Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698079609902.pdf (Singapore)
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE SECOND SESSION ORDER PAPER TUESDAY, 2 OCTOBER 2018 No.

84 12.30 pm 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.


Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what approach will the Ministry take in respect of seniors who are eligible for but refuse to participate in the Lease Buyback Scheme that would have otherwise supplemented their payouts under CPF Life but in turn seek financial assistance from the Ministry's help schemes which may be available to them on the basis of their low household income.

*2.
*2.

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many Day Activity Centres (DACs) are there currently; (b) how many young adults aged 18-21 years old are enrolled in the DACs currently; and (c) how many special needs trained educators or caregivers are there in the DACs.

*3.
*3.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs in light of the two reports presented by the UN Fact-Finding Mission in September 2018, how can ASEAN further help to resolve the crisis related to the Rakhine State, which has caused a catastrophic human tragedy in and around Myanmar.

*4.
*4.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs in light of the two reports presented by the UN Fact-Finding Mission in September 2018, whether Myanmar can be compelled to abide by Articles 14, 15, 22, 28, 31(2), read with Article 2, of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration as well as Article 2, paragraph 2(i), Article 20, paragraph 4 and Article 7, paragraph (2)(e) of the ASEAN Charter.

*5.
*5.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether Singapore will (i) send another consignment of humanitarian supplies to Bangladesh to provide aid for Rohingya refugees this year and (ii) consider increasing Singapore's financial contribution to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) next year.

No.

84 2 OCTOBER 2018 2 *6.


Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry will issue monthly guidelines for buyers and sellers of HDB flats under the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) on the pegging of the fair market value of these flats at a certain percentage of the last transacted price in the open category; and (b) in the past three years, what is the average discounted price of EIP flats transacted compared to prices in the open market.

*7.
*7.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for National Development whether HDB will consider introducing a policy akin to the Lease Buyback Scheme where HDB buys back flats belonging to non-Chinese flat owners when these owners are unable to sell their flats due to the Ethnic Integration Policy.

*8.
*8.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry maintains or plans to set up a watchlist for companies that engage in discriminatory employment practices not related to nationality but to other attributes such as gender and ethnicity.

*9.
*9.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in respect of recent studies which show that children having drug-abusing parents are more likely to take drugs later in life (a) what is the current number of generational-correlated drug offenders in Singapore; and (b) whether there are measures put in place to prevent the generational cycles of addiction.

*10.
*10.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many drug offenders have children at home; (b) what rehabilitation support is provided to youths and children of parents who are found guilty of drug-related crimes; (c) what outreach activities are in place to encourage youths to stay drug-free; and (d) what is being done to increase vigilance and awareness of drug-related activities in the community.

*11.
*11.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider requiring manufacturers of health supplements to provide test results from accredited laboratories to back up their advertising claims in order to prevent inaccurate representation.

No.

84 2 OCTOBER 2018 3 *12.


Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what are the health effects of prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke; (b) how many diagnoses of conditions related to secondhand smoke exposure are there each year in the past five years; (c) how many people in Singapore die because of secondhand smoke each year in the past five years; and (d) whether the Ministry will start collecting such data if it is currently not available.

*13.
*13.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) in the past 10 years, whether CAAS has detected any case of duty airline pilots consuming alcohol or drugs before boarding aeroplanes in Singapore; (b) whether there are adequate laws that deter such behavior; and (c) whether all airlines operating out of Singapore airports have a sufficiently robust standard operating procedure to conduct random test to detect such errant pilots.

*14.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Transport in light of the recent British Airways data breach (a) whether local airlines are knowledgeable about such data breaches; (b) whether there have been any hacking attempts in the past three years; (c) how are local airlines working with other international airlines and relevant authorities to safeguard the information of local and international passengers; and (d) whether existing air passenger protection legislation can be beefed up to protect passengers' rights in the event of a cybersecurity breach.
*15.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Government is satisfied with the current noise emission levels of buses especially when travelling through HDB and other residential estates; and (b) whether any further measures will be taken to encourage more considerate driving and to reduce noise emissions from buses.

*16.
*16.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Transport whether incidences of molestation on MRT premises are treated as high priority for staff intervention when they are reported and what happened with the 12 September 2018 incident at Serangoon MRT station.

*17.
*17.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Government will review the funding models for education and training programmes for Singaporeans; (b) whether the current funding model is optimal and effective (i) by classifying Continuing Education and Training (CET) and Pre-employment Training (PET) separately and (ii) in supporting the Skills Future and life-long learning efforts; and (c) whether there are different values attached to CET and PET programmes.

No.
No.

84 2 OCTOBER 2018 4 *18.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Law with regard to the expanded means test applicable to mentally disabled persons who are unable to work, whether the Ministry can treat legal aid applications by family members of the mentally disabled persons for appointment as deputies to manage their personal affairs as applications being made for and on behalf of the mentally disabled (instead of the individual family members) thereby entitling the legal aid applications to be assessed on the expanded means test.
*19.

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: To ask the Minister for National Development in the last five years, how many cases have been brought to HDB's attention of elderly parents who have been rendered homeless after their adult children chased them out of their flats even though the flats owned by these adult children have been bought initially with the proceeds from the elderly parents' sale of their own flats.

*20.
*20.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry can expedite and extend the upgrading works in the common areas of private estates under the Estate Upgrading Programme especially in estates above 30 years old, with priority given to older estates.

*21.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will start a licensing system for the ownership of cats to prevent cat abandonment.

*22.
*22.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Prime Minister what measures are being taken to ensure that (i) the minimisation of the risk that SGX-listed companies experience a sudden deterioration in financial viability and (ii) SGXRegCo is sufficiently resourced to discharge its obligations.

*23.
*23.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) in the past three years, how many dependants of HDB flat owners have benefitted from the Home Protection Scheme (HPS) upon the death of the owner; (b) what has been the number of unsuccessful claims and what are the reasons; and (c) how many dependants have made appeals for HPS claims.

*24.
*24.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the expected timeframe for LTA to complete its review with stakeholders on safety requirements for personal mobility devices (PMDs) to mitigate fire risks; (b) whether the Ministry will impose a ban on PMDs and components that come from non-reputable sources in the interim; and (c) whether maintenance standards for PMDs can be made part of the Safe Riding Programme.

No.

84 2 OCTOBER 2018 5 *25.


Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the number of remaining oBike bicycles left abandoned in public spaces particularly in the private estates; (b) how does the LTA plan to remove these bicycles; and (c) when will these bicycles be completely removed from our public spaces.

*26.
*26.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) to date, how many 2-room flexi flats or studio flats of shorter lease have been sold in the resale market and what are the reasons for the sale; and (b) whether buyers who bought such 2-room flats can buy an additional lease to top up the balance of the lease.

*27.
*27.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development in the past three years (a) how many singles have applied successfully to secure HDB's BTO flats; and (b) what has been the ratio of successful applications between singles, senior citizens and low-income families for 2-rooms flexi flats since they were launched.

*28.
*28.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs for the past five years including the first eight months of this year (a) how many cases of arson relating to illegal money lending have been reported; (b) how many cases have been solved involving the arrest of the (i) culprits who set the fire and (ii) master mind behind the arson; and (c) whether the Ministry can consider increasing the punishment for crimes involving arson and illegal money lending.

*29.
Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth in respect of the Auditor-General's Report for FY2017/18 (a) how much additional costs were hidden in the award of contracts to the overseas tenderer for the Mid-Autumn Festival 2016 and Chinese New Year 2017; (b) whether there were such similar hidden costs paid to this overseas tenderer from 2014 to 2016 and how much was it in total; (c) what independent investigations had been carried out to address the tell-tale signs that the reimbursement claims made by the People's Association (PA) officer for overseas purchases for use in Chingay Parade 2017 might not be authentic; and (d) whether any of the statutory auditors of PA in previous audits flagged out such lapses since 2013.
*30.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what is the restraint policy for persons in custody, particularly those who may be vulnerable such as the elderly.

No.

84 2 OCTOBER 2018 6 *31.


Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry intends to maintain the current restriction of claiming compensation for damage to any building arising from the construction or operation of the railway or road tunnel to just structural damage and loss due to displacement resulting from structural damage and, if so, why.

*32.
*32.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for National Development how is the land cost amount which is included in the sale price of a new HDB flat tabulated.

*33.
*33.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) to date, what is the number of high shelters built on public roads and which span across roads with two lanes each way; (b) what is the average construction cost of such high shelters; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider building more of such high shelters across the island.

*34.
*34.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for National Development whether he can clarify on the timetable for implementing the Home Improvement Programme extension for the HDB estates that are now eligible.

*35.
*35.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to HDB flats in Boon Lay constituency which are more than 30 years of age and have completed the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), what more can the Ministry do to mitigate rain splashing into the common corridors, lift landings, corridors and front doors and windows of these flats.

*36.
*36.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the level of sound-proofing in our HDB BTO flats has declined in recent years with the use of non-concrete walls and with the more recent flat or building designs; and (b) whether the Ministry has any plans to improve the level of sound-proofing in new BTO 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 use the postponement forms available at the Chamber entrances or email 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.

No.

84 2 OCTOBER 2018 7 AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS Introduction of Government Bill 1.
Minister for Manpower: Employment (Amendment) Bill.

1.

2.

3.

4.

1.

2.

3.

ORDERS OF THE DAY Supreme Court of Judicature (Amendment No.

2) Bill [Bill No.

33/2018] – (Minister for Law) – Second Reading.

Income Tax (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

37/2018] – (Second Minister for Finance) – Second Reading.

Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

38/2018] – (Minister for National Development) – Second Reading.
Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

39/2018] – (Minister for the Environment and Water Resources) – Second Reading.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWERS Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider launching a pilot project for time banking in a healthcare institution whereby hours put into volunteer work can be converted into credits and deposited in a healthcare database for later use at the healthcare institution where the volunteer work took place.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether the Ministry sees a need to regulate in Singapore the collation and use of behavioural data and patterns from online platforms by introducing "do not track" legislation and, if not, why not.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for National Development for HDB dwellers who are under welfare assistance and who may have received some salary increase from their employment, whether a transition period can be given to them to help them make adjustments before they are asked to pay a higher rent based on their new salary.

No.

84 2 OCTOBER 2018 8 4.

5.


Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Education in the past three years, how many Singaporeans have been awarded scholarships by foreign universities.
Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether there has been a review of the effectiveness of mental health education in schools and, if so, what is the outcome of the review; and (b) whether there are any plans to expand mental health education and support for young adults in institutions of higher learning in addition to existing support structures in schools and non-profit organisations.

6.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) in the last three years, how many work permit holders are hired under the Direct R1 Pathway or Market-Based Skills Recognition Framework; (b) how does the Ministry verify that workers hired under the two schemes are paid at least the minimum salary of $1,600; (c) how many employers have been charged for false salary declarations relating to these schemes; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider requiring work permit holders on these schemes to be paid electronically to verify that they are paid the minimum salary as is done for S-Pass holders.
7.

8.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry tracks the financial situations of Comcare's short- to medium-term assistance recipients after they gain employment; and (b) how many recipients of such Comcare assistance reapply for assistance within a year after the end of their assistance.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the average waiting time required for the registration of a Lasting Power of Attorney by the Office of the Public Guardian from submission until notification of successful registration; (b) what are the reasons for the waiting time required; and (c) whether the Ministry has any plans to reduce the waiting time.

No.
84 2 OCTOBER 2018 9 PAPERS PRESENTED 2018 S. 391 S. 392 S. 393 Date Presented Science Centre Singapore Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Financial Year ended 31 March 2018 Government Technology Agency of Singapore Report 2017/2018 Annual Intellectual Property Office of Singapore Report 2017/2018 Annual ..... 28 September 2018 ..... 28 September 2018 ..... 28 September 2018 S. S. S. S. S. S. 394 395 396 397 International Enterprise Singapore Board Annual Report 2017/2018 ..... 28 September 2018 International Enterprise Singapore Board Audited Financial Statements for Financial Year 2017 ..... 28 September 2018 National Arts Council Annual Report 2017/2018 ..... 28 September 2018 Corporate and Accounting Regulatory Authority Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements 2017/2018 ..... 28 September 2018 398 ComCare Annual Report FY2017 ..... 28 September 2018 399 Workforce Annual Report 2017/2018 Singapore Agency ..... 28 September 2018 S.L.
524 Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Driving Licences) (Amendment) Rules 2018 ..... 1 October 2018