth management hub; and (b) how does Singapore’s efforts to combat money laundering compare with other leading wealth management jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, Switzerland and the US.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how does MAS identify suspicious transaction reports to be indicators of a wider network of unlawful activity; (b) whether the existing detection measures in our financial system can be supplemented and enhanced to build our anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing reputation; and (c) how does Singapore’s measures across MAS and other relevant agencies currently compare with other jurisdictions such as the US, UK, Australia, Hong Kong and UAE.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether Singapore is working towards full compliance on recommendations 22 and 23 of the Financial Action Task Force for designated non- financial businesses and professions such as real estate agents, dealers of precious metals and stones, legal and accounting professionals and trust and company service providers.

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18 SEPTEMBER 2023 3 Assoc Prof Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the last three years, how many individuals or entities have been investigated for failure to perform customer due diligence measures and internal control measures as per section 67 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992; and (b) arising from these investigations, how many individuals or entities have been convicted.

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Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the high-value assets seized during the anti-money laundering (AML) operation conducted on 15 August 2023, whether the Ministry will review current AML laws to determine whether any amendments or enhancements are required to prevent similar cases in future.

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Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the high-value real estate properties seized during the anti-money laundering operation conducted on 15 August 2023, whether the Council of Estate Agencies has reviewed the Customer Due Diligence measures that salespersons are required to undertake on their customers to determine whether the measures are sufficiently robust to prevent recurrences.

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Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the immigration status of the ten foreign individuals who have been charged in the S$1 billion money laundering case; and (b) whether foreigners who are convicted of offences are permanently blacklisted from entering Singapore and, if not, why.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what is the extent to which Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) are useful in uncovering suspected money laundering activities.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how have surveillance and international partnerships between MAS and other regulators helped to prevent and take down money laundering syndicates; and (b) what are the further plans to strengthen Singapore’s anti-money laundering systems.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there are practical disparities between the implementation of anti-money laundering (AML) protocols when executed by officers employed in MAS-regulated financial institutions versus real estate agents regulated by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA); and (b) if so, whether there has been consultation between CEA and MAS to harmonise protocols for AML.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in the granting of approvals to foreign nationals for the purchase of landed residential property (a) whether the Singapore Land Authority considers the link to money laundering or suspicious financially activity in its assessment; and (b) what are the considerations in being satisfied that the foreign national had made exceptional economic contribution as part of the criteria.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Ministry has data on the number of individuals who have held directorial and secretarial roles in more than 100 companies concurrently in the past five years; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider imposing a statutory limit on the number of companies a person may hold directorial and secretarial roles in.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Ministry provides quantitative guidelines on anti-money laundering (AML) triggers for suspicious real estate transactions for the share of the proportion of payment made in cash; and (b) if not, why not.

No.

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Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the authorities are satisfied with the effectiveness of Suspicious Transactions Reports (STRs) filed in the past few years; and (b) if not, whether there will be enhancements to improve on the effectiveness of the STR or the early scrutiny of all STRs filed.
Mr Vikram Nair: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) that have been lodged in relation to money laundering activities for the last three years; (b) how many of the STRs were acted on; and (c) whether any changes need to be made to Singapore's anti-money laundering measures or their enforcement.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in each of the last five years, what proportion of real estate transactions reported to the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office have been blocked; and (b) whether more can be done to block such transactions in order to better detect and prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious crimes.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what forms of background checks are conducted on foreigners and what are the processes that the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has in place before it grants foreigners the approval to purchase landed residential properties in Sentosa Cove; and (b) whether the SLA will review its processes for conducting such checks.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs with regard to the recent anti- money laundering sting operation, whether there were red flag indicators raised before arrests were made.
Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether an update can be provided on the findings from investigations carried out into the alleged mistreatment of children at childcare centres run by a local preschool provider reported in August 2023; (b) how will the Early Childhood Education Agency improve the standards of childcare teachers and the overall safety for children attending childcare centres; and (c) how will whistleblowers reporting alleged mistreatment of children at childcare centres be protected.
Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what safeguards and regulations does the Early Childhood Development Agency have in place to prevent potential child abuse by early childhood educators on children in the childcare centres.

Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether there is a whistleblowing platform for early childhood educators to report any potential wrongdoings at their childcare centres.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what are the processes put in place in childcare centres to ensure toddlers in the centres' care are not abused and mistreated.
Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in view of the arrests of two preschool teachers for their suspected involvement in the ill-treatment of young children (a) what are the measures taken to address the situation promptly and thoroughly; (b) what is the Ministry’s broader strategy to cultivate a secure and nurturing environment in early childhood education institutions; and (c) what are the ongoing efforts to educate teachers, parents and students to recognise and report potential instances of abuse.
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Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in light of the alleged abuse incidents at preschools (a) what mental health support and counselling services are being made available to the affected children and their families; and (b) how is the Ministry working with preschools to ensure that mental health protocols are in place to address any form of abuse or trauma experienced by children.
Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in view of the arrests of two preschool teachers for their suspected involvement in the ill-treatment of young children (a) what are the current protocols in place to screen and monitor teachers working with young children in preschools and daycare centres across the nation; and (b) whether there are any plans to strengthen these protocols to prevent the recurrence of such distressing events.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider bringing forward the deadline for childcare centres and preschools to install closed-circuit television cameras.
Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether ECDA is providing assistance or support to the children, their families and staff at the respective childcare centres who are affected by the incidents reported in August 2023; (b) if so, in what ways; and (c) whether ECDA will consider (i) reviewing its licensing conditions to require childcare centres operators and staff to report any suspected case of child mistreatment under their care directly to ECDA and (ii) measures to protect whistleblowers.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the Ministry’s position on the ban of the usage of personal devices by staff working in childcare centres and preschools; and (b) whether the Ministry will take action against those that have implemented such a ban.
Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the penalties of $5,000 and reduced licence tenure are sufficient to discipline negligent preschool operators; and (b) whether there is a need to further enhance penalties under the relevant legislation and regulations.
Ms Ng Ling Ling: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether there will be a guide on acceptable management of children in preschools that is developed by the Early Childhood Development Agency together with teachers and parents.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether he will consider implementing mandatory psychological tests for the employment of caregivers of vulnerable persons like young children and the elderly, including (i) preschool teachers (ii) nursing home and senior care centre staff and (iii) helpers for home care.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) when did ECDA start tracking the number of preschools that have CCTVs on their premises; (b) of the preschools with CCTVs installed, what is the proportion of preschools where CCTVs are installed in areas used by children; and (c) of the preschools under the anchor operator scheme, what is the proportion of preschools of each anchor operator that have installed CCTVs on their premises.
Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in each of the past three years, how many cases of rough handling or abuse at childcare centres were reported to ECDA for investigations; and (b) what proportion of such investigations eventually led to a dismissal or criminal conviction.

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Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how does ECDA protect early childhood educators who whistleblow on malpractices that occur at their childcare centres; and (b) how does ECDA intend to boost the morale of the vast majority of exemplary early childhood educators who have been affected by the recent incidents reported in August 2023.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there is a mandatory whistleblowing regime for early childhood educators to report any potential wrongdoings at their childcare centres; and (b) what is ECDA’s position on certain childcare centres banning the use of personal devices by staff.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in light of the recent incidents of alleged abuses in two preschools (a) how does the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) intend to prevent similar incidents from happening in future; and (b) how does ECDA rationalize the actions it is taking while balancing the interests of all stakeholders in the preschools including parents, children, teachers, staff and preschool operators.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether there is a need to tighten ECDA’s supervisory regime and increase the frequency of its unannounced audit checks on childcare centres.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether ECDA's current standard operating procedure requires the immediate suspension of a teacher accused of abusing a preschooler to prevent the teacher from being transferred to another childcare centre or working for a different operator while under investigation; and (b) if not, whether ECDA will consider doing so.
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for National Development how will new HDB BTO projects with Plus flats, in conjunction with existing Standard and Prime flats, improve social mix in HDB estates, improve affordability for buyers of new flats, and keep the system fair for all Singaporeans.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development what is the anticipated fiscal impact arising from additional taxpayer subsidies extended to Prime and Plus HDB flats under the new HDB BTO flat classification system.
Mr Xie Yao Quan: To ask the Minister for National Development given the recent policy shifts announced in Budget 2023 and the National Day Rally 2023, how much more does the Government expect to spend each year on housing subsidies and grants to support home ownership for (i) Plus BTO projects (ii) singles in any BTO location across Singapore and (iii) resale HDB flats, respectively.
Mr Xie Yao Quan: To ask the Minister for National Development given the lower subsidies that will be applied to Plus BTO flats compared to Prime BTO flats, whether the Government will consider further calibrating the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) of Plus flats to shorter than 10 years to set a clearer distinction in sale and resale conditions between Plus and Prime flats.
Mr Xie Yao Quan: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in light of the policy shift to allow singles to own two-room BTO flats in all locations, whether there will be more two-room flats offered in future Plus and Prime BTO projects; (b) if so, how will the Government ensure sufficient supply of bigger flats for couples and families in these projects; and (c) what are the Government's principles and parameters towards providing a fair chance for all Singaporeans to own Plus and Prime BTO flats.
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Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether it is projected that changes to the framework for HDB BTO projects will result in (i) lower sale prices for flats categorised as Prime flats and (ii) buyers of such flats enjoying a larger gain when the Prime flats are sold; and (b) whether the age limit for singles to buy HDB BTO flats can be reduced.
Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) to date, how many bank accounts suspected of being involved in scam activities have been frozen by the Singapore Police Force; (b) how many of such bank accounts belong to individuals who have only one bank account; (c) of the total number of bank accounts frozen, how many have eventually been found to be involved in scam activities; and (d) whether the Ministry has data on the number of applications to the courts to access funds in frozen bank accounts for basic expenses.
Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs with regard to bank accounts that are frozen by the Singapore Police Force for suspected involvement in scam activities, what is the average time taken from the completion of investigation to the eventual unfreezing of the bank account.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Prime Minister with regard to the incident where almost 10,000 voters in Tanjong Pagar GRC received two poll cards (a) what lessons have been learnt; and (b) what measures will be implemented to prevent future errors.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Prime Minister (a) how many polling stations experienced technical issues with the electronic voter registration system during the 2023 Presidential Election; (b) whether cyber interference for the technical issues experienced has been ruled out; and (c) what is being done to (i) ensure that all who voted were correctly registered and (ii) prevent a repeat of situations where persons remember voting in the 2020 General Election but which names were not in the 2023 updated Registers of Electors.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Prime Minister in view of the Elections Department’s press statement dated 24 August 2023 regarding the wrongful removal of names from the Registers of Electors after General Election 2020 (a) how many times has this happened in the aftermath of past elections or by- elections; and (b) what steps will be taken to prevent a re-occurrence.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Prime Minister regarding voters who were removed from the electoral register due to an error (a) what was the total number of voters affected; (b) whether there was any individual notification exercise to expunged voters in reminding them to add their name back to the register since the last such exercise in 2019; and (c) why was a tally of the number of NRICs scanned and the number of votes collected after the last general election not conducted as a first instance check.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what are the reasons resulting in the names of about 200 Singaporeans not being reflected in the Registers of Electors eligible to vote at Presidential Election 2023 despite voting in General Election 2020; and (b) what are measures taken to prevent such recurrence.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment since Japan started releasing treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on 24 August 2023 (a) whether the Singapore Food Agency has conducted radiation testing on samples of seafood imports originating from the waters within a 100 km radius of the plant; (b) if so, how many samples have been tested; (c) whether tests include measurements of tritium concentrations; and (d) whether any increased concentration of tritium have been found in these samples.
No.

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Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Defence with reference to the scrambling of two RSAF F-16 aircraft on 9 August 2023 in response to a Malaysia-registered helicopter flying over the Singapore Strait east of Changi Airport (a) whether the safety of any aircraft have been compromised by this incident at any point; and (b) what measures will be implemented to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what avenues there are for Home Team officers to raise complaints about unfair discrimination and treatment against them by their superior officers without fear of recrimination against them.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what avenues does an officer in the Ministry's uniformed services have to address workplace difficulties if the officer's direct supervisors are unable or unwilling to resolve them; (b) what whistleblowing channels exist to address such issues and to protect whistleblowers against reprisals; and (c) whether the Ministry has assessed the effectiveness of these measures.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Government’s position is that non-vulnerable Singaporeans should continue to get their booster shots to keep their vaccination against COVID-19 current; and (b) how long more will Singaporeans continue to be able to get their booster shots free-of-charge.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether an update can be provided on the Ministry's review of the remaining post-COVID-19 measures currently in place such as the mask- wearing requirement in healthcare settings; (b) whether there are plans to modify this measure to make mask-wearing non-mandatory in healthcare settings; and (c) if so, when will this change take place.
Assoc Prof Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how does the Ministry determine whether a child with special needs will be better catered for within a special education school rather than a mainstream school; (b) how do mainstream schools ensure that children with special needs receive the most appropriate in-school support and education options; and (c) under what circumstances will it be appropriate for parents or caregivers of such children to take an ongoing in-class role with respect to the support or education of their children.
Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the income criteria for the blue and orange Community Health Assistance Scheme (CHAS) card will be raised in view of the recent inflation; (b) how many households have appealed for blue and orange CHAS cards for the past two years and of which, how many appeals have been rejected due to the household monthly income per person criteria; and (c) whether CHAS subsidies will be reviewed due to the recent high medical inflation.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether the Majulah Package for Singaporeans can be modified to include items for which only age, and not housing type and income, form the eligibility criteria.

Mr Keith Chua: To ask the Minister for Manpower what are the key considerations of the tripartite partners to bring forward the increase in the retirement age and re-employment age for Singapore workers to 65 and 70 respectively before 2030.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the drainage improvement works at Bukit Timah Canal between Rifle Range Road and Jalan Kampong Chantek can be expedited.

No.

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Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Transport in light of Grab's acquisition of Trans-Cab, what is the impact this acquisition will likely have on (i) commuters in terms of fares and quality of service (ii) drivers with respect to their livelihoods and working conditions and (iii) the overall development of the point-to-point transport industry in Singapore.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how has the growth of e-commerce, ride- hailing, and car-sharing impacted the number of vehicles on the road and congestion over the past three years, especially with the recent acquisition of Trans-Cab by Grab; and (b) how does the Ministry plan to adjust the COE system to address the aforementioned growth and its effects on vehicle numbers and road congestion.
Ms Usha Chandradas: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether any measures have been put in place to incentivise local publishers to assist authors of Singapore literature with obtaining representation from, and being published by, international publishing houses.
Mr Mark Lee: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider introducing an 'inclusivity' quota whereby companies that employ either seniors, individuals with special needs or Persons with Disabilities, and which individuals form a certain percentage of their total workforce, will be granted a Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) bonus, in recognition of their commitment to fostering a balanced and sustainable workforce.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what percentage of general practitioners (GPs) have signed up for Healthier SG; (b) how many individuals have been invited to and enrolled in Healthier SG; (c) whether the number of participating GPs is enough to meet the healthcare demand in their estates; and (d) how will the Ministry incentivise and encourage more GPs to join Healthier SG given that some may find treating chronic illnesses more time-consuming and less lucrative than acute illnesses.
Mr Ong Hua Han: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what actions have been undertaken to broaden the use of assistance dogs to empower persons with disabilities (PWDs) beyond the visually impaired; (b) what future plans are in place; and (c) whether the expected timeline to broaden the use of assistance dogs can be shared.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the expected impact of the recent announcement by the Ministry to allow an increase in the pricing cap of school bus fares of up to 13 per cent; and (b) how can families of affected students, especially those with higher special education needs, be assisted.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many families are currently residing in 3-room rental flats under the Public Rental Scheme; (b) whether HDB will consider extending 3-room rental flats to families with large numbers of children who do not have a realistic prospect of purchasing their own homes so that their children will have a safer and more conducive environment to grow up in.
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether Traffic Police will investigate, upon request, vehicular accidents without injuries, in case some parties involved in the accidents deliberately choose not to cooperate in the insurance claims process.
Mr Ong Hua Han: To ask the Minister for Transport in light of the refurbishment of over 600 public buses nearing their 10th year of operation, whether LTA will consider (i) re-evaluating automated ramps on these buses for easier boarding and alighting for commuters with mobility devices and (ii) addressing the challenges identified in the trial conducted from September 2017 to March 2018.

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18 SEPTEMBER 2023 10 Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with increasing electricity demand from new investments in energy-intensive sectors and the retiring of older power generation plants (a) what is the plan to ensure grid reliability and to generate above the required reserve margin of 27 per cent; (b) whether older power generation plants will be considered for continual operation if the newer plants are not ready; and (c) whether such consideration will put our transition to low- or zero- carbon power generation plans at risk and its impact to our environment.
Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will consider investigating the case of the delay of urgent treatment by a doctor who paid two ambulance services a commission for taking patients to him at his clinic resulting in the death of one of the patients; and (b) whether the practice of doctors and clinics giving such referral fees to ambulance services is a widespread practice and, if so, why is this allowed.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) to date, how many HDB estates have had a HDB flat obtaining a resale price exceeding $1 million; (b) where are these HDB estates located; (c) at the locations of these HDB estates, how many new HDB estates have been launched, announced or planned since 2021 under (i) the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model and (ii) non-PLH model respectively.
Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Education considering the recent changes to the Grade Point Average (GPA) requirements for progression from the ITE to polytechnics (a) whether there are plans to expand this approach to polytechnic students who wish to join universities upon graduation, whereby students with a GPA of 3.5 and above will be guaranteed admission into universities; and (b) if not, whether the Ministry can elaborate on the considerations behind this decision.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the investigation into the tragic death of a police officer and the concerns raised regarding racial discrimination will involve external experts and reviewers beyond the Singapore Police Force (SPF); (b) whether a process invoking the Inquiries Act (2007) will facilitate such external review and help retain confidence in the SPF; and (c) what mechanisms exist for SPF officers to highlight racial discrimination whether against themselves or fellow officers.
Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there are plans to attract and train more manpower for the special needs care and education sector and, if so, what are they; (b) whether the Ministry is aware of plans by SG Enable to provide community training on caring for people with special needs or are neurodiverse and, if so, what are they.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how does the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) check on all farms from which Singapore imports eggs; and (b) how does SFA strike a balance between food security and food safety.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower based on the Ministry’s regular inspections of workers who are provided with catered food, whether the timings for workers’ (i) lunch and (ii) dinner breaks are within four hours from the time that the catered food was cooked at the caterer’s kitchen.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Health (a) since 2022, how many inpatient hospice patients have sought ElderShield claims; (b) of these, how many claims have been approved; (c) what is the median time taken from application to the commencement of payout; (d) how many have been approved through (i) severe disability assessor review by a visiting assessor and (ii) resident assessment forms submitted by the inpatient hospices, respectively; and (d) whether the claims of patients with severely limited life expectancy in inpatient hospices can be expedited.
No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 11 *96.

*97.

*98.

*99.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance what are the further sustainable measures and support that can be given to lower and middle income workers who face stagnant wages to cope with inflation in the long run.
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the Ministry’s outlook for the pricing level of the home rental market; and (b) what more can the Ministry do to moderate or reverse escalating rental cost to help tenants manage their cost of living.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister- in-charge of Muslim Affairs in relation to the suspicious zakat transactions detected recently at Al- Istiqamah mosque involving cash payments made by members of the public (a) how were the suspicious transactions detected; (b) what is the number of transactions and total quantum involved; and (c) what are the steps already in place or the interim measures now being put in place to ensure the proper accounting of zakat payments in the mosque and all other zakat collection centres accepting cash payments.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what are the reasons for the lower demand for SME grants in FY 2022/2023; (b) whether there are barriers encountered by potential beneficiaries in accessing and utilising these grants; and (c) what is the impact of this underutilisation on the intended outcomes and effectiveness of the grant schemes.

*100.
*100.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Prime Minister aside from redeeming the Reserves Management Government Securities, what are the other mechanisms in place for the MAS to quickly avail itself of the reserves managed by GIC.

*101.
*101.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there is a system of regular audits done in relation to the responsiveness of the emergency monitoring and response service at HDB's 2-room flexi flats for seniors; (b) what steps are being taken to ensure the reliability of this service; and (c) whether the service may be upgraded to the level for that in community care apartments.

*102.
*102.

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has considered building dedicated active ageing centres for men, akin to Men's Sheds in the United Kingdom and Australia which have demonstrated increased participation rates in activities conducted for elderly men.

*103.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will review the guidelines for keeping pets at home to ensure harmonious living among neighbours.

*104.
*104.

Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether IRAS will consider increasing the 60% deemed expense ratio for private hire car and taxi drivers in light of higher operating costs such as increased car rental and petrol prices.

*105.
*105.

Ms See Jinli Jean: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will consider allowing the validity period of a standard first aid recertification for sports instructors to commence upon expiry of the existing certificate instead of upon renewal, which renewal may be up to three months before actual expiry; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider extending the validity period of a standard first aid certification to three years instead of two.

*106.
*106.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether an update can be provided on the Household Services Scheme’s pilot programme to expand its scope to include child-minding and elder- minding services.

No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 12 *107.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry will extend subsidies specifically for Addition and Alteration works to households that have multi-step entrances to their HDB flats after these households apply for ramps or access solutions under the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme; and (b) how many HDB flats with multi-step entrances currently will require Addition and Alteration works to facilitate the installation of such solutions.

*108.
*108.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the weaker outlook for the export-driven manufacturing sector (a) what is the expected impact on the job market; (b) what are the key uncertainties faced by the export-oriented manufacturing industry; and (c) what are the short and long-term measures or policies to be implemented to support the manufacturing sector and enhance its resilience.

*109.
*109.

Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the current waiting time for new case referrals from schools to Response, Early intervention and Assessment in Community mental Health (REACH) teams; (b) whether there are future plans to expand REACH to support schools better; and (c) whether REACH services are also available to full-time madrasahs and, if so, how many of such referrals have been received in the past five years.

*110.
*110.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Manpower since 2019 (a) how many companies have applied to be host companies under the Career Trial (CT) programme; (b) how many have been selected as host companies; (c) what are the main reasons for rejection; (d) how many CT invitations have been sent to job seekers; (e) how many job seekers have commenced the CT; (f) how many were eventually employed after the CT; and (g) how many stayed on the job for at least three months.

*111.
*111.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for National Development whether there are cases where more than one household is housed in the same HDB rental flat and, if so, why.

*112.
Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry keeps track of how many adult persons with special needs or persons with disability are financially dependent on their parents who have retired; (b) what are the current programmes and schemes available to help adult persons with special needs or disabilities to secure their own livelihood for their financial self- sufficiency, in particular those who are high functioning; and (c) what is the success rate of these programmes and schemes.
*113.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Health (a) in the context of the current high-rate rental market, whether the Ministry offers any assistance or support to foreign healthcare workers who encounter difficulties in finding affordable housing options in the open market; and (b) beyond studying the feasibility of facilitating hostel-type accommodation to support new foreign healthcare workers to settle in, whether the Ministry has explored the possibility of providing long-term accommodation as part of the package to attract them to work in Singapore.
*114.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) since the implementation of the Progressive Wage (PW) Mark accreditation, recognising companies that pay progressive wages to lower-wage workers, how has the uptake of the PW Mark accreditation been; and (b) whether the Ministry tracks if more service buyers have chosen to do business exclusively with companies accredited with the PW Mark.

*115.
*115.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for National Development whether assistance can be provided to Singaporeans who are simultaneously buying and selling HDB flats (i) in their preferred language of communication like Mandarin, Malay or Tamil and (ii) in such a way that they do not need to raise additional money to pay for the purchase first before getting reimbursed by CPF.

No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 13 *116.
Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) in view of the recent Indian rice export ban due to the current El Nino wave which has affected food production, what measures are being taken to address this potential loss of rice supply to Singapore; (b) whether there are expectations of more export bans by other countries on food supplies in the near future given the escalating climate disasters attributed to El Nino; and (c) what assurances can be provided to ensure food security for Singaporeans.
*117.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the Government has undertaken any review of parental leave policies to increase leave for parents of multiple or pre-term babies; (b) if so, when was it conducted and what were the findings from the review; and (c) if no review was conducted, whether the Government will consider conducting such a review.

*118.
*118.

Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider an increase in the number of work passes for some specific job types like production line operators, packers and truck drivers, which can be performed during non-peak night hours and will allow such workers to return to their homes in Johor Bahru and Batam in the day.

*119.
*119.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether an update can be provided on the revised approach to prioritise inspections of occupied HDB rental flats; and (b) what is the annual schedule and budget allotted under the revised approach for proactive regular maintenance of these flats beyond the repairs requested by tenants.

*120.
Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the rationale for requiring homeschooled children to meet the 33rd percentile benchmark for taking PSLE; (b) what is the rationale for requiring children to take PSLE at Primary 6 when they are typically at the age of 12 as they may have different learning paces; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider reviewing the PSLE policy to provide some latitude in timeline and autonomy for children to learn at their respective paces in their formative years.
*121.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Health what measures are in place to ensure that there are no supply chain disruptions or shortages to commonly used medicines or supplies for paediatric or general care.

*122.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Manpower based on the Ministry’s annual Occupational Wage Survey (a) what is the gender pay gap for finance-related roles annually from 2012 to 2021; and (b) what is being done to address the current gender pay gap in the finance sector.
*123.

Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what are the selection criteria for main contractors of HDB BTO projects; (b) how does HDB ensure that the selected contractors are able to (i) deliver quality workmanship and (ii) complete the BTO projects within the stipulated time frame; and (c) where a contractor’s services are terminated mid-project, how does HDB mitigate the delays and rectification works of the BTO projects affected.

*124.
*124.

Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether there are structural barriers that make it difficult for private hire car drivers to leave the sector; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider taking additional steps to address a possible power imbalance between platform operators and private hire car drivers.

*125.
*125.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider adjustments to the HDB flat balloting system to accord some weightage to the number of prior unsuccessful attempts made by the applicant for a HDB BTO flat or a flat under a Sale of Balance Flats exercise.

No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 14 *126.


Ms See Jinli Jean: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Ministry will consider setting up a dedicated, low-cost dispute resolution platform to facilitate the resolution of leasing disputes between vehicle leasing firms and vocational drivers or riders who are concerned about unfair vehicle leasing terms being invoked against them.

*127.
*127.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider addressing the issue of bed bugs at migrant worker dormitories other than advising workers not to use infected mattresses.

*128.
*128.

Mr Ong Hua Han: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in each year from 2020 to 2022, how many applications has HDB received under the EASE (Direct Application) scheme; (b) how many applications are from households with persons with disabilities who do not meet the age requirement in each year; (c) what is the average waiting time for such applications to receive an approval from HDB in each year; and (d) whether a dedicated EASE scheme can be considered to prioritise these applications.
*129.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Government is exploring plans to sign an agreement with India to buy renewable energy; and (b) if so, what percentage of Singapore’s 2030 projected electricity demand target can be met from this agreement.

*130.

Mr Keith Chua: To ask the Minister for Health what are the immediate ongoing actions to engage more stakeholders in suicide prevention at the earliest possible stages.

*131.
*131.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current policy or guidelines for employers installing CCTVs or other monitoring devices at workplaces; and (b) how are issues of safety and security balanced with workers' privacy.

*132.
*132.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for National Development whether HDB will consider the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme for the HDB flats at Kampong Arang and Jalan Batu due to the age of the flats and the increasing costs of maintaining these older flats.

* 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.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance: Income Tax (Amendment) Bill.
(President's recommendation signified).

2.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance: Free Trade Zones (Amendment) Bill.

3.

Minister for Home Affairs: Societies (Amendment) Bill.

No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 15 ORDERS OF THE DAY 1.

2.

3.

Immigration (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

26/2023] – (Minister for Home Affairs) – Second Reading.

Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

27/2023] – (Minister for Social and Family Development) – Second Reading.
Society of Saint Maur Incorporation (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

28/2023] – (Ms Joan Pereira, Member for Tanjong Pagar) – Second Reading.

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

Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied) : Losses from Scams and Malware Fraud: Doing Right by Bank Customers.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.


QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Prime Minister in the light of Singapore’s ambition to be the regional philanthropy hub (a) what are the building blocks that need to be in place to realise the ambition; and (b) how will the Government support such developments.
Ms Ng Ling Ling: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Elections Department will consider (i) conducting random audit checks to ensure that the names in the Registers of Electors are correctly updated and (ii) informing voters earlier if their names have been expunged from the Registers of Electors for confirmation as to whether they have voted at the previous election prior to the update of the Registers and to apply for reinstatement as necessary.
Ms Ng Ling Ling: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the rationale for the Elections Department to determine polling stations based on voters’ addresses based on the last revision date of the Registers of Electors; and (b) whether more time can be given to voters, beyond the two weeks of public inspection, to update their particulars so as to be allocated a nearer polling station due to a change of address after the last revision date of the Registers.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Prime Minister (a) in each of the past 10 years, how many law enforcement officers have been found guilty of corruption or bribery-related misconduct; and (b) of these, how many are from the (i) Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ii) Central Narcotics Bureau (iii) Singapore Police Force and (iv) Land Transport Authority, respectively.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) what is the breakdown of the assets managed (i) directly by in-house investment teams and (ii) third party asset managers for the Dynamic, Balanced, and Stable funds respectively under the SAVER-Premium Fund; and (b) what is their current asset class composition compared with their target composition.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the breakdown of assets managed (i) directly by in-house investment teams and (ii) third party asset managers, for the Dynamic, Balanced, Stable and Lifecycle funds respectively under the Home Affairs Uniformed Services INVEST Fund; and (b) what is their current asset-class composition compared with their target composition.

No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 16 7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.


Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the current measures to track and prevent money-laundering activities through the purchase of high-end, high-value retail and auction items; and (b) in view of the recent money-laundering crackdown by the Singapore Police Force, what additional measures will be set in place to stem future money-laundering activities in these sectors.
Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether there are plans to extend the upcoming Collaborative Sharing of Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing (ML/TF) Information and Cases (COSMIC) digital platform to include major banks in the region in order to facilitate sharing of information on suspicious transactions and customers across neighbouring regional countries after Singapore’s network has been set up.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how does the Ministry work with the Ministry of Home Affairs to deter and identify fraudulent applications for employment passes and work permits; and (b) how does the Ministry work with foreign governments and institutions to verify the information provided by applicants.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what measures are in place to detect money laundering through movements of illegal funds using high value items such as luxury goods, jewellery, art and vehicles.

Mr Neil Parekh Nimil Rajnikant: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what is currently being done to stop the use of landed homes in Sentosa Cove and non-traditional assets like golf club memberships and yachts from being used to further money laundering.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether real estate agents licensed by the Council for Estate Agencies are trained to identify and report suspicious property transactions; (b) what checks are in place to ensure that Singapore's property market is not being targeted or misused for money laundering activities; and (c) how does the Ministry include other industry professionals like lawyers and accountants in preventing money laundering through property transactions.
Mr Neil Parekh Nimil Rajnikant: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) since 1 January 2016, how many applications from foreigners have been received by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to purchase landed properties in Sentosa Cove; (b) how many of these applications have not been approved; and (c) what additional steps can be taken by SLA to prevent foreign citizens with criminal intent to conduct cross-border organised crimes from purchasing landed properties in Sentosa Cove.
Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether there are plans to set up a multi-ministry anti-money laundering task force to coordinate and strengthen the monitoring and detection of suspicious activities related to money laundering.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in each of the last three years (a) how many suspicious transaction reports (STRs) were filed with regard to property transactions; (b) how many of such property transactions were later found to be involved in money laundering (ML) or terrorism financing (TF) activities; and (c) how many individuals were prosecuted for a failure to file a STR when they knew or had reason to suspect that any property may have been connected to ML or TF activities.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the tools and databases which the Council for Estate Agencies provides to estate agents (EAs) and real estate salespersons (RESs) to aid them in conducting Customer Due Diligence on their clients; (b) how does CEA make EAs and RESs aware of these tools and databases, if any; and (c) whether EAs and RESs actively use them.

No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 17 17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.


Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether individuals entering Singapore are checked against a list of suspicious individuals at their time of entry; and (b) how are individuals using passports from multiple countries or false identities being prevented from entering Singapore.
Ms See Jinli Jean: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many motorcycle casualties for the periods from January to December 2022 and January to June 2023 are younger riders from the age of (i) 18 to 24 years and (ii) 25 to 29 years respectively; and (b) what is the proportion of these against the total number of motorcycle casualties for the same period.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in respect of the two police officers charged in court on 11 August 2023 for criminal breach of trust related offences (a) what are the dates on which the investigations of these two officers commenced; and (b) what are the dates on which their salaries were cut and by how much.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many heavy vehicles caught fire annually over the past five years; (b) what are the typical causes for such heavy vehicle fires; and (c) whether the causes of the recent heavy vehicle fires in September 2023 have similarities.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry how does the Government intend to manage significant investments in critical entities to protect national assets and critical industries.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the anticipated energy savings from each LTA green initiative, including but not limited to (i) turning off escalators in MRT stations at night and (ii) turning off lights on covered walkways between 1am and 5am; (b) for each initiative, whether there has been any cost-benefit evaluation, taking into account the inconvenience and safety issues caused to commuters or pedestrians, in particular the elderly and other vulnerable groups; and (c) if so, what are the results.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport whether an update can be provided on when installation of the on-board units for the next generation ERP system will be rolled out.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment for each year since 2010 (a) what is the number and percentage of hawkers who are paying market and subsidised rents respectively; and (b) what is their respective median monthly rent.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether land costs are paid into past reserves when new hawker centres are built; (b) if so, how much land cost has been paid for hawker centres constructed in the last 10 years; and (c) whether land cost is a factor in determining how frequently new hawker centres are built and their locations.
Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Education (a) in the past five years, what is the number of sexual offences committed against students in schools; (b) whether schools are mandated to make a police report in cases where the perpetrator is a minor; (c) what are the penalties and support efforts implemented by schools to address such incidents and prevent the perpetrator from re-offending; and (d) how are schools collaborating with stakeholders to provide intervention and support for victims of sexual offences who are minors.
Ms Usha Chandradas: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the extent to which overseas art- related study trips are incorporated into school curriculums for students in primary, secondary and post- secondary levels; (b) how is the effectiveness of such trips measured; (c) what is the number of such trips that have taken place over the last 10 years; (d) how are such trips funded; and (e) whether there are plans to increase the frequency of such trips.

No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 18 28.

29.

30.


31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Education for each year in the past five years (a) how many ITE students attained a Grade Point Average of between 2.0 and 2.5; (b) how many of these students proceeded to enrol into polytechnics; and (c) what percentage of these students successfully completed their polytechnic courses.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Education for students who have performed well in their mother tongue languages and wanting to take higher mother tongue languages in secondary schools, what is the justification for requiring the student to attain an overall PSLE score of 14 or below.
Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry provides direct funding to schools for engaging full-time school counsellors; and (b) if so, whether the Ministry will consider providing the same support to madrasahs or working with MUIS to do so.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry tracks how SG Enable is working together with employers to increase the job opportunities for persons with disabilities within the tech, logistics and healthcare sectors.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry tracks how SG Enable is working together with employers to provide the necessary infrastructure to create structured work environments and clear work processes to support persons with disabilities.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry can provide support for more infant care and childcare assistance on the weekends to cater to parents with little family support and who are on shift work or who may need to deal with family emergencies; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider setting up a scheme for part-time nannies such as homemakers to provide such care services.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider extending the childcare subsidy for working mothers to include mothers who are undergoing skills training, upgrading or studying at Institutes of Higher Learning, to obtain certification and qualifications before entering employment.
Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Early Childhood Development Agency will provide guidelines on the use of personal mobile devices by educators at childcare centres and require photo and video updates of a child’s progress to be recorded via company- issued devices only.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what are the checks and balances in place for (i) teachers and principals to safely report incidents of alleged ill-treatment in their centres and (ii) the mental-wellbeing and stress levels of early childhood educators to be monitored, in order for timely support to be provided.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there is a shortage of qualified early childhood educators and staff; and (b) what measures are being considered to increase manpower resources in the early childhood sector.

Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether a code of conduct for preschool teachers can be implemented in the preschool sector.
Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the mandatory installation of closed-circuit television cameras in all preschools and Government-funded early intervention centres will be expanded to other educational and care institutions involving children and the vulnerable.

No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 19 40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.


Ms See Jinli Jean: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in each of the past five years (a) how many self-employed persons qualified for (i) Government-paid childcare leave and (ii) enhanced childcare leave; and (b) what is the proportion who claimed the (i) Government-paid childcare leave and (ii) enhanced childcare leave.
Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) based on the recent haj season, what is the number of Singapore pilgrims requiring wheelchair assistance or medical support; (b) how does this number compare to previous seasons; and (c) what additional medical and mobility support services are being planned for future haj seasons to cater to such needs.
Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) what measures are being taken to ensure that sufficient support and assistance are provided to elderly haj pilgrims during the haj; (b) how are the costs being managed to ensure affordability for elderly pilgrims; and (c) what are the implications for manpower and resources on MUIS.
Ms Usha Chandradas: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the extent to which art therapy is included as part of the Health Promotion Board’s initiative towards helping communities achieve better mental health; (b) what is the scope of these art therapy initiatives; and (c) whether there are plans to raise awareness about using art therapy as a tool in achieving better mental wellness.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there has been an increase in cases of Influenza A and B types in Singapore from January to July this year compared with the same period last year; (b) if so, what are the reasons for this increase; and (c) what preventive measures are being taken to address this increase.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what measures are in place to prompt the caregivers of persons with disabilities (PWDs) covered by CareShield Life and ElderShield to apply for activation of payouts upon diagnosis or upon qualifying based on age; and (b) what checks are in place to ensure that PWDs do not fall through the cracks in the implementation of the CareShield Life and ElderShield schemes.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health in view of new nursing homes with at least 2,000 beds coming onstream in the next five years, what are the Ministry’s plans to facilitate the training and recruitment of manpower to ensure that good care and service standards are upheld.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the current MediSave withdrawal limit remains adequate for outpatient care, especially for patients with complex chronic conditions; and (b) if not, whether the Ministry will consider raising the withdrawal limit.
Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what support is provided to nursing homes to implement usage of self-guiding robots to deliver linen and meals to wards; (b) how many nursing homes have successfully adopted this technology; (c) what quantifiable improvements in operational efficiency and patient care have been observed; and (d) how will the wider adoption of such technological solutions be facilitated across nursing homes nationwide.
Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what support is provided to nursing homes to adopt the usage of hands-free smart glasses by nurses to facilitate real-time transmission of what they see to medical professionals and receive medical advice from them; (b) how have these smart glasses streamlined communication between nurses and senior medical professionals; and (c) how will the wider adoption of such technological solutions be facilitated across nursing homes nationwide.

No.
No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 20 50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider conducting a study to gain a deeper understanding of the intersectionality of factors such as socio-economic status, age, geography, ethnicity, and gender on suicide rates among Singapore residents so that the Government and society can conduct better outreach to such individuals.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the current waiting time for ophthalmology appointments at the Singapore National Eye Centre; and (b) what arrangements exist to facilitate patients to secure earlier ophthalmology appointment dates at other public healthcare institutions.
Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider ways to allow an increase in the MediSave withdrawal limits per day for hospitalisation expenses, such as by increasing the daily limit after the first two days.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development how many offices and business parks have a gross floor area of (i) less than 5,000 sqm (ii) between 5,000 to 7,999 sqm (iii) between 8,000 to 9,999 sqm (iv) between 10,000 to 14,999 sqm and (v) above 15,000 sqm.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for National Development what are NParks’ plans to ensure that the emergence of non-native species of birds like the red-breasted parakeets in Choa Chu Kang do not adversely affect our native biodiversity and habitats in the long term.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for National Development for each year from 2021, how many reports of HDB-approved renovation contractors breaching their approval conditions by conducting renovation works outside of the approved hours have been received.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) for each year from 2021, how many HDB-approved renovation projects underwent extension of the renovation permit beyond the initial approved duration; and (b) whether HDB tracks such extensions for purposes of ensuring that renovation contractors provide homeowners with accurately quoted estimates of work duration.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is HDB’s assessment of the pneumatic waste conveyance system that has been implemented in Bidadari estate; (b) whether there are plans to address the issues arising from waste choking as well as putrid odours emanating from the bin centres; and (c) whether HDB will consider taking action against its vendors to seek reimbursement on behalf of the Town Council for the costs incurred in taking additional extraordinary measures to mitigate these disamenties.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development how many of those who currently live in HDB’s 2-room flexi flats are single and aged (i) 50 to 60 years and (ii) 61 years and above respectively.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development what are the nationalities of foreigners who have purchased non-landed residential properties in the past eight years.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the age of buyers of million-dollar HDB resale flats in the past eight years; and (b) what percentage of such buyers are permanent residents.

Ms Usha Chandradas: To ask the Minister for National Development what steps are being taken to ensure that the growth of the real estate tokenisation industry in Singapore does not distort the prices of property in the local market.

No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 21 62.

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.


68.

69.

70.

71.

72.

73.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for National Development whether there is room to strengthen inter-agency cooperation towards nurturing a harmonised approach in addressing concerns pertinent to the well-being and safety of community cats and dogs which seemingly go missing as reported by their neighbourhood caregivers.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the number of self-employed applicants who have successfully obtained HDB loans within the last three years versus the total number of self-employed applicants who have been rejected; and (b) whether HDB can consider some other factors besides CPF contributions for the application of HDB loans, such as a record of consistency in their work, or dedicated savings which have been amassed.
Mr Xie Yao Quan: To ask the Minister for National Development whether he can provide an update on the Government's plans to integrate flats under the Public Rental Scheme into HDB BTO projects with Plus and Prime flats, so as to promote social mixing and inclusive neighbourhoods even in choicer and the choicest locations.
Mr Xie Yao Quan: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Government is minded to introduce a price cap on Plus and Prime flats in HDB BTO projects, as an additional measure to ensure the affordability of such flats.
Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the income ceiling of the buyer of HDB Prime and Plus resale flats is based on the income ceiling at the time when these flats were launched as BTO or tied to prevailing income ceiling at the point of resale.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to the Prime Minister's announcement at the National Day Rally 2023 that the Government will make precincts more senior friendly, what are the details of the plans to build more senior friendly features in mature HDB estates.
Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for National Development whether HDB flat owners who had already installed senior-friendly fittings under the original Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme will be allowed to access the additional benefits under EASE 2.0.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether the Infocomm Media Development Authority intends to replace its hard copy application forms for newspaper permits with digitally-enabled forms; and (b) if so, when.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information between 2020 and 2023 to date (a) how much was spent annually on advertising costs, including consultancy and production fees, to produce content featuring political office holders for (i) social media and (ii) mainstream media respectively; and (b) what is the annual breakdown of these figures by Ministries.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower how does the Ministry decide on the limit of 12 hours of work a day for a worker who is a driver of lorries with workers in the rear deck.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry make available more accommodation ahead of time before approving more work passes for foreign workers; (b) whether the Ministry will work with employers who have committed to productivity measures in automation and technology and help them meet their targets before approving work passes for their foreign workers; and (c) how effective are the existing schemes to reduce reliance on foreign workers in the past three years.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Manpower out of the about 315 complaints about workplace discrimination made to the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices and the Ministry each year for the last five years, for each year respectively, how many of these complaints were made by individuals working for companies that had a headcount of less than 25.

No.

111 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 22 74.

75.

76.

77.

78.

79.

80.

81.

82.


Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what efforts are being made to encourage more companies to adopt formal procedures to manage workplace discrimination; (b) how is the effectiveness of such procedures being monitored; and (c) what incentives or guidelines are being provided to companies to encourage the implementation of these formal procedures.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Manpower for each year from 2018 to 2022, how many times have sections 59(2) and 59(4) of the CPF Act 1953 been invoked by employers who were then prospective employers in the public and private sectors to obtain past employment information of job applicants.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider initiating policies to (i) allow persons with disabilities (PWDs) the right to work from home (WFH) (ii) provide PWDs with both software and hardware support to WFH and (iii) provide training to PWDs to equip them with the digital literacy to be able to WFH.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Manpower with regard to the Open Door Programme and Enabling Employment Credit which provide employment-related support to persons with disabilities (a) whether the Ministry has data on the percentage of successful applications that are granted under each of the schemes in 2022 and 2023 respectively; and (b) whether the Ministry is aware of any improvements to be made to the scheme to ensure better outcomes.
Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether data related to the safe transportation of workers on the back of lorries such as the number of accidents, worker fatalities and injuries form part of Workplace Safety and Health assessment; and (b) if not, why not and whether such criteria can be incorporated as part of the Workplace Safety and Health assessment and a company’s renewal of its bizSAFE status.
Mr Keith Chua: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number of workers expected to reach the current retirement age of 63 in the next three years; and (b) for each of the next three years, what is the estimated number of such workers seeking re-employment.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Earn and Save Bonus component of the Majulah Package will be extended to self-employed seniors in addition to those in full-time and part-time employment; and (b) if so, what steps will be taken to guard against persons making false claims of self-employment for the purpose of getting the bonus.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how has the wage level for workers at the 10th percentile changed over the last 10 years; (b) what are the occupations that these workers are in; and (c) what is their age and education profile.

Mr Keith Chua: To ask the Minister for Manpower in each of the next three years from 2023, what is the number of workers who will reach the re-employment age limit of 68 years old and are likely to exit the workforce.