Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698080284277.pdf (Singapore)
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE SECOND SESSION ORDER PAPER TUESDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2020 No.

117 1.30 pm 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER *1.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Defence in light of the recent spike in piracies along the Singapore Straits, what additional measures are being put in place and whether there has been any cases of unauthorised entries to Singapore from such boats.

*2.
*2.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the vaccination take-up rate for adults for conditions like pneumococcal disease and influenza after the launch of the National Adult Immunisation Schedule in 2017; and (b) how do our rates of adult vaccination compare with other developed countries.

*3.
*3.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) why written contracts are not mandatory for workers covered under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act; and (b) whether there are plans to make such contracts mandatory.

*4.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources given Singapore's small land size, what catalyst role can we play on the local, regional and international fronts to tackle climate change.

*5.
*5.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the Government plans to include climate risk, particularly climate change-related risk, in MAS’ annual industry-wide stress test (IWST), in line with what the Bank of England is doing and what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommends for central banks; and (b) if not, why the Government is choosing not to do so.

No.

117 4 FEBRUARY 2020 2 *6.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the public service's response to the latest TAFEP guideline on mental health declaration as a discriminatory practice; (b) which Government agencies are still asking for this declaration from job applicants; (c) how many applicants who declared their mental health condition have joined the public service and how many have not; and (d) what is the public service's workplace mental health and fair employment strategy in the hiring and support of persons with mental health conditions and the fostering of a mental-health friendly environment for all employees.
*7.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what is the strategy for growing our economy and creating good jobs for Singaporeans without an over-reliance on foreign manpower.

*8.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Prime Minister with regard to CPFB's clarification on the case of Ms Sua Li Li (a) why was it not possible for "public interest" to be protected through the continued use of the pseudonym "Ms Soo"; (b) what was the definition of "public interest" adopted in this case; (c) what was the process that led to the decision made for personal data disclosure without consent; (d) whether a correction order under POFMA was considered given the claim that the article 'contained misleading statements'; and (e) whether the Government will consider for all future personal data disclosures without consent to be mandatorily accompanied by justification from the agency on why disclosure is warranted and reasonable, as similarly prescribed by the Personal Data Protection Commission for non-exempted organisations.
*9.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs what considerations are used to determine if and to what extent consular support is provided to Singaporeans abroad who are arrested or charged with offences when the Ministry is informed of the incident by the individual concerned, by his or her next-of-kin or by other Government agencies.

*10.
*10.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Law (a) over the last 10 years, what has been the trend of Singaporeans being declared bankrupt; (b) what is the average time taken to exit bankruptcy; and (c) what are the measures taken to ease difficulties in job search and employment because of bankruptcy.

*11.
*11.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what are the studies, projections, or cost-benefit analyses that supported development of the $4.7 million SecureMyBike project at Admiralty MRT that has been discontinued due to lack of demand; and (b) how does the Ministry plan to ensure future walk, cycle and ride (WCR) infrastructure improvements are cost effective.

No.

117 4 FEBRUARY 2020 3 *12.


Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Government will consider imposing legal obligations on food delivery companies to ensure that their delivery riders on e-bikes or e-scooters comply with active mobility or road traffic regulations including compliance with device requirements or proper usage.

*13.
*13.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the last three years, how many complaints has the Traffic Police received about noisy vehicles; (b) how many of these pertain to Nee Soon South; (c) whether there are adequate speed cameras installed in the areas; and (d) whether the Traffic Police will step up enforcement along Yishun Avenue 1 and Yishun Street 51 especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

*14.
*14.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry can review the existing policy so as to accord priority to first-time applicants for BTO flats in mature estates where their parents or parents-in-law are living in.

*15.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what percentage of Grassroots Advisors (GRAs) appointed by the PA are members of a political party; (b) since GRAs are empowered to appoint members of the Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCC) and the Community Development and Welfare Fund (CDWF) Committees, whether there are risks that the disbursement of these public funds may be considered political in nature; (c) what are the measures to ensure that GRAs who are political party members are not associated in the distribution of these funds; (d) whether civil servants will be allowed to administer these funds; and (e) what are the policies to ensure that all elected MPs can tap on these funds to serve their residents.
*16.
Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth with the demolition of the Kallang Squash Centre (a) whether Singapore will have a venue capable of hosting international squash tournaments and elite level training for squash players; (b) what are the plans to provide an alternative venue; (c) whether there are plans to include squash facilities for the Kallang Alive project; (d) whether squash has the potential to be an important contributor to Singapore’s sporting success at international tournaments; and (e) whether there is a decline in the number of public squash facilities since the 1990s and, if so, whether there are plans to reverse this decline.
* 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.

No.
No.

117 4 FEBRUARY 2020 4 AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS Introduction of Government Bill 1.

Minister for National Development: Building Control (Amendment) Bill.

ORDERS OF THE DAY 1.

Singapore Convention on Mediation Bill [Bill No.

5/2020] – (Minister for Law).

Resumption of Debate on Question (3 February 2020) “That the Bill be now read a second time.”.

– (Minister for Law).

2.

3.

Active Mobility (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

3/2020] – (Minister for Transport) – Second Reading.
Shared Mobility Enterprises (Control and Licensing) Bill [Bill No.

2/2020] – (Minister for Transport) – Second Reading.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER 1.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Prime Minister in each of the last five years, what is the number of families consisting of a Singaporean citizen married to a non- resident spouse, with (i) at least one citizen child and at least one non-resident child and (ii) at least one non-resident child respectively.

2.
2.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the total Government expenditure on the Singapore Bicentennial, broken down by major activities or heads of expenditure such as the Bicentennial Experience; (b) what are the estimates of attendance and participation for each major activity; and (c) what have been the social, cultural and economic outcomes.

3.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the changes in protocol for SPF, SCDF, IMH and other agencies respectively given the decriminalisation of suicide from 1 January 2020; (b) whether the Ministry will consider including suicide first-aiders as part of the SGSecure Responder effort in the SGSecure application, similar to how first-aiders are tapped on to respond to individuals with physical health emergencies; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider piloting an emergency response model that adopts a specialised mental health ambulance or emergency response team.
No.

117 4 FEBRUARY 2020 5 4.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) for 2019, what has been the absolute and percentage change in total carbon emissions for facilities that paid the carbon tax compared to 2017 and 2018; (b) when does the Ministry plan to publish this data if it is not yet available; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider publishing this data on a yearly basis to provide clarity on the emission impact of the carbon tax.

5.
5.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry will be studying the effectiveness of the pilot Household Services Scheme that allows foreign workers to provide domestic services to households; (b) if so, what factors will be used to determine the effectiveness of the Scheme; and (c) how long does the Ministry intend to run the pilot before deciding to formalise the Scheme.

6.
6.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) when did the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) start to hear employment-related disputes not covered under the Employment Act; (b) what led TADM to start hearing these disputes; (c) what is the total number of such cases received to date; and (d) what are the outcomes of these cases.

7.
7.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will review and require all companies who are tendering for contracts called by the Government, statutory boards or town councils that their Singaporean workers must be members of the relevant trade unions.

PAPERS PRESENTED 2019 S.L.

772 and Goods Tax (International Services) (Amendment) Order 2019 Services Date Presented ….. 31 January 2020 S.L.
773 Goods and Services Tax (Excluded Transactions) (Amendment) Order 2019 ….. 31 January 2020