Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698754245225.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE ___________________ FIRST SESSION ___________________ ORDER PAPER TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021 No.

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QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Prime Minister regarding the report by MAS that bank customers in Singapore suffered fraudulent credit card transactions following malicious actors' diversion of SMS one-time passwords, whether a retrospective review will be conducted to establish whether additional customers prior to September 2020 may have been affected.
Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development in view of the constant start/stop in construction works with the surge in number of COVID-19 cases (a) whether the previous estimated timelines of HDB BTO project completions are expected to be lengthened; and (b) if so, whether further help will be given to the affected flat owners.
Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for National Development given the continued high demand for BTO flats coupled with the delay in completion of various ongoing BTO projects, whether the Ministry will consider bringing forward various planned BTO projects or consider building more BTO flats than currently planned.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Manpower what enforcement actions can the Ministry take against errant employers found to have practised workplace discrimination especially on grounds of age and race.

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo: To ask the Minister for Manpower what protection against retaliation and dismissal is currently in place for employees who file complaints on workplace discrimination.

No.

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Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the trend of senior re-employment in 2020 and 2021 has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and (b) if so, what further support can be given to companies to enable them to continue to offer re-employment for their senior employees who are eligible for re-employment.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many seniors aged 55 years and above have benefitted from the Senior Worker Support Package introduced in 2020; and (b) whether the Government will be looking into extending this support or other ways of promoting senior employability.

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Manpower what are the employability support given to help workers manage structural changes like digital disruption.
Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Manpower in respect of job vacancies being at an all-time high of 92,100 in June 2021 (a) how many of these vacancies are not filled after six months; and (b) how can the Ministry help Singaporeans fill these vacancies for firms as soon as possible.

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Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what kinds of employment and training assistance are given to workers to cope with the structural changes in the economy such as the digital disruption; (b) how many workers have been given such employment assistance; and (c) which sectors do these workers predominantly work in.

*11.
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Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many seniors aged 60 years and above are getting the Ministry's assistance to help them hold on to their jobs; (b) what are the forms of assistance rendered to these senior workers; (c) how many of them need to pivot to jobs in other industries; and (d) what are the main hurdles that they have to overcome.

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*12.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Manpower as Singapore transits to an endemic COVID-19 economy, what are the plans to help our workforce as well as Singapore companies to shift their plans and strategies to meet the changes when the economy opens up gradually.

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Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the Ministry’s assessment on the effectiveness of job placement and training support that are currently provided to assist unemployed and under-employed workers, especially those who are in distressed sectors and those who are facing headwinds during the COVID-19 pandemic.

No.

40 5 OCTOBER 2021 3 *14.


Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry can provide an update on the progress of the various career conversion and job matching efforts for mid-career PMETs; (b) whether the schemes have achieved the intended outcomes; (c) what are the frictions; and (d) what are the other upcoming support and initiatives.

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Dr Tan Yia Swam: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry intends to introduce additional measures to support workers who have lost their jobs as a result of prevailing national guidelines especially for industries such as the food and beverage and the construction sectors.

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Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether studies have been done by the Ministry to understand the digital preparedness of our workers aged 40 to 60 years; and (b) what are the support measures put in place to enable digitally-disadvantaged workers to take on job roles which have pivoted into the digital space.

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Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Government will take urgent steps to allow more migrant domestic workers (MDWs) into Singapore to reduce the current waiting time for Singaporean households urgently requiring the services of MDWs especially to look after seniors and young children who critically require appropriate caregiving services.

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Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) from January to August 2021, what is the number of domestic helpers who were allowed entry into Singapore; and (b) whether the Ministry can provide an update on the pilot scheme to bring more foreign domestic workers to Singapore.

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Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many migrant domestic workers (MDWs) granted in-principle approvals are currently awaiting entry permits to start work in Singapore; (b) how many MDWs have been permitted to enter Singapore via the MDW pilot programme introduced in July 2021; and (c) whether the Ministry will be expanding the numbers and sources of MDWs allowed to enter Singapore in the pilot programme should border restrictions continue.

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Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Education whether students taking national exams such as the PSLE and “O/N/A” levels and who are served a Quarantine Order or Stay-Home Notice will be permitted to undertake their exams in a centralised, dedicated quarantine facility instead of being prohibited from taking the exams altogether.

No.

40 5 OCTOBER 2021 4 *21.


Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what more can be done to raise the awareness, and expand the current pool, of trained pharmacists to identify signs of violence among their customers.

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Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will be looking into raising the awareness among domestic violence survivors to use code words or any non-verbal cues, as adopted in other jurisdictions, to seek assistance.

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Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry as we transit into a state of COVID-19 endemic (a) what is the impact on our economy in 2022 for any delay of border re-opening; and (b) what measures are taken in the transition to ensure that SMEs can tide through this period.

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Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development given a recent NGO finding that more than 10% of Singaporean households have experienced food insecurity (a) how does the Ministry track this issue; (b) whether there can be an update on the steps being taken to address it; and (c) what has been the trend in the light of the prolonged COVID-19 situation.

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Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry having regard to the more than doubling of natural gas prices to date which is expected to cause electricity prices in Singapore to be higher in the next quarter, what further steps will be taken to (i) ensure that the price of electricity does not rise steeply for this period (ii) ameliorate the impact of higher electricity prices on Singaporean households which are particularly affected by the economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and (iii) encourage Singaporean households to be more energy efficient at the same time.
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Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) when will the ongoing review of the New Rail Financing Framework for the Downtown MRT Line be completed; (b) whether the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the operating loss for the Downtown Line; and (c) what will be the impact on the Downtown Line's rail reliability if there is a sustained and continued operating loss for the operator.

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Dr Shahira Abdullah: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to distance being a major factor in the new primary 1 registration process and as families with financial means are able to move nearer to the more popular or oversubscribed schools, whether the Ministry will consider measures to avoid such schools from having a homogenous high-income background demographic.

No.

40 5 OCTOBER 2021 5 *28.


Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what are the lessons learned from the abrupt exit of oBike from Singapore; and (b) what are the protective measures which LTA may now require of all operators of similar public-subscribed transport schemes in the interest of (i) consumers for loss of deposit payments (ii) local service providers for unpaid services rendered and (iii) public authorities for arranging disposal of abandoned equipment.

*29.
Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, how many Singaporeans and permanent residents who are domiciled overseas with approval from the Ministry returned to register or enlist for national service; (b) what are the quarantine and Stay-Home Notice procedures for those returning; (c) how much is the average expenditure incurred; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider waiving or assisting with the expenses incurred for their dedicated Stay-Home Notice accommodation.
*30.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is Singapore's current onshore vaccine manufacturing capabilities; (b) to what extent these encompass the production process and supply chain for COVID- 19 vaccines; and (c) whether and how soon Singapore can be positioned as a vaccine research and development and manufacturing hub for future and next- generation vaccines as part of future pandemic preparedness.

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Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Prime Minister in view of the increasing use of TraceTogether at many locations (a) what are the risks of all the personal information being hacked and appropriated at various data collection centres; and (b) what measures are in place to prevent such attacks.

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Mr Abdul Samad: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) since 2016, whether there is an increasing trend in the number of employment disputes involving employees employed before 1 April 2016 with their employers where there is no written employment contract; and (b) whether Key Employment Terms (KETs) specified in the Employment Act can be mandated for all workers employed by companies before 1 April 2016 to protect all parties should there be any workplace grievance or dispute pertaining to the employment contract.
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Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) to date, how many work permit holders (WPHs) have been permitted to obtain their skills certification in Singapore instead of Overseas Testing Centres (OTCs); (b) how many of these WPHs successfully obtained their skills certification in Singapore; (c) what are the main reasons for those who fail to obtain their skills certification; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider (i) making this a permanent programme and (ii) allowing WPHs from more countries to obtain their skills certification in Singapore instead of OTCs.
No.

40 5 OCTOBER 2021 6 *34.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the progress of MAS’ review of the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) regulatory framework; (b) what is the current value of such transactions in Singapore; and (c) whether such BNPL services have resulted in greater indebtedness in society.

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Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the age group of Singaporeans who were recently arrested for their involvement in illegal international soccer gaming; and (b) whether the current penalties for such offences are adequate to serve as a deterrent.

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Dr Shahira Abdullah: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what are the reasons behind the Ministry’s decision to deploy counsellors who have not attended programmes that are fully certified by the Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC) as training for registered counsellors; (b) how does the Ministry assess the adequacy of training provided under NIE’s Diploma in School Counselling programme vis-à-vis the national competency assessment framework for counsellors; and (c) whether there are plans to gradually upskill all school counsellors to attend fully certified and recognised programmes by SAC and qualify as a registered counsellor.
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Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the current occupancy rate of our hospices; (b) whether there are sufficient beds to meet the demand of our rapidly ageing population; and (c) how is the training, recruitment and retention of care professionals in our hospices.

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Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has any projections for the anticipated increase in informal caregivers needed over the next 10 to 20 years as the population ages; (b) if so, what are the projected figures; and (c) how is the Government intending to build up the capacity and capability of care workers to relieve the elderly care load on women and men who are currently having to give up their jobs to care for their ageing parents.

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Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there is a plan to train more healthcare personnel to look after dementia patients in view of the ageing population; and (b) what are the measures that have been put in place to support the projected increase in dementia care needed.

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Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment what is the Government’s response to the September 2021 overall rating of Singapore by Climate Action Tracker as ‘Critically Insufficient’, the bottom category, in its overall ratings.

No.

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Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) over the past six months and 12 months, whether there is an increase in migrant domestic workers requesting for transfers before their contracts end; (b) what are the typical reasons for making such requests; and (c) whether the Government will consider enhancing regulations to protect local employers with real care needs from premature terminations by migrant domestic workers for frivolous reasons.

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Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view that Singapore’s public bus fleet has fully shifted to automatic transmission (a) whether the Road Traffic Rules can be amended to allow motorists with a Class 3A driving licence to undergo training to obtain a Class 4A driving licence; and (b) if so, when can such changes to the Road Traffic Rules take effect.

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Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs what is the impact of the Australia-UK-US submarine purchase pact (AUKUS) on Singapore and ASEAN.

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Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry is studying the effectiveness of “community work” as defined in the Family Service Centre Code of Social Work Practice; and (b) whether the Ministry is considering providing more funding to family service centres to do community work.

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Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for National Development in light of the recent focus on sustainability and the environment (a) whether the Ministry will consider putting some restrictions on redevelopment; and (b) in particular, whether the Ministry will consider an age floor before en bloc schemes can be considered.

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Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Transport what are the implications on the standards and safety of the Thomson-East Coast and Cross Island MRT Lines arising from the actions of a former group director of LTA who has admitted in court to numerous corrupt transactions involving contractors working on the Lines.

*47.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Education whether the Government plans to (i) look into the survey findings of the Academic Freedom Survey 2021 published by AcademiaSG, notably that faculty who say they work on “politically sensitive” topics are more likely to feel constrained in their ability to research or engage the public compared with those whose work are not “politically sensitive” and (ii) take steps to improve the state of academic freedom especially in respect of Singapore studies and women academics, whom the survey reports as being more likely to feel constrained.
No.

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Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) for the past three years, what are the take-up rates for hawkers’ digitalisation, productivity and succession schemes such as Hawkers Go Digital, Hawkers’ Productivity Grant, Food Delivery Support Scheme and Incubation Stall Programme by (i) ethnic groups and (ii) age groups of hawker stall owners; and (b) whether the Ministry tracks the overall digitalisation progress by adoption of food delivery and e-payment methods by hawkers’ ethnic groups and age groups, and, if so, what is this progress.
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Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry tracks the current range of, median and average commission costs charged by food delivery platforms and, if so, what is the data; and (b) to date, what is the number and percentage of hawkers who have taken up the various Food Delivery Support Packages.

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Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what are the criteria used to evaluate the success of the Socially-conscious Enterprise Hawker Centres (SEHCs); (b) from 2019 to 2020, what are the yearly mean, median and range of rents for SEHC stalls compared to NEA-run hawker centre stalls; (c) from 2018 to 2020, what is the yearly number of complaints received at SEHCs; and (d) of these, what are the percentages of hawkers raising such complaints and complaints that are successfully resolved respectively.
*51.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Prime Minister whether MAS will consider centralising all financial institutions, moneylenders and credit-providing companies under a single regulatory framework to level up the robustness of the financial system and protection to consumers.

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Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth since the previous Olympics and Paralympics in 2016 (a) whether there has been any changes to the monetary awards administered under the Singapore National Olympic Council and Singapore National Paralympic Council; (b) whether the disparity in the awards schemes can be reduced; and (c) whether the Government can do more to encourage major donors to better support disability sports and our Paralympians.

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Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether the Ministry will reconsider the practice of offering smaller monetary rewards for Paralympians compared to Olympians representing Singapore.

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Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth what is the level of support provided to Singapore athletes in terms of mental and emotional wellness that will assist them in their preparation and recovery before and after major sports competitions.
No.

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Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth how can the Ministry encourage Singaporeans to both celebrate our athletes’ victories and honour their efforts in their setbacks.

*56.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will consider allowing residents whose NRICs have been stolen as a result of third party data breaches to replace their NRIC at a nominal or discounted replacement fee.

*57.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information regarding the use of NRICs in applications for telecommunication access (a) what measures are in place to increase protection of users' information obtained by telecommunication providers; (b) whether the Ministry will consider allowing other forms of identification, such as driver licences, which have less personal information; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider imposing penalties and compensation to users based on the severity of breaches.
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Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Education whether his Ministry will conduct a study on the impact of lost conventional in-person schooling on the future career prospects of school children because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and identify steps that may be taken to address these problems so that they do not run the danger of becoming a “lost generation”.

*59.
*59.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Education whether beyond just releasing the results of the Primary 4 examinations for children approved the Singapore Examinations Assessment Board can provide further insight on areas of improvement or performance of these children so that the parents or educators of these children will be able to guide these home-schooled children to do better.

to undergo home schooling, *60.


Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry considers the number of practising psychiatrists and psychologists in Singapore to be sufficient; (b) if not, what is being done to increase the numbers; and (c) what measures are being taken to address burnout in mental health practitioners.

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*61.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether incidents of children stealing to fuel their mobile gaming addictions are on the rise over the past five years; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider banning the sale of top-up cards at convenience stores to minors unless they are accompanied by a parent.

No.

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No.

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5 OCTOBER 2021 10 Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Home Protection Scheme (HPS) can take into account that different conditions have differing actuarial risk on a continuum with a view to including policyholders with pre-existing conditions; and (b) whether an individual who previously qualifies for HPS on his first HDB home but later developed a medical condition can be considered for HPS inclusion when right-sizing to a second HDB home.

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*63.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for National Development what forms of technical assistance does HDB provide to flat occupants to reduce the diffusion of secondhand smoke at its source or prevent smoke from entering their flats.

*64.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Department of Statistics will consider tracking Consumer Price Index changes by different income groups.

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*65.

Dr Shahira Abdullah: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the inter- agency task force on mental wellness is planning to establish a national suicide prevention strategy as part of the national mental well-being strategy; and (b) whether there are plans to transition this task force into a permanent national co-ordinating office for mental health and well-being under the Ministry given the increasing prevalence of mental health conditions and suicides.

*66.
Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what are the current protocols in place for the prescription of anti-depressants to patients under 25 years old by primary care doctors; and (b) in view of the co-relation between increased anti-depressant usage and youth suicide, whether the Ministry will consider reviewing the intervention pathway and protocols to enhance safeguards against the use of anti-depressants in youths and children too early or unnecessarily in their mental health recovery process.
*67.
Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has figures on post-partum depression cases tracked over the years; (b) if so, what is the observed trend regarding the rate of post-partum depression in mothers over the past 10 years generally and by socio-economic segments; (c) whether the Government has any longitudinal studies on post-partum depression and its link to mental health conditions in mother and child in later years; and (d) if not, whether it will consider conducting studies on this.
*68.

Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what are the reasons for the spike in electricity futures prices traded on the Singapore Exchange in July 2021; (b) whether the Ministry has received any complaints from electricity retailers of potential manipulation in the market; and (c) whether the Ministry regulates the market to check on any price fixing or manipulation.

No.

40 5 OCTOBER 2021 11 *69.


Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what percentage of lorries that are used to ferry persons in the rear decks are fitted with rain covers installed on the sides of the rear deck in addition to their roof shelters; and (b) if this information is not currently available, whether the Ministry will start collecting and tracking this information.

*70.
*70.

Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Government can provide an update on the COVID-19 vaccine booster programme; and (b) whether there have been any adverse reactions to those receiving the vaccine booster so far.

*71.
*71.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the current number of people on Home Recovery for COVID-19; (b) whether there is a set of guidelines and instructions shared with these individuals so they are aware of what to do; (c) if so, how are these conveyed to them; (d) how frequently does the Ministry contact these individuals to monitor their health situation; and (e) what are the key milestones in the Home Recovery process.

*72.
*72.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Health whether HSA has received the recent data from Pfizer regarding the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine in children aged five to 11 years old and, if so, whether the Government can share its views on Pfizer’s findings for this age group.

*73.

Mr Abdul Samad: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the frequency of rostered routine testing for workers can be differentiated based on COVID- 19 vaccination status.
* 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.

NOTICE OF MOTION 1.
NOTICE OF MOTION 1.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth: OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC ACHIEVEMENTS: That this House congratulates our Team Singapore Olympians and Paralympians, in particular Ms Yip Pin Xiu, our five-time Paralympic Gold Medallist, for their achievements at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

2 4 No.

40 5 OCTOBER 2021 12 ORDERS OF THE DAY 1.

2.

3.

4.

Sedition (Repeal) Bill [Bill No.

23/2021] – (Minister for Home Affairs) – Second Reading Income Tax (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.
27/2021] – (Minister for Finance) – Second Reading Private Security Industry (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

22/2021] – (Minister for Home Affairs) – Second Reading Coroners (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

26/2021] – (Minister for Law) – Second Reading MEMORANDUM Matter proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment (SO 2(8)(b)).

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap (Aljunied) : Motorcycle Ownership.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER 1.

2.

3.


Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what alternative work venue arrangements exist to support public officers who do not have suitable venues at home for work-from-home (WFH); and (b) in the past one year, what proportion of otherwise WFH-eligible staff have taken up these alternatives.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) whether any Malaysian Police helicopter entered Singapore's airspace in September 2021; (b) if so, what follow-up actions were taken by Singapore; and (c) whether any diplomatic note of protest was issued.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs given the shorter runway of employable age before retirement age faced by ex- inmates aged 55 years and above compared to other younger ex-inmates, what are the programmes in place to increase awareness on CPF, retirement security, financial management and savings for these older ex-inmates before their release from prison.

No.

40 5 OCTOBER 2021 13 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.


Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past two years, how many road traffic accidents involved motorcyclists, power-assisted bicycles and personal mobility devices respectively; (b) whether the Ministry has information on how many of the riders are delivery worker; and (c) of these, how many have been hired via an online platform firm.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in the last five years, how many deaths by suicide were recorded for women who were pregnant or had given birth in the past one year.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what was the justification given by oBike Singapore or their former management in respect of the alleged transfer of about $10 million from its Singapore office to Hong Kong before its abrupt closure, leading to AGC’s conclusion that there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) to date, what are the respective number and percentage of first-time drug abusers who (i) underwent the Enhanced Direct Supervision Order (EDSO) instead of the Drug Rehabilitation Centre regime or were incarcerated (ii) reoffended within five years of completing their EDSO (iii) complied with their EDSO (iv) were employed full-time during their EDSO and (v) who continued to be employed upon completion of their EDSO; and (b) what is the number of drug addicts who have voluntarily surrendered to the authorities due to the EDSO.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether Singapore plans to support China’s application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans‐Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); (b) if so, why; and (c) if not, why.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Ministry expects the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to be ratified by all the participating countries before the annual ASEAN summit in Brunei; and (b) what main impediments remain for RCEP ratification by the participating countries.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) for 2021 to date, what is the split in average daily number of point-to-point trips and total trips between private hire cars (PHCs) and taxis on a monthly basis; and (b) whether the Ministry is considering imposing a statutory lifespan for cars used as PHCs.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether he can provide an update on the utilisation of the $100 million Rail Manpower Development Package; and (b) how many workers have benefitted from the scheme since it was launched in November 2019.

No.

40 5 OCTOBER 2021 14 12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.


Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Transport from January to September 2021, what is the monthly number of Certificates of Entitlement (COE) issued for the three different categories of motorcycles according to the engine capacities that correspond to class 2, 2A and 2B licences.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the production and usage of synthetic fuels are eco- friendly; and (b) whether such alternative fuels can be incorporated into the Singapore Green Plan 2030 if they are an eco-friendly alternative to traditional fossil fuels.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how many individuals in the past year have received summonses by NEA for not wearing face masks or maintaining sufficient safe distances while smoking; and (b) what is NEA’s enforcement approach towards unmasked smokers in public areas, including gatherings of such individuals in groups of five or less.
Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) whether he can provide an update on the status of efforts in recovering the overpayments in the Jobs Support Scheme; and (b) what is the plan to address the amounts that are non-recoverable.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years (a) what is the total number of (i) group 2 cases (ii) group 3 cases and (iii) group 4 cases that are handled by the Family Service Centres (FSCs) respectively; and (b) what is the total number of social workers employed by the FSCs.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) from 2016 to 2020, how many annual applications were received by the Syariah Court for divorces and counselling respectively; (b) of these, how many applicants eventually divorced; and (c) what are the three main reasons or factors that are the causes of divorce in the Malay/Muslim community within that time period.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Health in light of the move to “living with COVID” and scaling down the routine publication of COVID-19-related public health data, whether the Ministry will consider establishing a portal where such information, to the extent that they are collected, may nevertheless be made available for scrutiny and analysis.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Health in light of the ageing population, what are the upcoming manpower and infrastructure plans to ensure that there is sufficient healthcare support for the elderly living in the community.

No.

40 20.

21.

22.

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5 OCTOBER 2021 15 Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Health (a) to date, what is the number of point-to-point (P2P) drivers and riders who have been placed on (i) Quarantine Order (QO) (ii) Health Risk Alert and (iii) Health Risk Warning (HRW) respectively; (b) of these P2P drivers and riders, how many have successfully been provided with QO allowance; and (c) as self-employed persons placed on HRW are asked to be self-isolated, whether the Ministry will consider extending the provision of QO allowance to them.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information in light of the MyRepublic data breach, whether the Ministry intends to prohibit organisations from storing scans of identification documents like the NRIC beyond the period required for identity verification.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) over the past five years, what is the annual number of complaints regarding noise disturbance from the Asian Koel; and (b) what are the mitigation measures implemented to minimise roosting near residential areas and its assessed effectiveness, considering its status as a native species protected under the Wild Animals and Birds Act.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current state of the marine biodiversity around Singapore; (b) whether there are plans to introduce more marine and wildlife parks; and (c) what is the progress on establishing the Sisters’ Island Marine Park.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the progress of the Species Recovery Programme for terrestrial and marine native flora and fauna; and (b) whether the Ministry can provide further updates on the 46 threatened species of terrestrial and marine native flora and fauna that were identified in 2016 for this programme.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for National Development what is the state and progress of the conservation of native seed dispersers and pollinators that are aimed to enhance the resilience of the forest ecosystem.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development whether he can provide an update on his Ministry’s study of the proposal made in Parliament on 9 July 2018 to convert vacant school sites to retirement villages or assisted living facilities for the aged.

No.

40 27.
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40 27.

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5 OCTOBER 2021 16 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) to date, how many and what percentage of workers successfully found employment respectively through the (i) Foreign Construction Worker Directory System and (ii) Singapore Construction Manpower Exchange; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider implementing such job-matching schemes to work permit holders in all sectors.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) from January 2021 to date, what are the leading causes of workplace accidents; (b) what role is played by ancillary factors such as cost-cutting measures that result in safety lapses; and (c) what considerations have been given towards heavier punishments to deter such behaviour amongst companies.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many gig workers like food delivery workers who wish to transit to regular employment have benefitted from Government schemes; and (b) what are the challenges involved in supporting this group.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Manpower in view of the recent complaints received by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices tender documents containing discriminatory clauses on race and age, what more can be done to encourage buyers of outsourced services to practise fair employment guidelines.
(TAFEP) on Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Manpower for each year since the start of the MyCareersFuture initiative (a) how many job applications have been received through the portal; (b) how many job applications have been successful; and (c) what is the percentage of jobs that went to (i) low wage workers and (ii) PMETs, with each category broken down by Singapore citizens and permanent residents.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower regarding the pilot scheme allowing eligible migrant workers living in dormitories to visit Little India (a) what KPIs must be met before the scheme can be expanded to more migrant workers; (b) what is the timeline for expansion of the scheme; (c) what are the other locations being considered so that non-South Asian workers can benefit from such a scheme; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider accelerating the expansion of the scheme in view of existing safeguards to limit infections among vaccinated migrant workers.
No.

40 5 OCTOBER 2021 17 PAPERS PRESENTED 2021 Date Presented S. 202 Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore Annual Report 2020/2021 ..... 1 October 2021 S.L.

353 Road Traffic (Amendment) Rules 2021 (Competency Tests) ..... 4 October 2021 S.L.

354 Environmental Public Health (Specified Construction Sites) Regulations 2021 ..... 4 October 2021 Note: Order of business in this Order Paper has been varied pursuant to SO 10(1A).