Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698080540894.pdf (Singapore)
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE SECOND SESSION ORDER PAPER THURSDAY, 4 JUNE 2020 No.

134 12 noon 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER *1.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Health what are the merits of lifting the circuit breaker measures from 1 June 2020 when the rate of infection amongst migrant workers remains in its hundreds and what steps will be taken to ensure that the infection is contained within their residences.

*2.
*2.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Health what lessons can be learnt from other jurisdictions on how to prevent, minimise or manage a second wave of COVID-19 infections as our economy is opened gradually.

*3.
*3.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for Health in view of the low COVID-19 infection rates within our community presently, whether the Ministry will consider (i) allowing all workers and employees whose workplaces meet safe distancing criteria to return to their workstations (ii) re- opening all outdoor sports facilities such as stadiums and swimming pools and (iii) re-opening all retail malls and food and beverage outlets as long as they can meet safe distancing measures.

*4.
*4.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry can consider allowing food and beverage outlets to operate for business on 2 June 2020 on the condition that they implement safe distancing among the diners and limit the number of diners per table to a reasonable number.

*5.
*5.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) of the countries or cities that have recently started relaxing their lockdown or stay at home measures, which ones are Singapore monitoring closely and modelling ourselves after; and (b) what are the lessons that we are learning from them.

No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 2 *6.


Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Government will consider a temporary reduction of CPF contributions by both employee and employer till after the economy has recovered from the COVID- 19 crisis.

*7.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what measures are undertaken to ensure fair dismissal practices by employers of work permit holders who have been tested positive for COVID-19 and after the circuit breaker period; (b) what is the course of action for work permit holders who (i) have lost their jobs (ii) have salaries unpaid or (iii) wish to return to their countries of origin; (c) how have measures to safeguard employment and payment of salaries been communicated to (i) work permit holders and (ii) their employers; and (d) whether the Ministry will issue an advisory on (i) employment (ii) salaries (iii) fair dismissal practices and (iv) contract termination for all work permit holders and their employers.
*8.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Manpower what is being done to better protect, assist and support workers, especially professionals, termination, disguised managers and executives, who face contract retrenchments and other job severance and managing excess manpower arrangements which affect their livelihood during this COVID-19 period.

*9.
*9.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how common is the practice for employers and recruiters to ask job seekers to declare their last drawn salary or to share previous payslips; (b) whether any study has been made to ascertain how such practices affected employability and salary packages of job applicants; and (c) whether such a practice should be stopped so that applicants can move up the wage scale.

*10.
*10.

Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) arising from the COVID-19 situation, what is the employment status of Singaporeans who are currently based overseas; and (b) what are the assistance support available for them if they have lost their jobs and would like to return to Singapore to seek employment.

*11.
*11.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the latest labour market situation and the extent of contraction in local and foreign employment in the last three months; (b) what is the number of job losses expected in the next one year when the Jobs Support Scheme expires; and (c) what are the initiatives to support new job creations.

No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 3 *12.


Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the introduction and implementation timeline of the new SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package will be impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and can be expedited; and (b) whether the at-risk mid-career workers can be given more transitional support during this steep economic slowdown.

*13.
*13.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether there are any plans to support employees who have been given notice by their employers to terminate their contracts but who have not received retrenchment benefits for terminations due to redundancies rather than poor performance.

*14.
*14.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Manpower in relation to the strategy to situate workers from dormitories to less densely populated buildings, whether there will be isolation, quarantine and care arrangements in place at the sites which the workers are resituated to.

*15.
*15.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) from February 2020 onwards, whether all foreign workers returning from overseas and all other foreign workers who were served with Stay Home Notices (SHNs) were required to stay in quarantine facilities and safely separated from unaffected workers at all times; and (b) whether any of the foreign workers had served out their SHNs, Leave of Absence or Quarantine Orders in their original dormitory rooms.

*16.
*16.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Manpower with more work-from-home arrangements, whether the Ministry can provide greater clarity on the treatment of work injury compensation including scope, coverage, insurance and premium when one's home is the workplace.

*17.
*17.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) in 2019, how many hand and finger-related injuries occurred at our workplaces; (b) how many of these workplace accidents resulted in amputations; (c) what were the top three causes for such accidents; and (d) whether the number of such work- related amputations has increased over the past 10 years despite sustained workplace safety campaigns.

*18.
*18.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Law what is the number of Notifications for Relief applied for since the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act came into effect and what are the numbers for each category.

No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 4 *19.


Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether persons are eligible for the COVID-19 Support Grant (CSG) even if they have not met the required eligibility of three full months of unemployment; and (b) whether ComCare recipients who may be receiving lower financial support will be disqualified from applying for the CSG.

*20.
*20.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether there will be any restrictions imposed on international travellers entering Singapore; and (b) what are the measures to prevent imported COVID-19 cases.

*21.
*21.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the total number of business closures and formations since the start of the circuit breaker period; (b) what is the sectoral breakdown of those most affected to the least affected; (c) what is the Ministry's outlook on the business cessation trend and sectoral implications for the remainder of 2020 even as the global and domestic economies gradually open up.

*22.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Ministry has studied the structure of rental contracts for taxis, private-hire cars and limousines, in particular (i) the duration of such contracts (ii) rental fees charged and (iii) penalties for early termination; (b) whether rental contracts expose hirers to excessive business risk in the event of sustained reductions in demand such as that from the COVID-19 situation; and (c) whether the industry can be restructured to ensure hirers have more flexible rental arrangements and risk is distributed more equitably.
*23.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the total number of people who have downloaded the TraceTogether app; (b) what is the percentage of each gender for those who have downloaded the app; (c) what are the age groups; and (d) whether the Government will consider further incentives and measures to encourage more subscriptions including from those who are not technically savvy or inclined.

*24.
*24.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Prime Minister what steps has the Government taken to ensure that personal data of persons collated through apps such as TraceTogether for the purposes of contact tracing to contain the spread of COVID-19 will be protected and not used for any other purpose.

*25.

Mr Vikram Nair: To ask the Prime Minister whether the download and activation of the TraceTogether App should be made mandatory for everyone in Singapore who possesses a mobile phone.

No.
No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 5 *26.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether Singapore will stay the course on fighting climate change and meet our climate change commitments despite the current upheavals in the energy market and the potential long-term economic impact arising from the COVID-19 situation.

*27.
*27.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether he can assure Singaporeans that our water supply is adequate and that the water plants are continuing to run at full capacity; and (b) what is the percentage of staff at these water plants who are on telecommuting and whether this compromises the quality of our water supply.

*28.
*28.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether there are plans to review the "30 by 30 vision" to locally produce 30% of Singapore's nutritional needs by 2030.

*29.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources with regard to the import of wild-caught soft-shelled turtle for consumption (a) what diseases are the animals tested for; (b) for each disease, how many tests have been carried out in each year for the past five years; (c) for each disease, what are the number and percentage of test results that have been positive in each year for the past five years; and (d) whether the Ministry will start collecting this data if it is not already doing so.
*30.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information with reference to the NEU-PC Plus Programme (a) before COVID-19, what was the rationale for the limit of one digital device per low-income household notwithstanding the number of children; (b) whether the Ministry will retain the COVID-19 enhancements to the Programme permanently; (c) whether the Ministry will enhance the Programme to (i) give every low-income household student a digital device and (ii) provide digital devices to low-income household students in pre-school or university; and (d) whether the Ministry will allow students on the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme to automatically benefit from the Programme without having to submit a separate application.
*31.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether the Ministry can list the kinds of help made available for residents, especially seniors, who cannot afford mobile phones to access the numerous online programmes that are useful to them.

No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 6 *32.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) in each of the last five years, how many public consultations launched by the Government were (i) two weeks or shorter (ii) more than two weeks and less than one month and (iii) more than one month; (b) how does the agency decide the duration of the public consultation; (c) whether the Government will ensure that all public consultations run for no shorter than one month to allow sufficient time for organisations and individuals to consult adequately and provide higher-quality responses; and (d) whether the Government will issue a Code of Practice for all agencies to adopt regarding the purpose, duration, process and substance of public consultations.
*33.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how many tertiary institutions currently offer e-sports related courses; and (b) whether there are plans to increase the number of e-sports related diploma and undergraduate courses to match the demand for a skilled workforce.

*34.
*34.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether the Ministry will extend the wage subsidies under the Jobs Support Scheme to shareholder-directors whose assessable incomes do not exceed $150,000 for the Year of Assessment 2019.

*35.
*35.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether he can provide an updated budget deficit forecast for FY 2020/2021, after the main Budget and supplementary Budget statements up to and including 26 May 2020; (b) how much of this is financed via a reserves drawdown, by utilising the accumulated surplus from the current term of Government and by other means, respectively; and (c) what is the nature of the other means of financing, if any.

*36.
*36.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Health what is the Ministry's assessment of overseas reports regarding children who may be affected by paediatric multi-system inflammatory syndromes linked to COVID-19 and what steps is the Ministry taking in Singapore to deal with this development.

*37.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Health whether the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic will affect the implementation dates of (i) CareShield Life and (ii) MediSave Care.

*38.
*38.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what has been done, and what will continue to be done, to care for our home team officers as they take on additional roles to enforce law and order issues surrounding the fight against COVID-19.

No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 7 *39.


Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Manpower as the trainees under the SGUnited Traineeships Programme are not in an employment relationship and are not covered by the employment laws, how can these trainees obtain assistance and support in the event of workplace grievances and issues including work injury and harassment.

*40.
*40.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number of complaints lodged by foreign domestic workers (FDWs) since the COVID-19 pandemic started; and (b) what kinds of assistance, in particular mental health support, are available to FDWs facing conflict with their employers.

*41.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to people seeking to euthanise their healthy dog or cat (a) whether the Ministry will make it compulsory for them to produce documented proof that they have (i) attempted to rehome the animal and (ii) received certification from an Animal and Veterinary Service-accredited trainer that the animal, if aggressive, is untrainable; and (b) whether it will be made compulsory for veterinarians to wait for a pre-determined length of time before euthanising the animal, during which the animal's details are published on websites of NParks and animal welfare groups to facilitate rehoming.
*42.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether a tender was waived for the construction of all Government Quarantine Facilities (GQF), Community Recovery Facilities (CRF) and Community Care Facilities (CCF); (b) if so, whether this was due to time constraint or other reasons; (c) whether all such construction works were planned to be cost recovery or below cost engagements; (d) what price reasonableness test was applied; (e) whether attempts were made to explore whether other event and exhibition construction firms were able and keen to undertake the engagement; and (f) whether further requisitions of GQFs, CRFs and CCFs are necessary and whether the engagements will be done on a cost recovery or below cost basis.
*43.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) over the past three years, what is the average duration between grant application and notification of decision for each of the major business grant schemes administered by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) targeted at local enterprises; (b) what is the average duration between successful conclusion of a grant-funded business project and reimbursement of grant funding from ESG; and (c) what has been done to improve application and reimbursement procedures to help businesses innovate while maintaining cashflow.
No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 8 *44.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether recent commodity trade blow-ups in Singapore will impact our reputation as a commodity trading hub; (b) whether there is a need to strengthen regulatory frameworks; and (c) how are financial irregularities kept at the minimum and adequately penalised to ensure Singapore remains a fair and safe hub to conduct trading.

*45.
*45.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Prime Minister how will Singapore's National Day commemoration and celebrations differ at the national and local levels in view of the COVID-19 measures.

*46.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what has been the framework for Government's procurement of goods and services to address the COVID-19 pandemic; (b) what proportion of such contracts, by dollar value, have been issued through the standard Government procurement system on GeBIZ; (c) what are the considerations when issuing contracts otherwise; and (d) what steps are taken to ensure that all enterprises can participate in such procurement opportunities so as to ensure provision at competitive prices and quality.
*47.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health to what extent are patients with COVID-19 experiencing above-average rates of blood clots and heart disease, as some research suggest is being seen amongst COVID-19 patients globally.

*48.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will consider doing a one-time COVID-19 swab test for VWO staff looking after our elderly; and (b) if so, whether it will be done in phases so as not to overstretch medical resources.

*49.
*49.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what measures will be implemented to boost immunity amongst the general population; and (b) whether there are age-group specific practices which can be included in public education information materials and broadcasts to increase awareness about strengthening personal immunity.

* 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.

134 4 JUNE 2020 9 AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS Introduction of Government Bills 1.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance: Second Supplementary Supply (FY 2020) Bill.

(President’s recommendation signified).

2.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources: Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill.

ORDER OF THE DAY 1.
ORDER OF THE DAY 1.

GOVERNMENT’S PLANS IN OUR CONTINUING FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 PANDEMIC: Resumption of Debate on Question (26 May 2020), “That the Ministerial Statement made by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance on the Government’s Plans in Our Continuing Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic be considered by Parliament.” – (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance).

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER 1.


Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether he can provide an update on COVID-19 cases among prison inmates and Singapore Prison Service staff, if any; and (b) what anti-COVID measures are currently planned for the prisons after 2 June 2020.

2.
2.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the total number of scam cases reported since the COVID-19 pandemic started; (b) what is the accumulated financial losses arising from such scams; and (c) what action is the police taking to prevent such scams especially among senior citizens.

3.
3.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there is a dedicated line for Home Team officers to call if they face mental and physical stress when conducting spot checks on persons under Stay-Home Notice; and (b) what help is being provided to ensure that these essential officers' well-being are met.

No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 10 4.


Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Law whether relief under Part 2 of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 can be extended to cover rental agreements between vehicle hire companies and private hire car drivers.

5.
5.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for Law (a) to date, how many tenants have submitted Notifications for Relief under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act; (b) of these Notifications, how many landlords have filed for Applications for Assessor's Determination; and (c) whether the assessors have a long backlog of cases.

6.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Health how is Singapore collaborating with the global scientific community to create a COVID-19 vaccine.

7.
7.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the total number of COVID-19 tests conducted to date for the community population, i.e.

excluding foreign workers living in dormitories; (b) what is the number of tests conducted per million persons for this community population to date; and (c) what is the Government's expected rate of testing for this community population going forward.

8.
8.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry how will the economy be reopened in stages after the circuit breaker ends.

9.
9.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with regard to the target of generating 90% of Singapore's electricity through natural gas (a) what is the current energy composition for electricity generation; (b) what is the expected composition in 2030; and (c) whether there are plans to phase out the most carbon intensive fossil fuels like coal and oil from electricity generation by 2030.

10.
10.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in each of the past five years, how many dogs have been euthanised for (i) medical reasons (ii) aggression-related reasons and (iii) non-medical and non- aggression-related reasons; and (b) whether the Ministry will start collecting this data if it is not already doing so.

No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 11 11.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the past 20 years, how much land has been converted from natural spaces to urban developments; (b) how much land is expected to be converted from natural spaces to urban developments under the URA Concept Plan; (c) what is the area of primary and mature secondary forests expected to be affected under the URA Concept Plan; and (d) what is the amount of carbon that is currently sequestered by the area expected to be affected under the URA Concept Plan.
12.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower in each of the past five years (a) how many work permit holders not employed as foreign domestic workers (FDWs) died from injuries or diseases for which the individual was not eligible for compensation under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA); (b) how many work permit holders not employed as FDWs suffered permanent disability from injuries or diseases for which the individual was not eligible for compensation under WICA; and (c) whether the Ministry will start collecting this data if it is not already doing so.
13.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether employers who have received payouts under Jobs Support Scheme are required to adhere to any stipulation in relation to consumption of vacation leave by their employees or requiring employees to go on no-pay leave.

14.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Manpower in light of the deteriorating economic conditions that may lead to job losses, whether any steps will be taken to strengthen the Singaporean core in the workforce.

15.
15.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the annual number of work injury claims reported to the Ministry from 1 January 2010 to 31 May 2020 where the work injury occurred at home while on a remote working arrangement.

16.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many persons on work permits and special passes have died each year in the past 10 years; and (b) what is the breakdown of the cases by cause of death.

No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 12 2020 Cmd.

28 S.L.


842 S.L.

843 S.L.

844 PAPERS PRESENTED Date Presented Second Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for the Financial Year 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 Air Navigation - General Operating Rules) (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2020 (91 Air Navigation (119 - Air Operator Certification) (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2020 Central Provident Fund (MediSave Account Withdrawals) (Amendment No.
2) Regulations 2020 ….. 26 May 2020 ….. 26 May 2020 ….. 26 May 2020 ….. 27 May 2020 S.L.

845 Point-To-Point Passenger Transport Industry Regulations 2020 ….. 3 June 2020 S.L.

846 S.L.

847 Point-To-Point Passenger Transport Industry (Service of Documents) Notification 2020 Point-To-Point Passenger Transport Industry (Compoundable Offences) Regulations 2020 ….. 3 June 2020 ….. 3 June 2020 S.L.

848 Charities Regulations 2020 (Fees) (Revocation) ….. 3 June 2020 Pres.

Co. 173 Pres.
Co. 173 Pres.

Co. 174 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Small Motorised Vehicles (Safety) Bill [Bill No 21/2020] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Active Mobility (Amendment No.

2) Bill [Bill No 22/2020] ….. 3 June 2020 ….. 3 June 2020 No.

134 4 JUNE 2020 13 2020 Pres.


Co. 175 PAPERS PRESENTED – continued Date Presented Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the High Jurisdiction) (Admiralty Court (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 23/2020] ….. 3 June 2020