Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698079933300.pdf (Singapore)
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE SECOND SESSION ORDER PAPER TUESDAY, 10 JULY 2018 No.

79 12 noon 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how many teachers are trained to teach special needs students in Crest Secondary School, Spectra Secondary School, Northlight School and Assumption Pathway School; and (b) how many allied educators are there in each of these schools to help these students in the classrooms.

*2.
*2.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the general cost of living in Singapore has increased significantly and is a cause for concern; and (b) what are the measures that the Government will take to address further cost increases and minimise their impact on the low and middle-income households.

*3.
*3.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) whether any form of ragging is allowed in the SAF; and (b) whether ragging or the carrying out of any activity associated with ragging constitutes part of the recognised duties of any SAF officer, specialist, instructor or personnel.

*4.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Finance on how Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation have performed in terms of investment returns over the long term.

*5.
*5.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health why CareShield Life is not replacing ElderShield for all Singaporeans with transitional subsidies to ease the shift, as was the shift from MediShield to MediShield Life in 2015.

*6.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Government will review the principles for setting premiums for the proposed CareShield Life scheme so as to have equal premiums for men and women.

No.

79 10 JULY 2018 2 *7.


Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health (a) how are premiums and pay-outs for CareShield Life calculated in respect of assumptions such as the targeted capital adequacy ratio and medical loss ratio for the scheme; (b) whether the actuarial model determining such CareShield Life premiums and subsidies will be made publicly available; and (c) how does the ratio of premiums to pay-outs and the actuarial model used compare to similar government schemes in other developed countries.
*8.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Health how will the Government ensure that the CareShield Life scheme to be administered by the Government will be as or more cost efficient as compared to ElderShield which is run by private insurers.

*9.
*9.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there will be additional support for those who cannot afford to pay CareShield Life premiums even after means-tested premium support; (b) how will the quantum of such additional support be determined; and (c) whether and to what extent will disposable income be used in making this determination as opposed to merely per capita household income.

*10.
*10.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many industrial fires have there been in the past three years; (b) what is the frequency of SCDF's spot checks on factories and warehouses to ensure that they comply with fire safety measures; and (c) how many infringements have been detected in the past three years.

*11.
*11.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs with regard to the rising Internet love scams that resulted in $37 million of losses in 2017 (a) what is the typical profile of these victims; (b) what has been done to raise awareness of such scams to this group; and (c) what plans does the Ministry have to further reduce the risk of Singaporeans being cheated by such Internet love scams.

*12.
*12.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current successful job matching rate of MyCareersFuture.sg; (b) whether there are plans to introduce vernacular versions of the platform to help our older job seekers; and (c) what are the plans to increase the job listings by smaller companies.

*13.
*13.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether an update can be provided on the job match success rate of the Jobs Bank for Singaporeans; and (b) what measures are being implemented to enable the measurement of the Jobs Bank and MyCareersFuture.sg for the purpose of assessing the returns on investment.

job match success rates of No.

79 10 JULY 2018 3 *14.


Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what are the care provisions given in welfare homes in terms of lodging, food, medical assistance; and (b) what actions are taken to facilitate the resident's reconnection with family or re-integration into the community.

*15.
*15.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with regard to the power outage in the CBD area on 1 June 2018 (a) what is being done to prevent future occurrences; and (b) what back-up systems are in place for essential services like traffic signalling systems and medical services.

*16.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development what are the eligibility conditions for divorcees with shared care and control of their children to purchase a subsidised HDB flat.
*17.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how many ITE students are currently eligible for financial assistance; (b) how many of these eligible students have applied for assistance; and (c) how does ITE publicise the assistance schemes so that eligible students do not miss it.

*18.
*18.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the wage growth is moving in tandem with productivity gains; (b) whether the sectoral wage growth is commensurate with sectoral productivity gains; (c) which sectors are productivity laggards; and (d) whether the targeted help provided has led to productivity and wage gains.

*19.
*19.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what measures have been put in place to reduce the number of roadkill in the Mandai area; (b) whether such measures apply to all areas where there are construction activities near national parks and nature reserves; and (c) when will the hoardings along Mandai Road be completed.

*20.
*20.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for National Development whether there will be a review of regulations to protect wild animals in our forested areas such as (i) compelling construction companies and developers to take measures to protect displaced wild animals and (ii) mandating vehicular speed limits or penalties around areas where large swathes of construction work are taking place.

*21.
*21.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Transport since the commencement of the Active Mobility Act, what enforcement action has been taken against errant users of public paths who endanger the safety of others.

No.

79 10 JULY 2018 4 *22.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider tightening regulations for all PMD users including compulsory licensing of all users and mandatory public insurance coverage to be taken up by all users.

*23.
*23.

Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for National Development with the conclusion of public consultation on short-term home rentals (a) what are the main feedback and concerns provided by the public during the consultation exercise; (b) when will new regulations be presented to Parliament for debate; (c) how many illegal rentals have there been so far; and (d) how does the Ministry intend to police the current short-term rental websites before the laws are put in place.

*24.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for National Development in light of concerns from some condominium owners on the further relaxation on short- term leases (a) whether the Ministry will consider getting 100% approval from current property owners in each condominium before short-term lease like Airbnb can be allowed; (b) whether the potential impact of short-term leases on the hospitality industry has been considered; and (c) how is the Ministry dealing with illegal leasing of property currently listed on websites like Airbnb.
*25.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many Airbnb cases have been reported in HDB units and private residential units respectively in the past three years; and (b) what is the typical time frame for investigation to complete after a case has been reported.

*26.
*26.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry tracks the average and median salaries of early childhood educators according to their education attainment; and (b) if so, what are the current average and median salaries of early childhood educators according to their educational attainment and how do these compare to five years ago.

*27.
*27.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development as of June 2018 (a) how many 2-room flexi flats sold to elderly Singaporeans have been returned to HDB due to the demise of the owner; and (b) how soon are these flats put on sale again; and (c) whether HDB informs buyers that these flats are pre-owned units.

No.

79 10 JULY 2018 5 *28.


Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether Or Kim Peow Contractors has demonstrated that they have taken remedial steps to improve its workplace safety and health standards; (b) whether the company is still under the Business Under Surveillance programme; and (c) whether the Ministry has inspected all the company's worksites to check if the incident in July 2017 reflects a wider systemic failure of its safety management or a deterioration of its safety standards.
*29.
Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for National Development in light of the collapse of the viaduct near the PIE exit to TPE in 2017 (a) how are civil engineering project tenders evaluated; (b) what is the weightage given to price, design quality and safety standards in the evaluation; (c) whether enhancing spot checks and inspections will deter and prevent works that are carried out without the approval of the Commissioner of Building Control; and (d) how does the Ministry conduct its independent design checks to safeguard public safety for all Government projects.
*30.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Transport whether LTA has completed the study of possible MRT stations for the Cross Island Line and whether it can include having stations in Fernvale, Sengkang, Hougang and Buangkok.

*31.
*31.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether he can provide an update on the number of HDB blocks that are not given lift upgrading due specifically to the funding cap; and (b) whether HDB will consider polling the residents in these affected blocks to explore the possibility of co-sharing the amount beyond the funding cap to have lift access at their floors.

*32.
*32.

Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Education whether smartphones should be banned in schools given that there are studies showing their detrimental effects on students' learning, interaction, school-related work, physical activity, along with other smartphone-related disruptions.

*33.
*33.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the trend of cord blood donation by minority races over the past five years; and (b) whether there are any plans by the Ministry to encourage minority races to donate cord blood.

*34.
*34.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether there can be further stringent action taken on the sale of illegal drugs and sexual enhancement drugs in an open and blatant manner at the junction of Aljunied Road and Geylang Road.

No.

79 10 JULY 2018 6 *35.


Ms K Thanaletchimi: To ask the Minister for Health (a) in the past three years, how many mature public healthcare workers were not offered re- employment but were paid Employment Assistance Payment (EAP) upon reaching age 62 and beyond, and why; (b) which job categories were these workers from; and (c) how is the Ministry working with cluster institutions to formulate better job redesign or staff deployment strategies to retain mature workers.

*36.
*36.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there will be a review of the current specialist training under the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME); (b) whether the Ministry is ready to customise and evolve the specialist training programme to suit our specific needs; and (c) how will the specialist training programme be aligned with the call to have more generic specialists to meet our population's needs.

*37.
*37.

Ms K Thanaletchimi: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider making the National Wages Council (NWC) guidelines an important qualifying criteria for companies to be considered for funding under the Transform and Grow and Adapt and Grow initiatives.

*38.
*38.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Manpower what support is given to non-profit organisations promoting the lifelong employability of seniors and how is the Ministry looking to enhance this support for the aging workforce.

*39.
*39.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how is the Ministry addressing the increasing incidents of personal mobility device fires; (b) what is being done to enhance fire safety measures especially in estates where there are many elderly residents; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider installing sprinklers in new BTO estates.

*40.
*40.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry can review the relevant policies to allow all first-timers to buy HDB BTO and new flats without any income ceiling.

*41.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how well-equipped are today's HDB flats for withstanding strong winds and rain; and (b) whether regular inspections are done on structures which may be prone to decay from dampness.

*42.
*42.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport whether, for safety reasons, the Government will consider setting a minimum age limit of 18 for all users of electric bikes, e-scooters and other types of PMDs.

No.

79 10 JULY 2018 7 *43.


Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Transport how are the PMD rules designed to keep pedestrians, especially children, elderly and those with disabilities, safe on walkways and parks and how effective have they been in reducing the number of accidents so far.

*44.
Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how many projects are currently undertaken by Or Kim Peow Contractors; (b) what measures are in place to ensure that these projects meet the workplace safety standards; (c) whether there is a need to strengthen the supervision of these projects and to review them for safety considerations; (d) whether there will be follow-up actions with the consultancy firms implicated in the collapse of the PIE viaduct in Upper Changi in July 2017; and (e) how does the Ministry ensure that the consultancy firms and consultants perform their roles responsibly.
*45.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) why are EZ Link cardholders not allowed to top up their cards at the Passenger Service Centre (PSC) in MRT stations; (b) whether LTA is aware that not all MRT stations have General Ticketing Machines (GTM) for cardholders to top up; and (c) why is there no notes changing service at the PSC for commuters and tourists those who do not want to top up $50 on their fare card.

*46.
*46.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the recourse for pedestrians after they are being knocked down by a e-scooter and the rider has fled the scene; and (b) whether LTA will introduce compulsory third party insurance for e-scooters to protect pedestrians.

*47.
*47.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Defence what measures are or will be taken to ensure accuracy in the Physical Employment Standards (PES) system in National Service where the recommendation to downgrade comes from a private medical practitioner.

* Members may postpone their Questions to a later sitting day if their Questions are not reached by the end of Question Time.

The postponement forms are available at the Chamber entrances.
Members must submit their notices to the Clerk within one hour after the end of Question Time.

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

No.

79 10 JULY 2018 8 AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS Introduction of Government Bill 1.

Minister for Transport: Transport Safety Investigations Bill.

NOTICES OF MOTIONS 1.

Minister for Health: CARESHIELD LIFE: That this House endorses Paper Cmd.
15 of 2018 on "White Paper on the ElderShield Review Committee's Report" as the basis for designing CareShield Life, to strengthen our social safety net by providing Singaporeans with basic protection for their long-term needs, in a scheme that is inclusive, affordable, and sustainable.

2 4 2.
2 4 2.

Asst Prof Mahdev Mohan (Nominated Member) Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin (Nominated Member) Mr Ganesh Rajaram (Nominated Member) Mr Kok Heng Leun (Nominated Member) Mr Azmoon Ahmad (Nominated Member): EDUCATION FOR OUR FUTURE: That this House recognises that a love for learning is the foundation of our future, and calls on the Government to partner with the people to ensure accessible, inclusive and lifelong education for all learners.

2 4 QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWERS 1.


Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Prime Minister what is the breakdown of new hires for graduate roles in the public service and civil service for each of the past five years according to graduates from local autonomous universities, local private educational institutes and overseas universities.

2.
2.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the current status of the Malaysia-Singapore High-Speed Rail project; (b) what costs is Singapore incurring while waiting for a more definite conclusion; (c) how will local companies and employees involved in the project be affected by the postponement; and (d) what is being done to ensure a favourable outcome.

No.

79 10 JULY 2018 9 3.


Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what after-arrest mental health care is provided to people with mental illnesses involved in incidents resulting in their arrest.

4.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what cumulative absolute number of new citizens over the past 20 years have relinquished their citizenship; and (b) whether the number of such cases has been increasing or decreasing annually over the past 10 years.

5.
5.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the starting salary for the Ministry's scholars is standardised across all its healthcare clusters; (b) if not, why is that so; and (c) what are the reasons for the salary discrepancy.

6.
6.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether research has been conducted to investigate the awareness level of smoking-related health risks among Singaporeans; and (b) what is being done to raise awareness of heart diseases and other health problems that can result from smoking.

7.
7.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether live broadcasts of World Cup 2018 will be made available in Singapore for free; (b) if so, where can the public access these broadcasts; (c) whether more free televised matches can be made available beyond the nine key matches; and (d) whether the Ministry is able to work with commercial sponsors to make future international sports events available for free broadcasts.

8.
8.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information how can the authorities ensure the deletion of personal data collected by oBike in compliance of the Personal Data Protection Act especially since it claims to have around 1 million members.

9.
9.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Finance how much stamp duty and property tax has been collected from the purchase and sale of properties in the first five months of this year and what is the percentage of increase year to year for the past three years.

10.
10.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how much of the Agriculture Productivity Fund has been disbursed to date; (b) how many companies have received funding support from the Fund; (c) how much of the financial disbursement has been to locally-owned enterprises; and (d) how many of these disbursements are related to indoor/vertical farming.

No.

79 10 JULY 2018 10 11.


Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) for the past five years, what has been the average annual electricity consumption for commercial buildings; (b) what is the standard air- conditioned temperature in these buildings; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider having a campaign to encourage companies to turn up the temperature to reduce electricity consumption and reduce carbon footprint.

12.
12.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether provisions can be made for candidates to resit the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) when they have a medical certificate which deems them medically unfit to sit for the examination; and (b) whether this can be done without retaining the student for another year.

13.
13.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry tracks the number of students who drop out of secondary education; (b) what are the reasons for these students not continuing their education; (c) what is the length of the absentee period before schools take action and reach out to the absent students and their families; and (d) what measures does the Ministry take to ensure such students return to school.

14.
14.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs), in terms of numbers and percentages respectively, did not apply to withdraw $5,000 or more from their CPF accounts upon reaching the age of 55; (b) how many have left more than the minimum sum required in their CPF accounts; and (c) how many PRs have withdrawn and cancelled their CPF accounts, in terms of number and percentage of the total number of PRs, for the past 10 and 20 years respectively.
15.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Manpower in each of the past five years (a) how many companies have had their foreign manpower requests approved despite not meeting the minimum salary or quota requirements; (b) what criteria are used to determine when such exceptions are to be made; and (c) how does the Ministry ensure that such companies do not gain an unfair competitive advantage over other companies who have not been granted similar exceptions.

No.
No.

79 10 JULY 2018 11 PAPERS PRESENTED 2018 S.L.

503 Date Presented Road Traffic Registration (Amendment No.

2) Rules 2018 (Motor Vehicles, Licensing) and ..... 6 July 2018 S.L.

504 Road Traffic (Vehicular Emissions Tax) (Amendment) Rules 2018 ..... 6 July 2018 S.L.

505 Goods and Services Tax Act (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) Order 2018 ..... 9 July 2018