Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698839157507.pdf (Singapore)
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE SECOND SESSION ORDER PAPER TUESDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2020 No.

118 1.00 pm 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER *1.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Health in the light of the new COVID-19 cases involving Singaporeans who have not been to China, what other measures can Singaporeans take to protect themselves from being infected by COVID-19.

*2.
*2.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there are any new insights on how COVID-19 is spread in light of the recent announcement of the cluster of local transmission; and (b) whether there are heightened concerns now of a community spread of the virus in Singapore.

*3.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Transport what are the measures and efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 in our public buses and trains under DORSCON yellow, orange and red framework.

*4.
*4.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the global spread of COVID-19 (a) what is the estimated economic impact on Singapore's GDP; (b) whether there has been a decrease in capital inflows; and (c) whether adjustments to forecasts on job creation are expected.

*5.
*5.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Law (a) whether a transport start- up without a moneylender licence is allowed to offer loans to their pool of drivers at a high admin fee; (b) how can the drivers be assured that they will not be locked-in unfairly to the transport start-ups after obtaining the loans; and (c) whether there will be Government regulation on start-ups offering similar services operating within the grey area of the law.

No.

118 18 FEBRUARY 2020 2 *6.


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

*7.
Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) which industries find it difficult to attract or hire PMET Singaporeans; (b) what has been the success of initiatives of Singaporeans and local employers to address or improve the status quo in these industries; and (c) for PMET jobs held by foreigners and PRs arising from the lack of qualified Singaporeans to fill these positions, how does the Government monitor and track the skills transfer to, and the skills acquisition by, Singaporeans from PRs and foreigners over time.
*8.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Manpower what plans are in place to help gig economy workers access group medical insurance as well as save for retirement and home ownership.

*9.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what percentage of Grassroots Advisors (GRAs) appointed by the PA are members of a political party; (b) since GRAs are empowered to appoint members of the Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCC) and the Community Development and Welfare Fund (CDWF) Committees, whether there are risks that the disbursement of these public funds may be considered political in nature; (c) what are the measures to ensure that GRAs who are political party members are not associated in the distribution of these funds; (d) whether civil servants will be allowed to administer these funds; and (e) what are the policies to ensure that all elected MPs can tap on these funds to serve their residents.
*10.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many individuals and how many organisations have been prosecuted in relation to the shipments of elephant ivory and pangolin scales seized at our border checkpoints in 2019; and (b) if there are none, whether an update on the investigations can be provided.

*11.
*11.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Government will consider some form of financial aid to HDB owners who are unable to sell their flat due to the ethnic racial quota but need to sell their flat due to financial hardship.

No.

118 18 FEBRUARY 2020 3 *12.


Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Ministry will consider implementing recommendations from the "Stay-at-home Fathers" study conducted by an Institute of Policy Studies researcher, especially the recommendation that exclusive, non-transferable paternity leave should be increased.

*13.
*13.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether there has been a review of the sufficiency and availability of financial products that can protect special needs children and their families.

*14.
*14.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how pervasive is work-study an integral component of undergraduate degree programmes offered by our autonomous universities; and (b) what is the current percentage of degree programmes that have compulsory internship as part of the course work.

*15.
*15.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether there are any plans to review sexual education in schools beyond sexual protection and abuse towards building sensitivities and consciousness by focusing on gender equality; and (b) how often are sexual education programmes reviewed and what is the process of doing so.

*16.
*16.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the number of families and couples who are renting under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme currently; and (b) what is the number and percentage of this group who are in arrears.

*17.
*17.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to the recent case of hundreds of dead fish at Pasir Ris beach (a) whether the Ministry has determined the cause of the mass fish deaths; (b) whether there are any health concerns which may affect residents in the area; and (c) whether there is a need to control the plankton bloom which may be the cause of the incident.

*18.
*18.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Manpower how can the Government and tripartite partners encourage employers to provide support to employees with caregiving responsibilities such as family care leave to help them cope with work and caregiving responsibilities.

No.

118 18 FEBRUARY 2020 4 *19.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Manpower how many complaints have been received in the last three years regarding excessive foreigners working in financial institutions.

*20.
*20.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Transport with the increasing number of Silver Zones to be built, how will the Ministry strike a balance between the needs of motorists and pedestrians at these Silver Zones.

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

For such Questions, Members may email to parl_cop@parl.gov.sg in advance a postponement notice that will be effected after QT.
Members must submit their notices to the Clerk within one hour after the end of QT (SO 22(3)).

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

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

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

NOTICE OF MOTION 1.
NOTICE OF MOTION 1.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance: BUDGET STATEMENT: That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the financial year 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER 1.


Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what lessons can be learnt from the recent COVID-19 outbreak; (b) what can be improved upon to better equip and prepare Singaporeans, including education in total defence, against a pandemic outbreak; and (c) whether the Government will include production of masks and other medical protective gears as a strategic facility and support of the investment of such a facility in Singapore.

No.

118 18 FEBRUARY 2020 5 2.


Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether there has been an increase in the number of offences related to non-renewal of road tax after the implementation of the e-notification to vehicle owners; and (b) whether LTA can consider withdrawing the notice of offence related to non-renewal of road tax especially if the offence was committed for the first time by the motorist.

3.
3.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what measures are being taken to protect children from sexual grooming and harassment through their exposure to social media in the home and from a very early age; and (b) what percentage of all reported sexual assault cases involving children in the last three years took place in homes under the Public Rental Scheme.

4.

5.
4.

5.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Health whether he can provide a breakdown of the number of COVID-19 cases by type of residence in Singapore prior to diagnosis, namely (i) registered hotels and serviced apartments (ii) group quarters such as dormitories and hostels (iii) residential housing where the case is an unregistered commercial occupier (eg.
through Airbnb, unregistered sublet, or other commercial arrangement) (iv) residential housing where the case is an unregistered family or friend of a registered occupier (v) residential housing where the case is a registered occupier or owner and (vi) no residence, as the case was quarantined immediately on entry.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry regarding the $15.2 billion in fixed asset investments in 2019 (a) what is the dollar cost in grants and incentives to attract these investments; (b) how many of the 32,814 new jobs to be created are projected to be net job creation, rather than substitution of existing jobs in other firms or sectors; and (c) of the $15.2 billion, what amount is projected to be invested in the absence of grant and incentive support from EDB.

6.
6.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development for each year in the past three years (a) how many dogs have died while licensed to (i) dog farms and (ii) pet shops respectively; (b) how many of these dogs died as a result of euthanasia in these premises respectively; and (c) whether the Ministry will start collecting such data if it is not already doing so.

7.
7.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources for each year from 2019 to 2023 (a) what does the Ministry project will be the absolute and percentage change in net carbon emissions in each individual year; and (b) what percentage of absolute change in each individual year does the Ministry project will be attributable to the carbon tax rate of $5 per tonne of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

No.

118 18 FEBRUARY 2020 6 8.


Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what is the current number of "virtual" restaurants that operate by food apps in Singapore; (b) whether there have been any hygiene lapses in these shared food preparation premises; and (c) what additional measures is the Ministry taking on "virtual" restaurants to safeguard public health and prevent food poisoning.

9.
9.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the number of primary and secondary school children who are home-schooled currently and whether this has increased over the past five years; (b) whether the Ministry assesses or tracks the socio-emotional and character development of the home-schooled children; and (c) if so, how is the assessment done.

10.
10.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Education for each of the 17 Integrated Programme (IP) schools in the last three years (a) which are the three primary schools with the highest alumni respectively; and (b) what percentages of their respective student populations are made up of students from the three primary schools.

11.
11.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower for each year in the past three years, among notifications sent by employers to the Ministry to reduce the salary of a work permit holder to below the amount stated on the in- principle approval (IPA) letter (a) what has been the median absolute amount of reduction; and (b) what has been the median percentage of reduction compared to the initial salary.

12.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Manpower for each year in the last three years (a) how many employers have been the subject of complaints regarding workplace harassment; (b) whether the Ministry has set up a watchlist or other measures to identify employers who have not dealt adequately with workplace harassment; (c) how many employers have been placed on such a watchlist, if it exists; and (d) how many employers on such a watchlist have received training or other help from TAFEP and successfully exited the watchlist.
13.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower in the last five years, how many In-Principle Approval (IPA) letters has the Ministry issued for foreign domestic workers with zero rest days declared.

No.

118 18 FEBRUARY 2020 7 14.


Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Manpower since the establishment of the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management in April 2017 (a) what is the number of mediation requests that do not result in a mediation session; (b) what types of cases typically result in amicable resolution and which do not; and (c) what are the outcomes of cases that cannot be resolved through mediation, broken down by type of case and outcome.

2020 S.L.

774 S.L.

775 Pres.


Co. 156 Pres.

Co. 157 Pres.

Co. 158 Pres.
Co. 159 PAPERS PRESENTED (Sanctions United Nations - Democratic People's Republic of (Amendment) Regulations Korea) 2018 CareShield Life and Long-Term Care Fees) (Disability Regulations 2020 Assessment Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Geographical Indications (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 4/2020] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the National Environment Agency (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 7/2020] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Hazardous Waste (Control of Export, Import and Transit) (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 6/2020] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Singapore Convention on Mediation Bill [Bill No 5/2020] Date Presented ….. 6 February 2020 ….. 6 February 2020 ….. 12 February 2020 ….. 12 February 2020 ….. 12 February 2020 ….. 12 February 2020 No.
118 18 FEBRUARY 2020 8 2020 Pres.

Co. 160 Pres.

Co. 161 PAPERS PRESENTED – continued Date Presented Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Active Mobility (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 3/2020] Report of the Presidential Council for the Shared Minority Rights on Mobility Enterprises (Control and Licensing) Bill [Bill No 2/2020] ….. 12 February 2020 ….. 12 February 2020 S.L.

776 Duties Stamp (Amendment) Order 2020 (Section 23) ….. 12 February 2020 S.L.

777 S.L.
777 S.L.

778 Road Traffic Vehicles) (Amendment) Rules 2020 (Public Service ….. 13 February 2020 Bus Services Industry (Bus Service Licence) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 ….. 13 February 2020