Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698079619126.pdf (Singapore)
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE SECOND SESSION ORDER PAPER MONDAY, 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 No.

109 12.30 pm 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER *1.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for Manpower in the last five years, what are the statistics for persons with disabilities with regard to (i) their general employment rates (ii) their employment rates by 10-year age groups and (iii) the main sectors employing them.

*2.
*2.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether he can provide an update on the progress of programmes to help companies employ and train persons with disabilities (PwDs), including the current number of companies and PwDs involved; and (b) whether there are long-term studies to monitor the effectiveness of these programmes in integrating PwDs.

*3.
*3.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what are the factors contributing to this year's midges outbreak at Pandan Reservoir; (b) how different is this outbreak compared to previous ones; (c) how experience from previous outbreaks has helped PUB to stay ahead of the curve in fighting the midges issue; and (d) why PUB has not been able to find a permanent solution to the occasional midges outbreaks.

*4.
*4.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what are the interventions used by PUB to counter the current midges outbreak at Pandan Reservoir; (b) how effective have these measures been in controlling the midges population and mitigating its impact to the surrounding living environment; and (c) what additional new measures are being contemplated to help the community affected by the outbreak.

*5.
*5.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether there are other water bodies in Singapore experiencing a midges outbreak like that at Pandan Reservoir; and (b) whether PUB is able to predict, prevent and overcome such outbreaks.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 2 *6.


Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources regarding the persistent problems created by swarms of midges from Pandan Reservoir (a) what measures are being implemented to reduce the population of these chironomids; and (b) with rising temperatures, whether the Ministry will be considering long-term measures to prevent similar occurrences at this and possibly other reservoirs in the future.

*7.
*7.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what expertise and resources does PUB have to understand, monitor and prevent midges outbreaks at reservoirs; (b) what are the key indicators that PUB uses to predict and pre-empt an outbreak; and (c) how can residents living near reservoirs be better protected from the outbreaks.

*8.
*8.

Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether he can provide an update on the number of dengue cases observed nationally and in Woodgrove constituency in the 2nd quarter of this year; (b) what are the reasons for the high number of cases; and (c) what are the latest efforts to contain the spread of dengue.

*9.
*9.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry will consider expediting the trial of Project Wolbachia in the top dengue clusters given the high success rate of this project in eradicating the Aedes mosquito populations.

*10.
*10.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the NEA can consider allocating more resources to step up efforts in eradicating mosquito breeding habitats through surveillance and inspections.

*11.
*11.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources what are the reasons for the continuing increase in the number of dengue cases this year despite the increase in mitigation measures such as fogging and inspections that have been taken in reported dengue clusters.

*12.
*12.

Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether the measures taken to reduce the instances of dengue fever have been yielding results; and (b) whether there are other reasons for the high number of cases so far.

*13.
*13.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in light of the current economic conditions and our focus on hiring, developing and strengthening the Singaporean Core, whether there is a need for the Tech@SG programme which facilitates technology firms in the hiring of foreign talent.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 3 *14.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to the new PSLE scoring system (a) what is the rationale of assigning the lowest three levels of the eight Achievement Levels in Mother Tongue Language (MTL) for Special Educational Needs (SEN) students who are granted exemptions; (b) what is the impact on PSLE results, course eligibility and school choices between the current and new scoring system for MTL exemption; (c) whether the Ministry will consider delaying the implementation of the MTL exemption scoring changes for the current cohorts who will be affected; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider an alternate PSLE aggregate scoring system for SEN students who are granted MTL exemption.
*15.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry will address the concerns of families and educators that Special Educational Needs (SEN) students deemed not suitable to take Mother Tongue Language (MTL) as an examinable subject, are being further disadvantaged at an early age; and (b) whether more inclusive mainstream secondary schools can be developed by modifying the Secondary 1 Direct School Admission system to allow more admissions of SEN students affected by the MTL exemption scoring changes.
*16.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether students granted exemption from studying mother tongue languages on medical grounds may be exempted from the new PSLE scoring system taking effect from 2021; (b) what is the number of currently enrolled primary school students who have been exempted from studying mother tongue languages and will now be subject to the new PSLE scoring system from 2021; and (c) what is the rationale for applying the new PSLE scoring system to these students who received exemptions from studying mother tongue languages under the prevailing system.
*17.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to the application of the PSLE scoring system to those students exempt from studying Mother Tongue Languages (a) what are the guiding principles to determine which Achievement Level (AL) the student will score; and (b) whether there is an assessment of how the new scoring system will impact students with learning disabilities or special needs.

*18.
*18.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the rationale and principle behind according a student an exemption from Mother Tongue Language (MTL) in national exams; and (b) whether this principle aligns with the new PSLE scoring system for MTL exemption.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 4 *19.


Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in view of the upcoming increase in subsidies for pre-school education, how will the Ministry guard against undue fee increases from operators that will negate the effectiveness of such subsidy support to parents.

*20.
*20.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what measures will the Ministry put in place to prevent pre-school operators from taking advantage of the recently announced higher subsidies to parents by raising their pre-school fees.

*21.
Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Government Electronic Business (GeBIZ) policy can be reviewed so that nascent small and medium-sized enterprises can qualify as Expenditure and Policies Procurement Unit Suppliers, or Building and Construction Authority Suppliers, and thus have more opportunities for growth; and (b) whether alternative modes of assessing a company's financial strength can be adopted in place of the current practice where historical financial statements are used.
*22.

Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether guidelines will be given to the procurement departments in the Ministries and statutory boards to allow for a contract variation of their existing outsourced services contracts to factor in the possible cost increase that will be faced by service providers due to changes in CPF contribution rates or any policy-related changes that affect the wage cost.

*23.
*23.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development in the past 10 years, (a) what is the total number of appeals for HDB rental flats which cite reasons of disagreement with children, disowned by children or got chased out/abused by children; (b) what is the number of such cases wherein the children live in (i) HDB flats or (ii) private property; (c) how many of such appeals have been successful; and (d) what are the conditions for such approval.

*24.
*24.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Government will consider lowering the minimum age requirement for the HDB Lease Buyback Scheme for flat owners who need long-term medical treatment for chronic illnesses.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 5 *25.


Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the current number of households with persons with disabilities (PwDs); and (b) what measures are available to assist them financially and with respite care.

*26.
*26.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider making it mandatory for all bicycles and PMDs to be fitted with laser lights which project a symbol of a bicycle or PMD on to the path five metres ahead, to warn pedestrians that there is a cyclist or PMD approaching them.

*27.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Transport whether LTA will review the punishment for selling non-compliant PMDs.

*28.
*28.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Transport whether LTA will review the punishment against riders of PMDs who cause injuries to pedestrians.

*29.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether there is an increasing number of cases of monies wrongly credited by a person to a bank account of an individual; and (b) whether our banks are required to freeze such monies and return them to the rightful sender and, if not, why.

*30.
*30.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what will be the impact of the withdrawal of market access rights to the European Union on our financial institutions; (b) what is the Government doing to mitigate the impact; and (c) how rigorous is our regulation of crediting ratings agencies as compared with that of the EU.

*31.
*31.

Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what are the implications of the European Commission's decision to withdraw some market access rights of Singapore; (b) how may this affect investor confidence; and (c) what may be the interpretations of this move against the broader developments around the world.

*32.
*32.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what proportion of Government documents that are more than 25 years old and hence are part of the public archives are contained in the publicly accessible NAS Archives Online; and (b) what proportion of Government documents declassified each year for the past five years have become part of the publicly accessible NAS Archives Online.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 6 *33.


Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Education (a) in the past 10 years, how many former school sites have been returned to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA); (b) how many former school sites are still left vacant as of 2019: (c) whether the Ministry has plans to re-develop these sites; and (d) as of 2019, how many former school sites have been renovated for a different use.

*34.
*34.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Education for each of the six local autonomous universities (AUs) (a) what is the size of their endowment fund in each of the past five years; (b) what is the current amount of funds and reserves accumulated; (c) what are the top five uses of these funds; and (d) how much of these funds have been used in each of the past five years.

*35.
*35.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) whether there are provisions for Singapore Government vessels, aircraft and resources to assist Malaysian authorities in search and rescue operations in Malaysian territorial waters near Singapore; (b) if so, to what extent; and (c) whether such provisions will be reviewed in light of the recent case of two Singaporean kayakers lost at sea near Mersing, Malaysia.

*36.
*36.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Health regarding the recent spike in typhoid fever cases (a) whether this was a local outbreak or from imported cases; (b) whether the patients were returning Singaporeans, residents, foreign workers or visitors; and (c) what measures are being planned to address the situation other than heightened surveillance.

*37.
Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the current number of non-medical care related admissions into public hospitals; (b) what are the common conditions for which patients are admitted for non- medical care; and (c) whether a review will be carried out to ensure parity between outpatient and inpatient MediSave/Approved Integrated Shield claimable limits for these conditions so that hospital beds can be more efficiently utilised for cases requiring urgent medical attention.
*38.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether its the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) has now completed investigation of the chairman and management of Swiber Holdings and its related companies; (b) if so, whether CAD will proceed with any charges for any offences; and (c) if not, when is the investigation expected to complete.

*39.
*39.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the increased frequency of vegetation fires in 2019, what intermediate and long- term measures are being taken to ensure the early detection and efficient deployment of resources to handle such fires.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 7 *40.
Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what programmes are in place to support companies in making work and the work environment age-friendly to enable companies to leverage on the competencies of their older employees and for older workers to do their best work; (b) what is the progress of companies establishing and adopting more age-friendly work practices; and (c) what is the progress of companies retraining their older workers to enable them to take on new opportunities within the organisation.
*41.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) for each year in the past five years, among foreign domestic workers (FDWs) found to have borrowed money from licensed moneylenders, what is the median number of months between their first arrival in Singapore and the first loan they take; and (b) whether the Ministry can provide an update on whether a study has been conducted on this issue and, if so, what are the top three reasons for the sharp rise in the number of FDWs borrowing from licensed moneylenders.
*42.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development what is the average length of time for the selection process involving all applicants who have been given a ballot number following the balloting exercise for HDB BTO flats and what steps may be taken to accelerate the process.

*43.
*43.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the surge of Chinese developers in the residential property market in the past five years has caused problems in property speculation, over-pricing of land sales and poor construction quality.

*44.
*44.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development for the past three years (a) how many persons with disabilities have benefitted from the Assistive Technology Fund (ATF); (b) what is the total amount disbursed under ATF; (c) whether there have been appeals for further disbursements beyond the $40,000 cap; and (d) if so, what is the total number of appeals.

*45.
*45.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in view of the rise in youth suicides, whether the Ministry will consider shifting the current strategy or introducing additional measures to address this trend.

*46.
*46.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what measures will be put in place to ensure that electricity retailers take all necessary safeguards to protect consumers' identities; and (b) what recourse do consumers have when they find that their identities have been used to sign up for electricity accounts or their identity details have been compromised.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 8 *47.


Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the new regulatory licensing of the point-to-point transport sector, whether the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore assesses whether the current taxi and ride hail operators are of the right market size and that there exists a robust competition between operators within the ride hail business and street hail business as well as between the two businesses.

*48.
*48.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the current adoption rate of PayNow and PayNow Corporate; (b) whether the adoption rate has met the Government's target; (c) what is the current adoption rate of QR code payment in Singapore, especially at hawker centres; and (d) what is the plan to further push the adoption rate of cashless transactions in Singapore.

*49.
*49.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to giving our ITE and polytechnic students more regional exposure under the Global Education Programme (a) whether there will be more funding resources to support overseas internship opportunities; (b) whether there is concrete and strategic support for regional interaction and exchanges in the cultural, arts and sports fields; and (c) how effective is the opportunity fund in supporting students from low-income families.

*50.
*50.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the public hospitals' admission process can be streamlined to enable the frontline and medical staff to ascertain the patient's financial status at the time of treatment, admission or prior to bill issuance; and (b) what is the current process for patients to be referred to the hospital's social service officers for financial assistance.

*51.
*51.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Manpower what steps are being taken to increase the variety of part-time work options for mothers who are wanting to return to work after having children.

*52.
*52.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many cases of illegal rental in illegally partitioned apartment units that exceed the occupancy cap have been caught in the past three years; and (b) what are the penalties for parties involved in the abetment of such offences.

*53.
*53.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many first-timer applicants for HDB flats have not been successful in getting a flat at each of the last four quarterly sales exercises; and (b) what are the components behind the algorithm that assigns the computerised ballot number for flat buyers.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 9 *54.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the strategic plan for the development of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises in Singapore; (b) what support do local social enterprises (SEs) have for expanding overseas; (c) whether there are plans to work across Ministries and leverage on Enterprise Singapore's resources to create a special scale-up programme for SEs; and (d) whether SEs will continue to be positioned as an extension of social service agencies or is the sector now ready to be seen as businesses in the private sector.
*55.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Government will continue to encourage investment in the Amaravati city project following the change in the stance of the Government of India in respect of seeking funding for the project.

*56.
*56.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what are the average savings in electricity bills for households that have switched to the Open Electricity Market; and (b) whether the Ministry has observed an increase in average household electricity consumption arising from the cost savings.

*57.
*57.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the eligibility and selection criteria for nominations for National Day Awards; (b) who can nominate and what is the end-to-end award process; (c) whether there is a fixed number of awards given out for each category every year and, if yes, what are they; and (d) what is the total number of awards given to grassroots leaders every year.

*58.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry will review the income ceiling under the public rental scheme for HDB flats given that the latest Household Expenditure Survey shows that the average monthly expenditure in 1-2 room flats is now $1,545, which exceeds the present public rental income ceiling of $1,500; and (b) what expenditure studies, surveys, or other evidence are used to determine whether the income ceiling under the public rental scheme remains relevant to contemporary household incomes and standards of living.
*59.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the prolonged social tensions in Hong Kong, what are the near and long term impacts to Singapore's economy.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 10 *60.
Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) in the last three years, how many employers hired locals instead of employment pass holders after advertising through the Jobs Bank; (b) how does the Ministry monitor the effectiveness of the Jobs Bank in terms of (i) helping Singaporeans make informed career choices (ii) pointing employers to suitable local talent; and (c) whether the Ministry has taken any further action against employers who advertise in the Jobs Bank without giving fair consideration to local job applicants.
*61.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Manpower in light of the slowing growth of Singapore's economy this year and increasing citizen unemployment rate which stood at 3.3% as at June 2019, whether the Ministry will consider (i) tightening the Employment Pass (EP) criteria last reviewed in 2017 and (ii) reviewing EP applications by companies for permanent positions which are at the same time offered only on a fixed time contract basis to Singaporeans.

*62.
*62.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Manpower to date, how many companies have voluntarily restored the CPF contribution rates for employees aged 55 years and above and how many employees have benefitted.

*63.
*63.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether there are plans to amend the Retirement and Re-employment Act to include those who have been out of the labour force for caregiving reasons but who may wish to rejoin the labour force after their care recipient passes on.

*64.
*64.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Defence whether the application form used by members of the public to apply for National Day Parade (NDP) 2020 tickets can include a question for the applicant to indicate whether they want (i) a single-use plastic bottle (ii) a reusable bottle (iii) an NDP plastic bag for trash and (iv) an NDP funpack bag.

*65.
*65.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Defence in respect of the training accident death of Corporal First Class Liu Kai (a) whether the Ministry or the AGC has found that any persons should be held responsible for their conduct during the training; and (b) if so, whether any decision has been taken to institute any disciplinary or legal proceedings or criminal prosecution.

*66.
*66.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) since the deployment of surveillance cameras by NEA to address the high-rise littering problem, how many of those caught were repeat offenders; and (b) whether the Ministry will look into further measures to deter such offences and explore further use of technology to bring such offenders to task.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 11 *67.


Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether the Ministry can provide an update on the trend of high- rise littering over the last three years; (b) how effective have NEA's enforcement actions been in arresting the culprits; and (c) whether there are plans to further improve the high-rise littering situation.

*68.
*68.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current percentage of workers in the online food delivery industry who are foreigners; (b) how do the foreigners qualify to work in this industry; and (c) whether the Ministry will take steps to ensure that these jobs in the delivery services are restricted to only Singaporeans.

*69.
*69.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) in the past year, how many reports from the public have been received and how many of such reports have resulted in prosecution of the culprit on environmental issues such as littering and dumping; (b) what is the standard protocol for NEA to handle such reports; and (c) when the identity of the perpetrator is known, how long will enforcement action take.

*70.
*70.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources what steps are being taken towards securing and investing in Singapore's long-term food security even as the world faces climate change and urbanisation.

*71.
*71.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether Singapore can be a thought-and-industry leader in how to tackle the effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels; and (b) if polders are a solution for Singapore, how can the spaces above the polders be used as work, live and play spaces.

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

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

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

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

Minister for Home Affairs: Maintenance of Religious Harmony (Amendment) Bill.

No.
No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 12 2.

Second Minister for Finance: Income Tax (Amendment) Bill.

(President’s recommendation signified).

ORDERS OF THE DAY 1.

2.

3.

4.

CareShield Life and Long-Term Care Bill [Bill No.

24/2019] – (Minister for Health) – Second Reading.

Reciprocal Enforcement of Foreign Judgments (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

19/2019] – (Minister for Law) – Second Reading.

Reciprocal Enforcement of Commonwealth Judgments (Repeal) Bill [Bill No.

18/2019] – (Minister for Law) – Second Reading.


Variable Capital Companies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill [Bill No.

23/2019] – (Second Minister for Finance) – Second Reading.

5.

Work Injury Compensation Bill [Bill No.

21/2019] – (Minister for Manpower) – Second Reading.

6.

7.

Children and Young Persons (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

22/2019] – (Minister for Social and Family Development) – Second Reading.

Resource Sustainability Bill [Bill No.


20/2019] – (Minister for the Environment and Water Resources) – Second Reading.

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

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon) : Providing Housing for Single Unwed Parents and their Children.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 13 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.


QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Government will consider creating honorary citizenships (without benefits and grants/subsidies that Singaporeans are entitled to) for those who have invested in Singapore and created quality jobs for Singaporeans.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Prime Minister in view of the findings in IMF's Financial Sector Assessment Programme for Singapore, what resources and preparation are being applied by the MAS division that supervises payment systems to manage the broad scope of supervisory duties that it undertakes.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether he can provide an update on the Early Stage Venture Fund initiative which started in 2008; and (b) how successful has the initiative been in helping to incubate and grow enterprises since its inception.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what is the number of Singaporeans who are born between 1950 and 1959 but are not eligible for the Merdeka Generation Package (MGP); (b) what is the number of such Singaporeans who have appealed to be included in the MGP; and (c) what is the number of such appeals that have been successful to date.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) in the past three years, what are the top three causes for the incidences of MRT train delays of not more than five minutes; (b) what measures have been put in place to prevent or minimise such delays; and (c) whether LTA has set any goals for the MRT operators to prevent or minimise such delays and, if so, what are the goals set.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) for each year from 2015 to 2019, what has been the frequency of platform screen door faults in MRT stations for both below and above ground stations; (b) how frequently are the screen doors serviced; and (c) how long are the screen doors expected to last before replacements are due.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how will LTA monitor whether shared personal mobility devices (PMDs) that are deployed on private land end up entering public spaces and the effects arising thereof; (b) how will LTA detect the illegal deployment of shared PMDs for hire at public places and what are the penalties for this offence; and (c) whether shared-PMD companies are required to submit their plans for deploying their fleet at private premises to LTA.

No.
No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 14 8.

9.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Transport whether bus shelter advertisement boards placed perpendicular to roads are causing blind spots leading to accidents between pedestrian commuters and personal mobility device (PMD) users or cyclists.
Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) of the lifts that have been built at pedestrian overhead bridges (POBs), how many are near to an MRT station; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider building a lift at the POB near Block 350 Jurong East Avenue 1.

10.
10.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) under what pre- conditions or circumstances will the Traffic Police show traffic accident footage from CCTV cameras to victims, their next-of-kin, potential claimants or potential offenders; and (b) at which stage of investigations or proceedings will requests to view such footage be considered or acceded to.

11.
11.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the impending extension of the retirement and re-employment ages (a) how many civilian officers in the Ministry will benefit from this extension; and (b) whether there are plans to review the retirement and re-employment ages for officers under the uniformed services schemes.

12.
12.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Law (a) what are the policies on permanent residents owning landed residential property in Singapore; and (b) whether there is any upper limit on the size of the land that they can own for such landed residential property.

13.
13.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Law whether the income of bankrupt persons can be exempt from creditors' claims and be used in priority for the payment of insurance premiums such as that of HDB's Home Protection Scheme and all CPF insurance schemes to protect the bankrupt and his family.

14.
14.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Law (a) for each year from 2015 to 2018, how many applications for Personal Protection Orders have been rejected by the Family Justice Courts; and (b) what are the main reasons for rejection.

15.
15.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Health (a) how many Singaporean nurses have resigned in the past 10 years; (b) what are the top three reasons underlying this group of nurses leaving service; and (c) how many Singaporean nurses retire annually in the past 10 years.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 15 16.


Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Health for each year in the past five years (a) what is the number of people using MediSave to pay for their parents' healthcare cost; and (b) what is the median withdrawal value.

17.
17.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth what are the strategic plans of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to achieve its goal for Singapore's national football team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2034.

18.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development what percentage of households that are eligible for HDB's Home Improvement Programme are owned and lived in by Singaporeans who are their first owners.

19.
19.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for National Development regarding illegal short-term rental of private properties in each of the last five years (a) what is the number of owners who have been issued warnings and charged respectively; (b) what is the profile of these owners in terms of their age groups, nationalities and number of properties owned; and (c) what is the number of recalcitrant property owners.

20.
20.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the past three years, how many applications for HDB BTO flats and executive condominiums have been rejected due to failure to meet the $10,000 and $12,000 income ceilings respectively; and (b) whether HDB is prepared to increase the respective income ceilings.

21.
21.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources in view of the recent Indonesian forest fires, what measures are being taken to minimise the impact on Singapore and what is the update on the cooperative actions with neighbouring countries under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP).

22.
22.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) in the past year, how many complaints regarding pet owners not cleaning up after their pets have been received; (b) how many pet owners have been identified and penalised; and (c) whether there are plans to introduce more measures.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 16 23.


Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether there are systems in place to assess indoor air quality standards in public places and work places; (b) whether there are measures to enforce certain standards of indoor air quality in public places and work places; and (c) what measures are in place to ensure that materials used in building construction are safe and do not contribute to indoor air pollution.

24.
24.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for Education regarding the education of young persons with disabilities (PwDs) (a) what is the current percentage of PwDs in special schools and normal schools respectively; (b) whether there have been any changes in the proportion of PwDs among our young in the last 10 years; and (c) what are the programmes to integrate young PwDs with other students in their communities.

25.
25.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Education for each of the last three years, what are the operating expenditures of the libraries of each of the Autonomous Universities and Polytechnics, broken down by (i) electronic database/electronic journal subscription costs (ii) physical book/journal/media acquisition costs and (iii) staff/administration costs.

26.
26.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower in each of the last three years, what is the average utilisation rate of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) by employees broken down by (i) whether their employer receives the Work-Life Grant and (ii) type of FWA utilised disaggregated by gender and age.

27.
27.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower in each of the last three years (a) what is the training participation rate of unemployed persons, broken down by gender; and (b) what is the utilisation rate of SkillsFuture credits amongst unemployed persons, broken down by gender.

28.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Manpower regarding the cases dealt with by the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) since it was established in April 2017 (a) how many and what proportion of employee-claimants obtained judgments or orders for monetary payments in their favour; (b) of the cases in (a), how many involved scenarios where the employers had abided by the terms of the employment contracts but yet were ordered by the ECT to pay additional sums to the employees; and (c) of the cases in (b), what were the typical grounds that led the ECT to order the employers to pay sums over and above what was contractually agreed.
No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 17 29.

30.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) in 2018, what is the percentage of employers who have selected the option to open a POSB Payroll Account for their prospective foreign workers when they apply for their work permits; and (b) whether the sole POSB branch at Kaki Bukit Recreation Centre is adequate to serve the banking needs of foreign workers.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current number of employers, broken down by the number of employees and industry type, who have adopted the eight Tripartite Standards, namely Age-Friendly Workplace Practices, Contracting with Self-employed Persons, Employment of Term Contract Employees, Flexible Work Arrangements, Grievance Handling, Procurement of Services from Media Freelancers, Recruitment Practices, and Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs; and (b) what plans does the Government have to encourage more widespread adoption of these Standards.
31.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years under the Government-Paid Child Care Leave (GPCL) Scheme (a) what percentage of working mothers took (i) four days of childcare leave (ii) five days of childcare leave or (iii) six days of childcare leave respectively; and (b) what percentage of working fathers took (i) four days of childcare leave (ii) five days of childcare leave or (iii) six days of childcare leave respectively.

32.
32.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years under the Extended Child Care Leave (ECL) Scheme (a) what percentage of working mothers took exactly (i) one day of childcare leave or (ii) two days of childcare leave respectively; and (b) what percentage of working fathers took exactly (i) one day of childcare leave or (ii) two days of childcare leave respectively.

33.
33.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in the last 10 years, what is the number of persons with disabilities in institutional care, broken down by 20-year age groups; and (b) whether there has been an increase in these numbers.

34.
34.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether he can provide an update on his Ministry's study of the suggestion made in the House on 8 March 2017 that the President of Singapore issue congratulatory notes to Singaporean centenarians on the occasion of their birthdays.

No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 18 35.


Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what options are available for those who stay at residential homes but who may still need additional acute help, for example when dealing with mental health issues.

PAPERS PRESENTED 2019 Date Presented S.L.

682 United Nations (Sanctions - Iran) Regulations 2019 ..... 6 August 2019 S.L.

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

3) Rules 2019 ..... 7 August 2019 S.L.


684 Air Navigation (99 - Breath Testing for Alcohol) Regulations 2019 ..... 7 August 2019 S.L.

685 Air Navigation Operating Rules) Regulations 2019 (91 - General (Amendment) ..... 7 August 2019 S.L.

686 Air Navigation (121 - Commercial Air Transport by Large Aeroplanes) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 ..... 7 August 2019 S.L.
687 Air Navigation (135 - Commercial Air Transport by Helicopters and Small Aeroplanes) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 ..... 7 August 2019 S. 449 Health Promotion Board Annual Report 2018/2019 ..... 13 August 2019 S.L.

688 United Nations (Freezing of Assets of Persons - Democratic Republic of the Congo) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 ..... 14 August 2019 No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 19 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2019 Date Presented S.L.
689 United Nations (Sanctions - Yemen) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 ..... 14 August 2019 S. 450 Savings and Employee Retirement and Premium Fund (SAVER- Premium Fund) Annual Report for Financial Year 2018 ..... 19 August 2019 S. 451 Competition Consumer and Commission of Singapore Annual Report 2018/2019 ..... 20 August 2019 Pres.

Co. 134 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Intellectual Property (Dispute Resolution) Bill [Bill No 17/2019] ..... 21 August 2019 Pres.
Co. 135 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Fire Safety (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 16/2019] ..... 21 August 2019 Pres.

Co. 136 Pres.
Co. 136 Pres.

Co. 137 S. S. 452 453 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Home Team Science and Technology Agency Bill [Bill No 15/2019] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Point-To- Point Passenger Transport Industry Bill [Bill No 14/2019] ..... 21 August 2019 ..... 21 August 2019 Singapore Medical Council Annual Report 2018 ..... 23 August 2019 Singapore Nursing Board Annual Report 2018 ..... 23 August 2019 No.
109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 20 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2019 Date Presented S. S. S. 454 455 456 Singapore Dental Council Annual Report 2018 ..... 23 August 2019 Singapore Pharmacy Council Annual Report 2018 ..... 23 August 2019 Chinese Medicine Traditional Practitioners Board Annual Report 2018 ..... 23 August 2019 S.L.

690 Fees (Income Tax) (Amendment) Order 2019 ..... 23 August 2019 S.L.

691 Fees (Amendment) Order 2019 (Private Lotteries) ..... 23 August 2019 S.L.
692 Fees (Goods and Services Tax) (Amendment) Order 2019 ..... 23 August 2019 S. 457 Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore Annual Report 2018/2019 ..... 29 August 2019 S.L.

693 Goods and Services Tax (Excluded Transactions) (Amendment) Order 2018 ..... 29 August 2019 S.L.

694 Goods and Services Tax (Imports Relief) (Amendment) Order 2019 ..... 29 August 2019 S.L.

695 Goods and Services Tax (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 ..... 29 August 2019 S.L.
696 Goods and Services Tax (Electronic Service) Regulations 2019 ..... 29 August 2019 S.L.

697 Goods and Services Tax Act (Amendment of Fifth Schedule) Order 2019 ..... 29 August 2019 No.

109 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 21 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2019 Date Presented S. 458 Inland Revenue Authority Singapore Annual Report 2018/19 of ..... 29 August 2019 Cmd.

23 Presidential Council for Minority Rights Annual Report for the period from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019 ..... 29 August 2019