Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698846172021.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE (SECOND SESSION) REVISED ORDER PAPER WEDNESDAY, 2 AUGUST 2023 No.
109 11.00 am 1 ELECTION OF SPEAKER OATHS OF ALLEGIANCE Ms Usha Chandradas (Nominated Member of Parliament) Mr Keith Chua (Nominated Member of Parliament) Mr Mark Lee (Nominated Member of Parliament) Mr Ong Hua Han (Nominated Member of Parliament) Mr Neil Parekh Nimil Rajnikant (Nominated Member of Parliament) Mr Raj Joshua Thomas (Nominated Member of Parliament) Assoc Prof Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim (Nominated Member of Parliament) Ms See Jinli Jean (Nominated Member of Parliament) Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi (Nominated Member of Parliament) QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.
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Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the timeline of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau's (CPIB) uncovering of the matter relating to the investigation that Minister S Iswaran is assisting with; and (b) what are the reasons for commencing formal investigation on 11 July 2023 when the Prime Minister was briefed by the Director of CPIB on 5 July 2023 and gave his concurrence on 6 July 2023 to open a formal investigation.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau’s investigation which Minister S Iswaran is assisting with pertains to actions or decisions taken in the course of his official duties or to matters which he has had purview over in his official capacity.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Prime Minister why has Minister S Iswaran been placed on a leave of absence while assisting the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) with an investigation, whereas Minister K Shanmugam and Minister Vivian Balakrishnan continued with their duties while assisting with CPIB investigations regarding their rental of state properties at Ridout Road.

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2 AUGUST 2023 2 Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether CPIB is obligated to seek the Prime Minister's concurrence to open formal investigations on potential offences that CPIB has uncovered; (b) if so, under what circumstances or cases will CIB be obligated to seek such concurrence; (c) whether the Prime Minister's power to give or refuse concurrence to CPIB is circumscribed or open- ended; (d) whether there are occasions where the Prime Minister has declined permission for CPIB to investigate a matter and, if so, what are these circumstances.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether all investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau require the Prime Minister's concurrence; (b) if not, what type of investigations require the Prime Minister's concurrence; and (c) why the investigations under part (b) require the Prime Minister's concurrence.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Prime Minister whether the arrest of Minister S Iswaran by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau was a matter that should have been immediately announced to the public as a matter of transparency.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Government adheres to a timeline for disclosing information about a political office holder if the information, which could include their arrest by the Police, would be likely to materially affect public confidence in the Government.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Prime Minister what are the specific considerations that CPIB takes into account in deciding when to announce that individuals are involved in ongoing investigations and in deciding what is the appropriate level of disclosure required at a specific time.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Prime Minister regarding the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB)'s update to the media on 14 July 2023 that Minister S Iswaran had been arrested on 11 July 2023, what are the reasons for the earlier CPIB media release on 12 July 2023 describing Minister S Iswaran as assisting with an investigation without mention of him having been arrested the day before.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Prime Minister whether he will consider implementing transparent guidelines for mandatory disclosures or announcements when a Minister or political office holder is personally implicated in any formal investigation by the authorities, to minimise any time lag issues and prevent unnecessary speculation by the public.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what are the avenues available in Ministries for whistleblowing on possible corruption cases; (b) how many cases has the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigated through such whistleblowing channels in the past three years; and (c) what proportion of cases investigated by CPIB is surfaced through such avenues in the past three years.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Prime Minister in light of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau's investigation which Minister S Iswaran is assisting with, whether there will be further clarifications to, or a review of, the Code of Conduct for Ministers last re-issued in 2005, regardless of the outcome of the investigation.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Prime Minister what are the measures currently in place to protect civil servants who choose not to follow (i) inappropriate or (ii) non-official instructions or requests from political office holders.

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2 AUGUST 2023 3 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether political office holders and civil servants are required to declare meals received from individuals or organisations, be it local or foreign; (b) what is the threshold value for which they are required to make such declarations; (c) under what conditions will they be required to make payment; and (d) how many of such declarations was made in the past year, and what was the total value of such payments.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Prime Minister (a) to date, how many individuals have been arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau in relation to the investigation into Mr S Iswaran; and (b) why is the arrest of Mr S Iswaran on 11 July 2023 not disclosed until 14 July 2023.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether Mr S Iswaran’s leave of absence from his duties from 7 to 9 July 2023, as notified in the Government Gazette No 2017 on 14 July 2023, is related to the investigation of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau; and (b) if so, whether he has discharged any official duties or attended any official meetings during that period of leave of absence.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Prime Minister why the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau did not disclose their current investigation of the Minister for Transport S Iswaran before 12 July 2023.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Prime Minister whether he can provide an update on the current guidelines for whistleblowing for all civil servants and public servants in respect of wrongdoings by civil and public servants as well as political office holders including but not limited to criminal or graft offences, misconduct, wrongful practices or behaviour, or other irregularities.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what are the specific sectors that LTA is engaging with in its study on transporting workers by buses or other modes of transport; (b) how many companies in these sectors have been open to shifting to buses or other modes of transportation; (c) what are the specific pain points identified; and (d) what follow up steps will LTA be taking to address the pain points and scaling up the adoption of using buses and other modes of transportation.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Transport what is the rationale for the ban under section 126 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 on carrying any person in or allowing any person to ride in goods vehicles.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Defence what is the strategic importance of submarines, especially the Invincible-class, to Singapore's ability to protect our territorial waters and contribute to regional security.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs how is the Ministry enhancing measures to mitigate against scams on the purchase and reselling of concert tickets.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Prime Minister what were the benefits of a strong Singapore dollar policy that recorded S$30.8 billion in losses last year by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Prime Minister how much of the reported losses by MAS for FY 2022/2023 are attributable to (i) losses from currency interventions (ii) changes in valuation (iii) investment exposures and (iv) other sources.

Mr Don Wee: To ask the Prime Minister in order to maintain a strong Singapore dollar policy and to curb losses, whether MAS has plans to increase the interest yields and payments of its Treasury Bills and bonds so as to encourage a higher level of savings.

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2 AUGUST 2023 4 Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many households are deprived of financial assistance in the last two years because their per capita household income (PCHI) is more than $650 but less than $800; (b) whether the Ministry will consider reaching out to these households; and (c) whether the Ministry will work with other Government agencies to raise their respective PCHI benchmarks in tandem with what the Ministry has done.
Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider proactively reaching out to families who are denied financial assistance in the past year and whose per capital income is between $650 and $800 to assess if they can now receive assistance.
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry can revise the monthly ComCare Long Term Assistance or the Public Assistance Scheme payouts, as well as support for other major assistance programmes, to assist vulnerable Singaporeans in the face of rising costs of living.
Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for the past year, how many families have received ComCare support based on the previous criteria of per capita household income (PCHI) benchmark of $650 and below; (b) with the increase in the PCHI benchmark to $800 and below, what is the projected number of families that will be eligible for ComCare support; and (c) whether the Ministry can consider reaching out to the families that have missed the previous criteria but are now eligible for assistance based on the new criteria.
Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development with the rise in inflation (a) whether there has been an increase in the number of financial assistance requests received from 2020 to 2023; (b) whether the number of requests that do not qualify for financial assistance are due to the per capita household income (PCHI) criteria; and (c) if not, what are the other reasons for not qualifying for financial assistance.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether the Government has data on (i) how Temasek Holdings’ total shareholder returns compare to other market benchmarks over the years (ii) how its portfolio of assets has shifted and is positioned for the future and (iii) how its portfolio of unlisted assets has performed and contributed to its overall performance to date.
Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in light of the drop in Temasek's 10-year Total Shareholder Returns to 6%, how does Temasek's long-term returns vary across the portfolio and how does each segment compare to benchmarks such as the MSCI World Index and Private Equity index.

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Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what are the main reasons for Temasek Holdings’ worst reported returns since 2016, where the net value of its portfolio shrunk by $21 billion from 2022 to 2023; and (b) how do Temasek Holdings’ recent results compare against other sovereign wealth funds such as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the recent report released by NTU on possible geothermal energy sources in Singapore (a) whether there are plans to extract geothermal energy in Sembawang and, if so, how will Sembawang residents and businesses near the vicinity of the geothermal source be affected; and (b) whether there are plans to explore other potential sites in Singapore such as Pulau Tekong.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) over the last five years, what is the number of Grassroots Organisations that have engaged in the practice of transferring sums of money to personal bank accounts for official operational needs and their respective amounts transferred; (b) in the case of the two GROs uncovered during the AGO’s test checks, who are the responsible persons who authorised such transfers; and (c) what forms of disciplinary actions are taken against the relevant authorised persons.
Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth with regard to the Auditor- General’s Report that found inappropriate money management practices for welfare assistance schemes and in particular, the use of personal bank accounts to disburse cash for welfare and voucher assistance (a) what are the lessons learnt by the entities involved; and (b) whether systems will be put in place by those entities to prevent such occurrences in the future.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what is the standard procedure to distribute monies to beneficiaries for programmes that are not yet covered by the Government’s electronic voucher system; and (b) how will the People’s Association ensure that this procedure will be adhered to.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth in light of the test checks in the latest Auditor-General's Office report finding that two grassroots organisations (GROs) had transferred significant sums of money to the personal bank accounts of staff (a) whether there are further checks and tests being carried out to identify if more such practices have occurred; and (b) what action is the People’s Association taking across all its entities to ensure GRO monies are not co-mingled with staff's personal monies given the significant risk of loss or misappropriation.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in light of the proposed establishment of a Johor-Singapore special economic zone, what opportunities relating to business, jobs, tourism and leisure are expected to be realised from this collaboration.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information with regard to online news site Asia Sentinel, why does the Government require the inclusion of a POFMA correction direction on both the main page of its website and on the page which hosts the article that contains false statements of fact.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Prime Minister in relation to the UK trial of Bernie Ecclestone that allegedly involves undisclosed assets of USD 650 million in a Singapore bank, whether MAS is satisfied with the anti-money laundering precautions that have been put in place at the bank.

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Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the Government has received any requests from the UK law enforcement agencies regarding the case involving former Formula One CEO and Chairman Emeritus Bernie Ecclestone's alleged failure to declare to the UK government a trust in Singapore of about S$650 million in a bank account; and (b) if yes, what assistance has been provided.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what studies have been undertaken on the environmental impact of the relocation and redevelopment of Paya Lebar airbase; (b) what are the findings from these studies; (c) what measures have been or will be taken to mitigate any negative environmental impact; and (d) if studies have not been undertaken, whether the Ministry will conduct these studies and, if not, why not.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether the National Library Board’s accessible membership for persons with differentiated abilities can be made available to younger children who are registered with the Development Disability registry to support the joy of reading from preschool age.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the justification for the distinction between the ethnic integration policy (EIP) and non-citizen criteria for open market rentals of HDB flats since both will alter the characteristics of a housing estate regardless of the duration of the tenancy; and (b) whether the Ministry has considered applying EIP criteria for open market rentals when they exceed a certain duration.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment with regard to the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea by Japan (a) what measures are in place to ensure the safety of our food products, especially seafood imported from Japan; and (b) whether the Ministry has assessed the potential impact to Singapore’s surrounding waters.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider permitting one- year renewals of the Certificate of Entitlement in addition to the renewal options of five-year and 10- year durations.
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 Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the considerations when ICA rejects applications of the spouses of low-wage and aged Singaporeans for Long Term Visit Passes to work and fulfil the care needs of their families in Singapore; (b) whether ICA will consider working with the Ministry of Manpower to create a special entry and work pass category for these foreign spouses to make it easier for them to stay and help with caregiving of our citizens.

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2 AUGUST 2023 7 Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Law in relation to the concerns expressed in the Auditor- General’s Office (AGO) report for the financial year 2022/23 about the authenticity of quotations provided for star rate items in a development project under the State Courts (a) whether the quotations have been provided by the contractor or sub-contractors of the project; and (b) whether there has been any proactive review of this matter following a similar observation made in AGO’s report last year and, if not, why not.
Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Manpower in light of the recent findings from Duke-NUS and the IMH on the economic impact of mental health issues on productivity (a) whether there are plans to introduce mandatory mental health awareness and training programmes for employers and managers; and (b) whether the challenges or considerations in implementing a mandatory approach can be elaborated.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Law whether foreigners are required to obtain SLA approval for buying properties zoned as “Commercial” but which properties have been approved for mixed commercial and residential development.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for National Development for the 28% of HDB's BTO projects still under construction due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (a) how many residents are affected by these delays; (b) what interim housing options has the HDB offered to the affected residents; and (c) how does the reimbursement sum offered to the affected residents help to cover the inconveniences caused by the delay.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether there have been studies conducted by the Government on the direct correlation between employee wellness and productivity in the workplace; and (b) whether there are any initiatives in place to measure the impact on employee wellness resulting from workplace transformation.
Mr Derrick Goh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance given the surplus for FY2022/2023’s revenues net of expenditures, whether the Government can share its plans on how it will use these surplus funds to support SMEs and workers to help them to transform and grow.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether there was any investigation by the CPIB into the alleged transactions over no-public tender leases of Maldivian islands in 2014 and 2015 by Singaporean hotelier Ong Beng Seng; (b) if not, whether the CPIB was aware of the allegations; and (c) If no investigation was pursued, why.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Ministry will release a breakdown of the process by which the award of the contract to run the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix for another seven years was made; and (b) whether the Ministry is currently reviewing this contract in light of new information that has emerged relating to possible conflicts of interest in the decision-making process.
Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the CPIB investigation into the owner of the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix will have any impact on the renewed seven-year contract extension for Singapore to host the Singapore Grand Prix till 2028.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry can provide an update on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail project.

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Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the impact of undesirable marketing tactics for financial products, such as ambush style marketing, on less financially literate consumers; and (b) what recourse do consumers have after buying products as a result of such tactics.
Mr Derrick Goh: To ask the Minister for Manpower in view of the Ministry’s lower-than-expected expenditure for FY2022/2023 by about $3.3 billion (a) what are the reasons for the variance between the expected and actual grants disbursed to businesses and individuals; (b) how have application processes to grants been improved and simplified to enhance their accessibility; and (c) what are the plans to use these unexpected funds available to further support the upskilling of individuals as well as to boost productivity of and local employment by our SMEs.
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether the Ministry will allow households who are unable to fully utilise their GST U-Save vouchers, to withdraw the balance for supporting their other living expenses.
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 Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether the Ministry can provide an update on the National Arts Council (NAC) review of buskers’ feedback on allowing buskers to share busking slots on the busking e-service portal; and (b) when will the findings of NAC’s review be ready.
Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider introducing the Healthier SG initiative upstream by collaborating with the Ministry of Education to introduce and adopt Healthier SG in schools and Institutes of Higher Learning.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what are the drivers of our Corporate Income Tax (CIT) revenue of $23.1 billion in the financial year 2022/2023, which is a 26.8% increase from the preceding financial year; (b) how does the $23.1 billion figure compare to the CIT revenue in the past 10 years; and (c) whether the trajectory of the CIT revenue suggests that we can defer or cancel the scheduled increase in GST on 1 January 2024.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Education whether the Ministry can work with the public bus operators via LTA to provide point-to-point bus services to primary school students during school peak periods.
Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether HDB will relax the income criteria for HDB rental flats in light of the per capita income benchmark for Comcare assistance being raised; (b) how many appeals for HDB rental flats have been rejected in the past three years due to household income higher than $1,500 per month; and (c) how many HDB rental flats are rented out under family or joint singles schemes as of June 2023 despite not meeting the household income criteria.

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Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider mandatory labelling of personal mobility aids to differentiate them from other types of personal mobility devices.

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2 AUGUST 2023 9 Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in view of the SGX announcement dated 14 July 2023 by Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) on the notice of arrest given to its Managing Director by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), whether there is any impact on Temasek Holdings’ investment in the real estate assets of Singapore Press Holdings in March 2022 through a consortium with HPL.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider expanding the Primary One intake for Kong Hwa School since there are more young children staying in HDB's new BTO flats that are located in the vicinity of the school.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there are dedicated programmes conducted by Active Aging Centres that cater to elderly men so as to increase their participation rates in the activities conducted; and (b) whether the Ministry has worked with operators of Senior Activity Centres to better understand why elderly men are less likely to frequent these centres.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Government will consider reviewing its policy to extend assistance to residents who are ineligible for flats under the HDB public rental scheme or are unable to afford the market public rentals.
Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs since SCDF commenced its trial to install one fire extinguisher at the lift lobby of every two HDB blocks in September 2022 (a) in how many fire incidents have residents since used these fire extinguishers; and (b) whether SCDF is studying how to further improve community fire safety and response.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Manpower how many companies in the past five years have been investigated for splitting Local Qualifying Salary payments over two related companies to enjoy more foreign worker quotas.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment given that the Tray Return Programme has been in force for 12 months with little incidences of infractions, whether the Ministry will consider reducing and consolidating the tray return counters in food establishments.
Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the past month, how many trees have fallen due to heavy rainfall; and (b) what measures has NParks implemented to minimise the risk of trees falling due to heavy rainfall during this period, especially in areas of high human and vehicular traffic such as parks and roads.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) from 2021 to date, how many companies have been reported for employing “phantom workers”; (b) what are the top three sectors in which such companies function; and (c) what recourse is available for unsuspecting workers when their salaries and CPF contributions trigger incorrect income tax requirements.

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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.
Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Education in view of SPH Media Group’s Report published on 16 June 2023 (a) whether the Ministry has conducted a review to ascertain whether schools have suffered any loss stemming from the arrangements to supply schools with SPH publications; and (b) if so, what is the nature and quantum of such losses.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Transport in view of the recent acquisition of Trans-Cab by Grab, whether the Ministry and LTA will be monitoring the fair assignment of ride hail cases across all drivers on ride hail platforms.
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.
Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to the termination of the main contractor for HDB's Punggol Point Cove BTO project in Punggol (a) whether there are any implications to other HDB projects that the current contractor is engaged in; (b) what are the main issues affecting the contractor resulting in repeated failure to meet construction targets; and (c) whether there are alternative contractors available to continue the project.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry has data on the total number of motorised bicycles and tricycles that are sold in the past three years.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how does the Singapore Food Agency currently support hawker stall operators who face false food hygiene complaints that adversely impact their reputations; and (b) whether there are existing mechanisms through which hawker stall operators can report cases of malicious intent such as the deliberate planting of foreign objects in food.
* 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.

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Prime Minister: MINISTERIAL STATEMENT CPIB investigation involving Minister S Iswaran and the Resignations of former Speaker and a PAP MP.

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109 2 AUGUST 2023 11 AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS INTRODUCTION OF GOVERNMENT BILLS 1.

Minister for Home Affairs: Immigration (Amendment) Bill.

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Minister for Social and Family Development: Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill.

(President's recommendation signified).

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ORDERS OF THE DAY Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No.

2) Bill [Bill No.

22/2023] – (Minister for Law) – Second Reading.

Oaths, Declarations and Notarisations (Remote Methods) Bill [Bill No.

21/2023] – (Minister for Law) – Second Reading.


NOTICE OF MOTION Mr Leong Mun Wai (Non-Constituency Member): Ms Hazel Poa (Non-Constituency Member): IMPARTIAL SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT: That this House reaffirms its commitment to the need for the Speaker of Parliament to be independent and impartial and for Parliament to be a fair arena for all.
2 QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Prime Minister (a) under what circumstances are persons on bail allowed to leave Singapore; (b) since 2022, how many persons on bail have been granted permission to leave Singapore; (c) beyond a high bail amount, what steps are taken to reduce the flight risks of such persons; and (d) whether a person’s income and net worth are considered when bail amounts are set.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Prime Minister whether MAS has assessed the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on trading platforms in financial markets for (i) the risk of "herding" where individual actors make similar decisions due to similar trained AI models or similar data aggregates and (ii) the potential for conflict of interest when a trading AI platform system is simultaneously considering both the platform's interest and the customers' interests, especially if without disclosure to customers.

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Mr Don Wee: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in view of the findings and recommendations in the Report of the Auditor-General for FY 2022/2023 arising from the Auditor- General’s thematic audit on key COVID-19 grant schemes, whether these findings will be addressed and measures be worded into operational procedures so that the Government's response time continues to be swift when the next crisis occurs.
Mr Derrick Goh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in view of the Court decision in Herbalife International Singapore Pte Ltd vs Comptroller of Goods and Services Tax in March 2023 (a) how many similar cases concerning revenue collection leakages have been detected in the past; (b) what is the total amount involved in these leakages; (c) how were these cases dealt with; and (d) whether there are any updates to IRAS’ study of the judgement and potential plans to address this gap in the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the increasing number of people who refuse conveyance to hospitals via SCDF ambulances in recent years (a) whether the SCDF will consider (i) doing a study to understand the different reasons given for refusal (ii) determine the proportion of such people whose lives or health may be compromised by their refusal; and (b) what can be done to reduce the number of such incidents.
Mr Derrick Goh: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs given the recent demand for concert tickets by high-profile artistes, (a) what measures were taken to pre-empt and mitigate a rise of concert ticket scams on e-commerce platforms; (b) whether the measures have been assessed to be effective; and (c) what actions have the Ministry taken to (i) reduce such incidents and (ii) place further accountability on these platforms to do more and be proactive in reducing scams.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in each year from 2016 to date (a) how many Pre-Marriage Long-Term Visit Pass Assessment (PMLA) applications are received; (b) of these how many are issued with a Letter of Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) eligibility; and (c) of those who are successful and applied for an LTVP, how many are eventually issued an LTVP or LTVP+.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in each year from 2016 to date (a) how many Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) applications are received; (b) of these, how many applicants have previously applied for a Pre-marriage Long-Term Visit Pass Assessment (PMLA).
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Law (a) what is the total land area and built-in area respectively occupied by black-and-white bungalows in Singapore; (b) what is the occupancy rate of black-and-white bungalows as of 30 June 2023; and (c) what is the median vacancy period.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Law (a) whether the Ministry tracks the number of cases in the past five years involving disputes between neighbours over secondhand smoke where a party has sought to enforce a Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals order by (i) applying for a special direction (ii) applying for a person to enter into a compliance bond or (iii) applying for an exclusion order; and (b) for each of these applications, how many and what percentage of applicants have been successful in each year.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Law (a) what is the justification for allowing creditors to be exempt from attending Debt Repayment Scheme hearings; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider making such attendance by creditors mandatory in the future.

No.

109 2 AUGUST 2023 13 12.

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Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what was the total cost of organising the 2022 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix; and (b) of the total cost, what was the total cost that was ultimately co-funded by the Government and what were the types of costs that were co-funded.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of recent reports of exploratory studies at a site near the Sembawang hot spring, whether an update can be provided on the Government's assessment of geothermal energy's potential future contribution to low-carbon energy and/or energy conservation in Singapore.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the wave of corporate bankruptcies around the world in volumes not seen since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis is similarly hitting Singapore; and (b) how are Singapore firms coping with inflation and higher borrowing costs.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how has trade relations grown between Singapore and Vietnam over the last five years; and (b) how can Singapore companies participate in the rapid growth of the Vietnamese economy.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how has Singapore expanded its sources of renewable energy over the last 10 years; and (b) what are the future plans to increase import of renewable energy especially from the Southeast Asia region.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry given the termination of the Black Sea grain deal between Russia and Ukraine (a) what is the expected impact on Singapore’s economy; and (b) what are the measures in place to ensure that the food prices in Singapore are kept in check.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether remedial action has commenced to reclaim any money disbursed to merchants or citizens incorrectly through the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers scheme; (b) if so, what types of actions have been taken; and (c) how much has been clawed back so far.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider categorising all vehicles that transport passengers or goods for monetary gain as commercial vehicles under COE Category C. Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the revenues received for carrier bag charges are received by the Ministry or are retained by the retailer; and (b whether profits from such charges net of bag costs have been designated for environmental transition programmes.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider undertaking a study (i) to understand how much particulate pollution has and will be generated from vehicle tyres and brakes, especially having regard to the growing number of electric vehicles which are heavier and likely to create more wear on tyres and (ii) to identify steps to be taken to reduce the level of pollution.

No.

109 2 AUGUST 2023 14 22.

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Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Education (a) over the past five years, how many secondary school students have been asked to leave school after having been retained too many times; and (b) whether such students can be offered pathways in Institutes of Technical Education even though they may not have sat for GCE “N” or “O” Level exams with a view to retaining them within the education system.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what is the estimated number of households that are eligible for ComCare Short-to-Medium Term Assistance under (i) the previous per capita household income benchmark in 2014, when it was last revised (ii) the previous per capita household income benchmark in 2023 and (iii) the new per capita household income benchmark.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister- in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) whether MUIS will consider revising section 88A of the Administration of Muslim Law Act 1966 to include overseas halal certificates to be officially recognised by MUIS; and (b) whether MUIS will provide an avenue for the public to (i) check and verify with MUIS recognition of halal certification marks from overseas halal certification bodies and (ii) report any breaches or misuse of such marks or certificates.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister- in-charge of Muslim Affairs with regard to the prosecution of a licensed food importer for false halal certificates from an overseas halal certification body and false halal labelling (a) whether the importer’s food importing licence has been revoked; (b) whether the importer concerned and the officers prosecuted will be barred from applying for MUIS halal certification in the future; and (c) what are the steps and measures taken to ensure that such breaches are expeditiously detected and reported.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Health what measures will be taken to address the rising suicide rates especially among the young people.

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Health in light of the recent increase in suicide rates in Singapore particularly among young people aged 20 to 29 (a) what measures are being taken to address this alarming trend; and (b) what strategies are being implemented to improve mental health support for this age group.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what measures is the Ministry taking to address the public health impact of loneliness among seniors and mitigate the associated negative health outcomes; (b) how does the Ministry plan to tackle the stigma surrounding loneliness and create a supportive environment that encourages seniors to seek assistance and support for their feelings of loneliness; and (c) how will the Ministry ensure that existing initiatives effectively reach and support older adults, including those who live with family but suffer from loneliness.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for National Development whether URA can work with SLA to look into the shortage of heavy vehicle parking lots by utilising vacant premises like schools.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what are the objective criteria and standards that NParks uses in deciding whether an Environmental Impact Assessment is necessary; and (b) when have these objective criteria and standards been last reviewed and updated.
Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for National Development whether there are plans to provide concessions for HDB flat owners with EV cars to park at the closest HDB carpark to their flats with EV charging stations at season parking rates.

No.

109 2 AUGUST 2023 15 32.

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Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the number of purpose-built dormitories and the number of beds that have been (i) completed annually in each year over the last 10 years and (ii) expected to be completed in each year over the next five years.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the (i) average price and (ii) average annual increase in dollar and percentage terms per dormitory bed for each year over the last five years; (b) what is the average lease length for dormitory bed rental contracts; and (c) what measures are being introduced to mitigate against excessive rent increases for dormitory beds.
Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will reintroduce a heightened safety period with extended safety measures given the continued occurrence of workplace fatalities.

Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower how many companies have entered the Business under Surveillance (BUS) programme since 1 January 2023 and how many have exited from the programme since.
Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the number of continuous work hours per day and the total number of work hours per week undertaken by construction site supervisors overseeing work health safety issues are being monitored; and (b) whether there are regulations on the maximum number of continuous work hours per day and total number of work hours per week allowable for construction site supervisors.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what proportion of work permit holders maintain bank accounts and are paid their salaries electronically; and (b) how the Ministry can make consistent electronic payments a regular practice for such workers.